Course Purpose:
As the College Board defines, AP United States History is a course designed to
focus 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 identify, peopling, and America in the world. This course will cover
American history from the Pre-Columbian period to the present and will be
taught in accordance with the AP U.S. History curriculum framework prepared
by the College Board to prepare students for the AP U.S. History exam in May.
NOTE: Students who opt NOT to take the Advanced Placement United
States History Exam will NOT receive AP credit for the course and the
course will be changed to American History Honors.
Historical Thinking
Skills
This course allows students to “think like historians” and approach the past in a
critical way. Skills that will be utilized, observed, and/or assessed:
Historical Causation
Patterns of Continuity and Change over Time
Periodization
Comparison and Contextualization
Historical Argumentation
Appropriate use of relevant sources
Interpretation
Synthesis
Thematic Learning
Objectives
We will focus on the following thematic learning objectives while studying U.S.
history content:
Identity
Work, Exchange, and Technology
Peopling
Politics and Power
America in the World
Environment and Geography – Physical and Human
Ideas, Beliefs, and Culture
Attendance:
Attendance in class is absolutely essential to the successful completion of the
course and to the attainment of a passing grade on the Advanced Placement
United States Exam. Excessive absenteeism will hurt a student’s grade.
Periods to be
covered:
Period
Period
Period
Period
Period
Period
Period
Period
Period
1:
2:
3:
4:
5:
6:
7:
8:
9:
1491
1607
1754
1800
1844
1865
1890
1945
1980
- 1607
- 1754
- 1800
- 1848
- 1877
- 1898
- 1945
- 1980
– Present
Materials:
Students should bring the following materials to class on a daily basis:
1.
2.
3.
2” three-ring binder with dividers
College ruled loose leaf paper
Pen, pencil and highlighter
Textbook:
Kennedy, David and Lizabeth Cohen. The American Pageant. 15th ed. Boston:
Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, 2013.
Supplemental Texts
and Resources:
Henretta, James A., Rebecca Edwards, and Robert O. Self. Documents for
America’s History. 7th ed. Vol I & II. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2011.
Kennedy, David M. and Thomas A. Bailey. The American Spirit: United States
History as Seen by Contemporaries. Vol I & II. Boston: Houghton Mifflin
Harcourt, 2002.
Madaras, Larry and James M. SoRelle. Taking Sides: Clashing Views in United
States History. Vol I & II. New York: McGraw – Hill, 2011.
Zinn, Howard. A People’s History of the United States. New York: Harper
Collins, 2003.
Evaluation:
Grades will be determined by using the following formula:
Tests/Essays/Projects
Quizzes/Classwork/Homework
60%
40%
Grades will be based on the following scale:
A=90-100, B=80-89, C=70-79, D=60-69, F=below 60
Office Hours:
The first half hour of lunch has been scheduled for any additional assistance
you may need to finish an assignment, clarify content discussed, make-up or
re-take a test/quiz.
Class Rules:
It is imperative to maintain a positive learning atmosphere. Therefore, the
following rules have been posted:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Follow all University High School/Volusia County rules and
procedures
Follow ALL directions promptly
Move with permission
Speak with permission
Consequences:
Warning
Student/Teacher Conference
Parent/Teacher Contact
Office Referral
Academic Honesty
University High School policy will be strictly enforced. Besides University High
School plagiarism policy students who are caught plagiarizing will be required to
redo the assignment for partial credit. Students who copy any assignments
from another student will receive a zero for the work. The student who allowed
his or her assignment to be copied will also receive a zero for the assignment.
Make-Up Work
Student handouts can be picked up from the make-up bin in the classroom.
Make-up exams/quizzes/work that need instructor support/materials will need
to be completed during lunch, before or after school.
Tutoring
The AP experience may place greater demands on students than those to which
they are accustomed. I welcome those opportunities to help you one-to-one,
and I encourage you to make arrangements to see me if you’re experiencing
difficulty.
AP Exam
The Advanced Placement Program of the College Board affords students the
opportunity to receive college credit for AP classes by successfully passing a
national examination in May. The AP United States History Exam consists of 55
multiple choice questions, four short-answer questions, one document based
question (DBQ), and one long essay question.
