Congratulations on taking AP US History for 2015-2016
Over the summer, you will prepare for the course in TWO ways:
1. Get a jump-start on the reading – check out America’s History and:
 Read Chapter 1 (pages 2-46) in America’s History and take notes (you do not need to take notes on
the intro information – pages 2-6 – but you do need to read these pages)
 Requirements for notes:
 Read a section at a time (a section is delineated by the blue or red bold heading)
 Write anywhere from one to a few sentences or bullet points SUMMARIZING that section.
Don’t just write down what the book says – copying the book won’t help you!
 Define any vocabulary terms (these are in bold and there is a list at the end of the chapter).
There is also a glossary in the back in case you get stuck
 On the blue and green pages (Titled: America Compared, Thinking Like a Historian, or
American Voices) answer all questions EXCEPT the questions that ask you to write an essay
 Each chapter will be graded on:
1. The section notes
2. The defined vocabulary
3. The answers to the blue and green pages
 You need to decide if you want to type or handwrite your notes. I recommend typing your
notes on 2/3 of the page and leaving a column blank on the last 1/3 of the page for class
notes. (see below)
Example of Recommended Note Style:
Chapter 1: Colliding Worlds 1450-1600
The Native American Experience
Prior to European arrival there were approximately 60 million Native
Americans in the Americas, with more living in Central and South America.
Huge civilizations existed along with smaller tribes of hunters and gatherers –
both making important contributions to the Americas
The First Americans
The first Americans probably crossed over a land/ice bridge from Siberia
starting 15,000 years ago. These migrations lasted for thousands of years as
well, but the Americas did not receive new people for approximately 5000
years before Columbus.
The densest areas of population (and largest civilizations) occurred in central
Mexico and the Andes. Civilizations were grown on domesticated crops like
maize and potatoes.
This section doesn’t have vocabulary, but if it did, I would define it here!

To get this in Microsoft Word: Install 2 columns. Go to format columns
and choose: “line between” and “right” as your options – then adjust the
width to fit your needs.

(Obviously my notes on these sections are very SHORT because these
sections are pretty simple. Your notes will vary in their length for each
section as they reflect the importance of each section.)
APUSH SUMMER ASSIGNMENT 2015
2. To understand the chronology of US History, you will need to memorize all of the presidents:
 Create a notecard for each president (look on the back of this for a good list!)
 Place the president’s name at the top of the notecard along with their numerical number as
president (look in the back of your book for help here!)
 Write the president’s political party and their years in office below the president’s name.
 If the president left office for unnatural reasons (death, resignation, etc.) write this at the bottom
of the notecard.
 Do NOT write on the back of the notecard (the part with the lines if you have lined ones). We
will add information to this during the year
 You can also create these “notecards” on a flashcard app on your phone / tablet / computer
Assessment:
 You will be tested on the presidents as well as their party and terms in office during the first
week of school. We will start with a quiz of the first 10 presidents and then increase from there.
I will give you a list that looks like:
1. ____________________ 1789 – 1797 ____________________
2. ____________________ 1797 – 1801 ____________________
And you would write:
1. George Washington
1789 – 1797
No Party
2. John Adams
1797 – 1801
Federalist
(Bring all notes and notecards with you on the first day of school)
APUSH SUMMER ASSIGNMENT 2015
Summer President List – APUSH
Remember to look up the reason if they left office early for extra credit on your quiz!
President
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
33.
34.
35.
36.
37.
38.
39.
40.
41.
42.
43.
44.
Term
George Washington
John Adams
Thomas Jefferson
James Madison
James Monroe
John Quincy Adams
Andrew Jackson
Martin Van Buren
William H. Harrison
John Tyler
James Knox Polk
Zachary Taylor
Millard Fillmore
Franklin Pierce
James Buchanan
Abraham Lincoln
Andrew Johnson
Ulysses S. Grant
Rutherford B. Hayes
James A. Garfield
Chester A. Arthur
Grover Cleveland
Benjamin Harrison
Grover Cleveland
William McKinley
Theodore Roosevelt
William Howard Taft
Woodrow Wilson
Warren G. Harding
Calvin Coolidge
Herbert Hoover
Franklin Roosevelt
Harry S. Truman
Dwight Eisenhower
John F. Kennedy
Lyndon B. Johnson
Richard M. Nixon
Gerald R. Ford
Jimmy Carter
Ronald Reagan
George Bush
Bill Clinton
George W. Bush
Barack Obama
Party
1789-97
1797-1801
1801-09
1809-17
1817-25
1825-29
1829-37
1837-41
1841
1841-45
1845-49
1849-50
1850-53
1853-57
1857-61
1861-65
1865-69
1869-77
1877-81
1881
1881-85
1885-89
1889-93
1893-97
1897-1901
1901-09
1909-13
1913-21
1921-23
1923-29
1929-33
1933-45
1945-53
1953-61
1961-63
1963-69
1969-74
1974-77
1977-81
1981-89
1989-93
1993-2001
2001-2009
2009-2017
Federalist
Democratic-Republican
Democratic-Republican
Democratic-Republican
Democratic-Republican
Democrat
Democrat
Whig
Whig
Democrat
Whig
Whig
Democrat
Democrat
Republican/National Union
National Union
Republican
Republican
Republican
Republican
Democrat
Republican
Democrat
Republican
Republican
Republican
Democrat
Republican
Republican
Republican
Democrat
Democrat
Republican
Democrat
Democrat
Republican
Republican
Democrat
Republican
Republican
Democrat
Republican
Democrat
APUSH SUMMER ASSIGNMENT 2015