AP United States History Syllabus
Text: Murrin, John M., et.al. Liberty, Equality, Power: A History of the American People,
New York: Thomason-Wadsworth, 2005.
Additional Sources:
Kennedy, David M., Lizabeth Cohen, and Thomas Bailey. The American Pageant. 13th ed.
Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin Co., 2006.
Davidson, James W., and Mark Lytle. After the Fact: The Art of Historical Detection (New
York: McGraw-Hill, 2004).
Heffner, Richard D. A Documentary History of the United States, 7th ed, New York: Penguin
Putnam, Inc., 2002.
Primary Documents downloaded from the resources of AP History, Out of History, Sixth Edition,
New Jersey, Prentice Hall, 2011
Hofstadter. The American Political Tradition. (APT)
Limerick. The Legacy of the Conquest. (LC)
Lorence. Enduring Voices. (EV, 2 vols.)
Couvares, Francis G., et al, eds. Interpretations of American History: Patterns and Perspectives.
Seventh Edition, New York: The Free Press, 2000.
Course Length: 36 Weeks; 180 Days; Nine Week Grading Periods
Course Description:
This course covers the history of our nation from the Age of Discovery to the Present. Major
emphasis is on movements and changes in our nation’s history, political institutions, social and
cultural development, economic institutions and trends, and diplomacy. Themes and topics
covered in class will include the American culture and identity, the colonial experience and its
impact, the revolutionary era, our political and economic institutions, the strain of sectionalism
and the Civil War, westward expansion, industrialization and the labor movement, immigration,
Populism, imperial America, the Progressive era, the world wars, economic expansion and
contraction, the Cold War, civil rights, the post-Cold War era, and the United States as a global
power. Much emphasis will be placed on analysis and interpretation of historical documents and
expository writing. Political, economic and social threads will connect these chains of events
and provide the student with a comprehensive understanding of our nation, our roots an our place
in today’s world.
Themes Addressed Throughout the Year
There are certain themes that historians use to analyze and interpret history. We will be using
some of those same themes throughout the course of the year. These themes are as follows:
American Diversity
American Identity
Culture
Demographic Changes
Economic Transformations
Environment
Globalization
Politics and Citizenship
Reform
Religion
Slavery and its Legacies
War and Diplomacy
Historiographical issues and differing scholarly interpretations of events will be addressed 2-3
times per quarter. This will be done through reading and discussing scholarly articles and other
historical works. Discussions of differing historical viewpoints will emphasize the sources of
diverse perspectives
Objectives/Long Range Goals:
1. To develop Social Studies skills: map, chart, graph, and political analysis; critical thinking;
document analysis; interpretation; and problem solving.
2. To become better informed about the U.S. as a global power and the impact of this upon us.
3. To instill pride and appreciation for the greatness of our nation and our responsibilities as
citizens of the U.S.
4. To ensure that students are taught grade level curriculum standards utilizing best practices
of instruction in order that they successfully meet state and federal mandated norms.
5. To hone student writing skills in order from them to construct the effective compositions
necessary to be successful with Free Response and Document Based Questions.
6. To prepare for the May AP Examination and ensure each student’s likelihood of success.
Homework:
Homework assignments will consist of a reading assignment, defining key terms, answering
questions, etc. and it will be assigned daily. It is critical to the student’s success to keep up with
homework assignments. Incomplete and incorrect homework adversely affects grades, class
room performance, and understanding.
Document Journal:
Document analysis is crucial to your success in AP United States History. A large portion of the
AP exam consists of analyzing and discussing documents. On certain days (3-5 times a week,
sometimes less) you will have a document reading assignment for class. The reading may be
online, or it may be a hard copy. Students will write a paragraph that answers the following
questions: 1.What is the main idea/theme of the reading? 2. What is the Point of View? Who
wrote it? Why? What is the purpose? 3. What links the document with others I have read? 4.
What important details have I learned from the reading?
Assessment:
Daily grades are based on homework review, pop quizzes, skill exercise, presentation
assessment, and challenging questions.
Chapter Tests: A test will be given at the end of each chapter. After the students become more
comfortable with the format of the tests then two chapters will be combined before a chapter test.
Tests consist of forty to fifty multiple choice questions and an essay. This format assists in
preparing the student for the multiple choice and free response components of the May AP
Exam.
DBQ Tests: Document based questions are an essential par of preparation for the AP Exam.
