Advanced Placement United States History Syllabus Rappahannock High School

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1 Page 1 of 6 Advanced Placement United States History Syllabus Rappahannock High School Course Design and Purpose: The Advance Placement program in United States History is designed to provide students with the analytical skills and factual knowledge necessary to deal critically with the problems and materials of United States history. The course prepares students for intermediate and advanced college courses by making demands upon them equivalent to those made by full-year introductory college survey courses. 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. Students will learn to interpret and evaluate the relative significance of primary and secondary source material, and to present their evidence and conclusions clearly and persuasively in an essay format. Introduction: In a world that is changing with great rapidity, experiences in school that relate to what students see happening around them must prepare them to function effectively in a future world that promises to require each person continually to make choices in expanding alternative possibilities. Therefore, realizing the study of man s relationship to his fellow man is more important than ever before. The course of study is designed to increase the socio-political awareness and contribute significantly the ability to handle the critical requirements before mankind. At the same time it will provide a framework in which students may perceive the relevance of what they are studying to their own needs and abilities to control the future. Student Objectives Students will: 1. master a broad body of historical knowledge; 2. effectively use analytical skills of evaluation, cause and effect, and compare and contrast; 3. demonstrate an understanding of historical chronology; 4. use historical data to support an argument or position; 5. differentiate between the multitude of historical interpretations on events, movements and individuals in American history representing conflicting points of view; 6. interpret and apply data from original documents, including letters, cartoons, graphs, pictures, maps, etc.; 7. work effectively with others to produce products and solve problems; 8. understand material presented through lecture, small group discussions, audio-visual aids, and studentresponsible classroom periods; 9. write essays on the validity and reliability of various historical interpretations in light of historical evidence; 10. take useful notes from both printed materials and lectures or discussions, write essay examinations, and write analytical document based essays, with the ability to express themselves with clarity and precision and know how to cite sources and credit the persons and ideas of others; 11. prepare for and successfully pass the SOL Test and the Advanced Placement Exam. Organization: Unit assignment sheets will be provided every 2 to 3 weeks. Daily reading assignments and Discussion Questions for outlining will be included. Quiz and test dates will be noted. Pop quizzes are to be expected. Students are responsible for keeping up with the reading assignments and being aware of, and ready for quizzes and tests. Class will be a combination of lecture, group work, coverage of discussion questions, answering student questions, and Internet research. Periodically student essays, reports, or presentations will be required.

2 Course Texts and Readings: Basic text The American Pageant, David Kennedy and Thomas Bailey Page 2 of 6 Secondary texts - The American Spirit Volumes I and II, David Kennedy and Thomas Bailey Davidson and Lytle, After the Fact Outside readings The Federalist Papers (selected sections) Frederick Mack, Manifest Destiny (selected sections) Kenneth Stamp, The Peculiar Institution (optional extra credit reading) Frederick Lewis Allen, Only Yesterday (optional extra credit reading) Students may find it helpful to take notes in, highlight, or otherwise mark in the text. They may do so if they agree to purchase the text at cost at the end of the year. Study Techniques: The reading load, especially in the first 6-10 weeks, is considerable. In order to cover the maximum amount of material with the least amount of stress, sharing is definitely encouraged. While each student is expected to read all text material, outlining discussion questions and supplemental readings may be shared with group. You are responsible for understanding all of the material for testing. The amount of time required for homework for this class will vary with your reading speed. Assignments vary in length. Watch your weekly assignment sheet and plan ahead for long assignments, supplemental readings, take-home essays, etc. Time management is an essential skill for this class, and you must take the responsibility for budgeting your time. As you become accustomed to the course format and tests, things will fall into place and become easier. It is important to not get discouraged. The Key to Success: The most important grading factor in this class is consistent effort and improvement. Do not be discouraged if your grades seem low in the first grading period. If you knew the material already, you would not need the course. Effort and improvement are weighed in grading. What you will learn in terms of writing, thinking, and study skills will be worth the effort! Attendance: Attendance in this class is essential. Much or the material for success is provided through lecture/discussion. Missing class can create problems. Advanced Placement Exam: The AP Exam is given in May. Registration for the exam takes place in February. Taking the exam is a course requirement and can earn you college credit and/or advanced placement.

