Download AP U.S. History Syllabus

AP U.S. History Syllabus
Courtney Parker
Saginaw High School
Course Description:
The AP U.S. History course focuses on the development of historical thinking skills (chronological
reasoning, comparing and contextualizing, crafting historical arguments using historical evidence, and
interpreting and synthesizing historical narrative) and an understanding of content learning objectives
organized around seven themes, such as identity, peopling, and America in the world. In line with
college and university U.S. History survey courses’ increased focus on early and recent American and
decreased emphasis on other areas, the AP U.S. History course expands on the history of the Americas
from 1491 to 1607 and from 1980 to the present. It allows teachers flexibility across nine different
periods of U.S. History to teach topics of their choice and depth.
Course Objectives:
Students will:
 Demonstrate a mastery of a broad body of historical knowledge
 Use historical evidence to defend and support basic arguments and positions
 Differentiate between various schools of historical thought and interpretation
 Specific focus will be on such aspects as foreign policy, civil rights, social, religious, and politics
throughout various historical timeframes
 Interpret and draw conclusions from various pieces of historical data including original
documents, cartoons, graphs, etc.
 Demonstrate an effective use of analytical skills of evaluation, cause-and-effect relationships,
and compare and contrast
 Work effectively in groups to produce products, make presentations, and solve problems
 Prepare for and receive a grade of 3 or higher on the AP U.S. History Exam
Historical Thinking Skills Developed:
In each unit, students will get practice developing the following content-driven skills: Crafting Historical
Arguments from Historical Evidence (including Historical Argumentation and Appropriate Use of
Relevant Historical Evidence), Chronological Reasoning (including Historical Causation, Patterns of
Continuity and Change over Time, and Periodization), Comparison and Contextualization, and
Historical Interpretation and Synthesis. In addition, class activities and assignments will address the
following academic skills: Reading for comprehension and recall, improving study skills in preparation
for assessments, improving formal writing skills.
Writing Focus:
Historical work at a collegiate level requires students to write proficiently. For this reason, writing is
emphasized in every unit of this course. Students receive “essential questions” to frame class
discussions; these are often used as writing assignments. Assessment of essays are measured by the
following: the degree to which they fully and directly answer the question, the strength of thesis
statement, level and effectiveness of analysis, amount and quality of supporting evidence, and
organizational quality. In addition to these standards, DBQs are graded on the basis of the degree to
which a significant number of the documents have been used to support the thesis, and the amount and
quality of outside information included in the response. All essay are graded per the rubrics provided by
AP Central.
Primary and Secondary Source Analysis Activities:
To be truly meaningful, the study of history requires primary and secondary source analysis. For this
reason, most units in this course will provide students with the opportunity to read and interpret a
diverse selection of primary source materials. The teacher introduces each document, and then students
(either alone or in groups) read, interpret, and discuss the document, noting the style, language, intent,
and effect. These activities help students become more familiar with primary sources, and develop their
abilities to read, understand, and use these sources. As a result, students are better prepared to respond to
DBQs on the AP U.S. History exam.
Course Texts (CR1a, CR1b, CR1c):
Primary Textbook
 Bailey, Thomas A. and Kennedy, David M. The American Pageant: A History of the Republic.
Lexington, MA: D.C. Heath and Company, 2002. (CR1a)
Additional Resources
 Newman, John J. and Schmalbach, John M. United States History: Preparing for the Advanced
Placement Examination. New York, NY: AMSCO School Publications, 2014. (CR1c)
 Dudley, William, and John Chalberg. Opposing Viewpoints in American History. Vol. 1.
Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven, 2007. (CR1b)
 Dudley, William, and John Chalberg. Opposing Viewpoints in American History. Vol. 2.
Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven, 2007. (CR1b)
 Bonello, Frank J. Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Economic Issues. Boston: McGraw-Hill
Higher Education, 2010. (CR1b, CR1c)
 McKenna, George, and Stanley Feingold. Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Political Issues. New
York: McGraw-Hill, 2011. (CR1b, CRc)
 Bender, Thomas. A Nation among Nations: America's Place in World History. New York: Hill
and Wang, 2006. (CR1c)
 Schweikart, Larry, and Michael Allen. A Patriot's History of the United States: From
Columbus's Great Discovery to the War on Terror. New York: Sentinel, 2004. (CR1c)
 Zinn, Howard. A People's History of the United States: From 1492 to the Present. London:
Longman, 1996. (CR1c)
 Other Materials: Assortment of power point presentations, videos, and handouts based on the
Historical Thinking Skills, 7 Themes and the Concept Outline.
