Download Chapter 6 - The Duel for North America

Advanced Placement U. S. History
Syllabus and Course Requirements
Textbook: The American Pageant, Thomas A. Bailey and David M. Kennedy, eleventh edition, 1998,
D.C Heath and Company publishers.
Because of the special nature of Advanced Placement classes, students need to be aware of
specific commitments required, including the time commitment for the course and the
preparation and financial commitment to take the test.
Course Content:
Advanced Placement United States History surveys the period beginning with the first
European explorations of the Americas and ending with the period from the Second World War to the
present. The course is designed to provide a comprehensive overview of U.S. history and to provide
students with the analytical skills and factual knowledge necessary to deal critically with the problems
and materials in U.S. history. Students will be required to analyze and interpret primary and
secondary historical records, read maps, graphs and tabular data related to historical events,
debate and discuss major historical questions and formulate and defend substantive theses based
on their knowledge of U.S. history. This course is designed to prepare students to take the national
college-level Advanced Placement Examination to be administered the morning Wednesday, May 15,
2013. This year the fee for each AP Exam is $89. Students successfully completing this exam may
receive advanced placement and/or credit at many colleges and universities.
Materials
Textbook and supplementary reading materials provided: The American Pageant,
The American Spirit, and other materials as assigned.
Suggested materials:
1) A 3-ring binder with white college ruled paper, black or blue ink pen, #2 pencil. Put everything in
your notebook and don't throw anything away!!!!
2) The review guide for the 2003 Advanced Placement exam entitled:
AP Exam in United States History, Research and Education Association, 61 Ethel Road W.
Piscataway, NJ 08854 (201) 819- 8880 (the big blue book).
Course Evaluation: Students knowledge and skill in historical analysis will be evaluated by multiplechoice exams for each chapter, various writing assignments, classroom discussion and a semester
research project.
Examinations and Assessments:
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
You will have a multiple-choice objective examination for each unit. Each examination will
have between 60 – 80 questions.
Each unit will have a set of primary source documents that must be read and responded to
in writing by the end of the unit. These docs are located online on my Bookshelf and in the
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Western Tradition Readers in the classroom. You must be able to address the origin, purpose,
value and limitations of each document.
Each Unit includes a study guide for your preparation – you must complete the study guide by
the end of the unit. Each Study Guide requires one analytical essay to be chosen from the list
at the end of the guide.
You must be able to discuss the various historical interpretations of each period – pay close
attention to the discussion of the various viewpoints and interpretations of different historians.
Grading Policy:
The grades in this class are criterion referenced. The student's academic grade is based
on exams, written work, and class participation. The various grades given are weighted :
Exams, quizzes, essays, etc. = .................................. 70%
Classwork and homework = ..................................... 20 %
Class participation = .........................................…… 10 %
Letter Grades are assigned as:
90 - 93 = A - ; 94 - 96 = A ;
80 - 83 = B - ; 84 - 86 = B ;
70 - 73 = C - ; 74 - 76 = C ;
60 - 63 = D - ; 64 - 66 = D ;
59 AND BELOW = F
97 - 100 = A +
87 - 89 = B +
77 - 79 = C +
67 - 69 = D +
Examinations and Assessments:




You will have a multiple-choice objective examination for each unit. Each examination will
have between 60 – 80 questions.
Each unit will have a set of primary source documents that must be read and responded to in
writing by the end of the unit. These docs are located online on my Bookshelf and in the
American Spirit Readers in the classroom.
Each Unit includes a study guide(s) for your preparation – you must complete the study guide
by the end of the unit.
All material for each unit will be collected on the day of the exam – no late work accepted.
STUDENT RESPONSIBILITIES
1.
It is the responsibility of the student to bring all required materials to class
on a daily basis. Failure to do so will result in a loss of points.
2.
Daily homework assignments will be assigned each week, and will be collected as
a packet on the day of each exam. It is the student’s responsibility to keep up with required
reading assignments. Reading the textbook is essential to success in this class - students
planning to receive an "A" or "B" in this class (and that is all of you) and a 4 or 5 on the AP
exam (and that is all of you) should plan on spending at least ONE HOUR reading every day.
3.
Exams and quizzes will be assigned as deemed necessary, however students
should plan on at least a quiz or exam each week. There will be a comprehensive final exam at
the end of each semester.
CHEATING OF ANY KIND WILL RESULT
IN IMMEDIATE DISCIPLINARY ACTION.
Course Outline
First Semester
Unit I
Chapter 1 - New World Beginnings
A.
Theme: The first discoverers of America, the ancestors of the American Indians, were small
bands of hunters who crossed a temporary land bridge from Siberia and spread across both North and
South America. They evolved a great variety of cultures, which ranged from the sophisticated urban
civilizations of Mexico and South America to the semi nomadic societies of North America.
B.
Theme: Motivated by economic and technological developments in European society,
Portuguese and Spanish explorers encountered and then conquered much of the New World. This
“collision of worlds” deeply affected all the Atlantic societies—Europe, the Americas, and Africa—as
the effects of disease, conquest, slavery, and intermarriage began to create a truly “new world” in Latin
America, including the borderlands of Florida, New Mexico, and California, all of which later became
part of the United States.
Learning Objectives
1. Describe the geological and geographical conditions that set the stage for North American history.
2.
Describe the origin and development of the major Indian cultures of the Americas.
3.
Explain the developments in Europe and Africa that led up to Columbus’s voyage to America.
4.
Explain the changes and conflicts that occurred when the diverse worlds of Europe, Africa, and
the Americas collided after 1492.
5.
Describe the Spanish conquest of Mexico and South America and identify the major features of
Spanish colonization and expansion in North America.
Chapter 2 - The Planting of English America
Theme: After a later start, a proud, nationalistic England joined the colonial race and successfully
established five colonies along the southeastern seacoast of North America. Although varying
somewhat in origins and character, all these colonies exhibited plantation agriculture, indentured
and slave labor, a tendency toward strong economic and social hierarchies, and a pattern of widely
scattered, institutionally weak settlement.
Theme: The English hoped to follow Spain's example of finding great wealth in the New World, and
that influenced the financing and founding of the early southern colonies. The focus on making the
southern colonies profitable shaped colonial decisions, including choice of crops and the used of
indentured and slave labor. This same focus also helped create economic and cultural ties between
the early southern colonies and English settlements in the West Indies.
Theme: The early southern colonies’ encounters with Indians and African slaves established the
patterns of race relations that would shape the North American experience—in particular, warfare
and reservations for the Indians and lifelong slave codes for African-Americans.
Learning Objectives
1.
State the factors that caused the English to start late on colonization.
2.
Describe the development of the Jamestown colony from its disastrous beginnings to its later
prosperity.
3.
Describe the roles of Indians and African slaves in the early history of England’s southern
colonies.
4.
Describe changes in the economy and labor system in Virginia and the other southern colonies.
5.
Indicate the similarities and differences among the southern colonies of Virginia, Maryland,
North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia.
Chapter 3 - Settling the Northern Colonies
Theme: Religious and political turmoil in England shaped settlement in New England and the middle
colonies. Religious persecution in England pushed the Separatists into Plymouth and Quakers into
Pennsylvania. England's Glorious Revolution also prompted changes in the colonies.
Theme: The Protestant Reformation, in its English Calvinist (Reformed) version, provided the
impetus for the settlement of New England. The New England colonies developed a fairly
homogeneous social order based on religion and semi-communal family and town settlements.
Theme: Principles of American government developed in New England with the beginnings of
written constitutions (Mayflower Compact and Massachusetts's royal charter) and with the glimpses of
self-rule seen in town hall meetings, the New England Confederation, and colonial opposition to the
Dominion of New England.
Theme: The middle colonies developed with far greater political, ethnic, religious, and social
diversity, and represented a more cosmopolitan middle ground between the tightly knit New England
towns and the scattered, hierarchical plantation South.
Learning Objectives
1.
2.
Describe the Puritans and their beliefs and explain why they left England for the New World.
Explain the basic governmental and religious practices of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
3.
Explain how conflict with religious dissenters, among other forces, led to the expansion of
New England.
4.
Describe the changing relations between the English colonists and Indians.
5.
Explain why New York, Pennsylvania, and the other middle colonies became so ethnically,
religiously, and politically diverse.
6.
Describe the central features of the middle colonies and explain how they differed from New
England.
Primary Source Documents: See Instructors Digital Bookshelf
Unit II
Chapter 4 - American Life in the 17th Century
Theme: In the Chesapeake region, seventeenth-century colonial society was characterized by diseaseshortened lives, weak family life, and a social hierarchy that included hardworking planters at the top
and restless poor whites and black slaves at the bottom. Despite the substantial disruption of their
traditional culture and the mingling of African peoples, slaves in the Chesapeake developed a culture
that mixed African new-world elements, and developed one of the few slave societies that grew
through natural reproduction.
Theme: By contrast, early New England life was characterized by healthy, extended life spans, strong
family life, closely-knit towns and churches, and a demanding economic and moral environment.
Learning Objectives
1.
Describe the basic population structure and social life of the seventeenth-century colonies.
2.
Compare and contrast the different populations and ways of life of the southern colonies and
New England.
3.
Explain how the problems of indentured servitude led to political trouble and the growth of
African slavery.
4.
Describe the slave trade and the character of early African-American slavery.
5.
Explain how the New England way of life centered on family, town, and church, and describe
the changes that affected this way of life.
6.
Describe the various conditions affecting women and family life in the seventeenth-century
colonies.
Chapter 5 - Colonial Society on the Eve of Revolution
A. Theme: Compared with its seventeenth-century counterpart, eighteenth-century colonial society
became more complex and hierarchical, more ethnically and religiously diverse, and more
economically and politically developed.
B. Theme: Colonial culture, while still limited, took on distinct American qualities in such areas as
evangelical religion, education, press freedom, and self-government.
Learning Objectives
1.
Describe the basic population and social structure of the eighteenth-century colonies and indicate
how they had changed since the seventeenth century.
2.
Explain how the economic development of the colonies altered the patterns of social prestige and
wealth.
3.
Explain the causes and effects of the Great Awakening.
4.
Describe the origins and development of education, culture, and the learned professions in the
colonies.
5.
Describe the basic features of colonial politics, including the role of various official and informal
political institutions.
DBQ Practice #1 - Develop thesis and outline essay to answer the 1993 AP DBQ: Compare New
England and Chesapeake
Primary Source Documents: See Instructors Digital Bookshelf
Unit III
Chapter 6 - The Duel for North America
Theme: As part of their worldwide rivalry, Great Britain and France engaged in a great struggle for
colonial control of North America, culminating in the British victory in the French and Indian War
(Seven Years' War) that drove France from the continent. The French defeat created conditions for a
growing conflict between Britain and its American colonies.
Learning Objectives
1.
Explain why France and Britain engaged in a great contest for North America and why Britain
won.
2.
Explain how the contest affected Britain's American subjects and helped pave the way for their
later rebellion.
3.
Describe France's North American empire and compare it with Britain's colonies.
4.
Explain how North American political and military events were affected by developments on the
larger European stage.
Chapter 7 - The Road to Revolution
Theme: The American Revolution occurred because the American colonists, who had long been
developing a strong sense of autonomy and self-government, furiously resisted British attempts to
impose tighter imperial controls and higher taxes after the end of the French and Indian War in 1763.
The sustained conflict over political authority and taxation, enhanced by American agitators and
British bungling, gradually moved Americans from asserting rights within the British Empire to openly
warring with the mother country.
Learning Objectives
1. Explain the long-term historical factors that moved America toward independence from Britain.
2. Describe the theory and practice of mercantilism and explain why Americans resented it.
3. Explain why Britain attempted tighter control and taxation of Americans after 1763 and why
Americans resisted these efforts.
4. Describe the major British efforts to impose taxes and tighten control of the colonies.
5. Describe the methods of colonial resistance that forced repeal of all taxes except the tax on tea.
6. Explain how sustained agitation and resistance to the tea tax led to the Intolerable Acts and the
outbreak of war.
7. Assess the balance of forces between the British and the American rebels as the two sides prepared
for war.
Chapter 8 - America Secedes from the Empire
Chapter Themes:
Theme: When hostilities began in 1775, the colonists were still fighting for their rights as British
citizens within the empire, but in 1776 they declared their independence, based on a proclamation of
universal, "self-evident" truths. Inspired by revolutionary idealism, they also fought for an end to
monarchy and the establishment of a free republic.
Theme: A combination of Washington's generalship and British bungling in 1776-1777 prevented a
quick British victory and brought French assistance, which enabled the Patriots to achieve victory after
several more years of struggle.
Theme: American independence was recognized by the British only after the conflict had broadened
to include much of Europe. American diplomats were able to secure generous peace terms because of
the international political scene: Britain's recently reorganized government that favored peace and
France's inability to make good on its promises to Spain.
Learning Objectives
1. Describe how America passed from military hostilities with Britain to declaring its independence.
2. Explain the principal ideas of "republicanism" developed by Thomas Paine and other American
leaders.
3. Explain the specific reasons and general principles used in the Declaration of Independence to
justify America's separation.
4. Explain why some Americans remained loyal to Britain and what happened to them during and
after the Revolution.
5. Describe how the British attempt to crush the Revolution quickly was foiled, especially by the
Battle of Saratoga.
6. Describe the military and political obstacles Washington and his generals had to overcome before
the final victory at Yorktown.
7. Describe the terms of the Treaty of Paris and explain how America was able to achieve such a
stunning diplomatic victory.

