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Advanced Placement United States History Course Syllabus About AP U.S. History: AP U.S. History is a demanding and challenging course that is designed to be the equivalent of a freshman college course and can earn students college credit. The course is a yearlong survey of American history from the beginnings of European exploration in the Americas to the present. Solid reading and writing skills, along with a willingness to dedicate considerable time to assignments and study are necessary to succeed. In this course, history is not the memorization of names, dates and events, rather it is a course where emphasis is placed on evaluative and analytical thinking, essay writing, interpretation of historical documents, and historiography. Topics that will be studied in this course include life and thought in colonial America, revolutionary ideology, constitutional development, Jeffersonian and Jacksonian democracy, nineteenth-century reform movements, and Manifest Destiny. Other topics include the Civil War and Reconstruction, immigration, industrialism, Populism, Progressivism, World War I, the Jazz Age, the Great Depression, the New Deal, World War II, the Cold War, the post-Cold War era, and the United States at the beginning of the twenty-first century. This course will fulfill the United States history graduation requirement. In addition to the topics listed above, the course will emphasize a series of key themes throughout the year. These themes have been determined by the College Board as essential to a comprehensive study of United States history. The themes will include discussions of American diversity, the development of a unique American identity, the evolution of American culture, demographic changes over the course of America’s history, economic trends and transformations, environmental issues, the development of political institutions and the components of citizenship, social reform movements, the role of religion in the making of the United States and its impact in a multicultural society, the history of slavery and its legacies in this hemisphere, war and diplomacy, and finally, the place of the United States in an increasingly global arena. The course will trace these themes throughout the year, emphasizing the ways in which they are interconnected and examining the ways in which each have helped shape important changes over time. Text: THE ENDURING VISION: A History of the American People Paul Boyer, Clifford Clark, Joseph Kett, Neal Salisbury, Harvard Sitkoff, and Nancy Woloch Fourth Edition, Houghton – Mifflin Company, 2000 Additional Resources: ENDURING VOICES: Document Sets to Accompany the Enduring Vision James Lorence Volumes One and Two Houghton – Mifflin Company, 2000 THE AMERICAN SPIRIT: United States History as Seen by Contemporaries, Volume One Thomas Bailey and David Kennedy Eighth Edition, D. C. Heath and Company, 1994 THE AMERICAN SPIRIT: United States History as Seen by Contemporaries, Volume Two Thomas Bailey and David Kennedy Tenth Edition, D. C. Heath and Company, 2002 THE AMERICAN PAGEANT: A history of the Republic Thomas Bailey and David Kennedy Tenth Edition, D. C. Heath and Company, 1994 A PEOPLE’S HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES: 1492 – Present Howard Zinn Perennial Classics HarperCollins Publishers Inc., 2003 OUT OF MANY: A History of the American People AP Edition John Faragher, Mari Buhle, Daniel Czitrom, and Susan Armitage Third Edition, Prentice – Hall, 2003 Course Objectives—Students will: 1. Their ability to understand and respect other points of view. Also, students should explore the interaction among peoples of different races and cultures and how such interaction has shaped history. 2. An informed historical perspective. 3. An understanding of major ways that science and technology have affected history. 4. Their understanding of the influence of geographic characteristics, including climate, physical features, and natural resources, on North America’s major societies and cultures. 5. The understanding of the context of current events from a historical perspective with the ability to connect modern trends to past events. 6. The ability to integrate into understanding a wide variety of materials as well as human and technological resources, including primary documents, texts, maps, graphs, charts, and other resources. 7. Their understanding of the concept of change over time with the ability to relate past to present. 8. Their understanding of the major events and movements in American history, the turning points of historical development, and their relationship to the present. 9. Their ability to explore critical eras in the historical development of American history including: social, political, scientific, military, technological, economic, and cultural (philosophical and religious). 