Mr. Barry McNealy
AH Parker High School
AP® United States History
Course Syllabus 2013-14
AP® United States History
AP® U.S. History is a challenging course that is meant to be the equivalent of a freshman
college course and can earn students college credit. It is a two-semester survey of American
history from the age of exploration and discovery to the present. Solid reading and writing skills,
along with a willingness to devote considerable time to homework and study, are necessary to
succeed. Emphasis is placed on critical and evaluative thinking skills, essay writing,
interpretation of original documents, and historiography. A short research paper linking
American literature and history is required.
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, 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 AP U.S. History Exam
Course Texts and Readings:
The course’s basic text is American History: A Survey (New York:
Brinkley, 2006),
John Garraty, Historical Viewpoints (New York: Longman, 2002)
Nancy Hewitt, Women, Families, and Communities (New York: Longman, 1997)
Gary B. Nash and Ronald Schultz, Retracing the Past, Volumes 1 and 2
(NewYork: Longman, 2005)
Howard Zinn, A People’s History of the United States (New York: Harper Perennial, 2005)
A variety of AP-level textbooks and essays are also used throughout the academic year.
Tests:
Tests will be a combination of objective and essay questions, and in conformance with the
honors test schedule, will be given on Mondays whenever possible.
Discussion Questions (DBQs):
Discussion questions are meant to direct students to the major themes of the units of study.
Students should prepare a thesis statement and an essay outline for each question. Periodically
students will analyze primary sources and compose a coherent essay, demonstrating appropriate
historic knowledge and understanding by using primary sources to support an argument or
position.
Comprehensive Class Exam:
At the end of the first semester, all students will take a semester final exam. At the end of the
second semester, all students, whether or not they have taken the AP Exam, will be required to
take a comprehensive exam (the state exam) covering the entire year’s course. This
comprehensive exam, which will be considered in computing final grades, will be given
approximately one week after the AP Exam.
Course Outline
Unit 1 Colonial America
Required Reading:
•Chapters 1, 2 and 3 in American History: A Survey
Key Discussion Topics: The emergence of American Culture; factors that led to the development
of an American identity; emerging regional patterns within the Thirteen Colonies; emerging
culture and economic similarities and differences among the Colonies
Unit 2 The American Revolution2
Required Reading:
•Chapters 4 and 5 in American History: A Survey
•“Where Historians Disagree: The American Revolution”
•"The Revolution as a Social Movement" by J. Franklin Jameson
•The Declaration of Independence
Key Discussion Topics: The origins of resistance; the British response; the decision for
independence; the military course of the war; and peace negotiations.
Special Activities:•"Who Fired That Shot?"— a class analysis and discussion based on
eyewitness accounts of hostilities at Lexington and Concord.
• First Writing Assignment — Students are given the documents and questions relating to the
growing friction between the Colonies and England following the end of the French and Indian
War. Students will then write an essay explaining the political, social and economic rationale for
the desire for Independence.
Unit 3 The Critical Period
Requited Reading:
•Chapter 6 in American History: A Survey
•"Shays' Rebellion" by Alden T. Vaughn in Historical Viewpoints
•"Why did the Antifederalists
Fail?" by Jackson Main in The
Federalists: Creators and Critics of the Union.
Key Discussion Topics: The structure of the government under the Articles of Confederation;
weaknesses and accomplishments of die Articles ‘government; foreign affairs in die
Confederation period; die nationalist critique and die role of Hamilton and Madison; die
Constitutional Convention; and die debate over ratification.
Special Activities: Students will read and debate primary sources (collected from newspapers)
detailing the logic behind both the Federalist and antifederalist movement.
Required Reading:
•Chapter 7 in American History: A Survey
•"America, France and their Revolutions" in Historical Viewpoints
Key Discussion Topics: The new government's structure; an overview of die
Constitution of 1787; Hamilton vs. Jefferson; die rise of political parties;3 foreign affairs with
Great Britain, France, and Spain; the Revolution of 1800?
Special Activities: In the grand oratorical tradition, students will discuss who was right,
Hamilton or Jefferson? Students will then develop a graphic organizer detailing the differing
philosophies of Jefferson and Hamilton, illustrating how those competing philosophies led to
differing views on political and economic matters. Second "take-home" DBQ— Students are
asked to compare the relative effectiveness of U.S. foreign policy toward Great Britain and
France under Washington and Adams vs. under Jefferson and Madison (18001815).
Unit 4 The Revolution of Republicans
Required Reading:
•Chapter 8 in American History: A Survey
•Tecumseh, the Shawnee Prophet and American History" in Retracing the Past
Key Discussion Topics: The impact of Jeffersonian Republicanism; political, social and
economic causes of the War of 1812; Nationalism and the reemergence of sectionalism; the
demise of the Federalists Party and the rise of the two party system; the beginnings of the
Industrial Revolution in the United States. Special Activity: Students will create taxonomies of
issues of the time and place differing views under nationalism or sectionalism.
