Advanced Placement United States History
Syllabus and Guidelines
Catherine Ariemma, Instructor
Email: cariemma@lumpkin.k12.ga.us
Cell Phone: 706-429-5419 (I accept text messages); School 706-864-6186 ext. 20209
Course description: This course is designed to provide a college-level experience and conforms to College Board topics for the Advanced Placement
preparation for the Advanced Placement (AP) Examination on May 14, 2014. An emphasis is placed on chronological reasoning, interpreting and
analyzing primary source documents to make historical arguments and think historically, mastering a significant body of factual information, and writing
critical essays. This course prepares students for intermediate college courses by making demands upon them equivalent to those made by introductory
college survey courses. In this pursuit, the acquisition of factual knowledge is the beginning point of the process, not the end.
The reading load for this course is considerable. Time management is an essential skill for this class, and you must take the responsibility for budgeting
your time. As you become accustomed to the course format and text, studying and your pacing will fall into place and become easier. It is important to
keep up so you do not get discouraged.
In this course we will investigate the United States, its people, institutions and heritage through discussion, reading, writing, and analysis of various
primary source documents: topics include discovery and settlement, life and thought in colonial America, revolutionary ideology, and the American
Revolution, constitutional development, Jeffersonian and Jacksonian democracy, nationalism, nineteenth-century reform movements, and manifest
Destiny. Other topics include sectionalism, territorial expansion, the Civil War and Reconstruction, immigration, industrialism, Populism,
Progressivism, World War I, the Jazz Age, the Great Depression, the New Deal, World War II, The Cold War, and the post-Cold War era. This course
emphasizes political, economic, cultural, and social issues, the role of the United States as a world leader and the issues confronting the United States
today. These topics will be explored within seven themes: identity; work, exchange, and technology; peopling, politics and power; American in the
world; environment and geography; ideas, beliefs, and culture.
This course fulfills the United States history graduation requirement. In addition to the AP Exam in May, you will be required to take the Georgia End
Of Course Test (EOCT) for U.S. History in May. The EOCT counts 20% of your final grade and is your final exam for this course.
Textbooks:
David M. Kennedy, Lizabeth Cohen, Thomas Bailey, The American Pageant. (13th ed. Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin Co., 2006).
David M. Kennedy and Thomas A. Bailey, The American Spirit Vol. I and II. (Eleventh ed. Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin Co., 2006).
William Bruce Wheeler and Susan D. Becker, Discovering the American Past Vol. I & II. (4th ed. Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1998).
John A. Garrarty, ed., Historical Viewpoints Vol. I & II. (6th ed. NY: Harper Collins Publishers, 1991).
Robert D. Marcus and David Burner, America Firsthand Vol. II (Third ed. NY: St. Martin’s Press, 1995)
Additional Readings include the following and numerous articles and handouts:
Alexis de Tocqueville. Democracy in America.
Malcolm X and Alex Haley. The Autobiography of Malcolm X as Told to Alex Haley.
Booker T. Washington. Up From Slavery.
Jacob A. Riis. How the Other Half Lives.
Frederick Douglass. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave.
Jane Addams. Twenty Years at Hull-House.
W.E.B. DuBois. The Souls of Black Folk.
Betty Friedan. The Feminine Mystique.
Studs Terkel. Hard Times.
Bernstein, Carl and Bob Woodward. All the President’s Men.
Upton Sinclair. The Jungle.
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Grades will be based on tests, historical essays, class participation, and the EOCT will be your final exam. Tests = 45%, Class work/homework
= 20%, and DBQ’s and FRQ essays = 35%.
Homework will consist of written assignments, research assignments, daily reading of the texts, and daily review of class notes. All written
work is to be written in blue or black ink or typed. Any work submitted in pencil will not be accepted.
