2012-2013 Course Syllabus
Advanced Placement United States History – APUSH
Contact Information:
Mr. Reldon Dawson
Room 417
Phone – 619-656-2400 ext. 38417
Cell – 619-417-6044
Email:
reldon.dawson@sweetwaterscools.org
Course Title: AP United States History 2012-13.
Course Description: This course is designed to provide a college-level experience and
to prepare students for the AP exam. An emphasis is placed on interpreting documents,
mastering a significant body if factual information, and writing critical essays. Topics
include Transatlantic Encounters and Colonial North America, the American Era, the
Early Republic, the Economic, Social, Political and Religious Transformation of
Antebellum America, Territorial Expansion and Manifest Destiny; the Crisis of Union
and the Civil War; Reconstruction and Origins of the New Progressivism; the Emergence
of America as a World Power, the 1920s; the Great Depression and the New Deal; the
Second World War (abroad and on the home front); The Cold War, the 1950s; the 1960s;
Politics and Economics at the end of the 20th Century; Society and Culture at the end of
the 20th Century; the Post Cold War World. This course fulfills the United States History
graduation requirement.
Adopted Text: Brinkley, Alan. American History: A Survey (12th Edition). New York:
McGraw Hill, 2006. Brinkley, Alan. American History: A Survey Volumes I and II (12th
Edition). New York: McGraw Hill, 2006.
Supplemental Resources: Kennedy, David M., Cohen, Lizabeth, and Bailey, Thomas
A. The American Pageant (13th Edition).Boston/New York: Houghton Mifflin Co., 2006.
Shi, David E. and Mayer, Holly A. For the Record: A Documentary History of America.
Bailey, Thomas and Kennedy, David M. The American Spirit Volumes I and II.
Teacher Resources: Spoehr, Luther and Franker, Alan. Doing the DBQ, George, Jason
and Brown, Jerald. AP Achiever.
On-line Resources: www.apcentral.college.board.com
www.mhhe.com/brinkley12ap
www.digitalhistory.com
www.gilderlehrman.org
www.historyteacher.net
Prerequisites: There are no specific curricular prerequisites for students taking APUSH;
however, it is strongly recommended that Accelerated or AP World History be taken at
the 10th grade level.
Summer Requirement: Students read Brinkley Chapters 1and 2; Create a three
column/box template on your computer – with first box for names/terms, second box to
identify the terms that are not underlined, and finally a third box to state the significance
of names/terms that are underlined which are found on the Chapter Blue Print - ID sheet.
Then after this process of analysis create a Top Ten list for your Journal – in this you will
synthesize your analysis and state how these terms helped in your understanding of
Chapters 1/2 and their Learning Objectives. Additionally, take notes on “Why historians
disagree.”
College Preparation – College Credit – “Habits of Mind” - “College Readiness
Skills”:
The Advanced Placement United States History (APUSH) curriculum provides an
opportunity for students to be exposed to the critical thinking, reading and writing skills
that are essential for success in college. Students will build intellectual perseverance
through daily activities that challenge each student to value a strong work ethic, and
sustain that effort through repeated practice. Students will be introduced to a variety of
learning strategies that build their mega-cognitive abilities. These strategies will
encourage students to reflect on their own and other students’ thought processes. The
APUSH curriculum will also provide a rich content that will promote intellectual
curiosity and through a process of inquiry/investigation foster a desire for knowledge. To
prepare students for success in both their high school and college experiences, it is
essential that students develop academic literacy skills that prepare them for college
Student Expectations (Participation): The APUSH course is meant to replicate a
college-level introductory United States History Survey Course and thus gives you the
skills and knowledge for more specialized courses. While there are an infinite variety of
ways to present an APUSH course, there are certain things that everyone should get out
of their course. These include an understanding of the chronological framework of
American History, especially an understanding of how events and trends are related,
rather than simply memorizing a collection of facts and dates. In addition, you should
come out of an APUSH course with certain skills, including the ability to critically
analyze both primary and secondary sources; to develop a thesis or argument and support
it with concrete historical evidence and to understand the major interpretive frameworks
that historians have used to explain the American past.