Grading:
Assignments (30% of six weeks grade)
 Students will be assigned reading from textbooks and articles. Students will read and take notes
for use studying for later assessments. Since the course covers so much material, students will
have the responsibility to prepare themselves before class with information from the text so that
they can be taught the concepts and connections which make up US History at the AP level.
 Reading quizzes – Chapter quizzes will be given throughout both semesters of instruction to
check for understanding of the Historical Thinking Skills, 7 Themes and the Concept
Outline. (CR3 – CR13b)
Assessment (70% of six weeks grade)
 Assessments include tests, projects, and writing assignments. Students will be assessed according
to assignments, and rarely material may appear on assessments which is covered in assigned
reading, but not explicitly in class.
 Tests – Unit tests will be given throughout both semesters of instruction to check for
understanding of the Historical Thinking Skills, 7 Themes and the Concept Outline. The
objective multiple choice questions will be based on the new stimuli and question AP Exam
format. Legacy test multiple choice questions will continue to be used for knowledge checks,
but will extensively use the new format in all unit tests. (CR3 – CR13b)
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Writings – Papers will be based on the new Document Based Questions (DBQ) or Long
Essay (LE) format that is used in the AP US History redesign. Both the DBQ and LE
writings will be conducted both in class and assigned as research papers. (CR5 – CR12)
Interactive Notebook – Every three weeks students will turn in an Interactive Notebook
which will include but is not limited to the following items based on the Historical Thinking
Skills, 7 Themes and the Concept Outline being discussed in class:
 Chapter Questions provided by instructor with student-provided answers. (CR2 & CR3)
 A minimum of two secondary source comparisons and analysis. (CR13a)
 Presidential administration assessments – Students will evaluate each presidential
administration at the appropriate time in order to determine key individuals/events while
said president was in office and what impact each (if any) will have on social, political,
and economic events. (CR6-CR12)
 Six Degrees of Separation – Students will be provided with two events spanning decades,
but related by their theme. They will select six events in chronological order that link the
first event in the series with the last. Students will write the name of each selected event,
and use their research and knowledge of the time period to create an argument to support
the events selected. Students must emphasize both cause and effect and/or demonstrate
continuity or change over time in their linking. There will be at least one Six Degrees
assignment per unit. Some events can and will include environmental impact data. This
assignment provides students with the opportunity to observe continuity and change over
time.
Notecards – Students choose 50 different terms from the lists provided by the instructor and
will turn in 5 sets of notecards over the course of both semesters of AP US History. For each
notecard they must do the following:
 Must identify and describe (using historical evidence) which of the 9 time period/s that
the person or event most identifies with. (CR7, CR9, CR10, CR12)
 Students must use the term in a sentence and if applicable they should provide insight
about how the term could be extended into other time periods. (CR13b)
Reading History (CR 4, CR7):
Each day students will have a reading assignment to be completed either in class or before the start of
the next class. Each reading will consist of both primary and secondary texts, maps, and graphs.
Students are expected to come to class having complete, analyzed and taken notes on the readings. By
the end of April, a majority of the textbook completed. In addition, within each unit students will be
provided with primary documents to analyze/evaluate. Assessment of student learning will be based on
homework or Socratic seminar format.
Class Debates:
When appropriate, the class will divided into halves and given a supportive side of a debatable issue.
Opinions will come from the Opposing Viewpoints and Taking Sides series. (CR6, CR13a, CR13b)
Course Themes (CR4):
 Identity – How has the American national identity changed over time?
 Work, Exchange, and Technology – How have changes in markets, transportation, and technology
affected American society?
 Peopling – How have changes in migration and population patterns affected American life?
 Politics and Power – How have various groups sought to change the federal government’s role in
American political, social, and economic life?
 America in the World – How has U.S. involvement in global conflicts set the stage for domestic
social changes?
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Environment and Geography – How did the institutions and values between the environment and
Americans shape various groups in North America?
Ideas, Beliefs, and Cultures – How have changes in moral, philosophical, and cultural values
affected U.S. history?
Unit 1: 1491 – 1607
The American Pageant Chapters 1, 2 (CR2)
Content
 Geography and environment; Native American diversity in the Americas; Spain in the Americas;
conflict and exchange; English, French, and Dutch settlements; and the Atlantic economy.
Long Essay
 Teacher created Long Essay on the impact of the Columbian Exchange on both the indigenous
people and the explorers.
Unit 1 Interactive Notebook Checks Due
 Chapter Questions and Answers (determined by the instructor)
 Primary Source Analysis – Woodcuts from the settling of Jamestown and photos of Native
American jewelry and pottery; “Letter to Luis de Santangel;” A letter describing Native
Americans; and a map of American Indian pre-1492 demographics. (CR1b)
 Secondary Source Analysis – Students read an excerpt from “1491” by Charles C. Mann, an
excerpt from Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States, and an excerpt from
Schweikart’s A Patriot's History of the United States: From Columbus's Great Discovery to the
War on Terror. Using evidence and analysis from these materials, students will write an essay in
response to the question, “Were the conquistadores immoral?” (CR6)
 Six Degrees of Separation: From 1491 to Jamestown.