Roundtable assignments, Document-Based Essays (DBQs) and free response essays (FRQs) assigned for homework must be typed (doublespaced) or written in blue or black ink (double-spaced). Essays will vary in length depending upon the topic (but should be at least five
paragraphs and about two to three pages) and are graded on content, evidence of critical thinking and analysis, use of documentary and outside
supporting relevant historical evidence, grammar, and spelling.
All school policies regarding behavior and appearance are enforced. See LCHS Agenda Book.
You are to take notes in class and maintain a three-ring binder (one 2” binder for first semester and a second for second semester). You
will receive numerous handouts as the semester progresses, and a binder will be necessary to keep track of class notes and handouts. You will
need EVERYTHING for your final review prior to the AP Exam.
Make-up tests must be completed within five days of your return to school. Work assigned in advance and due while you are out, is due the
day you return to school OR may be emailed to me prior to your return.
See the LCHS Agenda Book for the Attendance Policy and make up work. It is your responsibility to pick up any handouts and assignments
missed due to an absence. It is also your responsibility to submit any previously assigned written assignments on the day of your return to
school.
Should we miss school for weather or some unforeseen event, any assignments due or tests scheduled on the missed day will be due or take
place on the first day we return to class.
I am available before school (7-7:40 AM) and after school until 4:30 PM. In addition, you are welcome to contact me via phone and/or text message
should you have any questions about assignments or writing. The only “stupid” question is the one you do not ask!!
Reading Schedule – Fall Semester 2013, Advanced Placement United States History
All of the following readings from The American Pageant should be completed by the beginning of the week during which they will be discussed. A brief quiz may be
given at the end chapters. Test dates may be rearranged so that all classes may be tested on the same day, but such changes will be announced in advance. Assignments are
subject to change with advance notice. Additional reading and writing assignments will be announced as the semester unfolds. Review sessions are held at 7:00AM and
3:10PM the day prior to the Unit Test (unless otherwise noted). Should we miss school for weather or some unforeseen event, any assignments due or tests scheduled on
the missed day will be due or take place on the first day we return to class.
August 09-August 26 Intro to APUSH and Doing the DBQ, The Cold War Begins, The Eisenhower Era, The Stormy Sixties (Unit One)
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Postwar economic, demographic and technological changes had far-reaching impacts on American society, politics, and the environment.
The Cold War led the United States to respond to an uncertain and unstable postwar world by asserting and attempting to defend a
position of global leadership, with far-reaching domestic and global consequences between 1945 and 1970.
The rise of American manufacturing and global economic dominance in the years after WWII brought about an increase in consumer
consumption, suburbanization, affected standards of living among and opportunities for different social groups, including a change in
women’s roles and eventually a rise in feminism.
Between World War II and 1960, liberalism, based on anticommunism abroad and a firm belief in the efficacy of governmental and
especially federal power to achieve social goals at home, reached its apex in the mid-1960s and generated a variety of political and
cultural responses including the idea that the government was a legitimate agent of social welfare.
The African-American civil rights movement affected the development of other movements based on asserting the rights of different groups
in American society.
Assignments:
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Turn in summer assignments first day of class
Read Chapters 36, 37, 38 in American Pageant
Student presentation of The Autobiography of Malcolm X and The Feminine Mystique, August 20
Vocab note cards and Quiz Ch. 36, August 19
Vocab note cards and Quiz Ch. 37, August 23
View “Malcolm X”; essay due August 26
August 26-September 03 The Stalemated Seventies, The Resurgence of Conservatism (Unit One continued)
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The breakup of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War brought about new challenges to U.S. leadership in the world, forcing the nation
to redefine its foreign policy and global role.
A new conservatism grew to prominence bringing about the New Right in U.S. culture and politics, defending traditional social values and
rejecting liberal views about the role of government.
Assignments:
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Read Chapters 39, 40 in American Pageant
Vietnam DBQ due, August 26
Student presentation of All the President’s Men August 27
Roundtable Ch. 39 due August 29
Vocab note cards Ch. 39 due September 03
Roundtable Ch. 40 due September 03
Underclass school pictures August 30/ ring orders scheduled for????
