I think it depends on when and where you grew up; for my part I don't recall anything about the Middle Ages being taught, or the Crusades for that matter. Fall of Rome, fast forward past dark, middle and high middle ages to a smattering about Mayans, Incans and Aztecs, 1492, then the Renaissance; a touch of Napoleon and then right to the American Revolution, iirc. It was called 'social studies' for me too- not a word about history (or the apparent lack thereof). To be fair, I never paid much attention in social studies since what was covered was of zero interest to me. These topics were included at some point from grades 7 - 10; 11 and 12 were more about current events and politics, those classes appropriately termed 'Government'.