AP United States History

Advanced Placement US History is a reading, writing, and discussion course designed to be the equivalent of a freshman college course and can earn students college credit. It is a challenging course designed to provide students with factual knowledge and analytical skills to deal critically with issues in United States history. In this course students will address social, political, economic, geographic, and cultural topics

Program Goals:

The Advanced Placement American History course is designed to:

1. provide students with the analytical skills and factual knowledge necessary to deal critically with the problems and materials in American history.

2. prepare students for intermediate and advanced college courses by making demands upon them equivalent to those made by full-year introductory college courses.

3. To present the student with a multitude of historical interpretations on events, movements and individuals in American history representing conflicting points of view.

4. To present material through lecture, small groups discussions, audio-visual aids, and student-responsible classroom periods.

5. To test for factual knowledge and the abilities to analyze, compare, contrast, and draw valid conclusions.

6. To prepare students to assess historical materials -- their relevance to a given interpretation problem, their reliability and their importance -- and to weigh the evidence and interpretations presented in historical scholarship.

7. To require students to interpret documents, maps, charts, graphs, statistical tables, pictures, private journals, and correspondence for content, meaning, and usefulness.

8. To teach students to take useful notes from both printed materials and lectures or discussions, write essay examinations, and write analytical research papers, with the ability to express themselves with clarity and precision and know how to cite sources and credit the persons and ideas of others.

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Course configuration: AP US History is a year long history course. The class meets daily for 90 minutes.

Course Materials

Kennedy, David M., Lizabeth Cohen, and Thomas Bailey. The American Pageant. 12th ed. Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin Co., 2002.

Kennedy, David M.; Bailey Thomas, The American Spirit. 10th ed. Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin Co., 2002.

Madaras, Larry; SoRelle, James ed. “Taking Sides: Issues in American History” (vol I and II), McGraw-Hill/Dushkin, 2001

Henry, Michael. Threads of History, The Peoples Publishing Group, Inc. Saddle Brook, New Jersey, 2006

McClellan, Jim editor, Changing Interpretations of America’s Past, 2^nd ed. (vol. I and II) Dushkin/McGraw-Hill, 2000

Mindsparks DBQ & Essay Writing Program: US History: 1600-1865, MindSparks, Highsmith, 2002

The Americans: Electronic Library of Primary Sources CD-ROM, McDougal Little, (1999)

Other readings and handouts

Student Evaluation: APUSH students are graded on 3 broad categories: Discussion, which includes seminar participation, debates, and oral presentations; Writing, which includes written essays, in-class warm-up questions, and short responses; and Tests. Students are given bi-weekly end of unit exams. These consist of 30-80 multiple choice questions (largely taken from old AP exams). The M.C. questions cover both material from the unit of study and all previous units. (students shouldn’t study for one test and forget everything they learned for the previous test) About half of the exams also have an essay portion – old Free Response and DBQ questions that reflect the material learned in the unit. Each of the three categories is approximately 33% of the student’s final grade.

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Meeting College Board Standards:

CR1 – the course includes the study of political institutions in US history

· Presidential elections and administrations; role of the House and Senate in key legislation, treaties, impeachments and compromises; important Supreme Court Decisions. Federalist / Anti-federalist debate. The rise and shifting platforms of political parties. Goals and strategies of political movements like abolition, women’s suffrage, NAACP, etc.

CR2 – the course includes the study of social and cultural developments in US history

· Reform movements of the 1840’s, 1900’s, and 1960’s. Role of women, immigrants, African Americans, and Native Americans. Intellectual history, for example Enlightenment, American Republicanism, the Great Awakening (1^st and 2^nd), Transcendentalism, Harlem Renaissance, beatniks and hippie counter culture.

CR3 – the course includes the study of diplomacy in US history

· Important treaties and their aftermath – Treaty of Paris (1783), diplomacy and westward expansion in the antebellum period, Treaty of Versailles and its failures, the Cold War and Detente, diplomacy in Vietnam,

CR4 – the course includes the study of economic trends in US history

· Economic trends surface in mercantilism, Hamilton’s economic system, the market economy, the advantages of the North over the South, Robber Barons of the Gilded age, causes of the Great Depression, the 1950s and the era of affluence, LBJ’s guns and butter problem, stagflation and decline in the 1970’s

CR5 – the course uses themes and/or topics as broad parameters for structuring the course.