Unit 1: 7 Themes of AP U.S. History (CR4)
 Identity – How did the identities of colonizing and indigenous American societies change as a
result of contact in the Americas?
 Work, Exchange, and Technology – How did the Columbian Exchange—the mutual transfer of
material goods, commodities, animals, and diseases—affect interaction between Europeans and
natives and among indigenous peoples in North America?
 Peopling – Where did different groups settle in the Americas (before contact) and how and why
did they move to and within the Americas (after contact)?
 Politics and Power – How did Spain’s early entry into colonization in the Caribbean, Mexico,
and South America shape European and American developments in this period?
 America in the World – How did European attempts to dominate the Americas shape relations
between Native Americans, Europeans, and Africans?
 Environment and Geography – How did pre-contact populations of North America relate to their
environments? How did contact with Europeans and Africans change these relations in North
America?
 Ideas, Beliefs, and Cultures – How did cultural contact challenge the religious and other value
systems of peoples from the Americas, Africa, and Europe?
Unit 2: 1607 – 1754
The American Pageant Chapters 2, 3, 4, 5
Content
 Growing trade; unfree labor; political differences across the colonies; conflict with Native
Americans; immigration; early cities; role of women, education, religion and culture; and
growing tensions with the British.
Student Activities
 Colonization – Complete a map showing the resources and products for different regions.
Describe the settlement of Northern, Middle, and Southern colonies showing motives, location,
religious influences, political system, economic structure, labor source, relations with natives,
etc. Discuss in small groups the environmental and geographic impact on the development of
each region.
 Center for Learning Lesson – Compare Great Awakening, Puritans, and Enlightenment and the
influence of each on colonial ideology and development.
 Students will read articles from Opposing Viewpoints, and be ready to discuss the two articles in
small groups, focusing on sourcing and contextualization. “A Defense of the Salem Witch
Trials” (1692) Cotton Mather and “An Attack on the Salem Witch Trials” (1692) Thomas
Brattle. (CR1b)
 Students read and discuss in small groups Howard Zinn’s Chapter 2 “Drawing the Color Line”
from A People’s History of the United States. Students will then organize the pre-writing for the
prompt: How did economic, geographic, and social factors encourage the growth of slavery as an
important part of the economy of the Southern colonies between 1607 and 1775?
DBQ Deconstruction
 In groups, students will read the sources from a DBQ on the Puritans and engage in debate on the
open ended question provided by the DBQ. As a take home assignment, students will write an
essay with a thesis statement that focuses on the economic, political, or religious values of the
Puritans. (CR5)
Unit 2 Interactive Notebook Checks Due
 Chapter Questions and Answers (determined by the instructor)
 Primary Source Analysis: “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” by Jonathan Edwards; an
indentured servant’s letter home; Bacon’s Manifesto; The Maryland Toleration Act; a letter
about Small Pox Inoculation; map of a Puritan town; painting of a colonial Virginia tobacco
farm; and colonial export chart broken down by region and products. (CR1b)
 Six Degrees of Separation: From Jamestown to the French and Indian War.
Notecards #1-50 Due
 From Exploration through English Colonization (Units 1 & 2)
Units 1 & 2 Assessment
 Forty multiple choice questions, three short answer questions
Unit 2: 7 Themes of AP U.S. History (CR4)
 Identity – Explain how conceptions of group identity and autonomy emerged out of cultural
interactions between colonizing groups, Africans, and American Indians in the colonial era.
 Work, Exchange, and Technology – Explain how patterns of exchanging commodities, peoples,
diseases, and ideas around the Atlantic World developed after European contact and shaped
North American colonial-era societies.
 Peopling – Explain how and why people moved within the Americas and to and within the
Americas (after contact and colonization).
 Politics and Power – Analyze the factors behind competition, cooperation, and conflict among
different societies and social groups in North America during the colonial period.
 America in the World – Explain how imperial competition and the exchange of commodities
across both sides of the Atlantic Ocean influenced the origins and patterns of development of
North American societies in the colonial period.
 Environment and Geography – Explain how the natural environment contributed to the
development of distinct regional group identities, institutions, and conflicts in the pre-contact
period through the independence period.
 Ideas, Beliefs, and Cultures – Compare the cultural values and attitudes of different European,
African American, and native peoples in the colonial period and explain how contact affected
intergroup relationships and conflicts.
