ADVANCED PLACEMENT UNITED STATES HISTORY
COURSE SCHEDULE
Timeline
Weeks 1 – 3
Aug. 20 - Sept.6, 2013
Weeks 4 – 5
Sept. 9 - 20, 2013
Topic
Assigned Readings
Assignments
Unit 1: Colonial History through the 1750s
Subtopics: Pre-Columbian cultures, Early exploration,
introduction of slavery, Spanish and French claims,
English settlements, Colonial religious diversity, The
Enlightenment
Themes: The emergence of American cultural traits
and the factors that contributed to them. Emerging
regional patterns and how they evolved.
AMSCO Ch. 1-3
Brinkley 1, 2, 3
Identifies
Multiple Choice
Test
DBQ 1
FRQ1
Unit 2: The American Revolution
Subtopics: French & Indian War, mercantilism, salutary
neglect, British acts & taxes, Declaring Independence,
War and Peace, Treaty of Paris
Themes: Colonists reevaluate their relationship with
Great Britain and each other. The American Revolution
as a conservative or radical movement. The American
Revolution’s place in world developments of the time
period.
Weeks 6 – 7
Unit 3: The Republican Experiment, Jefferson,
and the Era of Good Feelings
Sept. 23 - Oct. 4, 2013
Subtopics: Articles of Confederation, Shays’s
Rebellion, Constitutional Convention, ratification,
Federalists vs. Antifederalists, Constitution, Bill of
Rights, Revolution of 1800, Louisiana Purchase, War of
1812, Monroe Doctrine, Missouri Compromise, Marshall
rulings
Themes: Impact of colonial experience on postindependence government. Development of the United
States Constitution and the Bill of Rights. The peaceful
transfer of power from one party to another. The
emergence of political parties and the factors that
divided them. The development of sectional
specialization and interdependence. The conflict
between national power and states’ rights.
The teacher reserves the right to modify the syllabus during the school year.
AMSCO 4, 5
Brinkley 4, 5
AMSCO 6, 7, 8
Brinkley 6, 7, 8
Identifies
Multiple Choice
Test
DBQ 2
FRQ 2
Identifies
Multiple Choice
Test
FRQ 3
Read & discuss
political ideology
of Federalist
Papers #10, 51, &
78
Writings**
ADVANCED PLACEMENT UNITED STATES HISTORY
Weeks 8 – 9
Oct. 7 - 18, 2013
Unit 4: Jacksonian America
Subtopics: Election of 1824, social classes & social
reform, Transcendentalism, Jackson’s Democratic
Party, Nullification Crisis, Evangelical Protestant
revivalism, bank of the US, panic of 1837, election of
1840
Themes: Changes in Party positions. National growth
and the growth of nationalism. The emergence of the
“common man” in American politics. Geographic and
economic expansion. Reform movements and the
American character.
Week 10
Oct. 21 – Nov. 1, 2013
AMSCO 10, 11
Brinkley 9, 10, 12
Identifies
Multiple Choice
Test
DBQ 3
View and discuss
artwork of the
Hudson River
School of Painting
AMSCO 9, 12, 13
Brinkley 13
Identifies
Multiple Choice
Test
DBQ 4
FRQ 4
Discusison of
Dred Scott case
AMSCO 14, 15
Brinkley 11, 14, 15
Identifies
Multiple Choice
Test
DBQ 5
FRQ 5
Read & discuss
Emancipation
Proclamation &
the Gettysburg
Address
View & interpret
Civil War political
cartoons
Watch film Glory
Unit 5: Manifest Destiny, Sectionalism, and The
Mexican War
Subtopics: Geographical & economic expansion,
sectionalism, Mexican-American War, Compromise of
1850, Kansas-Nebraska Act, Election of 1856, Dred
Scott, Harper’s Ferry, Election of 1860
Themes: Sectionalism and causes of the Civil War
Weeks 11 – 14
Nov. 4 - 29, 2013
Unit 6: The Civil War and Reconstruction
Subtopics: Social mores & economic development of
the Old South, military technology, outcomes of
significant battles, Emancipation Proclamation, impact of
the Civil War, Reconstruction
Themes: Slavery, causes of the Civil War, secession,
the Civil War, Reconstruction issues and plans, the
impact of emancipation
The teacher reserves the right to modify the syllabus during the school year.
ADVANCED PLACEMENT UNITED STATES HISTORY
Weeks 15 – 16
Dec. 2 - Dec. 13, 2013
Unit 7: Trans-Mississippi West,
Industrialization, and The Gilded Age
Subtopics: Native American wars, Dawes Act,
Reservation system, Robber barons, rise of labor
unions, the Pendleton Act, the GAR, William Jennings
Bryan, gold standard vs. silver standard
AMSCO 16, 17, 18, 19
Brinkley 16, 17, 18
Themes: Native American relations, Political Bosses
and Machine Politics, corruption in the Gilded Age,
Social, economic, and political impact of
industrialization. Political and Social Reform.
