AP United States History
SYLLABUS
Goals
The AP program in United States History is designed to provide students with analytic
skills and factual knowledge necessary to deal critically with the problems and materials
in United States history. The program prepares students for intermediate and advanced
college courses by making demands upon them equivalent to those made by full-year
introductory college courses. Students should learn to assess historical material – their
relevance to a given interpretive problem, their reliability, and their importance – and to
weigh the evidence and interpretations presented in historical scholarship. An AP United
States History course should thus develop the skills necessary to arrive at conclusions on
the basis of and informed judgment and to present reasons and evidence clearly and
persuasively in essay format.
Students
Admission to an Advanced Placement course should depend upon a student’s
commitment to the subject as well as such formal credentials as high aptitude scores or
outstanding grade records.
Many students lacking outstanding credentials have successfully completed Advanced
Placement courses and obtained college credit or Advanced Placement through the
Advanced Placement Examination. The aim of an Advanced Placement course should be
to provide the student with a learning experience equivalent to that obtained in most
college introductory United States History courses.
All students should develop an impeccable work ethic and become responsible for his
or her success in the course. Time should be set aside daily to review course
information and prepare course material.
The Advanced Placement Course
Although there is little to be gained by rote memorization of names and dates in an
encyclopedic manner, a student must be able to draw upon a reservoir of systematic
factual knowledge in order to exercise analytic skills intelligently. Striking a balance
between teaching factual knowledge and critical analysis is a demanding but crucial task
in the design of a successful AP course in history.
Assessments
Students will be assessed by a series of
 Document-Based Questions (DBQs)
A quarterly DBQ is required. (Student choice is from one of the quarter
units.)
 Test will consist of a thematic essay, and / or multiple choice questions,
depending on the length and indepthness of the unit.
 Analytical Essays: One thematic essay is required per unit. It may be one of
the essential content questions or based on other thematic content.
 Multiple Choice questions: Usually 33 MC items, five choices each.
Group Presentation Projects: All groups will be assessed according to the criteria
rubric that is presented with the assigned projects. Projects include
Biographical Profiles, Cultural Literacy, Debate Issues
and others deemed by the instructor.
 Reading Assignments:
Reading assignments are assigned from primary and secondary sources,
handout excerpts, and various reader text and internet sources.
 Each Student will turn in one Conceptual Assessment Portfolio per semester. The
“Portfolio Packet” will be received at the beginning of each semester and
due at its end. Only quality work will be accepted!
1st semester, Decade in Crisis and the Civil War
2nd semester, The Civil Rights Movement
 Note: Each assignment will be accompanied by an in-depth rubric that describes
the detailed explanations of the assignment’s format and grading scale.
 Note: All projects, portfolios debate issues, etc., MUST be approved by the
Instructor before any work is initiated.
Textbooks
One Textbook is furnished to the students:
 Out of Many – Prentice Hall (2004) TSBN 0-13-09892-5
Students can check out supplemental textbooks for supporting reading including:
 American Pageant – Heath Publishing ISBN 0-669-33892-3
Course Units of Study include:
1. Discovery, Settlement and Colonial Society
2. Conflicts, Revolution and the Creation of Government
3. The Constitution and the New Republic
4. The Revolution of 1800 and the Age of Jefferson
5. Age of Jackson and the Growth of Democracy
6. Expansion Across the Continent and Reform Movements
7. Decade in Crisis, Civil War, and Reconstruction
8. The Gilded Age and the Rise of Industrial America
9. The American West and Native Americans
10. Populism and the Progressivism
11. Imperialism and World War I
12. The Roaring 1920s and the Great Depression
13. World War II and the Post war Era
14. The Cold War
15. The Civil Rights Movement
16. The Contemporary World
Course Outline
Unit 1: Discovery, Settlement, and Colonial Society
Readings:
Text, Out of Many, Chapter(s) 2, 3, 4, 5
Supplemental Document Excerpts: Mayflower Compact, Maryland Toleration
Act, Constitution of Iroquois Nations, Massachusetts Body of Liberties
Themes:
 Mediterranean Trade and European Expansion
 Columbus and the “Geographic Revolution’
 Spanish Exploration and Conquest
 The Evolution of Chesapeake Society
 Origins and Development of a Slave Labor System
 Protestant Reformation and the Origins of Puritanism
 The Evolution of English Society
 The Colonies and the British Empire
Essential Questions:
 Analyze social and economic impact of contacts between Native American
peoples and early explorers.
