AP US History Syllabus
Mr Mercante
2011-2012
Texts:
David M. Kennedy et al. The American Pageant: A History of the Republic Houghton
Mifflin Company: Boston 2006
Charles M. Dollar ed. American Issues: A Documentary Reader Glencoe: New York 1994
(Photocopied Excerpts)
Overview:
Everything that has happened in the past impacts who we are as people today
and what our futures (both individually and collectively as a society) will look like
tomorrow. Ignorance of the past is ignorance of ourselves, our society, and our
government. In order to understand the world we live in today and to make intelligent
informed decisions to make it a better place for tomorrow we need to understand what
happened in the past. This class is designed to be an intensive in-depth analysis of
United States history. Along the way you will develop skills in reading comprehension,
critical thinking, and persuasive writing that will not only enhance your understanding of
US history, but which will also help prepare you for a university-level academic
environment.
Unit 1: The Rise of Colonial America (1 Week) (1)
Textbook Chapters 1-4
Content Covered:
1-Pre-Columbian Societies
A-Early inhabitants of the Americas
B-American Indian empires in Mesoamerica, the Southwest, and the Miss Valley
C-American Indian cultures of North America at the time of European contact
2-Transatlantic Encounters and Colonial Beginnings, 1492-1690
A-First European contacts with Native Americans
B-Spain’s Empire in North America
C-French Colonization of Canada
D-English settlement of New England, the Mid-Atlantic, and the South
E-From servitude to slavery in the Chesapeake region
F-Religious diversity in the American colonies
G-Resistance to colonial authority; Bacon’s Rebellion, the Glorious Revolution,
and the Pueblo Revolt
3-Colonial North America, 1690-1754
A-Population growth and immigration
B-Transatlantic trade and the growth of seaports
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C-The 18th century backcountry
D-Growth of plantation economies and slave societies
E-The enlightenment and the Great Awakening
F-Colonial governments and imperial policy in British North America
Major Themes/Essential Questions:
1-How did the geography of North America impact the development of Native
American civilizations there, the continent’s conquest by Europeans, and the varied
development of the British North American colonies?
2-How does one reconcile the development of representative government with
the development of slavery in the British colonies?
Homework Assignments:
1-Read Jared Diamond’s essay “Accidental Conquerors”
2-Read and answer questions (American Issues) for: 1.1, 1.2, 1.6
3-R/A: 2.2, 2.4, 2.6, 2.7
4-R/A: 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, 3.5
In-class activities/Primary Source Readings:
1-Colonies worksheet (handout)
Assessments:
1-Quiz on chapters 1-4
2-Homework reading/answer assignments (1, 2, 3, 4)
3-MA: Essay—“Geography was the primary factor in shaping the development of the
British colonies in North America.” Assess the validity of this statement for the 1600 and
1700’s.
Unit 2: American Independence (2 weeks) (3)
Textbook Chapters 5-9
Content Covered:
4-The American Revolutionary Era, 1754-1789
A-The French and Indian War
B-The Imperial Crisis and resistance to Britain
C-The War for Independence
D-State constitutions and the Articles of Confederation
E-The federal Constitution
Major Themes/Essential Questions:
1-Which war more fundamentally shaped modern America, French and Indian or
American Revolution?
2-Did the Articles of Confederation constitute a crisis period in US history?
2
3-US Constitution: radical or conservative?
4-Women and slaves: what happened?
Homework Assignments:
1-R/A: 4.5, 4.6, 4.7
2-R/A: 5.3, 5.4
3-R/A: 6.5, 6.6, 6.7, 6.8
In-class activities/Primary sources:
-Declaration of Independence (p)
-Constitution (p)
-Bill of Rights (p)
-Abigail Adams to John Adams (p)
-Fiske vs. Beard
Assessments:
1-Quiz on chapters 5-9
2-HW R/A: 4, 5, 6
3-MA: 2005 DBQ
Unit 3: The Republican Experiment (1 Week) (4)
Textbook Chapter 10
Content Covered:
5-The Early Republic, 1789-1815
A-Washington, Hamilton, and the shaping of the national government
B-Emergence of political parties; Federalists and Republicans
C-Republican Motherhood and education for women
D-Beginnings of the 2nd Great Awakening
Major Themes/Essential Questions:
1-What precedents for modern day US governance were established during the
Early Republic period?
