Social Studies for 7th graders begins with the Civil war and goes to the beginning of WWII.  It is very difficult to jump into the Civil War without building background knowledge.  Therefore, we have been studying Manifest Destiny and the expansion of the United States territory. We will be learning about the advent of slavery in the Americas and the affects slavery had on United States and its political ramifications.  We will then be studying the  problems and polarization associated with the expansion of slavery into the new territories as the U.S. expands. Which of course leads us into the Civil War.