 Analyze Spanish, French, and British motives for colonization
 Analyze political, economic, social, and religious comparison of the British New
England, Middle Atlantic, and Southern colonies.
Major Assignments and Assessments:
Develop a chart explaining the motives of establishing the Spanish, English, and
French claims to the New World. Include:
 Native interaction
 Religious motives
 Geography
 Economic motives
 The development of North America slave societies
 The establishment of government
Unit Test: MC
DBQ Exercise:
Introduce the DBQs / Documents
Introduce the DBQ Grading Document
Unit 2: Conflicts, Revolution and the Beginnings of Government
Readings:
Text, American Pageant Chapter(s) 6, 7, 8
Supplemental Documents Excerpts: Albany Plan of Union, Letters from a Farmer
Pennsylvania, Common Sense, Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation,
Northwest Ordinance (1785, 1787)
Themes:
 The Economics of Mercantilism
 Anglo-French Rivalries
 The Seven Years War in America and the Expulsion of France
 The Emergence of American Nationalism
 The Economics of Resistance
 Independence and Beginnings of Government
 Revolutionary Effects on State Politics
Essential Questions:
 Compare / contrast the American and British views regarding the philosophy of
the British policy of “salutary neglect” toward the colonies after the French and
Indian War.
 Trace the evolution of government from the Albany Congress to the creation of
the Articles of Confederation.
 It can be argued that “America lost the Revolutionary War but won the peace.”
Assess the validity this statement
Major Assessments and Assessments:
Interpreting original document project: Using excerpts from the Declaration of
Independence create a chart to define the three major conditions of John Locke’s
contract theory of government. Abide by the handout rubric.
Unit Test: MC / Thematic Essay Writing
DBQ Exercise:
Document Interpretation
Developing a Thesis
Citing Documents in DBQ Essays
Unit 3: The Constitution and the New Republic
Readings:
Text: Out of Many, Chapter(s) 8
Supplemental Document Excerpts: Abigail to John Adams, Correspondence on
Women’s Rights, The Federalist no. 10, United States Constitution, Washington’s
Farewell Address, Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions
Themes:
 State Constitutional Governments
 Shay’s Rebellion and the Necessity of Reform
 The Constitution Convention
 Ratification and the Bill of Rights
 President Washington and the Nation
 Hamilton’s Controversial Fiscal Policy
 The Beginnings of United States Foreign Policy
 The Rise of National Politics and Political Parties
 The Jeffersonian Revolution of 1800
Essential Questions:
 Analyze the factors that combined to bring about the ratification of the
Constitution.
 Compare and contrast the views of Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton
while they were members of Washington’s cabinet.
 Examine evidence that supports the primary goal of the development of United
States foreign policy under Washington and Adams was to avoid war.
Major Assignments and Assessments:
Choose one of the assignments. (a) Create a chart titled “Debating the
Constitution.” Categorize leaders, arguments, strategy, advantages, and
disadvantages. Abide by the handout rubric. (2) Create a chart titled
“Comparison of Federalist and democratic-Republican Parties.” Categorize
leaders, view of the Constitution, foreign policy, military policy, domestic policy,
and chief supporters. Abide by the handout rubric.
Unit Test: MC / Thematic Essay
DBQ Exercise:
Differentiating Between Primary / Secondary Sources
Reducing Documents to Excerpts
Utilizing the 15-Minute Reading Time
Unit 4: The Revolution of 1800 and the Age of Jefferson
Readings:
Text, American Pageant, Chapter(s) 11, 12, 13
Supplemental Document Excerpts: Supreme Court Case Briefs, Charles Dickens
- On the Lowell Factory Girls, Monroe Doctrine
Themes:
 Jefferson’s Government and Republican Agrarianism
 An Independent Judiciary and the Doctrine of Judicial Review
 The Louisiana Purchase
 Foreign Policy Under Jefferson
 The War Hawks Come to Power
 Mr. Madison’s War
 Nationalism and the Era of Good Feeling
 Clay’s American System and the Panic of 1819
 Sectionalism and the Missouri Compromise
 The Nationalistic Monroe Doctrine
Essential Questions:
 Discuss foreign policy under Jefferson’s administration. Include foreign
intervention and decisions made for domestic expediency.
