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ADVANCED PLACEMENT (AP) U.S. HISTORY
Course Description, Goals, and Skills
AP U.S. History is designed to provide committed focused and motivated high school students with
the experience of mastering college level material in United States History. The committed student
will read and analyze historical writing, reflect upon historical evidence, participate in discussion and
write about central themes and ideas in America’s past. This course centers on issues in the United
States– independence, emerging democracy, slavery, westward settlement, imperial expansion,
economic depression, war, and technological change. All themes of U.S. history will be covered,
including the America identity, politics, economic evolution, society, religion, culture, and foreign
policy and diplomacy. Your goal will be to develop a better understanding of the United States today
through an exploration of its historical past. Successful completion of this course will also provide
you with the skills needed on the national Advanced Placement U.S. History examination.
Course Objectives:

develop mastery of the process skills: interpretation, analysis, synthesis, evaluation and
critical reading of historical documents, maps, charts, graphs, and pictures necessary for the
mastery of the content of United States History;

develop historically accurate interpretations including the ability to identify historical themes
(political institutions, social and cultural developments, diplomacy, and economic trends), as
well as the point of view, bias, and tone of the author;

develop the ability to think and reason analytically with clarity and precision creating
complex and specific thesis and then show the ability to support that thesis with historical
evidence in a coherent, focused essay; through writing of document based and free response
essay questions as well as outside assignments;
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Work effectively in groups to produce products, make presentations, and solve problems
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acquire fundamental and advanced knowledge of United States political, social, economic,
constitutional, cultural, and intellectual history to prepare for the Advanced Placement Exam
in American History, administered by the College Board in May of 2011
Required Readings/Skill work
Faragher, Buhle, Czitrom, and Armitage. Out of Many, (Prentice Hall, Revised 6th Ed.)
Zinn, Howard. A People’s History of the United States 1492-present. Harper Perennial. New York, 2003.
Zinn, Howard. The Twentieth Century, A Peoples History. Perennial ed. 2003 ISBN 0-06-053034-0
Madras, Larry, and James M. SoRelle. Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Controversial Issues in American
History, Volumes One and Two. McGraw-Hill. 14th Edition 2010.
Henry, Mitchell. PhD. AP/Honors U.S. Skillbook Second Edition
Supplemental readings of both primary and secondary sources will complement each unit.
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Major Threads
Each unit will address most or all of the following major themes to provide continuity from one
historical time period to another revealing the complexity of American life:
American Identity
American Diversity (Role of Ethnic and Minority Groups)
Culture
Demographic Changes
Economic Transformations
Globalization
Growth of Participatory Democracy (Politics and Citizenship)
Land use and Significance of the Environment
Religion in American History
Reform (Dissent and Dissenters in American Life)
Slavery and its Legacy
War and Diplomacy
Work and the Role of Labor
Course Requirements/Grading/Evaluation
Tests/Quiz 60%
Projects 25%
Class activities 15%
Final Exam 20%- 1st and 2nd Semester
ASSESSMENTS
Writing: Essays: Expository historic essays, document based writing, research projects, critical
thinking responses.
Oral: Guided Discussion, group participation, research presentations, seminar style
Tests: AP test format: 80 multiple choice and three essays. (Midterm and Final)
Essays: The largest part of the Advanced Placement exam is the essay portion.
Therefore, considerable time will be spent learning and practicing how to write.
Essay guidelines must be carefully followed. (Students also enrolled in A.P. English must take care to
follow the A.P. history guidelines and not the A.P. English guidelines when writing A.P. U.S. History
exams.) Most essays will be in class. These essays will be similar to the type given on the A.P. U.S.
History exam and will be graded on the same nine point scale. The following chart shows how the
rubric’s point values will be converted into a score.
9=100% 8=95% 7=90% 6=85% 5=80% 4=75% 3=70% 2=60% 1=30%
Advanced Placement Examination
Students are strongly encouraged to take the Advanced Placement Exam in American History at the
end of the school year. Although this exam is not required as part of the course, students should
consider applying what they have learned against a national standard. The charge for the exam is
paid to the College Board. The three hour and five minute exam will be given during the morning of
May , 2012. It is composed of two equally weighted sections, a 55-minute, 80 point multiple choice
section, followed by a 130-minute free response section, composed of one 45-minute document
Based Question (DBQ) and two essays, each of 30 minutes. The writing section includes a
mandatory 15-minute reading time of questions and documents prior to beginning the writing of
your free response. The DBQ may come from any part of American History.
The exam is graded on a five point scale. The College Board considers a 5 “extremely well qualified”
for university level work, a 4 “well qualified” and a 3 is “qualified”. Consequently, most colleges and
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universities grant credit for a 3 or higher. No credit is granted for a 2 or 1. The experience of taking
the exam is useful and committing oneself to earn a competent score is a worthy goal.
MATERIALS:
1. Textbook— Faragher, Buhle, Czitrom, and Armitage. Out of Many, (Prentice Hall, Revised 6th
ed.)
a. You should bring your textbook to class everyday.
c. You should read a little of your textbook every night.
d. Cost of textbook is $
2. Three Ring Binder—you will be required to keep a three ring binder with dividers solely for A.P.
U.S. History for the whole year in chronological order.
3. Pens, Highlighter, Pencils
4. flash drive.
5. You must obtain an AP Study Guide.
Class Decorum/Attendance/Tardiness:
All rules in the student handbook apply.
Make-up work/Extra help: If you have missed a class, you should speak to me about making up
the work. Be sure to show me any work that was due on the date of an absence.
Remember, making up work is your responsibility. If you require extra help, please speak to me.
Academic Integrity: Students are expected to complete all work independently unless otherwise
instructed by the teacher. This stipulation includes daily homework assignments, reading
assignments, written work, and tests. Plagiarism – the presentation of someone else’s words or
ideas as if they are your own – can be committed either orally or in writing. The source of any
outside material, either quoted or paraphrased, must be cited appropriately using the Chicago or
Turabian style.