· The Units are structured with an eye to the Topic Outline in the AP US history acorn book. The themes are woven throughout the units.

CR6 – the course teaches students to analyze evidence and interpretations presented in historical scholarship.

· While the seminars focus mainly on primary source documents, in several units students also read, compare and discuss the perspectives of different historians. (American Revolution and Constitution, Gilded Age, New Deal, Vietnam War)

CR7 – the course includes extensive instruction in analysis and interpretation of a wide variety of primary sources.

· In each unit students read, analyze, and discuss a plethora of primary source documents.

· Students explore issues of reliability, credibility, audience, point of view, and historical context.

CR8 – the course provides students with frequent practice in writing analytical and interpretive essays such as document-based questions and thematic essays

· Students have writing assignments in each unit. Essay questions are often taken from prior DBQ and FR questions.

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Course Outline

Unit 1: Exploration and Colonization (two weeks) (pre-Columbian – 1750)

Readings:

Text: Bailey and Kennedy, chapters 1 - 5

Themes:

1. The impact of climate, geography, economics, and history on culture (whether Native American, European, or Colonial). Worldwide impact of the Columbian Exchange.

2. Different patterns of colonization among the Spanish, French, Dutch, and especially the English in North America.

3. The development in the English North American colonies of a new identity that was distinctive from England in terms of demographics, politics, and culture.

4. Development of the institution of slavery in the English colonies

5. The impact of events, political institutions, the Enlightenment, and First Great Awakening in fostering the democratic ideal in the colonies

6. Political, social, and economic differences among the Northern, Middle, and Southern colonies

7. Tensions between more established colonists and new comers in the back country as evidenced by Bacon’s Rebellion.

Activities:

Introduction to interpreting primary source documents – SOAPS

Introduction to seminar – how to ask and answer a question

Introduction to writing the DBQ

Major Assignments:

· Seminar 1.1 – First Contact

1. Columbus, Christopher, “A Letter to the Treasurer of Spain,”

2. Zurara, Gomes, “On the Beginnings of the Portuguese-African Slave Trade,”

3. Smith, John, “What Happened Till the First Supply,”

quoted in The Americans: Electronic Library of Primary Sources

· Seminar 1.2 – Life in Puritan New England

1. “The Book of the General Laws" (1685)

2. "John Cotton Describes New England's Theocracy" (1636)

3. "Anne Huchinson is Banished" (1637)

4. "John Winthrop's Concept of Liberty" (1645)

5. "Puritan Mistreatment of Quakers" (1660)

quoted in American Spirit

· Intro to the DBQ – (group project) using 1993 DBQ – Why did the New England and Chesapeake colonies develop into distinct societies?

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Unit 2: Protest and Revolution (two weeks) (1750 - 1783)

Readings:

Text: Bailey and Kennedy, chapters 6 - 8

Themes:

1. The effect of the French & Indian war on the changing relationship between Britain and the North American Colonies

2. The changes in British policy toward the colonies and the developing sense of an American national community from 1750 to 1776.

3. John Adams said, "The Revolution was effected before the war commenced," explain the meaning of the "American Revolution" as Adams conceived it, and identify major forces that brought this revolution about.

4. Roles played by women, Indians, and African Americans in the Revolution.

5. The Declaration of Independence as an expression of American republicanism and enlightenment thinking.

6. The course of the war: strategic, political, and moral victories. The importance of the French Alliance, and the outcome of the Treaty of Paris.

7. Historical interpretation: “American Revolution” vs. “the American War for Independence.”

Major Assignments:

· Seminar 2.1 – Are We “Americans” Yet?

1. "Benjamin Franklin Analyzes the Population" (1751)

2. "M.G.J. de Crèvecoeur Discovers a New Man" (c. 1770)

3. "Andrew Burnaby Scoffs at Colonial Unity" (1760)

· Seminar 2.2 – Colonial Resistance

1. "Benjamin Franklin Testifies Against the Stamp Act" (1766)

2. Philadelphia Threatens Tea Men" (1773)

3. Common Sense (1776)*

4. Declaration of Independence (1776)*

All primary sources, except those marked with a “*” quoted in American Spirit

· Seminar 2.3 – Interoperating a revolution (analyzing historical scholarship)

1. from A Basic History of the United States, Charles and Mary Beard, (1944)

2. from A History of the English-Speaking People, Winston Churchill, (1956)

3. from Out of Our Past, Carl Degler, (1970)

all from Second Thoughts, vol 1

· Writing assignment: DBQ – (solo project, peer edit, one week deadline) using 1999 DBQ – To what extent were the colonists unified and American-identified before the American Revolution?

