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Advanced Placement United States History AP Syllabus: 2007 Required Texts: Kennedy, David M. et. al. The American Pageant: A History of the Republic. 13th Ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co. 2006 Gaddis, John Lewis. Strategies of Containment: A Critical Appraisal of American National Security Policy During the Cold War. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005. Gordon, Irving L. Review Text in American History. New York: Amsco School Publications, Inc. 1998. Kennan, George F. American Diplomacy. Expanded Edition. Chicago: University of Chicago Press: 1984. Secondary Texts: Dollar, Charles M. and Gary W. Reichard, ed., American Issues: A Documentary Reader. New York: Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, 1994 Marcus, Robert D. and David Burner. America Firsthand: Volume One, Readings from Settlement to the Civil War. 4th Edition. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 1997. Marcus, Robert D. and David Burner. America Firsthand: Volume Two, Readings from Reconstruction to the Present. 4th Edition. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 1997. Moran, Margaret C., ed. U.S. History and Government: Readings and Documents. New York: Amsco School Publications, 2003. In addition to these specific texts, you will be working with several other primary and secondary sources of information for the topics listed below. Course Description:ThemesThis course is an intensive look at United States History from the arrival of the European explorers in the late fifteenth century through the first term of President George W. Bush. We will be studying the development of our country utilizing several broad themes that make up our dynamic history. These themes include American diversity and identity, culture, demographic change over time, economic transformations, the environment and our impact and stewardship of it, the challenges and benefits of globalization, the politics of the country and the citizen’s role in our democracy, our interactions with other nations, slavery and its legacy, religion and the reform impulses and movements that have shaped our modern nation. Topics: Within these broad themes are a number of topics that will further our understanding of the United States as it now exists. These specific topics will be historically tied together through the themes listed above, and include the settlement of the continent by various Europeans including the Spanish, French, and English, their life and ideologies, the Enlightenment and how it affected American and European thought, the ideas that the Enlightenment fostered that eventually drove the Americans to revolt and secede from Britain, the political theories that helped to shape the Constitution and the citizen’s role(s) in this type of government, the development of democracy during the Jeffersonian and Jacksonian years, the role of religion in shaping the course and moral development of the nation, the economy of the early United States and how all of these factors spurred movements demanding and working toward reforming society. Topics move forward through expansion and Manifest Destiny to help foster an understanding of the various causes of the US Civil War, and then how these ideas – tempered by war – led to the attempt to “reconstruct” society, then how the reconstruction ideas failed. We will also examine the profound changes to the country that were brought on by industrialization, the changes in the groups immigrating into the country, through the populist and progressive movements, World War I, the Roaring Twenties, the Great Depression and the expansion of governmental power to combat it, World War II, the Cold War, the Post-Cold War, and the early years of the current century. These topics will help us to understand the ideas and ideals, the dreams, the people, and the development of the nation that results from their work. Grading: Assignments and homework are designed to prepare you for both the AP exam and college courses that you will take in the future. In addition to content, you will be learning some of the skills of a professional historian. These include historical research, source verification, note taking, analysis, and historical writing. The textbooks provide some very basic information. Primary and secondary source documents, your instructor, and your own research will provide the rest. Your grade breakdown is as follows: 35% tests and quizzes, 25% critical essays, 20% homework assignments, 10% independent research projects, and 10% class participation. Essay assignments will consist of both open response questions where you will be asked to answer a question and support your answer, and document based essays. Your essay grades will depend on how well you answer the question given, support your thesis using both primary and secondary outside research and the material presented in class, grammar, spelling, and solid evidence of critical thinking. Instruction methods will vary, depending upon the topic at hand. Methods will include lecture, discussion, debates, presentations, field trips, projects, and other learning experiences as appropriate. Types of Tests: There will be unit examinations in formats designed to