DBQ Practice #2 - Develop thesis and outline essay to answer the 2005 AP DBQ: Impact of the
American Revolution
Primary Source Documents: See Instructors Digital Bookshelf
Unit IV
Chapter 9 - The Confederation and the Constitution
Theme: The federal Constitution represented a moderately conservative reaction against the
democratic and decentralizing effects of the Revolution and the Articles of Confederation.
Theme: The American Revolution was not a radical transformation like the French or Russian
revolutions, but it did produce political innovations and some social change in the direction of greater
equality and democracy.
Learning Objectives
1. Explain how and why the United States replaced the Articles of Confederation with the
Constitution.
2. Describe the basic intentions of the Founding Fathers and how they incorporated their principles
into the Constitution.
3. Describe the process of ratification of the Constitution.
4. Explain the effects of the Revolution on American society and politics at the state and national
levels.
5. Describe the government of the Articles of Confederation and indicate its achievements and
failures.
6. Explain the crucial role of Shay's Rebellion in sparking the movement for a new Constitution.
7. Describe the antifederalists and their social, economic, and political differences with the
federalists.
Chapter 10 - Launching the New Ship of State
Theme: Led by Washington and Hamilton, the first administration under the Constitution overcame
various difficulties and firmly established the political and economic foundations of the new federal
government. The first Congress under the Constitution, led by James Madison, also contributed to the
new republic by adding the Bill of Rights.
Theme: The cabinet debate over Hamilton's financial measure expanded into a wider political conflict
between Hamiltonian Federalists and Jeffersonian Republicans--the first political parties in America.
Federalists supported a strong central government, a "loose" interpretation of the Constitution, and
commerce (business). (Democratic) Republicans supported states' rights, a "strict" interpretation of the
Constitution, and agriculture (farmers).
Theme: The French Revolution created a severe ideological and political division over foreign policy
between Federalists and Republicans. The foreign-policy crisis coincided with domestic political
divisions that culminated in the bitter election of 1800, but in the end power passed peacefully from
Federalists to Republicans. American isolationist tradition emerges as a result of Washington's strong
neutrality stance and his farewell warnings about foreign alliances.
Learning Objectives
1. Describe how the new federal government was put into place and began functioning.
2. Describe the various means Alexander Hamilton used to put the federal government on a sound
financial footing.
3. Explain how the conflict over Hamilton's policies led to the emergence of the first political parties.
4. Describe the polarizing effects of the French Revolution on American foreign policy and politics
from 1790 to 1800.
5. Explain why Washington negotiated the conciliatory Jay's treaty with the British and why it
provoked Jeffersonian outrage.
6. Describe the causes of the undeclared war with France and explain Adams's decision to move
toward peace rather than declare war.
7. Describe the political atmosphere that produced the Alien and Sedition Acts and the Kentucky and
Virginia resolutions.
8. Describe the contrasting membership and principles of the Hamiltonian Federalists and the
Jeffersonian Republicans.

DBQ Practice #3 - Develop thesis and outline essay to answer the 1985 AP DBQ: Articles of
Confederation.
Primary Source Documents: See Instructors Digital Bookshelf
Unit V
Chapter 11 - The Triumphs and the Travails of the Jeffersonian Republic
Theme: Jefferson's effective, pragmatic policies strengthened the principles of two-party republican
government, even though the Jeffersonian "revolution" caused sharp partisan battles between
Federalists and Republicans over particular issues.
Theme: Despite his intentions, Jefferson became entangled in the foreign-policy conflicts of the
Napoleonic era, leading to the highly unpopular embargo.
Theme: James Madison fell into an international trap, set by Napoleon, that Jefferson had avoided.
Western War Hawks' enthusiasm for a war with Britain was matched by New Englanders' hostility.
Learning Objectives
1. Describe how the new federal government was put into place and began functioning.
2. Describe the various means Alexander Hamilton used to put the federal government on a sound
financial footing.
3. Explain how the conflict over Hamilton's policies led to the emergence of the first political parties.
4. Describe the polarizing effects of the French Revolution on American foreign policy and politics
from 1790 to 1800.
5. Explain why Washington negotiated the conciliatory Jay's Treaty with the British and why it
provoked Jeffersonian outrage.
6. Describe the causes of the undeclared war with France and explain Adams's decision to move
toward peace rather than declare war.
7. Describe the poisonous political atmosphere that produced the Alien and Sedition Acts and the
Kentucky and Virginia resolutions.
8. Describe the contrasting membership and principles of the Hamiltonian Federalists and the
Jeffersonian Republicans.
Chapter 12 - The Second War for Independence and the Upsurge of Nationalism
Theme: The American effort in the War of 1812 was plagued by poor strategy, political divisions, and
increasingly aggressive British power. Nevertheless, the United States escaped with a stalemated
peace settlement, and soon turned its isolationist back to the Atlantic European world.
Theme: The aftermath of the War of 1812 produced a strong surge of American nationalism that was
reflected in economics, law, and foreign policy. The rising nationalistic spirit and sense of political
unity was, however, threatened by the first severe sectional dispute over slavery.
Learning Objectives
1. Describe the failed American attempts to conquer Canada and their consequences.
2. Describe the crucial military developments of the war and explain why Americans experienced
more success on water than on land.
3. Describe the major issues and terms of the Treaty of Ghent and explain the long-term results of the
War of 1812 for the United States at home and abroad.
4. Describe and explain the burst of American nationalism hat followed the War of 1812.
5. Describe the major economic developments of the period, particularly the tariff, finances, and the
panic of 1819.
6. Describe the conflict over slavery that arose in 1819 and the terms of the Missouri Compromise that
temporarily resolved it.
7. Indicate how John Marshall's Supreme Court promoted the spirit of nationalism through its rulings
in favor of federal power.
8. Describe the Monroe Doctrine and explain its real and symbolic significance for American foreign
policy.
Primary Source Documents: See Instructors Digital Bookshelf
Unit VI
Chapter 13 - The Rise of a Mass Democracy
Theme: The election to the presidency of the frontier aristocrat and common person's hero, Andrew
Jackson, signaled the end of the older elitist political leadership represented by John Quincy Adams. A
new spirit of mass democracy and popular involvement swept through American society, bringing new
energy as well s conflict and corruption to public life.
Theme: Jackson successfully mobilized the techniques of the New Democracy and presidential power
to win a series of dramatic political battles against his enemies. But by the late 1830s, his Whig
opponents had learned to use the same popular political weapons against the Democrats, signaling the
emergence of the second American party system.
Theme: Amidst the whirl of democratic politics, issues of tariffs, financial instability, Indian policy,
and possible expansion in Texas indicated that difficult sectional and economic problems were
festering beneath the surface and not being very successfully addressed.
Learning Objectives
2. Describe and explain the growth of the "New Democracy" in the 1820s.
3. Indicate how the "corrupt bargain" of 1824 weakened Adams and set the stage for Jackson's
election in 1828.
4. Describe the "Tariff of Abominations" and explain why it aroused such furor in the South.
5. Analyze the significance of Jackson's victory in 1828 as a triumph of the "New Democracy."
6. Describe the "spoils system" and indicate its consequences for American politics.
7. Trace the increasing sectionalism that appeared in the 1820s and show how it was reflected in the
Haynes-Webster debate.
8. Describe how Jackson thwarted the radical nullifiers in South Carolina, while making some
political concessions to the South.
9. Explain how and why Jackson attacked and destroyed the Bank of the United States and indicate
the political and economic effects of his action.
10. Analyze the political innovations of the 1830s, including national conventions, the birth of the
Whig party, and the second two-party system.
11. Describe Jackson's policies toward the southeastern Indian tribes and newly independent Texas.
12. Describe the economic and political woes of Jackson's successor, Van Buren.