The College Board and the Educational Test Service, which administer the APUSH
Exam, survey over 100 college and university instructors across the country to get a sense
of what is being taught in introductory college US History survey courses. A Test
Development Committee, which consists of three college or university professors and
three high school teachers, uses their information to crate an examination that reflects the
experience that most undergraduate students receive. It is administered on the first Friday
in May. The APUSH Exam is then scored by a group of nearly 1,000 AP high school
teachers, and college and university professors who serve as AP Exam Readers. These
teachers gather for a fun-filled, action-packed week in early June and receive training in
how to score the exams and then spend the rest of the week reading and scoring your
essays. Colleges and universities then grant credits equivalent to that which is offered for
their introductory US History survey course for those students who successfully complete
the AP Exam (6 units). The AP Exam is scored on the following 5/4/3/2/1 score, 5 is
“extremely well-qualified”; 4 is “well-qualified”; 3 is “qualified“; 2 is “possibly
qualified”; and 1 “no recommendation.” To have the designation of APUSH on your
transcript and receive the weighted GPA you will be strongly encouraged to take the
APUSH Exam in May.
Homework Policy:
A myth has developed about the enormous work-load a student has in any AP level class,
especially APUSH because of all the reading. This has to be qualified in that you do not
have more work, but do have work that is at a higher level and makes you think and make
connections. Instead of paraphrasing the textual reading, you will be expected to analyze
what you read, and then synthesize your thoughts drawing conclusions about what you
thought. Your work will always be typed in its final form and attached to your raw notes.
Work is due the day after it is assigned, but in some instances a specific date will be set. I
do not accept partial work, it must be complete. For each day late it drops by 10%. The
most difficult thing you will have to do in order to achieve success in this course and
other AP level courses is to manage your time effectively. This will require you to reprioritize your lives as you will need to spend at least 5 hours minimum at home
each week completing assignments. Also, your prioritizing of what you do with
leisure time while at school comes into play also.
Assessments:
The Mastery Model for APUSH!
Students in APUSH will NOT be allowed to re-take Summative Exams – and - will NOT
be allowed to re-write major written assessments.
Assignment
% of grade
Examples
Summative and Formative
80%
Chapter and Unit Exams
Exams
All formal writing
assignments:
Take home essays
Timed in class
essays
Class and Home work
20%
Topical Id’s/Significance
Top tens
Lecture Notes + in note
quizzes
Final Semester Exam
Final Score on APUSH
Exam
In the second semester
assessments will drop to
60% and the Mock Final
Exam will be 20% of your
grade.
Your Final will be a MockAPUSH Exam which will
be held on the Saturday
before the APUSH Exam –
scheduled for May 15, 2013
– all who score 3 on the
APUSH Exam will have
their grade changed to an A
APUSH - Grade Breakdown:
Your grade in APUSH is adjusted down from the traditional percentage format:
90% = A
80% = B
70% = C
To match the APUSH grading format:
83% = A
70% = B
55% = C
40% is the cutoff for Ds
Scoring the APUSH Exam:
The Multiple Choice Exam (MCE) is scored in the following manner:
Number of correct answers (Out of 80 MC questions):
_______ X 1.1250 = MC raw score - _____
Free Response Section:
DBQ score 1-9 points - _______ X 4.50 = your raw score - ______
FRQ #1 score 1-9 points - ______ X 2.75 = your raw score - ______
FRQ #2 score 1-9 points - ______ X 2.75 = you raw score - ______