get at not simply the “what” of an event, but the “how and why.” In addition, there will be at least two comprehensive examinations that will be designed not only to evaluate the knowledge that you have garnered from the most recent unit, but are designed to assist you in preparing for the AP exam by testing over a broad range of topics through the dates covered in class by the test date. In a course such as this one, class participation and preparation are very important. A significant portion of your grade will be based on your contributions to the classroom experience both in reviewing concepts from the homework as well as topical discussions around the specific study topics. The Test: The date for the AP US History exam has been set for Friday, May 9, 2008. This date is not negotiable. We must, therefore, complete the curriculum by then. There is a fee to take the test – I’ll announce the specific amount later in the course. In order to receive AP credit for the class, you are expected to take the exam - no exceptions. The test will consist of three sections: eighty multiple-choice questions, two free response essay questions, and a single “document based question,” or DBQ. The Course: In addition to the specific assignments listed below, our course is centered on discussion and discovery. These discussions are a part of the daily life of the course. Students will also be asked to evaluate the major ideas of each unit through essays and reflection papers. This serves to both expand your interaction with the major themes of the course and to prepare for the AP and unit exams. After each essay, there will be some method of sharing your ideas through peer editing, sharing your thesis statements and main supporting ideas, or a brief presentation to the class. Units of Study Unit 1 – Exploration through 1763 (3 Weeks) The first part of the course is handled through the completion of the students’ summer assignments. These include: v Completion of guide questions for chapters 1-5 of the Kennedy textbook. v Reading and note taking on various colonial era documents including the Virginia Charter, Mayflower Compact, letters to and from the colonies and Britain, correspondence with Native American groups, Poor Richard’s Almanac, and others. v Additionally, the students will read and write an open response essay on John Lewis Gaddis’ Strategies of Containment, which builds from the courses that the students’ have already taken. The first several meetings of the class include a review of the summer assignments, an exam on the text materials, sharing the conclusions reached in the DBQs – and discussion around the themes already evident in our early history. These include the themes of colonial governance and expectations, the differences between the Chesapeake, New England, and Middle regions, the role of religion in the formation of the Puritan and Plymouth (Pilgrim) governments – and the impact of religious diversity on the governance and development of the middle colonies, the impact of the Enlightenment on political and religious thought, the introduction of slavery into the Virginia colony in 1619 and its spread throughout the colonies, and the impact of the Salem Witch Trials and Second Great Awakening on American thought and process. Students will work extensively with primary sources, learning how to look for and recognize bias in documents and understand its origins. They will then learn to interpret information and form theses based on a wide range of interpretation – and how these ideas will change over time. This exercise will be repeated multiple times throughout the course. Readings and Topics 1. American Pageant: Chapters 1 – 5 a. Methods and Motivations for colonization: Spain, France b. Pre-Columbian Societies encountered and interactions between the Europeans and those that they encounter c. The planting of English America i. Early encounters in Virginia ii. the first government of English America: The First Virginia Charter, 1606 iii. Further North – Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay; William Bradford, et. al. Mayflower Compact; Massachusetts Body of Liberties d. Compare and contrast between the New England, Chesapeake, and Middle Colonial regions, and between individual colonies i. Religion in the Colonies ii. Dissent and separatism iii. The changing nature of Puritanism in New England: Half-Way Covenant and Witch Trials iv. Colonial economics, mercantilism, and the introduction of slavery e. The Enlightenment and the Second Great Awakening f. The Seven Years’ War/French and Indian War: Selections from: Parkman, Francis. Montcalm and Wolfe: The French and Indian War. Cambridge, MA: DaCapo Press, 1995 i. Developing unity and the beginnings of an “American” identity B. Major Assignments and Assessments 1. Colonial settlement chart that lists the dates, founders, motivation for settlement, and political, social, and economic foundations for each colony as well as the characteristics of each of the regions, New England, Middle, and Chesapeake colonies. 