ADVANCED PLACEMENT UNITED STATES HISTORY
Williston-Elko High School
Instructor: Jackie Houde
jhoude@williston.k12.sc.us
(803) 266- 3110 x226
Spring 2012
I. Course Description and Instructional Goals:
The United States History Advanced Placement course is designed to prepare
students to take the Advanced Placement Examination and to fulfill the
requirements of the state of South Carolina for high school graduation. A score of at
least 3 out of 5 on the Advanced Placement test may qualify students for college
credit at the institution of their choice. On the AP test the student will be required
to read and analyze historical documents and use them in the context of his/her
extensive knowledge in the pertinent historical period to construct a coherent,
persuasive historical essay. In order to do this well the student must have at his/her
command the basic facts, the continuing themes and an overall understanding of the
history of the United States. It is therefore essential that the student be committed
to working consistently and diligently to develop his/her factual understanding as
well as analytical, interpretative, and writing skills. Methods include class and
small group discussion, examination of primary sources, lecture, critical reading,
research and presentations, and timed essay writing. The goal of this course is to
prepare the student for the AP US History Exam in the spring. Through this course,
students will be provided with content, practical knowledge of U.S. history, practice
in critical thinking activities, and experience in effective writing techniques that will
better prepare them for the AP Exam. This course is divided into periods of time
and emphasizes themes throughout American history. These themes include the
American identity, economic evolution, and American foreign policy. Hard work
and dedication will be essential to success in this class.
***Students are also required to take the South Carolina End of the Course Test for
U.S. History***
***Please note: At the conclusion of each unit of study students will take a Unit Test
with 50 multiple choice questions & one free response essay. They also will be given
a DBQ (Document-based Question) for either completion as a take home assignment
or given time to complete in class. The content of both the Unit Test and the DBQ
will reflect our current course study for that unit. A DBQ question must be
answered in essay format: students will be given a question along with several
primary source documents; their task will be to answer the question based on their
knowledge of the time period or event being questioned and the documents
provided.
II. Resources
Text:
Boyer, The Enduring Vision. Boston, MA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2011.
Henrietta, America’s History. Columbus, Ohio: McGraw-Hill, 2005.
Zinn, Howard, A People’s History of the United States: 1492 to Present. New York:
Harper Collins, 2003.
Supplementary Readings from (but not limited to):
Bell, James, et al. Eyewitnesses and Others: Readings in American History,
Beginnings to 1865, Vol. 1. Austin: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1996
Bell, James, et al. Eyewitnesses and Others: Readings in American History, 1865 to
the Present, Vol. 2. Austin: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1996
Clark, Elizabeth A., Advanced Placement: US History, Book 1 – 3. Cleveland: Center
for Learning, 2011.
Dudley, William, Opposing Viewpoints in American History, Volume I: From
Colonial Times to Reconstruction. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2007.
Dudley, William, Opposing Viewpoints in American History, Volume II: From
Reconstruction to the Present. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2007.
McPherson, James, Battle Cry of Freedom. New York: Oxford University Press,
2003.
*as well as various DBQ/Free Response practice books that will be used throughout
the course so that students become familiar and comfortable with the process
involved in answering these types of questions.
III. Organization of Instruction:
A variety of instructional methods will be used to address the curriculum. Students
will be individually responsible for reading the text and supplemental materials.
Discussion of reading and evaluation of primary sources will take place in small
groups. Lectures, presentation of group decisions and summaries of class activities
will involve a general class discussion.
Two types of grades will be counted; preparation grades and unit performance
grades.
A. Preparation grades are designed to help the student to master the material. An
average of all preparation grades will be counted as 1/2 of the students quarter
grade.
1. Quizzes will be given as the teacher chooses to encourage students to read
and remember their text assignments and may be in either multiple choice or
free response form.
2. Article reviews are designed to require students to read and evaluate
assigned scholarly articles in order to practice identifying thesis statements
and evaluating evidence. Several will be assigned each week from a primary
source document reader. Students will be responsible for reading the
documents assigned and analyzing them using APPARTS. They will also
need to be able to discuss the readings in class.
3. Identifications are designed to provide students with important names and
terms for each of the time periods of study. These are to be completed by the
end of the unit under study.
