AP United States History Syllabus Mrs. Tipton Course Description: AP United States History is a course designed to be the equivalent of a freshman college course and can earn students college credit by taking the AP Exam. This course is a comprehensive survey of United States history beginning with the colonial period and ending with the post World War II era to the present. This is not intended to be a course that details what happened, but rather it will ask why and how and study the consequences of actual events. Course Objectives: After completing this course, the student will be able 1) to master a broad body of historical knowledge 2) to enhance critical thinking and analytical skills 3) to interpret and apply data from original documents 4) to use historical data to support an argument or position 5) to prepare for and pass the AP Exam Major Themes Covered in the Course: 1) American Diversity 2) Culture 3) Demographic changes 4) Globalization 5) Reform 6) War and Diplomacy Required Texts: 1) The American Pageant 12 th Edition by Bailey, Thomas and Kennedy 2) The Jungle by Upton Sinclair 3) Night by Elie Wiesel 4) 4 novels will be chosen from the list provided * The student is responsible for the novels. Recommended Text: 1) A People s History of the United States by Howard Zinn Expectations: 1) AP United States History will be taught as a college level course. Therefore, diligence and quality work are expected. 2) Students are responsible for all material presented in class, whether present or not. It is up to the student to get or make up any work missed. 3) Students must come to class prepared for lecture and discussion. The students will be assigned daily readings and these must be completed before coming to class. Due to the limitations on time, we will not be able to always cover all of the details outlined in the readings, but the student is responsible for all of the material covered in the assigned readings. Ask, if there are any questions. 4) Students can expect a bell ringer on any of these readings at the beginning of class each day. 5) Respect and Christian Fellowship are expected of all students at all times in this class. 6) The computer lab is a privilege, not a requirement. Required Writing Assignments: 1) Students wishing to take A.P. United States History will have a summer assignment consisting of the following requirements: read Founding Brothers by Joseph J. Ellis and write a book review and choose one book to read from the list provided and write a personal reaction to the book. 2) Each month students will be asked to write various article reviews on issues pertaining to the subject matter of the time period studied. Each student will have to critique the author s argument and presentation of material, provide a background of qualifications of the author and express a well-informed opinion on the subject and whether or not they agree with the author on the matter. 3) A.P. students are required to write one research paper on a topic of their own choosing. 4) Students will be required to read The Jungle by Upton Sinclair and Night by Elie Wiesel and complete separate writing assignments for each analyzing the events of the time period and contents of the novels. 5) Students will have a take-home DBQ assignment as well as in class DBQ questions.
Late Work: All assignments must be turned in on the date specified on the students calendars or on the date announced in class. Late work will not be accepted except in the case of an absence. In the case of an absence, it is solely the student s responsibility to get any work missed or make up any work. Cheating: Cheating is absolutely unacceptable. If you are caught cheating in any way, your parents will be notified and you will receive a zero. Grading Policy: Take-home tests are worth 30% of your grade, In-class essay tests are worth 40%, quizzes are worth 5% and homework is worth 25%. I will drop your two lowest quiz scores, one for each semester. Extra Credit: Extra Credit will not be available. Odds and Ends: - Be prepared to write - Be prepared to read - Develop good time management skills - Do not procrastinate *Important: It is the student s choice to take AP United States History. It is the student s responsibility to stay on task, keep up with the assignments and turn in homework on time. It is also the student s responsibility to maintain above a C average for this course. If a student s grade is at a C or below for semester, the student will be moved into a regular United States History class. *Note: The student will receive a calendar for each month, laying out specified readings from the text and outside sources, as well as test days and homework due dates. Outline of the school year: * August 2 weeks (Ch. 1-5) 1. Historiography Why do we study history? a. primary vs. secondary sources 2. Age of Exploration a. Portugal, Spain and England s roles in exploration and colonization b. Mayan, Incan and Aztec