AP U.S. History
Class Objective:
The goal of this class is to provide an in-depth look into the history of the United
States. The course is designed to challenge your scholastic ability as well as prepare you
for future college courses. I am preparing and teaching this class with the mindset of a
college course and I expect you to approach it in the same manner. In order to achieve
our goals, earning credit for college, we will have to concentrate on historical
interpretation and analysis. This requires you to expand your knowledge of history, your
skills in historical interpretation, as well as habituating a positive and productive attitude
toward your studies.
The following themes, units, and topics use references from the AP audit guideline.
Themes:
There are certain themes we must follow in order to create a well balanced
understanding of U.S. history. They include:
1. American diversity
2. American identity
3. Culture
4. Demographic changes
5. Economic transformations
6. Environment7. Globalization
8. Politics and Citizenship
9. Reform
10. Religion
11. Slavery and its legacies in North America
12. War and diplomacy
Units:
1450-1789
1789-1824
1824-1830
1840-1865
1861-1865
1865-1898
1898-1920
1920-1945
1940-1960s
1970- Present
Topics: Unit 1:
1. Pre-Columbian Societies
a. Lecture notes and primary source readings
b. Chapter 1 of American Pageant
2. Transatlantic encounters and colonial beginnings,1492-1690
a. Lecture notes and primary source readings
b. Chapter 2 of American Pageant
3. Colonial North America, 1690-1754
a. Lecture notes and primary source readings
b. Chapters 3, 4, and 5 of American Pageant
c. Colony Assignment: Each student will research one of the 13 original
colonies. Students will focus on the origins of the colony as well as the
social, economic, and political aspects that were found therein.
4. The American Revolutionary Era, 1754-1789
a. Lecture notes and primary source readings
b. Chapters 6, 7, and 8 of American Pageant
c. Last of the Mohicans: Students will view and critique the portrayal of Last
of the Mohicans to gain a deeper understanding of the French and Indian
War.
Unit 2:
5. The Early Republic, 1789-1824
a. Lecture notes and primary source readings
b. Chapters 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13 of American Pageant
c. In depth reading of the Constitution and study of the contrasting views on
its adoption based on primary resources.
Unit 3
6. Jacksonian Era politics and society
a. Lecture notes and primary source readings
b. Chapters 14 and 15 of American Pageant
c. DBQ on impact of Jackson on the presidency of the United States.
Document will cover nullification crisis, Indian Removal Act, and
Jackson’s view on the Bank of the United States.
Unit 4:
7. Transformation of the Economy and Society pre-Civil War
a. Lecture notes and primary source readings
b. Chapter 16 of American Pageant
c. Gangs of New York: Students will view and critique Gangs of New York to
gain a deeper understanding of the trials and tribulations of Irish
immigrants in New York City. We will also view a History Channel report
on the real gangs of New York in order to contrast the film portrayal with
real evidence from the times.
8. Religion Reform and Renaissance pre-Civil War
a. Lecture notes and primary source readings
b. Chapter 17 of American Pageant
9. Territorial Expansion and Manifest Destiny
a. Lecture notes and primary resource readings
b. Chapter 19 of American Pageant
Unit 5:
10. The Crisis of the Union
a. Lecture notes and primary source readings
b. DBQ over the conflicting opinions of the war. Students will compare
Southern and Northern views based on various documents.
c. Chapters 18, 20, and 21 of American Pageant
11. Civil War
a. Lecture notes and primary source readings
b. Chapters 22 and 23 of American Pageant
c. The Civil War: Students will view several episodes of the Ken Burns film
to see first hand the horrors of the Civil War. The film also portrays battle
tactics, soldier psyche, and accurate maps of the great war.
Unit 6:
12. Reconstruction and the Gilded Age
a. Lecture notes and primary source readings
b. Chapter 24 and 25 of American Pageant
c. The Birth of a Nation: Students will view the second half of this
monumental movie. The film allows students to understand a different
perspective of Reconstruction and the Ku Klux Klan. The film not only
discuss Reconstruction but also makes students concentrate on the
differences in historical perspective.
13. The Origins of the New South
a. Lecture notes and primary source readings
14. Development of the West in the Late Nineteenth Century
a. Lecture notes and primary source readings
b. Chapter 28 of American Pageant
15. Industrial America in the Late Nineteenth Century
a. Lecture notes and primary source readings
b. Chapter 26 of American Pageant
16. Urban Society in the Late Nineteenth Century
a. Lecture notes and primary source readings
b. Chapter 27 of American Pageant
17. Populism and Progressivism
a. Lecture notes and primary source readings
b. Chapters 28, 29, 32, and 33 of American Pageant
c. Research and write a 3 page paper concerning one of the reform
movements of the late 19th or early 20th century. Examples include
i. Temperance
ii. Women’s suffrage
iii. Animal rights
iv. Workers’ rights
v. Civil Rights
vi. Food safety reform
vii. Currency reform
viii. Big business reform
ix. Conservation
x. Farmer reform
Unit 7:
18. The Emergence of America as a World Power (Imperialism and World War I)
a. Lecture notes and primary source readings
b. Chapters 30, 31, 32, 33, and 34 of American Pageant
c. Viewing of short clips from Rough Riders for enrichment purposes.
d. On demand writing critiquing the song Over There
e. DBQ critiquing the United States’ efforts to stay neutral during the
outbreak of war in Europe. Documents will discuss various opinions on
the actions of Woodrow Wilson and his true intentions of avoiding war.