 Discuss to what extent the Federalist assumed support for state rights as opposition
to the Democratic-Republicans toward the end of the War of 1812.
 From Madison’s point of view, the War if 1812 achieved none of its original aims.
Explain why its consequences were important for the future development of the
United States.
Major Assignments and Assessments:
Group Constitutional Case Brief Project: Choose one of the Supreme Court cases
below and present a case brief to the class. Include: Case facts, Constitutional
question, Court’s decision, and Court’s reasoning. Abide by the rubric criteria. (a)
Marbury vs. Madison (b) Fletcher vs. Peck (c) McCulloch vs. Maryland (d)
Dartmouth College vs. Woodward (e) Gibbons vs. Ogden
Unit Test: MC / Thematic Essay
DBQ Exercise:
Students are to write the First Quarter DBQ. Instructor choices include:
Discovery and Settlement, Conflicts and Revolution
The Constitution and the New Republic, the Age of Jefferson
Unit 5: The Age of Jackson and the Growth of Democracy
Readings:
Text: Out of Many, Chapter(s) 10 American Pageant, Chapter(s) 17
Supplemental Document Excerpts: Daniel Webster – Reply to Haynes,
Case Brief - Worcester v. Georgia (1832), South Carolina Legislature –
On the Nullification Issue, Jackson - On the Bank Veto
Themes:
 The Election of 1824 and “Corrupt Bargain” Politics
 The Presidency under John Q. Adams
 King Cotton and Southern Expansion
 Slavery and the African American Community
 Yeomen and the Poor White Farmer
 The Pre-industrial Work Place
 The Transportation Revolution
 The Advent of Andrew Jackson
 The Spoils System and New Politics in the Kitchen
 Crisis: Nullification, the Eaton Affair, and the Battle over the Bank
 Indian Removal
 King Veto and the Rise of the Whigs
 The Panic of 1837
Essential Questions:
 Believed to be unqualified in political and social experience to be president of the
United States, Jackson’s presidency is considered on of the most influential in
American history. Explain the factors that changed the political atmosphere that
made his election possible.
 Discuss who benefited from the transportation revolution and why was the issue
of government support for internal improvements so controversial.
 Constitutional issues were raised by the Nullification Crisis and Indian removal.
Discuss the rights of the minority being governed by majority rule concerning
each issue.
Major Assignments and Assessments:
Unit Test: MC /Thematic Essay
DBQ Exercise:
Summary Readings
Analyzing Documents
Avoiding “Laundry Listing” Documents
Unit 6: Expansion across the Continent and Reform Movements
Readings:
Text, Out of Many, Chapter(s) 13, 14
Supplemental Document Excerpts: Polk - Message on War with Mexico,
Calhoun – Speech on the Compromise of 1850, Grimke - Letters on the Equality
of the Sexes, Declaration of Sentiments, Thoreau – On Civil Disobedience
Theme:
 Exploring the West
 Manifest Destiny and Expansionist Ideology
 Western Migration and Overland Trails
 Texas Independence and the Politics of Annexation
 The Mexican American War
 California and the Gold Rush
 The Politics of Manifest Destiny
 The Compromise of 1850
 The Second Great Awakening
 Antislavery and Abolitionism
 The Early Women’s Rights Movement
 Artistic Achievements and American Philosophy
Essential Questions:
 Define and discuss the concept of Manifest Destiny.
 Assess and identify the ways that the success of Manifest Destiny and expansion
of the United States would lead to a resurrection of issues that would eventually
divide the nation.
 Evaluate the ways in which women transformed the reform movements of the
1820s-1850s. How did the role of women in those movements transform the
image and status of women?
