AP United States History—Summer Assignment 2013-2014
AP US History is an in-depth study of the development of America. This summer assignment is designed
to give you a jump start in the analysis of American History and give you the background into the
developmental stage of Colonial America. It is imperative that you complete this project; it is designed
to give us a head start to the school year and cover Colonial America prior to the start of the academic
year. When we return to school in the fall, the summer assignment should be ready to turn in on the
first day our class meets.
Assignment:
You will need to read The American Colonies: The Settling of North America by Alan Taylor. You can
purchase it on Amazon or Barnes and Noble used for ~$5.00.
The American Colonies is an analytical look at the social/economic/political/military development of our
colonial period and the foundation that it laid for America. As you read, please answer the following
questions about each unit or chapter. Your answers should be typed in complete sentences using MLA
formatting. When appropriate you must use evidence from the book to support your answers using intext citations in MLA format.
Assignment is due September 3, 2013! No late work will be accepted so DO NOT procrastinate.
Procrastinators are not typically successful in AP U.S. History so do not start the pattern early.
Introduction: (Each answer should cover 1-2 paragraphs)
1. How and why have the historical interpretations of the colonial period changed?
2. Describe the role of diversity and race in creating a colonial culture:
Part I:
Chapter 3: New Spain (Identifications 1-2 sentences)
Discuss the impact and the author’s interpretations of the following:
a. Conquests
b. Conquistadors
c. Consolidation
d. Colonists
e. Empire
f. Gold & Silver
Chapter 4: “The Spanish Frontier” (Short Answer… i.e. a paragraph)
1. Discuss the importance of Florida in the Spanish Empire:
2. Discuss the Adelanto system; how does it impact Spanish expansionism?
3. What significance can be attached to New Mexico Missions? Franciscans?
4. What was the Pueblo Revolt? How did it begin and what happened to cause the fanaticism?
Chapter 5: Canada & Iroquoia (These are short answer questions, some maybe a couple of sentences
verses others that have a larger scope)
1. What were the two major Native American cultural groups? How were they distinct?
2. The key for economic development was the fur trade of New France. Discuss its rise to
prominence:
a. How and why did trade develop? Discuss.
b. How did the fur trade operate in its widest applications?
3. Analyze and characterize The Five Nations:
AP United States History—Summer Assignment 2013-2014
4. What impact did “old” world diseases have upon “new” world natives?
5. How important was the formation/development of the Dutch trade system and its involvement
in the new world?
Part II: The Colonies (Mini-essays 1 page for questions 2-5)
1. Analyze the effects of geography, government, religion, and economics on the culture of each
colonial group:
***This is the foundation for Colonial America, this question needs the most analysis and detail.
Each subgroup should contain a thorough analysis of its development.
a. New England
b. Middle Colonies
c. Virginia/Chesapeake
d. Carolinas
2. Describe how the relationships between colonists and Native Americans differed throughout the
process of colonization.
3. How did rebellions help shape colonial society?
4. To what extent were the primary goals for establishing the colonies of Virginia/Jamestown and
Massachusetts Bay fulfilled?
5. Describe how and why a system of slavery developed in Virginia.
Part III: Empires (Mini-Essays, cover and address the prompt)
Chapter 13: Revolutions
How did the changing political climate of England affect the political culture and ideology of the
colonists?
Chapter 14: The Atlantic
“Eighteenth century America was simultaneously and inseparably a land of black slavery and white
opportunity.” Assess the validity of this statement.
Chapter 15: Awakenings
Discuss the influence of the Great Awakening on colonial culture (include social and political
implications):
Chapter 18: Imperial Wars and Crisis
How did the course and outcome of the Seven Years War fundamentally alter the relationship of the
Colonists to England?
AP United States History—Summer Assignment 2013-2014
Head start assignment:
Throughout the school year, you will have to complete a series of book reviews. Attached to the
summer assignment is a list of historical novels (both fiction and nonfiction) that you should choose one
book from each Nine Weeks list to read. The reading list is divided into time periods that will loosely
correspond to the units we’ll cover in class. The 1st Nine Weeks reading will be due on October 11,
2013. It is included on the summer assignment in case you wish to get a jump start on your
requirements for next year.
*Students choosing these books will receive extra credit for taking on a more challenging book. Also,
students who choose to buy the book and turn it in upon completion will receive extra credit as well.
1st Nine Weeks Readings:
Colonial, Revolutionary, and Constitutional Periods:
 The Scarlet Letter—Nathaniel Hawthorn

“Common Sense”—Thomas Paine
 The Federalist Papers—James Madison, John
Jay, Alexander Hamilton*
2nd Nine Weeks Readings:
Antebellum and Civil War:
 Autobiography of Frederick Douglass—Frederick
Douglass
 Uncle Tom’s Cabin—Harriet Beecher Stowe*
3rd
Nine Weeks Readings:
Progressives and World War I:
 Up from Slavery—Booker T. Washington
 Souls of Black Folk—WEB DuBois
 How the Other Half Lives—Jacob Riis
 Twenty Years at Hull House—Jane Addams
 The Influence of Sea Power Upon History—A.T.
Mahan
 The Great Gatsby—F. Scott Fitzgerald
 The Sun Also Rises—Ernest Hemingway
4th Nine Weeks Readings:
Modern America:
 Autobiography of Malcolm X—Alex Haley
 The Feminine Mystique—Betty Friedan*
 Silent Spring—Rachel Carson*
 The Affluent Society—J.K. Galbraith
 The Other America—M. Harrington*
 Profiles in Courage—John F. Kennedy
 Unsafe at Any Speed—Ralph Nader
 On the Road—Jack Kerouac
Jeffersonian and Jacksonian America (Early Modern
America):
 Democracy in America—Alexis de Tocqueville*
 A Century of Dishonor—Helen Hunt Jackson
 Walden—Henry D. Thoreau
Reconstruction, Indian Wars and Industrialization:
 The Jungle—Upton Sinclair*
 The Gilded Age—Mark Twain
 Gospel of Wealth—Andrew Carnegie
Depression, New Deal and World War II:
 Grapes of Wrath—John Steinbeck*
AP United States History—Summer Assignment 2013-2014
After choosing your book, you should write a 2-3 page typed review of the work. Reviews should be
critiques of the book rather than summaries. You may give a brief overview/summary of the book,
however you should spend more time analyzing what the author says—how is the world the author
presents different and similar to our own; what are the main ideas the author is getting across; what are
the lessons the author wants readers to glean from the text; why did the author take the time to write
this text; what is the author’s thesis and how does he prove it? What is its historical significance? You
should not simply retell the storyline in a few typed pages. The book reviews should prepare you to
accurately discuss the book and its meanings and uses in the history classroom.
For examples of good book reviews, pick up a copy of The New Yorker or a similar type of publication.
The New Yorker has multiple book reviews in each issue and, though they aren’t all on books relating to
US History, they give you great examples of fine reviews. In addition, the writing in The New Yorker is
superb and will give you another guide to how to write effectively and cogently.
If at any time during the summer you have questions regarding the summer assignment or the course in
general, please do not hesitate to contact either Mrs. Bristo at bristoc@lake.k12.fl.us or Mr. Underwood
at underwoods@lake.k12.fl.us. Email is the best way to contact us throughout the summer, we will
make it a point to check it a couple of times a week. Remember, The American Colonies: The Settling of
North America will be September 3, 2013. We look forward to working with you this year.