AP European History
M. MacLeod
Michael.MacLeod@uticak12.org
Supply List
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A 3 ring binder
Loose leaf paper
Pen
Class text
Course Overview
This course is designed as a general survey of European history from about 1350-2001A.D. This
course will cover a vast swath of material, focused primarily on preparing students for the AP
European History Test. It is expected that all students will seriously consider taking the test, and
that the majority of the class will attempt it.
This class is divided up into a series of units. Each unit will involve in-class lecture, Cornell style
note taking, group and class discussions, and analysis of critical and pertinent information related
to the readings. Students are expected to understand that a good deal of the burden of learning
falls squarely on their shoulders, and that the class lectures and class discussions are only a part
of the overall learning that happens in this class, and that students are responsible for knowing all
of the material in the text regardless of whether or not it is discussed in class.
Each unit will conclude with a test or other form of assessment that includes questions based on
previously released AP European final tests. Students will also be asked to write several DBQ
style responses per quarter. The first 2 quarters will include one written essay response each,
which will account for 20% of the quarter grade
General topic overview
Semester One: Quarter One
Unit 1: The end of the Dark Ages, and the birth of the Renaissance
-Development of Feudalism
-Charlemagne and the development of European rulers
-Social, political, economic, and religious structure of the medieval period
-The Crusades and the return of knowledge
-The Plague and population shifts
-Italy and the Medici family
-Decline of Italy and the growth of France
-The Renaissance in the north
-The new world and the Catholic Church in Spanish America
Unit 2: The Reformation
-Martin Luther and the German reforms
-John Calvin, the Anabaptist, and Swiss reformation
-England and Henry VIII
-Social changes and reform, including the role of education and women
-Family life and the changing views on marriage
Unit 3: The Age of Religious Wars
-French wars of 1562-1590
-Spain and the revolts in the Netherlands
-England and Spain, Mary I and Elizabeth I
-30 Years War
Unit 4 Consolidation of the European States, 17th and 18th century
-The constitutional crisis and Stuart England
-The Puritan Republic and the Restoration
-The rise of the French Monarchy
-Russia and the Romanov Dynasty
-Peter the Great and Russian Expansion
Semester One: Quarter Two
Unit 5: The Scientific Revolution
-Tycho Brahe, Copernicus, and Johannes Kepler
-Galileo and the Catholic Church
-Isaac Newton and the laws of gravity
-Development of Philosophy
-Locke, Hobbes, and Descartes
-Women and the Scientific Revolution
-Dawn of the Industrial Revolution
Unit 6: Revolution and Colonization
-The Industrial Revolution
-Development of mercantile empires overseas
-The Spanish colonial system
-African slavery and the plantation system
-The 7 Years War and the American Revolution.
Unit 7: The Age of Enlightenment
-Voltaire and the New Philosophy
-Deism, Tolerance, and the changing face of Christianity
-The Jewish and Islamic Enlightenments
-Adam Smith and the new economic freedoms
-Eastern Europe and the Enlightenment, Russia, Poland, and Austria
-Women and the Enlightenment
Unit 8: The Rise of Romanticism, and the Age of Napoleon
-Development of Romanticism
-Development of Neo-Gothicism
-Rousseau and the Romantics
-Napoleon and his rise to power
-The Napoleonic Code and the Catholic Church
-European responses to Napoleon and the Congress in Vienna
-The fall of Napoleon
Semester Two: Quarter Three
Unit 1: The conservative order and the challenge of reform
-Emergence of Nationalism and Liberalism
-Changing attitudes in Austria and Germany
-Spanish Revolution of 1820
-Revolt against the Ottoman Empire
-Latin American: Revolution in Haiti, Independence in Brazil and New Spain
Unit 2: Economic unrest and the rise of Socialism
-Emergence of the Western Labor Force
-Family life and the Industrial Revolution
-Women and working class marriage
-Early Socialism
-Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, The Communist Manifesto
-Anarchism and Marxism
-Revolution of 1848: France, Italy, and Germany
Unit 3: The Age of the Nation State
-The Crimean War
-Growth of empires: Italian unification and German unification
-France and the growth of the 3rd Republic
-Russian emancipation and the beginnings of revolt
Unit 4: The road to World War One
-The development of European Supremacy
-The 2nd industrial revolution
-Upheavals and changes in Labor
-Rise of Socialist though
Unit 5 The Birth of Modern Thought
-Darwin and new scientific developments
-Changes in the Christian Church and their place in society
-Women and Modern Europe
Semester Two: Fourth Quarter
Unit 6 The Dawn of Western Imperialism
-British imperial dominance: Africa and India
-Russian Expansion
-Western powers expand into Asia
-Missionary lives and roles in imperialistic expansion plans
Unit 7 World War I
-Emergence of the German Empire
-Causes of the war and initial outbreaks
