South Dakota
Social Studies Content Standards

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Grade 5 History

Students will:

1. describe life in America before the 17th century by identifying and describing the arrival, settlement, and culture of the first Americans, including Indians of the Northwest, Southwest, Plains, Eastern Woodlands, and Middle America; and inferring how climate and geography influenced the way various Indian tribes lived.
2. locate the routes and evaluate early explorations of the Americas in terms of reasons for explorations, obstacles and accomplishments of key expeditions from Spain, Portugal, France, and England; life changing impact on the first Americans; and competition that developed among European powers for control of North America.
3. relate factors of colonial America that led to the founding of the colonies, emphasizing the reasons for settling in the colonies, including escape from religious persecution, release from prison, economic opportunity, and adventure; and contrasts of the colonial regions (New England, mid-Atlantic, and South) in regard to geography, economy, and culture.
4. describe the political and economic relationship between the colonies and England; and conflicts between the colonies and England that led to the American Revolution.
5. compare influential people and events in the American Revolution, such as King George, Lord Cornwallis, John Adams, Samuel Adams, Paul Revere, Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Patrick Henry.
6. describe military strategies which resulted in the defeat of the British.
7. identify the steps in the formation of the new government in terms of British and Colonial belief in representative government as demonstrated in the Magna Carta, English Bill of Rights, the Mayflower Compact, and the Articles of Confederation; the philosophy of government expressed in the Declaration of Independence; the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights; and the separation of powers in the federal government and the powers reserved for states.
8. weigh the challenges faced by the new United States government in regard to ratification of the Constitution, major issues facing the first four presidents in establishing a strong cohesive government, conflicts that resulted in the emergence of two political parties, and conflicts involved with the War of 1812.
9. summarize the growth and change in America from the Revolution to 1861 with emphasis on territorial exploration, expansion, and settlement of the Louisiana Purchase; acquisition of Florida, Texas, Oregon, and California; the influence of geographic, economic, and climatic factors on the movement of people, goods, and services (voluntarily and involuntarily as in the Trail of Tears); the effect of American relationships with other countries on our westward expansion; and the impact of inventions such as the steamboat, cotton gin, and locomotives on life in America.
10. describe key events, and identify causes and effects of the Civil War and Reconstruction in terms of social, economic, and philosophical differences between the North and the South as embodied in the Lincoln/Douglas debates; events leading to secession and war; prominent leaders of the North and South such as Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee, Frederick Douglass, and Harriet Tubman; campaign strategies and pivotal battles; the Emancipation Proclamation and Gettysburg Address; and the impact of reconstruction policies on both the North and the South.