These tests consist of a central test question and a number of documents (maps, charts, letters,
political cartoons, essays, articles, and excerpts from publications) to be analyzed and interpreted
in answering the central question. Practice DBQ Questions will assist the student in preparing
for the May AP Exam.
Nine Weeks Test: Nine Weeks Tests cover all of the information taught during the Nine Weeks
Grading Period. The test material will come directly from the Unit Tests.
Make Up Tests: Students have 5 class days to make up a missed test due to an excused absence
on test day. Students with an unlawful absence will not be allowed to make up a missed test and
receive a grade of 0. Tests cannot be made up during class time. Due to the length of tests they
must be made up after school. Please make arrangements to make up test on Monday and
Wednesday afternoons.
District End of Course Test: Anderson School Five requires an End-of-Course Test to assess
student’s knowledge of United States History. The test consists of fifty multiple choice
questions and is weighted as 10% of the Nine Weeks Course Average.
STATE EOCEP: The State End-of-Course Examination Program initiated testing in state’s
United States History classes in the spring of 2005. The test consists of fifty multiple choice
questions and is administered in one of the school’s computer labs. It is electronically scored.
The grade weight is 20% of the student’s course grade.
Attendance:
Poor attendance is the chief cause of student failing a course. All school and district attendance
policies will be observed. Students must bring an excuse for an absence to the Attendance Clerk
with 10 days of an absence. Per Board Policy: 3 Tardies equals 1 Absence, 5 Absences or less,
with a passing average (70) and the student will receive credit for the course, 6-10 absences, only
the Principal can grant credit for the course to students with passing average if they can show
good cause, and 10 or more absences equal no credit for the course.
Plagiarism and/or Cheating:
APUSH is a college course and cheating and plagiarism will not be tolerated. Students will
receive a 0 on the assignment and there will be disciplinary actions. (All assignments- including
reading quizzes.)
Key Materials for Class:
 A class notebook- all students are required to have a 1 or 1 ½ inch ring binder for their
notes.
 A small composition notebook for Primary Journal
 A notebook for US Journal Topics- It will be taken up at the end of each nine weeks:
Easy test grade!
Rules:
 Demerit Code of Conduct- see handbook
 IDs everyday- 2 demerits
 On time each morning- if tardy- 2 demerits
 Assigned seats
 Raise your hand to be recognized before talking
 NO cell phones- 1 warning on the first day of school and then I will take the phone and
turn it in to Mrs. Applewhite. see handbook
 NO IPods or any other type of electronic listening device
AP US History Course Index
Week One
Chapter 1: When Old Worlds Collide: Contact, Conquest, Catastrophe
Topics: Indigenous Peoples, Discovery, Exploration, Settlement, Culture
Discussion Points:
 Explain the European motivation for exploration and settlement in the 15th century and
the consequences.
 Describe and analyze the Columbian Exchange and the consequences for the Old and
New World.
 Describe the positive and negative impact of European exploration on Native Americans.
SC State Standard and Indicator 1:1
Historical/Outside Readings:
Columbus Journal
Week 2
Chapter 2: The Challenge to Spain and the Settlement of North America
Topics: European Competition for American Empire, Life Along the Chesapeake, Life in New
England, Colonial Economics, Role of Religion Indentured Servitude and Slavery
Discussion Points:
 Compare and contrast the colonies of Virginia and Massachusetts Bay.
 Describe the similarities and differences as well as the objectives of settlement.
 Compare and contrast the Dutch colonization of North America with that of the English.
 Examine the role of religion in stimulating the 17th century English colonization efforts in
North America.
 Compare and contrast slavery and indentured servitude in colonial America.
Historical/Outside Readings:
John Smith, On the Founding of Jamestown
The Mayflower Compact
SC State Standard and Indicator: 1:1
Week Three: Chapter 3: England Discovers Its Colonies: Empire, Liberty, and Expansion
Topics:
 Describe the differences and similarities in the English colonies in the early 1700s. What
aspects of colonial life united them?
 Examine the Acts of Trade and Navigation in the mid-seventeenth century. What were
their goals and how successful were they?
 Analyze the foundations of the colonial economies and describe the resulting onset of
sectionalism.
 Outline the causes of the Salem witch hysteria, describe the course the course of events
connected to it and the conclusion of the event.
 Explain the impact of events in the mother country in the English colonies in America.