10. The ability to apply the techniques of historical interpretation including cause and effect, major trends, and change over time. 11. Their ability to apply their knowledge of American history to problem solving, critical thinking, reasoning, and decision making. 12. Their ability to identify important individuals and events that have contributed to the development of American history. 13. Their ability to critically and analytically read historical works and primary sources. Organization/Assignments 1. AP courses are demanding and require daily homework and reading. 2. Students should plan on a minimum of seven hours per week studying, reading, and completing assignment 3. There will be a reading assignment almost every week usually including one chapter from our text and one or two extra hand out readings (primary source material). 4. There will be vocabulary/identification assigned for every chapter, topic or theme. 5. There will chapter/topic quizzes every Monday or Tuesday that cover reading assignments and vocabulary/identifications. 6. Students will receive completion grades for reading notes and vocabulary/identification assignments. 7. Students will have unit tests at the end of each major unit of study. Also, students will have final exams at the end of each semester. 8. Students will be expected to answer discussion questions orally for credit each week in class. 9. Students will have a variety of longer and shorter writing assignments. This will include one term paper each semester, Document Based Questions (DBQ), document analysis writings, free response essays, and essential short essay questions over each chapter or topic/theme covered in class. 10. Students will be expected to create and present one Power Point presentation each semester. These presentations will be similar to a term paper, but finding will be presented using technology. 11. Students will have a variety of other assignments including the use of graphs, political cartoons, web sites, maps, charts, etc. 12. Students will learn three document analyses strategies: OPTICS, APPARTS, and SOAPS. Grading: Grades in this class are based on a straight points system. Along with class projects and assignments, there will be tests, quizzes, essays, and projects for each chapter and unit. Beginning in the second semester there will be regular review quizzes. These quizzes will be comprehensive of all the material learned to that point. The Final grades in this class are weighted. AP Exam: In May students will be taking the AP US History exam. This exam consists of two sections and is comprehensive of all the material learned in class. In Section I students have fifty-five minutes to answer eighty multiple choice questions. Section II is the writing portion of the exam and is divided into three parts. Part A of Section II is a document based question (DBQ). Students will have sixty minutes to answer the DBQ portion of the exam, fifteen minutes to read the given documents and forty-five minutes to write their answer. Parts B and C of Section II have two free response questions each. Students will choose one free response question from Part B and one free response question from Part C. Students are then given seventy minutes to answer both free response questions. This exam is very challenging, but with a year long commitment of hard work and a willingness to succeed students will meet your highest potential on the exam. More information will be provided later on how the exam is graded and strategies for taking the exam. In the meantime students can check out the College Board’s website which will provide information for both them and parents regarding AP and the examination process: www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/ap/about.html AP History Review Book: Although not necessary for the course, it is highly recommend that each student purchase a review book for the AP Exam. These books can be found in any major bookstore or online shops such as amazon.com. In order to be successful on the AP exam, students will need to devote a large amount of time outside of class studying and preparing for the exam on their own. This exam preparation is in addition to all classroom assignments made by the teacher and should be done on a regular basis. Notebook: All AP students will be required to keep a notebook during this course. The notebook should be a three ring binder and should be divided into the following sections: Notes, Quizzes/Tests, Handouts, DBQs/FRQs. By keeping an organized notebook this will allow us to centralize all of our materials and aid us in studying for the AP Exam Attendance: Daily attendance in this course is of the utmost importance. Due to the vast amounts of material we cover each day, missing a day of class will add considerable work to your daily routine. If possible, all Doctor/Dentist and other appointments should be scheduled around this class. If you should be absent it is your responsibility to contact me to find out the daily assignments. This will be best accomplished