APUSH Summer Reading
Part One:
Read: Sarah Vowell, The Wordy Shipmates.
Parenthetically citing page numbers from your edition of the book, write a welldeveloped essay on one of the following topics. Before choosing a topic, sketch out a
one-page outline of each one, citing evidence you might use. Submit these brief outlines
along with the final draft of your essay.
1. Define “American exceptionalism.” What does Vowell consider to be the
origins of American exceptionalism, and what is her opinion of this theory? Do you
agree or disagree with her assessment, and why?
2. Was the legacy of the Massachusetts Puritans more positive or negative,
overall? Make sure to consider both short-term and long-term consequences.
3. How would you characterize the interactions of early Massachusetts settlers
with Native Americans? Is it legitimate to view these interactions as foreshadowing the
future treatment of Native Americans by European settlers across the broad sweep of
American history?
4. Early Massachusetts settlers were often fleeing persecution, yet they
persecuted others. Was this behavior entirely hypocritical, or was it justifiable given
their outlook on the world?
5. How did Biblical interpretation shape the Puritans’ interpretation of their
settlement in the New World?
Make sure your essay begins with an engaging and enlightening hook and contains an
argumentative thesis statement in the first paragraph. Your argument should be centered
on, and supported by, evidence from Vowell’s book, but you may bring in evidence from
outside the book. If you use external evidence, be sure to cite your sources in a Works
Cited list (Turabian format).
Part Two:
Read: the first chapter of Alan Brinkley’s American History and take notes. Bring your
notes in to class on the first day of school; we’ll be doing an exercise with them.