Historical/Outside Reading;
The Crucible
Mather Accounts of the Salem Witchcraft Trials
Is America Exceptional? Taking Sides 1,2 (Historical Discussion)
Practice DBQ: Colonial Life-New England and the Chesapeake
SC State Standard and Indicator: 1:1
Week Four: Chapter 4: Provincial America and the Struggle for a Continent
Topics:
 Role of Women, the Enlightenment in America, the Enlightenment, the Great
Awakening, Imperial Conflict and the War for America
 Discussion: Examine the Great Awakening: What were its results?
 Compare and contrast economic development in the eighteenth-century America among
the three major regions: New England, the mid-Atlantic, and the South.
 Describe the Enlightenment and its impact and reception in North America
 Examine the course and consequences of the French and Indian War
Historical/Outside Reading:
The Second Treaties of Civil Government (Chapter 2, “On the State of Nature”)
SC State Standard and Indicator: 2:1
Week Five/Six: Reform, Resistance Revolution
Topics: Imperial Reform, Anglo-American Crises, Colonial Resistance, Toward Independence
Discussion:
 One historian has written, “The British ruled the colonies for one hundred and fifty years
and lost them in twelve.” Do you agree with this statement? Why or why not? Use as
many specific facts in your answer as possible.


It has been said that the American Revolution began not in 1775-1776 but when the first
Pilgrim set foot on Plymouth Rock. Do you agree or disagree with this statement. Why
or why not? Use as many specific facts in your answer as possible.
Was independence the universal goal of American colonies? Why or why not?
Historical/Outside Reading:
Letters from a farmer in Pennsylvania
Common Sense
The Declaration of Independence
Abigail and John Adams on Women Rights
Practice DBQ: Pre-Revolutionary Identify
SC State Standard and Indicator: 2.1, 2.2
Week Six/Seven Chapter Six: The Revolutionary Republic
Topics: War in the North, Saratoga, Tories-America’s First Civil War, War in the South,
Revolutionary Society, New Governments
Discussion:
 Outline the British strategies for ending the rebellion. Where did they go wrong?
 Describe the domestic and foreign difficulties that the United States experienced under
the Articles of Confederation. What were the accomplishments of the government under
the Articles?
 Compare and contrast the Articles of Confederation and the US Constitution. Identify the
strengths and weaknesses of each.
 What was the impact of the Revolutionary War on American social structure? In what
ways did the Revolutionary era set in motion social changes? How did the war subtly but
fundamentally democratize the political assumptions of Americans?
Historical/Outside Reading
The Federalist Papers, Number 10 and Number 30
The U.S. Constitution
The Bill of Rights
The American Revolution as a Social Movement by Jameson (Internet handout) Historical
Discussion
“The Founding Fathers: How Much Democracy.” excerpted from APT (HD)
FRQ- US Constitution (2006)
DBQ- Impact of Revolution on Society (2005)
SC State Standard and Indicator: 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4, 2.5
Week Eight Chapter Seven: The Democratic Republic, 1790-1820
Topics: Farmer’s Republic, Egalitarianism, Plantation South, Withering of Patriarchal Society,
Republican Religion
Discussion:
 Explain the precedents established by George Washington and their impact on future
administrations.
 Outline the changes that occurred in religion in the US between1790-1820.
 Describe the changes that occurred in the institution of slavery from 1790-1820.
 Explain the rise of Democratic institutions in the early U.S.
Historical/Outside Reading:
Everyday Life in the New Nation, (Chapter 6, “Getting Ahead, The Dream of Prosperity?”)
SC State Standard and Indicator: 2.1, 2.2, 2.4, 2.5, 2.6
Week Nine Chapter 8: Completing the Revolution, 1789-1815
Topics: Hamiltonian Economics, the Young Government, Crises and Resolutions, the Marshall
Court, Jeffersonian Democracy, War of 1812
Discussion:
 Describe the presidency of George Washington. Cite examples of his domestic and
foreign policies.
 Examine the Hamiltonian system. What were its goals? How successful was it in
achieving those goals?
 Describe US relations with Indians from 1790-1820
 Assess the internal and external challenges that faced the US and how each was
overcome.
 Describe the political warfare between the Federalists and Jeffersonians (democraticRepublicans) in the 1790s and the development of the two-party system.
 Describe Jefferson’s transformation from a strict constructionist to a loose constructionist
and the resulting impact on American political parties.