through email. Tardiness will not be accepted. Course Outline: 1ST SEMESTER Unit 1: Early American History (2 weeks) Readings: Bailey and Kennedy, Chapters 1-5 Handout reading assignments Themes: Emergence of a European presence in the Western Hemisphere and its impact on indigenous peoples. Developing social, economic, and cultural patterns within colonial America Essential Questions for assessment, class discussion, and essay development: To what extent should the colonization of America be understood as the extension of European civilization into the New World, or should it be understood as the gradual development of a uniquely American culture? What did John Winthrop mean when he said, “we shall be as a city upon a hill.” Did the Massachusetts Bay Colony reach this objective? Why or why not? Why did colonial masters first adopt the institution of indentured servitude rather than Indian or black slavery to meet their demands for labor? Why, then, did black slavery replace indentured servitude? Identify the main cause of Bacon's Rebellion: resentment felt by backcountry farmers, Governor Berkeley's Indian policies, or the pressure of the tobacco economy? Justify your choice. Compare and contrast the ways in which tobacco and sugar affected the social and economic development of colonial America. Tutorial and handout on completing a DBQ and using the following strategies: OPTICS, SOAPS, and APPARTS. DBQ on Chesapeake and New England Colonies due August 23 Unit Test Chapters 1-5 August 26 Test format will include both multiple choice questions and Free Response B and C questions from previous exams. Analyze the extent to which religious freedom existed in the British North American colonies prior to 1700. Analyze the origins and development of slavery in Britain’s North American colonies in the period 1607-1776. Unit 2: The Struggle for American Independence (2 weeks) Readings: Bailey and Kennedy, Chapters 6-8 Handout reading assignments Themes: The repercussions from the French and Indian War force colonists to reevaluate their relationship with Great Britain Tensions between the U.S. and Great Britain center around Great Britain’s policy of mercantilism and its implementation The Revolutionary War as a local and national movement The place of America/U.S. in world diplomacy Essential Questions for assessment, class discussion, and essay development: Why did the Ohio Valley become the arena of conflict between the French and British in America? To what extent did the Seven Years' War helped cause the American Revolutionary War? Compare and contrast the reasons for unity and the reasons for disunity in the American colonies before and after the Seven Years' War. Explain the relationship between mercantilism, the Navigation Laws, and British efforts to create an administrative structure for their empire after 1696. In what ways were the mercantilist policies of the British burdensome to the colonists? In what ways were they beneficial? From this comparison, draw a conclusion about the effects of mercantilism and the Navigation Laws on British-colonial relations up to 1763. It might be said that it was the British who were revolutionaries in 1763 and the colonists who were conservatives attempting to preserve the status quo. Explain Explain the following quote, “Insurrection of thought usually precedes insurrection of deed.” What does this mean? In what ways is this generalization an accurate description of the coming of the American Revolutionary War? Student Project due September 2: Cooperative learning project: Create a Revolutionary War era newspaper using both primary and secondary sources. The newspapers will cover important issues of the era and must include the following: editorial, letter to the editor, political cartoons, three articles covering significant events, and classified adds. Unit Test Chapters 6-8 September 9 Test format will include both multiple choice questions and Free Response B and C questions from previous exams (listed below). Analyze the ways in which British Imperial policies between 1763 and 1776 intensified colonials’ resistance to British rule and their commitment to republican values. Analyze the political, diplomatic, and military reasons for the United States victory in the Revolutionary War. Confine your answer to the period 1775-1783. Unit 3: Development of an American Identity and Navigating the Critical Period (2 weeks) Readings: Bailey and Kennedy, Chapters 9-10 Handout reading assignments Themes: American political innovations that result from experience as a colony Development of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights Emerging conflicts between federal power and states’ rights Federalist vs. Anti-Federalist philosophies of government Essential Questions for assessment, class discussion, and essay development: Compare and contrast the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution, especially in regard to the specific powers