societies and reactions to explorers c. Religious diversity in English colonies - Protestants, Puritans, Quakers, Catholics d. problems in English colonies - Bacon s Rebellion 3. Colonial Society a. differences between the northern, middle and southern colonies - economics, agriculture, religion, lifestyles b. population growth and migration c. colonial slavery origins of d. the Enlightenment and the Great Awakening 4. The Road to Revolution a. British imperial policy b. French and Indian War c. various economic problems and issues d. move from salutary neglect by King George III e. resistance to Britain 1) Article Review from Taking Sides: Did Capitalist Values Motivate the Colonists? a) themes covered globalization, demographic changes, culture, American diversity * September 4 weeks (Ch. 6-9) 1. The American Revolution a. the Declaration of Independence b. Thomas Paine and Common Sense c. Patriots vs. Loyalists d. Proclamation of 1763 e. the effects of the Revolution on Native Americans, Africans and women
2. The Confederation and the Constitution a. state constitutions and the Articles of Confederation b. Constitutional Convention c. Federalists and AntiFederalists arguments for and against the Constitution d. the federal Constitution and the Bill of Rights 1) clip from The Patriot 2) Article review from Taking Sides: Radicalism of the American Revolution 3) pros and cons of the Articles of Confederation 4) analyze the contents and exact grievances stated in the Declaration of Independence 5) Federalist vs. AntiFederalist debate using Federalist Paper #10 and arguments of Patrick Henry 6) Article questions from Annual Editions: Founding Friendship 7) Article questions from Annual Editions: Do the People Rule? a) themes covered war and diplomacy, culture, American diversity * October 4 weeks (Ch. 9-11) 1. The New Ship of State a. Washington s presidency b. roles of Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson and Henry Knox c. emergence of political parties Federalists vs. Republicans d. arguments over a national bank between Hamilton and Jefferson e. French Revolution f. Adam s presidency - XYZ Affair - Alien and Sedition Acts 2. Jeffersonian Republic a. Marbury vs. Madison b. Louisiana Purchase c. foreign policy and the hated Embargo 1) ideas for research paper due 2) Article questions from Annual Editions: The 1 st Real Election 3) Article questions from Annual Editions: The Whiskey Rebellion a) themes covered American diversity, culture, globalization, reform * November 2 ½ weeks (Ch. 12-13, 16) 1. War of 1812 consequences of a. Hartford Convention 2. Monroe s presidency a. Era of Good Feelings b. Monroe Doctrine 3. Andrew Jackson a. the corrupt bargain b. Jacksonian democracy and the civil service c. treatment of Native Americans 4. The South and slavery question a. King Cotton b. everyday life and slave roles - myth of the Old South - Sambo personality - active vs. passive resistance 1) Research notes due 2) Article questions from Annual Editions: Chief Justice Marshall 3) Article review from Taking Sides: Was Andrew Jackson s Indian Removal Policy Motivated by Humanitarian Impulses? 4) Article review from Taking Sides: Was Slavery Profitable? 5) read excerpts of Alexis de Toqueville s Democracy In America what did he predict? What were his observations? 5) First draft of research paper due a) themes covered war and diplomacy, American diversity, culture
* December 2 ½ weeks (Ch. 16-19) 1. The South and slavery a. abolition b. Missouri Compromise and Compromise of 1850 c. Kansas-Nebraska Bill d. literary reaction to slavery - Uncle Tom s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe and The Impending Crisis of the South by Hinton Helper e. Dred Scott case f. election of 1860 and secession 2. Manifest Destiny and expansion a. Texas question b. James K. Polk and the Mexican War 3. Civil War a. reasons for and ideology of b. differences between the North and South - economies, politics, resources 4. Final Exam comprehensive with United States map 1) Article questions from Annual Editions: Father of American Terrorism John Brown 2) Research papers due 3) begin reading The Jungle over Christmas break a) themes covered American diversity, culture, reform, war and diplomacy, demographic changes * January 4 weeks (Ch. 20-22) 1. Civil War a. Confederate and Union approaches to b. Lincoln s presidency - martial law declared - Emancipation Proclamation - 13 th Amendment c. military strategy and foreign policy d. role of African Americans in the war e. overall effects of the war on the North, South and West f. assassination of Lincoln 2. Reconstruction a. the Freedmen s Bureau b. Lincoln s plan vs. Johnson s plan for reconstruction of the South c. southern state governments and roles of African Americans in society and politics d. 14 th Amendment e. Compromise of 1877 f. impeachment of Johnson g. KKK h. carpetbaggers vs. scalawags 3. The New South a. Jim Crow laws b. Democratic Party party of racism c. crop-lien system d. Plessy v. Ferguson e. Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois 1) read The Jungle 2) Article questions from Annual Editions: Doom of Slavery 3) analyze the contents of the Emancipation Proclamation and interpret its exact meaning, as well as understanding the implications and consequences of the document issued 4) Article review from Taking Sides: Did Lincoln Free the Slaves? 5) Article questions from Annual Editions: New View of Reconstruction 6) Article review from Taking Sides: Was Reconstruction a Splendid Failure? a) themes covered war and diplomacy, culture, reform, globalization, demographic changes