September 04-06 America Confronts the Post-Cold War Era, the American People Face a New Century (Unit One Continued)
 The Baby-Boomer generation comes into its own.
 Terrorism comes home to the United States.
 Immigration, changing roles of women, revolving families, an aging population, and technology bring continuing social, political and economic
change to the United States.
Assignments:
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Read Chapters 41-42 in American Pageant
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Roundtable Ch. 41 due September 4 (questions 1-3)
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Roundtable Ch. 41 due September 5 (question 4)
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Globalization Assignment due September 5
Test Unit One-Chapters 36-42, September 06
September 09-24 The Planting of English America, Settling the Northern Colonies, American Life in the Seventeenth Century, Colonial
Society on the Eve of Revolution, Duel for North America (Unit Two-Chapters 2-6)
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On a North American continent controlled by American Indians, contact among the peoples of Europe, the Americas, and West Africa created
a “new world”.
Before the arrival of Europeans, native populations in North America developed a wide variety of social, political and economic structures
based in part on interactions with the environment and each other.
European overseas expansion resulted in the Columbian Exchange, a series of interactions and adaptations between societies across the
Atlantic.
Europeans and American Indians maneuvered and fought for dominance, control and security in North America, and distinctive colonial and
native societies emerged.
Between 1607 and 1763, the British North American colonies developed experience in, and the expectation of self-government in the political,
religious, economic and social aspects of life.
Assignments:
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Read chapters 2-6 in American Pageant
Anne Hutchinson Letter due September 12
Quiz Chapters 2-4 September 16
French and Indian War Roundtable due September 20
View “Three Sovereigns for Sarah”; assignment due September 20
Test Unit Two-Chapters 2-6, September 24
The Georgia High School Graduation Test-Writing Assessment will take place on September 25…Mark your calendar!
September 26-October 15 Road to Revolution, America Secedes from the Empire, The Confederation and the Constitution (Unit ThreeChapters 7-9)
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Between 1763-1776, British attempts to exert control over the colonies led to violent, organized, successful resistance.
The Articles of Confederation provided a reasonable and workable transition from the unitary system of British rule to the federal system
established under the Constitution.
Assignments:
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Read Chapters 7, 8, 9 in American Pageant
Quiz Ch. 7, October 01
FRQ: The combat of the Revolutionary War began in the spring of 1775. Why did the colonists wait until the summer of 1776 to declare
independence? October 01
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DBQ #3 – Colonists on the eve of the Revolution, October 03
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View “1776”; assignment due October 09
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Quiz Ch. 8, October 9
Test Chapters 7-9, October 15
No school October 11 & 14
October 17-November 04 Launching the New Ship of State, Jeffersonian Democracy, The Second War for Independence and the
Upsurge of Nationalism (Unit Four-Chapters 10-12)
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Between 1789 and the 1820s, geographic isolation allowed the United States to pursue a policy of selective involvement in world affairs.
Between 1789 and 1820, conflict over the increasing power of the national government created intensified sectional tension.
The new republic struggled to define and extend democratic ideals in the face of rapid economic, territorial and demographic changes.
Assignments:
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Read Chapters 10, 11, 12 in American Pageant
PSAT October 16
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Student presentation of Democracy in America
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Roundtable & FRQ Chapter 10 October 24
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Roundtable Chapter 11 October 31
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Vocab Quiz Chapters 10 & 11 October 31
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FRQ November 01
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Discuss DBQ #4 - Political parties during the presidencies of Jefferson and Madison
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Small group activity: “What were the underlying principles of early American foreign policy?”
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Small group activity: “The Emerging Nationalism”
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Student presentation Democracy in America October 30
Test Chapters 10-12, November 04
November 05-December 02 Rise of Mass Democracy, Forging the National Economy, The Ferment of Reform and Culture, Manifest
Destiny and Its Legacy (Unit Five-Chapters 13-15 & 17)
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During the “Reign of Jackson,” politics became more democratic, the power of the presidency increased, America became more optimistic and
expansionistic, and sectionalism supplanted nationalism.