DBQ Practice #4 - Develop thesis and outline essay to answer the 1999 AP DBQ: Two-Party
System
Primary Source Documents: See Instructors Digital Bookshelf
Unit VII
Chapter 14 - Forging the National Economy
Theme: In the era of Jacksonian democracy, the American population grew rapidly and changed in
character. More people lived in the raw West and in the expanding cities, and immigrant groups like
the Irish and Germans added their labor power to America's economy, sometimes arousing hostility
from native-born Americans in the process.
Theme: In the early nineteenth century, the American economy developed the beginning of
industrialization. The greatest advances occurred in transportation, as canals and railroads bound the
Union together into a continental economy with strong regional specialization.
Learning Objectives
1. Describe the movement and growth of America's population in the early nineteenth century.
2. Describe the effects of Irish and German immigration on American society.
3. Explain why America was relatively slow to embrace the industrial revolution and the factory.
4. Describe the early development of the factory system and Eli Whitney's system of interchangeable
parts.
5. Indicate the nature of early industrial labor and explain its effects on workers.
6. Describe the impact of new technology and transportation systems on American business and
agriculture, particularly in expanding the market economy and creating a sectional division of labor.
7. Describe the sequence of major transportation systems that developed from 1790 to 1860 and
indicate their economic consequences.
8. Describe the effects of an increasingly specialized market economy on American society, including
its impact on women and the family.
Chapter 15 - The Ferment of Reform and Culture
Theme: The spectacular religious revivals of the Second Great Awakening reversed a trend toward
secular rationalism in American culture, and helped to fuel a spirit of social reform. In the process,
religion was increasingly "feminized," while women in turn took the lead in movements of reform,
including those designed to improve their own condition.
Theme: The attempt to improve Americans' faith, morals, and character affected nearly all areas of
American life and culture, including education, the family, literature, and the arts--culminating in the
great crusade against slavery.
Theme: Intellectual and cultural development in America was less prolific than in Europe, but they
did earn some international recognition and became more distinctly American, especially after the War
of 1812.
Learning Objectives
1. Describe the changes in American religion and their effects on culture and social reform.
2. Describe the cause of the most important American reform movements of the period.
3. Explain the origins of American feminism and describe its various manifestations.
4. Describe the utopian and communitarian experiments of the period.
5. Identify the early American achievements in the arts and sciences.
6. Analyze the American literary flowering of the early nineteenth century, especially in relation to
transcendentalism and other ideas of the time.

DBQ Practice #5 - Develop thesis and outline essay to answer the 2006 AP DBQ: Ideals of
Womanhood.
Primary Source Documents: See Instructors Digital Bookshelf
Unit VIII
Chapter 16 - The South and the Slavery Controversy
Theme: The explosion of cotton production fastened the slave system deeply upon the South, creating
a complex, hierarchical racial and social order that deeply affected whites as well as blacks.
Theme: The economic benefits of an increasing production of cotton due to the cotton gin and slavery
was shared between the South, the North, and Britain. The economics of cotton and slavery also led to
bigger and bigger plantations, since they could afford the heavy investment of human capital.
Theme: The emergence of a small but energetic radical abolitionist movement caused a fierce
proslavery backlash in the South and a slow but steady growth of moderate antislavery sentiment in the
North.
Learning Objectives
Chapter 17 - Manifest Destiny and Its Legacy
Theme: American expansionism gained momentum in the 1840s, leading first to the acquisition of
Texas and Oregon, and then to the Mexican War, which added vast southwestern territories to the
United States and ignited the slavery question.
Theme: American international prestige grows as the United States expands. Successful military
campaigns against Mexico along with well negotiated treaties with Britain force Europe to respect
America more while Latin America begins to be wary of the "Colossus of the North."
Learning Objectives
1. Point out the economic strengths and weaknesses of the "Cotton Kingdom."
2. Describe the cause of the most important American reform movements of the period.
3. Explain the origins of American feminism and describe its various manifestations.
4. Describe the utopian and communitarian experiments of the period.
5. Identify the early American achievements in the arts and sciences.
6. Analyze the American literary flowering of the early nineteenth century, especially in relation to
transcendentalism and other ideas of the time.
Primary Source Documents: See Instructors Digital Bookshelf
Unit IX
Chapter 18 - Renewing the Sectional Struggle
Theme: The sectional conflict over the expansion of slavery that erupted after the Mexican War was
temporarily quieted by the Compromise of 1850, but Douglas's Kansas-Nebraska Act of the 1854
exploded it again.
Theme: In the 1850s American expansionism in the West and the Caribbean was extremely
controversial because it was tied to the slavery question.
Learning Objectives
1. Explain the spirit of "Manifest Destiny" that inspired American expansionism in the 1840s.
2. Indicate how American anti-British feeling led to various conflicts over debts, Maine, Canadian
rebellion, Texas, and Oregon.
3. Explain why the movement to annex Texas gained new momentum and why the issue aroused such
controversy.
4. Indicate how the issues of Oregon and Texas became central in the election of 1844 and why Polk's
victory was seen as a mandate for "Manifest Destiny."
5. Describe how the issues of California and the Texas boundary created conflict and war with
Mexico.
6. Describe how the dramatic American victory in the Mexican War led to the breathtaking territorial
acquisition of the whole Southwest.
7. Describe the consequences of the Mexican War, especially its effect on the slavery question.
Chapter 19 - Drifting Toward Disunion
Theme: A series of major North-South crises in the late 1850s culminated in the election of the
antislavery Republican Lincoln to the presidency in 1860. His election caused seven southern states to
secede from the union and form the Confederate States of America.

Explain how the events of the late 1850s developed in a chain reaction, with each crisis
deepening sectional hatreds, thus paving the way for another critical event.

Analyze the Kansas conflict as a small-scale rehearsal for the Civil War. The focus might be on
the way sectional violence fed on itself, producing extremist figures like Brown and the “border
ruffians.”

Use the Lincoln-Douglas debates to explain the rise of Lincoln and the Republican party, and the
issues in the northern debate about how to deal with slavery. Focus on Lincoln’s rise to national
prominence in relation to the slavery issue.

Examine the 1860 election and its consequences. Emphasize the Democratic split, the sectional
character of the voting, and the Deep South’s clear determination to secede as soon as Lincoln
won, even before he took office.

DBQ Practice #6 - Develop thesis and outline essay to answer the 2002 AP DBQ: Reform
Movements
Primary Source Documents: See Instructors Digital Bookshelf
Unit X
Chapter 20 - Girding for War: The North and the South
Theme: The North effectively brought to bear its long-term advantages of industrial might and human
resources to wage a devastating total war against the South. The war helped organize and modernize
northern society, while the South, despite heroic efforts, was economically and socially crushed.
Theme: Lincoln’s skillful political leadership helped keep the crucial Border States in the Union and
maintain northern morale, while his effective diplomacy kept Britain and France from aiding the
Confederacy.

Analyze the Sumter crisis and the secession of the upper South. The focus might be on Lincoln’s
success in maneuvering South Carolina into firing the first shot, thereby arousing the North for a
war it had previously been reluctant to fight.

Explain the various internal political conflicts in the North, focusing on Copperheadism and the
1864 campaign. Point out how crucial it was for Lincoln to achieve military success in order to
overcome such opposition, since any political settlement would have meant recognition of the
Confederacy.