3 Course Outline --- First Semester Page 3 of 6 Unit 1: Colonial Era: (summer) Text, Kennedy and Bailey, Chapters The emergence of American cultural traits and the factors that contributed to them. 2. Emerging regional patterns and how they evolved. 3. Rivalries among nations that led to the exploration of new areas of the world. 4. Understanding the basic religious beliefs held by the Puritans and the ways in which these beliefs shaped the Puritans political organization, social practices and values. 5. Discuss how the movement known as the Great Awakening strengthen the ideals of religious freedom and show what connection, if any, it had with the Enlightenment. 6. The key developments in the American colonies that led to conflicting elements between mercantilism and colonial enterprise. 7. Evaluate the importance of the French-Indian War in terms of the impact it had on the deteriorating relationship between Great Britain and the colonies. Unit 2: A Quarter Century of Revolution: (3 weeks) Text, Chapters 5,6 The Federalists Papers 1. Identifying the factors that weakened British authority over the American colonies and explain the role of each factor. 2. Analyze why a revolutionary minority was successful in causing the colonies to revolt against British rule. 3. Give reasons for the American military victory in the American Revolution by placing special emphasis on the impact of the Declaration of Independence. 4. Demonstrate an understanding of one interpretation of the causes of the American Revolution by presenting in a brief essay the arguments in support of that interpretation. 1. Identify the reasons for calling the Constitutional convention in 1787, and for replacing the 2. Evaluate presidential politics during the Era of Good Feelings, how these policies altered the political system, and explain the importance of nationalism and its reflection in the American System. Unit 3: The Age of Jackson and Manifest Destiny: (2 weeks) Text Chapters 9-12 Mack, Manifest destiny and the Mission in American History Themes; 1. Describe how democratic government advanced in this nation from 1789 through Andrew Jackson s presidency. Include references to the attitudes of the Founding Fathers on democracy, the role of political parties, the contributions of Thomas Jefferson, and the features of Jacksonian Democracy. 2. Understand Andrew Jackson s philosophy of government, his reaction to the nullification theory of John C. Calhoun, and the effect of the Bank Veto on the presidency and the United States banking system. 3. Describe geographical and economic expansion. 4. Understand the reform movements and the American character. 5. Discuss the impacts of the Indian Removal, war with Mexico, and immigration.

4 Page 4 of 6 Unit 4: A House Divided: (3 weeks) Text Chapters Stamp, Peculiar Institution 1. Present reasons for the enslavement of the black Africans, and for the failure of attempts to abolish slavery. 2. Specify how technological inventions related to frontier expansion and how factory expansion contributed to America s pre-civil War growth. 3. Give specific reasons for the failure of compromise to settle national-sectional differences prior to the Civil War. 4. Measure Abraham Lincoln s original aims as president against his overall achievements. 5. Describe military strategies of the North and the South during the Civil War. 6. Identify the bases of the power struggle between the President and congress regarding Reconstruction policies. 7. Identify the reasons for the failure of Reconstruction governments in the South. 8. Recognize changes in the west during this time period. End of First Semester Unit 5: The Gilded Age and the Rise of Business and Labor: (2 weeks) Text Chapters Cite the conditions that necessitated corporate growth and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of corporations as a form of economic operation. 2. Specify the relationship between the beliefs in rugged individualism and Social Darwinism as both affected the growth of corporate monopolies. 3. Describe the close relationship between 1876 and 1892 and some of its effects on the Presidents at the time. 4. Identify evidence supporting the proposition that the city was equally important as a force in determining historical events and their outcomes and in shaping American society as the frontier. 5. Identify problems and opportunities that American cities presented to the new immigrants. 6. Specify between the programs and purposes of various labor organizations. 7. Recognize the economic disadvantages experienced by farmers working within the free enterprise system of the late nineteenth century. Unit 6: Populist and Progressives The Age of Innocence: (3 weeks) Text Chapters Allen, Only Yesterday 1. Name the candidates, issues, and results of the election of Discuss American expansion at the turn of the 19 th Century in terms of its implications for a neocolonial policy. 3. Formulate a conclusion about the strengths and weaknesses of the nation s policy of intervention in Latin America during the first part of the 20 th Century. 4. Formulate a conclusion concerning the effectiveness of American policy in regard to its pacific possessions. 5. Explain the significance of the Open door Policy as the foundation of American foreign policy in Asia during the early 20 th century. 6. Define the meaning of progressivism and the key men who contributed important philosophic ideas to the movement. 7. Evaluate the differences in achievements of progressive goals among the programs of President Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and Woodrow Wilson.