Other:
www.prenhall.com/faragher, has helpful study guides and sample questions.
AP U.S. History section of www.collegeboard.com.
www.myhistorylab.com- Out of Many, AP Edition
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Schedule of Topics and Assignments (subject to revision as necessary)
Unit I: Colonial America (1492-1754) Chapters 1-5 (three weeks)
Central Focus/Essential Questions: Analyze the development of northern, middle and southern
colonies in America during the period 1492-1750. How does where you live affect how you live?
Themes: American Diversity, Slavery and its Legacies, Religion, Roots of American Identity
A. First Semester
1. Introduction to the course
 An overview of AP U.S. History
 Summer reading and writing assignments:
i.
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Why Study History? By Peter Sterns (http://www.historians.org/pubs/free/WhyStudyHistory.htm)
1. What are a few of the reasons Peter Sterns says we should study history?
2. What are some of the reasons you think we should study history?
Map test: political and geographic features of the United States (Day 2)
Historical Methods
i. Discuss Zinn’s view of history (A People’s History Chapter 1, pages 8-12)
1. define
2. purpose of the book, agree/disagree-explain at least two examples
3. Who controls history? Why?
Historical periods
2. A Continent of Villages, To 1500 and When Worlds Collide 1492-1590
 Reading assignment: Out of Many, chapters 1-2
 Secondary Source Selections: A People’s History Zinn finish chapter 1
i. Compare the text and Zinn concerning treatment of Native people by the
English and Spanish.
 Primary resource documents: Bartoleme de las Casas-excerpt from The
Devastation of the Indes, Jacques Cartier-A French Captain Describes His First
Meeting with the Central Indians in 1534
 Media: Five Hundred Nations (selected scenes)
 Activities: Fact from Opinion; Indentifying Types of Essays; Document Skills
(Direct Evidence, Indirect Evidence, Artifact Evidence)
 Required chapter outline
3. Planting Colonies in North America, 1588-1701
 Reading assignment: Out of Many, chapter 3
 Comparative chart: Europeans in North America
 Primary source documents: John Winthrop, Roger Williams, John McCulloughNarrative of Captivity, Selections from the New England Primer 1683, William
Penn-1681 Plans for the Province of Pennsylvania, Nancy Shoemake- A Strange
Likeness: Becoming Red and White in Eighteenth Century America
 Activity: 50 Word Sentence – The five effects Europeans had on the New World
and its inhabitants, Required comparative chart: Colonial cultures in North
America, Adding Meaning to Facts by Categorization, Identifying Critical Words in
an Essay Question, Determining What Documents Mean (Who, What, Were,
When)
 Media: 500 Nations
 Multiple-choice test chapter 1-3
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4. Slavery and Empire 1441-1700
 Reading assignment: Out of Many, chapter 4
 Secondary Source Selections: A People’s History Zinn chapter 2
 Primary resource documents: Maryland Addresses the Status of Slaves in 1664,
Alexander Falconbridge- A Slave Ship Surgeon Writes About Slave Trade in 1788,
Robert Beverly- A Virginian Describes the Differences Between Servants and Slaves
1722, John Woolman- journal excerpt
 Activities: What is a good essay? Why? (Student essay grading activity), Practice
DBQ
 Media: Roots (selected scenes), Amistad (selected scenes) Africans in America Part I
(PBS)
 Review questions/terms
 Map Activity and Questions
 Note comparison- compare and contrast the coverage of slavery in Zinn Chapter 2
with your textbook (chapter 4)
5. The Cultures of Colonial North America, 1700-1780
 Reading assignment: Out of Many, chapter 5
i. Required comparative chart: Colonial cultures in North America
 Secondary Source Selections: A People’s History Zinn chapter 3
 Primary resource documents: Peter Kalm- Travels in North America, Jonathon
Edwards- excerpt from “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”
 Media: Founding Fathers (selected scenes), Liberty (selected scenes)
 Activities: Founding Fathers Interview, DBQ practice - Colonial Representative
Government or Religious Development 1619-1740
 Review questions/terms
 Map Activity and Timeline
 Assessment: Multiple Choice Exam with
Possible Free-Response Questions (FRQs):
1. Why was it easier for Native Americans to get along with the French or Dutch than with
the English? How did these conflicts influence the approach of Native Americans
towards the different colonizing groups?
2. How did differences between official British policy toward Native Americans and the
inconsistent execution of those policies by American colonists exacerbate conflict on the
frontier?
Possible Document Based Questions (DBQs):
1. Although New England and the Chesapeake region were both settled largely by people of
English origin, by 1700 the regions had evolved into two distinct societies. Why did this
difference in development occur? (1993 AP U.S. History exam)
2. To what extent was the religious movement called the Great Awakening of 1739-1745 the
philosophical and intellectual cornerstone of the political thought that would justify the
American Revolution?
3. Although the thirteen American colonies were founded at different times by people with
different motives and with different forms of colonial charters and political
organizations, by the Revolution the 13 colonies had become remarkably similar. Assess
the validity of this statement.
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Unit II: Revolutionary America (1754-1789) Chapter 6-7 (three weeks)
Central Focus/Essential Questions: What were the social, political and economic factors that
drove the American colonies to independence? How did the American Revolution
influence/reflect American values and character?
Themes: American Identity, Politics and Citizenship, War and Diplomacy
6. From Empire to Independence, 1750-1776
 Reading assignment: Out of Many, chapter 6
 Secondary Source Selections: A People’s History: Chapters 4- 5
 Primary source document: The Declaration of Independence, Common Sense by Thomas
Paine, Navigation Acts, September 13, 1660, The Proclamation of 1763, Stamp Act
of 1765, “Join or Die”, Political Cartoon Benjamin Franklin, Testimony Against the
Stamp Act 1766, “American Crisis” – Thomas Paine, “Letters from a Farmer in
Pennsylvania”-John Dickinson, Speech to the Second Virginia Convention, Patrick
Henry, James Otis-excerpt The Rights of the British Colonies Asserted and Proved,
Jonathon Boucher-A View of the Causes and
 Activities: Establishing Cause-and-Effect Relationships, What is the Question
Asking, Path to revolution timeline assignment-short synopsis of event,
concentrate on why, Consequences of the American Revolution, 2004 French and
Indian War DBQ assignment, Founding Fathers Research.