These three scores added together, are then added to the MC composite score
which will place you in a composite range shown below:
Composite Scoring Range:
5 - 111-180 pts. = 61.166667 to 100%
4 - 91-110 pts. = 50.055 to 61.11%
3 - 76-90 pts. = 42.222 to 50%
2 - 57-75 pts. = 31.6667 to 41.66%
1 - 0-56 pts. = 0 to 26%
Semester 1 – APUSH Course Pacing Calendar:
7/24/12
Collect Summer Assignment
Wednesday
C1 – Meeting of Cultures
C2 Transplantations & Borderlands
C3 Society and Culture in Provincial
America
Population Demographics
Origin of Slavery
Colonial Economies
Patterns of Society: North
and South
Great Awakening &the
Enlightenment
7/30/12
8/06/12
8/13/12
8/20/12
C4 Empire in Transition
Glorious Revolution & the
loosening of ties
Salutary Neglect
French & Indian War – its
impact on the British Empire
New Imperialism
Stirrings of Revolt
Lexington & Concord – Shot Heard
Around the World
C5 The American Revolution
Colonies – decision on
Independence
No Taxation w/out
Representation
The War for Independence
Weaknesses and Strengths –
both sides
War & Society
The Articles of
Confederation & search for a
new national gov’t
C6 The Constitution & New Republic
Framing a new gov’t
The Great Compromise
Hamilton v Jefferson
Bill of Rights
Federalists and Republicans
The Collapse of the
Federalists
C7 – Jeffersonian Era
Rise of Cultural Nationalism
Second Great Awakening
Infant Industrialism
President Jefferson
Doubling/ National Domain –
Louisiana Purchase
Napoleonic Wars/Embargo
Unsuccessful Embargo
War of 1812 – Madison’s War
p33
Formal Writing Assignment:
Written Assessment: Why do historians
disagree?
Written Assessment: The
historical/demographic debate over the
native population before Columbus?
Compare/Contrast Chesapeake & New
England Colonies
Compare/contrast 3 colonial regions –
E/P/R characteristics
Historical debate regarding which came
first – slavery or racism
p101
Summative Exam Chapters 1-4
Formal Writing Assignment:
DBQ – Compare Chesapeake and New
England re. motive for
settlement/makeup of
colonists/governing schemes developed
p127
Document Analysis:
Common Sense
Declaration of Independence
Written Assessment – On the eve of the
American Revolution – what sense of
unity had the colonists developed?
Written Assessment; debate - American
Revolution – radical or conservative?
DBQ – The Articles of Confederation
provided an effective form of
governance.
p159
Document Analysis: Bill of Rights –
necessary or unnecessary?
Written Assessment; Constitution:
Historical debate – fixed or flexible?
Summative Exam Chapter 5/6
p181
Written Assessment: Analyze the Great
Awakening and the Second Great
Awakening – developing ability in
writing topical sentences
Written Assessment: Was the War of
1812 the Second War for Independence?
8/27/12
9/07/12 Friday
9/03/12 Holiday –
Labor Day
9/03/12
9/10/12
C8 American Nationalism
Growing Economy
Expanding Westward
“Era of Good Feelings –
President Monroe
No Political Opposition
Sectionalism v Nationalism –
Missouri Compromise
The Corrupt Bargain – JQ Adams
1st Progress Reports
C9 Jacksonian America
The Rise of Mass Politics
Calhoun and Nullification
Tariff of Abominations
Jackson – Trail of Tears
Jackson’s War - US Bank
Two Party System returns
Van Buren- Panic/1837
C11 Cotton, Slavery – Old South
C10 America/Economic Revolution
9/17/12
C12 Antebellum Culture & Reform
Literature & Arts –
Romantic Impulse
Reform: Revivalism,
Temperance, & Education
Crusade against Slavery
9/24/12 – 10/05/12
Fall Break
C13 Impending Crisis
Manifest Destiny/Mexican
War
Sectional Debate/1850
Compromise
Kansas to Lincoln
10/08/12 in-service
10/09/12
C14 Civil War
Secession Crisis
Causes + Mobilization
p215
Summative Exam Chapter 7/8
Document Analysis
Written Assessment: Discuss the
reasons for the dramatic surge in
westward expansion after the War of
1812
Written Assessment: Sectionalism and
Nationalism – which will win out?
