ADVANCED PLACEMENT US HISTORY
Course Description
The Advanced Placement US History course is designed to provide students
with the analytical skills and factual knowledge necessary to deal critically with
the problems of US History. The demands upon the students should equip them
to deal with intermediate and advanced college courses. Students will learn to
assess historical materials - their relevance to a given interpretive problem, their
reliability and their importance. In addition, students will be asked to analyze
and interpret primary sources, including documentary material, maps, statistical
tables, and pictorial and graphic evidence of historical events. Students will learn
to take notes from printed material, lecture and discussion, and to write
historical essays. They should be able to express themselves with clarity and
precision and know how to cite sources and credit the writing and ideas of
others. They must be able to make connections between facts and key themes of
history. The themes will include discussions of American diversity, the
development of a unique American identity, the evolution of American culture,
demographic changes over the course of America’s history, economic trends and
transformations, environmental issues, the development of political institutions
and the components of citizenship, social reform movements, the role of religion
in the making of the United States and its impact in a multicultural society, the
history of slavery and its legacies in this hemisphere, war and diplomacy, and
the place of the United States in an increasingly global arena. The course will
trace these themes throughout the year, emphasizing the ways in which they are
interconnected and examining the ways in which each helps to shape the
changes over time that are so important to understanding United States history.
Students who undertake APUSH must be motivated to do their work and master
the facts of history, so that we may discuss the relationships between
background and subsequent events. This is not a course for those who do not
enjoy the reading and study of history. The facts are the tools, and it is the
responsibility of each student to do what is necessary to master those facts. The
teacher is a facilitator and a guide.
Text
Kennedy, David M., Lizabeth Cohen, and Thomas Bailey. The American Pageant.
13th ed. Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin Co., 2006
Study Guide
Mel Piehl, The American Pageant Guidebook: A Manual for Students. 10th ed.
Heath
Documentary Reader
Charles M.Dollar and Gary W. Reichard, American Issues: A Documentary
Reader, New York, New York: Glencoe McGraw -Hill , 1988
Review
There are several good review books available, and any one of them would
work. One of the most popular is the Barron’s Review Guide.
Barron’s Review, AP United States History
Evaluation
Several major tests will be given each quarter on the historical periods
covered. These will include a combination of objective, documents based, and
free response essay questions. In addition, frequent quizzes will be given on
assigned readings, lecture, and class discussion. Each student is assigned reading
in primary and secondary sources generally found in American Issue. They must
write a synopsis (precis) of each article. Historical essays will be assigned and
graded on acceptable style as well as content. Some will be assigned out of class,
and some will be in-class, timed essays, and DBQ's, documents based questions,
all will be treated and graded in the same manner.
AP Syllabus 2007-2008
Week of
8-13-17
All assigned reading should
be completed prior to the
week listed on the syllabus.
Precis from Documentary
Reader, American Issues are
due on the first day of the
week.
If you miss a class, you
should continue work from
the syllabus.
Study Guide work is not listed
in syllabus, it is outside work
that follows the chapters in
the text.
Prior to school opening, the assignment is e-mailed to
read Chapter 1 in The American Pageant
New World Beginnings
Pre-Columbian cultures, early explorations, introduction
of slaver, Spanish & French claims, the rise of
mercantilism
Documentary Reader, American Issues
“The First Americans, L.S. Stavrianos (secondary
source) p. 5
Indian Language Groups in 1500 (map) p. 7
Papal Bull, Inter Caetra, May 4, 1493 (primary source)
p. 12
“First Americans at Work” John White ( visual) p. 15
“Europe’s First Frontier” R.A. Billington (secondary) p.
16
Jamestown in 1607 and 1614 (visual) p. 17
8-20
Additionally, on the first day of class, the tools of AP
are introduced, DBQ’s, essay techniques, Use of the
Study Guide, Precis writing, and on-line practice
quizzes, & AP practice tests.
American Pageant, Chapter 2, The Planting of English
America
The Chesapeake and southern English colonies, ties with
Caribbean economies, British mercantilism
Chapter 3, Settling the Northern Colonies
New England and the Puritans, religious dissent,
colonial politics and conflict with British authority, the
middle colonies
American Issues
“A Vision of Utopia”, Sir Thomas Moore (primary) p.
19
“Reasons for Colonization”, Richard Hakluyt (primary)
p. 21
“Plymouth Plantation”, William Bradford (primary) p.