* February 4 weeks (Ch. 23-30) 1. Gilded Age a. Grant s presidency - corruption in the government b. 15 th Amendment c. Mark Twain d. Populists as a political party 2. Industrial Revolution a. rise of the monopoly - horizontal vs. vertical integration b. evolutions of the corporation c. Carnegie, Rockefeller, Morgan d. Social Darwinism e. new technology 3. Immigration a. new vs. old immigrants b. restrictions c. problems urban society d. Jane Addams and Hull House 4. Expansionism/Imperialism a. Spanish-American War - acquisition of Puerto Rico and the Philippines b. Open Door policy John Hay 5. Progressivism a. T. Roosevelt s presidency - Panama Canal - Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine - Roosevelt as a trust-breaker b. Taft s presidency 1) The Jungle papers due 2) Article review from Annual Editions: 1 st Southeast Asian War 3) Article review from Taking Sides: Was Woodrow Wilson a Naïve Idealist? 4) Article questions from Reasoning With Democratic Values: Eugene V. Debs 5) Article questions from Reasoning With Democratic Values: Sinking into War a) themes covered demographic changes, globalization, reform, culture, American diversity * March 4 weeks (Ch. 31-35) 1. World War I a. Wilson s presidency - initial declaration of neutrality and isolationism - reasons to join the war: a war to end all war and a war for democracy b. Central vs. Allied powers c. Wilson s 14 Points and the League of Nations d. Treaty of Versailles and the terms ending the war future problems? e. the Senate vs. Wilson 2. 1920s a. Red Scare b. postwar economy c. the new woman d. Immigration Acts of 1921 and 1924 e. Harlem Renaissance f. resurgence of the KKK g. responses to modernism h. 18 th Amendment 3. The Great Depression Hoover and FDR a. reasons for b. action taken by both Hoover and FDR c. social conditions d. labor unions
4. The New Deal a. programs b. pros and cons c. Constitutionality 5. Shadow of war a. problems in Europe b. policy of isolationism and neutrality c. reactions to d. Pearl Harbor and declaration of war 1) introduce DBQ and give take home assignment 2) Article questions from Reasoning With Democratic Values: Bonus Army 3) read Night 4) Night worksheets from the Center for Learning due a) themes covered war and diplomacy, globalization, American diversity, culture, demographic changes, reform * April 4 weeks (Ch. 36-38) 1. World War II a. U.S. involvement b. the Holocaust c. Allied vs. Axis Powers d. diplomacy, war aims and wartime conferences e. wartime economy ends the Great Depression f. effects on women and minorities g. demographic changes h. FDR and Truman i. atomic bomb j. U.S. as a world power 2. Cold War a. beginnings of b. whose fault? c. Truman and containment d. Truman Doctrine, Marshall Plan, NATO e. Korean War f. McCarthyism 3. 1950s a. Eisenhower s presidency b. Consensus and conformity c. Civil Rights Movement - Brown v. Board of Education - Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, Emmitt Till d. social critics, nonconformists, cultural rebels 1) Article review from Annual Editions: Atomic Bomb 2) Pictures in History PowerPoint project introduced 3) Battle of the Bulge episode from Band of Brothers 4) Article review from Taking Sides: Was the United States responsible for the Cold War? 5) Article review from Annual Editions: 1950s 6) watch The Murder of Emmett Till a) themes covered - war and diplomacy, reform, American diversity, demographic changes, culture, globalization * May 2 to 3 weeks (38-42) 1. 1960s a. JFK s presidency - Bay of Pigs, Cuban Missile Crisis, assassination b. LBJ and the Great Society c. civil rights explosion d. Cold War confrontations - Asia, Latin America, Europe e. détente
f. antiwar movement and the counterculture 2. 1970s to the present a. Nixon s presidency - China, Watergate b. Vietnam c. economic changes d. Conservatism and Reagan e. end of the Cold War f. Bush, Sr. - Persian Gulf War g. Clinton Administration - Somalia - impeachment h. Post-Cold War - globalization and the American economy - unilateralism vs. multilateralism in foreign policy - domestic and foreign terrorism - environmental issues 3. Final Exam comprehensive 1) Review for the AP Exam 2) watch Thirteen Days a) themes covered war and diplomacy, reform, culture, globalization