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Unit 3: Launching a New Republic (two weeks) (1783 - 1800)

Readings:

Text: Bailey and Kennedy, chapters 9 - 10

Themes:

1. Structure of the Articles of Confederation; its strengths and weaknesses.

2. The Constitution as a series of compromises especially in terms of representation, the presidency, and slavery.

3. The conflicting views and actions of Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton while they were members of President Washington’s cabinet.

4. The factors contributing to the development of political parties in the US during the 1790s

5. Conflicting ideals of local and national authority in the debate over the Constitution

6. How the Bill of Rights addressed political concerns in the 1770s and 80s.

7. “America’s first foreign policy, formulated by presidents Washington and Adams, had as its primary goal the avoidance of war at all costs.” Assess the validity of this statement in terms of the Citizen Genêt controversy, Jay Treaty, Proclamation of Neutrality, and XYZ Affair.

8. Hamilton’s economic system

Major Assignments:

· Seminar 3.1 – the Federalist and Anti-Federalist debate

1. "Alexander Hamilton scans the Future" (1787)

2. "George Mason is critical" (c. 1787)

3. "Jefferson is unenthusiastic" (1787)

4. "A delegate fears for the little people" (1788)

5. "A storekeeper blasts the standing armies" (1788)

6. "A farmer favors the Constitution" (1788)

7. "An antifederalst demands deliberation" (1787)

quoted in American Spirit

8. "Federalist Papers X” - James Madison (1787)

· Seminar 3.2 – Interoperating the Constitution (analyzing historical scholarship)

1. from An Economic Interpretation of the United States, Charles Beard, (1913)

2. from The Irony of Democracy, Thomas R. Dye, (1971)

3. from A People’s History of the United States, Howard Zinn, (1980)

all from Second Thoughts, vol 1

· Hamilton vs. Jefferson debates – students take on the roles of Federalists and Antifederalists and debate important issues of the day (i.e. “Should the federal government pay for internal improvements?”, “Does the US need a national bank?”, or “who is a better friend to the US, Britain or France?”

· Essay test question – (Free Response) “How does the Bill of Rights address the political concerns Americans have had from the late colonial period to the 1780’s?”

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Unit 4: Expanding the American Nation (three weeks) (1800 - 1848)

Readings:

Text: Bailey and Kennedy, chapters 11 - 17

Themes:

1. What did Jefferson mean when he talked about “the Revolution of 1800?”

2. The economic and political problems faced by the US as a new nation in a world dominated by war between Britain and France. How successful were the efforts of the Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe administrations to solve these problems?

3. Foreign policy objectives of the United States relating to the War of 1812 and to what extent, if any, these objectives were achieved as a result of the war.

4. Creation of a national market economy, the role of transportation innovations, immigration patterns, shifts in class structure, and the two agricultural systems.

5. Cotton production after 1793 transformed the social and political history not just of the South but the whole nation. The ways in which this was also an international phenomenon.

6. The issues that made it impossible for the Era of Good Feelings to last.

7. The impact of universal white manhood suffrage on the American political process.

8. Both the Nullification Crisis and Indian removal raised the constitutional issue of the rights of a minority in a nation governed by majority rule. What rights does a minority have? What kinds of laws are necessary to defend those rights?

9. The impact the Second Great Awakening, the ideals of Jacksonian democracy, Transcendentalism, and American individualism on the reform movements of 1820-1860

10. Compare the cult of domesticity with the goals of the Seneca Falls Convention.

11. Factors contributing to the formation of the Monroe Doctrine?

12. Manifest Destiny, national expansion, the war with Mexico and how it all led to the sectional dispute over slavery.

13. The differing experiences of German and Irish immigrants. The impact immigration of the 1840s and 50s had on American cities. Why did urbanization produce so many problems?