Unit 3: 1754 – 1800
The American Pageant Chapters 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
Content
 Colonial society before the war for independence; colonial rivalries; the Seven Years War;
pirates and other democrats; role of women before, during, and after 1776; Articles and a
Constitution; and early political rights and exclusions.
Document Evaluation/Socratic Seminar
 The Federalist Papers (Ideas that Shaped A Nation)
 The Anti-Federalist letters (Ideas that Shaped A Nation)
Primary Source Evaluation
 Students will evaluate Washington’s farewell address and compare it current political climates in
America. Were his warnings of political parties true? (CR1b)
Class Debate
 Was Alexander Hamilton an economic genius? Evaluation of John S. Gordon and Carey Roberts
historical findings (Taking Sides)
Unit 3 Interactive Notebook Checks Due
 Chapter Questions and Answers (determined by the instructor)
 Primary Source Analysis: Speeches at Fort Pitt by Tecumseh, Declaration of Rights and
Grievances, Letters from a PA Farmer, Common Sense, The Declaration of Independence, The
American Crisis, A Proclamation of Shaysite Grievances, The United States Constitution, The
Federalist #45, Jefferson’s First Inaugural, Washington’s Farewell Address, KY and VA
Resolutions, map of Northwest Ordinance/Slavery abolition (from AP exam), and two artists’
contrasting views of the Boston Massacre.
 Drawing on primary sources, students engage in a debate over the question, “Did the Revolution
assert British rights or did it create an American national identity?” (ID-1) (CR4)
 Six Degrees of Separation: Drawing on assigned secondary sources, students will indicate the
extent to which there is both continuity and change of basic civil rights from the Declaration of
Independence to the Voting Rights Act of 1965. (CR13b)
 Presidential Administration Assessment: George Washington, John Adams
Unit 3 Assessment
 Forty multiple choice questions, three short answer questions
 Teacher-created DBQ comparing and contrasting the impacts of the Articles of Confederation
and the Constitution.
Unit 3: 7 Themes of AP U.S. History (CR4)
 Identity – How did different social group identities evolve during the revolutionary struggle?
How did leaders of the new United States attempt to form a national identity?
 Work, Exchange, and Technology – How did the newly independent United States attempt to
formulate a national economy?
 Peopling – How did the revolutionary struggle and its aftermath reorient white-American Indian
relations and affect subsequent population movements?
 Politics and Power – How did the ideology behind the revolution affect power relationships
between different ethnic, racial, and social groups?
 America in the World – How did the revolution become an international conflict involving
competing European and American powers?
 Environment and Geography – How did the geographical and environmental characteristics of
regions opened up to white settlement after 1763 affect their subsequent development?
 Ideas, Beliefs, and Cultures – Why did the patriot cause spread so quickly among the colonists
after 1763? How did the republican ideals of the revolutionary cause affect the nation’s political
culture after independence?
Unit 4: 1800 – 1848
The American Pageant Chapters 11, 12, 13, 14, 15
Content
 Politics in the early republic, parties and votes; reforms and social movements; culture and
religion; market capitalism and slavery; growth of immigration and cities; women and Seneca
Falls; and Territorial expansion and Mexican War.
Class Debate
 Did Andrew Jackson’s removal policy benefit Native Americans? Evaluation of Robert Remini
and Alfred Cave’s historical findings Taking Sides (C9)
Document Evaluation/Socratic Seminar
 A Slave to Thomas Jefferson (Reading the American Past)
 Case Study 1: Marbury v. Madison, 1803 (Supreme Court Case Studies)
DBQ Deconstruction
 Students write an essay based on the 2010 AP DBQ on Territorial Expansion.
Unit 4 Interactive Notebook Checks Due
 Chapter Questions and Answers (determined by the instructor)
 Primary Source Analysis: Letter to Mercy Otis Warren, The Indian Prophet and His Doctrine,
The Monroe Doctrine, The Nullification Proclamation, Worcester v. Georgia, Self-Reliance,
Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions, The Spot Resolution, Polk’s War Message, map of
the spread of the 2nd Great Awakening, and contrasting illustrations of the “Trail of Tears.”
 Drawing on primary sources, students engage in a debate over the question, “Did the Revolution
assert British rights or did it create an American national identity?” (ID-1) (CR4)
 Six Degrees of Separation: From Jefferson to the Reform Era.
 Presidential Administration Assessment: Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, John, Q. Adams, Andrew
Jackson, Martin Van Buren, William H. Harrison, John Tyler, James K. Polk
Notecards #51-100 Due
 From Road to Revolution through Manifest Destiny (Units 3 & 4)
Unit 4 Assessment
 Forty multiple choice questions, three short answer questions
 Teacher-created LE on Antebellum Reform.
