Syllabus for AP United States History
Pendleton High School
Pendleton, Oregon
Taught by Brian Johnson
Course Overview:
AP US History is an academically rigorous study of American history meant to allow
students the opportunity to earn college credit through the AP exam in May. The class
meets all year long in 88 minute blocks on Wednesday and Thursday and for 48
minutes on Monday, Tuesday, and Friday. The course provides students a general
chronological survey of U.S. history that emphasizes the historical ideas and events
important to the development of the United States government, its laws, economic
system, foreign policy, and social movements.
The course includes considerable emphasis on reading, analyzing historical documents,
and essay writing incorporating historical data and interpretation. It requires a
considerable amount of independent reading and written work. The purpose of these
assignments is to develop students’ skills necessary for success in a study of history.
These skills include extensive analysis of original sources documents and the
development of analytical thinking. Analytical thinking includes the ability to
competently organize, compare, differentiate, relate, and infer information in a logical
matter. Students will develop these skills through unit discussions, daily activities,
simulations, and document analysis through writing essays that address documentbased questions.
Course Materials:
Textbook:
Bailey, Thomas A., Kennedy, David M., and Cohen, Lizabeth, The American Pageant:
A History of the Republic, 11th edition (Lexington: DC Heath)
Supplemental Texts:
Dollar, Charles M., and Reichard, Gary W., American Issues: A Documentary Reader
(New York: Glencoe, 2002)
Lockwood, Alan L. and Harris, David E., Reasoning with Democratic Values: Ethical
Problems in United States History, Volumes 1 and 2. New York: Teachers College
Press
Various supplemental readings and handouts are also made available to students in
addition to those listed in the syllabus.
Student Evaluation:
Grades will be based on daily analytical writing assignments, activities, essays, and unit
tests.
Curriculum Unit Calendar
Unit 1 Colonization to 1781 (3 weeks)
 Beginning in the 15th century to English settlers establishing American
colonies.
 Establishment of representative government, religious freedom, and
freedom of expression.
 Tensions between England and America following the French and Indian
War.
 The American Revolution and independence.
Required readings
 American Pageant, Chapters 1-8
 American Issues, Documents – A Map of American Languages, Letter
from Columbus, letter from Haklyut on Reasons for Colonization
 John Winthrop, The Little Speech, 1641
 Thomas Paine, Common Sense, 1776
 Thomas Jefferson, Declaration of Independence, 1776
Activities
 Lecture and discussion based on the required readings
 Chart events leading to the American Revolution
 Document analysis questions (DBQ’ s)
 Unit Test (multiple choice and essay format)
o “An alyze the extent to which religious freedom existed in the British
North American colonies prior to 1700.”
o “F or the period before 1750, analyze the ways in which Britain’ s
policy of salutary neglect influenced the development of American
society as illustrated in the following: legislative assemblies,
commerce, and religion.”
o “An alyze the extent to which the American Revolution represented
a radical alteration in American political ideas and institutions.”
Unit 2 The U.S. Constitution/Formation of the American Government (2 weeks)
 First national government under the Articles of Confederation
 Successes and failures of the national government under the Articles
 Constitutional Convention of 1787
 Ratification debates
 George Washington and the new government
Required readings
 American Pageant, Chapters 9-10
 The Constitution of the United States

James Madison, Federalist, #10, #51, 1788
 George Washington, Farewell Address, 1776
Activities
 Lecture and discussion based on the required readings
 Chart outlining strengths and weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation
 Convention Simulation
 Document analysis questions (DBQ’ s)
 Unit Test (multiple choice and essay format)
o
“An alyze the degree to which the Articles of Confederation
provided an effective form of government with respect to any two of
the following: foreign relations, economic conditions, and Western
lands.”
Unit 3 Jeffersonian and Jacksonian Democracy, 1800-1853 (2 weeks)
 Revolution of 1800
 Marshall Court and loose/strict construction of the Constitution
 Territorial growth
 Rise of nationalism emerging after the war of 1812
 Early social reforms
 American Indian policy and the Trail of Tears
 Rise of political parties
Required readings
 American Pageant, Chapters 10-14
 The Monroe Doctrine
 John Marshall, Marbury v. Madison (1803)
 John Marshall, McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)
 Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America (1835)
Activities
 Lecture and discussion based on the required readings
 Document analysis questions (DBQ’ s)
 Unit Test (multiple choice and essay format)
o “T he Jacksonian Period (1824-1848) has been celebrated as the
era of the ‘ common man.’ To what extent did the period live up to
its characterization? Consider two of the following in your
response: Economic development, politics, and reform
movements.”
o How did two of the following contribute to the re-emergence of the
two party system in the period 1820-1840: major political
personalities, states’ rights, economic issues”?