5 Page 5 of 6 Unit 7: A Time of Transition World War One, The Twenties, and the Great Depression: (3 weeks) Text Chapters Understand the causes that pulled Europe into war. 2. List the rights of neutral nations in time of war, and the rights of belligerents vis-à-vis neutral nations. 3. Justify a conclusion as to whether or not the decision to intervene in World War I was in accord with the national interest of the United States. 4. Identify reasons for governmental restrictions of the economy and of civil liberties during W.W.I and conclude whether the imposed restrictions were justified. 5. List the reasons for this country s failure to ratify the Treaty of Versailles and explain the effect that failure had on American foreign policy and world affairs. 6. Identify the elements in international affairs that were responsible for the ineffectiveness of the steps taken to safeguard the peace following WWI. 7. Identify the conflicts in American society produced by increased immigration of non-anglo-saxon people to the United States. 8. Recognize the change in government attitudes toward business and its effects on society during the 1920 s. 9. Identify the factors, which caused and intensified the Great Depression. 10. Give reasons to support the statement that Herbert Hoover was a transitional figure in the development of the government as an active force in the economy in times of depression. Unit 8: The Age of Roosevelt Great Depression and WWII (3 weeks) Text Chapters Identify changes in political theory and practice that occurred under the New Deal. 2. List the problems of the first New Deal and the range of responses provoked by the resolutions to these problems. 3. Identify the achievements and problems of the second New Deal. 4. Identify reasons for the widespread acceptance of totalitarian forms of government during the period of Explain how failure by the democracies to stop aggression by other countries led to the outbreak of World War II. 6. Identify a political, an economic, and a social cause of the conflict between the United States and Japan in the early decades of the 20 th Century, and evaluate whether war with Japan was inevitable. 7. Differentiate between strategies used in the European Theater and those used in the Pacific. 8. Identify three or more ways in which WWII influenced the day-to-day lives of Americans. 9. Critically evaluate the decisions of the major wartime conferences among the Allied heads of state, weighing the military requirements of that time against long-range political consequences. 10. Evaluate the cataclysmic effects of Hitler s Final Solution and the extent to which they have impacted today s concern with human rights.

6 Page 6 of 6 Unit 9: Cold War and Post-War Domestic Issues (2 weeks) Text Chapters Define the concept of containment as it applies to foreign policy and will describe its application in the Cold War. 2. Explain the theory behind President Truman s policy of conducting a limited war in the Korean War, and form hypotheses on the probable reasons for Communist China s intervention. 3. Define the term coexistence as it related to Cold War diplomacy and describe how major events between both demonstrated its acceptance and affected American-Soviet relations. 4. Critically evaluate McCarthyism, using references to other similar movements in American history. 5. Formulate a hypothesis as to why the tactics of the civil rights movement changed from those of working through the courts to those of direct action. 6. Evaluate the presidency of John F. Kennedy ( ) and explain the developments of his New Frontier programs. 7. Understand the goals and achievements of President Johnson s Great Society program. Unit 10: Foreign Policy and Years of Turbulence (2 weeks) Text Chapters Themes; 1. Identify events and policies, which contributed to the escalation of United States involvement in Vietnam. 2. Identify and describe elements in American society which have posed problems concerning freedom and dissent during the past twenty years. 3. Evaluate the record of the Administration of Richard Nixon on the reform of law and order, civil rights, inflation, and the environment. The AP Exam and SOL Test will fall into this time period. Unit 11: Post -Test Projects Video News Program Presentation Personal Timelines