Students will examine the American past from the Age of Exploration through the present day.  Major topics of study include exploration and colonization, the American Revolution and the Constitution, the Early Republic, antebellum America, the Civil War and Reconstruction, the Gilded Age and Progressive Era, global expansion and World War I, the 1920s and the Great Depression, World War II, the Cold War era, and the modern United States. Engaging with a wide variety of primary and secondary sources, students hone their critical thinking skills and develop an understand of how events in American history shaped our current society, government, economy, and culture. This course is based on Standards of Learning from the Virginia Department of Education and prepares students for an SOL Test on Virginia and United States History.