Major Assignments:

· Seminar 4.1 – America as seen from the “outside”

1. Democracy in America, Alexis DeTocqueville (1832)*

· "Unlimited Power of the Majority in the US and its consequences"

· "Future Prospects of the US"

· Seminar 4.2 – Jacksonian Democracy

1. Janson, C.W. "A Disgusting Spirit of Equality" (1807)

2. Camp, George S. "A Plea for Nonproperty Suffrage" (1841)

3. Crockett, Davy "Davy Crockett Advises Politicians" (1836)

· Seminar 4.3 – Cherokee Removal

1. "The Cherokee National Committee and Council, July 17, 1830"

2. "Georgia governor George Gilmer’s statement to the state legislature" (1830)

3. “Statement of John Ross, principal chief of the Cherokee Nation” (1830)

4. “President Martin Van Buren’s second annual message to Congress” (1838)

5. “Native of Maine Traveling in the Western Country” (1838)

6. “Account of the Reverend Evan Jones traveling along the Trail of Tears” (1838)

· Seminar 4.4 – The World of Work

1. Bagley, Sarah G. "Pleasures of Factory Life" (1840)

2. "Regulations in the Lowell Mills" (1830s)

3. Brownson, Orestes A. "Chattel Slavery Versus Wage Slavery" (1840)

· Seminar 4.5 – Reform movements

1. Douglass, Frederick "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass" (1845)*

2. "Seneca Falls Manifesto" (1848)

3. Thoreau, Henry David, “Civil Disobedience” (1849)*

All primary sources, except those marked with a “*” quoted in American Spirit

· DBQ – (one hour in-class test using 1990 DBQ) To what extend were the Jacksonians correct in seeing themselves as guardians of the Constitution, political democracy, individual liberty, and equality of economic opportunity?

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End of 1^st Grading Period

Unit 5: Disunion and Reconstruction (three weeks) (1850 - 1877)

Readings:

Text: Bailey and Kennedy, chapters 18 - 22

Themes:

1. “The Compromise of 1850 did not delay the breakup of the Union; on the contrary, it created more problems than it solved.” Assess the validity of this statement.

1. What factors account for the remarkable success of a new party – the Republicans – in the elections of 1856 and 1860?

2. “The South never had a chance to win the Civil War” Assess this statement with respect to specific military, economic, and political factors.

2. Today, Abraham Lincoln is considered one of our greatest presidents, but he did not enjoy such approval at the time. List some of the contemporary criticisms of Lincoln, and evaluate them.

3. Homefront (North and South), mobilization, draft, financing, civil liberties, public opinion, and social/political/economic impact of the war.

4. Key military turning points of the Civil War.

5. What key changes did emancipation make in the political and economic status of African Americans? To what extent did women share in these gains? What role did such institutions as the family, church, school, and political parties play in the African American transition to freedom?

6. Evaluate the achievements and failures of Reconstruction governments in the southern states.

7. Identify the candidates, issues, and results of the electoral crisis of 1876.

Major Assignments:

· Seminar 5.1 – The Road to War: Dred Scott, and John Brown

1. "The Pro-Southern Court Speaks" (1857)

2. "A Virginia Newspaper Gloats" (1857)

3. "The North Breathes Definace" (1857)

1. "Governor J.A. Wise Refuses Clemency" (1859)

2. "Horace Greeley Hails a Martyr" (1859)

3. "Lincoln Disowns Brown" (1860)

· Seminar 5.2 – the Lincoln Douglas Debates and the Election of 1860

1. "Stephen Douglas Opposes Black Citizenship" (1858)

2. "Abraham Lincoln Denies Black Equality" (1858)

3. "Fire-Eaters Urge Secession" (1860)

4. "The North Resents Threats" (1860)

· Seminar 5.3 – Why are We Fighting?

1. Lincoln, Abraham, “Letter to Horace Greeley” (1862)

2. Lincoln, Abraham, “Gettysburg Address” (1863)

3. Lincoln, Abraham, “Second Inaugural Address” (1865)

quoted in American Spirit

4. General William T. Sherman, "A Letter to General Hood" (1864)

5. General John Bell Hood, "A Letter to General Sherman" (1864)

quoted in The Americans: Electronic Library of Primary Sources

· Seminar 5.4 – Reconstruction: Two Views

1. Cox, LaWanda, Lincoln and Black Freedom: A Study in Presidential Leadership (1981)

2. Foner, Eric, “New View of Reconstruction,” American Heritage 34, no. 6 (1983)

· Sectional Conflict Game – Students are divided into three groups (East, West, South) and try to negotiate and compromise with each other to pass a series of laws. Each group has a “hidden agenda” For example, the North wins 5 points if the entire class passes a protective tariff, the South wins 5 points if the tariff is defeated. The group with them most points at the end wins. Students experience issues of the Sectional crisis through role play and negotiations with their classmates