4. Presentation and Participation grades will be based on teacher
observation of students cooperation and interaction in group assignments
and are designed to encourage students to be active learners in the class.
B. Unit performance grades are designed to measure how well the student has
mastered material and skills essential to success on the Advanced Placement test.
An average of all unit performance grades will count ½ of the student’s quarter
grade. Unit tests will be given every 1-2 weeks.
1. Multiple choice tests will be given every one to two weeks and will cover
two or more chapters. Test questions will equal the difficulty level of the AP
test.
2. Document Based Essay/Free Response Essay tests will be administered on
the same day as the multiple choice tests. They will be recorded as a separate
grade so that students can measure their progress on these different skills.
Questions are taken from past AP tests.
IV. Course Objectives — Students will:
_ master a broad body of historical knowledge
_ demonstrate an understanding of historical chronology
_ use historical data to support an argument or position
_ differentiate between historiographical schools of thought
_ interpret and apply data from original documents, including
cartoons, graphs, letters, maps, works of art, etc.
_ effectively use analytical skills of evaluation, cause and effect,
compare and contrast
_ work effectively with others to produce products and solve problems
_ prepare for and successfully pass the Advanced Placement Exam
“Blue Reader” = Eyewitnesses and Others: Readings in American History, Beginnings
to 1865, Vol. 1.
“Red Reader” = Eyewitnesses and Others: Readings in American History, 1865 to the
Present, Vol. 2.
V. Course Outline — Quarter 1
Unit 1: Colonial History (1 1/2 Weeks)
Readings:
Text, Chapters 1-4
Zinn, Chapters 1,2,3
Blue Reader (Primary Source Documents) - #4 & #5
Themes:
1. The emergence of American cultural traits and the factors that contributed to
them.
2. Emerging regional patterns and how they evolved.
3. Religious diversity in the colonies.
Content:
1. Motives and methods of colonization: Spain, France, Britain
Push-pull factors bringing colonists to the New World
Comparison and contrast of Southern, Middle and New England political,
economic, social, and religious patterns
Cultural differences between Americans and Europeans
contributed to them.
2. Emerging regional patterns and how they evolved.
Conclusion of unit:
Unit Test with 50 multiple choice questions & one free response essay
DBQ
Writing Topic: Colonial History
Unit 2: Independence (1 Week)
Readings:
Text, Chapters 5-7
Zinn, Chapters 4,5
Blue Reader (Primary Source Documents) - #7, #8, & #11
Themes:
1. Colonists reevaluate their relationship with Great Britain and with each
other.
2. The American Revolution as a conservative or a radical movement.
3. The American Revolution’s place in world developments of the time
period.
Content:
Mercantilism — costs and benefits for Britain and colonies
British policy changes, post-1763
Emerging colonial cooperation and decision for independence
Military victory and terms of the Treaty of Paris
Conclusion of unit:
Unit Test with 50 multiple choice questions & one free response essay
DBQ
Writing Topic: American Revolution
Unit 3: Post-Independence and the Critical Period (1 Week)
Readings:
Text, Chapters 8-10
Zinn, Chapters 6,7
Blue Reader (Primary Source Documents) - #23, 35, & #36
Themes:
1. Impact of colonial experience on post-independence government
2. Development of the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights
3. The emergence of political parties and the factors that divided them
4. The development of sectional specialization and interdependence
5. The conflict between national power and states’ rights
Content:
Government under the Articles of Confederation — Successes and failures
Constitutional Convention
_ Personalities
_ Compromises
_ Controversies
_ Ratification
Hamilton v. Jefferson
British-French conflict and its impact on American politics
_ Trade
_ Diplomacy
_ Alien and Sedition Acts
Conclusion of unit:
Unit Test with 50 multiple choice questions & one free response essay
DBQ
Writing Topic: Constitution
Unit 4: The Differing Nation (1 Week)
Readings:Text, Chapters 11, 12, 13.