granted by each to the national government Thomas Jefferson observed that “173 despots would surely be as oppressive as one.” What was the context of his remark? What was Jefferson warning against? Assess the extent to which the Whiskey Rebellion of 1794 played a role in shaping American history after 1800? Describe what you think would be Hamilton's assessment of government in the United States today. Describe what you think Jefferson's assessment would be. Compare and contrast the Federalists and the Democratic-Republicans, especially their views on democracy, government power, the economy, and foreign affairs. DBQ: The 1780s: A Critical Period? Due September 20 Unit Test Chapters 9-10 September 23 Test format will include both multiple choice questions and Free Response B and C questions from previous exams (listed below). Analyze the extent to which the American Revolution represented a radical altercation in American political ideas and institutions. Analyze the degree to which the Articles of Confederation provided an effective form of government with respect to any two of the following: Foreign Relations, economic conditions, western lands. Unit 4: Growth of Nationalism and Jeffersonian Democracy (3 weeks) Readings: Bailey and Kennedy, Chapters 11-12 Handout reading assignments * Assign Power Point Presentation – Topic: “Slavery and its long term effects on American society” or “American diversity and its role in American history” Themes: Peaceful transfer of power from one party to another Expansion of the United States and growth of nationalism Difficulties of the early government with Great Britain Assertion of power by the Supreme Court Essential Questions for assessment, class discussion, and essay development: What basis did Thomas Jefferson have for believing that American trade could be used as a diplomatic tool? Would you judge his economic coercion policy a failure or a success? Why or why not? List at least three key principles of government advanced by Thomas Jefferson and the Democratic-Republican party before 1800. Describe how these ideals fared during Jefferson's administration. Were they translated into public policy? Explain how or, if not, why not. Suppose you were a faithful Democratic-Republican party adviser to President Jefferson in 1803. What arguments would you present in favor of the Louisiana Purchase? What arguments opposing the purchase would you have to counter? Assess the Jeffersonian presidency. What do you think were his three most important legacies? Explain your choices. Why was the West the region most seized with the spirit of nationalism following the War of 1812? To what extent was the Monroe Doctrine an isolationist document? Support your answer. To what extent is the Era of Good Feelings “something of a misnomer” for the decade following the War of 1812? Historians have sometimes referred to the program of the Jeffersonian Republicans after 1815 as “neo-Federalist.” Is this an accurate label? Why or why not? Which do you think was the most significant event of the decade following the Treaty of Ghent: panic of 1819, McCulloch v. Maryland, Florida Purchase Treaty, Missouri Compromise, Monroe Doctrine? Justify your selection. What might the president and Congress have done in 1812 to avoid war with Britain and still maintain the nation's honor? DBQ: The Alien and Sedition Acts. Due October 7 Unit Test Chapters 11-12 October 14 Test format will include both multiple choice questions and Free Response B and C questions from previous exams. Unit 5: The Age of Jackson, Reform, and Sectionalism (2 weeks) Readings: Bailey and Kennedy, Chapters 13-18 Handout reading assignments Themes: Rise of the “common man” in American politics Manifest Destiny and western expansion 19th Century Reform movements Development of a national/international economy Impact of immigrants Essential Questions for assessment, class discussion, and essay development: To what extent was Andrew Jackson a states' rightist? To what extent was he a nationalist? Write your definition of political favoritism. Then use this definition to argue that the rotation in office/spoils system of the Jacksonians was or was not crass political favoritism. Write your definition of tyrant. Then use this definition to argue that Andrew Jackson was or was not a presidential tyrant riding roughshod over the Constitution Why has Andrew Jackson been called “the first modern president”? To what extent did the impact of industrialization, urbanization, and the transportation revolution have on the development of American agriculture? If America is indeed a “nation of immigrants,” why does it have a history of native prejudice toward new immigrant groups? Compare and contrast the Irish and German immigrants of early-nineteenthcentury America in terms of their motives for leaving Europe, pattern of settlement in the United States, impact on American life, and reception by native-born Americans. How did Eli Whitney