Major Assignments and Assessments:
Biographical Presentation Project: Choose from the list below and develop a
biographical profile of one of major players of the early reform movement. Abide
by the rubric criteria. (a) Margaret Fuller, (b) Dorothea Dix, (c) Horace Mann,
(d) Sarah or Angelina Grimke, (e) Lucretia Mott or Elizabeth Stanton,
(f) George Ripley, (g) Samuel Howe, (h) Charles Finney
Unit Test: MC /Thematic Essay
DBQ Exercises:
Summary Readings
Analyzing Documents
Adding Historical Information to DBQ Essays
Unit 7: Decade in Crisis, Civil War and Reconstruction
Readings:
Text, Out of Many, Chapter(s) 11, 15, 16
Supplemental Document Excerpts: Taney – Supreme Court Opinion in Dred Scott
Case, Lincoln – Message to Congress 1861, Lincoln - Gettysburg Address,
Douglas - On Reconstruction
Themes:
 The Domination of Southern Life by the Slave System
 The Economic Implications of “King Cotton”
 Creation of African-American Communities
 The Social Structure of White South
 The Failure of Compromise on the Slavery Issue
 The Rise of the Republican Party
 Secession of the Southern States
 Social and Political Changes Due to the War
 Major Military Campaigns
 The End of Slavery
 Completing Political Plans for Reconstruction
 Reconstructing the States
 Sharecropping; the New Slavery
 The Compromise of 1877 and the End of Reconstruction
Essential Questions:
 “The sectional compromises of the first half of the nineteenth century were not in
fact compromises but rather “sectional sellouts” in which the North gave in to the
insistent demands of the slaveholding South.” Assess the validity of this
statement.
 Analyze the impact of two of the following in the ending of slavery during the
Civil War. (a) President Lincoln, (b) U.S. Congress, (c) Slaves and former slaves
 Explain why and how the role of the federal government changed as a result of
the Civil War with respect to two of the following during the period 1861 – 1877.
Major Assignments and Assessments:
Group Role Play Debate Project: The class will role-play the Congressional
debate that led to the Compromise of 1850. Students will be assigned to research
one of the major players and role-play their position during the debate. Abide by
the debate criteria rubric.
Civil War Portfolio: Abide by the Rubrics located in the Civil War Packet
Unit Test: MC /Thematic Essay
DBQ Exercise:
Students are to write the Second Quarter DBQ. Instructor choices include:
Age of Jackson and the Growth of Democracy
Expansion across the Continent and Reform Movements
Decade in Crisis, Civil War and Reconstruction
Unit 8: The Gilded Age and the Rise of Industrial America
Readings:
Text, Out of Many, Chapter(s) 18,19
Supplemental Document Excerpts: Vanderbilt –The Public be
Damned, Rockefeller – On the Virtues of Integration, Carnegie – On
Wealth, Jane Adams - On the Clash of Cultures, Chinese Exclusion Act
Themes:
 The Rise of Industry
 The Gospel of Wealth
 Politics During the Gilded Age
 The Spoils System verses Civil Service Reform
 The Rise of Labor and Triumph of Big Business
 The Industrial City
 The Impact of Immigration
 The Rise of Boss Control and Political Machines
 The New South and Southern Industrialization
 Labor Conflicts
 Culture and Society During the Gilded Age
 Culture in Common: Culture in Conflict
 Education, Leisure and National Pastimes
Essential Questions:



Compare and contrast the economic patterns and lifestyles of middle class
urbanites with the working class urbanites during the Gilded Age.
The term “robber barons” or “captains of industry’ are often used to describe the
“prime movers” of the second industrial revolution period. Choose one of the
descriptors and defend your position.
How did the rise of organized sports and commercial amusements reflect and
shape social divisions at the end of the century?