 Media: Founding Fathers (selected scenes), Liberty (selected scenes) 1776 musical
 Review questions/terms
 Multiple Choice Exam-approx. 40 questions
7. The American Revolution, 1776-1786
 Reading assignment: Out of Many, chapter 7
 Secondary Source Selections: A People’s History: Chapters 5
 Primary resource documents: Abigail Adams- Familiar Letters of John Adams
and his wife Abigail Adams The Articles of Confederation
i. Discuss the Articles of Confederation-List weaknesses and three
contributions the Articles gave the United States.
 Activities: “Who Fired That Shot?” class analysis and discussion based on eyewitness
accounts of hostilities at Lexington and Concord. Determining Credibility: Whom
to Believe? “Document Shuffle”-Causes of the American Revolution British,
American, and Tory perspectives. Small groups with approximately 10 documents
to categorize, interpret, and report.
 Required review questions/terms-Timeline questions a-f
Methods of Assessment:
Multiple-choice exam: 45 questions from text, 15-20 questions from discussion, lecture, and Zinn
FRQs, Take home:
1. Analyze the extent to which the American Revolution represented a radical alteration in
American political ideas and institutions, 1750-1781.
2. Was the American Revolution motivated more by political concerns or economic
concerns? How do you know?
DBQs: Chose one question and locate and print three primary resources that
would help you answer the question.
1. To what extent had the colonists developed a sense of their identity and unity as
Americans by the eve of the Revolution? (1999 DBQ)
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2. To what extent and in what ways was the year 1763 a turning point in American history?
3. “The demand for no taxation without representation was the primary force motivating
the American revolutionary movement and for many it became a symbol for
democracy.” Assess the validity of this statement.
4. “The achievements of diplomats are in the long run more decisive than generals.”
Assess the validity of this statement for the period 1775-1815.
Unit III: National Government and Republican Values (1789- 1820) Chapter 8-9 (2 weeks)
Central Focus/Essential Questions: What challenges did the early federal government face in
establishing a strong central government from 1789-1820? How were the conflicts between central
and local power resolved? In what ways and to what extent did the new government and the
Constitution balance concerns over liberty and order?
Themes: Economic transformations, Reform, Slavery and its legacy, Politics and Citizenship
8. The New Nation, 1786-1800
 Reading assignment: Out of Many, chapter 8
 Secondary Source Selections: A People’s History: Chapters 6 and 7
 Primary source documents: The Federalists vs. The Anti-Federalists;
Washington’s Farewell Address, Federalist Papers (10, 39, 51, 74, 75), Hamilton and
Jefferson on the creation of the National Bank
 Activities: Making Inferences from Written Questions, Which Question to Write
About? Student debate, Ratify the Constitution? Making Inferences from
Documents (Alien and Sedition Acts and Northwest Ordinance, 1787)
 Review questions/terms
 Media: Liberty, Episode 6 (PBS), Sins of Our Mothers (PBS American Experience
Series), “I’m Just a Bill” (Schoolhouse Rock), The Constitution, Birth of the NationCharlie Brown
 Take Home mini-DBQ
 Multiple-choice chapter 8 test
9. An Agrarian Republic, 1790-1824
 Reading assignment: Out of Many, chapter 9
 Primary source documents: Inaugural address, Thomas Jefferson, Madison’s War
Message, anti-war speeches, Marbury v Madison, First Alien and Sedition Acts,
McCullough v Maryland, Missouri Enabling Act March 6, 1820 (Missouri
Compromise) James Monroe-1823 State of the Union Address (Monroe Doctrine),
 Secondary Source Selections: A People’s History: Chapters ; “Jefferson and the
Character Issues” by Douglas Wilson
i. Consider the text and reading, create two lists Jefferson’s greatest
accomplishments and greatest failures. Write a paragraph exploring
Jefferson’s legacies and importance to history. How should he be
remembered? What did he give to the nation? Hero, villain, failure
success? Do you agree with Wilson’s thesis and nature of presentism?
 Activities: Historical Thinking- Expanding Understanding Through Analysis of
maps and Graphs, Putting Your Answer into a Graphic Organizer, Using
Documents to Support an Argument, Computer research- Find a primary resource
document that helps make sense of the war of 1812. Bring it to class; be able to
explain the connection; use Turabian to document the complete citation of the
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source. Note card review- Select a person or event; create a list of clues hardest to
easiest
 Review questions/terms
 Methods of Assessment: Multiple-choice exam
Possible FRQs:
1. The debate over the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798 revealed bitter controversies on a
number of issues. Discuss the issues involved and explain why these controversies
developed.
2. Hamilton and Jefferson had opposing visions for the economic future of America.
What were those visions and how were they resolved in the early national period?
Possible DBQs:
1. In what ways and to what extent did the Articles of Confederation provide the United
States with an effective government from 1781-1789?
2. “The political movement which led to the writing of the Constitution of 1787
represented an attempted conservative counter-revolution against the excesses of the
democracy which threatened chaos under the liberal Articles of Confederation. The
political battle over ratification which followed proposal of the new Constitution
resulted in a governing document which compromised between two extremes of
positions.” Assess the validity of this statement.
3. Because the Anti-Federalists won their major points at the Philadelphia Convention, the
majority of their leaders were able to support the new Constitution and avoid further
dissention that could have led to the dissolution of the union.” Assess the validity of
this statement.
Unit IV: Jacksonian Democracy (1820-1850) Chapter 10-11 (two weeks)
Central Focus/Essential Questions: In what ways and to what extent did American democracy
expand to include previously disenfranchised sections of society? What social, political, and
economic forces facilitated these changes?
