The Maggie L - Wilkes World



The Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School for Government and International Studies

ADVANCED PLACEMENT (AP) UNITED STATES HISTORY

SYLLABUS

2011-12

Mr. Wilkes/Room 319/Office Hrs: Periods 1, 4 and 6

e-mail: jwilkes@gsgis.k12.va.us web:

Phone: 354-6800 x 3306

Course Description

AP United States History requires student involvement in an in-depth study of the political, social, economic, and diplomatic history of the United States from the early 17th century until the 1980s-90s. An emphasis is placed on the time period after 1763 with a particular focus on the events of the 19th and the first-half of the 20th centuries. The rigor of the course is comparable to a freshman survey of U.S. history at most colleges and universities. In keeping with this advanced level, reading and writing requirements are extensive. It is expected that all students taking the AP course will take the AP exam in this subject area. Accordingly, emphasis is given throughout the year to the techniques and skills required to do well on the exam.

Course Material (The “Questions”)

Embedded in this course are clues to many of America’s most important historical questions. As the class unfolds, students will be challenged to find answers, recognizing that rarely is a single answer possible. The key questions of American history will be presented in the following manner:

Daily Objectives – Posted in the classroom each day, daily objectives are the nuts and bolts of each day’s instruction. Often approached in a single lesson, daily objectives may also require several class periods to cover. They represent some of the smaller components of our quest to know the meaning of history. Record them each day in your notebook. Example: What local events and circumstances gave rise to the Boston Massacre?

Broad Learning Objectives – Listed in this syllabus, these questions encompass major lessons from each unit. They often involve the analysis of many events (like the Boston Massacre) and student synthesis into broader meaning. While daily objectives can change for year-to-year, these broader core ideas return year-in and year-out in this course. Example: What incidents and revolutionary “tools” furthered the cry for independence?

Essential Questions – Studying all this history does you no good if you can’t apply it to the circumstances and decisions of your life. Said differently, what is the broader meaning of history? Your instructor truly believes that history teaches more essential lessons than any other course you will encounter. The 100 essential questions of this course are the “big meaning” questions. Arguably more important than any other—they should be what you remember when the facts of the Boston Massacre fade from your memory. Examples: Was the American Revolution a revolt against taxes? or Should personal freedoms be compromised in times of national crisis? or Is peaceful, civil disobedience the most effective method of protest?

Wilkes – AP U.S.

Course Requirements

For most students, this course will be time-consuming and hopefully challenging. An extensive amount of reading is required to expose students to the breadth of U.S. history as well as its many interpretations. Beyond the textbook, anthology, and handouts, this year we will attempt to read several historical novels and interpretations to enrich our study of critical eras. Reading must be done in advance of each lesson except when otherwise instructed. This is the single most important ingredient to success in this course. No class time will be allotted to bring students up to speed with what they did not read!

Involvement in historical research is also an important requirement of the course. There are a number of research assignments scheduled during the year that require each of you carry a portion of the class instruction based on your own research and writing. Short research papers are sometimes assigned to synthesize your findings. Often, your research comes forth in a presentation or project rather than in a traditional paper. There is no “big” paper (10+ pages) in this course, nevertheless, all research assignments are important for developing your knowledge base and skills.

A significant part of our task this year involves working like a historian by finding and interpreting primary sources. Throughout the year, you will be expected to write interpretive essays using such documents. These so-called “document-based questions” or “DBQs” will become very familiar to you as the year progresses.

Participation in this class is a must. At this stage of your high school career you already know that the student who has nothing to say in class discussions is either unprepared or bored, neither of which this instructor has tolerance for. A large portion of your grade is derived through the many forms of participation offered to you both inside and outside the classroom…so get involved and speak up!

Wilkes – AP U.S.

EVALUATION CRITERIA

1. CLASS PARTICIPATION (Includes homework) - 10-20%

Based on effort, preparedness, and evidence of thought. Written “homework” assignments are a relatively small percentage of this grade. Yet, when they are given, it is important that they be turned in on time. Missed or late assignments may be penalized. Most homework in this class is a matter of reading and writing. If you fail to do the work, your effort is lacking, your preparedness is weak, and your thoughts cannot be considered. Therefore, your class participation grade will not be strong. Above all, participation grades are evidence of you trying to share your thoughts, views, questions, and experiences with the class. No matter how quiet or shy you are, you have a role to play in class participation. The pursuit of learning opportunities outside the classroom is greatly encouraged.

2. OBJECTIVE ITEM TESTS - 25-35%

Spaced throughout the year are multiple-choice tests. All multiple-choice grades will be averaged together each quarter to create a single numerical value for these tests. A weak performance on a single test of this nature is rarely disastrous due to averaging.