Unit 4: 7 Themes of AP US History (CR4)
 Identity – How did debates over American democratic culture and the proximity of many
different cultures living in close contact affect changing definitions of national identity?
 Work, Exchange, and Technology – How did the growth of mass manufacturing in the rapidly
urbanizing North affect definitions of and relationships between workers, and those for whom
they worked? How did the continuing dominance of agriculture and the slave system affect
southern social, political, and economic life?
 Peopling – How did the continued movement of individuals and groups into, out of, and within
the United States shape the development of new communities and the evolution of old
communities?
 Politics and Power – How did the growth of ideals of mass democracy, including such concerns
as expanding suffrage, public education, abolitionism, and care for the needy affect political life
and discourse?
 America in the World – How did the United States use diplomatic and economic means to
project its power in the western hemisphere? How did foreign governments and individuals
describe and react to the new American nation?
 Environment and Geography – How did environmental and geographic factors affect the
development of sectional economics and identities?
 Ideas, Beliefs, and Cultures – How did the idea of democratization shape and reflect American
arts, literature, ideals, and culture?
Unit 5: 1848 – 1877
The American Pageant Chapters 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22
Content
 Tensions over slavery; reform movements; politics and the economy; cultural trends;
Transcendentalism and Utopianism; the Civil War, rights of freedmen and women,
Reconstruction, and freedmen’s bureau; and the KKK. Focus on white supremacy before and
after the Civil War.
Document Evaluation/Socratic Seminar
 John C. Calhoun’s South Carolina Exposition and Protest (Ideas that Shaped A Nation)
 John Ross: Answers to Inquiries from a Friend (Reading the American Past)
 Abraham Lincoln: Address before the Wisconsin State Agricultural Society (Readings From
American Past)
 Thomas Corwin: Against the Mexican War (The American Reader)
 Lincoln’s House Divided speech (The American Reader)
 Frederick Douglass: Independence Day speech (The American Reader)
 John Brown: the last statement before the court (The American Reader)
Chronological Reasoning Lesson
 Students look at the evolution of public policies related to slavery and racial inequality to 1877.
After making a list, students write an essay to explain the evolution and moments when change
occurred and why. (CR9)
Class Debate
 Was John Brown an irrational terrorist? Evaluation of James Gilbert and Scott J. Hammond’s
historical findings Taking Sides (CR9)
 Did Reconstruction fail as a result of racism? Evaluation of Robert George Fredrickson and
Heather Richardson’s historical findings Taking Sides (CR9)
Unit 5 Interactive Notebook Checks Due
 Chapter Questions and Answers (determined by the instructor)
 Primary Source Analysis: Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Accounts about Poor
Whites, Fugitive Slave Law, Dred Scott v. Sanford, The Impending Crisis in the South, Hospital
Sketches, the Lincoln-Douglas Debates, map delineating southern secession, and two paintings
of “Manifest Destiny.”
 Six Degrees of Separation: From The Liberator to the Compromise of 1877.
 Presidential Administration Assessment: Zachary Taylor, Millard Fillmore, Franklin Pierce,
James Buchanan, Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Johnson, Ulysses S. Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes
Unit 5 Assessment
 Forty multiple choice questions, three short answer questions
 Teacher-created DBQ on the evolution of Lincoln’s opinion on slavery
Unit 5: 7 Themes of AP US History (CR4)
 Identity – How did migration to the United States change popular ideas of American Identity and
citizenship as well as regional and racial identities? How did the conflicts that led to the Civil
War change popular ideas about national, regional, and racial identities throughout this period?
 Work, Exchange, and Technology – How did the maturing of northern manufacturing and the
adherence of the South to an agricultural economy change the national economic system by
1877?
 Peopling – How did the growth of mass migration to the United States and the railroad affect
settlement patterns in cities and the West?
 Politics and Power – Why did attempts at compromise before the war fail to prevent the conflict?
To what extent, and in what ways, did the Civil War and Reconstruction transform American
political and social relationships?
 America in the World – How was the American conflict over slavery part of larger global
events?
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Environment and Geography – How did the end of slavery and technological and military
developments transform the environment and settlement patterns in the South and the West?
Ideas, Beliefs, and Cultures – How did the doctrine of Manifest Destiny affect debates over
territorial expansionism and the Mexican War? How did the Civil War struggle shape
Americans’ beliefs about equality, democracy, and national destiny?
Unit 6: 1865 – 1900
The American Pageant Chapters 23, 24, 25, 26
Content
 The rights of freedmen and women; Reconstruction; freedmen’s bureau, and the 1877 Railroad
strike; rise of labor unions and the Populist Party; general themes of industrialization,
urbanization, immigration, and imperialism; and Indian wars, the Spanish American War, and
conquests in the Pacific.