Homework Assignments:
1-R/A: 7.2, 7.5, 7.6
In-class activities/Primary Sources:
-Alien and Sedition Acts (p)
Assessments:
1-HW R/A: 7
2-Quiz on chapter 10
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3-MA: none
Unit 4: Jeffersonian Republicanism and the Era of Good Feelings (1 Week) (5)
Textbook Chapters 11-12
Content Covered:
5-The Early Republic, 1789-1815
E-Significance of Jefferson’s Presidency
F-Expansion into the trans-Appalachian West; American Indian resistance
G-Growth of slavery and free Black communities
H-The War of 1812 and its consequences
Major Themes/Essential Questions:
1-To what extent did Jefferson remain true to his Republican ideals once he
became President?
Homework Assignments:
1-R/A: 8.2, 8.7, 9.1, 9.7
In-class activities/Primary Sources:
Assessments:
1-HW R/A: 8/9
2-Quiz Chapters 11-12
3-MA: In-class test: multiple choice + essay. Essay= 2004 Part B #2
Unit 5: Jacksonian America (2 Weeks) (7)
Textbook Chapters 13-15
Content Covered:
6-Transformation of the Economy and Society in Antebellum America
A-The transportation revolution and creation of a national market economy
B-Beginnings of industrialization and changes in social class structures
C-Immigration and nativist reaction
D-Planters, yeoman farmers, and slaves in the cotton South
7-The Transformation of Politics in Antebellum America
A-Emergence of the second party system
B-Federal authority and its opponents; judicial federalism, the Bank War, tariff
controversy, and states’ rights debates
C-Jacksonian democracy and its successes and limitations
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8-Religion, Reform, and Renaissance in Antebellum America
A-Evangelical Protestant revivalism
B-Social reforms
C-Ideals of domesticity
D-Transcendentalism and utopian communities
E-American Renaissance: literary and artistic expressions
Major Themes/Essential Questions:
1-How did the geography of America impact the government, society, and
economies of the different sections of the country?
2-Increased democracy: good, bad, , ?
Homework Assignments:
1-R/A: 9.2, 9.3, 9.4, 9.6
2-R/A: 11.2, 11.3, 11.5
In-class activities/Primary Sources:
Assessments:
1-HW R/A: 9, 11
2- Quiz chapters 13-15
3-MA: In-class DBQ 2011 (Form B) DBQ
Unit 6: Manifest Destiny (2 Weeks) (9)
Textbook Chapters 16-19
Content Covered:
9-Territorial Expansion and Manifest Destiny
A-Forced removal of American Indians to the trans-Mississippi West
B-Western migration and cultural interactions
C-Territorial acquisitions
D-Early US imperialism, the Mexican War
10-The Crisis of the Union
A-Pro- and antislavery arguments and conflicts
B-Compromise of 1850 and popular sovereignty
C-The Kansas-Nebraska Act and the emergence of the Republican Party
D-Abraham Lincoln, the election of 1860, secession
Major Themes/Essential Questions:
1-What was the root cause of the tension between North and South prior to the
Civil War? What caused the South to secede?
2-Compromise, why did it fail, is it always a good thing?
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Homework Assignments:
1-R/A: 8.5, 10.4
2-R/A: 10.1, 10.2, 10.3, 10.6
3-R/A: 12.1, 12.2, 12.4, 12.5, 12.7
4-R/A: 13.2, 13.3, 13.4, 13.5
In-class activities/Primary Sources:
1-Civil War Statistics project (?)
Assessments:
1-HW R/A: 8/10, 10, 12, 13
2-Quiz chapters 16-19
3-Civil War Statistics Project
4-Presidents Quiz 1788-1856
5-MA: Take home essay—2010 Part B Question 3
Unit 7: The American Civil War and Reforging the Union (2 Weeks) (11)
Textbook Chapters 20-22
Content Covered:
11-Civil War
A-Two societies at war: mobilization, resources, and internal dissent
B-Military strategies and foreign diplomacy
C-Emancipation and the role of African Americans in the war
D-Social, political, and economic effects of war in the North, South, and West
12-Reconstruction
A-Presidential and Radical Reconstruction
B-Southern state governments: aspirations, achievements, failures
C-Role of African Americans in politics, education, and the economy
D-Compromise of 1877
E-Impact of Reconstruction
Major Themes/Essential Questions:
1-How did the experience of Civil War change the nature of the US federal and
state governments?
2-Reconstruction: How successful was it?
Homework Assignments:
1-14.1, 14.2, 14.6, 14.7
2-15.1, 15.3, 15.5, 15.6, 15.8
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In-class activities/Primary Sources:
1-Emancipation Proclamation (p)
2-Gettysburg Address (p)?