Units of Study:
This course, based on 50 minute class periods, is a chronological and thematic study of United States
History from European exploration through present day including the following units:
FIRST GRADING PERIOD
Period 1: 1491 - 1607
 Content: exploration, expansion, European, Native Americans, conquistadores, settlement,
encomienda system, religions, Spanish mission systems
 Required Reading: Chapters 1-2 in American Pageant
 Partial List of Documents/Readings Used: Juan Gines de Sepulveda Belittles the Indians
(1547), Bartoleme de Las Cases Defends the Indians (1552), Aztec Chroniclers Describe the Spanish
Conquest of Mexico (1519), The Conscience of a Slave Trader (1694), A Slave is Taken to Barbados
(c. 1750), Was Disease the Key Factor in the Depopulation of Native Americans in the Americas?,
There Came to Be Prevalent a Great Sickness
 Assignments/Activities:
- Students will learn how to “think like a historian” by looking at a particular event in multiple
ways. Students will read and discuss Is History True? from Taking Sides book.
- Students will analyze the settlement patterns of the various Native American groups and
evaluate each group’s culture, politics, and environment. Students will be divided into groups
and given a particular Native American society. After research and examination, students will
present their findings to the class.
- Students will write a short position paper after the class has read and discussed both
viewpoints from Was Disease the Key Factor in the Depopulation of Native Americans in the
Americas? articles from the book Taking Sides.
- Students will examine how the exploration and conquest of the various European powers
changed the landscape of the Americas by examining several primary and secondary source
documents and writing on the effects from multiple perspectives.
- Students will create a chart explaining the positive and negative consequences of the
Columbian Exchange on the Old and the New World.
 Short and Long Answer Questions (used as class discussion, prompts, and/or on
tests/quizzes):
o Describe the impact of Europeans on Native American cultures and the impact of native
cultures on Europeans.
o Summarize the motives, positive and negative aspects of the age of European
expansion.
o Are the conquistadores to be considered villains or heroes for their actions in the
Americas?
o Compare and contrast the early colonial empires of Spain and England in terms of
motives, economic foundations, and relations with Africans and Indians.
o Assess the ways in which European colonization transformed the Americas in the
sixteenth century.
Period 2: 1607 – 1754
 Content: colonization, slavery, indentured servitude, rebellion, tobacco, conflict, John Locke,
founding of Pennsylvania and Rhode Island, Maryland Toleration Act of 1649, mercantilism,
Navigation Acts, Great Awakening
 Required Reading: Chapters 2-5 in American Pageant
 Partial List of Documents/Readings Used: A True Relation of Virgina (1608), The Starving
Time (1609), Passenger Lists for Jamestown and Massachusetts, Governor William Berkeley
Reports (1671), But What Warrant Have We to Take That Land? (1629), Puritan Attack on the
Pequots at Mystic River (1637), Anne Hutchinson Is Banished (1637), Puritan Family Law: The
Case of John Porter Jr. (1646, 1664), The Blue Laws of Connecticut (1672), Early Settlers in
Pennsylvania (1682), A Contract for Indentured Service (1635), Nathaniel Bacon Proclaims His
Principles (1676), The Governor Upholds the Law (1676), The Stono River Rebellion in South
Carolina (1739), The Growth of the Colonial Population (1740-1780), Jonathan Edwards Paints
the Horrors of Hell (1741)
 Assignments/Activities:
- Students will compare and contrast the motives, successes, and failures of Jamestown and
the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
- Students will analyze and compare/contrast passenger lists for both Jamestown and
Plymouth.
- Students will analyze drawings, graphs, and text to describe life in the colonies for settlers
and native cultures. In addition, students will view these primary sources to see how people in
Europe described the people and cultures of the Americas.
- Students will create a museum exhibit of one of the colonies. Groups will research each
colonies foundations, government, economy, geography, and people. Students will show their
exhibits for other students to learn from and ask questions.
- Students will create a chart illustrating the political, social, religious, and economic
differences of the various colonial regions of the New World.
- Students will examine the evolution of the utilization of indentured servants to slaves.
- Students will map the Triangular Trade.
- Students will compose a DBQ essay, including a thesis statement, on the culture and politics
of the Puritans from the 2010 AP U.S. History exam.
- Students will compare and contrast the Enlightenment and the Great Awakening by
completing and discussing a comparison chart.
-Students will create a flow chart illustrating the effects of slavery on Africans, other
populations, and the cultural impact on the Americas.
