AP United States History Syllabus



Nathan Smith

Nathan.smith@humble.k12.tx.us

Course Description

This course is Advanced Placement United States History. It is the equivalent of a two semester survey course for college freshman that covers U.S. History from exploration and discovery to the present. It is designed to prepare students for the College Board Examination and possibly receive college credit. Curriculum, materials and expectations are designed for this objective. This course will be taught primarily in the traditional lecture-discussion model of AP classes with an emphasis on both coverage of major events and critical analysis of differing viewpoints surrounding those events. This course is rigorous; fast paced and will require extensive reading and writing.

Themes in AP US History

➢ American Diversity

➢ American Identity

➢ Culture

➢ Demographic Changes

➢ Economic Transformations

➢ Environment

➢ Globalization

➢ Politics and Citizenship

➢ Reform

➢ Religion

➢ Slavery and Its Legacies in North America

➢ War and Diplomacy

Course Texts and Reading

The American Pageant by David M. Kennedy, Lizabeth Cohen and Thomas A. Bailey

The American Spirit, Volumes I and II by David M. Kennedy and Thomas A. Bailey

Throughout the course I will select additional primary source readings and documents as well as scholarly research readings to supplement our inquiry into American History.

Course Expectations

✓ You will have approximately 6-8 grades each 6 weeks not counting finals. Tests, Papers and Project grades will count as 75 percent. Daily work which includes quizzes, written or oral assignments and homework will count as 25 percent. Although final exam exemptions are possible, I strongly suggest that you take the exams in preparation for the College Board Exam in May.

✓ This is a fast paced course that requires you to READ! You must come to class prepared by READING and to take notes and READ your material. You need to participate in class and READ. You also might seriously consider forming a study group and READING! Study groups of 2-4 students seem to help in College level course work. I don’t know if it forces you to study when you might not otherwise, or if being in a life-boat with others seems to make you feel warm and fuzzy. Either way, from personal experience, it helps. In addition, assignments will occasionally be made to study groups. Those not in groups are “on their own”.

✓ Exams and Quizzes will usually follow the format of the College Board Exam. You will have a combination of objective, document-based and free-response essay questions.

✓ In addition to traditional assessment I will frequently assign project assessment that will allow you to demonstrate mastery of the material using creativity and different learning styles.

✓ You must practice the Art of Social Studies Writing in this class. I will give you ample opportunity to practice this skill and feedback on your progress.

✓ In conclusion, while listening to Mr. Frey or one of our other illustrious World History teachers and watching the History Channel may have gotten you by in the past………………..YOU NEED TO READ! Quizzes and test will contain questions about the material not covered in class just like the AP Exam.

Course Materials

Students will maintain a notebook that will be used for preparing for quizzes, unit tests, the midterm and AP exam. The notebook will be organized and current. I will demonstrate two methods of organizing the notebook, a modified Interactive notebook or one using Cornell notes. The student is encouraged to use one of these or an alternative “approved” format. In addition the student will maintain a portfolio in which you will keep tests, major work, handouts of Primary Source documents or exam prep material. In keeping with the fact that this is a college level course taught primarily to young adults, I expect my students to arrive in class in a timely fashion with all necessary supplies. Do not depend on the kindly dispensation of basic supplies by the Reasonable Mr. Smith. And one more thing…….READ!

Make-ups and Tutoring

I will be available before and after school Monday-Thursday by appointment.

Curriculum Calendar

First Six Weeks

Unit 1: “Exploration Discovery and the Colonial Era” (two weeks)

Themes:

❖ The economic, political and religious reasons that led to the exploration and colonization of the New World.

❖ Spanish, French and English colonies and their interactions with the Native Americans.

❖ Analyze and the Jamestown, Plymouth, and Massachusetts Bay colonies beginning with their motives for emigrating as well as their governance and economic development. Compare the New England colonies with the Chesapeake on religion, education, social and family structure.

❖ Analyze the influence of events in England on the colonies in America including the Magna Carta, English Civil War, Glorious Revolution, Restoration, Enlightenment philosophy as well as Mercantilism and Salutary Neglect.

❖ Examine issues associated with the Chesapeake region such as indentured servants and Bacon’s Rebellion.