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Unit 6: The Gilded Age (two weeks) (1877 – 1898)

Readings:

Text: Bailey and Kennedy, chapters 23 - 26

Themes:

1. Discuss the role of federal legislation in accelerating and shaping the course of westward expansion.

2. How did the incorporation of western territories into the US affect Indian tribes such as the Sioux and Nez Percé? Discuss the causes and consequence of the Indian Wars. What is the significance of reservation policy and the Dawes Severalty Act for tribal life?

3. What were the economic disadvantages experienced by farmers working within the free enterprise system of the late nineteenth century?

4. To what extent did abundant natural resources, capital and technology, abundant labor, business management, and government policy promote industrial development in the US?

5. How did urban life change during the Gilded Age? How did the middle class aspire to live? How did their lifestyles compare with those of the working class? How did the rise of organized sports and commercial amusements reflect and shape social divisions at the end of the century?

6. Describe the impact of new technologies and new forms of production on the routines of industrial workers. How did these changes affect African American and women workers in particular? What role did trade unions play in the process?

7. How did the American educational system change to prepare children for their adult roles in the new industrial economy? Identify the candidates, issues, and results of the election of 1896.

Major Assignments:

· Seminar 6.1 – Robber Barons or Entrepreneurs?

1. Josephson, Matthew, from The Robber Barons: the Great American Capitalists 1861-1901

2. Hiddy, Ralph and Muriel, from History of Standared Oil Company (vol I)Pioneering in Big Business, 1882-1911

Both quoted in Taking Sides: Issues in American History (vol II)

· Seminar 6.2 – The Populist Response

1. Tracy, F.B, from “Why the Farmers Revolted” (1893)

2. Lease, Mary, from “The Populist Uprising” (c. 1890)

3. A Populist Condemns George Pullman

4. Pullman Defends his Company (1894)

5. Bryan, William Jennings, “Cross of Gold” (1896)

All quoted in American Spirit

· DBQ – using 1979 DBQ – To what extent and for what reasons were the policies of the federal government 1865-1900 a violation of the principle of laissez faire?

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Unit 7: The Progressives, (one week) (1900 - 1914)

Readings:

Text: Bailey and Kennedy, chapters 29 - 30

Themes:

1. Evaluate the lasting impact of progressive reform. How do the goals, methods, and language of progressives still find a voice in contemporary America?

2. What gains were made by working class communities in the progressive era? What barriers did they face?

3. How did the era’s new immigration reshape American cities and workplaces? What connections can be drawn between the new immigrant experience and progressive era politics?

4. Analyze the progressive era from the perspective of African Americans. What political and social developments were most crucial, and what legacies did they leave?

5. Evaluate the differences in achievement of progressive goals among the programs of President Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and Woodrow Wilson.

Major Assignments:

· Seminar 7.1 – The Progressive Impulse

1. “On the Need for Child Labor Laws” Florence Kelley, (1905)

2. "The Modern City and the Municipal Franchise for Women", Jane Addams (1906)

3. “On Prohibition and Liberty”, Percy Andrae, (1914)

4. “Whatever Is, is Wrong”, E.W. Scripps, (1900s)

quoted in The Americans: Electronic Library of Primary Sources

5. excerpt from The Jungle, Upton Sinclair, (1906)

FRQ –(1987) The Progressive movement of 1901 to 1917 was a triumph of conservatism rather

than a victory for liberalism. Assess the validity of this generalization.

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Unit 8: The US Becomes a World Power (two and a half weeks) (1898 - 1919)

Readings:

Text: Bailey and Kennedy, chapters 27-28, 31

Themes:

1. Discuss American expansion at the turn of the nineteenth century in terms of its implications for a neo-colonial policy. Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the nation's policy of intervention in Latin America during the first part of the twentieth century, with specific regard to Cuba, Panama, and Mexico. What were some of the leading arguments for and against overseas expansion?

2. Explain the significance of the Open Door as the foundation of American foreign policy in Asia during the early twentieth century.

3. What central issues drew the US deeper into international politics in the early years of the 1900s? How did American Presidents justify a more expansive role?

