Grade 4: Alabama in American History and Government II: Colonies to 1900

Colonial Regions

American Revolution and Early Republic

Early Westward Expansion

Civil War and Reconstruction

Post-Civil War Westward Expansion

Describe cooperation and conflict between the English, French, and Spanish colonists and Indigenous people over the fur trade, slave trade, and land claims.

Compare and contrast the physical geography of the Northern, Middle, and Southern colonies, including geographic features and differences in climate, and explain how geography impacted settlement.

Explain the reasons for the establishment of the labor systems used in colonial America, including apprenticeship, indentured servitude, and slavery, and describe the differences among them.

Describe how the contributions of various groups living in colonial North America helped colonies develop, including artisans, farmers, large landowners, tradespeople, women, children, Indigenous peoples, enslaved people, and indentured servants.

Summarize the causes of the French and Indian War and describe how its outcomes increased tensions that led to the American Revolution.

Identify and describe key events of the American Revolution, including the Battles of Lexington and Concord, Saratoga, and Yorktown.

Summarize the key factors leading to the ratification of the Constitution, including the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation, Shays’ Rebellion, and the Constitutional Convention with its compromises.

Explain how the Louisiana Purchase and the actions of the Corps of Discovery accelerated westward expansion of the United States.

Outline the major causes and events of the War of 1812.

Explain how “Alabama fever” influenced Alabama's settlement, economic growth, and political development, leading to statehood and the 1819 constitution.

Describe events and factors that led to the United States' expansion prior to the Civil War, including conflicts, technological developments, trails, and the Gold Rush of 1849.

Explain how the growth of the United States from 1812 to 1860 changed economic and social life in Alabama.

Describe how slavery contributed to sectional disagreements, divisions over states’ rights, and economic disputes resulting in the Civil War.

Evaluate how key figures contributed to events that shaped the United States’ victory in the Civil War.

Identify major events of Reconstruction and evaluate the outcomes of Reconstruction policies.

Describe how political and social changes of the late 1870s to 1900 affected Black and white Alabamians, including the introduction of Jim Crow laws, sharecropping, voting restrictions, and violence.

Describe the social, political, and economic impacts of the conflicts, legislation, and treaties that led to the United States acquiring additional territory after the Civil War.

Map the locations of significant European settlements and major Indigenous nations in North America and Alabama.

Describe the triangular trade system, including the Middle Passage of the transatlantic slave trade, and describe the experiences of West Africans before and after being kidnapped and forced into slavery.

Describe the contributions of key individuals who established and developed early American colonies.

Explain how the French and Indian War affected power, trade, and claims to lands in Alabama for both Native Americans and European nations.

Describe key events that caused tension and led American colonists to protest against Great Britain, including the Sugar Act, Stamp Act, Townshend Acts, Boston Massacre, Tea Act, Boston Tea Party, and Intolerable Acts.

Summarize the contributions of different groups and individuals to the American Revolution.

Describe events that took place in Alabama during the Revolution, including the Spanish seizure of Mobile and the Battle of Fort Charlotte, and explain the involvement of Native Americans.

Summarize the principles of the Declaration of Independence.

Explain how the Treaty of Paris (1783) and Pinckney’s Treaty helped set the boundaries of the United States, including the area that would become Alabama.

Describe the system of government established by the Constitution, including the three branches of government and their functions.

Explain why the Bill of Rights was added to the Constitution and how the amendment process allows changes to protect or expand rights.

Summarize how the Federal Road increased access to Creek Territory for settlers and enslaved persons, and explain how their arrival affected Native Americans.

Describe the causes of the Creek War within the context of the War of 1812 and explain the social, political, and economic effects on Alabama and the nation.

Identify significant battles and leaders of the Creek War.

Identify contributions of Alabama’s early political leaders, including William Wyatt Bibb, Thomas Bibb, Israel Pickens, William Rufus King, and John W. Walker.

Outline political and geographic reasons for changing the location of Alabama’s state capital.

Locate states admitted to the United States between 1812 and 1860 and categorize these states as either “free” or “slave” states.

Identify different trades and occupations of Alabamians in the period from 1812 to 1860.

Describe the living and working conditions and the cultural practices of enslaved persons engaged in skilled trades, domestic roles, and agricultural production, including effects of the domestic slave trade on their lives.

Explain how the Indian Removal Act (1830), Second Creek War (1836) and economic policies affected the lives, rights, and territories of the Muscogee Creek, Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, and Seminole tribes.

Describe the development of educational institutions in Alabama from statehood through 1860.

Identify and describe how key events from the Missouri Compromise (1820) to the election of Abraham Lincoln (1860) contributed to growing sectional divisions.

Describe the influence of abolitionists, including enslaved persons and self-liberated Black Americans, on efforts to end slavery in the United States.

Describe the significance of the Clotilda’s delivery of kidnapped people to Mobile Bay as an effort to expand slavery.

Summarize Alabama’s role in the formation of the Confederate States of America, including the pivotal events that took place in Montgomery and the division over secession in the northern part of the state.

Identify Alabama’s economic and military contributions to the Civil War, including weapons manufacturing, soldiers, and the use of and resistance to conscripted enslaved labor.

Locate and describe the impact of significant Civil War battles, including those affecting Alabama, and identify the location of Confederate states, states remaining loyal to the United States, and capital cities of the Confederacy and United States.

Describe how the Civil War affected the people of Alabama, including the end of slavery, destruction of transportation systems, collapse of the economy, and the role of women on the home front.

Summarize events that marked the conclusion of the Civil War, including the assassination of President Lincoln, the surrender of Confederate armies, the spread of emancipation, and Emancipation and Juneteenth celebrations in Alabama and other states.

Explain political changes in Alabama during Reconstruction, including new state constitutions, Black Codes, changes in political parties, voting rights, and citizenship rights for Black Americans.

Describe the effects of Reconstruction on education and social institutions in Alabama.

Explain how Africatown was established, describing the challenges its founders overcame and the ways they built community.

Recount the contributions of Alabamians who helped shape their state during Reconstruction.

Describe how industry, trade, farming, and the rise of Populism changed Alabama after the Civil War and shaped its economy and communities in the late 1800s.

Explain how territorial expansion and the construction of the transcontinental railroad affected immigrants and Native Americans, including how it led to the loss of land in Indian Territory where Alabama tribes had been relocated.

Locate states admitted to and territories acquired by the United States between 1865 and 1900, and describe how these additional territories were acquired.