Historical/Outside Reading:
Washington’s Farewell Address
FRQ- Creation of Stable Government: Adams, Jefferson, Washington (2002)
SC State Standard and Indicator: 2.6, 2.7
Week Ten
Chapter Nine: The Market Revolution, 1815-1860
Topics: Market Revolution, Transportation, Industrialization, King Cotton-Market Revolution in
the South, Sectionalism
Discussion Points:





Outline the origins of the Industrial Revolution in the US and describe the economic and
political impact of the US.
Describe the importance of John Marshall’s Supreme Court to the commercialization of
the United States between 1800 and 1830.
Describe the appropriation of Federalists’ programs by the Democratic Party during the
Madison’s presidency.
Explain the role of the American system and the transportation revolution in creating the
market economy of the nineteenth century.
Describe the motives for the Monroe Doctrine, what is accomplished and how
Historical/Outside Reading:
The Monroe Doctrine
SC State Standard and Indicator: 2.7, 3.1, 3.3, 4.1
Week Eleven Chapter Ten: Toward on American Culture
Topics: Northern Middle Class Popular Culture, Family and Church, Slavery and the South,
Nationality in Art and Literature
Discussion Points:
 Compare the cultures of the North and South in the period from 1820 to 1850.
 Describe the slave culture of the nineteenth-century US and its social and economic
significance.
 Explain the role and influence of women in the development of the nineteenth-century
American Culture.
 Outline the class structures that developed in the US during this era based on geography
and economic systems.
Historical/Outside Reading:
de Tocqueville from Democracy in America
Douglass Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
Recent Scholarship: “Whiteness” Reform Society
SC State Standard and Indicator: 3.3, 4.1
Week Twelve Chapter 11: Society, Culture and Politics, 1820s-1840s
Topics: Economic Development, Social Reform, Abolition, Free Blacks, North and South,
Whigs, Southern Code of Honor, Seneca Falls
Discussion Points:
 Explain the movement for reform in American society during the market revolution
of the early nineteenth century.
 Describe the demand for women’s rights in the years between 1820 and 1850.





Describe the differences between the two major political parties, the Democrats and
the Whigs, between 1820 and 1840.
Explain the American view on slavery and racial differences from 1820 until 1840.
Describe the changes that occurred in American religious institutions in this era.
Explain the impact of slave revolts on the Southern psyche and the institution of
slavery during this era.
Describe how the First and Second Great Awakening laid the groundwork for the
reform movement in the US.
Historical/Outside Reading:
The Declaration of Sentiments
“Slave Music and the Desire for Liberation,”
DBQ: The Age of Reform
SC State Standard and Indicator: 4.1, 4.2
Week Thirteen
Chapter 13: Jacksonian Democracy
Topics: Missouri, 1824 Election, the Transformation of American Politics, Nullification, Indian
Removal, Bank War, Panic of 1837
Discussion Points:
 Evaluate the Missouri Compromise. What were the issues at stake and how were they
resolved? What was the long-term result?
 Analyze the Nullification Crisis of 1830. Who were the primary figures involved, and
how did this controversy represent significantly different viewpoints on the power of the
federal government.
 What was “Jacksonian democracy?” Explain the ideals of this movement in their
political, social, and economic contexts.
 Explain the ideals, policies, and consequences of the Bank War.
Historical/Outside Reading:
Calhoun The South Carolina Exposition and Protest
Jackson Nullification Proclamation
“The Whigs learn the Language of Democracy,” (political cartoons)
FRQ: Jacksonian “common man: era (2001)
SC State Standard and Indicator 3.1, 3.3, 4.1, 4.3
Week Fourteen
Chapter 13: Manifest Destiny: An Empire for Liberty or Slavery?
Topics: Manifest Destiny, Texas, Oregon Country, Mexican War, Gold Rush, Compromise of
1850, Friction over Slavery
Discussion Points:
 Explain the importance of the Mexican War on American politics from 1848-1850.
 Analyze the Compromise of 1850 and describe its goals and their results.
 Describe the concept of manifest destiny and the role it played in US foreign and
domestic policy in the 1840s and 1850s.
 Outline Matthew C. Perry’s role in expanding US’s interests abroad.
 Evaluate the events that grew out of the Compromise of 1850 and their impact
sectionalism.
Historical/Outside Reading:
“Expression of American Destiny”
“Benton Justifies White Supremacy”
Elizabeth Dixon Smith Geer, Oregon Trail Journal (1847-48)
SC State Standard and Indicator: 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 4.1, 4.2
Week Fifteen Chapter 14: The Gathering Tempest, 1853-1860
Topics: Kansas-Nebraska, Immigration and the Know-Nothings, Scott v. Sanford, Popular
Sovereignty, King Cotton, Panic of 1857, Harpers Ferry
Discussion Points:
 What were the events that led to the Civil War and how did they bring the war about?