Themes: American Identity, American Diversity (Role of Ethnic and Minority Groups), Culture,
Demographic Changes, Economic Transformations, Growth of Participatory Democracy (Politics
and Citizenship), Land use and Significance of the Environment, Slavery and its Legacy
10. The South and Slavery, 1790s-1850s
 Reading assignment: Out of Many, chapter 10
 Primary source documents: Henry Watson- Narrative of Henry Watson A
Fugitive Slave, …
 Secondary Source Selections: A People’s History: Chapter 9 pages 172-185
 Activities: Analyzing and Evaluating Point of View (Jackson and Calhoun Chart)
 Review questions/terms
 Multiple-choice test
11. The Growth of Democracy, 1824-1840
 Reading assignment: Out of Many, chapter 11
 Primary Resource Documents: James Kent- “Opposes Spreading the Vote,
1821”, Daniel Webster’s “Liberty and Union, now and forever, one and
inseparable” speech, Margaret Fuller-“The Great lawsuit Man versus Men, Woman
versus Women, Indian Removal Act, 1830, “Second Message to Congress” (On
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2.
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2.
3.
Indian Removal) – Andrew Jackson, “Democracy in America” – Alexis de
Tocqueville, Political Cartoons (selection)
i. The Battle for Wisconsin Heights-Dodge and Black Hawk; Bad Axe-Black
Hawk and General Atkinson, Who’s the Savage?
1. What is most revelatory (powerfully revealing) about each of the
readings. Write a sentence or two about what gave you pause. What
are the prevailing attitudes of Amer-Indian peoples toward whites
(cite reading, please)? What are the prevailing attitudes of whites
toward Amer-Indians (cite reading)? How were white and AmerIndian descriptions of Wisconsin Heights and Bad Axe compare
and contrast? What is illuminating or instructive about the
differences?
 Secondary Source Selections: A People’s History: Chapters 7
 Activities: Analyzing and Evaluating Point of View (Jackson and Calhoun Chart)
Will the real Andrew Jackson please stand up? Be prepared to create a “real”
Andrew Jackson poster. (Frontier democrat, King Andrew, nationalist, common
man?) Organizing Your Answer: Writing an Outline, Dealing with Documents That
Contradict Each Other,
 Assign Student court case SMART presentations
 Review questions/terms
 Extra Credit-reading US and Them, “Blankets for the Dead”
 Methods of Assessment: Multiple Choice exam chapters 10-11
Free Response Questions:
Did the Jacksonian Era actually increase citizen participation in politics? To what extent
was it a genuine increase?
Andrew Jackson was the seventh president of the United States. Certainly he saw
himself as a hero, and many others saw him that way also. How do you see him and his
impact on the United States?
Possible DBQ:
Jacksonian Democrats viewed themselves as guardians of the United States
Constitution, political democracy, individual liberty, and equality of economic
opportunity. In light of the following documents and your knowledge of the 1820s and
1830s, to what extent do you agree with the Jacksonian view of themselves?
To what extent was the decision of the Jackson administration to remove the Cherokee
Indians to lands west of the Mississippi River in the 1830s more of a reformulation of
the national policy that had been in effect since the 1790s than a change in that policy?
To what extent and in what ways did the Supreme Court influence the debate on State’s
Rights during the period 1810-1850?
Unit V: Sectional Conflict (1820-1860) (four weeks)
Central Focus/Essential Questions: In what ways and to what extent did the forces of growth
and expansion both tie the United States together as a country and contribute to disunion?
Themes: Demographic Changes, Economic Transformations, Religion, Slavery and its legacies.
Politics and citizenship
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12. Industry and the North, 1790’s-1840s
 Reading assignment: Out of Many, chapter 12
 Secondary Source Selections: A People’s History: Chapters 6 + –Scored Discussion
i. Women-important but little known
ii. Accepted spheres of women
iii. How women’s live were controlled my men
iv. Women, men, and the nation in Jeffersonian to Jacksonian America
 Primary resource documents: New England Factory Regulations for Workers
1825, Factory life As It Is by An Opperative-1845, Catherine Beecher excerpt
Treaties on Domestic Economy for Young Ladies a home and at School, “Cult of
True Womanhood”,
 Activities: Student SMART presentations assigned with presentation dates
 Media: Lowell Mills
 Review questions and outline
 Multiple Choice test
13. Coming to Terms with the New Age, 1820s-1850s
 Reading assignment: Out of Many, chapter 13
 Primary source document: Seneca Falls Declaration-Elizabeth Cady Stanton,
Susan B. Anthony, Matilda J. Gage, David Walker-Walker’s Appeal, in Four Articles
1830, Angelina Grimke “Bearing Witness Against Slavery” 1838, Sojourner Truth
“And Ain’t I a Woman?”
 Activities:; Analyzing Written Passages through Unstated Assumptions, Writing a
Strong Thesis Statement (A.C.I.D. test), Analyzing Charts-use 3TRG approach
(Time, Topic, Trends, relationship, and Generalization) (Women’s Population and
Child Bearing, 1810-1860) Smart Presentations due DBQ activity
 Media: One Woman One Vote Part I- PBS
 Required review questions/terms
14. Territorial Expansion of the United States, 1830’s-1850’s
 Readings: Out of Many, chapter 14
 Primary source documents: John L. O’Sullivan “Manifest Destiny” R.B. Mason
“California Gold Rush 1848”, Henry Davis Thoreau’s “Civil Disobedience”
i. Three most important points. How might Thoreau’s ideas impact or effect
later American history?