22
“An Indentured Servant Writes Home”, Richard
Frethorne (primary) p. 28
8-27
Assignment: DBQ(1993)
English Colonies North and South due 8/31
American Pageant, Chapters 4 & 5 American Life in the
17th Century & Colonial Society on the Eve of the
Revolution
American Issues documents:
“Virginia Laws for Blacks” (primary) p. 33
“Indentured Servitude” Hofstadter (secondary) p.28
Cartoon “Join or Die” (visual) p. 51
9-3
Unit Test Chapters 1-5
Wednesday, September 5
Essay: Generally losers founded the colonies - due
9/7
Review for Unit Test Chapters 1-5
American Pageant Chapter 6, The Duel for North
America
Colonial involvement in British imperial wars,
consequences of the French and Indian War,
Proclamation of 1763
Chapter 7, The Road to Revolution
Roots of the Revolution and the role of mercantilism,
end of benign neglect, failure of diplomacy
9-10
American Issues
“Objections to Parliamentary Taxation” John Dickinson
“Common Sense” T Paine (Handout)
“Declaration of Independence” (Text A31)
American Pageant Chapter 8, America Secedes from
the Empire
The American Revolution, wartime diplomacy, life on
the home front, women and the war, the impact of the
war on slavery
Chapter 9, The Confederation and the Constitution
The Articles of Confederation and the Constitution, the
role of the Enlightenment, slavery and religion in the
political process, wartime diplomacy
American Issues
“Minority Rights in the Republic”, Timothy Ford
(primary) p. 97
“Justifying Slavery in the Republic”, David Brion Davis
(secondary) p. 99
The Constitution Text A34
9-17
Unit Test Chapters 6-9
Thursday, September 20
Review for Unit Test – Chps. 6-9
American Pageant Chapter 10, Launching the New Ship
of State
Early national politics and economics, diplomacy during
the French revolution, the making of the office of the
presidency
American Issues
“Origins of Party: Hamilton’s Economic Program”
(primary) p.107
“A Warning Against Party Sentiment”, G Washington
(primary) p.111
9-24
DBQ 1985 The 1780’s A Critical Period due 10/2
American Pageant Chapter 11 Triumphs and Travails of
Jeffersonian Democracy
“The Revolution of 1800”, the Marshall Court,
diplomacy of Jefferson and Madison, The Embargo Act,
acceleration of expansion west.
Chapter 12, The Second War for
Independence/Nationalism
The War of 1812, The Era of Good Feelings, The
American System, the diplomacy of expansion, forging
anew national identity
Primary sources:
Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions – Jefferson &
Madison Excerpts in Text
Majority Opinion Marbury V. Madison – Chief Justice
John Marshall (handout)
10-1
Essay: The War of 1812 – Comment on the effect the
war had on opinions about the United Sates both at
home and abroad? Due 10/4
American Pageant Chapter 13
The Rise of a Mass democracy
Jacksonian Democracy and the Whigs, national policy
toward American Indians, the era of the “common man”,
expansion with the Texas Revolution, slavery and
sectionalism
American Issues
“Jacksonian Nationalism and Its Limit –The Bank Veto”
Jackson p.143
“King Andrew” (visual) p. 146
Study for Test on Chps. 10-12
10-8
Unit Test on Chapters 10-13
Tuesday, October 18
10-15
Quarter ends
October 19
DBQ 1980 Jackson and Indian Removal due 10/16
American Pageant Chapter 14
Forging the National Economy
The rise of the market economy, immigration and the
increase in nativism, women in the workplace, the
factory system, the transportation revolution, expansion
west
American Issues
“Two Frontiers: Urban and Rural”, R Wade (secondary)
p. 136
American Pageant Chapter 15
The Ferment of Reform and Culture
The Second Great Awakening and the growth of reform,
women’s roles in reform, creation of a national culture,
advances in education and sciences.
Chapter 16, The South and the Slavery Controversy
Cotton culture, southern society and the impact of the
plantation system, the rise of abolitionist movements
American Issues
“Why Immediate Emancipation?” James Brewer Stewart
10-22
(secondary) p. 170
“The Seneca Falls Declaration of 1848” (primary) p. 172
Images of Slavery (visual) p.195
American Pageant Chapter 17, Manifest Destiny and Its
Legacy
Expansion under Polk, Manifest Destiny, War with
Mexico
American Issues
“Manifest Destiny,” John Gast (visual) p154
Vote on Joint Resolution on Annexation of Texas (Map)
p.165
“Polk’s Reassertion of the Monroe Doctrine”, James K
Polk (primary) p.168
10-29
Unit Test on Chapters 14-16
Tuesday, October 30
Study for Test on Chps. 14-16
American Pageant Chapter 18, Renewing the Sectional
Struggle
Popular Sovereignty, the Compromise of 1850, the
Fugitive Slave Law, the economics of expansion
American Issues
“The Supreme Court Takes the Southern Side” D
Potter(secondary) p. 198
“Defense of Slavery As a Benefit to Society”, John C.