❖ Examine the development of Slavery along with the geographic influences and the Triangle Trade as well as the cultural contribution of Africans.

❖ Describe the distinct New England Character that developed and discuss the social pressures that brought on the Half-Way Covenant and the Salem Witch Trials.

❖ Analyze the causes and effects of the Great Awakening.

The American Pageant, Chapters 1-5

The American Spirit Chapter 1:A,B:1,2 ;Ch.2:A,B:1,3;Ch.3:B;Ch.5:A,B

Readings-Comparing differing views of the Indians by the Spaniards, Native American perspectives, dire beginnings in Virginia, conformity and dissent in the Bay Colony, the colonial melting pot, the Great Awakening

Documents- City on a Hill, Mayflower Compact, John Cotton’s “Theocracy”, and others

Culminating Project: Colonial Newspaper

Unit 2: “American Revolution and Independence”

Themes:

❖ Explore the causes and effects of the French and Indian War - the Albany Plan – Pontiac’s Rebellion - the Proclamation of 1763 and the end of Salutary Neglect.

❖ Examine the road to war - colonist reevaluate their relationship to England and each other – the effects of Mercantilism – the Stamp Act Congress – acts of civil disobedience – the First and Second Continental Congress.

❖ Examine the Declaration of Independence and the effects of Enlightenment philosophy on this document as well as the writings of Thomas Paine and others. Explore the debate that existed during this time frame including the views of the Loyalist and the English Parliament.

❖ Analyze the American Revolutionary War including the advantages and disadvantages of each side, the significant battles, French aid to the colonies and the Peace of Paris in 1873.

❖ Examine the manner and extent to which the American Revolution was a conservative or radical minority movement.

The American Pageant, Chapters 6-8

The American Spirit, Ch.6: B, D; Ch.7: A, B, C, D; Ch.8: A, B, C

Readings- excerpts from Peter Oliver’s Origin and Progress of The American Revolution “A Tory View”, Ordinary Courage “The Revolutionary War Adventures of Joseph Plumb Martin”, and Benjamin Franklin on Gen. Braddock (1755) and testifies against The Stamp Act (1766), Adam Smith on Mercantilism and numerous others.

Documents – Common Sense, Declaration of Independence etc.

Culminating Projects: Newspaper with articles written from both Tory and Patriot points of view. Also, Gallery Walk with events of the Revolution through art or cartoons depicted without words. Students analyze the class projects in turns while one member explains the event. This is a peer graded project.

Second Six Weeks

Unit 3: “The New Republic”

Themes:

❖ Analyze the new state constitutions and the strengths and weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation. Identify the domestic and foreign policy problems faced by the new nation under this confederation including Shay’s Rebellion.

❖ Analyze the development of the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights, including the reasons for the Constitutional Convention, who participated and why.

❖ Analyze the Federalist and Anti-Federalist debates, including the leaders and ideologies of each.

❖ Compare the views of Alexander Hamilton to those of Thomas Jefferson and their effect on the emergence of political parties.

❖ Identify the significant events of Washington’s administration such as Jay’s Treaty, Pinckney’s Treaty, the neutrality Proclamation of 1793 and his Farewell Address.

❖ Analyze the precedents set during the Washington administration such as the two term tradition, advice and consent for treaties and the creation of the cabinet.

❖ Analyze the growing partisanship during the Adams administration, the growing tension between national power and state’s rights evidenced by the Alien and Sedition Acts, and the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions.

❖ Examine the peaceful transfer of power from one party to another in the “Revolutionary “election of 1800 including the issues of the campaign and the undeclared war with France.

❖ Analyze the presidency of Thomas Jefferson including his moderation, restraint, the significance of the Louisiana Purchase and the Embargo.

❖ Evaluate the Marshall Court decisions concerning judicial review, property rights, commerce, taxation and treason.

The American Pageant, Chapters 9-11

The American Spirit, Ch.9:A,B2,C,E;Ch.10:A,F,G;Ch.11:A,B

Readings-Excerpts from “To begin the World Anew”, Washington’s and Jefferson’s differing reactions to Shay’s Rebellion, Clashes at the Philadelphia Convention, First Reactions: Hamilton, Mason and Jefferson, Ratification Debates in New York, Conflict in the Infant Republic: Senate Snubs Washington – Hamilton Versus Jefferson, John Marshall and the Supreme Court, The Louisiana Purchase – Jefferson’s correspondence to Livingston and Madison.