 Short and Long Answer Questions (used as class discussion, prompts, and/or on
tests/quizzes):
o Explain how English colonies in the New World were different from one another in terms of
government, population and origin.
o What role did religion play in the establishment of English colonies in North America?
o What was the primary purpose of the English settlement of Jamestown, and how successful
were the colonists in achieving that goal in the first twenty years?
o How did the search for a viable labor force affect the development of the southern colonies?
o Contrast Puritan New England’s policies toward the Indians with the initial policies of the
Quaker settlers in Pennsylvania.
o What was the underlying cause of the expansion of African slavery in English North
America?
o How did African Americans develop a culture that combined African and American
elements?
o What was colonial life like for women in the New England colonies?
o How did the Salem Witch Trials reflect the tensions and changes in seventeenth-century
New England?
o Write your interpretation of John Winthrop’s comment that Massachusetts Bay was to be
“as a city upon a hill” and “a beacon to mankind”.
o Compare and contrast Bacon’s and Stono’s Rebellions.
o What were the causes and consequences of the Great Awakening?
Period 3: 1754 - 1800
 Content: revolution, Proclamation of 1763, salutary neglect, Stamp Act, Intolerable Acts,
Townshend Act, Committees of Correspondence, Sons of Liberty, subjects, French and Indian
War, Revolutionary War, George Washington, neutrality, republicanism, John Adams,
Alexander Hamilton, nullification, Jay’s Treaty, Pickney’s Treaty
 Required Reading: Chapters 6 - 10 in American Pageant
 Partial List of Documents/Readings Used: Common Sense, Declaration of Independence,
Constitution, Edmund Burke Urges Conciliation (1775), Adam Smith Criticizes Empire (1776),
Patrick Henry Demands Boldness (1775), New Yorkers Abuse Tories (1775), Washington
Retreats from New York (1776), The Hanging of a Loyalist (c. 1778), George Mason is Critical
(1787), Jefferson Is Unenthusiastic (1787), Thomas Jefferson Versus Alexander Hamilton on
Popular Rule (1780s – 1820s), Jefferson Versus Hamilton on the Bank (1791), Washington
Farewell Address (1796)
 Assignments & Activities:
- Students will create a timeline of events leading up to the Revolutionary War. Each event will
depict rationale and colonists response.
- Students will choose the top three best grievances for separation listed in the Declaration of
Independence and provide reasoning behind their choices.
- Students will discuss how British actions figured into the writing of the Articles of
Confederation.
- Students will evaluate the reasons for the failure of the Articles of Confederation by studying
the details in the document.
- Students will defend the compromises made during the Constitutional Convention and
summarize how those decisions affected the country through time.
- Students will create a chart showing the differences between Anti-Federalists and Federalists.
- Students will chart the differences between the ideals of Jefferson and Hamilton towards the
role of government, economic policy, and the “common man”.
- Read and analyze from Taking Sides: Were the Founding Fathers Democratic Reformers?
Howard Zinn’s “No” response.

Short and Long Answer Questions (used as class discussion, prompts, and/or on
tests/quizzes):
o How prepared were the American colonists to face the economic and military power of
Great Britain when war broke out in 1775?
o Why did Thomas Paine’s radical vision of republican virtue and the rights of the people
appeal to so many Americans at the time of independence?
o Why was the Battle of Saratoga such a key battle in the Revolutionary War?
o Analyze the differences of opinion between supporters and opponents on whether to ratify
the United States Constitution.
o How did the French and Indian War change colonists’ view of Britain and British views of
the colonists?
o What central political ideas had colonial Americans developed by the 18th century that
made them deeply suspicious of centralized authority?
o In what ways did the principles of the American Revolution and the Declaration of
Independence emerge from the practical historical experience of the American people, and
in what ways did it reflect the abstract Enlightenment beliefs in a new age of progress,
liberty, and human rights?
o Assess the impact of the British policy of salutary neglect on the thirteen North American
colonies.
o Assess the validity of the following statement: “The American Revolution was essentially a
conflict over economics rather than ideas.”
o Compare and contrast the policy of mercantilism on the colonists and on the British.
o Many historians argue that without French aid, the colonies could never have won their
independence. Do you agree or disagree? Why?
o Why did neither the Revolution nor the Constitution bring an end to the greatest
contradiction of American Revolutionary principles – human slavery?
o What were the most important steps that George Washington took to establish the
authority and prestige of the new federal government under the Constitution?
o Historian Charles Beard described the Constitution as the “reactionary” phase of the
Revolutionary era. What did he mean by this, and what could have led him to this
conclusion?