2. Text worksheet that includes topical questions that define and evaluate colonial life and the use of terms including joint-stock company, Royal and Charter colonies, specie, the role of religion in each of the colonies, and individual laws that governed life in the English colonies of the era. 3. An assessment of selected colonies from each region that describes the degree of self-rule each colony enjoyed, how each government operated, the availability of education within each colony, and the chances for political, social, and economic advancement. This assessment will also evaluate the degree to which indentured servitude and/or slavery was practiced in each colony and region and the development of the plantation economy in the south. 4. DBQ: Chesapeake and New England Regions 5. Create a chart that shows the major enlightenment thinkers, their main ideas, and how they affected political and social thought at the time. 6. Reading selections with guide questions from the Second Great Awakening, the Enlightenment, and various political figures. Graded discussions on each of these topics will follow the completion of the readings. 7. Selections from Parkman, Francis. Montcalm and Wolfe: The French and Indian War. Guided reading questions.
Unit 2 Revolution and Independence 1763 – 1787 (2 Weeks) A. Readings and Topics 1. American Pageant: Chapters 7– 8 a. The political and economic status of Britain following the French and Indian War and the resulting policy changes with regard to colonial administration. b. The effects of Enlightenment ideas on the people in the American colonies i. Colonial cooperation and identity following the war c. Colonial resistance to increased British Authority and the give and take between Britain and her colonial possessions i. Henry, Patrick, Give me Liberty or Give Me Death d. The role and actions of the First and Second Continental Congresses. e. The decision for independence – specific factors and political choices i. Paine, Thomas. Common Sense and The Crisis #1 ii. Jefferson, Thomas, The Declaration of Independence f. The Revolution i. The search for Allies; Saratoga and France ii. Why the United States won, the goals of American, British and French negotiators and the final terms of the Treaty of Paris. iii. Recent Scholarship: Who’s Revolution? g. A new government for a new country i. The Articles of Confederation ii. Flaws and successes of the Articles of Confederation
B. Major Assignments and Assessments 1. List and evaluate the points made in Patrick Henry’s “Treason” speech. Discussion to follow. 2. Students will research and develop presentations on each of the major acts of taxation and increased control by the British government following the French and Indian war. These presentations will show the content of each of the acts, their impact on the people in the colonies, how the people of the various colonies responded to the act and why, and show the direct impact on the developing feelings of unity and an “American” identity. Presentation subjects include the increased enforcement of the Navigation Acts through the Admiralty courts, the Proclamation Line of 1763, the Stamp and Sugar Acts, the Townshend Acts, The Tea Act, the Boston Tea Party, the Sons of Liberty and the Committees of Correspondence, and the Intolerable Acts. 3. The students will then take this data and write an essay that evaluates the various changes in British colonial policy, noting especially the tax, react, withdraw the tax pattern that emerged over time. 4. Worksheet on the Land Ordinance and the Northwest Ordinance 5. DBQ: The Articles of Confederation Unit 3 The Constitution, The Federalists, Jeffersonian Democracy and the Rise of Nationalism 1787 – 1824 (2.5 Weeks) A. Readings and Topics A. American Pageant: Chapters 9 – 12 1. Constitution Convention, including the major contentious issues of the convention: slavery, representation, voting rights, states’ authority, and taxation. a. The United States Constitution – including the Bill of Rights 2. The Federalist/Anti-Federalist debate a. The Federalist Papers, #10, 3. The development of political parties a. Foreign relations with Britain, France, and others b. Strict or Loose Construction? i. The fight over the establishment of the Bank of the United States c. Reading: Washington’s Farewell Address d. Reading: Jefferson’s First Inaugural Address e. The 1800 elections and dealing with political differences: Reading: Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions 4. The Napoleonic Era a. The Louisiana Purchase b. Diplomatic relations, the development of a standing Army and Navy and the War of 1812 5. The rise of nationalism a. Economics: The American System b. Era of Good Feelings c. Monroe Doctrine 6. The Judiciary a. The Marshall Court and precedents 7. Slavery and the Missouri Compromise B. Major Assignments and Assessments A. Role play of the Constitutional Convention: students will become familiar with the issues of the day and connect them to the political institutions that were created to protect and regulate them. B. Analysis of the Federal Constitution C. Assessment of the Federalist Papers D. Case study of Marbury v. Madison E. Create a chart of major court decisions and the precedents that were set by them. E. Unit test including multiple choice and essay questions. Unit 4 Jacksonian Democracy 1824 – 1840 (2 Weeks) A. Readings and Topics 1. American Pageant: Chapters 13 – 15 a. The election of 1824 and the re-emergence of multiple political parties 2. Jacksonian policies a. Indian Removal i. Reading: Jackson’s speech to Congress building the case for Indian Removal b. Nullification, States’ Rights, and Union i. Reading: Webster/Hayne Debates c. The Bank of the US 3. The emergence of the “common man” 4. The “Cult of Domesticity” and the women’s movement a. Reading: The Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions 5. The Reform Impulse 6. Texas, the Alamo, and independence for the Lone Star Republic a. Media bias and Manifest Destiny 7. Industrialization and finance 8. Handouts with more readings for each section B. Major Assignments and Assessments 1. DBQ: Jackson as a Man of the People? 