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History of the United States 11 (HOUSE)
The Covenant School
Charlottesville, Virginia

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History of the United States 11 (HOUSE) is a college-preparatory survey course focusing on the main themes of U.S. History, "from boats to Bush." The course emphasizes key skills of document analysis, writing, and interpretation.

What makes HOUSE at The Covenant School unique is our focus on decision-making. Rather than seeing history as a series of dates and names, we focus instead on decisions made by people who are not very different from people today. In fact, the consistency of human behavior is one of the key lessons of history, which bears out the Biblical truth that humans are fallen creatures in need of God's redemption through our Savior, Jesus Christ.

We use our summer reading assignment, Robert F. Kennedy's Thirteen Days: A Memoir of the Cuban Missile Crisis to develop a five-step model for decision-making that we will apply throughout the school year.

Human decisions tend to be made based on three motives: Power (the desire to influence other humans' behavior), Economics (the desire for wealth) and Ideology (a system of beliefs). These factors work together to influence the behaviors of individuals and groups. When we come to key decisions, we stop to analyze who these motives influence the behaviors of the people involved.

We also assume that more than one of these factors can influence a person's behavior at any given moment; this is the Law of Multiple Causality. Moreover, human decisions usually have Multiple Consequences, including Unintended Consequences.

The Causal Loop Diagram ties together the laws of multiple causality and multiple consequences to show a common pattern of human behavior. In this case, we see Multiple Causality illustrated by the 2 causes pointing to the action. We also see multiple consequences with the two effects. Some consequences cause us to make the same choices again; these are reinforcing reactions. Others cause us to avoid similar decisions. These are balancing reactions.

Course Calendar

September: Colonial America (1492 - 1763)
     This unit focuses on the geopolitical factors influencing the settlment of North America.
October: Revolutionary America (1763 - 1789)
     This unit addresses on the political and cultural factors prompting the colonies to rebel and design a new government.
November: Democratic America (1789 - 1832)
     This unit analyzes the social and economic changes that increased the influence of ordinary Americans.
December: Divided America (1832 - 1860)
      This unit explores the differences between the North and South that led to the Civil War.
MIDTERM EXAMS
January: Uniting America (1860 - 1885)
     This unit addresses the political and social consequences of the Civil War.
February: Progressive America (1885 - 1912)
     This unit explores the responses to the changes caused by the Industrial Revolution.
March: Crisis America (1912 - 1941)
     This unit analyzes US involvement in World War I, the Great Depression, and US entry into World War II.
April: Anticommunist America (1942 - 1968)
    This unit analyzes the causes of the Cold War, and America's efforts to contain Communism at home and abroad.
May: Conservative America (1968 - 2001)
     This unit analyzes the social and political changes resulting from the Vietnam War and the end of the Cold War.
FINAL EXAM

Covenant School History
Covenant School History Main Page
History of the United States 11
AP US History
Student Resources
The Avalon Project at Yale Law School
History Matters
10 Commandments of Historical Writing
UVA Summer Enrichment Program
UVA History Department

Each unit in HOUSE includes several activities intended to help students better understand U.S. History:
-- Class discussions
-- Reading Assignments
-- Textbook Readings
-- Document Analysis
-- Educational Videos
-- "History Journal" entries, in which students record their opinions of past and present events
-- Role-Playing Activities, such as debates
-- Student Presentations
-- 2 Multiple-Choice Quizzes
-- A test combining multiple-choice, short answer, and an essay.

Mr. Matthew Davisson is a eighth-year teacher at The Covenant School, teaching AP US History (APUSH) and History of the United States 11 (HOUSE). He has served as a reader for the College Board's AP US History Exams for four years. During the summers, he teaches two-week seminars called "Studies in Decision-Making" for the University of Virginia's Summer Enrichment Program.

Mr. Davisson graduated from West Virginia University in 1998 with degrees in Computer Science and in History. In July of 1999, he followed the LORD's calling to central Virginia, where he became a member of Jefferson Park Baptist Church. The next year, he started as a substitute at The Covenant School, and in the fall of 2000, began teaching full-time.

Mr. Davisson currently lives in Waynesboro, Virginia, with his wife, Gretchen, and their children, Ginny, Michael, and Christopher.

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