Industrialization and the Market Revolution led to rise in women in the workplace, factory systems, transportation revolution, and women in
reform movements
Cotton culture, southern society and the impact of the plantation system, led to a rise in abolitionist movements
Assignments:
 Read Chapters 13, 14, 15, 17 in American Pageant
 Roundtable Ch. 13 due November 13
 Roundtable Ch. 14 due November 14
 Quiz Ch. 13 & 14, November 14
 Reformers Research due November 18
 Roundtable Ch. 15 & FRQ due November 21
 FRQ: Chapter 17, December 04
Test Unit Five-Chapters 13-15 & 17, December 05
No School November 25-29
December 06-13 The South and the Slavery Controversy, Renewing the Sectional Struggle (Unit Six-Chapters 16 & 18)
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Sectionalism supplanted nationalism
Assignments:
 Read Chapters 16, 18, in American Pageant
 Roundtable Chapter 18 due December 13
 Student presentation of Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass December 16
 View “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”; assignment due December 17
*Test Chapters 16 & 18, December 16 (45 questions) – no morning or afternoon review for this test
December 17 -19 Mid-term Review
December 20 Mid-term Exam – 100 AP Exam questions counts as two test grades
You are required to take the Indiana University Bloomington online tutorial on plagiarism
(https://www.indiana.edu/~istd) and complete the test at the end of the tutorial. Please print a certificate once you
have successfully completed the tutorial and submit it me no later than January 13, 2014. Make sure that you take
the test as a non-IU student. The link for the tutorial may also be found on my web page.
Reading Schedule – Spring Semester 2014, Advanced Placement United States History
Note: Dates are subject to change due to weather & school scheduling conflicts. Should we miss school for weather or some unforeseen event, any
assignments due or tests scheduled on the missed day will be due or take place on the first day we return to class. All of the following readings in The
American Pageant should be completed by the beginning of the week during which they will be discussed. Test dates may be rearranged so that all
classes may be tested on the same day, but such changes will be announced in advance. Assignments are subject to change with advance notice.
Additional reading and writing assignments will be announced as the semester unfolds. Review sessions are held at 7:00AM and 3:10PM the day
prior to the Unit Test.
January 07-21 Drifting Toward Disunion, Girding for War, The Furnace of the Civil War, The Ordeal of Reconstruction (Unit 7Chapters 19-22)
 The Civil War was caused by historic economic, social, and political sectional differences that were further emotionalized by the
slavery issue.
 The Civil War effectively determined the nature of the Union, the economic direction of the United States, and political control of
the country.
Assignments:
 Read Chapters 19, 20, 21, 22 in American Pageant
 Ch. 19 Winter Break assignment #1 due January 7
 Roundtable Chapter 19 due January 08 (completed over winter break)
 Tutorial Due January 13
 View “The Great Civil War Exposition and Living History Show”, January 13
 Chapter 21 Assignment due January 14
 View “Glory”, January 19/20; assignment due January 24
Test Chapters 19-22, January 21
No School January 20
January 23-30 Political Paralysis in the Gilded Age, Industry Comes of Age (Unit 8-Chapters 23-26)
 The Gilded Age fostered the consolidation of business, the government, and disadvantaged economic and social classes.
