AP US History Syllabus
2014-2015
Texts:
George Brown Tindall and David E. Shi. America: A Narrative History W.W. Norton &
Company: New York 2012
Charles M. Dollar ed. American Issues: A Documentary Reader Glencoe: New York 1994
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 (among others) that will not only enhance your understanding of US history, but which will also help prepare you for a university-level academic environment.
In addition, throughout the year you will evaluate several themes related to the ever-changing American identity, and how changes in work, the economy, politics, and ideas and values have changed the understanding of who is considered to be an American.
Periods, Themes, Concepts, and Skills:
Periods: This course will focus on 9 time periods as determined by the creators of the AP Examination, each one of these time periods will be broken down into several smaller units as outlined in the syllabus below:
Period 1: 1491-1607
Period 2: 1607-1754
Period 3: 1754-1800
Period 4: 1800-1848
Period 5: 1844-1877
Period 6: 1865-1898
Period 7: 1890-1945
Period 8: 1945-1980
Period 9: 1980-present
Themes: The creators of the AP Examination have determined that there are seven themes that you need to examine throughout the course of the year, most of these seven themes will be touched on in each unit, all of the themes will be examined multiple times throughout the entire course:
American Identity (ID): How has American identity changed over time, including
race, class, gender, etc.
Work, Exchange, and Technology (WXT): How have patterns of labor, the
economy, and technology changed over time? How have changes in each one of these three ideas caused changes in the other two as well as changes in the greater history of the United States?
Peopling (PEO): Why have people migrated to, from, and within the US, how have these migrations shaped US history and how have the lives of these migrants been shaped by the US?
Politics and Power (POL): How has the relationship between the people and the state/government changed over time in the United States?
America in the World (WOR): How have global affairs impacted US history, how have the decisions made by the United States impacted global history?
Environment and Geography (ENV): How have climate and geography impacted the history of the US, how have the people and government of the US impacted the environment, geography, and climate of the North American continent?
Ideas, Beliefs, and Culture (CUL): How have moral beliefs, ideas, and culture changed over time in the US, what ware some of the causes of those changes, and how have beliefs, ideas, and culture impacted US history?
Concepts: The creators of the AP Examination have made a list of concepts (content knowledge) that they have judged that you need to know. The concepts for each unit will be listed in the syllabus below.
Skills: The creators of the AP Examination have determined that there are four main skills that you need to know. Each one of these skills will be touched on in the various units of study outlined in the syllabus below:
1-Chronological Reasoning: cause and effect, continuity and change over time, periodization
2-Comaprison and Contextualization: comparing and contrasting, seeing how events fit in with other events that occurred around the same time
3-Crafting Historical Arguments from Historical Evidence
4-Historical Interpretation and Synthesis: Interpret historical events, be able to reconcile conflicting interpretations of the same event to create your own interpretation/theory that explains historical events
Period 1: 1491-1607 & Period 2: 1607-1754: The First Americans and the Beginning of European Colonization
Unit 1: The Americas Before Columbus and 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
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?
3-American Identity: What ethnicities, social classes, genders, and religions were considered full members of society/the community in the: New England, Middle, and Southern Colonies
Homework Assignments:
1-Read Jared Diamond’s essay “Accidental Conquerors”
2-Read and answer questions in American Issues (AI) for: 1.1, 1.2
3-AI: 2.6,
4-AI: AI: 4.5, 4.6, 4.7
Primary/Secondary Source Readings:
1-“Accidental Conquerors” by Jared Diamond from The Third Chimpanzee
2-“The First Americans” (secondary source) in American Issues
3-Indian Language Groups circa 1500 (map) in AI
4-“Europe’s First Frontier” (secondary Source) in AI
5-“Reasons for Colonization” by Richard Hakluyt the Elder (primary source) in AI
6-“Indentured Servitude” by Richard B. Hofstadter (secondary source) in AI
7-Distribution of Slavery circa 1700 (map) in AI
8-Distribution of Wealth in Boston (graph) in AI
8-“Cultural Pluralism in the Middle Colonies” by Frederick B. Tolles (secondary
source) in AI
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.
Period 3: 1754-1800: American Independence and the Early Republic
Unit 2: American Independence (2 weeks) (3)
Textbook Chapters 4-6
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?
3-US Constitution: radical or conservative?
4-American Identity: How did a growing sense of American identity in the years prior to 1775 help lead to the Revolution?
5- American Identity: How did the Revolutionary period change the understanding of American identity?