Unit 5 The Jacksonian Era and Manifest Destiny
Required Reading:
•Chapters 9, 10 and 11 in American History: A Survey
•"Building a Community of Labor: Women, Work and Protest in
Lowell" in Women, Families, and Communities
Key Discussion Topics: The concept of Jacksonian Democracy; Jackson vs. Calhoun; the
economic impact of the Bank War; Native American removal; the rise of the working class; the
rise of the Whig Party; and the short term and long term impact of the Era of Reform.
Special Activity: Students will take the Jackson DBQ given on a prior AP examination
• Chapter 8: A People's History of the United States
Key Discussion Topics: O 'Sullivan’s phrase — "Young America" — the lure of the West
(18201840); Texas, New Mexico, Utah, and Oregon; Polk and war with Mexico; and the Treaty
of Guadalupe Hidalgo. Special Activity: Final "take home" DBQ— Using a variety of primary
sources, including excerpts from Thoreau and the Spot Resolutions, students will assess the
responsibility of the War with Mexico between both the United States and Mexico.
Unit 6 The Road to the Civil War
Required Reading;
•Chapters 12 and 13 in American History: A Survey
•“Where Historians Disagree: The Origins of Segregation”
•"The Madness of John Brown"
•"Frederick Douglass" in From These Beginning
Key Discussion Topics: The "peculiar institution" and its impact on the
South; abolitionism and North South relations; the turbulent 1850s; "Free
Soil" Republicanism; Lincoln; and the growing tensions between the policies of expansionism
and slavery.
Special Activities: Small groups categorize the same set of documents from the point of views of
assigned personalities —John Brown, Hinton Helper, Stephen A. Douglas, Frederick Douglass,
President Buchanan, and John Calhoun. DBQ— Five documents, 40 Minutes — "Radicals in
both the North and South made Civil War inevitable by 1861."
Unit 7 The Civil War and Reconstruction
Required Reading:
•Chapters 14 and 15 in American History: A Survey
•"Why They Impeached Andrew Johnson" by David Donald in
Historical Viewpoints5
•"The View from the Bottom Rail" in After the Fact
Key Discussion Topics: The South’s chance of victory; a question of leadership; Lincoln versus
Davis; the impact and intent of the Emancipation Proclamation, the course of the Civil War;
Reconstruction; the sharecropping system; the "Crime" of '76; and the Compromise of 1877.
Special Activities: Student groups are asked to categorize documents representing a series of
events of the 1850s, 1860s, and 1870s through the eyes of a freedman, Ku Klux Klan member,
Andrew Johnson, Thaddeus Stevens, and W. E. B. Du Bois. History as a contemporary mirror
student will read essays analyzing the changing historical interpretation of Reconstruction as
related to the significant social issues of the period in which the interpretations were developed.
Students will draft a portrait of Thaddeus Stephens that would represent the “redemption” school
of thought as well as the “revisionist “school of thought.
Unit 8 The Gilded Age
Required Reading:
•Chapters 16, 17 and 18 in American History: A Survey
•"The Chinese Link a Continent and a Nation" in Retracing the Past
•"Robber Barons and Rebels" in Chapter 11 of A People's History
•A Century of Dishonor by Helen Hunt Jackson
•"Legacies of the Dawes Act: Bureaucrats and Land Thieves at the Cheyenne Arapaho
Agencies of Oklahoma" in Retracing the Past
Key Discussion Topics: Settling the West: a question of exploitation; laissez-faire and Social
Darwinism; the rise of the Industrialists; labor's response; urbanization; immigration and the
development of the political machine"; the "Social Gospel"; the politics of the 1890s: big
government Republicans and the Populists.
Special Activity: Analyzing political cartoons. Students will analyze several of Thomas Nast
cartoons, focusing first on cartoons dealing with Reconstruction then Boss Tweed. Students will
discuss and analyze the audience and message that runs through the political cartoons. Finally,
students will design their own cartoons while working in small groups.
MidYear
Exam
Unit 8 The Progressive Era
Required Reading:
•Chapters 19 and 21 in American History: A Survey
•"The Fight for Woman's Suffrage: An Interview with Alice Paul" in
Historical Viewpoints
•"The Socialist Challenge" in A People's History
•“Where Historians Disagree: Populism”
Key Discussion Topics: Progressivism: a ferment of ideas; the "muckrakers"; "trust busting";
the "Social Justice" movement; the "Purity" crusade; state and local reforms; women's suffrage;
the progressive presidents — Teddy Roosevelt, Taft, and Wilson; the "Square Deal" and die
"New Freedom."
Unit 9 Imperialist Powers and World War I
Required Reading:
•Chapters 20. 22 and 23 in American History: A Survey
•"The Needless War with Spain" in Historical Viewpoints
•"Homogenizing a Pluralistic Culture: Propaganda During World
War I" in The American Past
Discussion Topics: The imperialist arguments; war with Spain; American sentiment towards
Cuba and self-governance; the Roosevelt Corollary and Panama; "Dollar Diplomacy"; moral
diplomacy; neutrality (19141917);"Over There"; "Over Here"; and the treaty controversy.