make the American Civil War more likely and at the same time give the Union an advantage once the war began? In what ways did American literature in the early nineteenth century reflect the New Democracy of the Jacksonian age? What role did women play in the intellectual and literary movements of the early 1800s? Given the great enthusiasm for territorial expansion, why did the “all of Mexico” movement fail? Assess the validity of the following statement, “James K. Polk is one of America's near great presidents.” Do you agree that he should be so highly ranked? Why or why not? Explain the widespread popularity of the concept of popular sovereignty as a way to resolve the issue of slavery in the territories. Then explain why it ultimately failed Assess the validity of the following statement, “the Compromise of 1850 contributed to the Union victory in the Civil War.” It has been said that “the historian who searches for examples of intelligent and tolerant statesmanship in the period 1850–1854 seeks almost in vain.” Citing the “statesmanship” of men like Clay, Douglas, Webster, Calhoun, Pierce, and Fillmore, demonstrate that this argument is or is not supportable. DBQ: Andrew Jackson & Indian Removal. Due October 25 Unit Test Chapters 13-18 due October 28 Test format will include both multiple choice questions and Free Response B and C questions from previous exams. Unit 6: Civil War and Reconstruction (5 Weeks) Readings: Bailey and Kennedy, Chapters 19-22 Handout reading assignments Themes: Secession and Civil War Reconstruction: Success or Failure Native American relations Essential Questions for assessment, class discussion, and essay development: What was responsible for the violence in “Bleeding Kansas”? Why might the violence be viewed as a “prelude to Civil War”? To what extent did each of these individuals contributed to the coming of the Civil War: John Brown, Stephen Douglas, Abraham Lincoln Assess the validity of the following statement; “it was probably fortunate for the Union that secession and civil war did not come in 1856, following a Republican victory.” To what extent was the Crittenden Compromise a way to avoid Civil War? What modifications might have made it more attractive to both Lincoln and the South? Explain why Britain finally decided against intervention on behalf of the Confederacy. In what ways was Britain helpful to the South anyway? Assess the validity of the following statement, “the South's devotion to states' rights was a major reason for its failure to win the Civil War.” During the Civil War many poor Southerners complained that it was a rich man's war but a poor man's fight. On what basis did they make this complaint? Could Northerners have made the same accusation for the same reason? Explain. Identify the significance of the Border States to both the North and the South. How did they influence the shaping of Union strategy? At the outset of the Civil War, the South confidently anticipated that King Cotton would guarantee it European intervention. Why didn't this intervention materialize? Which of the following do you think was the most significant battle of the Civil War: Antietam, Gettysburg, Vicksburg? Why? To what extent did the Civil War slow the United States Industrial Revolution, or did it help usher in modern America? What role did each of the following play in the congressional assumption of control over Reconstruction policy: Black Codes, Southern election of former Confederates, President Johnson's personality and actions? Why was President Johnson impeached? Why didn't the Senate convict him of “high crimes and misdemeanors”? Would Johnson's conviction have permanently altered the balance of power between Congress and the President? How did freed slaves respond to Reconstruction? How did freedom affect the economic, social, and political life of former slaves? In what ways was their freedom still incomplete? Some historians have argued that Reconstruction was a total failure, while others have seen it as laying the foundation for future American progress in race relations and civil rights. What arguments can be made for each position? Which is more persuasive? The Fourteenth Amendment is commonly referred to as one of the most important additions to the Constitution. Why? Student Project (due Nov. 23): Team Teaching major battles of the Civil War Students will be divided into groups of three Each group will be assigned a major battle of the Civil War Each group must create a 20 minute presentation for the class over their battle Each presentation must include but is not limited to: 3 visual aides, primary resource documents from eye witness accounts, 1 page typed outline notes (to be distributed to the class), a quiz for the class at the end of the presentation Unit Test Chapters 19-22 due December 2 Test format will include both multiple choice questions and Free Response B and C questions from previous exams. Unit 7: Forging an Industrial