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Overview and Syllabus of Advanced Placement European
History
Mrs. McGrath
Overview Statement
Advanced Placement European History focuses on the history of
Europe from the Renaissance to the present. It examines political,
economic, intellectual, diplomatic, social, and cultural trends in European
society. Students will do the following:
1. Write informative and persuasive essays and narrative pieces on
topics related to modern European history.
2. Complete reading assignments and study guides on time and keep an
organized notebook.
3. Prepare and deliver presentations and lead discussions on topics
related to the course of study.
4. Identify and explain key themes, persons, events, and groups related
to modern European history.
5. Know the locations of key aspects of European geography and
describe the impact of geography on European history.
6. Explain changes in European political and economic life and major
economic and political philosophies that have influenced Europeans.
7. Participate in debates focused on controversial issues in Modern
European History.
8. Pass exams at several points in the semester including a midterm and
a final, as well as preparing for short reading quizzes.
Texts
A History of Western Society Since 1300 (Advanced Placement Edition), 8th edition,
John P. McKay, Bennett D. Hill, and John Buckler, Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006.
Discovering The Western Past A Look At The Evidence (Volumes I and II), 5th edition,
Merry E. Wiesner, Julius R. Ruff, and William Bruce Wheeler, Houghton Mifflin
Company, 2004.
Sources of the Western Tradition (Volumes I and II), 6th edition, Marvin Perry, Joseph R.
Peden, and Theodore H. Von Laue, Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006.
Content
I.
Introduction and the Later Middle Ages
1. Themes in European History
2. The Black Death
3. The Hundred Years’ War
4. The Decline of the Church’s Prestige
5. Politics and the State—“New Monarchs”
DBQ: Responses to the Plague
Readings:
McKay Chapter 12 pages 379-407 with study guide
Class handouts on the plague and the 100 Years’ War
Perry—“The Black Death” Jean de Venette, “The Peasant Revolt” Sir John Froissart,
“Concerning The Pope’s Power” John Wycliffe, “Attack on the Worldly Power of the
Church” Marsilius of Padua
II.
The Renaissance
1. The Italian Renaissance
2. Intellectual Hallmarks of the Renaissance
3. Art and the Artist
4. The Northern Renaissance
5. Politics and the State
6. Discovery and Reconnaissance
7. Renaissance Eulogies
Essay: Discuss how Renaissance ideas of individualism, secularism, and humanism are
expressed in the art and literature of the period, referring to at least three specific artists
and/or writers.
Debate: Should Christopher Columbus be considered one of history’s villains or one of
history’s heroes?
Video: Michelangelo: Artist and Man
Readings:
McKay Chapter 13 pages 413-451 and pages 502-512 with study guide
Class handouts on Machiavelli, Christopher Columbus, Women in the Renaissance,
Vasari The Life of Leonardo da Vinci, and Lorenzo de Medici
Perry—“Study of Greek Literature and A Humanist Educational Program” Leonardo
Bruni, “Oration on the Dignity of Man” Pico della Mirandola, “The Prince” Machiavelli,
“Celebration of the Worldly Life” Francois Rabelais
Wiesner—“Letter From Christopher Columbus” 1493
Test: Multiple Choice, Short Answer, and Terms (define and state the significance)
III.
The Reformation and Counter-Reformation
1. Martin Luther and the Birth of Protestantism
2. The Growth of the Reformation
3. The Reformation in England
4. The Catholic Reformation and the Counter-Reformation
Essay: Compare and contrast the motives, actions, and results of Martin Luther in the
German states and King Henry VIII in England in bringing about religious change during
the Reformation.
Debate: Was John Calvin or Martin Luther the most important/significant figure in the
Protestant Reformation?
Readings:
McKay Chapter 14 pages 453-487 with study guide
Class handouts on Martin Luther, John Calvin, and the Council of Trent
Perry—“In Praise of Folly” Desiderius Erasmus, “The Twelve Articles” German
Peasant’s Revolt, “Against the Peasants” Martin Luther, “The Persecution of Anabaptists:
The Examination of Elizabeth Dirks”
Wiesner—“Cases Heard by the Calvinist Provincial Synod at Cleve,” “Charts and
Records Related to the Reformation”
IV.
Religious Conflict in Europe
1. The Civil War in France
2. The Revolt in the Netherlands
3. The Thirty Years War
4. Attitudes Towards Women
Video: Elizabeth I
Readings:
McKay Chapter 15 pages 489-502 and pages 512-524 with study guide
Class handouts on the Thirty Years War, the 1520s, the Spanish Armada, and the Cult of
Gloriana
Perry—“Proceedings of the Spanish Inquisition:The Torture of Elvira Del Campo,” “The
Forced Conversion of Portuguese Jews” Damiao de Gois, “The Hammer of Witches”
Jakob Sprenger and Heinrich Kramer, “A Confession of Witchcraft Explained” Johannes
Junius
Wiesner—“Three Cases Tried by the Spanish Inquisition”
Test: Multiple Choice, Short Answer, and Terms (define and state the significance)
V.