Major Assignments and Assessments:
Group Presentation Project: Develop a PowerPoint presentation on one of the
topics listed below. Abide by the rubric criteria. (a) Labor Conflicts,
(b) Immigrants and Leisure Time, (c) Cultural Conflicts, (d) National Pastimes
Unit Test: MC /Thematic Essay
DBQ Exercise:
Summary Readings
Analyzing Documents
Checking Your Essay against the Rubric
Unit 9: The American West and Native Americans
Readings:
Text, Out of Many, Chapter(s) 17
Supplemental Document Excerpts: Red Cloud – On the Original American Race,
Chief Joseph – Fight No More Forever, Dawes Plan, Turner Thesis
Themes:
 Indian Peoples under Siege
 The Impact of the “Iron Horse”
 Reservations and the Slaughter of the Buffalo
 The Indian Wars
 Mining Communities, Mormon Settlements
 The Cattle Industry
 Farming Communities of the Great Plains
 The Range Wars
 Technological Advances on the Great Plains
 The Western Landscape
 The Transformation of Indian Societies
 The Closing of the Frontier
Essential Questions:



Discuss the federal government’s policies toward Native Americans from the
1830s to the 1900s.
Explain how two of the following influenced the development of the last of the
West from the 1850s to 1900.
To what extent were the problems of the American farmers in the period of 1865
– 1900 caused (a) by big business and government policy and (b) by farmers own
decisions?
Major Assignments and Assessments:
Unit Test: MC /Thematic Essay
DBQ Exercise:
Summary Readings
Analyzing Documents
Developing an Outline
Unit 10: The Populist and Progressive Movements
Readings:
Text, Out of Many, Chapter(s) 20, 22
Supplemental Document Excerpts: Pollack v. The Farmers Loan and Trust Co.,
Bryan - Cross of Gold, Lewis – Jungle, Riis - How the Other half Lives, Steffens
– Shame of the Cities, Brandeis Brief, Washington – Atlanta Compromise,
Du Bois – Soul of the Black Folks
Themes:













The Dilemma of the Farmer
The Grange and Farmer’s Alliances
The Economics of Free Silver
The Rise and Fall of the Populists Party
Social Gospel Movement
The Underlying Currents of Progressivism
The Grass-Root Progressives and Muckrakers
The Women’s Movement Achieves Suffrage
The Triumph of Prohibition
Conflicting Philosophy: Washington and Du Bois
Racism and Accommodation
Presidential Activism and Domestic Policy During the Era
Presidential Politics and the Election of 1912
Essential Questions:
 Identify two problems that Progressives addressed and, for each, describe a
democratic reform that was designed to deal with the problem.
 Compare and contrast the philosophies of Booker T. Washington and
W. E. B. Du Bois regarding their objectives and methods.
 Compare and contrast presidential domestic policy between 1901 and 1920.
Major Assignments and Assessments:
Read / study teacher made portfolio, “Show Me the Money.” The data-based
portfolio provides an analysis of the national debt, bank debates, tariffs, silver
and gold issues and other monetary issues from Hamilton to the creation of the
Federal Reserve.
Unit Test: MC /Thematic Essay
DBQ Exercise:
Summary Readings
Analyzing Documents
Developing Arguments to Support your Thesis
Unit 11: Imperialism and World War I
Readings:
Text, Out of Many, Chapter(s) 22
Supplemental Document Excerpts: Mahan – On Sea Power, The De Lome Letter,
Teller Amendment, Hay – On the Open Door Policy, Roosevelt - On the
Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine, The Zimmermann Telegram, Wilson Address to Congress, Wilson - the Fourteen Points, Palmer – The Case Against
the Reds
Themes:
 China and the Open Door Policy
 Roosevelt adds a Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine
 Taft and Dollar Diplomacy
 Wilson, Moralism, and Mexico
 The Great War and the Attempt to Remain Neutral
 American Mobilization
 The Home Front: The Business of War and Volunteerism
 The Home Front: Controlling Dissent and Labor Strife
 The War Front: “Over There” on the Western Front
 The Fourteen Points, Treaty of Versailles and Ratification
 The Russian Revolution and the Red Scare
Essential Questions:
 In the late 1800s, the United States embarked on a new wave of expansionism
during which it acquired overseas territories. Explain the reasons for this new
wave of expansionism.
 World War began in 1914. The United States entered the War in 1917.
Chronologically explain the events the led the United States into the War.
 Assesses the influence of two of the following on the United State’s involvement
in World War I.

