Virginia Standards of Learning - Virginia and United States History

VUS.1     The student will demonstrate skills for historical and geographical analysis and responsible citizenship,                     including the ability to

                  a)   identify, analyze, and interpret primary and secondary source documents, records, and data,                                   including artifacts, diaries, letters, photographs, journals, newspapers, historical accounts, and                               art, to increase understanding of events and life in the United States;

                  b)   evaluate the authenticity, authority, and credibility of sources;

                  c)   formulate historical questions and defend findings, based on inquiry and interpretation;

                  d)   develop perspectives of time and place, including the construction of maps and various                                         timelines of events, periods, and personalities in American history;

                  e)   communicate findings orally and in analytical essays or comprehensive papers;

                  f)    develop skills in discussion, debate, and persuasive writing with respect to enduring issues and                               determine how divergent viewpoints have been addressed and reconciled;

                  g)   apply geographic skills and reference sources to understand how relationships between humans                             and their environment have changed over time;

                  h)   interpret the significance of excerpts from famous speeches and other documents;

VUS.7     The student will demonstrate knowledge of the Civil War and Reconstruction Era and their importance                     as major turning points in American history by

                  b)   identifying the major events and the roles of key leaders of the Civil War Era, with emphasis on                               Abraham Lincoln, Jefferson Davis, Ulysses S. Grant, Robert E. Lee, and Frederick Douglass;

                  c)   analyzing the significance of the Emancipation Proclamation and the principles outlined in                                       Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address;

                  e)   examining the social impact of the war on African Americans, the common soldier, and the                                     home front, with emphasis on Virginia;