Unit 4 Developing the national economy, Reform Movements, and Manifest
Destiny, 1840-1861 (2 weeks)
 American immigrant groups and the emergence of nativism
 The emerging continental economy
 Religious and reform movements
 Manifest Destiny and the acquisition of territory
Required readings
 American Pageant, Chapters 15, 16, and 18
 Thomas Hart Benton, Speech in Congress on early Manifest Destiny
(1844)
 Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Seneca Falls Declaration and Resolutions (1848)
 Henry David Thoreau, Civil Disobedience (1848)
Activities
 Lecture and discussion based on the required readings
 Chart on American territorial expansion – acquisition and reasons,
comparison and contrast
 Document analysis questions (DBQ’ s)
 Unit Test (multiple choice and essay format)
o
“’ Reform movements in the United States sought to expand
democratic ideals.’ Assess the validity of this statement with
specific reference to the years 1825-1850.”
Unit 5 Events Leading to the Civil War, 1793-1861 (3 weeks)
 Before 1860 the North and the South were separated by economic,
political, and cultural differences that became increasingly difficult to
compromise
 Impact of slavery and territorial expansion
 The rise of the Republican Party and the election of 1860
Required readings
 American Pageant Chapters 17, 19, and 20
 John C. Calhoun, A Disquisition on Government (1849)
 Frederick Douglass, Speech on the Dred Scott Decision (1857)
Activities
 Lecture and discussion based on the required readings
 Histogram on addition of slave/free states
 Document analysis questions (DBQ’ s)
 Unit Test (multiple choice and essay format)
o “Asse ss the moral arguments and political actions of those opposed
to the spread of slavery in the context of two of the following:
Missouri Compromise, Mexican War, Compromise of 1850, and the
Kansas-Nebraska Act.”
o “An alyze the ways in which supporters of slavery in the nineteenth
century used legal, religious, and economic arguments to defend
the institution of slavery.”
Unit 6 Civil War and Reconstruction, 1861-1877 (3 weeks)
 Key events of the Civil War
 Diplomacy in avoiding European involvement
 Period of social and political reconstruction of the nation after the war
ended in 1865
 Clashes between the President and Congress over Reconstruction
policies
 Reconstruction ends after the election of 1876
Required readings
 American Pageant, Chapters 21-23
 American Issues, Documents – President Johnson and Reconstruction,
Mississippi Black Code, The Ku Klux Klan, and the political cartoon: The
Freedmen’ s Bureau
 Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg Address (1863)
 Abraham Lincoln, Second Inaugural Address (1865)
Activities
 Lecture and discussion based on the required readings
 Document analysis questions (DBQ’ s)
 Unit Test (multiple choice and essay format)
o “’ I am not, nor ever have been, in favor in bringing about in any way
the social and political equality of the white and black races.’ How
can this 1858 statement by Abraham Lincoln be reconciled with his
1862 Emancipation Proclamation?”
o “I n what ways and to what extent did Constitutional and social
developments between 1860 and 1877 amount to a revolution?”
Unit 7 The Industrial Revolution, 1861-1901 (3 weeks)
 Industrial magnates and workers
 Migration to urban areas
 Political corruption and civil service reform
 Problems created by industrialization and the desire for government
intervention
 The role of railroads
 The age of invention
Required readings
 American Pageant, Chapters 24-28
 American Issues, Document – The Best Fields for Philanthropy by Andrew
Carnegie
 Frederick Douglass, The Significance of the Frontier in American History,
1893
 William Graham Sumner, What Social Classes Owe Each Other, 1883
 Eugene V. Debs, Revolutionary Unionism, 1905
 Upton Sinclair, The Jungle, 1906
Activities
 Lecture and discussion based on the required readings
 Document analysis questions (DBQ’ s)
 Unit Test (multiple choice and essay format)
o
“H ow were the lives of the Plains Indians in the second half of the
19th century affected by technological developments and
government actions?”
o “H ow and why did transportation developments spark economic
growth during the period from 1860 to 1900 in the United States?”
Unit 8 The Progressive Era, 1901-1917 (3 weeks)
 Demands for reform of the economic and political system were
widespread during the early 1900’ s
 Government regulation of the economic system
 Reforms passed under the Roosevelt, Taft, and Wilson administrations
 American Imperialism and the rise to world power
 Causes and course of WWI
 Wilson’ s 14 point plan, the League of Nations, and the Treaty of Versailles
Required readings
 American Pageant, Chapters 29-33
 American Issues, Documents – Varieties of Progressivism: TR and
Wilson, Strategic Reasons for American Expansion by Alfred Thayer
Mahan, the White Man’ s Burden
 Woodrow Wilson, The Meaning of Democracy, 1912
Activities
 Lecture and discussion based on the required readings
 Document analysis questions (DBQ’ s)
 Unit Test (multiple choice and essay format)
o
“T o what extent did the United States achieve the objectives that
led it to enter the First World War?”
o
“An alyze the ways in which the United States became an imperial
nation at the turn of the 19th/20th centuries.”