 Activities: Planning Responses to Questions Through Argumentation, Writing a
Positive or Negative Thesis Statement, Analyzing Political Cartoons (use TACOStime, author, captions, objects, and summary)
 Media: The West- PBS
 Map Notes Activity
 Review questions/terms
 Multiple-choice/essay exam
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15. The Coming Crises, The 1850’s
 Reading assignment: Out of Many, chapter 15
 Primary source documents: Lincoln vs. Davis on the right of secession,
Frederick Douglass “What to a Slave is the Fourth of July?” John Brown “Address
of John Brown to Virginia Court…
 Secondary Source Selections: A People’s History: Chapters
 Media: Ken Burns’ The Civil War (“The Cause”), Slavery in American Part II (PBS)
 Activity: John Brown Primary Sources; Chart: Slavery – The Irrepressible Conflict,
Analyzing Questions by Evaluating Similarities and Differences- use Venn
Diagrams, Slavery Quiz Challenge
 Review questions/terms
 Multiple-choice exam
Unit VI: The Civil War and Reconstruction (1860-1877) (two weeks)
Central Focus/Essential Questions: Evaluate the degree to which the Civil War and
Reconstruction forged a new sense of identity and nationhood for the American people. Include a
focus on civil rights for African Americans.
Themes:
American Identity, Demographic Changes, War and Diplomacy, Politics and Citizenship, Economic
Transformations, American Diversity, Civil Rights and Liberties
16. The Civil War, 1861-1865
 Reading assignment: Out of Many, chapter 16
i. RRJ-List at east three major specific problems threatening a national unity
in 1860. Give suggestions to reduce tension between the North and South.
 Primary source documents: Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address; Second Inaugural
Address
 Secondary Source Selections: A People’s History: Chapters 9
 Activities: Chart-Major Battles of the Civil War, Creating Categories to Answer
Essay Questions,
 Media Resources: The Civil War Part I, Ken Burns PBS (selected scenes), Glory
 Extra Credit- Recite the entire Gettysburg Address in class. More points for dramatic flair.
 Required review questions/terms
17. Reconstruction, 1863-1877
 Reading assignment: Out of Many, chapter 17;
 Secondary Source Selections: A People’s History: Chapters Ch. 9 p.185 to end of
the chapter.
i. RRJ- Discuss how newly freed African Americans were not truly free.
Does Zinn agree or disagree with your text?
ii. RRJ- Create a list of legacies and a list of lessons from the Civil War. Consider
lessons and legacies on both a personal level and a national level. At the
bottom of the list, reflect in a sort paragraph what the nation’s most significant
gain was and what was the greatest loss as a result of the Civil War?
 Primary source documents: The Debate on Reconstruction Policy, Cartoonist
View of Reconstruction: 10 political cartoons by Thomas Nast; Frederick Douglas speech
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to American Anti-slavery Society in 1865; Blanche K. Bruce-Speech in the Senate
1876; Sharecrop Contract, 1882;
Media: Reconstruction-PBS
Discussion: Reconstruction – Success or Failure Five problems the south faces vs.
Suggestions for the federal government to alleviate the problems.
Activities: Note Comparison- Lincoln, Johnson, and Radical Republicans on
Reconstruction, Using Charts and Documents Together-writing activity, Evaluating
Relevance of Information in Answering Questions-Topics Jim Crow Laws and Rise
of the Populist party.
Debate: Was Reconstruction a success or a failure? –Be prepared for both sides
Review questions/terms
Evaluating the Civil War Period. Come to class prepared to evaluate the Civil
War-This in class activity will take the place of the test. You may bring any
materials, notes, or timelines. Consider these questions:
i. Was the Civil War an irrepressible conflict?
ii. Was the Civil War for human freedom or preservation of the Union?
iii. Was America changed for the better?
iv. What is the value of studying the Civil War?
Unit VII: Growth, Expansion and Industry (1848-1900) (two weeks)
Central Focus/Essential Questions: Which political, social, and economic changes contributed
the most to the industrial growth and expansion of the United States? How did these changes affect
America’s character and economic system?
Themes: Demographic Changes, War and Diplomacy, American Diversity, American Identity,
Globalization, Environment, Culture,
18. Conquest and Survival: The Trans-Mississippi West, 1860-1900
 Reading assignment: Out of Many, chapter 18;
 Secondary Source Selections: A People’s History: Chapters 11 and 12
 Primary Source Document Selections: Populist Party Platform; “Cross of Gold”William Jennings Bryan; Thomas Nast Cartoons; D.W.C. Duncan- Senate Report
5013; Charles and Nellie Wooster, Letters form the Frontier, 1872; Plessey v
Ferguson, 1896; “Our Country”-Josiah Strong; “The Significance of the Frontier in
American History”-Frederick Jackson Turner; Nat Love picture and excerpt from
Deadwood Dick.
 Activity: Supporting Your Thesis
 Media: 500 Nations: Ghost Dance at Wounded Knee
 Review questions/terms
 Student SMART presentations
 Quiz
19. The Incorporation of America, 1865-1900
 Reading assignment: Out of Many, chapter 19
 Secondary Source Selections: A People’s History: Chapters
 Primary source document: Carnegie’s Gospel of Wealth-excerpt; Sherman Antitrust Act, 1903; M. Carey Thomas, Higher Education for Women, 1901. “Of Mr.
Booker T. Washington”-W.E.B. DuBois; “Atlanta Compromise”-Booker T.
Washington; Frederick Winslow Taylor, Scientific Management (1919), Charles
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Loring Brace, The Life of Street Rats (1872); Richard k Fox, Coney Island Frolics
(1883)
 Activity: DBQ activity/interpreting political cartoons in-class, Using Cartoons and
Documents Together
 Required review questions/terms
 Methods of Assessment: The first-semester final exam will consist of 80
multiple-choice questions, a full DBQ essay, and free response essay.
Possible FRQs:
1. Although the economic growth of the U.S. between 1860-1900 has been attributed to
the governmental policy of laissez-faire, it was in fact encouraged and sustained by direct
governmental intervention.” Assess the validity of this statement.