p233
Summative Exam – Chapter 9/11
DBQ – Jacksonians – Guardians of
Liberty, Constitution, and equality in
economic opportunity
p259
Text/map research on population density
change – 1820-1860
Written Assessment: Discuss how the
American population changed between
1820—1860 – what responses did
Americans have to these changes?
p. 293
Written Assessment: Review: Historical
Debate: Slavery a result of racism;
Racism a result of slavery?
p315
Written Assessment: What was the
“romantic impulse” that characterized
antebellum America
Summary Written Reflection on: Ralph
Waldo Emerson: self-Reliance
Research Antebellum reformers and
their specific reform movement
p339
Research Assignment: The process of
enlarging the American National State
Written Assessment: Manifest Destiny –
positive, progressive movement – or –
“aggressive imperialism?”
DBQ – By the 1850s Constitution had
gone from unifying instrument to a
divisive one.
p. 37
FRE – John Brown – hero or martyr (in
the North)
Written Assessment: to what extent was
President Lincoln Responsible for the
defeat of the Crittenden proposal
Course of Battle
Gettysburg – turning point
Impact of North’s victory
10/15/12
C15 Reconstruction of the South
Problems of Peace
Radical Reconstruction
The South - Reconstruction
Grant – Scandals
The Compromise of 1877
10/22/12
C16 Conquest of the West
Tribal Societies
Other societies West
Changing Western Economy
The Myth of the Cowboy
Warfare & Tribal Dispersal
(Dawes Act)
Rise and Fall of the farmer
10/29/12
C17 Industrial Supremacy
Causes of Industrial Rev in
the US
Industrial Titans consolidate
Critics of unbridled
Capitalism
Industrial worker – unions
11/02/21 Friday
11/05/12
2nd Progress Report
C18 The Age of the City
Urbanization of America
The Urban Landscape
Strains on Urban Life –
environmental degradation
Rise of Mass Consumption
Leisure/Consumerism
High Culture - City
Research the historical debate – what
caused the Civil War
Written Assessment: As to
What caused the Civil War – was it a
moral conflict – was it inevitable – was
it slavery?
Summative Exam Chapters 10/12/13
p401
Summative Exam – Chapters 14/15
Research the historical debate – as to the
‘nature’ of Reconstruction
Written Assessment: Historical debate:
Reconstruction – what was the primary
of disagreement on the nature of
Reconstruction – and - was the South a
lost cause?
p433 - Summative Exam – Chapter 16
Research the historical debate as “to
what the West was – and – the impact it
had on Americans
Written Assessment: Analyze the ways
the lives of the Plains Indians – affected
by government action – or –
technological innovation?
DBQ – To what extent did the natural
environment shape the development of
the West – and – the lives of those who
lived and settled there? How important
were other factors?
p463
Research the “factors” that transformed
the American economy
Written Assessment: Discuss the most
influential factors in the late 19th century
transformation of the American
economy – and the consequences of this
industrial transformation
FRE – Was the American working class
both beneficiary and victims of rapid
industrial growth?
p489
Research Pledge of Allegiance
Research Darwin’s Theory of Evolution
– “Global Migrations” – Immigration
that transformed America – end of the
19th + beginning of the 20th century
Written Assessment: Late 19th century
growth of the American city – degree to
which it contributed to social, political,
and economic changes – both positive
and negative.
11/12/12 Holiday
11/13/12
C19 From Stalemate to Crisis
Politics of Patronage
11/19/12 to 11/23/12
Thanksgiving and non-duty days
C19 From Stalemate to Crisis
“The Cross of Gold”
11/26/12
12/03/12
C21 Rise of Progressivism
The Progressive Impulse
Women in Reform
Sources of Progressive
Reform
Crusade for Social Reform
Challenge- Capitalist Order
12/12/12
C22 Battle for National Reform
Theodore Roosevelt
Taft – troubled succession
Diplomacy TR’s Big Stick – Taft’s
Dollar - & Wilson’s Missionary
Semester 2 – Course Pacing Calendar:
12/222/12 to 1/15/13
Christmas Break
C23 America and the Great War
Europe’s War
What caused US entry?