3. ESSAY QUESTIONS/TESTS - 15-20%

We will have take-home and in-class essay questions throughout the year. As with the objective item tests, they will be compiled together each quarter to account for 15-20% of your grade during that period of time. There may not be an essay test each quarter, however, when there is not one, a document-based question will be included.

4. DOCUMENT-BASED QUESTIONS - 15-20%

The document-based question (DBQ) is an essay that incorporates the use of original source documents in your writing. As with the essay questions noted above, they will be included throughout the year. You will do 4-5 of these during the year. As with essays, when a DBQ is not part of a quarter’s grade, essay tests will be the replacement.

5. RESEARCH-BASED PROJECTS - 20-30%

We have several research-based activities scheduled during the year. These should be some of the best times we have in this class though they require work. In some cases, there will be 3 parts to a project: an advance research paper which prepares you for your role or topic, a presentation piece that shares your knowledge with others, and a closing “thought” paper that demonstrates what you think you have learned. Other research activities will be simpler but all require an extra bit of energy.

Note: This is a general guideline of evaluation techniques and weighting. Your instructor will determine the type, timing, and final weight of an evaluation for each unit of study based upon our progress through the school and course calendar, class dynamics, and student needs.

Wilkes – AP US

TEACHER GOALS FOR THE AP COURSE

1. To provide a solid, comprehensive introduction to the history of the United States with emphasis on the key events, individuals, and ideas that have determined the nation’s political, diplomatic, economic, social, and intellectual directions.

2. To establish within each student a sound footing in historical research, writing, and document analysis.

3. To give students the opportunity to display their thoughts and accomplishments through a variety of oral and written exercises.

4. To prepare students for the ideas, skills, and techniques required to do well on the AP U.S. history exam.

5. To provide each student the opportunity to have fun!

TEXT (Issued to each student)

Brinkley, Alan. American History: A Survey. 12th ed. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill,

2007. (cited as Brinkley)

READING ANTHOLOGY (Issued to each student)

Oates, Stephen B. and Errico, Charles J. (eds.) Portrait of America. Vols 1 & 2. 9th ed.

Boston: Houghton-Mifflin Co., 2007.

DOCUMENT SOURCES (These are the principal sources for docs used in class)

Bailey, Thomas A. and Kennedy, David M. (eds.) The American Spirit. 4th ed.

Lexington, MA: D.C. Heath and Company, 1978.

Carlton, David L. America’s History: Selected Documents. Vol. 1. Boston: Bedford/St.

Martin’s, 2001.

Dollar, Charles M. and Reichard, Gary W. (eds.) American Issues: A Documentary

Reader. New York: Glencoe, 1994.

Graebner, William and Richards, Leonard (eds.) The American Record: Images of the

Nation’s Past. Vol. 1. 2nd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1988.

Hofstadter, Richard. Great Issues in American History. Vols. 1-3. New York: Random

House, 1969.

Johnson, Michael P. Reading the American Past: Selected Historical Documents. Vol.1.

Boston: Bedford Books, 1998.

Marcus, Robert and Burner, David. America Firsthand. Vol. 2. Boston: Bedford Books, 1997.

Wilkes – AP US

SUPPLEMENTARY READING SOURCES (Major sources of Xeroxed handouts)

Chafe, William H. The Unfinished Journey. 3rd ed. New York: Oxford University Press,

1995.

Davidson, James West and Lytle, Mark Hamilton. After the Fact: The Art of Historical

Detection. 3rd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1992.

Gorn, E., Roberts, R., and Bilhartz, T.D. Constructing the American Past: A Source Book

Of a People’s History. Vols. 1-2. New York: Harper Collins, 1991.

Lockwood, A.L. and Harris, D.E. Reasoning with Democratic Values: Ethical Problems

In United States History. Vols. 1-2. New York: Teachers College Press, 1986.

Roberts, Randy and Olson, James S. American Experiences: Readings in American

History. Vols. 1-2. New York: Harper Collins, 1990.

Wheeler, William Bruce and Becker, Susan D. Discovering The American Past: A Look a

At the Evidence. Vols. 1-2. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1990.