4. Compare the arguments for and against American participation in WWI. Which Americans were most likely to support entry? Which were more likely to oppose it? What techniques were used to stifle dissent?

5. What principles guided Woodrow Wilson’s Fourteen Points? Explain the US’s failure to ratify the Treaty of Versailles.

Major Assignments:

· Seminar 8.1 – The Imperialist Impulse

1. “The Strenuous Life”, Theodore Roosevelt, (1899)

2. “Platform of the Anti-Imperialist League” (1899)

3. “On the War in the Philippines”, Senator Albert J. Beverige, (1900)

· Seminar 8.2 – The Goals of the War to End All Wars

1. “Request for a Declaration of War”, Woodrow Wilson, (1917)

2. “Four Minute Speech”, Committee on Public Information, (1918)

3. “From Harlem to the Rhine”, Arthur Little, (1918)

4. “On the Terms of Peace”, Henry Cabot Lodge, (1918)

all quoted in The Americans: Electronic Library of Primary Sources

FRQ – (1992) Compare the debates that took place over American expansionism in the 1840’s with

those that took place in the 1890’s, analyzing the similarities and differences in the

debates of the two eras.

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Unit 9: The Roaring ‘20s (a week and a half) (1920 - 1929)

Readings:

Text: Bailey and Kennedy, chapters 32 - 33

Themes:

1. What were the key policies and goals articulated by Republican political leaders of the 1920s? How did they apply these to domestic and foreign affairs?

2. Describe the impact of the “second industrial revolution” on American business, workers, and consumers. Which technological and economic changes had the biggest impact on American society? Which Americans gained the most, and which were largely left out of the economic prosperity?

3. Identify the forces which helped to develop a pervasive sense of materialism in American society during the 1920's.

4. Analyze the international and domestic events, interests, and philosophies that prompted attacks on civil liberties, including the Plamer Raids, Marcus Garvey’s “back to Africa” movement, the KKK, and immigration quotas. What were the responses of organizations such as the ACLU, NAACP, and the Anti-Defamation League to those attacks?

5. In what ways did the 18^th Amendment and the Volstead Act both reflect and affect American society?

6. Trace the growth and effects of radio and movies and their role in the worldwide diffusion of popular culture

Major Assignments:

· Seminar 8.1 – 1920’s

1. “Instructions Regarding Conduct on Raids”, A. Mitchell Palmer, (1920)

2. “Flapper Jane”, Bruce Bliven, (1925)

3. “My Bootlegger”, Samuel Hopkins Adams, Collier’s Magazine, (1921)

4. “A Letter Regarding Immigration Restrictions”, Louis Marshall, (1924)

5. “Middletown”, Robert S. and Hellen Merrell Lynd, (1929)

quoted in The Americans: Electronic Library of Primary Sources

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End of 2nd Grading Period

Unit 10: The Great Depression and the New Deal (two weeks) (1929-1939)

Readings:

Text: Bailey and Kennedy, chapters 34

Themes:

1. What were the underlying causes of the Great Depression? What consequences did it have for ordinary Americans, and how did the Hoover administration attempt to deal with the crisis?

2. Analyze the key elements of FDR’s first New Deal program. To what degree did these programs succeed in getting the economy back on track and in providing relief to suffering Americans? How did the Second New Deal differ from the first? What political pressures did Roosevelt face that contributed to the new policies?

3. Discuss the long- and short-term effects of the New Deal on American political and economic life. What were its key successes and failures? Identify changes in political theory and practice that occurred under the New Deal and give specific examples of legislation to illustrate these changes What legacies of the New Deal-era policies and political struggles can be found in contemporary America?

4. Discuss the human toll of the Depression, natural disasters, and unwise agricultural practices and their effects on depopulation of rural regions and on political movements of the left and right. Give particular attention to the Dust Bowl refugees and their social and economic impacts in California.