2. Describe and account for the rise of Nativism in American society from 1900 to 1930.
Possible DBQs:
1. The Industrial Revolution began in England in the middle of the 18th Century and by
1860, Great Britain was the primary manufacturing nation in the world. By 1900, in a
little over a generation the United States had taken over first place and was producing
almost twice as much as second place Britain. What were the key factors that sparked
this rapid change?
2. The rise of Corporations transformed the United States in the late nineteenth century.
Discuss the changes and determine if the transformations were for the better or for the
worse?
3. The greatest damage done to Native Americans in the late 19th century was by those
who believed they had the best interests of Native Americans at heart. Assess the
validity of this statement.
Second Semester
Unit VIII: Reaction, Reform, and Rudyard (1880-1920) (three weeks)
Central Focus/Essential Questions: In what ways and to what extent did industrialization and
expansion affect American citizens’ civil rights, access to resources, and sense of place in the world.
How did these changes impact America’s role in the world?
Themes:
Reform, Labor, Politics and Citizenship, Imperialism
20. Commonwealth and Empire, 1870-1900
 Reading assignment: Out of Many, chapter 20;
 Secondary Source Selections: Zinn, 20th Century chapter 1
 Primary source documents: McKinley; Beveridge; Anti-Imperialist League;
Kipling-White Man’s Burden; Senate Debate on Annexation of the Philippines; Alfred
Thayer Mahan, The Influence of Sea Power, 1890. Ida B. Wells-Barnett, A Red Record
(1895).
 Activities: Analyzing Bias and Its Effect on Points of View-topic Manifest Destiny
 Media: Hawaii’s Queen Liliuokalani
 Review questions/terms
 Multiple-choice test
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21. Urban America and the Progressive Era, 1900-1920
 Reading assignment: Out of Many, chapter 21;
 Secondary Source Selections: Zinn, 20th Century chapter 2
 Primary Source Documents: How the Other Half Lives-Jacob Riis; What Social
Classes Owe To Each Other, William Graham Sumner; The Jungle, Upton Sinclair;
Niagra Movement Declaration of Principles, 1905; Why We March, Leaflet, 1917
 Activity: The Progressives chart; Progressive Era document Analysis, Creating
Generalizations to Develop and Expand Responses to Questions, Writing a
Paragraph from Dissenting Documents.
 Media: Making of the Panama Canal (documentary), The Great War, Ken Burns,
(PBS); One Woman One Vote, PBS selected scenes
 Review questions/terms
 Multiple-choice test
22. World War I, 1914-1920
 Reading assignment: Out of Many, chapter 22;
 Secondary Source Selections Zinn, 20th Century chapter 3
i. Impact of the automobile- List five impacts you believe were most
important to the nation’s culture. Explain why and the car’s importance to
the 20s.
 Primary source documents: George Creel- How we Advertised America, 1920; Anna
Howard Shaw-Woman’s Commitment of the Council of National Defense, 1917; Eugene V.
Debs-Statement to the Court, 1918; Letters of the Great Migration, 1916-1917;
 Activity: Addressing all Aspects of the Statement or Questions-Topics Manifest
Destiny and WWI, Document Shuffle- Arranging Sources into Categories, Read
“Red Summer-1919” Create a recipe card for a race riot-include ingredients on the
front-on the back-explain how to mix ingredients for a fiery concoction, Treaty of
Versailles DBQ practice
 Review questions/terms
Methods of Assessment: Multiple Choice
Possible FRQs:
To what extent did the United States achieve the objectives that led it to enter the First World War?
Analyze the reasons for the emergence of the Progressive movement in the early 20th Century.
Possible DBQs:
1. How successful was organized labor in improving the position of workers in this time
period? Analyze the factors that contributed the level of success achieved (2000 DBQ)
2. To what extent was late nineteenth century and early twentieth century United States
expansionism a continuation of past United States expansionism and to what extent was
it a departure?
Unit IX: Boom and Bust (1920-1940) 2 weeks
Central Focus/Essential Questions: What new features of American culture emerged in the
1920s? How were the seeds of the Great Depression sown during the boom of the 1920s? How did
the nation deal with the crisis and what is the legacy of the political and policy changes that resulted?
What was responsible for ending the Great Depression?
Themes: Economics, Culture, American Diversity, Religion, Politics and Citizenship
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23. The Twenties, 1920-1929
 Reading assignment: Out of Many, chapter 23;
 Secondary Source Selections: Zinn, 20th Century: Chapter 4
 Primary Source Documents: Langston Hughes Poetry; Robert and Helen Lloyd,
The Automobile Come to Middletown, 1924;Elenoer Wembridge, Petting and
Necking, 1925; Domestic Work; Paul Morand, Speakeasies in New York, 1929
 Activities: Student SMART presentations: Biography Assignment 1920’s-1930’s
 Media: Grapes of Wrath, The Great Gatsby, The Harlem Renaissance documentary
 Review questions/terms
 Quiz based on presentations
24. The Great Depression and The New Deal, 1929-1940
 Reading assignment: Out of Many, chapter 24;
 Secondary Source reading: Zinn 29th Century chapter 4
i. Five reasons for the isolationist sentiment of Americans in the 1920’s and
1930’s
 Primary source documents: FDR’s Commonwealth Club Address, First
Inaugural Address Forgotten Man speech, Hard Times, Studs Terkel, “Fireside
Chats”, Roosevelt, Dorthea Lange Photographs-Library of Congress; Huey Long,
Share the Wealth, 1935; Carey McWilliams, Okies in California, 1939
 Activities: Library of Congress Picture Analysis; DBQ -New Deal -analyze and
outline; Using Inductive Reasoning to Define and Clarify Problems; Writing a
Concluding Paragraph; Organizing the Document-Based Question- Use the steps
taught to prepare the three possible DBQ’s for the test.
 Media: FDR- American Experience documentary; Huey Long PBS
 Review questions/terms for extra credit
i. What are the five most important pieces of legislation to ending the Great
Depression? Explain.
ii. Discuss the three most important successes of the New Deal and the two
greatest failures during the Great Depression
 Methods of Assessment:
Multiple Choice test the 1920’s and the Great Depression
Possible FRQs:
1. Historians have generally described the 1920s and early 1930s as a period of
isolationism. Assess the validity of this generalization.