Assignments:
 Read Chapters 23-24 in American Pageant
 Gilded Age bio due January 24
 Discussion of DBQ #8 – Organized labor
 Roundtable assignments
1. Chapter 23 due January 27
2. Chapter 24 due January 30
 Student presentation of Twenty Years at Hull-House and How the Other Half Lives, January 31
January 31- February 07 America Moves to the City, The Great West and the Agricultural Revolution (Unit 8 continued)
 The era of Robber Barons brought about the growth of unionism, government, and politics of regulation
 The close of the frontier and industrialization of agriculture contributed to political dissent among farmers
 The increase in immigrants renewed nativism
 Urbanization contributed to the “New Woman” and the African American push for expanded civil rights
Assignments:
 Read Chapters 25-26 in American Pageant
 Student presentations of Up From Slavery, The Souls of Black Folk, February 03
 DBQ Booker T. Washington v W.E.B. DuBois February 06
 Student project on Chapters 23-26 due February 06, counts as a test grade
Test Chapters 23-26, February 07
February 10-15 Empire and Expansion (Unit 9-Chapter 27)
 From 1890 to 1918, the United States became increasingly active and aggressive (imperialistic) in world affairs.
Assignments:
 Read Chapter 27 in American Pageant
 Vocab note cards due February 19
Test Chapter 27 (40 MC questions and one essay) – no morning or afternoon review sessions for this test, February 20
No School February 17 & 18
February 21-March 05 Progressivism and Republican Roosevelt, Wilsonian Progressivism at Home and Abroad (Unit 10-Chapters 2830)
 The Progressive movement partially succeeded in improving life for average Americans by curbing big business, making the
government more responsive to the will of thee people, and enacting social welfare legislation.
Assignments:
 Read Chapters 28-29 (to page 688) in American Pageant
 Student presentation of The Jungle, February 24
 View “The Jungle”, February 25
 In-class FRQ, March 04 - Progressives
 View “Iron Jawed Angels”; assignment due February March 05
March 05 - March 12 Wilsonian Progressivism at Home and Abroad, The War to End War (Unit 10 continued)
 Support for the war led to propaganda and restriction of civil liberties
Assignments:
 Read Chapters 29 (begin page 688, Thunder Across the Sea), 30 in American Pageant
 Discussion of DBQ 11a and 11b – Women and African Americans
 In-class FRQ March 07 - WWI
 In-class DBQ March 11
Test Chapters 28-30, March 12
March 13-March 23 American Life in the “Roaring Twenties”, The Politics of boom and Bust (Unit 11-Chapters 31 & 32)
 Disillusionment with the idealism of World War I led Americans to fear change and difference and to retreat into a superficial
shell of selfsatisfaction.
Assignments:
 Read Chapters 31-32 (to page 738) in American Pageant
 Timed DBQ #12 in-class– Roaring Twenties March 17
 Research paper – student topic of interest February 28-March 24
 Timed DBQ #12 in-class– Roaring Twenties March 17
 Diagnostic test results from Fast Track to a 5 due March 27
Research paper due March 26, counts as two test grades
Spring Break is scheduled for the week of March 31-April 04.
March 25-April 16 The Great Depression and the New Deal (Unit 12-Chapters 32-35)
 The Great Depression and New Deal led to the expectation of government intervention to maintain the economic stability of the
nation.
Assignments:
 Read Chapter 32 (begin p. 738) and Chapter 33 in American Pageant
 Diagnostic Test due March 27
 Note cards due April 07
 Student presentation of Hard Times April 07
 Discussion of 2004 DBQ
April 15-22 Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Shadow of War, America in World War II (Unit 12 continued)
 The war brought changes to the role of the US in world affairs, women, and minorities
Assignments:
 Read Chapters 34, 35 in American Pageant
 Roundtable Assignment Ch. 34 & 35 due April 11
 DBQ #13 – Truman and the Bomb April 14
Test Chapters 31-35, April 16 (note: includes information on 1920s)
No School April 18
April 17-May 13: AP Exam Review
There will be three optional Saturday review sessions: April 12, 26 & May 3
May 14: AP Exam; arrive by 7:15 AM
May 15: US History EOCT
Other Dates of note:
February 14 and March 28 – Weather Makeup days
May 01 – AP Celebration Dinner 5PM @ LCHS
???? – Prom
May 20 – Underclass Honors Night