 Outline the free-labor ideology and the Southern response to it?
 Compare and contrast Northern and Southern images of each other and their own regions
in the decade’s leading to the Civil War?
 Discuss the birth of the Republican Party, its leaders, its goals and its impact.
 Evaluate John Brown’s role in causing the Civil War.
 Were their alternatives to Civil War in America? If so, what were they? If not, why was
this so?
 Describe the conflicts that had been associated with our two-party political system since
the Washington administration. Was the Civil War an extension of this political
bickering? Why or why not?
Historical/Outside Reading:
The “Highest Law” Speech
The Freeport Doctrine
Know-Nothing Party American Platform (1856)
Democratic Party Democratic Platform ( 1856)
Republican Party Republican Platform (1856)
Activity: Analysis of a Political Cartoon: “Irish Emigrant” from How the Irish Became White
by Noel Ignatiev (1852)
DBQ: John Brown
SC State Standard and Indicator: 3.3, 4.1, 4.2, 5.2, 5.3, 5.5
Week Sixteen/Seventeen Chapters 15 & 16: Secession and Civil War, 1860-1862 and a New
Birth of Freedom, 1862-1865
Topics: Election of 1860, Secession, Border, States, Cotton Diplomacy, the Battlefront, African
Americans and the War, Politics and the War
Discussion Points:
 Examine the secession crisis and the attempts at compromise to avoid dissolution of the
Union. Could secession have been avoided in 1860/1861? Why or why not?
 Evaluate Union and Confederate strengths and weaknesses, tactics, and goals and explain
their impact on the length of the war.
 Identify the key battles of the war and explain their importance towards prolonging or
ending the war.
 Describe the immediate and the long-term effects of the Civil War on the North and the
South. Be certain to include the social, economic and political consequences.
Historical/Outside Reading:
Declaration of the Immediate Causes Which Induce and Justify the Secession of South
Carolina from the Federal Union
The War Prayer
The Emancipation Proclamation
The Gettysburg Address
S.C. State Standard and Indicator: 4.3, 5.3
Week Eighteen
Chapter 17: Reconstruction, 1863-1877
Topics: Freedmen, Presidential versus Congressional Reconstruction, Resistance to
Reconstruction, Grantism, Southern Economics, Retreat from Reconstruction
Discussion Points:
 Compare and contrast Lincoln’s, Johnson’s, and the Radical Republican’s
Reconstruction Plans.
 Examine the emancipation amendments and describe their intent and their impact.
 Describe the goals, successes, and failures of Reconstruction.
 Outline the immediate and long-term impact of the Compromise of 1877.
 Explain the legacy of the failure of Reconstruction to produce racial equality in the
U.S.
 Describe the split in the women’s suffrage movement during Reconstruction, the role
that this schism played and its effect on achieving suffrage.
Historical/Outside Reading:
Speech and Reconstruction, April 11, 1865
Klan Terrorism in South Carolina
Plessy v. Ferguson
FRQ- Impact of Civil War (2003)
DBQ: The 1870’s, Constitutional and Social Development
S.C. State Standard and Indicator: 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4, 5.5
Week Nineteen Chapter 18: Frontiers of Change, Politics of Stalemate, 1865-1898
Topics: Jim Crow, Westward Expansion, Last Frontier, the New South, Civil Service Reform,
and the Gilded Age
Discussion Points:
 Examine the westward expansion of the US in the years after the Civil War and how it
changed the country.
 The Compromise of 1877 marked the end of federal support for civil rights in the 19th
century. Discuss race relations in the New South, describe the institutionalization of
discrimination, and examine the response of black and white reformers.
 Compare and contrast US policies towards the American Indians and state policies
toward African Americans during this era.
 Define the term “Gilded Age”. Explain what this reflects and whether or not it is an
appropriate label for the era.
Historical/Outside Reading:
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee (Chapter 4, “War Comes to the Cheyenne”)
S.C. State Standard and Indicator: 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.6, 5.7
Week Twenty Chapter 19: Economic Change and the Crisis of the 1890’s
Topics: Middle Class America, Urban America, Labor Unions and Labor Strife, Farm
Movements, Populism
Discussion Points:
 Discuss the social, political, and economic impact of the railroad on the US in the postCivil War era.