Zinn, Chapter 8
Blue Reader (Primary Source Documents) - #54 & #55
Themes:
1.Slavery and the Old South
2.The Market Revolution
3.The Way West
4. Reform movements
5. Movement to urban centers
Content:
-slave life
-life in the south
-industrial change
-urbanization
-reform
-women’s rights and the abolition movement
-the frontier and the Plains Indians
Politics and expansion
-the Mexican question
Conclusion of unit:
Unit Test with 50 multiple choice questions & one free response essay
DBQ
Writing Topic: Expansion of the United States
Unit 5:Sectionalism, Civil War, and Reconstruction (2 Weeks)
Readings:
Text, Chapters 14,15,16.
Zinn, Chapters 9,10
Blue Reader (Primary Source Documents) - #62, #63 & #65
Red Reader (Primary Source Documents) - #3 & #4
Themes:
1. Secession and war
2. Reconstruction issues and plans
3. The struggle for equality
4. Native American relations
5. Sectionalism
6. Slavery and causes of the Civil War
Content:
Slavery as a social and economic institution
The politics of slavery:
_ Missouri Compromise
_ Abolitionists
_ Compromise of 1850
_ Kansas-Nebraska Act and Bleeding Kansas
_ Dred Scott Decision
_ Lincoln-Douglas Debates
_ John Brown’s Raid
_ Election of 1860
Military strategies, strengths and weaknesses, events and outcomes
The home front, North and South
_ mobilizing manpower, finances, public opinion
_ social, economic, and political impact of war
Presidential v. Congressional Reconstruction plans and actions
Conclusion of unit:
Unit Test with 50 multiple choice questions & one free response essay
DBQ
Writing Topic: Sectionalism & the Civil War
Unit 6: Modern Transformations (1 1/2 Weeks)
Readings:
Text, Chapters 17,18,19
Zinn, Chapter 11
Red Reader (Primary Source Documents) - #11 & #15
Themes:
1.The southern Agarian Revolt
2.Settling the race issue.
3.Agricultural Expansion in the West
4.Transforming the West
5. Political alignment and corruption in the Gilded Age.
6. Role of government in economic growth and regulation.
7. Social, economic, and political impact of industrialization.
Content:
Economic development: The New South?
1877 Compromise and Home Rule
Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois leadership styles and programs
Gilded Age politics
_ Party alignment
_ Political corruption and reform
Industrial growth
Government support and actions
Business tycoons: methods, accomplishments, philosophies
Rise of organized labor
Changing conditions
Unions, leaders, methods, successes and failures
Plains Wars and Reservation Policy
_ Dawes Act
Comparison of reform attitudes towards African-Americans and Native
Americans in late 19th century
Conclusion of unit:
Unit Test with 50 multiple choice questions & one free response essay
DBQ
Writing Topic: Gilded Age
Mid Term
Quarter 2
Unit 7: Politics and Progressives (1 Week)
Readings: Text, Chapters 20,21.
Red Reader (Primary Source Documents) - #22, 27 & #28
Themes:
1. Inflation/Deflation — Role of government in the economy
2. Role and effectiveness of third parties
3. Immigration and urbanization
4. Patrician reformers
5. Bryan and Wilson: “Jeffersonian goals in Hamiltonian form” (Conflict and
Consensus)
6. Teddy Roosevelt/Taft/Wilson: Conservatives as Progressives (reform to
preserve)
Content:
Agrarian Revolt
_ Post-war problems
_ Attempts to organize
_ Election of 1896
Immigration and urbanization in the late 19th century
Social and cultural developments of the late 19th century
Urban middle-class reformers lead a call for change
_ Muckrakers
_ Women’s issues and roles
_ Political corruption and reforms
_ Consumer and environmental protection
Business and labor issues
Teddy Roosevelt, Taft, and Wilson administrations respond to Progressive
Movement
Conclusion of unit:
Unit Test with 50 multiple choice questions & one free response essay
DBQ
Writing Topic: Progressivism
Unit 8: Imperialism and World War I (1 1/2 Weeks)
Readings:
Text, Chapters 22,23.
Zinn, Chapter 12,13
Red Reader (Primary Source Documents) - #33, #34 & #45
Themes:
1. The changing role of the U.S. in world affairs — from isolationism to
world power.