Examine Lincoln the wartime leader and Lincoln the martyr and hero. Contrast the many
contemporary criticisms of his leadership with those qualities that now constitute his greatness.

Explain the role of women both on the home front and in such new areas as battlefield nursing.
Compare and contrast the situations and ideologies of northern and southern women.
Chapter 21 - The Furnace of Civil War
Theme: The Civil War, begun as a limited struggle over the Union, eventually became a total war to
end slavery and transform the nation.
Theme: After several years of seesaw struggle, the Union armies under Ulysses Grant finally wore
down the Southern forces under Robert E. Lee and ended the Confederate bid for independence as well
as the institution of slavery.

Examine how the different political and military perspectives and respective advantages that the
North and the South (see Chapter 20) brought to the war affected their respective strategies.
Show why the failure of McClellan’s “Peninsular Campaign” almost guaranteed a long and
bloody struggle.

Explain why the North won the Civil War and why the South lost. The factors of military
strategy, political leadership, and economic resources might be related to key turning points of
the war, such as Vicksburg and Gettysburg.

Examine the politics of the war, especially the way Lincoln gradually turned it from being strictly
a “war to preserve the Union” into a war for black emancipation. Show how Lincoln first kept the
war aims limited to appease the Border States but later used the Emancipation Proclamation to
strengthen the North’s moral position.

Consider the role of slavery and the “race question” in the changing politics of the Civil War. The
career of Frederick Douglass provides a good window on the racial question during the war.
Primary Source Documents: See Instructors Digital Bookshelf
Unit XI
Chapter 22 - The Ordeal of Reconstruction
Theme: Johnson’s political blunders and Southern white recalcitrance led to the imposition of congressional
military Reconstruction on the South. Reconstruction did address difficult issues of reform and racial justice in
the South and achieved some successes, but was ultimately abandoned, leaving a deep legacy of racial and
sectional bitterness.
Theme: During Reconstruction, the Constitution was strengthened with the Fourteenth (citizenship
and equal protection of the laws) and Fifteenth (black voting rights) Amendments, but it was also
tested with the conflicts between the President and Congress that culminated in an impeachment
process.
Theme: Southern resistance to Reconstruction began immediately with the sending of ex-rebels to be
seated in Congress and continued with the creation of violently oppressive groups like the Ku Klux
Klan. Although forced to make some concessions, Southern "Redeemers" successfully outlasted the
Congressional Reconstruction efforts.

Analyze in more detail the condition of the South at the end of the Civil War, particularly the
economic and social revolution caused by the end of slavery. The focus might be on the great
difficulty of working out a new system of racial relations, and on blacks’ efforts to make their
own way under harsh conditions.

Compare the mild presidential Reconstruction plans of Lincoln and Johnson with the harsher
congressional Reconstruction, perhaps emphasizing how Johnson’s blunders and severe treatment
of blacks in the South handed the radical Republicans their chance.

Explain the actual impact of Reconstruction in the South. Particular consideration might be given
to the limitations of the Republican governments and the Freedmen’s Bureau, especially in
altering fundamental economic and social conditions.

Examine the impeachment and acquittal of Johnson in relation to the overreaching of the radical
Republicans and the declining support for military Reconstruction in the North.
Chapter 23 - Political Paralysis in the Gilded Age
Theme: Politics in the Gilded Age was marked by fierce party competition and battles over spoils,
even though few significant national issues divided Republicans and Democrats. Politicians of both
parties avoided confronting major problems of race and class that simmered beneath the surface
Learning Objectives
1. Describe the political corruptions of the Grant administration and the various efforts to clean up
politics in the Gilded Age.
2. Describe the economic slump of the 1870s and the growing conflict between "hard-money" and
"soft-money" advocates.
3. List the reasons for the intense political involvements of the age, despite the agreement of the
two parties on most issues.
4. Analyze the disputed Hayes-Tilden election of 1876 and explain how the Compromise of 1877
averted possible bloodshed.
5. Explain the importance of the spoils system in Gilded Age politics and how the Garfield
assassination led to the beginnings of the civil service.
6. Discuss how the issueless political contests of the 1880s became increasingly nasty and
personal, until Cleveland made the tariff question a focus of political debate.
7. Explain why the level of politics in the Gilded Age was generally so low.
DBQ Project Due
Semester Final Exam
Second Semester
Unit XII
Chapter 24 - Industry Comes of Age
Theme: America accomplished heavy industrialization in the post-Civil War era. Spurred by the
transcontinental rail network, business grew and consolidated into giant corporate trusts, as epitomized
by the oil and steel industries.
Theme: Industrialization radically transformed the condition of American working people, but
workers failed to develop effective labor organizations to match the corporate forms of business.
Learning Objectives
1. Explain how the transcontinental railroad network provided the basis for the great post-Civil
War industrial transformation.
2. Identify the abuses in the railroad industry and discuss how these led to the first efforts at
industrial regulation by the federal government.
3. Describe how the economy came to be dominated by giant "trusts," such as those headed by
Carnegie and Rockefeller in the steel and oil industries.
4. Discuss the growing class conflict caused by industrial growth and combination, and the early
efforts to alleviate it.
5. Explain why the South was generally excluded from industrial development and fell into a
"third world" economic dependency.
6. Analyze the social changes brought by industrialization, particularly the altered position of
working men and women.
7. Explain the failures of the Knights of Labor and the modest success of the American Federation
of Labor.
Chapter 25 - America Moves to the City
Theme: In the late nineteenth century, American society was increasingly dominated by large urban
centers. Explosive urban growth was accompanied by often disturbing changes, including the New
Immigration, crowded slums, new religious outlooks, and conflicts over culture and values. While
many Americans were disturbed by the new urban problems, cities also offered opportunities to
women and expanded cultural horizons.
Learning Objectives
1. Describe the new industrial city and its impact on American society.
2. Describe the "New Immigration: and explain why it aroused opposition from many native-born
Americans.
3. Discuss the efforts of social reformers and churches to aid the New Immigrants and alleviate
urban problems.
4. Analyze the changes in American religious life in the late nineteenth century.
5. Explain the changes in American education from elementary to the college level.
6. Describe the literary and cultural life of the period, including the widespread trend towards
"realism.".
7. Explain the growing national debates about morality in the late nineteenth century, particularly
in relation to the changing roles of women and the family.
Primary Source Documents: See Instructors Digital Bookshelf
Unit XII
Chapter 26 - The Great West and the Agricultural Revolution
Theme: After the Civil War, white overcame the Plains Indians' fierce resistance and settled the Great
West, bringing to a close the long frontier phase of American history.
Theme: The farmers who populated the West found themselves the victims of an economic revolution
in agriculture. Trapped in a permanent debtor dependency, in the 1880s they finally turned to political
action to protest their condition, especially in the Farmers' Alliances.
Learning Objectives
1. Discuss the causes and results of the warfare between whites and Native Americans in the
Great West.
2. Explain the development of federal policy towards Native Americans in the late nineteenth
century.
3. Analyze the brief flowering and decline of the cattle and mining frontiers.
4. Explain the impact of the closing of the frontier and the long-term significance of the frontier
for American history.
5. Describe the revolutionary changes in farming on the Great Plains.
6. Explain why western farmers fell into economic bondage, and describe how the Grange and the
Farmers' Alliances organized to protest their oppression.