2. Group Project: In small groups students will research and present one of the major reform movements and tie it into the elements of society that were affected/connected, and why these issues were problems for these reformers. 3. News articles on the Alamo from the Mexican and Texan sides 4. Unit exam including AP sample questions and essays Unit 5 Expansion, Division, and Sectionalism 1793 – 1860 (2.5 Weeks) A. Readings and Topics 1. American Pageant: Chapters 16 – 18 a. The establishment of the tobacco plantation society and economy, with the resulting steady increase in influence of slavery in the South i. Southern plantations feeding northern industry ii. The notion of “King Cotton b. Abolitionist efforts in the south and White southern reaction c. Consolidation in Louisiana and the return of debate over slavery i. The Missouri Compromise and the Tallmadge and Thomas Amendments d. The Mexican War and Increased awareness of and tension surrounding sectional balance – especially with regard to lands acquired in Louisiana and after the Mexican War i. Reading: James K. Polk: War declaration speech ii. Reactions by Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis e. Tension and Compromise: The 1850s i. Gold in California and statehood; Compromise of 1850: The Fugitive Slave Act. ii. Reading: Selections from Uncle Tom’s Cabin iii. Kansas-Nebraska Act iv. Lincoln – Douglas Debates v. Dred Scott Decision vi. John Brown in Kansas and Virginia f. Party Politics Change i. The decline and dissolution of the Whigs ii. The formation and rise of the Republican Party iii. The Democrats as the only national party g. The 1860 Elections B. Major Assignments and Assessments A. Analysis of Political Cartoons: Northern views of the south B. News articles on the Alamo from the Mexican and Texan sides C. Unit Exam: Graphic Organizer illustrating the factors that contributed to the causes of the Civil War and how each of them interconnect – both in terms of people and goals; Take home essay that explains and analyzes the organizer: Describe and explain the cause(s) of the American Civil War. D. Handouts Unit 6 The Civil War and Reconstruction 1861 – 1877 (1.5 Week) A. Readings and Topics A. American Pageant: Chapters 19 – 22 1. Secession a. Reading: Lincoln’s Inaugural Address b. Selections from: Firsthand America 2. Strategies: Anaconda, Defense and the major battles of the Civil War: Peninsula, Antietam, Gettysburg, And Vicksburg 3. Union Political factors: a. European actions and Union and Confederate reactions b. Domestic Issues: policies and parties c. 1864 Elections 4. The Confederacy at War a. Federal power vs. States’ Rights b. Defense c. Economics 5. Emancipation and African-American Rights a. The promise of Emancipation and the 13-15 Amendments b. Freedman’s Bureau and the enactment of a Civil Rights Act c. The erosion of the dream: sharecropping and the crop lien system d. The establishment of Jim Crow and an increasingly hostile court and Congress 6. The effects of the War a. The expansion of federal power b. Economic disruption and recovery c. The transformation of society d. Reading-Current Scholarship: What were the Consequences of the Civil War? 7. Reconstruction: the goals and the failure B. Major Assignments and Assessments 1. Essay answering the question of the Reading: What were the Consequences of the Civil War? 2. Exam on the War and its consequences Unit 7 The Gilded Age and Industrialization 1877 – 1900 (2.5 Weeks) A. Readings and Topics 1. Politics and Industry: American Pageant: Chapters 23 – 24 a. Politics and corruption in the Gilded Age b. The rise of big business and its influence in government and society c. Robber Barons or Great Industrialists? i. Reading: Carnegie, Andrew: Wealth and Its Uses ii. Reading: Tarbull, Ida: The History of the Standard Oil Company d. The rise of a “new” ethnic conflict iii. Relations with the Chinese and Japanese immigrants iv. Changes in the demographics of immigration e. The Compromise of 1877 and the political fallout: the End of Reconstruction and the questioning of legitimacy f. Civil Service and other Reforms g. The Plight of the Farmer and Populism i. Reading: The Octopus h. Current Scholarship: The Populists: Radicals or Reactionary i. Expansion of the Railroads and Industry j. The expansion of the power of finance and J.P. Morgan k. The Gospel of Wealth 2. The Rise of Labor and the Union movement a. Selections from: Sinclair, Upton. The Jungle 3. Urbanization: American Pageant: Chapter 25 - Causes, reforms driven by the sharp increase in the urban population a. Discrimination and ethnic unrest b. The