3-Reconstruction Amendments (13, 14, 15)(p)
Assessments:
1-HW: 14, 15
2-Reading Quiz chapters 20-22
3-MA: DBQ take home Reconstruction DBQ
Unit 8: The Trans-Mississippi West, American Industrialization, the Gilded Age, and the
Advent of Urban and Rural America During the Gilded Age (2 Weeks) (13)
Textbook Chapters 23-26
Content Covered:
13-The Origins of the New South
A-Reconfiguration of southern agriculture: sharecropping and crop lien system
B-Expansion of manufacturing and industrialization
C-The politics of segregation: Jim Crow and disenfranchisement
14-Development of the West in the Late 19th Century
A-Expansion and development of western railroads
B-Competitors for the West: miners, ranchers, homesteaders, and the American
Indians
C-Government policy toward American Indians
D-Gender, race, and ethnicity in the far West
E-Environmental impacts of western settlement
15-Industrial America in the Late 19th Century
A-Corporate consolidation
B-Effects of technological developments on the worker and workplace
C-Labor and unions
D-National politics and influence of corporate power
E-Migration and immigration: the changing face of the nation
F-Proponents and opponents of the new order, eg, Social Darwinism and Social
Gospel
16-Urnban Society in the late 19th Century
A-Urbanization and the lure of the city
B-City problems and machine politics
C-Intellectual and cultural movements and popular entertainment
Major Themes/Essential Questions:
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1-What is the proper role of the federal government when it comes to
addressing economic and social problems?
Homework Assignments:
1-16.1, 16.2, 16.5, 16.6, 16.7
2-17.3, 17.4, 17.5, 17.6, 17.7
3-18.1, 18.2, 18.3, 18.4, 18.7
In-class activities/Primary Sources:
Assessments:
1-HW: 16, 17, 18
2-Reading Quiz chapters 23-26
3-MA: In-class test: multiple choice questions and unit 8 DBQ (
Unit 9: American Progressives and American Foreign Policy (2 Weeks) (15)
Textbook Chapters 27-30
Content Covered:
17-Populism and Progressivism
A-Agrarian discontent and political issues of the late 19th century
B-Origins of Progressive reform: municipal, state, and national
C-Roosevelt, Taft, and Wilson as Progressive presidents
D-Women’s roles: family, workplace, education, politics, and reform
E-Black America: urban migration and civil rights initiatives
18-The Emergence of America as a World Power
A-American imperialism: political and economic expansion
B-War in Europe and American neutrality
C-The First World War at home and abroad
D-Treaty of Versailles
E-Society and economy in the postwar years
Major Themes/Essential Questions:
1-What is the proper role of the federal government when it comes to
addressing economic and social problems?
2-Who was the more “progressive president”: Roosevelt or Taft
Homework Assignments:
1-19.1, 19.3, 19.5, 19.6
2-20.1, 20.2, 20.3, 20.6, 20.7
In-class activities/Primary Sources:
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Assessments:
1-HW: 19, 20
2-Reading Quiz chapters 27-30
3-MA: 2003 DBQ (Form B)
Unit 10: The Roaring 20s and the Great Depression (2 Weeks) (17)
Textbook Chapters 31-33
Content Covered:
19-The New Era: 1920s
A-Business of America and the consumer economy
B-Republican politics: Harding, Coolidge, Hoover
C-The culture of modernism: science, the arts, and entertainment
D-Response to Modernism: religious fundamentalism, nativism, Prohibition
E-The ongoing struggle for equality: African Americans and women
20-The Great Depression and the New Deal
A-Causes of the Great Depression
B-The Hoover administration’s responses
C-FDR and the New Deal
D-Labor and union recognition
E-The New Deal coalition and its critics from the Right and the Left
F-Surviving hard times: American society during the Great Depression
Major Themes/Essential Questions:
1-In what ways were the unique characteristics of the 1920s a product of US
experiences during the progressive era and WWI?
2-Was the New Deal conservative, radical, neither?
Homework Assignments:
1-21.1, 21.2, 21.3, 21.4, 21.5, 21.6
2-22.1, 22.2, 22.3, 22.4, 22.5, 22.6
In-class activities/Primary Sources:
Assessments:
1-HW: 21, 22
2-Reading quiz chapters 31-33
3-MA: In-class 2003 DBQ
Unit 11: The Second World War (2 Weeks) (19)
9
Textbook Chapters 34-35
Content Covered:
21-The Second World War
A-The rise of fascism and militarism in Japan, Italy, and Germany
B-Prelude to war: policy of neutrality
C-The attack on Pearl Harbor and US declaration of war
D-Fighting a multifront war
E-Diplomacy, war aims, and wartime conferences
F-The US as a global power in the Atomic Age
22-The Home Front During the War
A-Wartime mobilization of the economy
B-Urban migration and demographic changes
C-Women, work, and family during the war
D-Civil liberties and civil rights during wartime
E-War and regional development
F-Expansion of government power
Major Themes/Essential Questions:
1-How did WWII fundamentally alter US history?