Society (2 weeks) Readings: Bailey and Kennedy, Chapters 23-25 Handout reading assignments Themes: Politics and corruption during the Gilded Age Class conflict and race relations Rise of trade unions Social, economic, political impact of industrialization Essential Questions for assessment, class discussion, and essay development: For one of only a few times in its history, the treasury showed a surplus in the 1880s. Why was this a problem? How did racial issues—including Chinese immigration—affect economic and political developments of the Gilded Age? What explains the rise of the Populist Party in the 1890s? Were the Populists reflecting only farmers' discontent, or did they express a deeper disaffection with the weaknesses of the two-party system? American capitalist businessmen usually justified their wealth on the basis of the “survival of the fittest.” Yet in practice most of them disliked business competition and sought to create effective monopolies. Why? Why did labor unions find it difficult to organize industrial workers in the late nineteenth century? Present an argument that “the Constitution and the courts were on the side of the corporations” in the late nineteenth century. Cite passages from the Constitution and court decisions to illustrate your argument The arrival of immigrants on American shores in the late nineteenth century involved both “push” and “pull” factors. Describe the major motives that caused emigrants to leave Europe and come to the United States during this period What was the impact of industrialization and urbanization on latenineteenth-century American churches, schools, and family life? Cite at least two changes wrought on each of these institutions during this period. In what ways was the city a “frontier of opportunity for women”? Name at least two women who seized this “opportunity” and elaborate on their experiences. Student Project presentations begin December 13th: Power Point presentation on an approved topic. Each presentation must: Be 10-12 minutes in length Show substantial knowledge and research outside the textbook Include 7-10 pictures from the era Include a works cited of 4-6 sources Unit Test Chapters 23-25 December 16 Test format will include both multiple choice questions and Free Response B and C questions from previous exams. END OF SEMESTER 1 SEMESTER 1 FINAL EXAM December 20 Unit 8: The Age of Imperialism, Progressivism, and Roosevelt: (3 weeks) Readings: Bailey and Kennedy, Chapters 26-29 Handout reading assignments Themes: U.S. expansion abroad Bryan vs. McKinley Roosevelt as President Changing role of the U.S. on an International stage Essential Questions for assessment, class discussion, and essay development: Explain why the Populist Party became the most successful third party in American history up to that time. Explain why it failed to survive the decade of the 1890s. Was the Spanish-American War really necessary? List the alternatives to war available to McKinley in 1898 and explain why he rejected them in favor of a war policy. Write your definition of imperialism. Then use this definition to argue that the conduct of American foreign relations between 1890 and 1905 was or was not imperialistic. Explain the rationale for President Cleveland's refusal to annex the Hawaiian Islands to the United States? Could Hawaii have remained independent under either native Hawaiian rule or white planter rule? Why or why not? What were the arguments of the pro-imperialists and the anti-imperialists in the debate over acquiring the Philippines? Which of the anti-imperialist arguments were most persuasive, and which proved not to hold up? What was the fundamental assumption of the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine? What made these assumptions seem persuasive to Theodore Roosevelt and others? Do you agree that the Corollary violated rather than extended the principles of the Monroe Doctrine? Explain the ways in which (a) the Boxer Rebellion, (b) the Open Door notes, and (c) the Portsmouth and Algeciras conferences signaled a new departure for American foreign policy. Would you label Theodore Roosevelt a radical, liberal, moderate, or conservative? Justify your choice. Critically evaluate Woodrow Wilson's personal qualities as well as his presidential leadership and policies. How did his personality affect his policies and their outcome? Unit Test Chapters 26-29 Test format will include both multiple choice questions and Free Response B and C questions from previous exams. Unit 9: World War I and the 1920s (2 Weeks) Readings: Bailey and Kennedy, Chapters 30-32 Handout reading assignments Themes: U.S. motives in World War I Changes in post World War I America Conservative domestic Republican administrations Essential Questions for assessment, class discussion, and essay development: Summarize President Wilson's Fourteen Points. Which were substantially attained as a result of American participation in World War I? Which were