 Explain the growth of the middle class during this time period and its impact on the US.
 Examine the plight of farmers in the late 19th century. Describe their problem,
frustrations, and the attempts to resolve them.
 Describe labor’s goals, attempts to organize and struggles in the Gilded Age.
 Describe the economic changes that took place in the US during the Gilded Age.
Historical/Outline Reading:
Populist Party Platform (1892)
Bryan The “Cross of Gold” Speech
DBQ: Organized Labor 1875-1900 (2000)
SC State Standard and Indicator: 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4, 5.5, 5.6, 5.7
Week Twenty-one Chapter 20: An Industrial Society, 1890-1920
Topics: Technology, Corporate Growth, Mass Production, Scientific Management, Social
Darwinism, Immigration, Immigration Restriction, Urban America
Discussion Points:
 Describe the causes and patterns of immigration to the U.S during the period from 18901920.
 Explain the transition of America from a rural, agricultural society to an urban, industrial
society at the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth centuries.
 Outline the impact of science and technology on the US during the late nineteenth and
early twentieth centuries.
 Analyze selected cartoons of Thomas Nast. Identify who Nast targeted in his cartoons
and explain what he hoped to achieve.
 Define the term “robber baron.” Explain the label and who it was applied to. Using the
same logic, identify individuals today who could be labeled “robber Barons.”
Practice DBQ: the Labor Movement
SC State Standard and Indicator: 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4, 5.5., 5.6, 5.7
Week Twenty-two
Chapter 21: Progressivism
Topics: Progressive Reform, Muckrakers, Working Class, Socialism, Municipal Reform,
Political Reform, Civil Rights, Reform Presidents
Discussion Points:
 Compare and contrast the Progressive movement of the twentieth century with the
Populist movement of the nineteenth century.
 Explain the Progressives’ accomplishments during the Roosevelt, Taft, and Wilson
administrations as well as their goals and strategies.
 Describe the political struggles between conservative and reform groups within the
Republican and Democratic parties from 1900-1916.
 Discuss the origins, organizations, tactics and goals of the NAACP.
 Analyze maps of the United States from 1789 through 1913. Describe the events that led
to the expansion of the United States during this part of our history.


Explain if/how the Progressive movement played a role in statehood for Arizona and
New Mexico in 1912.
Describe Sinclair’s goals in writing The Jungle. How successful was he in meeting his
goals? Compare and contrast his work to other journalists labeled “muckrakers.”
Historical/Outside Reading:
The Jungle
HD: Zinn, “The Socialist Challenge,” People’s History, 321.
SC State Standard and Indicator: 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4, 5.5, 5.6, 5.7
Week Twenty-three Chapter 22: Becoming a World Power, 1898-1917
Topics: Empires, Spanish-American War, World Power-Hemispheric Policeman, Open Door,
Panama
Discussion Points:
 Explain the impact of Alfred Thayer Mahan on US foreign and military policy.
 Describe the United States’ motives for the construction of an isthmian canal, how it was
accomplished and its impact.
 Compare and contrast the foreign policies of Theodore Roosevelt, William H. Taft and
Woodrow Wilson and their impact on future events.
 Explain the origins of American imperialism and its impact on the US.
Historical/Outside Reading:
The White Man’s Burden
SC State Standard Indicator: 6.1,.6.2, 6.3
Week Twenty-four Chapter 23: War and Society, 1914-1920
Topics: Neutrality, Peace Movement, Intervention, Mobilization, Versailles, Red Scare
Discussion Points:
 Describe the events that drew the US into World War I and the US’s organization and
mobilization for war.
 At the conclusion of World War I Woodrow Wilson assured the world that he would
produce a just peace that would prevent future wars. Describe Wilson’s successes and
failures in regards to the Treaty of Versailles and the Fourteen Points.
 During and immediately following World War I many Americans were victims of
repression at the hands of the US government. Describe the attitudes, individuals, and
events that surrounded the repression of this era.
Historical/Outside Reading:
Wilson’s “Fourteen Points” Speech
Wilson The League of Nations
DBQ: US Imperialism
FRQ- Objectives of WWI (2000)
Week Twenty-five
Chapter 24: The 1920’s
Topics: Consumerism, Celebrity, Cultural Realignment and Backlash, Economic Expansion,
Republicans, Mass Society-Mass Culture
Discussion Points:
 Describe and explain the collision of the traditional and the modern in the 1920s and
its impact on United States culture and society.