o Assess the impact of TWO of the following on American domestic politics:
- The French Revolution
- Jay’s Treaty
- The XYZ Affair
- The Quasi-War with France
SECOND GRADING PERIOD
Period 4: 1800 - 1848
 Content: Marbury vs. Madison, McCulloch vs. Maryland, Worcester vs. Georgia, Embargo Acts,
Louisiana Purchase, tariff, Seneca Falls Convention, Utopian communities, industrialization,
Lowell system, annexation, cult of domesticity, Monroe Doctrine, Hartford Convention,
nullification crisis, Indian Removal Act, War Hawks, reform movements, steel plow, mechanical
reaper, steamship, Second Great Awakening
 Required Reading: Chapters 11-17 in American Pageant
 Partial List of Documents/Readings Used: Thomas Jefferson in Caricature (1809), Henry
Clay Champions the Latin American Revolutions (1818), John Quincy Adams Is Skeptical
(1821), Monroe Doctrine, Senator Robert Hayne Advocates Nullification (1830), Andrew
Jackson Denounces Nullification (1832), A Boston Journal Attacks Jackson (1832), Cartooning
the Banking Crisis (1833, 1837), Theodore Frelinghuysen Champions Justice (1830), John Ross
Protests Removal (1836), Alexis de Tocqueville Defends Parties (1830s), The Abuse of Female
Workers (1836), A Factory Girl Describes Her Treatment (1844), “Slavers” for New England
Girls (1846), The Impact of the Erie Canal (1853), Dorothea Dix Succors the Insane (1843),
T.S. Arthur’s Ten Nights in a Barroom (1854), Declaration of Sentiments (1848), What to the
Slave Is the Fourth of July? (1852), Southerners and Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1856)
 Assignments & Activities:
- Students will examine the foreign policy goals of Washington – Monroe.
- Students will be put in groups and given a reform movement of the mid-nineteenth century.
Students will research and report to the class using a multi-media system.
- Class Debate: Yes or No – Did Andrew Jackson violate the Constitution with his handling of
the Indian Removal Act, the nullification crisis, and the second bank of the United States. Use
Taking Sides: Did Andrew Jackson’s Removal Policy Benefit Native Americans? to guide inquiry.
- Students will answer the prompt: How did the Second Great Awakening lead to the reform
movements of the mid-nineteenth century?
- Students will analyze through charts/graphs the significance of the Industrial Revolution on
America’s economic policies.
- Class Discussion: How was America’s need to expand quenched during this time period? How
did our expansion affect other peoples and nations?
 Short and Long Answer Questions (used as class discussion, prompts, and/or on
tests/quizzes):
o Evaluate the presidency of Thomas Jefferson. Include your answer discussion of (a)
Jefferson’s foreign affairs policies and actions and (b) Jefferson’s domestic policies and
actions.
o To what extent did nationalism play a role in the formulation and application of U.S. foreign
policy in the early nineteenth century?
o What were the political and economic consequences of the Louisiana Purchase?
o Was the War of 1812 a result of President Madison’s genuine fear that the American
republican experiment could fail? Explain.
o What part did the growing expansion into the West play in such crucial issues of the period
as the tariff, internal improvements, and the controversy over slavery?
o Compare and contrast the strengths and weaknesses of Henry Clay’s “American System.”
o Assess similarities and differences between the first two-party system (DemocraticRepublicans and Federalists) and the second two-party system (Democrats and Whigs).
o How did migration into a vast western frontier shape Americans’ values and society in the
period 1790-1860?
o Assess the relationship between the advent of Jacksonian Democracy and the development
of the market revolution.
o Analyze the impact of the Supreme Court and of federal government policies on the
economy of the United States (1800-1850).
o
o
o
o
o
What were the greatest successes and failures of the many American reform movements of
the early nineteenth century?
To what extent did the impact of industrialization, urbanization, and the transportation
revolution have on the development of American agriculture?
In what ways did American literature in the early nineteenth century reflect the New
Democracy of the Jacksonian age?
Explain the causes and consequences of TWO of the following population movements in the
United States during the period 1820-1860.