HISTORICAL NOVELS/MONOGRAPHS/MEMOIRS

Kennedy, Robert F. Thirteen Days: A Memoir of the Cuban Missile Crisis

Olson, James and Randy Roberts. My Lai: A Brief History with Documents

Schulman, Bruce J. Lyndon B. Johnson and American Liberalism

Shaara, Michael. The Killer Angels

Materials Needed:

1. 3-Ring Binder(s) – Suggest two 2” binders to keep Xeroxed handouts

2. spiral or loose-leaf paper for notetaking

3. pens, pencils, highlighters

4. word-processing and internet access

5. library access (public, VCU, or other university)

Wilkes – AP US

1. DISCOVERY AND SETTLEMENT OF COLONIAL AMERICA (1607-1763)

Text: Brinkley, pp. 3-107 Reader: Smith, From These Beginnings; Demos, The Deerfield Massacre; Treckel, Empire of My Heart

Other Reading: Wheeler and Becker, The Threat of Anne Hutchinson (xerox)

Witches in Salem (assorted docs-xerox)

Broad Learning Objectives:

1. What were the early motivations for English settlement in the New World? How did they change with the realities of America?

2. What similarities and differences developed in the character of the southern, middle, and New England colonies? Why?

3. Why did slavery become such a widespread institution in many colonies?

4. How did political changes in England after 1660 effect the colonies?

5. What political foundations and examples of self-government were established early in the English colonies?

6. What types of social, political, and economic tensions developed within and between the colonies?

7. How did the French and Indian War change Great Britain’s relationship with her American colonies?

2. THE REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD (1763-1783)

Text: Brinkley, pp. 108-143 Reader: Wilson, Thomas Jefferson and the Meaning of Liberty

Other Reading: Martin, James Kirby “A Most Undisciplined, Profligate Crew”

(xerox)

Wheeler and Becker “What Really Happened in the Boston Massacre?”(xerox)

Broad Learning Objectives:

1. Where did the American colonists acquire their ideas about a “right of revolution?”

2. What growing ideological differences between Great Britain and her colonies helped precipitate conflict?

3. What incidents and revolutionary “tools” furthered the cry for independence?

4. Were the colonists justified in their claim of British tyranny? Did some disagree with this view? Why?

5. Was the revolution a battle for home rule or who should rule at home?

Wilkes – AP US

3. THAT 70s SHOW: VIETNAM, NIXON, AND A CHANGE OF

DIRECTION

Text: Brinkley, pp. 834-843 (Vietnam), 843-869 (Shifting Domestic Politics),

869-874 (Nixon’s Foreign Policy), 874-882 (2nd Term Crises), 885-889 (Ford/Carter)

Reader: Friedrich, A Portrait of Richard Nixon; Lemann, How the Seventies Changed America

Other Reading: TBD

Broad Learning Objectives:

1. What theories and ideas engaged the U.S. in Vietnam?

2. What were the long term implications of this commitment both domestically and abroad?

3. What dramatic changes occurred in domestic politics and societal norms during the 1970s?

4. How should Nixon’s foreign policy be assessed?

5. What occurred at Watergate and what has this scandal come to symbolize?

6. What new economic challenges faced the U.S. in the mid 70s?

7. How did conflicts in the Middle East come to have such a great impact on the U.S.?

8. What is the legacy of the Carter Administration?

9. How did American society (particularly special interest groups) respond to the “malaise” of the 1970s?

4. CONFEDERATION, CONSTITUTION, AND THE FEDERALIST FOOTPRINT (1783-1800)

Text: Brinkley, pp. 143-178. Reader: Larkin, The Personal Side of a Developing People; McMillen, “I’m Almost Worn Out in the Cause”

Other Reading: Commager, Henry Steele. “The Constitution: Was It An Economic

Document?” (xerox); Ellis, Joseph. Founding Brothers (Chapter: The Collaborators).

Broad Learning Objectives:

1. Did the revolution and new constitutional government bring dramatic change?

2. How did the nature, character and ideas of the framers lead to such heated debate over ratification?

3. Why was the federalist/anti-federalist rift so great? What did it lead to?

Wilkes – AP US

4. What critical foreign policy issues had their genesis in the Federalist period?

5. What political and economic “firsts” can be attributed to the era?

6. What differing definitions of “republic” emerged in this “Critical Period?”

Reagan Mini-Unit #1: Small Government & Supply-Side Economics…An American Tradition????

Text: Brinkley, pp. 889-898 Reader: Brookhiser, Reagan: His Place In History

4. JEFFERSONIAN DEMOCRACY AND THE RISE OF NATIONALISM (1800-1824)

Text: Brinkley, pp. 181-208, 209-231

Other Readings: TBD

Broad Learning Objectives:

1. What is significant about Jefferson’s election in 1800?

2. How/why did Jefferson’s presidential actions stray so far from his stated political ideals? Was he a hypocrite?

3. Why did the U.S. go to war with Great Britain in 1812? Who led the opposition to the war? Why?

4. What was significant about the post-war period of “nationalism?” What forms did it take?

5. THE JACKSONIAN ERA AND THE ANTEBELLUM SOUTH (1824-1848)

Text: Brinkley, pp. 233-257, 293-313 Reader: Oates, The Fires of Jubilee: Nat Turner

Other Readings: Remini, Robert. The Jacksonian Era and The Revolutionary Age of Andrew Jackson (Selected Chapters-xerox)

Broad Learning Objectives:

1. What was the character and promise of Jackson’s “new” democracy? Was it realized for all? Did it foster or impede continued nationalism?