Civil Liberties

African Americans

Business

Women
Major Assignments and Assessments:
Unit Test: MC /Thematic Essay
DBQ Exercise: Students are to write the Third Quarter DBQ. Instructor choices include:
The Gilded Age and the Rise of Industrial America
The American West and Native Americans
Populism and the Progressivism
Imperialism and World War I
Unit 12: The Roaring 1920s and the Great Depression
Readings:
Text, Out of Many, Chapter(s) 22, 23
Supplemental Document Excerpts: Barton – The Man Nobody Knows, Bryan The Menace of Darwinism, Herndon – What Scottsboro Means, Hoover –
American Individualism, Roosevelt – First Inaugural, Roosevelt – Four Freedoms
Eleanor Roosevelt – This I Remember, Westin – How Women Survived the ‘30s
Themes:
 Return to Normalcy – and Scandal
 The Emergence of a Mass-Consumption Economy
 Immigration and Restrictions
 The Impact of the Automobile
 The Great Migration and Cultural Renaissance
 Popular Culture in the Jazz Age
 Prohibition and the Rise of Organized Crime
 Intellectuals and The Lost Generation
 Resistance to Modernity
 Foreign Policy and Isolation
 The Bull Market Crash
 Hoover’s Gradualism and Failure
 Roosevelt’s New Deal and the Hundred Day Congress
 The Devastation of the Dust Bowl
 The Second New Deal
 A New Deal for Native Americans
 The Resurrection of Labor and The New Deal Critics
 The Recession of 1937 and Keynesian Economics
 Political Capital and Court Packing
 War in Europe Primes the Economic Pump
Essential Questions:
 “The business of America is business!” Explain the significant of President
Coolidge’s statement in terms of United States government policies in the 1920s
and the long term impact of these policies.
 What were the underlying causes of the Great Depression? What consequences
did it have for ordinary Americans, and how did the Hoover administration
attempt to deal with the crisis?
 Evaluate the impact that the New Deal had toward solving the economic crisis of
the Great Depression.
Major Assignments and Assessments:
Unit Test: MC /Thematic Essay
DBQ Exercise:
Summary Readings
Analyzing Documents
Unit 13: World War II and the Post War Era
Readings:
Text, Out of Many, Chapter(s) 25
Supplemental Document Excerpts: Roosevelt - Quarantine Speech, Roosevelt –
War Message to Congress, Korematsu v. U.S., Prange - At Dawn We Slept,
Toland - Infamy: Pearl Harbor and Its Aftermath
Themes:
 Isolationism and Neutrality
 Fascist Aggression
 The Break in Isolation
 The Road to Pearl Harbor
 The Arsenal of Democracy
 The War on the Home Front
 Internment and Dissent
 Women and African Americans in Industry, Labor Strikes
 The Pacific Theatre of War
 The European Theatre of War
 War Conferences and Strategies
 The Holocaust
 The Creation and Decision to Use the Bomb
 Post War Culture
Essential Questions:
 To what extent and why did the United States adopt an isolationist policy in the
1920’s and the 1930’s?
 Analyze the discrimination two of the following groups faced during World War
II.
o
African Americans
o
Japanese Americans
o
Women
 Argue either for or against this statement: “President Truman’s decision to use
the atomic bomb was completely justified.”
Major Assignments and Assessments:
Unit Test: MC /Thematic Essay
DBQ Exercise:
Summary Readings
Analyzing Documents
Unit 14: The Civil Rights Movement
Readings:
Text, Out of Many, Chapter(s) 26, 27,29
Supplemental Document Excerpts: Truman – Executive Order 9981, Brown v.
Board of Education, King - Letter from the Birmingham Jail, King - I Have a
Dream, Hamer – Address to the Democratic Convention, Steinem – Hearing on
the Equal Rights Amendment
Themes:
 African American Nationalism before 1950
 The Political Solid South
 Brown v. Board of Education and the Crisis in Little Rock
 Dr. Martin Luther King: The Movement Finds a Leader
 “Sick and Tired of Being Sick and Tired” –The Movement Becomes Pro-active
 From Birmingham to Washington
 Presidential Leadership and Congressional Acts
 Separatist Movements and Black Power
 The American Indian Movement
 The Women’s Liberation Movement
 Mexican Americans and Asian Americans
Essential Questions:
 What accounted for the growth between 1940 and 1965 of popular and
governmental concern for the position of Blacks in American society?