Calhoun (primary) p. 189
“The Republican Party and the Race Question”, Eric
Foner (secondary) p. 202
Majority Opinion in Dred Scott v. Sanford (handout)
11-5
DBQ (1987) The 1850’s: prelude to the Civil war due
11/8
American Pageant Chapter 19
Chp. 19, Drifting Toward Disunion
Abolition in the 1850’s, the impact of the Dred Scott
Decision, the financial panic of 1857, political crisis in
the election of 1860, the coming of the Civil War.
American Issues
“Failure to Compromise: Lincoln and the Crittenden
Compromise”, Albert D. Kirwan (secondary); Allan
Nevins (secondary) p. 215
“President Lincoln’s Inaugural Address, March 4, 1861
(primary) p. 220
In-class Timed Essay: The Civil War was doubly tragic
because it was totally unnecessary. Slavery had ended in
other nations by the stroke of a pen, and so it could have
been in the United States. Assess the validity of this
statement.
11-12
Unit Test Chapters 17-19
Wednesday, November 14
11-19
11-26
Study for Unit Test Chps. 17-19
American Pageant Chapter 20, Girding for War
Wartime diplomacy, economic changes in both North
and South, women and the war, issues of civil liberties
in wartime
Chapter 21, The Furnace of the War
The Penninsula campaign, the “Anaconda”, the war in
the West, Sherman’s March, Appomattox, The
Emancipation Proclamation, the legacy of the war in
both North and South
Emancipation Proclamation – Excerpt from Text
American Issues
“The Battle Hymn of the Republic” Julia Ward Howe
(primary) p. 231
“The New York City Riots”, Adrian Cook (secondary)
p. 233
“Sherman and Total War”, Wm T. Sherman (primary)
p.236
Images of Death and Destruction (visual) p. 238
American Pageant Chapter 21
Con’t.
Video clips from “The Divided Union”
Essay: During the Civil War, the federal government
increased its power. Give at least five examples of the
central government expanding its power in the North
during the Civil War. Due 11/20
American Pageant Chapter 22, The Ordeal of
Reconstruction
The defeated South, the freed slaves, Johnson’s Plan,
The Radicals, Military Reconstruction, Black
reconstruction and the Klan, Impeachment of Johnson.
American Issues
“The Ku Klux Klan” (primary) p. 249
“The Freedman’s Bureau” (visual) p. 252
Constitution: Amendments 13, 14, 15 appendix of text
Study for Unit Test Chps. 20-22
12-3
Unit Test Chapters 20-22
Wednesday, December 5
American Pageant Chapter 23, The Gilded Age
US Grant, corruption and reform, Depression of the
1870’s, Compromise of 1877 and the end of
Reconstruction, class conflict and ethnic clashes, CivilService Reform, Cleveland and the tariff, Harrison and
the Billion Dollar Congress, populists, Cleveland
regains the White House
American Issues
“The Best Fields for Philanthropy”, Andrew Carnegie
(primary) p. 289
12-10
12-17
American Pageant Chapter 24, Industry Comes of Age
Railroad boom, speculators and financiers, early efforts
at government regulations, Lords of Industry, industry in
the south, the laboring class, rise of trade unions
American Issues
“Chinese Railroad Workers”, Sandy Lydon (secondary)
p.260
“Industrialism and the Rise of Early America”,
(secondary) Zane L. Miller p. 280
American Pageant Chapter 25, America Moves to The
City
Skyscrapers, tenements, and suburbs, “New
Immigrants” settlement houses and social workers, new
jobs for women, Nativists and Immigration restriction,
Booker T. Washington and W.E. B. DuBois, art, music,
and entertainment
American Issues
“Tenement Living” (visual) p. 300
“Practical Politics for Urban Immigrants”, William
Riordan (primary) p. 301
“Below the Immigrant: the Black Urban Experience”,
Olivier Zunz (secondary) p. 306
Holidays
1-7
1-14
Exam on Wednesday,
January 16 @11:00am
DBQ ( 1989) Booker T. Washington and W.E. B.