Reform movements and the Churches c. The impact of the work of Charles Darwin on social thinking d. Machine Politics 4. Literary giants: Twain, Dickinson, Adams, James, Dunbar, and others a. Readings: Selections from each of the above authors 5. Leisure time and the beginnings of the entertainment industry 6. Westward Expansion: American Pageant Chapter 26 a. The railroads move more people and goods west b. Populism and the Economy: Bryan, William Jennings: Cross of Gold Speech c. American Indian Treaties and Wars i. Reading Selections from Jackson, Helen Hunt. A Century of Dishonor B. Major Assignments and Assessments 1. DBQ: The Farmer’s Movement, 1870 - 1900 2. Students will reading The Jungle and then write a short essay on its impact on the Roosevelt Administration (Due two weeks from assignment – designed to land in the middle of Unit 9) 3. Unit test containing multiple choice and essay questions. Unit 8 Imperialism and World War I 1890 – 1918 (2 Weeks) A. Readings and Topics 1. Readings a. American Pageant: Chapters 27 – 30 b. Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to A.T. Mahan re: Empire c. Current Scholarship, Selections from: Morris, Edmund. Theodore Rex d. Selections from: Mahan, Alfred Thayer. The Influence of Sea Power Upon History e. Roosevelt, Theodore: The New Nationalism f. Wilson, Woodrow: 14 Points Speech g. Handouts 2. Content a. Overseas expansion and the Spanish-American War b. America as an emerging world power i. Tensions with European powers, especially Britain and Germany ii. The Open Door c. The Roosevelt Corollary and Panama d. Theodore Roosevelt as a peacekeeper: The Russo-Japanese War Settlement e. Relations with Asia under the Progressives f. Progressivism: origins, goals, accomplishments i. Big Business ii. Changing realities in the Cities - Demographics - Services, Trolleys, industry, pollution - Design, Parks iii. The Environment iv. Reform, Referendum, and Recall g. Roosevelt and the Square Deal h. Taft: Trust Busting and Dollar Diplomacy i. 1912 Election i. Wilson and New Freedom i. Triple Wall of Privilege ii. Finance and the Federal Reserve iii. Labor iv. The end of “Dollar Diplomacy” and new relationships j. War in Europe i. Neutrality ii. Nature of the “modern” war and trench warfare ii. America’s gradual move toward involvement k. The Home Front i. Civil Liberties - Analysis of the Schenck Case ii. Wartime Propaganda iii. Wartime rationing and production l. The Peace i. Wilson’s 14 Points ii. Conflicting peace goals: The Treaty of Versailles B. Major Assignments and Assessments 1. Essay: Nature of Progressivism 2. DBQ: The United States as World Power, 1895-1920 3. Unit test containing multiple choice and essay questions. Unit 9 Boom and Bust 1918 – 1941 (2.5 Weeks) A. Readings and Content 1. Readings a. American Pageant: Chapters 31 – 33 b. Harding, Warren G. Return to Normalcy speech c. Hughes, Langston: When the Negro Was in Vogue d. Current Scholarship: Louis Armstrong e. Long, Huey: Every Man a King f. Coughlin, Charles. Speech aired on June 19, 1936 – Anti-New Deal g. Selections from Freidel, Frank. Franklin D. Roosevelt: A Rendezvous with Destiny h. Roosevelt, Franklin D. First Inaugural Address i. Handouts 2. Content – 1920s a. The Red Scare and American involvement in Russia b. New trends in immigration i. A resurgence of nativism and the K.K.K. ii. Quotas and prejudice c. Credit, Materialism, and falling prices in agriculture d. Culture i. The Jazz Age and the Harlem Renaissance ii. Media and Entertainment e. Changing values: the emergence of a “modern” culture i. Flappers ii. Speakeasies, dancing, fashion iii. Lindburgh’s Flight f. Politics i. Harding and scandal ii. Coolidge: “the business of America is business” g. Foreign Relations: Isolationism i. Trade ii. Tariffs iii. Loans: The Dawes Plan iv. Treaties: Washington Naval, Locarno, Rapallo h. Conditions for a fall: The coming of the Great Depression 3. Content: The Great Depression a. President Hoover’s Response – individualism and indirect relief b. FDR and the New Deal: direct relief and action c. Critics of the New Deal i. Huey Long ii. Coughlin and Townsend d. Relief, reform, recovery e. Demographic changes because of the Depression f. Society during the Depression B. Major Assignments and Assessments 1. Black Thursday, The Stock Market Crash of 1929 2. Poetry Analysis: When the Negro Was in Vogue 3. DBQ: The New Deal 4. Unit test containing multiple choice questions Unit 10 World War II 1931 – 1946 (2 Weeks) A. Readings and Content 1. Readings a. American Pageant: Chapters 34 – 35 b. Selections from Freidel, Frank. Franklin D. Roosevelt: A Rendezvous with Destiny c. Roosevelt, Franklin D. Quarantine Speech, December 7 speech, Four Freedoms speech, Atlantic Charter d. Selections from: Truman, Harry S. Memoirs e. Handouts 2. Content a. The rise of the dictators b. Isolation, Neutrality, Diplomatic efforts – and their results c. Wartime i. Diplomacy and the attack on Pearl Harbor ii. Wartime Goals and Diplomacy iii. Policies and Conferences iv. The US on multiple fronts – strategy and process v. Decision to drop the A-bomb and its impact on US policy as one of two “superpowers” d. Homefront i. Economic and military mobilization ii. Women’s changing roles in society and the economy &nbs |