- the settlement of Texas
- the Mormon exodus to Utah
- the movement of the forty-niners to California
- the movement of free-soilers to Kansas
Assess Andrew Jackson’s position on federal power versus state power with reference to
TWO of the following:
- The question of “Indian removal”
- The status of the Second Bank of the United States
- The “nullification crisis” of 1832
Period 5: 1844 - 1877
 Content: Manifest Destiny, Mexican-American War, nativism, the gold rush, Homestead Act,
Sand Creek Massacre, Little Big Horn, abolitionist movement, Dred Scot vs. Sanford,
Compromise of 1850, Kansas-Nebraska Act, states’ rights, nullification, Union, Confederacy,
Emancipation Proclamation, Gettysburg, Total War, Antietam, Hiram Revels, 13 th-15th
amendments, Reconstruction, Black Codes, sharecropping, Jim Crow Laws
 Required Reading: Chapters 17-22 in American Pageant
 Partial List of Documents/Readings Used: President James Polk Justifies the Texas Coup
(1845), A Mexican Diplomat Blames America for War (1846), The President Blames Mexico
(1846), Stephen Douglas’s Popular-Sovereignty Plea (1854), The South Scourns Mrs. Stowe
(1852), Mrs. Stowe Inflames the Southern Imagination (1853), John Brown Delivers His Final
Address (1859), The Hell of Andersonville Prisons (1864), A Union Nurse Cares for the
Gettysburg Wounded (1863), Carl Schurz Reports Southern Defiance (1865), Texas, California,
and Manifest Destiny (1845), Runaway Slave Advertisements (1844), Gettysburg Address
(1863), Thomas Nast’s The Rise and Fall of Northern Support for Reconstruction (1868, 1874),
More Indians Than I Ever Saw (1875), Soldiers Surrounded and Butchered Them (1890)
 Activities & Assignments:
- Students will compare and contrast the Northern and Southern regions prior to the Civil War.
- Students will discuss the impact of “Manifest Destiny” on settlers and native cultures and
write how manifest destiny changed the landscape of America.
- Students will complete a DBQ from The DBQ Project titled “What Caused the Civil War?”
- Students will examine the political, economic, and military implications of the Emancipation
Proclamation.
- Students will read a primary source account of Sherman’s “March to the Sea”. Students will
then discuss if total war was the right decision to make at that time or if it ever is the right
military strategy to use in a war.
- Students will discuss how the Supreme Court and the federal government promoted sectional
tensions over slavery.
- Class Debate from Taking Sides: Did Reconstruction Fail as a Result of Racism?
- Students will compare and contrast the Reconstruction plans of Congress and Presidents
Lincoln and Johnson.
- Students will utilize resources to answer – “How did the South continue to hold AfricanAmericans to the land and to the region?”
- Students will map the Reconstruction military districts and summarize what the term “New
South” means.
 Short and Long Answer Questions (used as class discussion, prompts, and/or on
tests/quizzes):
o Analyze the conflict between the industrial capitalist class and the Southern planterslaveholding class. Discuss the following topics in your essay: (a) economic differences
and (b) the expansion of slavery.
o Analyze the following statement: The Civil War was the result of irreconcilable differences
between the North and West on the one hand and the South on the other.
o To what extent can Reconstruction be considered both a success and a failure?
o Compare and contrast President Polk’s willingness to go to war against Mexico over Texas
but not against Britain over Oregon.
o Assess the validity of the following statement, “The South’s devotion to states’ rights was a
major reason for its failure to win the Civil War.”
o At the outset of the Civil War, the South confidently anticipated that King Cotton would
guarantee it European intervention. Why didn’t this intervention materialize?
o To what extent did the role of blacks, free and slave, in both North and South, in any way
affect the outcome of the Civil War?
o How did African Americans take advantage of the political, economic, religious, and social
opportunities of Reconstruction, despite their limitations?
o Discuss changes in government policy in regard to the “Indian question” in the 19 th
century.
o How did the evolution of political parties in the 1850s reflect worsening sectional tensions?
o Assess the impact of TWO of the following on sectional tensions in the 1850s.
