US History Resources

US History Learning Hub

This page provides an overview of key units in United States history. Each unit includes major themes, essential ideas, and links to individual reading pages that your students can access. Use the lists below to connect your Shopify Learning Hub to the full library of student-friendly history articles.

 

Unit 2: Colonial America (1600–1763)

Starting in the 1600s, waves of immigrants arrived in North America seeking opportunity, religious freedom, land, or escape from punishment in Europe. Life in the American wilderness was harsh. Starvation, disease, and conflict with Indigenous peoples made survival difficult, but tens of thousands continued to arrive. These early colonies transformed the continent and laid the foundations of British America.

Learn More:

  • Jamestown Colony

  • Plymouth Colony

  • Motivations for Colonization

  • British Thirteen Colonies

  • The New England Colonies

  • The Middle Colonies

  • The Southern Colonies

  • The Beaver Wars

  • Salem Witch Trials

  • The Triangular Trade

 

Unit 3: Countdown to Revolution (1763–1776)

Tensions rose between Britain and the American colonies after new taxes, such as the Stamp Act and Tea Act, were introduced. Colonists argued these were unfair because they lacked representation in Parliament. Protests and British crackdowns deepened resentment. By 1775, the first battles at Lexington and Concord began the move toward independence.

Learn More:

  • French and Indian War

  • Pontiac’s War

  • No Taxation Without Representation

  • Sons of Liberty

  • The Boston Massacre

  • The Boston Tea Party & Intolerable Acts

  • Battle of Lexington

 

Unit 4: American Revolution (1776–1790)

The colonies declared independence in 1776. The war shifted in the colonists’ favour after the victory at Saratoga, which persuaded France to support the American cause. The war ended with the British surrender at Yorktown in 1781 and the Treaty of Paris in 1783, confirming American independence.

Learn More:

  • Declaring Independence

  • The American Revolutionary War

  • Loyalists in the Revolution

  • Soldiers in the Revolution

 

Unit 5: A New Nation (1790–1830)

After independence, the new United States struggled to create a stable government. Early systems such as the Articles of Confederation proved weak, and major debates emerged about the future direction of the country. Foreign pressures mounted as well. These years shaped the foundations of the American political system.

Learn More:

  • Shays’ Rebellion & the Articles of Confederation

  • Constitutional Convention

  • The Bill of Rights

  • George Washington

  • War of 1812

 

Unit 6: Westward Expansion (1800–1860)

Thousands of settlers moved west in search of land and opportunity. This expansion often brought them into conflict with Indigenous nations who already occupied the region. The journey west was filled with danger, hardship, and competing claims over land.

Learn More:

  • Louisiana Purchase

  • Lewis & Clark Expedition

  • Westward Expansion & Manifest Destiny

  • Oregon Trail

  • Trail of Tears

  • Texas Becomes a State

  • Donner Party

  • California Gold Rush

 

Unit 7: Slavery in America (1600–1865)

Millions of Africans were forced into slavery in the Americas. They endured harsh conditions, family separation, and a system that denied basic rights. Over time, enslaved people and their allies launched rebellions, resisted oppression, and fought for freedom. Their struggle helped drive the movement toward abolition.

Learn More:

  • Middle Passage

  • Slavery in America

  • Nat Turner’s Rebellion

  • Abolitionism in America

  • The Underground Railroad

  • The Life of Frederick Douglass

 

Unit 8: The American Civil War (1860–1865)

After Abraham Lincoln’s election, several southern states seceded and formed the Confederacy. The Civil War that followed became the deadliest conflict in American history. Though both sides suffered enormous losses, the Union eventually prevailed, leading to the destruction of slavery.

Learn More:

  • Countdown to Civil War

  • The Confederacy

  • Fort Sumter

  • The First Battle of Bull Run

  • How the Union Won the War

  • Civil War Soldiers

  • Civil War Technology

 

Unit 9: Reconstruction Era (1865–1890)

The Civil War ended slavery, but the challenge of rebuilding the South and defining freedom for formerly enslaved people was enormous. New laws and protections were introduced, but resistance, violence, and political divisions limited progress.

