Tracks: Impressions of America
& Oregons Content Standards for Social Studies
Tracks: Impressions of America is a 12-part video series available from PBS stations across the country. Rights to record off-air, duplicate, distribute and utilize this series for education are renewed annually. Teacher guides and a CD-ROM are available by contacting OPB or by calling the Agency for Instructional Technology customer services at 1-800-457-4509 or by visiting visiting the AIT website at www.ait.net.
| National Social Studies Strands | Time, Continuity & Change | Culture; Individual Development & Identity | People, Places & Environments; Global Connections | Production, Distribution & Consumption; Science, Technology & Society | Power, Authority & Governance; Individuals, Groups & Institutions | Civic Ideals & Practices |
| Oregons Content Standards | Understand and interpret relationships in history, including chronology, cause, effect, change and continuity over time. | Understand and event, issue, problem or phenomenon from multiple perspectives | Understand the importance &
lasting influence of issues, events, people and development in U.S. History Identify & explain physical & human characteristics of places & regions, the processes that have shaped them, and their geographic significance. Understand how the U.S. government interacts with other nations. |
Understand the distribution and
movement of people, ideas & products. Understand how the U.S. market economy functions as a system to address issues of resource allocation, including production, consumption, and exchange of goods & services. |
Understand the organization,
functions, & interrelationships of federal, state, & local government in the U.S Identify and analyze characteristics, causes & consequences of an event, issue, problem or phenomenon. |
Understand the principals &
ideals upon which the government of the U.S. is based. Understand the roles, rights & responsibilities of citizens of the U.S. |
| Tracks #1 Trekking Across Our Land Era 1 |
-Development of diverse Native American cultures | -Migration and immigration patterns as dynamic, positive forces. | -Pre-Columbian migration of humans from Asia to North America | -Agriculture as the driving force in determining settlement patterns of Native Americans | -Settlements led to evolution of early Native American societies | -Contributions of Native Americans to modern American lifestyles |
| Tracks #2 Spain Comes to America Era 2 |
-European explorers sought to exploit and control North America | -The conflict between European nations in North America | -Impact of European settlers on Timucuan people of Florida | -Early Atlantic trade routes | -Spain & England battle for control of America | -The role of the soldier in European expansion. |
| Tracks #3 Early European Settlements Era 2 |
-Interactions between Europeans and Powhatans | -The motivation and goals of Jamestown, VA settlers | -Selection of location for the Jamestown settlement | -Evolution of a plantation economy dependent
on slavery -The economic boom of tobacco |
-How indentured servants were eventually replaced by African slaves | -Early examples of racism |
| Tracks #4 Seeds of Revolution Era 3 |
-How New England settlements differ from other regions | -Pilgrims & Puritans promote concepts of religious freedom & human equality | -Religious persecution in Europe drives ideologies of New England settlers | -Shipbuilding drives development of Boston -Trade an important factor even in earliest settlements |
-The Boston Tea Party | -Revolutionaries organize in Faneuil Hall |
| Tracks # 5 Independence! Era 3 |
-The Declaration of Independence | -Loyalists views conflict with revolutionary colonists | -Taxation without representation | -Economic forces fuel revolutionary fervor | -The Continental Congress and creation of a Continental Army | -The ideals of personal liberty as presented in the Declaration of Independence |
| Tracks # 6 A New Nation Era 3 |
-U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights | -The War of 1812 | -The selection of Washington D.C. as the nation's capitol | -Jefferson's passion for science and technology | -The Connecticut Compromise establishes the bicameral legislature | -Patriotism & the new Nationalism |
| Tracks # 7 Westward Ho! Era 4 |
-Settlement moves westward
|
-Contrasting views of European settlers and Native Americans toward the land | -Mexican-American War and Louisiana Purchase | -Causes of the spread and entrenchment of
slavery -The establishment of transportation routes to the west |
-The Trail of Tears and the establishment of Indian reservations | -19th Century Federal policy toward Native Americans |
| Tracks # 8 Divided & United Era 5 |
-The American Civil War | -Southern values and politics are contrasted with the industrialized North | -Racial discrimination | -The role of the cotton gin on southern agricultural economy | -Abolitionism | - The modern Civil Rights movement |
| Tracks # 9 The Urbanization of America Era 6 |
-The Industrial Revolution | -Increased immigration brings cultural diversity | -Shift from rural to urban societies | -Mechanization fuels the American economy -Evolution of the labor force from agricultural-based to manufacturing-based |
-Organized labor | -Pluralism and cultural diversity become key characteristics of national identity. |
| Tracks # 10 The Road to Mt. Rushmore Era 7 |
-Westward expansion | -Spanish influence in the West | -Devastation of native buffalo herds & other environmental damage from westward expansion | -Railroads to the west encouraged ranching,
farming & mining development -Gold Rush |
-Homestead Act | -Mt. Rushmore monument epitomizes expansionist values |
| Tracks # 11 America at War Era 8 |
-Manifest Destiny | -America as a world military power WWI & WWII |
-The Great Depression | -The Atomic Age | -The New Deal | -Military patriotism |
| Tracks # 12 Changing Times and Modern Industries Eras 9 & 10 |
-The Cold War -20th Century industrial diversification |
-NATO -Modern Asian immigration -The break-up of the Soviet Union |
-The Marshall Plan -Modern advances toward racial and gender equality |
-The emergence of a global economy -Cold War sparks industrial and technological growth -Sustainable resources |
-Cuban Missile Crisis -Civil Rights legislation |
-The U.S. role in promoting the spread of democracy |
©1999 Agency for Instructional Technology
For permission to use this document, contact: AIT Broadcast Services, 1-800-457-4509, Box
A, Bloomington, IN 47402-0120.
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