 How did African American communities challenge legal segregation in the
South? Compare the strategies of key organizations, such as the NAACP, SNCC,
SCLC, and CORE.
 What relationship did the African American struggle for civil rights have with
other American minorities? How did these communities benefit and build their
own versions of the Civil Rights Movement.
Major Assignments and Assessments:
Civil Rights Portfolio: Abide by the Rubrics located in the Civil Rights
Portfolio Packet.
Unit Test: MC /Thematic Essay
DBQ Exercise:
Summary Readings
Analyzing Documents
Unit 15: The Cold War
Readings:
Text, Out of Many, Chapter(s) 28, 29, 30
Supplemental Document Excerpts: Wilson – Sinews of Peace, Kennan – The
Sources of Soviet Conduct, U.S. Senate – Censure of Senator McCarthy,
NSC – Memo 68, Kennedy – Inaugural Address,
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
Themes:
 The Evolution of the United Nations
 The Iron Curtain and Truman’s Doctrine
 Marshal Plan, Berlin Crisis, and the Formation of NATO
 The Second Red Scare
 American Society in the 1950’s
 The Cold War Heats Up Asia – Korea
 From Brinkmanship to Mutually Assured Destruction
 The Bay of Pigs and the Cuban Missile Crisis
 The Vietnam Quagmire
 The Philosophy of Détente
Essential Questions:
 To what extent did President Eisenhower continue the containment policy of
Harry Truman?
 The 1950s were an era of “conformity and complacency.” Give reasons for
agreeing or disagreeing with this statement.
 Compare and contrast the military foreign policy of President Johnson to that of
President Nixon.
Major Assignments and Assessments:
Unit Test: MC /Thematic Essay
DBQ Exercise: Students are to write the Fourth Quarter DBQ. Instructor choices
include:
Roaring 1920s and Great Depression
World War II and the Post war Era
The Cold War
The Civil Rights Movement
Unit 16: The Contemporary World
Readings:
Text, Out of Many, Chapter(s) 30, 31
Supplemental Document Excerpts: Nixon – Address to the American People,
Carter – On the Erosion of Confidence, Reagan – Inaugural Address, Bush – On
the New World Order, Clinton – On NAFTA, Bush Jr. – Bush Doctrine
Themes:
 The Effects of the Democratic War and Republican Scandal
 The Global Politics of Oil, Middle East Blunders, and Accords
 Reagan and the Conservative Revolution
 From Evil Empire to the Collapse of the Soviet Union
 The Persian Gulf War
 Trends and the New Millennium
 The National Debt v. Government Spending
 The Electronic Culture
 New Immigration Issues
 Global Environmental Issues
 Cultural Challenges: Drugs, AIDS, Homelessness
 The War On Terror
Essential Questions:
 Analyze the key structural factors underlying recent changes in American
economic and cultural life. Do you see any political solutions for the growth of
poverty and inequality?
 The concept of globalization is highly controversial. Are borders between
nations “melting away” as some scholars contend? Does this concept apply
primary to economics, or is it useful for discussing issues related to culture,
media, the environment, and population trends.
 Earlier scholars predicted that the end of the Cold War would bring peace and
promote democracy throughout the world. Events, beginning with the Persian
Gulf War, have instead suggested a new basis for international affairs. Describe
the importance of regional and ethnic conflicts in the Middle East and Central
Europe.
Major Assignments and Assessments:
AP Test Preparation
DBQ Exercise: AP Test Preparation
Post-AP Test…. Movie Time! After the AP Exam my students are rewarded for
their endurance for surviving the eight month push toward the test. The students
will research films they would like to view from a furnished list. Two films will be
watched in class and another will a group homework assignment. Movies include
Last of the Mohicans, Dancing with Wolves, Glory, Citizen Kane, the Grapes of
Wrath, The Patriot, Dr. Strangelove, etc.