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  • The Struggle to Rebuild

  • After Emancipation

  • Radical Reconstruction

  • Terror in the South

  • Ending Reconstruction

 

Unit 10: The Last Frontier (1860–1900)

By the late 1800s, the remaining Native nations of the Plains faced broken treaties, the loss of buffalo, and military defeat. Even as open conflict faded, federal policies continued to undermine Indigenous cultures through boarding schools, forced assimilation, and land division.

Learn More:

  • The Great Plains Wars

  • From Homelands to Reservations

  • Carlisle Indian School

  • From Warriors to Wild West

  • Pioneers on the Plains

 

Unit 11: The Gilded Age (1870–1910)

Rapid industrial growth created immense wealth for some Americans, while many faced poverty and poor working conditions. The era saw political corruption, powerful monopolies, and growing calls for reform.

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  • Industrial Revolution

  • Life in the Mills

  • Ellis Island: An Immigrant’s Experience

  • The Gilded Age

  • The Transcontinental Railroad

  • The Age of Electricity

 

Unit 12: The Progressive Era (1880–1929)

Reformers fought to solve a wide range of social problems, from unsafe food to political corruption. The era saw major changes including women’s suffrage, child labour laws, and improvements in public health and housing.

Learn More:

  • Progressive Era & Dirty Politics

  • Fight for Women’s Suffrage

  • Prohibition

  • Tenement Slums

  • Triangle Shirtwaist Fire

 

Unit 13: World War One (1914–1918)

Although the United States tried to avoid involvement in European conflict, German actions eventually drew the nation into the war. World War I reshaped global politics and caused devastating loss of life.

Learn More:

  • Causes of WWI

  • The Western Front

  • America Joins the War

  • Treaty of Versailles

Unit 14: The Great Depression (1929–1940)

The stock market crash of 1929 triggered massive unemployment and economic collapse. The crisis reshaped American politics and led to major government reforms known as the New Deal.

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  • The Roaring ’20s

  • The Crash of ’29

  • The New Deal

  • The Dust Bowl

 

Unit 15: World War Two (1930–1945)

Global tensions and aggressive expansion by dictators in Europe and Asia led to the outbreak of World War II. The United States entered the conflict after Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941. The war spanned the globe and reshaped international relations.

Learn More:

  • Causes of WWII

  • Blitzkrieg & the Fall of Europe

  • Operation Barbarossa

  • Occupation and Resistance

  • Turning Points in Europe

  • Pearl Harbor Attacked

  • Japan’s Road to Empire

  • WWII: Pacific

  • Ending the War

 

Unit 16: Human Rights in Crisis (1930–1945)

As war spread, basic human rights were violated on a massive scale. In Nazi Germany, anti-Jewish laws and persecution led to genocide. In Asia, Japanese military expansion brought brutality and suffering. In the United States, Japanese Americans were forced into internment camps.

Learn More:

  • Anti-Semitism on the Rise

  • Life in Nazi Germany

  • The Holocaust

  • Japanese Atrocities in Asia

  • Japanese Internment

  • Human Rights After WWII

 

Unit 17: Cold War Nation (1945–1990)

The United States and the Soviet Union entered a long period of tension known as the Cold War. Conflict played out through espionage, political rivalry, nuclear arms competition, and proxy wars.

Learn More:

  • The United States & Soviet Union

  • Containing Communism

  • Red Scare America

  • The Berlin Wall

  • Duck and Cover: The Nuclear Arms Race

  • The Space Race

  • Cuban Missile Crisis

  • Proxy Wars

 

 

Unit 18: Civil Rights Movement (1950–1970)

The Civil Rights Movement fought to end racial segregation and discrimination in the United States. Through protests, legal challenges, and acts of courage, activists pushed the nation to confront systemic injustice.

Learn More:

  • Life in the Jim Crow South

  • Redlining: Segregation in the North

  • The Murder of Emmett Till

  • Rosa Parks

  • Civil Rights Boycotts

  • Freedom Riders

  • Freedom Summer

  • Martin Luther King Jr.

  • The Black Panthers

  • Malcolm X