Unit 9 Prosperity and Depression, 1920-1941 (3 weeks)
 The 1920’ s were a prosperous time in which the government was
generally conservative and pro-business
 Prohibition and organized crime
 The development of mass media
 The stock market crash of 1929 and the beginning of the Great
Depression
 President Franklin Roosevelt and New Deal legislation
 The Depression ended as America contributed war materials for World
War II
Required readings
 American Pageant, Chapters 34-36
 American Issues, Documents – The Revived Ku Klux Klan, The Results of
Immigration Restriction, Marcus Garvey and Black Nationalism
Activities
 Lecture and discussion based on the required readings
 Document analysis questions (DBQ’ s)
 Unit Test (multiple choice and essay format)
o “D escribe and account for the rise of nativism in American society
from 1900-1930.”
o “An alyze the ways in which the Great Depression altered the
American social fabric in the 1930’ s.”
Unit 10 World War II, 1939-1945 (3 weeks)
 Rise of dictators and militarism, nationalism, and secret alliances
 America’ s changing sense of neutrality
 World War II began in 1939 when Germany invaded Poland
 Pearl Harbor and Japanese Internment
 Leaders of the Allied nations held several wartime conferences
Required readings
 American Pageant, Chapters 37-38
 American Issues, Documents and posters – “T o Fight for Freedom” by
Norman Rockwell, the Decision to Drop the A Bomb by Harry Truman,
Japanese-American Relocation: Civil Rights Abridged
 Franklin Roosevelt, Eleventh Annual Message to Congress, 1944
Activities
 Lecture and discussion based on the required readings
 Student generated timeline: major events from the Treaty of Versailles to
the bombing of Japan
 Document analysis questions (DBQ’ s)
 Unit Test (multiple choice and essay format)
o
“ How did the failure of the Versailles Treaty lead to the coming of World
War II?”
Unit 11 The Truman/Eisenhower Era, 1945-1961 (2 weeks)
 The Cold War began after World War II with disagreements between the
United States and the Soviet Union
 America’ s challenges to contain communism in Asia
 McCarthyism and the perceived threat of Communism to American
security
Eisenhower’ s continued policy of containment and the arms race
 Lecture and discussion based on the required readings
 Document analysis questions (DBQ’ s)
 Unit Test (multiple choice and essay format)
 Lecture and discussion based on the required readings
 Document analysis questions (DBQ’ s)
 Unit Test (multiple choice and essay format)
o
“An alyze the influence of two of the following on American-Soviet
relations in the decade following the Second World War: Yalta
Conference, Communist Revolution in China, Korean War, and
McCarthyism.”
Unit 12 Foreign and Domestic Affairs, 1960-1981 (2 weeks)
 Fight for civil rights for African Americans
 Legislation promoting civil rights and voting rights
 Events which led to American involvement in SE Asia
 Protests in the 1960’ s from various groups
 President Nixon’ s policy of détente
 Watergate scandal
 Middle East concerns for the United States
 Ford and Carter Administrations
Required readings
 American Pageant, Chapters 41 and 42
 American Indian Chicago Conference, Declaration of Indian Purpose,
1961
 Rachel Carson, Silent Spring, 1962
 Betty Friedan, The Feminine Mystique, 1963
 Martin Luther King, Jr., Letter From a Birmingham Jail, 1963
 Martin Luther King, Jr., I Have a Dream, 1963
 Malcolm X, The Autobiography of Malcolm X, 1964
 César Chávez, Autobiography of La Causa, 1975
Activities
 Lecture and discussion based on the required readings
 Document analysis questions (DBQ’ s)
 Unit Test (multiple choice and essay format)
o “C ompare and contrast United States society in the 1920’ s and the
1960’ s with respect to the following: race relations and women.”
o “An alyze the changes that occurred during the 1960’ s in the goals,
strategies, and support of the movement for African American civil
rights.”
Unit 13 Foreign and Domestic Affairs, 1981-2001 (2 weeks)
 Ronald Reagan brought about a conservative “re volution”
 During George H.W. Bush’ s presidency the fall of the Soviet Union
brought an end to the Cold War
 The first Persian Gulf War
 Clinton Administration
 Contested election of 2001
 Impact of 9/11 and the War of Terrorism
Required readings
 American Pageant, Chapters 43 and 44
 Ronald Reagan, First Inaugural Address, 1981
Activities
 Lecture and discussion based on the required readings
 Document analysis questions (DBQ’ s)
 Unit Test (multiple choice and essay format)
Review Unit – Preparation for the AP Test
 Practice Exams
 Evening Review Sessions
 Review Essay form and scoring
 Review study packet