HiSET Social Studies study plan

Build a one-page timeline of the colonial era through 1763, placing at least 12 events and noting cause-effect links between three of them.

Explain in writing how geography and labor systems (including indentured servitude and enslaved labor) shaped the economies of the New England, Middle, and Southern colonies.

Define and correctly use 15 core terms from early American history, such as mercantilism, charter, and representative assembly, in original sentences.

Practice 10 document-based multiple-choice items on colonial foundations and write one sentence justifying each answer with evidence from the stimulus.

Sequence the causes and consequences of the American Revolution from 1763 to 1783, identifying at least five specific acts or events and the colonial response to each.

Summarize the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation and explain how at least three specific failures led to the Constitutional Convention.

Compare the Virginia and New Jersey Plans and describe how the Great Compromise and Three-Fifths Compromise resolved the disputes.

Analyze the Bill of Rights by matching each of the first ten amendments to a concrete scenario.

Trace westward expansion from the Louisiana Purchase through the Mexican-American War, explaining how each acquisition raised the question of slavery's extension.

Identify the major compromises of 1820 and 1850 and evaluate what each side gained and conceded.

Explain the structure of the federal government under the Constitution, including separation of powers and checks and balances, using one real example per branch.

Interpret the meaning of federalism and distinguish enumerated, reserved, and concurrent powers with two examples each.

Explain the causes, key events, and constitutional consequences of the Civil War, including suspension of habeas corpus and the Emancipation Proclamation.

Summarize the Reconstruction amendments (13th, 14th, 15th) and describe how each changed the relationship between the federal government and the states.

Describe how Jim Crow laws and Plessy v. Ferguson limited the amendments' promise, and how later rulings reversed that precedent.

Explain the purpose and content of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Federalist Papers as founding documents.