2. In what ways is the term “roaring twenties” an accurate description of the decade?
DBQs: Select one DBQ and find three documents that would help you answer the question.
The 1920’s were a period of tension between new and changing attitudes on the one hand
and traditional values and nostalgia on the other. What led to the tension between old
and new and in what ways was the tension manifested? (1986)
Analyze the responses of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s administration to the problems of the
Great Depression. How effective were these responses? How did they change the role
of the federal government? (2003)
“The New Deal accomplished a basic alteration in the terms of the social compact in the
United States, creating a new set of relationships between workers and employers, rich
and poor, small businessmen and bankers, the government and those it governed. The
break with the past was seismic. America would never be the same.” Assess the validity
of this statement using the documents and your knowledge of U S History.
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Unit X: World War II (1938-1945) 1.5 weeks
Central Focus/Essential Questions: In what ways did World War Two change American
domestic politics and culture? In what ways did World War Two create a foundation for the Cold
War? Why has World War II been considered “the good war?”
Themes: Culture, American Identity, War and Diplomacy
25. World War II, 1941-1945
 Reading assignment: Out of Many, chapter 25;
 Secondary Source Selections: Zinn 20th Century Chapter 5; excerpt Snow Falling on
Cedars.
i. “Was World War II inevitable?”
 Primary Source Document Selections: FDR’s “Quarantine the Aggressor”
speech (U.S. Government Publications), United States Declaration of War, “Day
that will live in infamy” FDR, US Government Posters (Rosie the Riveter, Etc.),
Executive Order 9066, Roosevelt; Korematsu v United States1944; Library of
Congress Digital Archives; Harry Truman’s Statement on the Atomic Bomb, 1945;
Four Freedoms
 Activities: SOAPS use the 1938 editorial “ Hitler Again Gets What He Wants”,
Discussion: American attitudes following the Sudetenland Crises, Computer
Activity: Who Caused the Cold War-primary resource analysis, Debate: Truman’s
decision to use atomic weapons against Japan
 Media: Saving Private Ryan-selected scenes, Band of Brothers-selected scenes, The
Warsaw Ghetto-documentary, Hiroshima- American Experience, Deceit and
Indifference-American Experience PBS, Women in the Workforce, Victory in the
Pacific (selected scenes)
 Required review questions/terms
 Methods of Assessment: Multiple Choice
Possible FRQs:
The Atlantic and Pacific theaters were both viewed differently and fought differently by
Americans—discuss these differences and the reasons for their existence.
World War II is often referred to as the “good war.” What is meant by this and to what
extent is it a fair description?
Possible DBQs:
The United States decision to drop an atomic bomb on Hiroshima was a diplomatic measure
calculated to intimidate the Soviet Union in the post-Second-World War era rather than
a strictly military measure designed to force Japan’s unconditional surrender. Evaluate
the validity of this statement. (1988)
What impact did WWII have on the status within American society of minorities and
women? Assess and describe both short and long range changes that may have
occurred.
To what extent was Woodrow Wilson's neutrality policy [1914-17] different than Franklin D.
Roosevelt's neutrality policy 1935-40?
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Unit XI- Cold War and Vietnam (1945-1975) 2.5 weeks
Central Focus/Essential Questions: How did Atomic Power shape the development of the Cold
War? To what extent were cold war fears grounded in reality? What was the contribution of
government propaganda to American attitudes about the cold war? How did conflicts in the cold
war reflect the major doctrines of the time, such as containment, domino theory, etc.
Themes: War and Diplomacy, Globalization, American Identity, Politics and Citizenship
26. The Cold War, 1945-1952
 Reading assignment: Out of Many, chapter 26
 Primary source documents:
Truman Doctrine, 1947; Clarke Clifford,
Memorandum to President Truman; Joseph McCarthy, “The Wheeling West
Virginia Speech”- 1950; McCarthy/Truman Letters; “The Marshall Plan”-George
Marshal
 Media: CNN The Cold War (selected scenes) Atomic Café
 Activity: Timed Reading quiz
 Review questions/terms
 Multiple Choice test
27. America at Mid-Century, 1952-1963
 Reading assignment: Out of Many, chapter 27;
 Secondary Source Selections: Zinn, A People’s History: Chapter 17,
 Primary Source Document Selections: “The Containment Doctrine”-Harry S.
Truman, “The Long Telegram”-George F. Kennan; Life magazine-the Teenage
Consumer; John K. Galbraith excerpt, The Affluent Society, 1959; Jack Kerouc, On
the road, 1957; Betty Friedan, excerpt “The Feminine Mystique”
 Activities: Evaluating and Prioritizing Facts in Planning an Essay; Creating a Rubric
for Free-Response Essays; Creating a Rubric for a Document-Based Question
 Review questions/terms
 Methods of Assessment: Multiple Choice
Possible FRQs:
Analyze the successes and failures of the United States Cold War policy of containment
as it developed in TWO of the following regions of the world during the period 19451975: Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America, and Africa
Possible DBQs:
1. What were the Cold War fears of the American people in the aftermath of the Second
World War? How successfully did the administration of President Dwight D.
Eisenhower address these fears? (2001)
2. To what extent were the Soviet Union and the United States equally responsible for
bringing the world to the brink of nuclear war during the Cuban missile crisis of 1962?
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Unit XII: Post War Affluence and the Struggle for Civil Rights (1946-1968) 2 weeks
Central Focus/Essential Questions: Examine the impact of individuals and organized groups in
bringing about change in society and government policy during the Civil Rights era? What role did
larger social forces play in helping or hurting these efforts?