France and England: Two Views on Politics
1. Absolutism-France
2. Constitutionalism-England
Debate: Was the reign of Louis XIV positive and productive or costly and ineffective for
France?
Readings:
McKay Chapter 16 pages 531-563 with study guide
Class handouts on the Edict of Nantes, Louis XIV, and the Development of the British
Parliamentary System
Perry—“An Assessment of Louis XIV” Duc de Saint-Simon, “A Sketch of Court Life”
Liselotte von der Pfalz, “Leviathan” Thomas Hobbes, “The English Declaration of
Rights”
Wiesner—“Images of Louis XIV and Versailles”
Test: Multiple Choice, Short Answer, and Terms (define and state the significance)
VI.
18th Century Europe: Society, Politics, and Empire
1. Eastern Absolutism
2. Rising and Declining Powers
3. The Growth of the Atlantic Economy
4. Population Explosion
5. Family Life
DBQ: Dutch Republic
Video: Peter the Great: The Tyrant Reformer
Readings:
McKay Chapter 17 pages 565-591 with study guide
McKay Chapter 19 pages 629-659 with study guide
McKay Chapter 20 pages 661-687 with study guide
Class handouts on Peter the Great, the Dutch Golden Age, the Emergence of Great
Powers, Forced Labor, and the Colonial Economy
Wiesner—“Account of the Stepan Razin Revolt” Ludwig Fabritius, “A Statistical View
of European Rural Life 1600-1800”
Test: Multiple Choice, Short Answer, and Terms (define and state the significance)
VII.
Intellectual Revolution In Early Modern Europe
1. The Scientific Revolution
2. The Enlightenment: Intellectuals and Society
3. The Enlightenment: Intellectuals and Politicians
Debate: Did the Enlightened Absolutists really deserve to be called enlightened?
Readings:
McKay Chapter 18 pages 595-627 with study guide
Class handouts on enlightened absolutists, Galileo and the Church, Locke, and Rousseau
Perry—“The Motion of the Heart and Blood in Animals” William Harvey, “Discourse on
Method” Rene Descartes, “What is Enlightenment?” Immanuel Kant, “A Plea For
Tolerance and Reason” Voltaire, ‘Candide” Voltaire, “On Crimes and Punishment”
Caesare Beccaria
VIII. The French Revolution
1. The American Revolutionary Era 1775-1789
2. The French Revolution 1789-1791
3. War and Republican France 1791-1799
Debate: Was the French Revolution worth the cost of human life?
Video: Marie Antoinette: The Tragic Queen
Readings:
McKay Chapter 21 pages 691-712 with study guide
Class handouts on Mary Wollstonecraft, cahiers, images of Louis XVI, and levee en
masse and nationalism
Wiesner—“Petition Addressed by Marguerite Pinaigre to the French National
Assembly,” “Arthur Young’s Report from France,” “ Report of the British Ambassador,
the Duke of Dorset, to the Foreign Office in London,” “The Bookseller Hardy on the
Background of the Bastille Attack”
Perry—“Republic of Virtue” Maximilien Robespierre, “Uprising in the Vendee” General
Louis de Lignieres Turreau
Test: Midterm Exam Short Answer and Terms (define and state the significance)-TBA
IX.
Napoleon and the Conservative Order in Europe
1. The Napoleonic Era 1799-1815
2. The Peace Settlement
3. Nationalism, Liberalism, Socialism, and Romanticism
4. Reforms and Revolutions
DBQ: Peterloo Massacre
Video: Napoleon Bonaparte: The Glory of France
Readings:
McKay Chapter 21 pages 712-723 and Chapter 23 pages 755-777 with study guide
Class handouts on Carlsbad Decrees and the Chartist Petition, the Battle of Trafalgar,
Nationalism, and Napoleon’s Early Career
Perry—“Napoleon Bonaparte; Leader, General, Tyrant, Reformer”
Test: Multiple Choice, Short Answer, and Terms (define and state the significance)
X.
The Industrial Revolution and the Revolutions of 1848
1. The Industrial Revolution in Britain
2. Industrialization in Continental Europe
3. Capital and Labor
4. Urban Life
5. The Revolutions of 1848
Readings:
McKay Chapter 22 pages 725-753 and Chapter 23 pages 777-785 with study guide
McKay Chapter 24 pages 787-821 with study guide
Class handouts on the Irish Potato Famine, the Sadler Report, and David Ricardo and
Thomas Malthus
Wiesner—“Working Conditions of a Female Textile Worker in Germany,” “Report on
the Employment of Children in British Mines,” “Marx’s View of History,” “Marx on the
Revolution of 1848 in Paris,” “Marx’s Ideals of Government and Economy”
XI.