Special Activity: Who’s War? What For? Students will write newspaper articles illustrating the
point of view of President McKinley, Filipino revolutionaries, and then a distortion of facts to
illustrate yellow journalism.
Unit 10 The Roaring Twenties and Great Depression
Required Reading:
•Chapters 24 and 25 in American History: A Survey
•"Science on Trial: Tennessee vs. John T. Scopes" in Constructing the
American Past
•"Sacco and Vanzetti: The Case of History vs. Laws" in After the Fact
Key Discussion Topics: Harding Coolidge, and Hoover: "Republican Orthodoxy"; Normalcy;
the "Red Scare"; immigration legislation; the "new "Ku Klux Klan; the Harlem Renaissance and
Countee Cullen (a Dewitt Clinton High graduate, Class of 1922); the crash of the stock market
and the onset of the Great Depression; and Hoover and "Voluntarism."
Special Activity: Small groups are asked to categorize documents representing key issues of the
1920s from either a "traditional rural" or “modern urban" point of view.
Required Reading; An excerpt of Franklin Roosevelt’s first “fireside chat ” a speech by Huey
Long.
Key Discussion Topics: The origins and effects of the Great Depression;
Hoover's "Volunteerism" approach; Franklin Roosevelt and the “First
Hundred Days"; relief, recovery, and reform; critics of the New Deal —
Judicial opposition and the Court Packing Scheme; the End of the New Deal
Special Activities: In class DBQ— using the DBQ from the 1984 AP Exam which asked
students to characterize FDR and Hoover in terms of the labels of "liberal" and "conservative."
Unit 11 America on the World Stage 1930’s1945
Required Reading:
•Chapters 27 and 28 in American History: A Survey
•"American Foreign Policy in the 1930s" in Problems in American
Civilization
•"The Decision for the Mass Evacuation of Japanese Americans "by Roger Daniels in Retracing
the Past
•Essays on the ethics of deploying the atomic bomb
Key Discussion Topics: Isolationism, pacifism, and neutrality and their ramifications for U.S.
policy in Europe, Latin America, and Asia during the1920s and early 1930s; neutrality
legislation of die 1930s; undeclared war in Europe and the course of U.S. Japanese relations in
die late 1930s; Pearl Harbor; the course of World War II; the decision to drop the atomic bomb
and the impact of the Holocaust. Special Activity: Debate — Harry Truman, hero or war
criminal: Students will use “Where Historians Disagree: The Atomic Bomb” as prompt to debate
and analyze the actions of Harry Truman
Unit 12 Cold War Politics
Required Reading:
•Chapters 30 and 31 in American History: A Survey
•"The Atomic Bomb and The Origins of the Cold War" by Martin J.
Sherwin in Retracing the Past
•"The Second Red Scare" in Discovering the American Past
Key Discussion Topics: "Cold War" in Europe; the beginning of atomic diplomacy;
"containment" (Truman Doctrine, Marshall Plan, NATO); crisis in Berlin; the Cold War
expands: the "loss" of China and die Korean War; the “Cold War" at home: McCarthyism; Ike,
Dulles, and die "Cold War" in Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America; JFK and "Flexible
Response": the Second Berlin Crisis; the Cuban missile crisis.
Special Activity: In class review essay. Students are given three topics to review over a weekend
and write a non DBQ essay on one of them. Review topics: The Great Depression and the New
Deal; isolationism, neutrality, and World War II.
Unit 13 American Society During the Cold War
Required Reading:’
•Chapter 29 in Divine
•Brown v. Board of Education unanimous opinion Chief Justice Warren
•"Desegregating the Schools “by Liva Barker in Historical Viewpoints
Key Discussion Topics: The postwar economic boom and the rise of the suburbs; did die 1950s
represent the true "good life"?; the Civil Rights struggle; the New Frontier; the Warren court; and
the Great Society's "War on Poverty."
Special Activity: Students will draft an opinion defending the Constitutional basis for the
overturning of Plessey v. Ferguson.
Unit 14 A Nation Divided: Vietnam and Watergate
Required Reading:
•"Instant Watergate: Footnoting the Final Days" in After the Fact
•"A Generation in War and Turmoil: The Agony of Vietnam" in The
American Past
Key Discussion Topics: Involvement and escalation in Vietnam; Vietnam dilemma and
stalemate; the student revolt; Black Power and "Women's Lib"; the election of 1968; Nixon,
Kissinger - ending the Vietnam War; the election of 1972; and Watergate.
Special Activity: In class practice DBQ using the DBQ from the May 1995AP Exam to review
the past two units.
Unit 15 America in the 70’s and 80’s
Required Reading;
• Chapter 32 in Divine
Key Discussion Topics: OPEC and the "oil shock"; inflation and the "new “economy; the start
of "affirmative action"; setbacks and gains for women; the election of 1976; Carter; Sadat;
Khomeini; and disillusionment and renewed Cold War.
Special Activity: "Document Shuffle" in which groups are asked to differentiate among
statements and policies of the two "one term "presidents of the 1970s — Ford and Carter.