not? Why? Why did President Wilson finally decide that the United States needed to enter World War I? What were the essential principles underlying Wilson's idealistic appeal for a “war to make the world safe for democracy”? Why does the text call those principles “prophetic”? Do you think that the United States was better off for having participated in World War I? If so, in what ways? If not, why? Create a scenario envisaging the outcome of World War I, had the United States not joined the Allies. Describe the dominant themes of American literature in the 1920s. Explain why these themes prevailed. In what ways did writers like F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, and Theodore Dreiser reflect the prevalent American culture of the 1920s? In what ways did they criticize it? What explains the rise of Marcus Garvey's United Negro Improvement Association movement? Why was Garvey such an important figure even though his movement failed?. Compare the presidential leadership of Harding, Coolidge, and Hoover. What did they have in common, and how did they differ? How did their personal qualities affect their political success in the 1920s? Outline the causes of the great crash of 1929. Why did it come so unexpectedly? Unit Test Chapters 30-32 Test format will include both multiple choice questions and Free Response B and C questions from previous exams. Unit 10: 1930s: From Depression to the eve of war (2 weeks) Readings: Bailey and Kennedy, Chapters 33-34 Handout reading assignments Themes: Role of government in society and the economy reinventing politics A nation in depression Nadir of race relations Essential Questions for assessment, class discussion, and essay development: Compare and contrast the first two years of the New Deal with the later New Deal after 1934. Account for the differences. Select the three most important programs of the New Deal, explain what they did, and tell why you chose these three. A popular slogan of the mid-1930s claimed that “Roosevelt wants you to join a union.” Explain why this assertion contained some truth. Among New Deal actions that have continued long after the 1930s are Social Security, the Securities Exchange Commission, and the full legalization of labor unions. Why have these efforts continued long after the Depression conditions of the 1930s passed? What other New Deal programs quickly passed away, and why? Explain how in the 1930s “the American people were overwhelmingly anti-Nazi and anti-Hitler, but they were desperately determined to stay out [of war].” At what point do you think American entry into the war in Europe became inevitable? Explain. DBQ: Hoover and Roosevelt: Liberal or Conservative Unit Test Chapters 33-34 Test format will include both multiple choice questions and Free Response B and C questions from previous exams. Unit 11: The 1940s and 1950s: World War II and the Cold War Era (3 weeks) Readings: Bailey and Kennedy, Chapters 35-37 Handout reading assignments Themes Emergence of the U.S. as a world hegemon The war effort on the home front Cold War issues and tactics Essential Questions for assessment, class discussion, and essay development: Present arguments for and against using the A-bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. Had it been your decision, what would you have done? Why? What are the arguments for and against the Japanese American relocation camps used in World War II? Do you agree with the text authors that these camps were “unnecessary and unfair”? Why or why not? Summarize the grand strategy of the Big Three allies in World War II. What aspect of that strategy became controversial? Why? In terms of defending America's national interests, which do you think was the most critical front in World War II, the European theater or the Pacific? Why? In what ways did the United States emerge from World War II fundamentally changed? Consider national power, economic health, and the home front. What motivated the large-scale postwar migration to the Sunbelt and the suburbs? To what extent was this movement a result of social changes like the baby boom, and to what extent was it a result of deliberate federal policies like federal housing loans, military spending, and the interstate highway system? How do you assess Harry S Truman as a political leader? What were his greatest successes in foreign and domestic policy? What were his greatest failures? Trace the origins of the Cold War, considering the historical background of United States-Soviet Union relations, the wartime relationship, and early postwar developments. Weigh the contributions made by both the United States and the Soviet Union to the developing Cold War. Do you think that the Cold War was inevitable? Why or why not? If so, at what point did it become inevitable? Identify the factors that produced the anticommunist “witch hunt” after World War II. List some of its most important short- and longterm consequences. How important has the post-World