St



Saint Ignatius College Prep

A.P. United States History

2019 - 20[pic]

Mr. McPherson

Office 220

Email: nathan.mcpherson@

Free Periods: A, C, and F

Welcome to A.P. U.S. History (APUSH)! I am very excited to get to work with you this school year. We will work together through this course to grow as historians, cultivate robust analytical and writing skills, and engage in healthy discourse. We will tackle the uncomfortable sides of American History and seek a more complete understanding of the past and present.

APUSH is a two-semester college level course. The class work will include a significant amount of reading (both primary and secondary sources) and writing. The previous night’s homework will provide context for the material we cover in class each day.

In order to acquire a multifaceted perspective of the United States, we will often utilize the following seven themes:

-Peopling

-Work, Exchange, and Technology

-Identity

-Politics and Power

-Environment and Geography

-Ideas, Beliefs, and Culture

-America in the World

As we study historical content, we will:

--use primary and secondary sources to interpret historical events

--analyze and evaluate historians’ interpretations

--express conclusions clearly and accurately in writing and speaking using evidence

Expectations

Notebook – All APUSH students are required to keep a notebook for the course. Please bring this with you to class every day.

Academic Integrity – Please do your own work. If you utilize an outside source, give the author credit. All assignments, unless otherwise noted are intended to be individual assignments. While discussing topics with another student is acceptable, sharing your assignments is not. All issues of plagiarism or cheating will be handled according to the guidelines in the school handbook. Any involved student will receive a 0 for the assignment and the issue will be brought to the Principal’s Office.

Kindness – One of the expectations of the course is that you form your own opinions about topics. We will often incorporate debates and discussions in our study. Although you may philosophically disagree with another member of the class, please be respectful and kind. Although you may hold differing views from another person, it does not negate their perspective or humanity.

Course Curriculum

Semester One

Period #1-Pre-Columbian Contact (Ch. 1) 1491 - 1607

Period #2-American Colonization (Ch. 2-6) 1607 - 1754

Period #3-Revolution & Early Republic (Ch. 7-10) 1754 - 1800

Period #4-Jeffersonian & Jacksonian Democracy (Ch. 11-15) 1800 - 1848

Period #5-Sectionalism, Civil War & Reconstruction (Ch. 16-21) 1844 - 1877

Semester Two

Period #6-Gilded Age & Industrialization (Ch. 22-26) 1865 - 1898

Period #7a-Imperialism & the Progressive Era (Ch. 27-30) 1890 - 1929

Period #7b-Boom & Bust and WWII (Ch. 31-35) 1920 - 1945

Period #8-Cold War Era (Ch. 36-38) 1945 - 1980

Period #9-Modern Era (Ch. 39-41) 1980 - Present

All A.P. U.S. History students will take the A.P. exam on Friday May 8th, 2020.

Below are the types of assignments we will have in class. Your grade is based on an accumulation of points throughout the semester. Each semester will have about 500 points, not including the final exam.

Type of Work: Approximate Point Values

Unit Objective tests 50 points each

Free Response Essays and DBQs 25 points each

Participation—class discussion and group work 50 points per semester

In-Class & Homework Assignments 5 points each

Semester Final Exam (1st Semester only) 15% of final grade

Late assignments lose 50% and will not be accepted after two class days.

Required Reading Materials

The American Pageant by Bailey, Kennedy and Cohen, updated 17th edition

Documenting US History on Copia Class app

A notebook dedicated to only APUSH

Meeting with Mr. McPherson

I HIGHLY encourage you to reach out throughout the year to set up 1:1 meetings with me. Any time you have confusion about a certain aspect of the course, the best solution would be to set up a time for us to meet. Many students in the past have found it helpful to work through multiple-choice problems or receive 1:1 feedback on essays. Some students even set up a standing meeting each week so we could check in on their progress in the course. Please do not wait until late in the semester to meet. The earlier the better! I am available during A, C, and F periods by appointment. I am also in the building from 7:30am – 8:00am each day before school and 3:00pm – 3:30pm after school. If you would like to meet, just see me in class or send me an email to schedule.

Saint Louis University Dual Enrollment Option

As part of Saint Louis University’s 1818 program, high school students can receive college credit while taking a college-level high school course. Students in any AP course at Saint Ignatius have the option of enrolling with Saint Louis University for dual enrollment. This credit is transferrable to many colleges and universities throughout the country. For specific information about which universities have accepted SLU 1818 transfer credit, please see this attached document. For further information about the program and registration, please see: . This class is considered a three credit hour course at SLU and each credit is $65.

Optional Material

Past A.P. students recommend the purchase of one of the AP U.S. history review guides. There are several by publishers such as Princeton, Barrons, Cliff Notes, Amsco, REA. Students said these review guides were of some help during the year, especially in preparation for the AP test.

There are also excellent Youtube channels dedicated to AP review. Adam Norris has some informative videos, and the Gilder Lehrman Institute for American History has a section of their website dedicated to AP US History. Finally, albert.io is a website with practice AP questions and it can be very helpful in your preparation for tests.

|“It is a greater thing to be a good citizen, rather than a good Democrat or a good Republican.” |

|~ Gifford Pinchot |

|“By studying history, we give our life-energy to the dead.” |

|~ Patricia Nelson Limerick |

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