- Publication of Uncle Tom’s Cabin
- The beating of Senator Charles Sumner
- John Brown’s raid at Harper’s Ferry
THIRD GRADING PERIOD
Period 6: 1865-1898
 Content: Grantism, corruption, politics, rise of big business, industrialization, New South,
agrarian reform, labor movement, Native Americans, cattle frontier, mining frontier,
agricultural frontier, immigration, urbanization, Social Gospel, Social Darwinism and changing
function of government, Populist Movement, Dawes Act
 Required Reading: Chapters 23-26 in American Pageant
 Partial List of Documents/Readings Used: John D. Rockefeller Justifies Rebates (1909), An
Oil Man Goes Bankrupt (1899), Andrew Carnegie’s Gospel of Wealth (1889), The Nation
Challenges Carnegie (1901), The Life of a Sweatshop Girl (1902), Cross of Gold (1896),
Varying Viewpoints: The Populists, Radicals or Reactionaries? and Industrialization, Boon or
Blight?, Wizard of Oz
 Activities/Assignments:
- Students will examine the increase in America’s transportation and communication networks
and evaluate its political, social, and economic impact.
- Students will evaluate the effectiveness of government regulations on industry in regards to
the environment and the people.
- Students will compare and contrast the “fat cats” of the Industrial Age.
- Students will read and discuss Howard Zinn’s “Robber Barons and Rebels”
- Students will answer the question – “were political bosses positive or negative to society”
- Students will examine different political cartoons showing the Statue of Liberty in multiple
perspectives.
- Students will defend or not the need and effectiveness of labor unions in late 19th century
America.
 Short and Long Answer Questions (used as class discussion, prompts, and/or on
tests/quizzes):
o To what extent did government assist in the rise of corporate capitalism following the
Civil War?
o How successful was the trade union movement in the post-Civil War era? In your
answer cite the following: (a) organizing workers and (b) achieving economic goals
o Assess the reasons for the failure of organized labor to improve wages and conditions
significantly for workers in the Gilded Age.
o What effects did the factory have on American social structure?
o How did the Industrial Revolution affect the regions of the United States – North, South,
and West – differently?
o How did political change and progressive reform gain momentum after 1900?
o What were the causes and consequences of urbanization?
Period 7: 1890 - 1945
 Content: Progressivism, Spanish-American War, Imperialism, WWI, Red Scare, Communism,
Great Migration, Neutrality, Great Depression, New Deal, WWII, Japanese Internment
 Required Reading: Chapters 27-35 in American Pageant
 Partial List of Documents/Readings Used: The Jungle (1906), Jacob Riis Photographs the
NY Tenements (1890), Examining the Evidence: The Photography of Lewis W. Hine, Wartime
Propaganda Poster (c.1917), Fourteen Points (1918), Treaty of Versailles (1919), Returning
Soldiers (1919), Advertisement for Listerine (1923), A Wise Economist Asks a Question (1931),
Fireside Chat on the Great Arsenal of Democracy (1940), Mother, When Will You Stay Home
Again? (1944)
 Activities/Assignments:
- Students will examine multiple photographs of the time and discuss whether or not these
photos would have stirred their emotions to do anything politically to help “your fellow man”.
- Students will read and evaluate if the Progressives were successful or if they failed at their
goals.
- Students will identify the motivations and consequences of extending American boundaries
across the Pacific and into the Atlantic Oceans.
- Students will compare and contrast the warning given by Washington during his farewell
address to stay neutral and America’s foreign policy changes during the early twentieth
century.
- Students will compare and contrast W.E.B. Dubois and Booker T. Washington’s goals and
actions taken to obtain civil rights for African Americans.
- Students will examine propaganda posters and evaluate the techniques utilized in WWI and
WWII.
- Students will analyze photographs of the Great Depression and discuss how certain groups of
Americans were living during this time.
- Students will create their own political cartoons based on the New Deal programs.
- Students will compare and contrast the New Deal programs and if they truly benefitted the
people they were created to help. Students will then research these programs to see if they
are still in existence today and how they are helping today.
 Short and Long Answer Questions (used as class discussion, prompts, and/or on
tests/quizzes):
o To what extent is this statement correct? The primary factor in the United States adopting
a policy of imperialism was economic.
o Evaluate the administrations of Roosevelt, Taft, and Wilson in relation to their records as
progressive presidents.
o Why is it not entirely true that the United States remained isolated from world events in the
late nineteenth century? Describe some specific instances of American involvement beyond
its own shores between 1865 and 1900.
o What was the fundamental assumption of the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine?
