Social Studies 5

Students in grade five study the development of the nation up to 1850, with an empha­sis on the people who were already here, when and from where others arrived, and why they came. Students learn about the colonial government founded on Judeo- Christian principles, the ideals of the Enlightenment, and the English traditions of self- government. They recognize that ours is a nation that has a constitution that derives its power from the people, that has gone through a revolution, that once sanctioned sla­very, that experienced conflict over land with the original inhabitants, and that experi­enced a westward movement that took its people across the continent. Studying the cause, course, and consequences of the early explorations through the War for Indepen­dence and western expansion is central to students’ fundamental understanding of how the principles of the American republic form the basis of a pluralistic society in which individual rights are secured.