p521
Research Populism – and where
historians disagree
Written Assessment: Analyze the issues
that divide historians about Populism –
and – value of mass uprisings
P521
Summative Exam – Chapters 17/18/19
P543
Research the “factors” that pushed and
pulled America to and from becoming a
World Empire and World Power
Written Assessment: Compare/contrast
the goals of Manifest Destiny w/ that of
the New Imperial Republic
DBQ – To what degree was New
Manifest Destiny/Imperialism – an
extension of – or – a departure from
Manifest Destiny of the early to mid1800s?
Written Assessment: How did the
conquest of Spain/Cuba change
America’s relation to the world – and –
how did this change the self-image of
the US?
P565
Research the historical debate on the
nature of the Progressive reform Mvt.
Written Assessment: Assessing the
historical debate – the nature of the
Progressive Movement – was the
movement a relatively small, privileged
group of wealthy business leaders –
seeking reform that would benefit their
political, economic, and social interests
P593 - Summative Exam – Chapters
20/21/22
Research TR’s Big Stick, Taft’s Dollar
Diplomacy, and Wilson’s Moral
Diplomacy – do these foreign have more
in common – or – were they quite
different? – explain in summary
paragraph
Written Assessment: How did TR’s Big
Stick diplomacy differ from Taft’s
Dollar Diplomacy and Wilson’s Moral
Diplomacy
1/14/13 In-service
1/15/13
WWI and American Society
Wilson’s New World Order
14 Points / League of
Nations
Senate rejects the treaty
Postwar 20s turmoil
C24 Roaring Twenties – “New Era:
New Economy
New Culture
A Conflict of Cultures
Republican Gov’t
Review for C 23/24 Unit Exam
C25 The Great Depression
The Causes of the Great
Depression
The Human Side –
hardships
Effect on Cultures
President Hoover
1932 FDR wins
1/21/13
1/22/13
Legal Holiday - MLK
C26 The New Deal
The First New Deal
The Only Thing to Fear
Critics of the New Deal
1936 Second New Deal
Legacies
1/28/13
C27 Global Crisis 1921-1941
1920s New Era Diplomacy
Arms Reduction and
Kellogg-Briand
p613
Research the extent to which the US
achieved its officially stated objective
for entering the First World War +
Written Assessment: Discuss the
reasons the US entered WWI – and
assess the extent to which the US
achieved its officially stated goals.
DBQ/ – Failure at Versailles – due to
Wilson’s stubbornness – or – powerful
forces arrayed against the President
(Senate Republicans too powerful)?
P641
Research the impact of the New Era
on American Society
Written Assessment: “In reality, the
decade of the 20s was a time of
significant, even dramatic, social,
economic and political changes.”
Summative Exam Chapter 23/24
P667
Timed Written Assessment: The Great
Depressions was a direct result of
America’s participation in World War
I and would not have occurred without
that conflict.
FRE: What impact did the Great
Depression have on ordinary people,
and American culture? –topical
sentences and a conclusion
P693
Written Assessment: How did FDR’s
plan for national recovery offer ALL
Americans a New Deal? –
P719
Prep for writing a concluding
paragraph
Research the extent to which the US
Isolationism &
Appeasement
Japan moves into
Manchuria
War/Europe – US
Neutrality Acts
Munich Pact – failure of
Appeasement
Cash and Carry – moving
toward Intervention
Pearl Harbor
2/04/13
C28 America WWII
The Home Front
Defeating the Axis
War in the Pacific
Atomic Warfare
2/11/13
C29 The Cold War
Origins
American Society and
Politics – postwar
Korean War
McCarthy – internal subversion
adopted an Isolationist Policy in the
1920s and 1930s + having been
provided a thesis paragraph – write
your conclusion
Research the attack on Pearl Harbor –
sneak attack – or – did FDR and his
administration know in advance?
What impact did the attack have on
the American people and their position
on entering WWII?