Documents-The Constitution, Federalist #10 & #51 and other documents surrounding the ratification debates

Essay # 1 Due

Culminating Project: “Mind Notes” – Draw simple outlines of two figures from this period and after a critical discussion write in important quotations and paraphrased beliefs in the appropriate outlines.

Unit 4: “Nationalism and New Politics”

Themes:

❖ Examine the significant events of the Madison presidency including the Non-Intercourse Act, Macon’s Bill, the War Hawks, the war of 1812, the Hartford convention and the Treaty of Ghent.

❖ Examine the Monroe presidency including the Era of Good Feeling, westward expansion, treaties establishing the boundaries of the United States and the significance of the Monroe Doctrine.

❖ Identify Clay’s American System.

❖ Examine growing sectionalism and the political ramifications of the Missouri Compromise.

❖ Analyze the emergence of the second American party system and mass democracy including the “corrupt bargain” election of 1824 and the election of Jackson in 1828.

❖ Analyze the presidency of Andrew Jackson including the spoils system, the tariff issue, the “Trail of Tears” and the national bank.

❖ Discuss Martin Van Buren’s presidency and the inherited shaky economy resulting from the bank war which led to the Panic of 1837.

The American Pageant, Chapters 12-13

The American Spirit, Ch.12: A-D; Ch13: D-E

Readings-Excerpts and photographs from Trail of Tears “The Rise and Fall of the Cherokee Nation”, The Cauldron of War, Disloyalty in New England, Missouri Statehood Controversy, Launching the Monroe Doctrine, The Nullification Crisis, The War on the Bank, Transplanting the Tribes

Essay # 2 Due

Culminating Project: Create an election poster containing the party, platform, candidates and election year.

Unit 5: “Economic Revolution and Social Reform”

Themes:

❖ Compare the social and economic development of the North, South and West during the early national period including the economic, manufacturing and transportation revolutions as well as the patterns of immigration.

❖ Analyze the development of American culture as illustrated in art, literature, and architecture.

❖ Identify the core beliefs of the transcendentalist movement and its leading members.

❖ Examine the Second Great Awakening, the emergence of new religious denominations, utopian communities and the influence of this religious movement on reforms in politics and society.

The American Pageant, Chapters 14-15

The American Spirit, Ch.14: A-E; Ch.15: A, C

Readings-The Spread of the Factory, The Flocking of Immigrants, Mounting Labor Unrest, Steamboats and Canals, The Coming of the Iron Horse, Religious Ferment and The Changing Role of Women

Essay # 3 Due

Third Six Weeks

Unit 6: “Sectionalism”

Themes:

❖ Examine the economy and culture of the South, support for the “peculiar institution” and the belief that slavery was a positive good as well as the growing abolitionist movement in the North.

❖ Discuss the belief in manifest destiny in U.S. history prior to the Civil War including the Texas annexation, Oregon fever, the Mexican War and the Wilmot Proviso.

❖ Analyze the growing tensions between North and South including the Fugitive Slave Act, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Kansas-Nebraska Act, Dred Scott decision, the Lincoln-Douglas debates, John Browns raid, and the election of 1860.

The American Pageant, Chapters 16-19

The American Spirit, Ch.16:A2-3 C, D, E3; Ch.18: A, B; Ch.19: C, D

Readings-The Face of Slavery, The Abolitionist Crusade, The Wilmot Proviso Issue and The Compromise debates of 1850

Documents-Excerpts from the Lincoln Douglas Debates

Culminating Projects: Newspaper written with articles from both the North and South’s perspective. Also, students complete an illustrated timeline of growing sectionalism beginning with Missouri Compromise and ending with Harper’s Ferry.

Unit 7: “Civil War and Reconstruction”

Themes:

❖ Evaluate the Northern reactions to southern secession including Lincoln’s contention that “physically speaking we cannot separate” and the limitations on civil rights.