Weeks 17 – 19
Unit 8: The Progressive Era and Foreign Policy
Dec. 16 - 20, 2013
Jan. 6 -17, 2014
Subtopics: Local & state progressive reforms, The
Square Deal, Roosevelt, Taft, & Wilson, New Freedom,
muckrakers, women’s issues, consumer &
environmental protection, political corruption, business &
labor issues, American imperialism, American neutrality
and entry into World War I, Treaty of Versailles, League
of Nations
Identifies
Multiple Choice
Test
DBQ 6
FRQ 6
Allegory with The
Wizard of Oz
AMSCO 20, 21, 22
Brinkley 19, 20, 21
Identifies
Multiple Choice
Test
DBQ 7
AMSCO 23, 24
Brinkley 22, 23, 24
Identifies
Multiple Choice
Test
FRQ 7
Themes: Role of the government in economic growth
and regulation. Revival of the women’s suffrage
movement. Role and effectiveness of third parties.
Conservatives as Progressives. The changing role of
the US in world affairs-from isolationism to world power.
US motives in WWI and post-war agreements.
Weeks 20 – 21
Jan. 20 – Jan. 31, 2014
Unit 9: The Roaring 20s, The Great Depression,
and The New Deal
Subtopics: Intolerance, KKK, Prohibition, organized
crime, jazz, Harlem Renaissance, stock market boom &
bust, Sacco & Vanzetti, Harding, Coolidge, & Hoover
administrations, election of 1932, impact of the
Depression, New Deal legislation, alphabet soup
Themes: 1920s: Post WWI compared to post-Civil
War nativism, laissez-faire, labor, government, farmers
and attitudes toward reform. 1930s: The role of
government in society and the economy. Political
realignment. Human suffering and response to the
Great Depression.
The teacher reserves the right to modify the syllabus during the school year.
ADVANCED PLACEMENT UNITED STATES HISTORY
Week 22
Feb. 3 - 7, 2014
CR1 – The course includes
the study of diplomacy in U.S.
history.
Weeks 23 – 24
Feb. 10 - 21, 2014
CR1 – The course includes
the study of diplomacy and
social and cultural
developments in U.S. history.
Week 25
Feb. 24 – Feb. 28, 2014
CR1 – The course includes
the study of social and cultural
developments in U.S. history.
Unit 10: World War II
Subtopics: Nazi, Italian, & Japanese aggression, Pearl
Harbor, mobilization for war, military strategy, the home
front, the Manhattan project, diplomacy, Yalta, Tehran,
Potsdam, United Nations
Themes: US response to aggression-from isolation to
intervention. The home front and War economy. Allied
partners, post-war planners.
AMSCO 25
Brinkley 25, 26
Identifies
FRQ 9
AMSCO 26, 27
Brinkley 27, 28
Identifies
DBQ 8
AMSCO 28
Brinkley 29
Identifies
FRQ 10
Unit 11: The Cold War and the 1950s
Subtopics: Election of 1948, Truman, containment,
baby boom, GI Bill of Rights, NATO, Red Scare,
McCarthyism, Election of 1952: Eisenhower & Election
of 1960: Kennedy, suburbia & middle class America,
technological changes, beginnings of the Civil Rights
movement, Brown v. Board of Education, start of the
counterculture
Themes: Post-war political setting: Anti-Communism
and containment. Truman and the Fair Deal. Economic
boom begins: the Affluent Society, Ike Dynamic
Conservatism. Togetherness and the Baby Boomers.
Unit 12: The 1960s and the Civil Rights
Movement
Subtopics: Freedom Summer, sit-ins, Black Panthers,
the Anti-War movement, hippies, Election of 1960,
Kennedy’s New Frontier, Johnson’s Great Society
programs, MLK, Malcolm X, civil rights & liberties, Civil
Rights Act of 1964, Election of 1968
Themes: Continued impact of New Deal in
government’s role in society. Struggle for Black
equality. The liberal crusade in Vietnam.
The teacher reserves the right to modify the syllabus during the school year.
ADVANCED PLACEMENT UNITED STATES HISTORY
Weeks 26 – 27
Mar. 3 - 14, 2014
CR1 – The course includes
the study of economic trends
in U.S. history.
Weeks 28 – 29
Mar. 17 - Apr. 4, 2014
CR1 – The course includes
the study of economic trends,
diplomacy, and social and
cultural developments in U.S.
history.
Unit 13: The 1970s and 1980s
Subtopics: The Counterculture, Nixon’s administration
& resignation, Vietnam, Watergate, China, Ford
Administration, inflation & stagflation, OPEC, the New
Right & the Reagan Revolution, Reganomics, the end of
the Cold War, Iran-Contra affair, elections 1980 & 1988
Themes: The Youth movement. Vietnamization,
détente, shuttle diplomacy,Watergate, Reagan
Revolution
AMSCO 29
Brinkley 30, 31
Identifies
DBQ 9
Unit 14: The 1990s through The Present
Subtopics: Bush and economic policies, fall of
Communism, Operation Desert Shield, Operation Desert
Storm, Election of 1992, Clinton Administration,
Somalia, Kosovo, terrorism, scandals, health care
system, election of 2000, Bush II, 9-11,“war on terror”,
domestic & foreign policy, globalization, new world role
AMSCO 30
Brinkley 32
Themes: Global dangers and challenges in the 21st
century. Clinton Era: foreign policy, domestic politics,
impeachment. Election 2000: Bush versus Gore.
Weeks 30 - 34
Apr. 7 - May 9, 2013
Review for AP Exam
* A comprehensive list of primary documents used in each unit can be found below.
** Writing assignments are taken from the College Board's Released AP Examination materials.
The teacher reserves the right to modify the syllabus during the school year.
Reviews