DBQ Practice #7 - Develop thesis and outline essay to answer the 2007 AP DBQ: American
Agriculture
Chapter 27 - The Path of Empire
Theme: In the 1890s a number of economic and political forces sparked a spectacular burst of
imperialistic expansionism for the United States that culminated in the Spanish-American War--a war
that began over freeing Cuba and ended with the highly controversial acquisition of the Philippines and
other territories.
Theme: In the wake of the Spanish-American War, President Theodore Roosevelt pursued a bold and
sometimes controversial new policy of asserting America's influence abroad, particularly in East Asia
and Latin America.
Learning Objectives
1. Explain why the United States suddenly abandoned its isolationism and turned outward at the
end of the nineteenth century.
2. Indicate how the Venezuelan and Hawaiian affairs expressed the new American assertiveness
as well as American ambivalence about foreign involvements.
3. Describe how America became involved with Cuba and explain why a reluctant President
McKinley was forced to go to war with Spain.
4. State the unintended consequences of Dewey's victory at Manila Bay.
5. Describe the easy American military conquest of Cuba and Puerto Rico.
6. Explain McKinley's decision to keep the Philippines and list the opposing arguments in the
debate about imperialism.
7. Analyze the long-term consequences and significance of the Spanish-American War.
8. Describe the Filipino rebellion against U.S. rule and the war to suppress it.
9. Explain the U.S. "Open Door" policy in China.
10. Discuss the significance of the "pro-imperialist" Republican victory in 1900 and the rise of
Theodore Roosevelt as a strong advocate of American power in international affairs.
Primary Source Documents: See Instructors Digital Bookshelf
Unit XIII
Chapter 28 - Progressivism and the Republican Roosevelt
Theme: The strong progressive movement successfully demanded that the powers of government be
applied to solving the economic and social problems of industrialization. Progressivism first gained
strength at the city and state level, and then achieved national influence in the moderately progressive
administrations of Theodore Roosevelt.
Theme: Roosevelt's hand-picked successor, Taft, aligned himself with the Republican Old Guard,
causing Roosevelt to break away and lead a progressive third-party crusade.
Learning Objectives
1. Discuss the origins and nature of the progressive movement.
2. Describe how the early progressive movement developed its roots at the city and state level.
3. Identify the critical role that women played in progressive social reform.
4. Tell how President Roosevelt began applying progressive principles to the national economy
5. Explain why Taft's policies offended progressives, including Roosevelt.
6. Describe how Roosevelt led a progressive revolt against Taft that openly divided the
Republican party.
7. Describe the aggressive steps Roosevelt took to build a canal in Panama and explain why his
"corollary" to the Monroe Doctrine aroused such controversy.
8. Discuss Roosevelt's other diplomatic achievements, particularly in relation to Japan.
Chapter 29 - Wilsonian Progressivism at Home and Abroad
Theme: After winning a three-way election focused on different theories of progressivism, Wilson
successfully pushed through a sweeping program of domestic economic and social reform in his first
term.
Theme: Wilson's attempt to promote an idealistic progressive foreign policy failed, as dangerous
military involvements threatened in both Latin America and the North Atlantic.
Learning Objectives
1. Discuss the key issues of the pivotal 1912 election and the basic principles of Wilsonian
progressivism.
2. Describe how Wilson successfully reformed the "triple wall of privilege."
3. State the basic features of Wilson's foreign policy and explain how they drew him into
intervention in Latin America.
4. Describe America's response to World War I and explain the increasingly sharp conflict over
America's policies toward Germany.
5. Explain how domestic and foreign controversies played into Wilson's narrow victory over
Hughes in 1916.

DBQ Practice #8 - Develop thesis and outline essay to answer the 1989 AP DBQ: Booker T
Washington vs. WEB DuBois
Primary Source Documents: See Instructors Digital Bookshelf
Unit XIV
Chapter 30 - The War to End War
Theme: Entering World War I in response to Germany’s unrestricted submarine warfare, Wilson
turned America's participation in World War I into a fervent ideological crusade for democracy that
successfully stirred the public to a great voluntary war effort, but at some cost to traditional civil
liberties.
Theme: After America's limited but important contribution to the Allied victory, a triumphant Wilson
attempted to construct a peace based on his idealistic Fourteen Points. But European and senatorial
opposition, and especially his own political errors, doomed American ratification of the Versailles
Treaty and participation in the League of Nations.
Learning Objectives
1. Explain what caused America to enter World War I.
2. Describe how Wilsonian idealism turned the war into an ideological crusade that inspired
fervor and overwhelmed dissent.
3. Discuss the mobilization of America for war.
4. Explain the consequences of World War I for labor, women, and African-Americans.
5. Describe America’s economic and military role in the war.
6. Analyze Wilson’s attempt to forge a peace based on his Fourteen Points and explain why
developments at home and abroad forced him to compromise.
7. Discuss the opposition of Lodge and others to Wilson’s League and show how Wilson’s refusal
to compromise doomed the Treaty of Versailles.
Chapter 31- American Life in the "Roaring Twenties"
Theme: A disillusioned America turned away from idealism and reform after World War I and toward
social conservatism and the pleasures of prosperity.
Theme: New technologies, mass-marketing techniques, and new forms of entertainment fostered rapid
cultural change along with a focus on consumer goods. But the accompanying changes in moral values
and uncertainty about the future produced cultural anxiety as well as sharp intellectual critiques of
American life.
Learning Objectives
1. Analyze the movement toward social conservatism following World War I.
2. Describe the cultural conflicts over such issues as prohibition and evolution.
3. Discuss the rise of the mass-consumption economy, led by the automobile industry.
4. Describe the cultural revolution brought about by radio, films, and changing sexual standards.
5. Explain how new ideas and values were reflected and promoted in the American literacy
renaissance of the 1920s.
6. Explain how the era's cultural changes affected women and African-Americans.