Student Activities
 After reading “Reconstruction” by McPherson, “The Robber Barons” by Josephson, and “The
Robber Barons Bum Rap” by Klein, students write an essay arguing for or against annexation of
Cuba after the Spanish-American War and create an accompanying editorial paragraph to appear
in the NY Times.
 Students write an LE on the role the acquisition of natural resources has played in U.S. foreign
policy decisions since the late 19th century. Were resources the driving force in this expansion?
(ENV-5) (CR4) (CR5)
Unit 6 Interactive Notebook Checks Due
 Chapter Questions and Answers (determined by the instructor)
 Primary Source Analysis: The New South, The New South Investigated, The Atlanta
Compromise, A Century of Dishonor, The Frontier in American History, Wealth, Organizing
Women Workers, Our Country, The Lure of the City, Chinese Exclusion Act, A Black Woman’s
Appeal for Civil Rights, Populist Party Platform, The Money Question, The Cross of Gold, The
March of the Flag, The Open Door in China, map of the overseas possessions of the U.S., and a
variety of Thomas Nast political cartoons.
 Six Degrees of Separation: From the Homestead Act to the Battle of Wounded Knee.
 Presidential Administration Assessment: James Garfield, Chester A. Arthur, Grover Cleveland,
Benjamin Harrison, Grover Cleveland, William McKinley.
Notecards #101-150 Due
 From Sectionalism through Gilded Age (Units 5 & 6)
Unit 6 Assessment
 Forty multiple choice questions, three short answer questions
 Teacher-created LE on late 19th century immigration
Unit 6: 7 Themes of AP US History (CR4)
 Identity – How did the rapid influx of immigrants from other parts of the world than northern
and western Europe affect debates about American national identity?
 Work, Exchange, and Technology – How did technological and corporate innovations help to
vastly increase industrial production? What was the impact of these innovations on the lives of
working people?
 Peopling – How and why did the sources of migration to the United States change dramatically
during this period?
 Politics and Power – How did the political culture of the Gilded Age reflect the emergence of
new corporate power? How successful were the challenges to this power? Why did challenges to
this power fail?
 American in the World – How did the search for new global markets affect American foreign
policy and territorial ambitions?
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Environment and Geography – In what ways, and to what extent, was the West “opened” for
further settlement through connection to eastern political, financial, and transportation systems?
Ideas, Beliefs, and Cultures – How did artistic and intellectual movements both reflect and
challenge the emerging corporate order?
Unit 7: 1890 – 1945 The American Pageant Chapters 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35
Content
 The formation of the Industrial Workers of the World and the AFL; industrialization and
technology, mass production and mass consumerism, and radio and movies; Harlem
Renaissance; Native American culture and boarding schools; political parties and the transition
from classical liberalism to New Deal liberalism with the capitalist crisis of the 1930s; and WW
II, demographic shifts, the role of women and nonwhites, and battles for economic rights.
Document evaluation/Socratic Seminar (CR8)
 Woodrow Wilson’s New Freedom Speech (Ideas that Shaped A Nation)
 Woodrow Wilson’s Meaning of Democracy (Ideas that Shaped A Nation)
 Woodrow Wilson’s Defending the League of Nations (Ideas that Shaped A Nation)
Student Activity
 World War I simulation focusing on the U.S. entrance into the War. Students working in small
groups will answer the following: “Was World War I an extension of the Progressive
Movement?”
 Students will write an essay comparing Wilson’s Neutrality document to George Washington’s,
and discuss the changes, if any, in the context in which U.S. foreign policy was made. (CR13b)
 Digital History: The Great Depression Statistics in maps—maps include data from 1920, 1930,
and 1940 that focus on wealth and income broken down by race and gender. What do the
numbers say? Not say? In small groups, students will draw conclusions and share results with the
large group. (CR1b)
 Debate Topic: The New Deal was an effective answer to the Great Depression.