DuBois
Time to catch up on reading
Review for Exams
In-class DBQ (1992) The Settlement of the West
AP Exam – excerpts from practice exams that cover
material up to this point in the class. It will serve as a
grade and also practice in the test format of the AP
1-22
Exam
American Pageant Chapter 26, The Great West and the
Agricultural Revolution
The close of the frontier and it’s impact, industrialism of
agriculture, dissent of farmers
American Issues
“The Ghost Dance and the Battle at Wounded Knee”,
James Mooney (primary) p. 264
“Bound for the West: Image and Reality”, (visual) p
262-263
1-28
In class essay: Consider why artists tend to glorify
the westward movement and why many Americans,
in turn, have accepted this “glorification” as reality.
American Pageant Chapter 27, Empire and Expansion
Cleveland and the Venezuelan boundary dispute,
Hawaii, the Maine, Spanish-American War, 1898,
Acquiring Puerto Rico and the Philippines
American Pageant Chapter 28, America on the World
Stage
Philipino insurrection, open door, Panama Canal,
Roosevelt corollary
American Issues
“Strategic Reasons for American Expansion”, Alfred
Thayer Mahan (primary) p. 326
“The White Man’s Burden”, David Healy (secondary)
p.329
“Arguments Against American Imperialism”, American
Anti-Imperialist League (primary) p. 331
2-4
Unit Test Chapters 25-28
Tuesday, February 5
Study for test for Chapters 25-28
American Pageant Chapter 29, Progressivism and the
Republican Roosevelt
Progressive reform and the trust, demographics of
urbanism and political impact, “Dollar Diplomacy”,
environmental issues
Chapter 30, Wilsonian Progressivism at Home and
Abroad
The new freedom versus the new nationalism,
progressive economic reform, diplomacy of neutrality
Recent scholarship: Wilsonianism, Idealism,
Pragmatism
American Issues
2-11
“Varieties of Progressiveism: TR and Wilson”, John
Milton Cooper (secondary) p. 317
American Pageant Chapter 31, The War to End War
American entry into the war, Fourteen Points, workers
on the home front, the AEF in France, Wilson in Paris,
senate rejects Versailles Treaty
View “The Arming of the Earth”, Bill Moyers
2-18
American Issues
“American Intervention in WWI”, Ross Gregory
(secondary) p. 336
American Pageant Chapter 32, American Life in the
Roaring Twenties
The red scare, immigration restriction, prohibition and
gangsterism, Scopes Trial, consumerism, the automobile
age, radio and the movies
Chapter 33, The Politics of Boom and Bust
Harding scandals, Coolidge’s foreign policies, Herbert
Hoover and the great crash, Hoover and the Depression
American Issues
“The Controversy Over Evolution”, Ronald L. Numbers
(secondary) p. 350
“The Revived KKK”, Hiram W. Evans (primary) p. 345
“Marcus Garvey and Black Nationalism”, (visual) p. 348
“Religion and Politics: A Catholic Runs for President”,
Alfred E. Smith, (primary) p. 352
2-25
Unit Test Chapters 29-30
Tuesday, February 26
DBQ (1978) Prohibition, 1900-1919
Due 2/20
American Pageant Chapter 34, The Great Depression
and the New Deal
FDR and “Recovery Relief Reform”. Demographic
changes associated with the Depression, cultural
changes in the 1930’s, the supreme court and the
balance of political power in government
American Issues
“Radicalism on the Left”, Huey P. Long (primary) p.
362
“The Depression and the New Deal: Measures of
Recovery”, (graphs) p. 365
“Documenting Poverty and the Depression”, Dorothea
Lange (visual) p. 366
3-3
Unit Test Chapters 31 & 32
Tuesday, March 4
3-10
Unit Test on Chapters 33-35
Thursday, March 13
Essay: Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal represented
a radical departure from previous American
traditions in government and political economy.
Evaluate this statement.
Due 2/28
Chapter 35, FDR and the Shadow of War
German and Japanese aggression, attempts at neutrality
and isolation, diplomacy and economics of the pre-war
years, Pearl Harbor
American Issues
“”To Fight For Freedom”, Norman Rockwell (visual) p.
