US History Series 2: Reconstruction to the Progressive Era

Week 1: Reconstruction
The first week of the class is focused on the period directly following the Civil War known as Reconstruction. During this era, the United States is forced to rebuild the infrastructure and the relations that were damaged by the bloodiest war in American history. We will be examining Lincoln’s assassination and its fallout, the attempts of the new president to repair the country, Congress’s rebuttal to those attempts, and the fallout from it all.

Week 2: Westward Expansion and Native American Removal
With Reconstruction’s ultimate failure to effectively repair the country, it was left by the wayside for other issues. In the second week of the course, we will examine the last bit of expansion into the West and the ultimate closing of the frontier in 1890. However, that land was not freely available. Many Native Americans still inhabited the western regions of the country, and this period of time sees multiple massacres and movements involving them. They fought for their lands, but the force of the US government ended up being too powerful of a force for them to handle.

Week 3: The Gilded Age
The late nineteenth century in America was a period of excess for the rich. Named after a book written by a leading figure of the time, Mark Twain, the Gilded Age saw the rise of wealthy bankers, rich tycoons, and robber barons. In this week, we will be studying various business figures from this time period and their effects on American history, both positive and negative.

Week 4: Urbanization and the Rise of American Cities
For those not at the top rungs of American society, the turn of the century could be a difficult time. Increased urbanization led more people to live and work in cities, and this period saw a major influx in immigration, especially from Europe. This week is a look at the factors that led cities to a boom, the horrible conditions within those cities, and what was being done to alleviate growing problems in urban environments.

Week 5: Depression and Workers’ Strikes
While the rich got richer, the poor were forced into a depression around the turn of the century. This depression caused massive unrest in America’s workers, and it led to strikes that were often put down with violence. Meanwhile, more women were starting to take a stand for their own rights. This week follows both workers and women as they attempt to navigate the rough seas set forth by the illustrious Gilded Age.

Week 6: Progressivism
The final week of the course extends directly from the week before it. With frustrations mounting to an all time high, new reforms in workers and women’s rights exploded onto the scene in the early 1900s. A variety of new ideas, reforms, and politics arose; and it took the largest war the world had ever seen up until that point to halt some of these reforms and launch others into the forefront of American life.

Next Level Homeschool is a firm believer that not all learning should happen from behind a screen! That's why we give students the freedom to submit their assignments in the way THEY want to! We don't want regurgitation learning here. By allowing students to use their own talents, skills, and passions to complete assignments, they become even more engaged and retain the information. Why? Because now it's literally in their hands! We receive thousands of projects every year from our students: written reports, videos, models, posters, Scratch, Minecraft, Roblox, songs, poems, skits, drawings, sculptures, crafts—we've seen it ALL! And WE LOVE IT!!

Click here to view just a few projects we've received from students who have taken this class and see what YOUR kid could be learning with Next Level Homeschool!