❖ Analyze the fighting during the Civil War, the respective advantages and disadvantages as well as the military strategies.

❖ Examine the steps which led to the abolition of slavery including the Confiscation Acts, Emancipation Proclamation, and the 13th Amendment.

❖ Analyze how the war impacted Northern and Southern Society including the economy, the role of women, the devastation of the South, the conscription riots and changing labor patterns.

❖ Compare the Lincoln, Johnson and Congressional Reconstruction Plans and the struggle of the conflicting ideologies.

❖ Analyze the reconstruction of the South following the Civil War, the reason for military reconstruction, the role played by the Freedmen’s Bureau, and the achievements and failures of those endeavors.

❖ Analyze the significance of the 14th and 15th Amendments, including the effect of the 14th Amendment on the U.S. Constitution.

❖ Analyze the emerging New South, including the role of Redeemers and Bourbons, limitations placed on African – Americans, and the economic changes.

The American Pageant, Chapters 20-22

The American Spirit, Ch.20: F; Ch21: B, C1, E

Readings- Abraham Lincoln Defines the Purposes of the War, Lincoln and His Generals,

Lincoln Expresses Misgivings, The Uncivil War

Midterm Exam/Mock AP Exam

Fourth Six Weeks

Unit 8: “The Gilded Age”

Themes:

❖ Analyze the Ulysses S. Grant administration including corruption, economics, and reform in the post Civil-War era.

❖ Examine the political parties and partisanship, the election of 1876 and the compromise that resulted in the end or Reconstruction.

❖ Discuss the emergence of Jim Crow, class conflict, ethnic clashes and the populist movement.

❖ Analyze both of the Grover Cleveland administrations and the tariff, as well as the Harrison presidency and the “Billion Dollar Congress”.

❖ Examine the railroad boom, speculators and financiers, early efforts at government regulation, industry in the South and the rise of trade unions.

❖ Examine the impact immigration and urbanization of America including settlement houses, nativist’s reactions and immigration restrictions.

❖ Analyze the changes in urban churches the evolving role of women and the new morality,

❖ Examine the role of education and the debate over the education of African Americans put forth by Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois.

❖ Discuss the conquest of the Indians, the mining and cattle frontiers, and the industrialization of agriculture.

❖ Examine the Farmers protest movement, the challenge from the Peoples Party, the Pullman Strike of 1894 and Bryan versus McKinley in 1896.

The American Pageant, Chapters 23-26

The American Spirit, Ch.24:C,D3,E2,3,4,5,6,F;Ch.25:B,C,D,E1

Reading-The New Philosophy of Materialism, Life in a Southern Mill, Labor in Industrial America, The New Immigration, The Church on the Defensive, The Anti-Saloon Crusade, Victoria Woodhull Advocates Free Love

Essay # 4 Due

Culminating Project: Did life improve during the Gilded Age? Create a poster comparing and contrasting groups that may or may not have benefited from the changes. Also, postcard from an immigrant describing life in America.

Unit 9: “American Expansionism & Progressivism”

Themes:

❖ Analyze the sources of American expansion, Cleveland and the Venezuelan boundary dispute of 1895-1896 and the Hawaii question.

❖ Examine the explosion of the Maine, the Spanish American War, the invasion of Cuba and the subsequent acquisition of Puerto Rico and the Philippines.

❖ Discuss the crushing of the Filipino insurrection and the Open Door notes on China.

❖ Examine the presidency of Theodore Roosevelt and his foreign policy, specifically the Panama Canal, the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine and his diplomacy in the Far East.

❖ Discuss the campaigning against social injustice, the muckrakers and the role of progressivism in politics.

❖ Examine Roosevelt’s Square Deal for labor and the trusts, consumer protection, conservation and his legacy.

❖ Analyze the troubled presidency of William Howard Taft, “dollar diplomacy and Roosevelt’s break with Taft and the Republican party.

❖ Analyze the election of 1912 and the election of Woodrow Wilson, his stand on the tariff, banks and trusts.

❖ Examine Wilson’s diplomacy in Mexico, war in Europe and American neutrality, and his reelection in 1916.