Content:

· Seminar 10.1 – An Appraisal of Hoover

1. “Hoover Defends His Record” (1932), American Spirit

2. “Roosevelt Indicts Hoover” (1932), American Spirit

· Seminar 10.2 – Voices of Protest

1. “Every Man a King” (1934), Huey Long, American Spirit

2. “A Series of Lectures on Social Justice” Rev. Charles Coughlin (1934), American Spirit

3. “The Choice Before Us: Mankind at the Crossroads”, Norman Thomas, American Spirit

4. “Dr. Frances Townsend promotes old-age pensions” (1933), American Spirit

· Seminar 10.3 – Interoperating the New Deal (analyzing historical scholarship)

1. from The Roosevelt Myth, John T. Flynn, (1948)

2. from The Politics of Upheval, Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., (1960)

3. from Democracy for the Few, Michael Parenti, (1980)

all from Second Thoughts, vol 2

· DBQ – (2003) Analyze the responses of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s administration to the problems of the Great Depression. How effective were these responses? How did they change the role of the federal government? Use the documents and your knowledge of the period 1929 – 1941 to construct your essay.

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Unit 11: World War II (two weeks) (1939-1945)

Readings:

Text: Bailey and Kennedy, chapters 35 - 36

Themes:

1. What was the American response to the rise of nationalism in Japan, Italy, and Germany during the 1930s? Identify reasons for the widespread acceptance of totalitarian forms of government during the period 1920-1939. How did President Franklin D. Roosevelt ready the US for war?

2. Identify three or more ways in which World War II influenced the day-to-day lives of Americans. How were opportunities for women and minorities affected by the war?

3. Discuss the causes and consequences of the Japanese American internment program.

4. Differentiate between strategies used in the European theater and those used in the Pacific, and will develop a conclusion regarding how geography determines battle strategy. Include mention of Midway, Normandy, Iwo Jima, Okinawa, and the Battle of the Bulge.

5. What factors lead to the decision to drop atomic bombs on Japan and what has been the long-term consequence of the decision

6. Evaluate the cataclysmic effects of Hitler's "Final Solution" and the extent to which they have impacted today's present day concern with human rights.

7. How successful were diplomatic efforts in ending the war and in establishing the terms of peace? What was the effect of the Marshall Plan?

8. Compare the presidencies of Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman, in terms of domestic policies, foreign policy, and leadership styles.

Major Assignments:

1. Seminar 11.1 – War Transforms American Society

2. “Let Us Face the Truth” New York Times editorial (1933),

quoted in The Americans: Electronic Library of Primary Sources

3. “The War Transforms the Economy” (1943)

4. “A Japanese-American is Convicted” (1943)

5. “A Black American Ponders the War” (1942)

6. “A Woman Remembers the War” (1984)

2-5 quoted in American Spirit

7. Seminar 11.2 – The Atomic Bomb

1. “Japan’s Horrified Reaction” (1945)

2. “The Christian Century Deplores the Bombing” (1945)

3. “Harry Truman Justifies the Bombing: (1945)

all quoted in American Spirit

8. Writing Assignment: How did American society and foreign policy change as a result of it’s involvement in WWII?

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Unit 12: The 1950’s Cold War and Culture of Conformity (two weeks) (1945 - 1959)

Readings:

Text: Bailey and Kennedy, chapters 39

Themes:

1. Identify the origins of the cold war and the sources of growing tensions between the US and USSR at the close of WWII. Describe the basic elements of Truman’s policy of containment. How did the threat of atomic warfare affect this policy? What was the response of the Eisenhower administration to the Cold War? What were the key interventions the US made in Europe and the third world?

2. Describe the impact of McCarthyism on American political life. How did the anti-communist campaigns affect the media? What were the sources of McCarthy’s popularity? What brought about his downfall?

3. How did postwar economic prosperity change the lives of ordinary Americans? What role did federal programs play in expanding economic opportunities? Which groups were largely excluded from “the affluent society”?

4. Analyze the origins of postwar youth culture. How was teenage life different in these years from previous eras? How did popular culture both reflect and distort the lives of American youth?

5. How did consensus and conformity affect suburbia and middle-class America? What criticisms did non-conformists level against 1950’s culture?

Major Assignments:

· Seminar 12.1 – The McCarthy Hysteria

1. “Joseph McCarthy Upholds Guilt by Association”, Senator Joseph McCarthy (1950)

2. “A Senator Speaks Up”, Senator Margaret Chase Smith, Congressional Record (1950)

3. “McCarthy Inspires Fear at Harvard”, from the Harvard Crimson, (1954)

· Seminar 12.2 – The New Shape of Post War Society

1. from Baby and Child Care, Dr. Benjamin Spock (1957)

2. “The Two-Income Family”, Nacy Barr Mavity, Harper’s Magazine (1951)

3. “Homogenzied Children of New Suburbia”, Sidonie M. Gruenberg, New Your Times Magazine, (1954)

all quoted in American Spirit

DBQ – (2001) What were the Cold War fears of the American people in the aftermath of the Second World War? How successfully did the administration of President Dwight D. Eisenhower address these fears? Use the documents and your knowledge of 1948-1961 to construct you response.

