Basic American history generalizations for the elementary grades

Abstract

In light of the current ideological struggle between the democratic and communist ways of life, there is great concern among educators that American children understand the history of our republic. The purpose of a study completed at The Pennsylvania State University in September 1962, was to determine those basic generalizations in American History, appropriate for the elementary school social studies curriculum, which will provide the understandings necessary for the continued study of American history. The generalizations used in the study were selected by examining eight leading college textbooks1 in American history published during the twentieth century. The more than 1400 generalizations extracted were categorized and synthesized into nine major themes or topics of American history: 1. The Exploration and Colonization of America 2. American Independence 3. Framing and Implanting the Constitution 4. The Growth and Development of Democracy 5. The Influence of Sectionalism on American History 6. The Great Migration to the New World 7. The Westward Movement and the Influence of the Frontier on American History 8. The Transformation of the United States From an Agrarian Nation into an Industrial Power