Teaching History & Literature in High School

My freshman year of high school the teachers did an interesting thing where they tried to connect the literature we were reading with the same period of US history that we were learning.  They tried something similar during sophomore year with world history, but it was less successful.  I've been reminded recently of this curriculum organization while taking a course in American literature at the university level.  Context is incredibly important to understand references, themes, and writing style.  Although, one issue with teaching in this format during freshmen year is that the earlier period is significantly more difficult.  I had a rough time reading some 17th and 18th century literature due partly with mythological and biblical references.  I felt like I needed to take a theology and mythology class in order to fully comprehend the works.  Any-who, I am going to try to recall what I read that year: Grapes of Wrath, A Raisin in the Sun, Romeo & Juliet, To Kill a Mockingbird, and Of Mice & Men.  I can't remember what else we read.  I would like to make some suggestions for a similar curriculum (but better in my opinion).  [I'm only basing this off of what I have read or what I know other freshmen classes read.  I would like recommendations for major works by minority authors throughout American history.]

Scarlett Letter [Puritans]
Declaration of Independence [Revolution]
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn/ Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass [Slavery]
'Gettysburg Address'/ Cold Mountain [Civil War]
The Great Gatsby [Roaring 20s]
Quicksand & Passing / various music & poetry [Harlem Renaissance] 
Of Mice & Men [Great Depression]
Catch-22 / Slaughterhouse-Five [WWII]
A Raisin in the Sun/ 'I Have A Dream' [Civil Rights Movement]

My biggest complaint about my US history class is that we didn't get very far.  We ended our studies after the Vietnam War, and we didn't spend much time on it either.  I wasn't alive during the Korean War and I was born around the time of Black Hawk Down.  Therefore, there are a lot of significant events in US history that I had to learn about on my own.  For this reason I don't think the literature class needs to touch on everything that the history class does.  If there are multiple novels for one period they can split the students up into reading circles.  This lets the students have some choice in which work they read.  Plus, they can have group presentations on the themes of said piece.