This U.S. history curriculum guide is divided into five main components. The first component is titled "Essays in American History," and is accompanied by a bibliographic essay. The guide represents the "crossroads" model of curriculum development that begins with three strategic junctures of history education: (1) at grades 7 and 8, where a natural "crossroads" already exists between elementary and secondary education, between childhood and adolescence, and between an interest in the concrete and a capacity to grapple with the abstract; (2) in the first year of postsecondary education, where students are taking surveys of U.S. history, government, and education that can provide a critical juncture between secondary and postsecondary education; and (3) in capstone experiences of postsecondary education, notably social studies methods and student teaching. Essays in Part One-I examine the substantive themes of continuity and change that knit together the 12 chronological periods of U.S. history. Following an introduction, the essays are: (1) "A World of Their Own: The Americas to 1500"; (2) "Contact: Europe and America Meet, 1492-1620"; (3) "The Founding of New Societies, 1607-1763"; (4) "What Was the American Revolution? 1760-1836"; (5) "The Ambiguous Democracy, 1800-1848"; (6) "'Now We Are Engaged in a Great Civil War,' 1848-1880"; (7) "'What, Then, Is This American?' 1865-1900"; (8) "Waves of Reform, 1880-1921"; (9) "Boom and Bust, 1921-1933"; (10) "The Age of Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1933-1945"; (11) "Leader of the Free World, 1945-1975"; and (12) "A Nation in Quandary, 1975-." (BT)