 Students will write an essay on the following LEQ: To what extent were the policies of the New
Deal a distinct turning point in U.S. history, and to what extent were they merely an extension of
Progressive Era policy goals? Confine your answer to programs/ policies that addressed the
specific needs of the American worker. (CR10)
Class Debate
 Was Woodrow Wilson responsible for the failure of the United States to join the League of
Nations? Evaluation of John Cooper, Jr. and William Carleton’s historical findings Taking Sides
 Was Prohibition a failure? Evaluation of David Kyvig and J.C. Burnham’s historical findings
Taking Sides
 Did the New Deal prolong the Great Depression? Evaluation of Burton Folsom, Jr. and Roger
Biles’ historical findings Taking Sides
Document Evaluation/Socratic Seminar
 Charles Lindbergh argues isolation (The American Spirit)
 Franklin Roosevelt Drops the Dollar sign (The American Spirit)
 Senator Burton Wheeler assails the Lend Lease program (The American Spirit)
Unit 7 Interactive Notebook Checks Due:
 Chapter Questions and Answers (determined by the instructor)
 Primary Source Analysis: Scientific Management, The Jungle, Muller v. Oregon, The
Zimmermann Note, The War and the Intellectuals, The Sacco and Vanzetti Case, The Great
Black Migration, Government and Business, FDR’s 1st Inaugural, Roosevelt’s Court Packing
Plan, The Four Freedoms, Korematsu v. United States, The Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima-The
Public Explanation, New Deal political cartoons (pro and con), and graph showing economic
cycles during the Great Depression through WW II.
 Six Degrees of Separation: From The Sinking of the Maine to Hiroshima
 Presidential Administration Assessment: Grover Cleveland, William McKinley, Theodore
Roosevelt, William H. Taft, Woodrow Wilson, Warren G. Hardin, Calvin Coolidge, Herbert
Hoover, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman.
Notecards #151-200 Due
 From Progressives through World War II (Unit 7)
Unit 7 Assessment
 Forty multiple choice questions, four short answer questions
 Long Essays
 Analyze the ways in which the federal government sought support on the home front for the
war effort during the First World War.
 Compare and contrast the women’s rights movement of the 1840s-1960s with the women’s
rights movement of the 1960s-1980s.
Unit 7: 7 Themes of AP US History (CR4)
 Identity – How did continuing debates over immigration and assimilation reflect changing ideals
of national and ethnic identity? How did class identities change in this period?
 Work, Exchange, and Technology – How did movements for political and economic reform take
shape in this period, and how effective were they in achieving their goals?
 Peopling – Why did public attitudes towards immigration become negative during this time
period? How and why did people migrate within the U.S. during this time period?
 Politics and Power – How did reformist ideals change as they were taken up by reformers in
different time periods? Why did opposition emerge to various reform programs?
 America in the World – Why did U.S. leaders decide to become involved in global conflicts such
as the Spanish American War, World War I, and World War II? How did debates over
intervention reflect public views of America’s role in the world?
 Environment and Geography – Why did reformers seek for the government to wrest control of
the environment and national resources from commercial interests?
 Ideas, Beliefs, and Cultures – How did “modern” cultural values evolve in response to
developments in technology? How did debates over the role of women in American public life
reflect changing social realities?
Unit 8: 1945 – 1991
The American Pageant Chapters 36, 37, 38, 39
Content
 The atomic age; the affluent society and suburbs; discrimination, the Other America, and the
African American Civil Rights movement; Vietnam and U.S. imperial policies in Latin America
and Africa; the Beats and the student, counterculture, antiwar, women’s, Chicano, American
Indian, and gay and lesbian movements; summer riots and the occupation of Alcatraz; LBJ’s
Great Society and the rise of the New Right; Ronald Reagan and the rise of poverty; and the
Cold War and U.S. role in the world.
Document Evaluation/Socratic Seminars
 Joseph McCarthy upholds the guilt by association argument (The American Spirit)
 The Arkansas Democrat Protests (the American Spirit)
 Eisenhower’s Farewell address (The American Spirit)
 Robert McNamara: Actions Recommended for Vietnam (The American Reader)
 An American Soldier in Vietnam (The American Reader)
 Martin Luther King Jr.: letter from the Birmingham jail, I Have a Dream speech (Ideas that
Shaped a Nation)
 Betty Friedan: The Feminine Mystique (The American Reader)
 The Case for Equal Rights (the American Spirit)
 Betty Friedan has second thoughts (The American Spirit) \
 John Kerry denounces the Vietnam War (Reading the American Past)
 Roe v. Wade decision (Reading the American Past)
 Ronald Reagan: First Inaugural Address (Ideas that Shaped A Nation)
 Ronald Reagan defends American Morality (Reading the American Past)
 The Supply Side Gospel (The American Spirit)
Class Debate
 Is the welfare state obsolete? Evaluation of Yuval Levin and Irwin Garfinkel’s historical
findings Taking Sides
 Did President John F. Kennedy demonstrate a strong commitment to Civil Rights? Evaluation of
Carl Brauer and Nick Bryant’s historical findings Taking Sides
 Does Affirmative Action advance racial equality? Evaluation of Glenn Loury and Walter
Williams’ historical findings Taking Sides
Student Activity
 Students use a graphic organizer to compare and contrast the causes and goals of each act as
described in excerpts from the 1924, 1965, and 1990 Immigration Acts. (CR4)
Timed In-Class Long Essay (CR5, CR10)
 “Landslide presidential victories do not ensure continued political effectiveness or legislative
success.” Assess the validity of this statement by comparing TWO of the following presidential
administrations.
