Summer Assignments- U.S. History II Honors

Manchester Regional High School 2016-2017 school year

Mr. Ala

            Welcome to U.S. History II Honors! This course will cover primarily the Gilded Age (late 1800s) through modern United States. For the next school year you have chosen to pursue a more challenging curriculum in United States History. The work is hard, the pay stinks; but the subject is awesome! This course will help prepare you to possibly move on to an AP class and also provide important pre-college scholarly experiences. By enrolling in this class it is assumed that you enjoy history, are prepared to invest time and effort into your schoolwork, and are willing to take on a rigorous program of studies. The time you spend inside and outside the classroom can be as boring or as interesting as you make it. Below you will find your assignments to complete before the start of the 2014-15 school year. Good Luck!

Mr. Ala

Assignment 1

What is the Gilded Age?

Create a timeline of important events which have occurred from the start of reconstruction through the Gilded Aged (1865-1890’s).

Assignment 2

Create a mini-biography (1 page minimum each) on three of the following people.  When concluding your biography, be sure to have a statement that explains how the person fits into the Gilded Age. 

Thomas Edison

Andrew Carnegie

John D. Rockefeller

Cornelius Vanderbilt

J.P. Morgan

Booker T. Washington

Jane Addams

Samuel Gompers

Assignment #3- Essay

Write a 5-paragraph essay answering the following question.  What were the causes and consequences of the Spanish-American war?  Explain how America enters the Imperialist arena by the conclusion of the war.

Summer Reading

You are required to read the entire novel. As you read, you will be expected to take notes on a number of areas. For each of the four categories below, provide at least ten bullets of notes. Make sure that you do not just take notes, but also explain why the details that you have taken down are important. Make sure to have page numbers for your notes. Be prepared to turn your notes in on the FIRST day of class.

• Working conditions: consider sanitation, light, air, speed of work, equipment, etc.

• Social/Living conditions: treatment of immigrants, assimilation of immigrants into American society, housing, streets, child care, health care, etc.

• Economic conditions: consider wages, cost of living, unemployment, formation of labor unions, owners’ power over workers, etc.

• Political Conditions: consider elections, corruption, police, courts, owners’ power, solutions provided by socialism, etc.

DUE DATE: All assignments will be due the first day of class. NO EXCEPTIONS! Good luck and enjoy your summer!