19. The New Era: 1920s
a. Lecture notes and primary source readings
b. Chapter 35 and 36 of American Pageant
c. Student made film depicting the social changes of the 1920s.
Unit 8:
20. The Great Depression and the New Deal
a. Lecture notes and primary source readings
b. Chapters 37 and 38 of American Pageant
c. DBQ discussing FDR’s impact on the nation’s economy and society.
Documents will display the various opinions toward FDR’s New Deal
policies and ask for an analysis of the impact of those policies.
d. Individual study of one program of the New Deal.
21. The Second World War
a. Lecture notes and primary source readings
b. Chapter 39 of American Pageant
Unit 9:
22. The United States and the Early Cold War
a. Lecture notes and primary source readings
b. Chapter 40 of American Pageant
c. Viewing short clips from Dr. Strangelove for enrichment purposes.
23. The 1950s: The Eisenhower Era and beginnings of Civil Rights
a. Lecture notes and primary source readings
b. Chapter 41 of American Pageant
24. The Turbulent 1960s: Kennedy, Johnson, and Vietnam
a. Lecture notes and primary source readings
b. Chapter 42 of American Pageant
c. Study of the 1960s music including protest songs and the rise of the youth
culture
Unit 10:
25. Politics and Economics at the End of the Twentieth Century: Nixon, Ford, and
Carter
a. Lecture notes and primary source readings
b. Chapter 43 of American Pageant
26. Society and Culture at the End of the Twentieth Century: Conservatives and
Reagan
a. Lecture notes and primary source readings
b. Chapter 44 of American Pageant
27. The United States in the Post-Cold War World: Bush, Clinton, and Bush
a. Lecture notes and primary source readings
b. Chapters 44 and 45 of American Pageant
Resources:
Books:
Bailey, Thomas A., and David M Kennedy. The American Pageant. 10th ed. Lexington,
Mass.: D.C. Heath and Company, 1994.
Bailey, Thomas A., and David M Kennedy. The American Spirit. 11th ed. Volume 1 and 2
. Boston, Mass.: The Board of Trustees of Leland Stanford Jr. University and
Trinity Partners, 2006.
(This book contains primary readings that we will study throughout the year.)
Heffner, Richard. A Documentary History of the United States. 7th ed. New York: Signet,
2002.
Wheeler, William and Susan Becker. Discovering the American Past. 6th ed. Volume II.
Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2007.
Movies:
Birth of A Nation
The Civil War by Ken Burns
Gangs of New York
Last of the Mohicans
Rough Riders
Dr. Strangelove
These films provide greater insight into content by portraying accurate clothing,
language, detailed stories, and customs. Birth of a Nation allows students to understand
the various interpretations of Reconstruction while also gaining insight into early filming
methods. The Civil War present in-depth looks into the people, places, and events of the
Civil War as told by historians as well as primary documents. Gangs of New York does a
great job in portraying the difficult life of immigrants in the mid-1800s in New York. It
also discusses the corruption of local government, in this case the Tweed Ring, and the
impact of the inscription laws, the New York Draft Riots. Last of the Mohicans gives a
detailed look, although overly dramatic, at the French and Indian War. Students gain
perspective on why colonists were fighting in this war as well as understanding the role
Native Americans played in the war. Rough Riders presents a fairly accurate account of
Teddy Roosevelt’s famous Rough Rider division and their involvement in the Spanish
American War. Footage will provide an understanding of the new role of the United
States on a global level at the turn of the 20th century. Dr. Strangelove provides a
comedic look at the Cold War and students will gain an understanding of the paranoia
that filled the era.
Assignments:
a. Various readings throughout the year including an individual analysis of one of
the following books. Students are allowed 50 days to complete this reading
assignment.
The Gilded Age by Mark Twain
Killer Angels by Michael Shaara
Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
Twenty Years at Hull House by Jane Addams
The Octopus by Frank Norris
How the Other Half Lives by Jacob Riis
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Jungle by Upton Sinclair
Up From Slavery by Booker T. Washington
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
Martin and Malcolm and America
Lies My Teacher Told Me by James W. Loewen
The Souls of Black Folks by W.E.B. Dubois
The Strange Career of Jim Crow
The Wife of His Youth by Charles W. Chesnutt
All the King’s Men by Robert Penn Warren
Hiroshima by John Hersey
Main Street by Sinclair Lewis
Babbit by Sinclair Lewis
Looking Backward by Edward Bellamy
The Awakening by Kate Chopin
Pudd’n head Wilson by Mark Twain
b. Class notes based on lecture (representing the majority of class time)
c. Chapter tests featuring both FRQs and multiple choice questions. Tests will be
administered every two weeks.
d. Questions for test review games
e. Colony assignment
a. An individual study of one of the original 13 colonies
f. Reform movement assignment
a. Individual analysis of one reform movement of the late 19th century and
early 20th century
g. 1920s Video assignment
h. New Deal student-teaching assignment
i. Music of the 1960s study
j. Gangs of New York study and on demand
k. Analysis of Birth of a Nation
l. Analysis of Rough Riders
m. Analysis of Dr. Strangelove
n. World War I on demand writing
o. 4 DBQs and DBQ reviews throughout the year