The American Pageant, Chapters 27-30

The American Spirit, Ch.27: A, B; Ch.28: A; Ch29: A, C, E

Readings-Yellow Journalism in Flower, The Declaration of War, The Bitter Fruits of Imperialism, The Heyday of Muckraking, The Plight of Labor, The Crusade for Women’s Suffrage

Culminating Project: Newspaper with articles critically examining American foreign policy

Fifth Six Weeks

Unit 10: “World War I, The Twenties & Depression”

Themes:

❖ Discuss German submarines and America’s entrance into war, Wilsonian idealism and the Fourteen Points, propaganda and civil liberties.

❖ Analyze the role of workers, black Americans, women on the home front, drafting soldiers and the American Expeditionary Force in France.

❖ Discuss Wilsonian peacemaking at Paris and the Senate’s rejection of the Versailles Treaty.

❖ Analyze the “red scare”, immigration restrictions, prohibition and gangsterism in America.

❖ Examine the Scopes trial, the emergence of a mass-consumption economy, the automobile age, the radio and the movies.

❖ Examine the music and literature in the “delicious decade” as well as the economic boom of the 20’s.

❖ Discuss the Republican return to power in 1921, disarmament and isolation, the Harding scandals and the international debt snarl.

❖ Analyze Herbert Hoover’s cautious progressivism, the crash of 1929, the Great Depression, aggression in Asia and the “Good Neighbor” policy in Latin America.

The American Pageant, Chapters 31-33

The American Spirit, Ch.30: C, D; Ch.31: A, C, D; Ch.32: B, C, D; Ch.33: B, C

Readings-Moral Meddling in Mexico, Acquiescing in the British Blockade, War With Germany, The Propaganda Front, The Face of War, The Reconstituted Ku Klux Klan, The Wets Versus the Drys, New Goals for Women, The Depression Descends, Herbert Hoover Clashes with Franklin Roosevelt

Culminating Project: Political cartoons and caricatures of events and political figures

Unit 11: “FDR and World War II”

Themes:

❖ Examine Franklin D. Roosevelt administration and the “New Deal” including the Hundred Days Congress, the National Recovery Administration, the Agricultural Adjustments Administration, the Tennessee Valley Authority and the Social Security Act of 1935.

❖ Discuss the election of 1936 and the “Roosevelt coalition” as well as the Supreme Court fight of 1937.

❖ Compare and Contrast the New Deal as an extension of Jeffersonian-Jacksonian Democracy, populism and progressivism.

❖ Evaluate the New deal as revolutionary or conservative and did it remake or preserve the existing relationship between a government and its people?

❖ Assess whether or not the New Deal was a success or failure and did it set a good or bad precedent for the future?

❖ Examine Roosevelt’s early foreign policies, Japanese and German aggression, the Neutrality Acts and the Lend Lease Act.

❖ Discuss the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the Internment of Japanese Americans.

❖ Examine the war’s effect on the New Deal, the mobilization of the economy, women in wartime, African Americans, Native Americans, Mexican Americans and the social impact.

❖ Analyze the turning of the Japanese tide in the Pacific, the Italy and North Africa campaigns as well as D-Day and the war in main-land Europe.

❖ Discuss the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki as well as the moral/immoral choices made in war. Should the United States have used The Atomic Bomb on Japan?

The American Pageant, Chapters 34-36

The American Spirit, Ch.34: A, C, E, F; Ch.35: A, C, D, E; Ch.36: A, D,

Reading-The Face of the Great Depression, Voices of Protest, Conservation in the New Deal, The Supreme Court Fight and After, The Struggle Against Isolationism, War in the Atlantic, Blowup in the Pacific, The Blame for Pearl Harbor, War and American Society, Dropping the Atomic Bomb

Essay # 5 Due

Culminating Project: Class is divided into groups and participates in a debate from various perspectives the dropping of the Atomic Bombs.

Unit 12: “The Early Cold War 1945-1960”

Themes:

❖ Discuss postwar prosperity, the rise of the “sunbelt”, the rush to the suburbs and the baby boom as well as Harry S. Truman as president.

❖ Analyze the origins of and causes of the Cold War including the shaping of the postwar world including the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the United Nations.