What made these assumptions seem persuasive to Theodore Roosevelt and others? Do you
agree that the Corollary violated rather than extended the principles of the Monroe
Doctrine?
o Was Theodore Roosevelt’s diplomatic slogan of “speak softly and carry a big stick” judged
to be wise policy guidance for an emerging great power?
o Was Theodore Roosevelt’s policy toward Japan fundamentally friendly, fundamentally
hostile, or somewhere in between?
o Defend or refute the following statement, “Environmentalism and consumer protection were
the two causes that revealed the soul of progressivism.”
o Progressives believed that “the cure for the ills of democracy was more democracy”. How
did progressive reforms attempt to bring more democracy to American society and
government? In what areas were their reforms most successful? In what areas did they
largely fail to succeed?
o Summarize the impact of American participation in WWI on the national economy, civil
liberties, and public attitudes.
o Assess the significance of Wilson’s moralistic idealism on his call for America’s entry into
WWI in 1917, the Fourteen Points, and the campaign for American participation in the
League of Nations.
o How did the rise of the mass media and marketing affect the kind of people Americans
admired and imitated?
o Describe the dominant themes of American literature in the 1920s. Explain why these
themes prevailed.
o Some historians have considered the tensions of the 1920s in terms of a rural backlash
against a rising urban America. Do you agree with this proposition? Why or why not?
o What evidence indicated throughout the 1920s that the economy was not as healthy as
most believed?
o Analyze the reasons for a shift in voting patterns among African Americans in the 1930s.
o
o
o
o
Analyze the debates between the isolationists and the interventionists in the decade before
the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor (1930-1941).
Analyze President Roosevelt’s foreign policy in light of the considerable opposition and
obstacles he faced in helping Great Britain. Discuss the following in your response:
a. Neutrality Acts
b. American First Committee
c. assistance provided to the British
Support or refute the following statement: The United States was justified in using the
atomic bombs against Japan in 1945.
Analyze the degree to which civil liberties were abridged in TWO of the following situations:
- World War I
- The Red Scare of the 1920s
- World War II
- McCarthyism in the 1950s
FOURTH GRADING PERIOD
Period 8: 1945 - 1980
 Content: Cold War, GI Bill, Interstate Highway Act, defense spending, nuclear war, Korean
War, McCarthyism, suburban growth, baby boom, consumerism, civil rights movement, Bay of
Pigs invasion, Cuban Missile Crisis, Vietnam War, Warren court
 Required Reading: Chapters 36-40 in American Pageant
 Partial List of Documents/Readings Used: Secretary George Marshall Speaks at Harvard
(1947), Secretary John Foster Dulles Warns of Massive Retaliation (1954), A Senator Speaks
Up (1950), The Court Rejects Segregation (1954), Eisenhower Sends Troops (1957), Women’s
Career Prospects (1950), Betty Friedan Launches the Modern Feminist Movement (1963),
President Kennedy Proclaims a “Quarantine” (1962), President Johnson Declares War on
Poverty (1964), Rosa Parks Keeps Her Seat (1955), Martin Luther King, Jr., Writes from a
Birmingham Jail (1963), Secretary McNamara Opposes Further Escalation (1966), The
Dilemma of Vietnam (1966), Nixon Incriminates Himself (1972), Nixon Accepts a Presidential
Pardon (1974), Phyllis Schlafly Upholds Traditional Gender Roles (1977), Cartooning the
Energy Crisis (1974)
 Activities/Assignments:
- Students will analyze political cartoons related to McCarthyism and HUAC.
- Students will map “the spread of communism” in Eastern Europe and Asia.
- Students will predict what would happen if communism spread across Eastern Europe and
Asia.
- Students will summarize the effectiveness of Truman’s “containment” policy and Eisenhower’s
“domino theory”.
- Students will compare and contrast the methods utilized by Malcolm X and Martin Luther
King, Jr. to obtain civil rights for African Americans.
- Students will analyze primary source documents related to the Brown vs. Board of Education
(1954) case.
- Students will read and debate how our involvement in certain events contributed to the Cold
War.
- Students will compare and contrast Kennedy and Johnson’s domestic policies.
- Students will defend or refute Kennedy’s decisions in the Cuban Missile Crisis.
- Students will examine how American life changed due to the events of the Cold War.
- Students will listen to various music sources of the 1960s and 1970s and examine how Cold
War events contributed to social changes.
- Students will discuss Larry Berman’s analysis that President Nixon did not negotiate a “peace
with honor” in Vietnam in 1973.
- Discuss the impact of TWO of the following books on American history (1950-1970).