Homework Assignments:
1-23.2, 23.3, 23.4, 23.5, 23.6, 23.7
2-24.4, 24.5, 24.6, 24.7
In-class activities:
Assessments:
1-HW: 23, 24
2-Reading quiz chapters 34-35
3-MA: Take-home 2004 DBQ (Form B)
Unit 12: The Cold War and 1950’s Prosperity (1 Week) (20)
Textbook Chapters 36-37
Content Covered:
23-The United States and the Early Cold War
A-Origins of the Cold War
B-Truman and containment
C-The Cold War in Asia: China, Korea, Vietnam, Japan
D-Diplomatic strategies and policies of Eisenhower and Kennedy administrations
E-The Red Scare and McCarthyism
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F-Impact of the Cold War on American Society
24-The 1950’s
A-Emergence of the modern civil rights movement
B-The affluent society and the “other America”
C-Consensus and conformity: suburbia and middle class America
D-Social critics, nonconformists, and cultural rebels
E-Impact of changes in science, technology, and medicine
Major Themes/Essential Questions:
1-What were the pros and cons of 1950s America, does it constitute an American
“Golden Age”
Homework Assignments:
1-25.1, 25.2, 25.4, 25.6
2-26.1, 26.2, 26.3, 26.4, 26.6, 26.7
In-class activities:
1-George Kennan’s “X Article” (p)
2-The Truman Doctrine (p)
Assessments:
1-HW: 25, 26
2-Reading quiz chapters 36-37
3-Presidents quiz 1860-1956
4-MA: In-class test multiple choice and DBQ (2006 form B DBQ)
Unit 13: The 1960’s and the Civil Rights Movement, Counterculture, and Vietnam (2
Weeks) (22)
Textbook Chapter 38
Content Covered:
25-The Turbulent 1960’s
A-From the New Frontier to the Great Society
B-Expanding movements for civil rights
C-Cold War confrontations: Asia, Latin America, and Europe
D-Beginning of Détente
E-The antiwar movement and the counterculture
Major Themes/Essential Questions:
1-Who was proved right: Washington or DuBois?
2-War Protesters: right or wrong?
Homework Assignments:
1-27.1, 27.2, 27.3, 27.4
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In-class activities/Primary Sources:
Assessments:
1-HW: 27(part1)
2-Reading quiz chapter 38
3-MA: Take home essay: 2011 essay number 5
Unit 14: The 1970’s: Caution in a Crazy World (1 Week) (23)
Textbook Chapter 39
Content Covered:
26-Politics and Economics at the End of the 20th Century
A-The election of 1968 and the “silent majority”
B-Nixon’s challenges: Vietnam, China, Watergate
C-Changes in the American economy: the energy crisis, deindustrialization, and
the service economy
Major Themes/Essential Questions:
1-Was 1968 a turning point in US history, why?
2-What is the status of the civil rights movement today, is it over?
3-How did the Vietnam and Watergate experiences fundamentally change the
nature of American government?
Homework Assignments:
1-27.5, 27.6, 27.7
In-class activities/Primary sources:
Assessments:
1-HW: 27(part2)
2-Reading quiz chapter 39
3-MA: In-class DBQ 2008
Unit 15: The 1980’s and Beyond: Conservatism Triumphant (1 Week) (24)
Textbook Chapter 40-42
Content Covered:
26-Politics and Economics at the End of the 20th Century
D-The New Right and the Reagan Revolution
E-End of the Cold War
12
27-Society and Culture at the End of the 20th Century
A-Demographic changes: surge of immigration after 1965, Sunbelt migration,
and the graying of America
B-Revolutions in biotechnology, mass communication, and computers
C-Politics in a multicultural society
28-The United States in the Post-Cold War World
A-Globalization and the American Economy
B-Unilateralism vs multilateralism in foreign policy
C-Domestic and foreign terrorism
D-Environmental issues in a global context
Major Themes/Essential Questions:
1-Did the 1980s and 1990s really mark the triumph of conservatism in America?
Homework Assignments:
1-28.2, 28.4, 28.5, 28.6
2-29.1, 29.3, 29.5
In-class activities/Primary Sources:
Assessments:
1-HW 28, 29
2-Reading quiz chapters 40-42
3-Presidents quiz 1960-2008
4-MA: Essay 2010 question 5
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