Themes: American Diversity, American Identity, Culture, Demographic Changes, Economic
Transformations, Politics and Citizenship, Environment
28. The Civil Rights Movement, 1945-1966
 Reading assignment: Out of Many, chapter 28;
 Secondary Source Reading: A People’s History: Chapter 17
 Primary Source Document Selections: Brown v Board of Education, 1954; The
Dolls Test interview; Southern Manifesto on Integration, 1956; George Wallace
Inaugural Address; Letter from Birmingham Jail, MLK, I Have a Dream, What We
Want, Stokely Carmichael, Negroes are not moving too fast, MLK, The Ballot or
the Bullet, Malcolm X; Black Panther Party’s Statement of Beliefs
 Activity: Literacy Test; Elizabeth Eckford picture analysis and newspaper article;
Sequencing Evidence to Support an Argument.
 Review questions/terms
 Media Resource Selections: Eyes on the Prize: America’s Civil Rights Years (PBS)
(selected scenes), Mississippi Burning, Malcolm X, Songs of Protest music (extra
credit).
 Methods of Assessment: Multiple Choice
Possible FRQs:
1. To what extent did the decade of the 1950’s deserve its reputation as an age of social
and cultural conformity?
2. “1968 was a turning point for the United States.” To what extent is an accurate
assessment? In your answer discuss TWO of the following: National politics, Vietnam
War, Civil Rights
Possible DBQs:
1. Analyze the changes that occurred during the 1960’s in the goals, strategies and support
of the movement for African American civil rights. (1995)
2. Evaluate the effectiveness of Dr. Martin Luther King’s philosophy of non-violent civil
disobedience in undermining the culture of “Jim Crow” and segregation in the South.
What outside elements may have contributed to the success of the Civil Rights
Movement?
3. To what extent and in what ways did contemporary music and popular culture impact
American society 1950s and 60s?
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29. War Abroad, War at Home, 1965-1974
 Reading assignment: Out of Many, chapter 29
 Secondary Source Reading: Zinn 20th Century Chapter 7-9, or Zinn Peoples ch.18
 Primary Source Documents: Gulf of Tonkin Resolution; U.S. v. Nixon; John
Kerry - “Vietnam Veterans Against the War” (1971); Waist Deep in the Big Muddysong; Articles of Impeachment Against Richard Nixon, 1974.
 Activities: Review Steps in Writing a Free-Response Essay; Review Steps in Writing
a Document-Based Question; Reviewing Strategies for Planning responses to
Questions;
 Activities: Timed Reading Quiz
 Media: Letters Home, Fog of War, Vietnam, A Television War PBS (selected scenes)
 Review questions/terms
 Methods of Assessment: Multiple Choice
Possible DBQ essay:
1. To what extent did the foreign policy of the United States in Southeast Asia, cause
Americans both young and old, to question traditional social institutions and political
practices of America.
Possible FRQ:
1. Analyze the successes and failures of the United States Cold War policy of containment
as it developed in TWO of the following regions of the world during the period 19451975: Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America, Africa.
Unit XIII: That 70s’ and 80s’ Show (1970-1989) 2 weeks
Central Focus/Essential Questions: To what extent do the decades of the 1970’s and the 1980’s
represent a retreat from the idealism, optimism, and high expectations of the post world war two era?
What cultural and policy changes accompanied from the United State’s loss of economic ascendancy
from the 1970s onward?
Themes: Culture, Economic Transformations, Religion, Politics and Citizenship, Reform
30. The Conservative Ascendancy, 1974-1991
 Reading assignment: Out of Many, chapters 30 and 31;
 Secondary Source Readings: Zinn, 20th Century Chapter 10
 Primary Source Document Selections: “Reflections of a Neoconservative…”Irving Kirstol, “The Equal Rights Amendment”; Gloria Steinem-ERA Hearings 91st
Congress 1970; Myra K. Wolfgang, Opposition to the ERA, 1970; Middletown,
Pennsylvania, 1979- Three Mile Island; “Remarks at the Annual Convention of the
National Association of Evangelicals”-Ronald Reagan; Richard Viguerie, Why the
New Right is Winning, 1981; Ronald Reagan, The Evil Empire, 1983; Jonathon
Kozol, A Homeless Family, 1986.
 Activities: Writing the Document Based Question; Writing the Free Response
Essay-assign possible DBQ and FRQ.
 Methods of Assessment: Multiple Choice
Possible FRQs:
1. Analyze the extent to which TWO of the following transformed American society in the
1970’s and 1980’s: The Environmental Movement, The New Right, the Women’s
Movement, Reaction to Watergate and Vietnam.
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2. One of the most famous expressions of the economic mindset of the 1980s is from the
Oliver Stone movie Wall street in which investing mogul Gordon Gekko famously
proclaims that “Greed Works.!” To what extent is it fair to view the 1980’s as a period
of runaway capitalism and greed?
Possible DBQs:
1. The 1970s and 1980s was a period of economic, political, and social change within both
US Domestic and Foreign Policy. Evaluate the relative successes and failures of
Presidents Carter and Regan in both policy areas.
2. The Nixon Presidency was not the abysmal failure it has been described as being. In the
not too distant future, the Nixon Presidency will be viewed by historians as the most
successful presidency in the second half of the Twentieth Century. Assess the validity of
this statement.
3. How did President Reagan’s administration reflect the basic ideas and principles of the
Neoconservative movement? What were some of the criticisms of his and their view of
governing?
31. Toward A Transcontinental America, Since 1988
 Reading Assignment: Out of Many, Chapter 31;
 Secondary Readings: Zinn, 20th Century chapters 12-13
 Primary Resource Documents: “Hate, Rape and Rap”-Tipper Gore, “2 Live
Crew, Decoded”- Henry Louis Gates, Jr.; Jesse Jackson Common Ground-1988
Democratic National Convention
 Clinton Era, Post Cold War, Contested Election, 9/11, Demographic Changes in
America
 Review Questions/ terms
Review for AP Test (10days)
 3-4 chapters each night with a 20 point multiple choice quiz using Senteos for
immediate response.
 DBQ/Essay practice on chapters-class analysis and outlining answers
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