2. What were the social, economic, and political characteristics of southern slavery during the antebellum period? How did blacks respond to this condition/

3. How did Jackson’s presidency precipitate the growth of sectionalism?

4. How did Jackson’s presidency lead to the re-emergence of a two-party system?

Wilkes – AP US

6. ECONOMIC EXPANSIONISM AND MANIFEST DESTINY

Text: Brinkley, pp. 259-291, 340-350 Reader : Yafa, Camelot on the Merrimack

Other Reading: TBD

Broad Learning Objectives:

1. How were technology and transportation advances critical to the emergence of early industrialization and expansion?

2. How and why was the development of the American factory system in the North so successful in this period?

3. How was the idea of “manifest destiny” used to support U.S. expansionism?

4. What caused the Mexican War?

5. What were the patterns of immigration and migration in the 1820-1860 era?

7. REFORM MOVEMENTS AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN AMERICAN CULTURE (1800-1860)

Text: Brinkley, pp. 315-337 Reader: Chowder, The Father of American Terrorism; Berlin, William Lloyd Garrison

Other Reading: Bishop, Morris. The Great Oneida Love-In (xerox)

Broad Learning Objectives:

1. How did the Second Great Awakening spur reform in America? What regions were affected?

2. Why did the women’s movement gain momentum during this period?

3. How did literature reflect this period of reform?

4. What was the background and objectives of the abolitionist movement? Was it effective?

5. What commonalities did the antebellum reform movements share?

8. SECTIONAL CRISIS AND THE COMING OF THE CIVIL WAR

Text: Brinkley, pp. 351-365

Other Reading: TBD

Broad Learning Objectives:

1. How and why did northern and southern attitudes towards slavery change as the Civil War approached?

2. What differences existed in the attitudes of southern whites towards slavery? Was there a predominant attitude among northern whites?

Wilkes – AP US

3. How did American expansionism in the 1840s and 50s become tied to the slavery question?

4. What were the major crises and events that led to war/

5. Was there a failure of political leadership in this era? Was this the “bumbling generation?”

9. CIVIL WAR AND RECONSTRUCTION (1860-1877)

Text: Brinkley, pp. 367-399, 401-431 Reader: Oates, Ravages of War

Other Reading: : Wiley, Bell I. Johnny Reb and Billy Yank (xerox)

“Major General” Lambdin P. Milligan from Great Trials in American History (xerox); Wheeler and Becker. The Price for Victory; The Decision to Use Black Troops (xerox)

Historical Novel: The Killer Angels

Broad Questions and Objectives:

1. How did the strengths, weaknesses, strategies, and stakes of civil war vary for the North and South? Did the personal differ from the political?

2. What were Lincoln’s goals and strategies as a war-time leader? Did he in fact “violate” his typically heroic image?

3. What were the long-term effects of the Civil War? Are they still felt today?

4. What comparisons can be drawn between the reconstruction plans of Lincoln, Johnson, and the Radical Republicans?

5. What misconceptions have evolved around the southern Reconstruction experience? Why?

6. What effect did Reconstruction have on the South, particularly in terms of race relations and politics?

Winter Holiday

10. THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT (1945-1970) & FOUNDATIONS OF DOMESTIC UPHEAVAL (1960-1970)

Text: Brinkley, pp. 809-813, 821-832

Other Reading: Sitkoff, Harvard. The Struggle for Black Equality 1954-1980, (Montgomery Bus Boycott chapter); Chafe, William. The Unfinished Journey (selections); Burner, David. John F. Kennedy and the Black Revolution

Historical Interpretation:

Schulman, Lyndon B. Johnson and American Liberalism

Wilkes – AP US

Broad Learning Objectives:

1. What forces initiated the post-WW2 civil rights movement?

2. What forms did the civil rights movement take in the ‘50s? the 60s? the 70s?

Why did it change?

3. What role did presidents play in this movement? The Supreme Court? Congress? Is the legend the same as reality?

4. What was the “liberal concensus?” How did it manifest itself in this movement?

5. What initiated the domestic turmoil of the 60s?

6. Why did many young Americans turn to a “counterculture” of American ideals? What was the impact of youth in the era?

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - > MID-TERM EXAM ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download