DBQ Practice #9 - Develop thesis and outline essay to answer the 1997 AP DBQ: Role of
Women
Primary Source Documents: See Instructors Digital Bookshelf
Unit XV
Chapter 32 - The Politics of Boom and Bust
Theme: The Republican administrations of the prosperous 1920s pursued conservative, probusiness
policies at home and economic unilateralism abroad.
Theme: the great crash of 1929 led to a severe, prolonged depression that devastated the American
economy and spirit, and resisted Hoover's limited efforts to correct it.
Learning Objectives
1. Analyze the domestic conservatism and economic prosperity of the 1920s.
2. Explain the Republican administrations' policies of isolationism, disarmament, and high-tariff
protectionism.
3. Compare the easygoing corruption of the Harding administration with the straight-laced
uprightness of his successor Coolidge.
4. Describe the international economic tangle of loans, war debts, and reparations, and indicate
how the United States dealt with it.
5. Discuss how Hoover went from being a symbol of twenties business success to a symbol of
depression failure.
6. Explain how the stock-market crash set off the deep and prolonged Great Depression.
7. Indicate how Hoover's response to the depression was a combination of old-time individualism
and the new view of federal responsibility for the economy.
Chapter 33 - The Great Depression and the New Deal
Theme: Roosevelt's New Deal tackled the Great Depression with massive federal programs designed
to bring about relief, recovery, and reform.
Learning Objectives
1. Describe the rise of Franklin Roosevelt to the presidency in 1932.
2. Explain how the early New Deal pursued the "three Rs" of relief, recovery, and reform.
3. Describe the New Deal's effect on labor and labor organization.
4. Discuss the early New Deal's efforts to organize business and agriculture in the NRA and the
AAA and indicate what replaced those programs after they were declared unconstitutional.
5. Describe the Supreme Court's hostility to many New Deal programs and explain why FDR's
"Court-packing" plan failed.
6. Explain the political coalition that Roosevelt mobilized on behalf of the New Deal and the
Democratic Party.
7. Discuss the changes the New Deal underwent in the late thirties and explain the growing
opposition to it.
8. Analyze the arguments presented by both critics and defenders of the New Deal.
Primary Source Documents: See Instructors Digital Bookshelf
Unit XVI
Chapter 34 - Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Shadow of War
Theme: In the early and mid-1930s, the United States attempted to isolate itself from foreign
involvements and wars. But by the end of the decade, the spread of totalitarianism and war in Europe
forced Roosevelt to provide more and more assistance to desperate Britain, despite strong isolationist
opposition.
Learning Objectives
1. Explain the causes of American isolationism in the 1930s: domestic depression, disillusion with
World War I, hostility to arms dealers and other “merchants of death.”
2. Examine the erosion of isolationism in response to the aggressions of Benito Mussolini, Adolf
Hitler, and the Japanese warlords. Show the transition in American thinking from indifference
to fear for democracy, as appeasement only fed the dictators’ appetites.
3. Describe the fierce debates between internationalists and isolationists, especially from 1939 to
1941. The emphasis might be on Roosevelt’s carefully calibrated strategy of increasing aid at
each stage, but never so rapidly as to hand the isolationists a political victory.
4. Discuss the Japanese-American negotiations and the conflicts that set the stage for Pearl
Harbor.
Chapter 35 - America in World War II
Theme: Unified by Pearl Harbor, America effectively carried out a war mobilization effort that
produced vast social and economic changes within American society.
Theme: Following its “get Hitler first” strategy, the United States and its Allies invaded and liberated
conquered Europe from Fascist rule. The slower strategy of “island-hopping” against Japan also
proceeded successfully until the atomic bomb brought a sudden end to World War II.
Learning Objectives
1. Explain the basic strategic military decisions of the war. The emphasis might be on the fact that
there were, in a sense, two separate wars that had to be conducted simultaneously and that the
European war required delicate political and military coordination with Britain and Russia.
2. Describe the social and economic changes brought by the war. Particular attention could be given
to war-spawned prosperity after the depression and to the beginnings of the Sunbelt migrations that
continued in the postwar era, including the African American exodus to the North and West.
3. Examine the major military battles in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, and their relation to the
political tensions among the United States, Britain, and the Soviet Union.
4. Analyze the events of the war against Japan, including the development and use of the atomic
bomb. The emphasis might be on the controversy over why the bomb was used.
Primary Source Documents: See Instructors Digital Bookshelf
Unit XVII
Chapter 36 - The Cold War Begins
Theme: America emerged from World War II as the world’s strongest economic power, and
commenced a postwar economic boom that lasted for two decades. A bulging population migrated to
the suburbs and Sunbelt, leaving the cities increasingly to minorities and the poor.
Theme: The end of World War II left the United States and the Soviet Union as the two dominant
world powers, and they soon became locked in a Cold War confrontation. The Cold War spread from
Europe to become a global ideological conflict between democracy and communism. Among its
effects were a nasty hot war in Korea and a domestic crusade against “disloyalty.”
Learning Objectives
1. Explain the changes in American economic development since World War II. The emphasis
might be on America’s uncontested postwar economic domination and on the eventual
weakening of the heavy-industrial base and the turn to other economic activities.
2. Explain the complex causes of the Cold War. The emphasis might be on the vacuum of power
created by the destruction of Europe and the decline of Britain, as well as on the specific
ideological and political battles over Poland, Germany, and Greece.
3. Examine the rise of suburbs in relation to the changes in postwar economic, social, and racial
life. Consider suburbia as an expression of both rising affluence and geographical mobility
(especially in the South and West). Perhaps consider some of the critics and defenders of the
suburbs in the 1950s.
4. Analyze the connection between the Cold War abroad and the hunt for subversion at home,
perhaps focusing on the difference between the attacks on actual Soviet spies and the broader
attack on all American Communists and the use of the “Communist” charge as a way to smear
and suppress all sorts of people with unconventional views and lifestyles.
Chapter 37 - The Eisenhower Era
Theme: The Eisenhower years were characterized by prosperity and moderate conservatism at home
and by the tensions of the Cold War abroad.
Theme: The 1950’s witnessed a huge expansion of the middle class and the blossoming of a consumer
culture. Crucial to the development of a new lifestyle of leisure and affluence was the rise of the new
technology of television.
Theme: While Dwight Eisenhower and the majority of Americans held to a cautious, family-oriented
perspective on domestic social questions, an emerging civil rights movement and the influence of
television and popular music presented challenges to the spirit of national “consensus.”
Learning Objectives

Describe the general domestic atmosphere of the Eisenhower years: broad economic prosperity
(with occasional recessions) and broad social consensus based on the New Deal and
anticommunism. The emphasis might be on seeing this harmony as a reaction to the turbulent
1930s and 1940s and also noting some of the hidden anxieties of the time.

Explain the up-and-down atmosphere of the Cold War in the 1950s. Note the general
improvement in relations from Stalin’s day, but also the numerous conflicts and the arms race
that constantly threatened nuclear annihilation.

Examine the growing importance of civil rights issues in the 1950s, as illustrated by Brown v.
Board of Education and King’s Montgomery bus boycott. The slow pace of court-ordered
desegregation might be contrasted with the increasing determination of blacks to attack the still
pervasive Jim Crow system.

Consider the initial impact of television on all areas of American life in the 1950s, including
politics, consumption (advertising), family life, religion, and popular culture.

DBQ Practice #10 - Develop thesis and outline essay to answer the 2001 AP DBQ: Cold War
Primary Source Documents: See Instructors Digital Bookshelf
Unit XVIII
Chapter 38 - The Stormy Sixties
Theme: The Kennedy administration’s “flexible response” doctrine to combat Third World
communism bore ill fruit in Cuba and especially Vietnam. Johnson’s massive escalation of the war
failed to defeat the Communist Vietnamese forces, while growing domestic opposition finally forced
him from power.
Theme: The Kennedy administration’s domestic stalemate ended in the mid-1960s, as Johnson’s Great
Society and the black civil rights movement brought a tide of liberal social reform. But the diversion of
resources and the social upheavals caused by the Vietnam War wrecked the Great Society.
Learning Objectives

Explain the Kennedy administration’s vigorous activism in the Cold War, both against the
Russians and against Third World communists. The emphasis might be on the contrast between
relative success dealing with the Russians (for example, the Cuban missile crisis) versus
frustration in the Third World (for example, the Bay of Pigs and Vietnam).