386
“Labor Debates the “No Strike Pledge”, Michigan CIO
Counsel (primary) p. 397
“Women and Wartime Mobilization”, Susan M.
Hartmann (secondary) p. 407
American Pageant Chapter 36, America in World War II
The war in Europe and in the Far East, the home front,
changes for women and minorities, the decision to use
the atomic bomb and its consequences
American Issues
“Japanese-American Relocation”, US House Select
Committee Hearings (primary) p. 402
“ America and the Holocaust”, David S. Wyman
(secondary) p. 388
3-17
Quarter Ends March 19
DBQ (1988) The decision to drop the atomic bomb
Due 3/13
American Pageant Chapter 37, The Cold War Begins
Post war prosperity and the baby boom, Communism
and containment, diplomacy and the Marshall Plan, the
Korean War, the Red Scare, U.S. as a world power
American Issues
“American Commitment to Cold War”, Department of
State (primary) p. 415
3-24
Chapter Test Chp 36 & 37
Thursday, March 27
Watch portions of The Century – Peter Jennings
Study Guides for all sections & Daily Quizzes
American Pageant Chapter 38
The Eisenhower Era
Consumer culture in the 1950’s, the Civil Rights
revolution, McCarthyism, Cold War expansion, space
race, post-war literature and culture
American Issues
“American Public Opinion and the Korean
War’”(secondary) p. 415
“The Origins of McCarthyism,” Robert Griffith
(secondary) p. 420
“Eisenhower and the U-2” Stephen Ambrose
(secondary) p. 424
“The Military-Industrial Complex’” DDE (primary) p.
425
Watch clips from The McCarthy Years-Edward R.
Murrow
Documentary with Study Guide and Quizzes
Study for Test Chp. 36-37
Essay: Describe the events leading up to the Cuban
missile crisis of 1962 and explain its significance to
the relationship between the U.S. and Russia, as well
as its impact on John Kennedy’s presidency and
Nikita Khrushchev’s leadership in the Soviet Union.
Due 4-9
3-31 Spring Break
Begin reviewing on your own
4-7
American Pageant Chapter 39, The Stormy Sixties
Daily Quizzes on The Century The Cold War continues, expansion of the war in
Vietnam, the civil rights revolution and evolution,
Johnson and the Great Society, immigration and
demographic changes
Watch portions of The Century – Peter Jennings
4-14
American Issues
“Desegregation and the Southern Reaction”, Brown v.
Board of Education, Topeka; “Southern Manifesto”
(primary) p. 435
“A Strategy for the Civil Rights Revolution”, MLK
(primary) p. 444
American Pageant Chapter 40, The Stalemated
Seventies
Rise of conservatism, economic stagnation, crisis over
presidential power, environmental issues, feminism,
women’s movement, civil rights and affirmative action,
foreign policy and the issue of oil
Watch portions of The Century – Peter Jennings
Listen to tapes of:
Inaugural Address - JFK
“I Have a Dream” Speech – MLK
April 20, Extra Review
Session - Sunday
2:00-4:30pm
4-21
Test over The Century
Tuesday, April 22
American Issues
Implementing Equality: Affirmative Action, U.S.
Commission on Civil Rights (primary) p. 472
Go over review materials
Handouts for people & terms, elections, key court cases,
wars. Organize study groups.
American Pageant Chapter 41, The Resurgence of
Conservatism
Reagan and the New Right, end of the Cold War,
Reaganomics, politics and the Supreme Court,
globalization, war and diplomacy in the middle east.
American Issues:
Reaganonmics: Economic Policies and Results in the
Eighties (visual)
4-28
Unit Test Chps. 38-40 on
Tuesday, April 29
May 4, Extra Review Session
Sunday, 2:00-4:30pm
5-5
Study for Unit Test Chps. 38-40.
American Pageant Chapter 42, America Confronts the
Post-Cold War Era
The Clinton Era, post Cold War politics and foreign
policy, the contested election of 2000, the attack on the
World Trade Center and America post 911.
Chapter 43, The American people face a New Century
Demographic changes, changes in the family,
immigration and related issues,a
multi-cultural society, the high tech economy, America
in a global context.
American Issues
“AIDS: A Crisis in Health Care”, Peter S. Arno and
Karyn L. Feiden (secondary) p. 483
Practice AP Exam
Review – Go over exam 5/5
AP Practice Exam 5/7
5-9
AP US History Exam
Friday, May 9
5-12
5-19
5-26
Recap the course & evaluate
Exams
Graduation