War II baby boom been to recent American history? Indicate its impact on each decade since 1945. What importance is it likely to have in the next twenty-five years? Do you agree with critics of the time that the 1950s was “an age of conformity”? Why or why not? How did television affect American religion, sports, and politics in the 1950s? Do you think that you would have liked “Ike” in the 1950s? Why or why not? Which of his (a) personal qualities, (b) domestic programs, and (c) foreign-policy decisions do you find most admirable? For what may he be criticized? Why? Student Project: Class Debate: Students will be divided into 4 teams. Each team will take a side on an assigned issue: Was the United States justified in dropping atomic bombs on Japan at the end of World War II? Or was the United States justified in placing Japanese Americans in internment camps during World War II? DBQ: The decision to drop the atomic bomb Unit Test Chapters 35-37 Test format will include both multiple choice questions and Free Response B and C questions from previous exams. Unit 12: The 1960s and 1970s (1-2 weeks) Readings: Bailey and Kennedy, Chapters 38-39 Handout reading assignments Themes: Kennedy administration’s “flexible response” doctrine to combat the spread of third world communism President Johnson’s escalation of the Vietnam War Domestic stalemate of the Kennedy administration Johnson’s Great Society Civil Rights movements of the 1960s Essential Questions for assessment, class discussion, and essay development: Do you think that President Kennedy promised more as a candidate than he delivered as president? Focus on his domestic reform proposals and be specific. What did he promise, and what did he accomplish? Explain how America's involvement in Vietnam “presented a grisly demonstration” of how “the doctrine of 'flexible response'…contained lethal logic.” Explain why the civil rights movement became more radical and violent as the 1960s progressed. What changes occurred in the motives, assumptions, and leadership of the movement? Why did the doctrines of “flexible response” and guerilla warfare against communist enemies seem so appealing in the early 1960s? How were those ideas implemented in Vietnam? Where were their most serious flaws? Do you agree with the text authors that Martin Luther King, Jr., was “one of the most inspirational leaders in [American] history,” who “left a shining legacy of racial progress”? Why or why not? Which of the 1960s “liberation” movements were most significant and enduring? How did African Americans, young whites, Hispanics, workers, women, and gays each experience “the sixties” differently? Offer your considered judgment of Richard Nixon as president, taking into account his personal qualities, domestic program, and foreign policies. Do you think that he was a “great” president? Why or why not? Evaluate the impact of the Warren Court on American life. Cite specific cases that “reflected [the Supreme Court's] deep concern for the individual, no matter how lowly.” How did the Vietnam War end? Why did it end this way? In what way had the United States “in the technical sense…not lost the war” but “lost more than a war”? Was defeat of the ERA a major setback for feminism? Why or why not? Do you think that President Carter overreacted to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan? Why or why not? In what way did that event mark a critical turning point in American foreign policy? Unit Test Chapters 38-39 Test format will include both multiple choice questions and Free Response B and C questions from previous exams. Unit 13: The 1980s and beyond (1 week) Readings: Bailey and Kennedy, Chapters 40-41 Handout reading assignments Themes: President Regan’s “new right” movement Economic growth and growing deficit Cold War revival Essential Questions for assessment, class discussion, and essay development: What were Ronald Reagan's goals as he entered the presidency in 1981? How successful was he in implementing them? In what ways did he fail to achieve his goals? Why? Describe President Reagan's approach to foreign affairs. Was it effective? Why or why not? Why was the U.S. more successful in dealing with the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe than with China? Why did President George H.W. Bush refuse to join in the call for punitive trade restrictions on China after it crushed the prodemocracy movement? Was the Persian Gulf War a complete American triumph or only a qualified success? What were its long-term consequences? Did the contested, razor-thin election of 2000 reflect the strengths or the weaknesses of American democracy? Do you agree that the Supreme Court was right to settle the outcome? What other possible solutions might have been pursued? Unit Test Chapters 40-42 Test format will include both multiple choice questions and Free Response B and C questions from previous exams. Review for AP Exam: (2 weeks) May 11th AP U.S. History Exam