Examine the black movements of the sixties, from civil rights to black power, perhaps focusing
on the fact that the nonviolent movement’s great successes in integration and voting rights were
not considered adequate by those trapped in northern black ghettos.

Describe the escalation of the Vietnam War. Explain the political as well as the military side of
the war (for example, the constant fear that the Saigon government would collapse if the United
States did not provide greater support).

Consider the domestic political and social turmoil of the sixties, brought on by social and cultural
upheavals as well as Vietnam. Point out the deep polarization of American society, as evidenced
by the turbulent events of 1968.

DBQ Practice #11 - Develop thesis and outline essay to answer the 1995 AP DBQ: Civil Rights
Chapter 39 - The Stalemated Seventies
Theme: As the war in Vietnam finally came to a disastrous conclusion, the United States struggled to
create a more stable international climate. Détente with the two communist powers temporarily
reduced Cold War tensions, but trouble in the Middle East threatened America’s energy supplies and
economic stability.
Theme: Weakened by political difficulties of their own and others’ making, the administrations of the
1970s had trouble coping with America’s growing economic problems. The public also had trouble
facing up to a sharp sense of limits and a general disillusionment with society. With the notable
exception of the highly successful feminist movement, the social reform efforts of the 1960s fractured
and stalled, as the country settled into a frustrating and politically divisive stalemate.
Learning Objectives

Examine Nixon’s domestic policies, including his corruption and resignation after Watergate.
Explain the connection between the immediate Watergate scandal and the wider attacks on “the
imperial presidency” as reflected in, for example, the War Powers Act.

Analyze the ebb and flow of American foreign policy in the seventies, from Nixon’s MoscowBeijing (Peking) visits to Afghanistan. Particular attention might be paid to the difficulties in
implementing Kissinger’s plans for a stabilizing agreement among the three great powers in a
still-volatile world, and to Jimmy Carter’s attempt to bring a stronger moral dimension to
American foreign relations.

Explain the closely interrelated problems of the Middle East, energy, and economics in the
seventies, perhaps focusing on the way America’s growing economic difficulties made it more
vulnerable to Middle East events, which in turn added to economic trouble. Consider the U.S.
crisis with Iran in relation to the general political tensions of the region.

Examine the reasons for the successes of American feminism at a time when most social
movements spawned in the 1960s had fragmented and lost broader public appeal. Consider the
relationship between more liberal or radical feminist activists who actively promoted social and
culture changes and the large numbers of American women who entered the workforce and
altered family roles even if they were not politically engaged.
Primary Source Documents: See Instructors Digital Bookshelf
Unit XIX
Chapter 40 - The Resurgence of Conservatism
Theme: Leading a conservative movement to power in Washington, Ronald Reagan vigorously
pursued “new right” economic and social policies. Under Reagan and his successor George Bush, these
policies brought both economic growth and massive budget deficits that put severe constraints on the
federal government.
Theme: Religion pervaded American politics in the 1980’s; especially conspicuous was a coalition of
conservative, evangelical Christians known as the religious right – led by Jerry Falwell, an evangelical
from Virginia. An organization called the “Moral Majority” rose to oppose what they viewed as the
moral deterioration of American values.
Theme: The 1980s saw a revival of Cold War confrontation, but the decade ended with the collapse of
Communism, first in Eastern Europe and then in the Soviet Union itself. With the end of the Cold War
and the U.S.-led victory over Iraq in the Persian Gulf War, America remained the world’s only
superpower. A series of relatively small military interventions in the Caribbean, Africa, and the
Balkans raised questions about the proper use of American force in the underdeveloped world.
Learning Objectives

Describe the rise of conservatism in the 1980s. Explain Reagan’s unique ability to link economic,
social-policy, and foreign-policy conservative principles into a potent political coalition. Discuss
the successes and failures of Reagan’s “supply-side” economics, as well as the ideological
polarization of America’s “culture wars.”

Explain the revival of the Cold War in the 1980s. Examine the relation between American
policies and the internal changes within the Soviet bloc, culminating in the collapse of
Communism, the reunification of Germany, and the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Include
consideration of the new problems for the United States created by the breakup of Communism
in places like the former Soviet Union and the former Yugoslavia.

Examine the increasing importance of religion in American politics and culture in the 1980s and
1990s. Include consideration of both the “religious right” and evangelical movements, as well as
other religious voices like those of the Catholic Church, the black churches, and rapidly growing
religious groups like American Muslims and Buddhists affiliated with the immigration boom of
the period.
Chapter 41 – Post-Cold War
Theme: Elected as the first baby-boom president, Bill Clinton tried to turn the Democratic party in a
more centrist direction. Ideological conflicts and sharp partisan battles in the 1990s were partly
overshadowed by a booming economy, a balanced federal budget, and America’s search to define its
role in the increasingly global economy and system of international relations.
Theme: The 2000 election and the subsequent events that followed it would deeply divide the nation
and alienate the United States from traditional allies in the world community.
Learning Objectives

Examine the ideas and politics of Bill Clinton in relation to the changed ideological climate of the
1990s. Consider how Clinton attempted to steer a middle course between the more aggressively
conservative Republicans and his own party’s traditional liberal base on issues like welfare,
social security, civil rights, and the environment.

Compare and contrast the foreign policy of distinct eras in American history; first, that of the
beginning of the twentieth century (e.g., under the presidencies of McKinley, Roosevelt, and
Wilson), second, that of the end of the twentieth century (e.g., under the presidencies of George
H. Bush and Bill Clinton), and third, that of the beginning of the twenty-first century (e.g., under
the presidency of George W. Bush).
Chapter 42 – The New Century
Theme: The United States underwent drastic economic and social change in the final decades of the
twentieth century. The economic transformation from an “industrial age” to an “information age”
produced new economic advances as well as a rapidly increasing income gap between the wealthy and
the poor. Changes in women’s roles, the family, and the arrival of new immigrant groups substantially
altered the ways Americans live and work.
Theme: Despite the weaknesses of television and problems in U.S. education, American culture,
literature, and art remained the most dynamic and influential in the world. The new diversity of gender,
ethnic, and racial voices contributed to the vital energy that made American democracy not simply a
political system but an ever-changing source of fresh ideas and popular images.
Learning Objectives

Explain the broad changes in American economic and social development since 1975. The
emphasis might be on the severe difficulties caused by the new vulnerability of the United States
in the world economy, as well as innovations in technology and business management. Consider
the way economic change has altered American society, including family transformations and
population migrations.

Analyze the impact of the feminist movement on women, men, and U.S. culture and society as a
whole. Examine not only the structural changes in women’s economic and political roles, but the
transformation in values, images, and perceptions in the last two decades. Consider the real gains
women have made, as well as the issues and concerns that remain.

Examine the “new immigration” to America in the 1980s and 1990s, including its impact on the
American economy and society. Perhaps compare late twentieth century immigration to earlier
waves of immigration—including some of the reactions of native-born Americans.

Look at the transformations of American culture and literature, especially the challenges to
“traditional” views of proper culture and education. Consider whether the “culture wars” of the
1990s represented a real change from the American past, or whether the influence of new female
and minority writers and artists was actually a revitalization of traditional American values of
individualism, democracy, and equality.
Final Exam