 Explain the rise of nativism in the 1920s and the nation’s reaction to it.
 The 920s were an age of heroes. Who were the most prominent heroes of the era and
what factors in society contributed to American hero worship?
 Explain the origins of the “Lost Generation.” Describe the events that these authors
experienced and the influence upon their work.
 Outline the impact of the automobile of the culture and economy of the 1920s.
Historical /Outside Reading:
The Hollow Men
Harlem
SC State Standard and Indicator: 7.1, 7.2, 7.3
Week Twenty-six Chapter 25: The Great Depression and the New Deal, 1929-1939
Topics: Speculation, the Great Crash, Causes of the Depression, Hoover’s Response, FDR and
the New Deal, the New Democrats, Critics, the Second New Deal
Discussion Points:
 Describe the causes of Great Depression.
 Compare and contrast President Hoover’s and President Roosevelt’s attempts to deal with
the depression and its victims. Why did each president follow his particular course?
 Explain the impact of FDR’s First Inaugural Address. What was the response? How did
this message differ from Hoover’s?
 Compare and contrast the First and Second New Deals. In what ways was the second
merely a continuation of the first? In what ways did the second reflect a shift to the left?
How successful was each in reviving the economy?
 Explain the plight of the Joad family in The Grapes of Wrath. How common was this
level of suffering during the Depression.
Historical/Outside Reading:
FDR’s First Inaugural Address
The Grapes of Wrath, Chapter 4 and 12
SC State Standard and Indicator: 7.4, 7.5
Week Twenty-seven
Chapter 26: America During the Second World War
Topics: Isolationism, Aggressor States, Arsenal of Democracy, Pearl Harbor, a War Economy,
War and Society, the Battlefront, Reshaping the World
Discussion Points:
 Analyze the events leading up to Pearl Harbor from the perspective of the Japanese.
 Explain how they justified attacking the U.S.
 Describe the impact of WWII on women, African Americans, Mexican Americans,
Native Americans, and Asian Americans.
 The most controversial decision of WWII was whether or not to use the atomic bomb
against Japan. Discuss the motives and goals that prompted Truman into using nuclear
weapons.
 Identify FDR’s “Four Freedoms”. Explain their importance then and now.
 Explain the relationship between the US and the USSR during WWII. What roles did the
leaders of these nations play at the wartime and post-war conferences and how did the
decisions reached at these conferences lead to the Cold War?
Historical/Outside Reading:
FDR’s “Day of Infamy” Speech
FDR’s 1941 State of the Union Address, “The Four Freedoms”
Truman The Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima-The Public Explanation
. HD: “A People’s War?” People’s History, 407
FRQ- U.S. Foreign Policy Post –WWI v. Post WWII (2002)
SC State Standard and Indicator: 8.1, 8.2, 8.3, 8.4, 8.5
Week Twenty-eight Chapter 27: The Age of Containment
Topics: Origins of the Cold War, baby boom, Truman Doctrine, election of 1948, National
Security Act of 1949, Marshall Plan, China, Korea, HUAC, McCarthyism, Rosenbergs, Fair
Deal
Discussion Points:
 Analyze Churchill’s “Iron Curtain” speech and describe the events that led to his
assertions.
 Compare and contrast the McCarthy witch hunts with the Red Scare. Examine the threat
of Communism to the US during both eras. Were our fears justified? Why or why not?
 Explain the origins of the Cold War and the US’s response.
 Describe the rise of McCarthy and its impact on the US during the Cold War.
 Describe the Truman Doctrine and the policy of containment.


Examine the election of 1948 and explain the rise of the “Dixiecrats”.
Examine the Korean War and distinguish it from earlier conflicts. Indicate how it was a
prototype for future conflicts.
Historical/Outside Reading:
Churchill’s “Iron Curtain” speech
McCarthy Democrats and Communists
DBQ: Eisenhower and the Cold War
SC State Standard and Indicator: 9.1, 9.2, 9.5
Week Twenty-nine Chapter 28: Affluence and Its Discontents, 1953-1963
Topics: Levittown, TV, Ike, Army-McCarthy, U-2, domino theory, Brown v. Board of
Education, Rosa Parks, Sputnik, Little Rock, Elvis, New Frontier, Camelot, “I Have a Dream,”,
Lee Harvey Oswald, Warren Commission.
Discussion Points:
 Examine the social changes that occurred in the aftermath of WWII that exemplified
progress and prosperity.