2. U.S. motives in World War I and post-war agreements.
3. Presidential and congressional roles in policy management.
Content:
Reasons for new interest in world affairs
Spanish-American War
_ Cuban situation and U.S. reaction
_ Military preparedness and action
_ Treaty provisions
_ Philippine Annexation — debate and results
Open Door Policy
Teddy Roosevelt’s “Big Stick” Diplomacy
_ Roosevelt Corollary and applications
_ Panama intervention and canal building
_ Nobel Peace Prize
Taft’s Dollar Diplomacy
Wilson’s “Moral” or “Missionary” Diplomacy
_ Relations with Panama, Mexico, Haiti, Philippines
_ Neutrality, 1914-1917
_ World War I as a war to “make the world safe for democracy”
Various interpretations of U.S. motives in World War I
World War I at home
_ Economic impact
_ Harassment of German-Americans
_ Women and minorities
_ Espionage and Sedition Acts
_ Business and Labor relations
_ Creel Committee — wartime propaganda
Treaty negotiations and Senate rejection of Versailles Treaty
Conclusion of unit:
Unit Test with 50 multiple choice questions & one free response essay
DBQ
Writing Topic: Isolationism & WWI
Unit 9: 1920s (1 Week)
Readings:
Text, Chapters 24
Red Reader (Primary Source Documents) - #51 & #54
Themes:
The 1920s:
1. Post-World War I compared to post-Civil War nativism, laissez-faire,
labor government, farmers, attitudes toward reform.
2. U.S. pursuit of “advantages without responsibilities.”
3. Administration policy of “nullification by administration.”
4. Cultural conflicts: native v. foreign; rural v. urban.
5. Revolution in manners and morals.
Content:
_ The 1920s: Post-war recession and agricultural problems
_ Intolerance
_ KKK
_ Immigration restriction
_ Sacco and Vanzetti
_Prohibition and Organized Crime
_Jazz Age culture, Youth Rebellion, Literature of Disillusionment
_Business growth and consolidation, credit, advertising
_Harding, Coolidge, Hoover administrations
_ Scandals
_ Trickle-down Economics
_ “Business of America is Business”
_ Boom and Bust In the Stock Market
_ Foreign Policy
Conclusion of unit:
Unit Test with 50 multiple choice questions & one free response essay
DBQ
Writing Topic: Post WWI Recession
Unit 10: The Great Depression (1 Week)
Readings:
Text, Chapter 25
Zinn, Chapter 15
Red Reader (Primary Source Documents) - #66 & #68
Themes:
The 1930s:
1. The role of government in society and the economy.
2. Political realignment.
3. Human suffering and response to the Great Depression.
Content:
The 1930s:
_ Hoover v. Roosevelt’s approaches to the Depression
_ New Deal Legislation — Effectiveness and Criticisms
_ Supreme Court Reactions and Court Packing Plan
_ Dust Bowl and Demographic Shifts
_ Extremist alternatives: Coughlin, Long, Townsend
_ Political Party Alignment — the new Democratic Coalition
_ Impact of the Great Depression on various population groups
Conclusion of unit:
Unit Test with 50 multiple choice questions & one free response essay
DBQ
Writing Assignment: Governments Role in society & the economy
Unit 11: World War II (1 1/2 Weeks)
Readings:
Text, Chapters 26.
Zinn, Chapter 16
Red Reader (Primary Source Documents) - #71, #73 & #75
Themes:
1. Comparison of Wilson and Roosevelt as neutrals, wartime leaders, Allied
partners, post-war planners.
2. U.S. adopts new role as peacetime leader in post-war world.
3. Home front conduct during World War I and World War II.
Content:
U.S. response to aggression — neutrality legislation, Lend-Lease Act
Pearl Harbor and U.S. response
Military Strategy
_ Germany First
_ Second Front Debate
_ Island Hopping
_ Atomic Bomb
Home Front
_ Relocation of Japanese-Americans
_ Women and Minorities In the Workplace
_ Demographic Impact
Wartime Diplomacy and Cooperation
_ Atlantic Charter (Compare to Fourteen Points)
_ Wartime Conferences
_ United Nations Founding and Participation
Splintering of Wartime Alliance and Adoption of Containment
_ Berlin and German Division
_ Truman Doctrine
_ Marshall Plan
_ NATO
_ Korea
Conclusion of unit:
Unit Test with 50 multiple choice questions & one free response essay
DBQ
Writing Topic: US Home front during WWII
Unit 12: Cold War (1 1/2 Weeks)
Readings:
Text, Chapters 27, 28
Zinn, Chapter 17
Red Reader (Primary Source Documents) - #78 & #79
Themes:
1. Continued impact of New Deal in government’s role in society.
2. Struggle for civil liberties and civil rights.
3. Checks and balances at work in American politics.
Content:
Truman’s Administration
_ Fair Deal
_ GI Bill of Rights
_ Taft-Hartley Act
_ 22nd Amendment
_ 1948 Election
_ Loyalty Program
Eisenhower’s Administration
_ McCarthyism
_ Modern Republicanism
_ Highway Construction
_ Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka
_ Earl Warren Court
Kennedy/Johnson Administrations
_ Civil Rights Movement: Popular and Government Response
_ War on Poverty and Great Society Programs
_ Counterculture and Anti-establishment Movements
Conclusion of unit:
Unit Test with 50 multiple choice questions & one free response essay
DBQ
Writing Topic: Struggle for civil rights & civil liberties
Unit 13: The 60’s (1 Week)
Readings:
Text, Chapters 29
Zinn, Chapter 18
Red Reader (Primary Source Documents) - #84 & #85
Themes:
1. Cycles of freezes and thaws in East-West relations.
2. The “Vietnam Syndrome” in post-war foreign policy.
3. Human rights v. strategic self-interest in policy formulation.
4. Interrelationship of foreign policy and economic stability.
Content:
Eisenhower
Liberation, not containment
_ John Foster Dulles
_ Massive retaliation
Asia Policies:
_ Korea
_ Southeast Asia — Geneva Accords and aid to South Vietnam
Peaceful Co-existence — Khrushchev’s visit
U-2 Incident
Kennedy:
_ Flexible Response
_ Aid for Social and Economic Development
_ Peace Corps
_ Alliance for Progress
_ Southeast Asia military and economic aid
_ Bay of Pigs and Cuban Missile Crisis
Johnson:
_ Vietnam War
Conclusion of unit:
Unit Test with 50 multiple choice questions & one free response essay
DBQ
Writing topic: Vietnam War
Unit 14: Reagan Revolution to the New Century (1 Week)
Readings: Text Chapters 30 and 31.
Zinn, Chapter 20, 21
Red Reader (Primary Source Documents) - #87 & #89
Nixon/Ford:
_ Vietnamization
_ Nixon Doctrine
_ China Card
_ Detente
Carter:
_ Human Rights Policies
_ Camp David Accords
_ Panama Canal Treaties
_ SALT II, Afghanistan, and Olympic Boycott
_ Iran Revolution and Hostage Crisis
Reagan:
_ “The Evil Empire”
_ Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI)
_ End of the Cold War
Bush:
-2nd Cold War
-Sunbelt
-The New Economy
-The New Century
Conclusion of unit:
Unit Test with 50 multiple choice questions & one free response essay
DBQ
Writing Topic: Cold War
Final: EOC and AP Exam
***NOTE: Times given for each unit of study are approximate and subject to
change****
**********Recurring assignments**********
1. Readings from the Red or Blue Reader(Primary Source Documents): students
must complete APPARTS (worksheet given) and come to class prepared to discuss
the primary documents assigned
2. Readings from the Zinn book: students must come to class with two discussion
questions and be prepared to discuss the assigned reading
3. Readings from text: students must complete a timeline and assigned
identifications
4. Unit Tests: Every unit test will have a free response essay question and a DBQ
component. Unit tests are every 1-2weeks depending on the length of the unit being
tested.
5. Use your syllabus to manage your assignments. Every Monday I will post on the
board the due dates for all of our assignments for the week and the following week.
6. Please take note that if you have a reading assignment you also have a written
assignment. Refer to items 1,2,3, and 4 from this list.
***It’s important that you keep up with the readings & the assignments. This is a
college class so no late work will be accepted. Absolutely NONE – Do NOT ask!