❖ Examine the containment doctrine, the Truman Doctrine, the Marshall Plan and NATO including the rise of Anti-communism at home and the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950.

❖ Analyze the election of Dwight D. Eisenhower and the menace of McCarthyism. In what way was the 1950’s an era of conformity?

❖ Examine the desegregation of the South, Brown V. Board of Education, Martin Luther King Jr. and the emergence of the civil rights revolution.

❖ Discuss Eisenhower Republicanism, the Suez Canal crises, the space race and other contests with the Soviet Union.

❖ Discuss the election of John F. Kennedy in 1960 as well as the changing economic roles for men and women as well as the flowering of the consumer culture in the 1950’s.

The American Pageant, Chapters 37-38

The American Spirit, Ch.37: A, B1, C1, D1, F, G; Ch.38: A, B, C, D

Readings-The New Shape of Postwar Society, Franklin Roosevelt ‘Betrays’ China and Japan (1945),

George Kennan Proposes Containment, Secretary Marshall Speaks at Harvard (1947), The Korean Crisis and the NSC-68, The Sacking of General Douglas MacArthur, A New Look in Foreign Policy, The McCarthy Hysteria, The Supreme Court and the Black Revolution, The Promise and Problems of a Consumer Society

Culminating Project: Students create a visual metaphor to make comparisons between the object chosen and key aspects of the Cold War.

Sixth Six Weeks

Unit 13: “Contemporary America 1960-2000”

Themes:

❖ Analyze the U.S. relationship with the Soviet Union during this era of the Cold War including; the Cuban missile crisis, new policies towards China and the Soviet Union by Nixon, Mikhail Gorbachev and Ronald Reagan, as well as the thawing and eventual collapsing of the Soviet Union.

❖ Analyze the accomplishments and failures of the Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter and Reagan administrations.

❖ Examine the reform movements of Johnsons “Great Society” and the struggle for civil rights,

❖ Discuss the Vietnam War, social upheavals and the election of Richard Nixon as well as the Watergate scandal.

❖ Discuss the diplomatic successes and failures of the Carter administration including Panama and the Middle East.

❖ Analyze the emergence of the “New Right” and the Reagan landslide election of 1980 as well as his economic and Cold War legacies.

❖ Discuss the George W. Bush presidency including the end of the Cold War and the First Persian Gulf War.

❖ Analyze and infer where we go from here in the “Post Industrial” economy, fighting a stagnating war on terrorism amidst another wave of immigration to America.

The American Pageant, Chapters 39-42

The American Spirit, Ch.39: A, B, C, D; Ch.40: A1, B3, C, D; Ch.41: D, E; Ch.42

Readings-The Cuban Missile Crisis, President Johnson’s Great Society, The Black Revolution Erupts, Vietnam Troubles, The President Defends His Incursion(1970), Canadians See Neither Peace nor Honor, The Supreme Court “Coddles” Criminals, The Move to Impeach Nixon, A Philosophy for Neoconservatism, Assessing the Reagan Presidency and The American People Face a New Century

Essay # 6 Final Essay Due

Culminating Project: Students are assigned roles and participate in a mock sit in protesting the Vietnam War.

Unit 14: “Research & Review”

In consultation with you, my students, we will conduct research on contemporary topics in American History. This is also the time we will use to review for the AP Exam.

*****Notice to Students*****

1. The length and frequency of research papers will be negotiated with my classes. Having papers is not subject to negotiation.

2. As a general rule, I will provide you with the document based questions (DBQ’s) and free-response questions (FRQ’s) prior to unit examinations. This will allow you to better prepare for the writing portion of these exams.

*****Copy on your own paper, sign and return*****

I have read the AP US History syllabus provided by the “Reasonable Mr. Smith” and understand this is a college level course with all the challenges that implies. I understand that Mr. Smith is not a naturally cruel man (or words to that effect) and that his purpose is to prepare me for the national UP US History Exam in May.

With that in mind, I will, to the best of my ability……

• Keep up with assignments/reading

• Follow class rules and procedures

• Respect myself and fellow students

• Maintain my integrity by placing my name only on work I have done

“That which does not kill me makes me stronger”-Nietzsche

Print your name and sign this PLEDGE!

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