 Analyze the rise of domesticity and its association with suburban living in the 1950s.
 Analyze the goals, tactics, successes, and failures of the civil rights movement in the
1950s. Compare and contrast it with the reform movement of the 19th century and the
Progressive movement of the early 20th century.
 Describe the youth culture of the 1950s and its impact on society.
 Examine the impact of television on American society.
 Explain America’s fascination with conspiracy theories, in particular the Kennedy
assassination.
 Explain what Thoreau was supporting in his essay “Civil Disobedience.” Analyze Martin
Luther King’s tactics to achieve civil rights for African Americans. What do the two
share in common? On what points do they differ?
Historical/Outside Reading:
 On the Road, Chapters 1 and 2
 King Jr. from Letter from Birmingham Jail
 “I Have a Dream” Speech
 “Civil Disobedience”
SC State Standard and Indicator: 9.1, 9.5
Week Thirty
Chapter 29: America during Its Longest War, 1963-1974
Topics: Dien Bien Phu, Geneva, Ho Chi Minh, Ngo Dinh Diem, Gulf of Tonkin, the Great
Society, Tet, My Lai, Vietnamization, China, Cambodia, Kent State, SALT I, detente, Nixon
Doctrine, realpolitik, Watergate
Discussion Points:
 Explain how JFK’s inaugural address shaped the attitudes of many Americans during the
1960s.
 Describe the events that led to the US’s involvement in the Vietnam War.
 Evaluate President Johnson’s success at waging war in Vietnam and war against poverty.
 Chronicle the “rights revolution” of the 1960s and note the gains made by the various
groups agitating for their rights.
 Define “counter culture.” Beginning with Massachusetts Bay in the 17th century explain
the role that counter cultures have played in our history
 Describe the growth of executive power that resulted from the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution.
 Describe the significance of 1968 in American social and political history.
 Outline the process by which the US extracted itself from the Vietnam War.
 Assess the successes and failures of the Nixon White House.
 Explain the implications of Watergate to the Nixon presidency and American society.
 Examine the literature that grew out of the Vietnam era. Compare and contrast it to work
produced by the “Lost Generation”. Describe any similarities that you find in regards to
theme and tone.
Historical/Outside Reading
 John F. Kennedy’s Inaugural Address
 The Point Huron Statement
 Richard M. Nixon’s Resignation Speech
SC State Standard and Indicator: 9.3, 9.4
Week Thirty-one Chapter 30: Economic and Social Change in the Late Twentieth Century
Topics: NOW, Stonewall incident, feminism, Wounded Knee, Roe v. Wade, Sunbelt, Cesar
Chavenz, Moral Majority, MTV, Silicon Valley
Discussion Points:
 Assess the social and political turmoil of the 1960s. Where were its roots, what were its
goals and were theses goals achieved? How do you account for the violence often
associated with the political and social movements of this era?
 Define stagflation and explain why it entered our vocabulary in the 1970s.
 Explain the reasons behind the Sunbelt migration and the resulting shift in American
politics.
 Describe the roll of technology in the US in the closing decades of the twentieth century
and the impact on society.
Historical/Outside Reading:
Roe v. Wade, 1973
“Crisis of Confidence”
FRQ- American Presidency between 1960 and 1975 (2003 Form B)
SC State Standard and Indicator: 9.5
Week Thirty-two
Chapter 31: Power and Politics since 1974
Topics: Gerald Ford, OPEC, Camp David Accords, Iran Hostage Incident, Reagan Revolution,
end of the Cold War, Desert Storm, Somalia, NAFTA, Kosovo, Impeachment , 9/11
Discussion Points:
 Describe the connection between domestic politics, foreign policy and energy in the US.
 Explain the origins of the Middle East crisis and the events and policies that have drawn
the US into this crisis.
 Assess the events that ended the Cold War and the new threats to national security that
replaced the Cold War threat of nuclear war.
 Analyze the changes that occurred in the US economic policy during the Reagan and
Clinton years and their impact.
 Describe the role that Third Party politics has played in the US political history. Identify
the elections where upsets occurred as a result of third parties and the subsequent impact
on the country.
Historical/Outside Readings:
Ronald Reagan’s “Evil Empire” Speech
George H.W. Bush’s Thanksgiving Message 1989
The “Contract with America”
*Note-FRQs/DBQs may be changed and/or added as necessary
Week Thirty-three Review
Weeks Thirty-four-Thirty-six-
Research Paper, District End-of-Course Test, State EOCEP