-The Russian Revolution
-End of the war and the settlement in Paris
-A troubled peace and the buildup to WWII
Unit 8 World War II
Part one: The road to war
-Rise of the dictators: Stalin, Hitler, and Mussolini
-Socialism in Russian and Fascism in Italy
-Rise of the German dictatorship
Part two: The war itself
-Causes and conflicts of the war
-Role of racism and the Holocaust
-Domestic fronts during the war
-End of the war and peace
Unit 9 The Cold War era and the emergence of a new Europe
-Emergence of the Cold War
-Khrushchev and the Soviet Union
-Massive decolonization and the retreat of the British Empire
-Collapse of European Communism and the end of the cold war
Unit 10 The Western World at the dawn of the 21st century
-20th century movement and migration of peoples
-Development of the welfare state society
-Continuing changes in the role of women
-From communism to consumerism: changes to Europe’s economy
-The dawn of the computer age
-Development of the European Union
End of Semester Assessments
Both semesters will end with a final examination covering all of the material covered in the class
up to that point. The exam will take the form of both multiple choice and short response
questions. The questions will be based on both the material covered in the class, as well as the
reading students were asked to do on their own. The overall shape of the assessments will be
guided by the AP European History test, although since the final exam will take place after this
test, it will have more similarities and connections to the end of year projects every student will
be completing. More about the end of year projects can be seen in the index.
3rd Quarter Essay
This Essay will be tied to our reading of All Quiet on the Western Front. Each student will be
given a copy of this novel at the beginning of the second semester. You will then be given a
variety of topics to choose from. This essay will be due halfway through the quarter, so students
are advised to read the novel as quickly as possible.
Final Exam: Biography write-up
Topic: You need to find, and read, a biography (not an autobiography) of one either one of the
major figures of the time period we have looked at, or the biography of one of the major events
that happened during this time period. You will need to read the entire biography from cover to
cover, and be able to work with it in great detail, so make sure that the biography is both an
appropriate length, as well as clear and understandable. This biography should be no less than
200 pages in length, and should be published by a reputable author from a reputable source. Each
student will need to get my final approval on their biography before they begin this project.
Students who are looking for a source should speak to me.
Sources: This essay will require you to have one primary source, and four secondary sources.
Your primary source must be in book form, and cannot be an encyclopedia article or online
article. A digital copy of a book is fine, but make sure that it is one you can work with and take
notes in.
Please note: Only one student will be allowed to write about each figure/ event. Students will be
given their topic based on a first come, first awarded basis, and students must show all of their
sources before they will be awarded their topic. Students can apply at any time first or second
quarter for their topic, and should begin working on their author right away.
Framework of the essay:
Having read through your biography, you will write an essay that should answer all of the
following questions in some serious form:
1.
What are the major events that the author focuses on? Why do they consider those to be
the most important and significant?
2.
What social and cultural forces were at work on your subject? How does your author
present them?
3.
What choices were made, and how does the author present them?
4.
What biases does the author of your work have towards his subject?
5.
How do other sources report the same events in different ways?
6.
What message about their subject does your author attempt to present? How much to you
agree with their conclusion based on what you have read?
You overriding goal is to examine how the biography is written, not what the biography is about.
Your goal is to think critically about how historical persons and events are looked at by authors
today.
In addition to the essay, you will be debating the significance of you figure in a final presentation
project at the end of the 4th quarter. More details about this will be given later in the year
Please note: This final essay counts for 70% of the final exam. There will be an additional test on
exam day that counts for the other 30% of the final exam score. Any student who takes the AP
European History test will be exempted from this 30% portion, and will only have to complete
the biography.
Students are encouraged to choose their biography early, since only one student will be allowed
to write about each historical figure, and selection is made on a first come, first served basis. Any
student who wished to begin this project over the summer can email their figure, and a link to
their biography on Amazon.com. Mr. MacLeod will let you know if that figure is still available.