European Nation States
1. The Crimean War
2. Nation Building In Italy and Germany
3. France: Second Empire to Third Republic
4. Britain: Reform and Home Rule
5. The Modernization of Russia
Essay: Compare and contrast the motivations, process, and results of the movements for
unification in Italy and Germany.
Readings:
McKay Chapter 25 pages 823-853 with study guide
Class handouts on the Emancipation of Russian Serfs, Giuseppe Garibaldi, and
Documents on German Unification
Test: Multiple Choice, Short Answer, and Terms (define and state the significance)
XII.
Society, Politics, and Thought to World War I
1. Industrialization and the World Economy
2. Imperialism
3. Women and the Feminist Movement
4. Growth of Trade Unions
Readings:
McKay Chapter 26 pages 855-885 with study guide
Class handouts on British imperialism, Opium Wars, Rerum Novarum, and International
Competition
Wiesner—“G.W. Stevens on the Sudan 1898,” “An Appeal Against Female Suffrage”
Mrs. Humphrey Ward 1889, “The Unexpurgated Case Against Women Suffrage”
Almroth E. Wright 1913, “Jeanne Deroin On Women’s Rights, 1848-1849,” “The
Subjection of Women” John Stuart Mill 1869, “The Question of the Vote For Women”
The French Union for Women’s Suffrage Report 1913
Perry—“The Battle of Omdurman” Winston Churchill, “Passive Resistance” Mohandas
K. Gandhi
XIII. War and Revolution
1. The First World War
2. The Home Front
3. The Russian Revolution
4. The Peace Settlement
Debate: Was German Militarism primarily responsible for the outbreak of the First World
War?
Video: Vladimir Lenin: The Voice of Revolution
Readings:
McKay Chapter 27 pages 887-919 with study guide
Class handouts on the outbreak of World War I, the Treaty of Versailles, the Fay thesis,
the Armenian Genocide, and the Middle East in World War I
Wiesner—“Under Fire: The Story of A Squad” Henri Barbusse 1916, “All Quiet On The
Western Front” Erich Maria Remarque 1928, “A London Air Raid” Vera Brittain June
13, 1917, “Report on French Public Opinion in the Department of the Isere”
Perry-“Petition to the Tsar” George Gapon and Ivan Vasimov, “Russian Women in
Combat,” “The Black Hand: Bylaws of the Organization Union or Death”
Test: Multiple Choice, Short Answer, and Terms (define and state the significance)
XIV. European Powers in the 1920s and the Rise of Fascism
1. Uncertainty in Modern Thought
2. Modern Art and Music
3. The Search for Political Stability
4. The Great Depression
5. Authoritarian States
Readings:
McKay Chapter 28 pages 921-951 with study guide
McKay Chapter 29 pages 953-971 with study guide
Class handouts on Mussolini, Education in Nazi Germany, and The Cult of Stalin
Wiesner—“Hitler on the Nature and Purpose of Propaganda,” “Hitler on Terror in
Politics,” “Report of a Nazi Meeting in Berlin 1927,” “Reactions to the Nazi Party Rally
at Nuremberg 1934” William L. Shirer
Perry—“Terror in the Countryside” Lev Kopelev, “Execution by Hunger” Miron Dolot,
“Fascist Doctrines” Benito Mussolini
Test: Multiple Choice, Short Answer, and Terms (define and state the significance)
XV.
World War II
1. Nazi Expansionism
2. Appeasement and Aggression
3. Hitler’s Empire
4. The Tide of Battle
Video: Benito Mussolini
Readings:
McKay Chapter 29 pages 971-987 with study guide
Class handouts on the Holocaust, the Munich Conference, and Hitler’s Invasion of Russia
Perry—“Poland Will Be Depopulated and Settled With Germans” Adolph Hitler, “Blood,
Toil, Tears, and Sweat” Winston Churchill, “French Leadership Could Not Grasp The
Significance of the Tank In Mobile Warfare” Heinz Guderian
XVI. The Cold War and Beyond
1. The Division of Europe
2. Post War Social Transformations
3. The Decline of Communism
4. The Revolutions of 1989
5. The European Union
Video: The Tragedy of Kosovo and Mikhail Gorbachev: A Man Who Changed the World
Readings:
McKay Chapter 30 pages 989-1025 with study guide
McKay Chapter 31 pages 1027-1063 with study guide
Class handouts on the War in Yugoslavia and Reform and Collapse of the Soviet Union
Wiesner—“Protocol of the Proceedings of the Berlin Conference,” “The Berlin
Blockade,” “Radio and Television Report to the American People on the Berlin Crisis
July 25, 1961,” Selections from “The Unrest of Youth in the 1960s”
Perry—“The Failure of Communism” Vaclav Havel, “Enlargement Is About Opening
Minds As Well As Borders” Bertie Ahern
Final Exam: Date TBA/Multiple Choice and Essay