- Baby and Child Care by Dr. Benjamin Spock
- Silent Spring by Rachel Carson
- The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan
 Short and Long Answer Questions (used as class discussion, prompts, and/or on
tests/quizzes):
o Assess the social, economic, and political factors that account for the rise of suburbia
(1945-1960).
o Compare the policies and actions of Presidents Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon in regard
to the Cold War.
o Evaluate the level of success of social movements in the 1960s with reference to TWO of
the following movements:
- Chicano rights movement
- American-Indian movement
- Women’s liberation movement
o Explain the rationale for the postwar policy of containment. Show how it was applied in the
Truman Doctrine, the Marshall Plan, and NATO.
o Compare and contrast America’s anticommunist containment policy in Europe and in East
Asia. Why was the policy more successful in Europe than in Asia?
o What explains the rise of the American civil rights movement in the 1950s?
o Explain why the civil rights movement became more radical and violent as the 1960s
progressed.
o What was the impact of the 1960s cultural rebellions on education, religion, and family?
o Evaluate the role of the Supreme Court on American life.
o What were the causes and consequences of the Iranian hostage crisis?
o To what extent were the social and economic problems of the 1970s a result of failed
American policies and actions of the 1960s?
Period 9: 1980 - Present
 Content: Reagan, Bush Sr., Clinton, Bush, Jr., Obama, conservatism, supply-side economics,
terrorism, scandal, economic surplus, liberalism, recession, NAFTA, Persian Gulf War, 9/11, alQueda, immigration, globalization
 Required Reading: Chapters 40-42 in American Pageant
 Partial List of Documents/Readings Used: The New York Times Attacks Reagan’s Policies
(1981), Stephen J. Solarz Makes the Case for War Against Iraq (1991), The Supreme Court
Makes George W. Bush President (2000), Justice Stevens Dissents (2000), A British Journalist
Takes Aim at U.S. Foreign Policy (2001), President Bush Describes an “Axis of Evil” (2002),
The Gender Divide (1975-2007), Samuel P. Huntington Fears a Cultural Divide (2004),
Changing Attitudes Towards Diversity (1937-2007), Cartoonists Cheer Obama’s Victory (2008),
E.J. Dionne, Jr., Sees a Shifting Religious Landscape (2008), The California Supreme Court
Upholds Gay Marriage (2008)
 Activities/Assignments:
- Students will conduct a Socratic seminar using Taking Sides excerpts: Is the United States a
Declining Power?
- Students will examine economic data on spending from the Reagan, Clinton, and Bush, Jr.
Administrations and draw comparisons.
- Students will analyze immigration acts through the twentieth and twenty-first centuries and
discuss reasons for tensions between immigrants and Americans and how having illegal
immigrants in the U.S. has helped or hurt America. Students can also discuss other
immigration problems and solutions (economic, political, judicial).
- Students will defend or refute the economic opportunities of NAFTA.
- Students will compare speeches given by Giuliani and Bush, Jr. after 9/11. Discuss the tone,
audience, purpose, and result of both speeches.
- Students will compare the domestic and foreign policies of Bush, Sr., Clinton, and Bush, Jr.
- Students will analyze the 2000 Electoral College map and discuss the issues present during
the election and after.
- Students will write how America has changed over the last half century due to globalization.
 Short and Long Answer Questions (used as class discussion, prompts, and/or on
tests/quizzes):
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Contrast the conservative ideology of President Reagan with the liberal views of Truman,
Johnson, and Kennedy.
Analyze the elements of the coalition that comprises the New Right.
Analyze attempts by the United States to help achieve a comprehensive peace between
Israel and its neighbors between 1976 and 2001.
What were the long-term consequences of the Persian Gulf War?
What were the successes and failures of Ronald Reagan’s supply-side economics
(Reaganomics)?
Compare and contrast Ronald Reagan as leader and agent of political change in the 1980s
with that of Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 1930s.
What were the greatest successes of the American economy in the 1990s? What role did
Clinton’s international trade agreements play in the expanding prosperity of the period?
Why was the process of economic globalization often controversial?
Did the contested, razor-thin election of 2000 reflect the strengths and weaknesses of
American democracy? Do you agree that the Supreme Court had the right to settle the
outcome?
How did the U.S. domestic reaction to the “war on terror” compare with similar responses
to World War I, World War II, and the Cold War?
Assess the legacy of Ronald Reagan with reference to TWO of the following:
- the Iran-Contra Scandal
- the fall of communism
- the deficit rate in the U.S. in the 1980s
- illegal drug use in the U.S. in the 1980s