 Franklin Roosevelt (1936)
 Lyndon Johnson (1964)
 Richard Nixon (1972)
 Ronald Reagan (1984)
Unit 8 Interactive Notebook Checks Due:
 Chapter Questions and Answers (determined by the instructor)
 Primary Source Analysis: The Marshall Plan, The Organization Man, Massive Retaliation,
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, The Other America, Letter from Birmingham Jail,
Black Power, Vietnamizing the War, The War Powers Act, The Port Huron Statement, The
Sharon Statement, chart illustrating the statistics of the draft during the Vietnam War and the
casualty rate of same, and political cartoons (pro and con) of the “Reagan Revolution.”
 Six Degrees of Separation: From Containment to “Tear Down This Wall.” Using notes and
primary sources, students construct a time line of the civil rights movement from Reconstruction
to the 1970s and annotate key turning points in the movement. (POL-7) (CR4)
 Presidential Administration Assessment: Harry S. Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F.
Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan,
George H.W. Bush.
Unit 8 Assessment (CR5)
 Forty multiple choice questions, four short answer questions
 Teacher-created DBQ on the rise of the new feminism.
Unit 8: 7 Themes of AP US History (CR4)
 Identity – How did the African-American Civil Rights movement affect the development of
other movements based on asserting the rights of different groups in American society? How did
American involvement in the Cold War affect debates over American national identity?
 Work, Exchange, and Technology – How did the rise of American manufacturing and global
economic dominance in the years after World War II affect standards of living among and
opportunities for different social groups?
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Peopling – How did the growth of migration to and within the United States influence
demographic change and social attitudes in the nation?
Politics and Power – How did the changing fortunes of liberalism and conservatism in these
years affect broader aspects of social and political power?
America in the World – Why did Americans endorse a new engagement in international affairs
during the Cold War? How did this belief change over time in response to particular events?
Environment and Geography – Why did public concern about the state of the natural
environment grow during this period, and what major changes in public policy did this create?
Ideas, Beliefs, and Cultures – How did changes in popular culture reflect or cause changes in
social attitudes? How did the reaction to these changes affect political and public debates?
Unit 9: 1991 – Present
The American Pageant Chapters 40, 41, 42
Content
 Summary of Reagan’s domestic and foreign policies; Bush Sr. and the end of the Cold War;
Clinton as a New Democrat; technology and economic bubbles and recessions, race relations,
and the role of women; changing demographics and the return of poverty; rise of the prison
industrial complex and the war on drugs; 9/11 and the domestic and foreign policies that
followed; and Obama: change or continuity?
Student Activities:
 Teacher-created DBQ on the U.S. government response to the attacks on 9/11.
Class Debate
 The Patriot Act vs. Amendment IV of the Constitution
 Obamacare Verdict vs. Dissent to the Obama ruling.
Unit 9 Interactive Notebook Checks Due
 Chapter Questions and Answers (determined by the instructor)
 Primary Source Analysis: Listen America, The Evil Empire, The Cold War is Over, The Axis of
Evil, The New Segregation, Beyond Gender, Bowling Alone, Couch Potato Democracy, Setting
Right a Dangerous World, and political cartoons (pro and con) on the Patriot Act.
 Six Degrees of Separation: From the Reagan Revolution to the Election of Barack Obama.
 Presidential Administration Assessment: Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, William Clinton,
George W. Bush, Barack Obama.
Notecards #151-200 Due
 From Cold War through Present Day (Units 8 & 9)
Unit 9 Assessment
 Forty multiple choice questions, two short answer questions
 Teacher-created LE on Obama’s domestic policies
Unit 9: 7 Themes of AP US History (CR4)
 Identity – How did demographic and economic changes in American society affect popular
debates over American national identity?
 Work, Exchange, and Technology – How did the shift to a global economy affect American
economic life? How did scientific and technological developments in these years change how
Americans lived and worked?
 Peopling – How did increased migration raise questions about American identity and affect the
nation demographically, culturally, and politically?
 Politics and Power – How successful were conservatives in achieving their goals? To what extent
did liberalism remain influential politically and culturally?
 America in the World – How did the end of the Cold War affect American foreign policy? How
did the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 impact America’s role in the world?
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Environment and Geography – How did debates over climate change and energy policy affect
broader social and political movements?
Ideas, Beliefs, and Cultures – How did technological and scientific innovations in areas such as
electronics, biology, medicine, and communications affect society, popular culture, and public
discourse? How did a more demographically diverse population shape popular culture?