Written Assessment: Assess the
Revisionist position that FDR knew of
that attack and allowed it to go
forward because he wanted the US to
enter WWII.
P739
Analyze the documents provided
relating to Executive Order 9066 –
passed in 1942 that ordered the
relocation of Japanese Americans –
take a position: were these American
citizens a security threat – or – were
racism and the bombing of Pearl
Harbor behind this decision?
Research the historical debate
regarding President Truman’s decision
to drop the two atomic bombs on
Japan –Aug. 1945
Written Assessment: Assess the
historical debate surrounding
President Truman’s decision to drop
the atomic bomb – take a position – it
was necessary – it was not necessary
DBQ – Truman’s Decision to Drop
the Atomic Bomb – done for
diplomatic reasons to threaten the
Soviet Union in the post-WWII era.
Summative Exam – Chapters 25-28
P767
Create a FRE Rubric: In what ways
did TWO of the following events
undermine the wartime alliance
between the United States and the
Soviet Union and contribute to the
development of the Cold War – The
Second Front issue – the Use of the
Atomic Bomb – the Yalta Conference
Written Assessment: Explain the
historical debate as to the origin of the
Cold War – which interpretation
would you agree with – and why?
Research the appeal of McCarthyism t
Written Assessment: In the years after
World War II, why did Americans
support the goals and actions of
Senator McCarthy?
2/15/13
2/18/13
2/22/13
2/25/13
3/04/13
3/11/13
3/18/13-3/29/13
4/01/13
4/06/13
4/15/13-4/19/13
4/19/13
4/22/13
4/29/13
5/06/13
Friday - Legal Holiday – Lincoln
Monday - Legal Holiday – Washington
C30 The Affluent Society
Economic Miracle
Explosion Science Tech.
Sputnik – the race for space
People of Plenty
The Other America
Rise of Civil Rights
Ike & Dulles – Massive Retaliation
Progress Report
C31 The Story 60s – Civil
Rights/Vietnam/Political Liberalism
John Kennedy
Battle for Racial Equality
Flexible Response
Vietnam Quagmire
Assassination and LBJ
The Traumas of 1968
C32 Crisis of Authority
The Youth Culture
The New Feminism
Environmentalism
Nixon/Kissinger - Vietnam
Kissinger’s Multi-Polar
World
Politics Economy - Nixon
The Watergate Crisis
C33 Age of Limits to the Age of
Reagan
Politics/Diplomacy under
Ford and Carter
The Rise of the New American Right
“Reagan Revolution”
American wins the Cold War
Spring/Easter Break
C34 – The Age of Globalization
The US in the modern world
CST Testing window open
OHS all school CST Testing
Progress Reporting
Continued APUSH Exam Review
Continued APUSH Exam Review
Continued APUSH Exam Review
p789
Summative Exam – Chapters 29/30
Written Assessment: The 1950s and
1960s were shaped by booming
national prosperity – explain how this
development contributed to an era in
which both affluence and inequality
abounded.
p821
Written Assessment: Historians argue
that 1968 was a turning point year for
the US – assess the validity of this
statement.
p851
Written Assessment: Analyze the
grievances, goals, and
accomplishments of four groups who
fought for their civil rights during the
1970s: Native Americans, Hispanic
Americans, Women, and gays and
lesbians.
Written Assessment:
Analyze the goals, accomplishments,
and failures of the New Left in the
1960s and 1970s.
Written Assessment: Analyze the
Imperial Presidency of Richard Nixon
and assess the validity of this
statement: “Much of the controversy
and division in the 1970s was a
product of Nixon’s presidency itself.
P885
Written Assessment: Assess the
various economic, social, and political
factors that led to the so-called
“Reagan Revolution.”
p909
Mock Exam on Saturday
5/11/13
5/15/13
5/16/13
6/03-13-6/07/13
Mock Exam – FINAL
APUSH Exam
Movie Précis’ begins
Finals Week – Final Grades
Saturday – 20% of final grade