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End of 3rd Grading Period

Unit 13: The 1960’s Civil Rights and Vietnam (three weeks) (1960 - 1975)

Readings:

Text: Bailey and Kennedy, chapters 38-39

Themes:

1. Evaluate the domestic and international policies associated with John F. Kennedy and the New Frontier. Identify continuities with the Eisenhower‑era policies. How did JFK break with past practices?

2. How did African American challenge legal segregation in the South? Compare the strategies of key organizations such as the NAACP, SNCC, SCLC, and CORE.

3. What legal and institutional impact did the Civil Rights movement have on American life? How did it change American culture and politics? Where did it fail?

4. What programs were sponsored by Johnson in the “Great Society”? What impact did they have on urban poverty in the late 1960’s?

5. Why did the protest movement against the Vietnam War begin on college campuses? Describe how these movements were organized and how the opponents of the war differed from the supporters.

6. What was the impact of the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert Kennedy on the election of 1968? How were various communities affected?

7. What events lead up to and contributed to US involvement in Vietnam? How did US involvement in the war affect domestic programs?

Major Assignments:

· Seminar 13.1 – The Times, They are a Changin’

1. excerpts from, “The Other America: Poverty in the United States”, Michael Harrington (1962)

2. “President Johnson Declares War on Poverty” (1964)

3. “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”, Martin Luther King, Jr (1963)

4. “A Conservative Denounces Black Rioters” (1965)

all from American Spirit

5. “Now’s Statement of Purpose (1966), The Americans: primary sources

6. “On the Kent State Tragedy: Presidential Commission Report” (1972), The Americans: primary sources

· Seminar 13.2 – Interoperating the Vietnam War (analyzing historical scholarship)

1. from America in Vietnam, Guenter Lewy, (1978)

2. from America’s Longest War, George C. Herring, (1986)

3. from Why Nations Go to War, John G. Stoessinger, (1993)

4. from The Tragedy and Lessons of Vietnam, Robert S. McNamara, (1995)

all from Second Thoughts, vol 2

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Unit 14: America in Search of Stability (two weeks) (1968 - 1988)

Readings:

Text: Bailey and Kennedy, chapters 40-42

Themes:

1. Why did Richard Nixon enjoy such a huge electoral victory in 1972? Evaluate his foreign and domestic policies in terms of law and order, civil rights, inflation, and the environment. What lead to his sudden downfall?

2. Why was the 1970s known as the “Me Decade”? Interpret the decline of liberalism and the rise of conservative political groups. How did these changes affect the outcome of presidential elections?

3. Describe the central philosophical assumptions behind Reaganomics. What were the key policies by which it was implemented? To what extent were these policies a break with previous economic approaches?

4. Evaluate Reagan’s foreign policy. How did it differ from Carter’s approach to foreign affairs?

5. Describe the major demographic trends revealed by the 2000 census. Identify the racial groups with the greatest gains in population. How have various legislation acts since 1965 affected immigration to the United States?

6. What effects have the globalized economy and fall of the Soviet Union had on American political life?

Major Assignments:

· Seminar 14.1 – Watergate

1. “The First Article of Impeachment”, House of Representatives Report No. 93-1305 (1974)

2. “The Second and Third Articles of Impeachment”, House of Representatives Report No. 93-1305 (1974)

3. “Nixon Incriminates himself”, Whitehouse Tapes (1972)

4. “A Critical Canadian Viewpoint”, The Toronto Star (1974)

5. “Nixon Accepts a Presidential Pardon” (1974)

all from American Spirit

· Seminar 14.2 – Did Reagan Win the Cold War?

1. from The United States and the End of the Cold War: Implications, Reconsiderations, Provocations, John Lewis Gaddis, (1992)

2. from “Who Won the Cold War” in Foreign Policy summer 1992, Daniel Deudney and G. John Ikenberry (1992)

Both quoted in Taking Sides: Issues in American History (vol II)

Essay Question - Account for the conservative shift in American politics, society and culture during the 1970s and 1980s.

AP EXAM!

Post AP Exam: Research project (term paper or debates)

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