Homework Assignments:
1-AI: 3.3, 3.4
2-AI: 5.3, 5.4, 5.5
3-AI: 6.5, 6.8
Primary sources/Secondary Sources:
1-Declaration of Independence
2-Constitution
3-Bill of Rights
4-Abigail Adams to John Adams, letters about women’s rights (primary source)
5-Fiske vs. Beard, nationalist school vs. economic interpretation of the
Constitution (secondary source handouts)
6-“Mercantilism” by Gerald N. Grob (secondary source) in AI
7-Navigation Act of 1660 (primary source) in AI
8-“Women and the Revolutionary Cause” by Mary Beth Norton (secondary
source) in AI
9-Justifying Rebellion (primary source) in AI
10-A Loyalist Viewpoint (primary source) in AI
11-“Controlling Factions in a Republic” by James Madison (Fedralist #10 excerpt) in AI
12-“Woman’s Place in the Republic” by Linda Kerber (secondary source) in AI
Assessments:
1-Quiz on chapters 4-6
2-HW: 3, 5, 6
3-MA: 2005 DBQ
Unit 3: The Republican Experiment (1 Week) (4)
Textbook Chapter 7
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-Read and answer questions for: 7.2, 7.6 in AI
Primary Sources/Secondary Sources:
1-Alien and Sedition Acts (excerpts) (hand out in class)
2-“Hamilton’s Economic Program” (excerpts) by Alexander Hamilton (primary
source) in AI
3-Sectionalism and Party Competition 1800 (map) in AI
4-Washington’s Farewell Address (excerpts) (primary source)
Assessments:
1-HW: 7
2-Quiz on chapter 7
3-MA: none
Period 4: 1800-1848: Mass Democracy in the US for Better and Worse
Unit 4: Jeffersonian Republicanism and the Era of Good Feelings (1 Week) (5)
Textbook Chapters 8 and 10
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: 8.5, 8.7
Primary Sources/Secondary Sources:
1-“Extending American Dominion to Louisiana” excerpts from Merriweather
Lewis and William Clark (primary source) in AI
2-Patterns of Westward Movement (map) in AI
Assessments:
1-HW: 8
2-Quiz Chapters 8 and 10
3-MA: In-class test: multiple choice + essay
Unit 5: Jacksonian America (2 Weeks) (7)
Textbook Chapters 9, 11, and 13
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
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, , ?
3- American Identity: How did the democratic reforms of the Jacksonian period expand the definition/understanding of the American identity, especially in terms of social class?
Homework Assignments:
1-AI: 9.2, 9.3, 9.4, 9.6,
2-AI: 11.2, 11.3, 11.5
Primary Sources/Secondary Sources:
1-“Jackson’s Bank Veto” excerpts by Andrew Jackson (primary source) in AI
2-“Testing the Bonds of Union: Nullification” by William Freehling (secondary
source) in AI
3-“King Andrew: A Whig View” (illustration) (primary source) in AI
4- National Economic Crisis: The Panic of 1837 (map) in AI
5-“Seneca Falls Declaration” excerpts by Susan B. Anthony (primary source) in AI
6-Newspaper Coverage of Women’s Rights Movement (illustration) (primary
source) in AI
7-“The Closing of the Sickle and Sheaf” from Ten Nights in a Bar Room by
Timothy Shay Arthur (primary source) in AI
Assessments:
1-HW: 9, 11
2- Quiz chapters 9, 11, and 13
3-MA: In-class DBQ 2011 (Form B) DBQ
Period 5: 1844-1877: The Crisis of the Civil War and Reconstruction
Unit 6: Manifest Destiny and the Debate over Slavery (2 Weeks) (9)
Textbook Chapters 12, 14-15
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?
3- American Identity: To what extent is westward expansion a part of the American identity, how did westward expansion change (or eventually help lead to changes) in the American identity by adding new ethnic groups to the United States?
Homework Assignments:
1-AI: 10.1, 10.2, 10.3
3-AI: 12.1
4-AI: 13.4, 13.5
Primary Sources/Secondary Sources:
1-“Manifest Destiny” (painting) (primary source) by John Gast in AI
2-“The Destiny of the Race” by Thomas Hart Benton (primary source) in AI
3-“Southern Views on Expansionism” by William L. Barney (secondary
source) in AI
4-“Defense of Slavery As a Benefit to Society” by John Calhoun (primary source) in AI
5-Declaration of the Immediate Causes of Secession (excerpts) (primary source) in AI
6-“Robert E. Lee and Secession” excerpts from letters by Robert E. Lee (primary source) in AI
Assessments:
1-HW: 10, 12, 13
2-Quiz chapters 12, 14, 15
3-MA: Take home essay—2010 Part B Question 3
Unit 7: The American Civil War and Reforging the Union (2 Weeks) (11)
Textbook Chapters 16-17
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? (de jure vs. de facto improvements in African American lives)