AP US History Syllabus
(2013 – 2014)
Course Overview
The Salem Witchcraft Trials, the Declaration of Independence, the Trail of Tears, the Emancipation Proclamation,
the “golden spike” that completed America’s first transcontinental railroad, the Scopes Monkey trial, the dropping of
the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, and, the September 11th, 2001 terrorist attacks are just a few of the many critical
events that constitute American History. History is, however, much more than simply the accumulation of critical
events laid upon a time line or a series of facts to be memorized for an exam or the game show Jeopardy. Indeed, the
thrill of studying history comes from understanding how various historical forces and historical actors intersect at
particular moments in time to create historically significant events and/or to initiate new historical forces. To this
end, students will be continuously asked to examine various historical events in the light of particular themes
covered in this course. Such themes include: the evolution of political culture, political institutions, public policies,
and political suffrage, land hunger, land policies, and westward expansion, the significance of regionalism (cultural,
economic, and social aspects, in particular) and how said regionalism has impacted public policy debates as well as
elections in the United States, the changing nature of immigration and increasing diversity of the American people
in terms of ethnicity, race, and religious practices, types of economic systems and their accompanying labor
systems, the role of the United States in the international arena, demographic patterns from colonial times to the
present, the impact of Americans on the environment and the physical landscape of the country and the impact of the
physical landscape on American settlement patterns and economic / cultural practices, cultural paradigms and
practices, the role of religion as a cultural and political force (especially in the major political and social reform
movements), the changing roles of women, treatment of ethnic / racial minorities, and American Exceptionalism,
Myth or Reality.
Historical events and historical themes do not, however, take place in a vacuum. Historical events occur within
given historical eras/periods while historical themes traverse across many historical eras/periods. Consequently, one
of the fundamental goals of this course is to explain to students the importance of historical era/periods in the study
of history. Students will learn how historians determine the time frame for a given era/period and why historians
differ over the demarcation points for a given era/period. As history is the study of change over time. This course,
AP U.S. History, examines the cultural, economics, and social aspects of American History as well as the political
and diplomatic elements within given eras/periods with the goal of tracing the historical evolution of the United
States. The first semester of this course is broken into five units. Unit A of the course introduces students to the craft
of history and the types of assignments students will be engaged in. The four remaining parts of the first semester
are divided into four chronological eras: Unit 1 – Colonial America (1490 – 1763), Unit 2 – The Early Republic
(1763 – 1815), Unit 3 – Expansionist America (1800 – 1860), and Unit 4 – A Nation Torn Apart (1840 – 1877). The
second semester has five units. The first four units are chronological: Unit 5 – America Transformed (1865 – 1900),
Unit 6 – The Emergence of the Regulatory State (1900 – 1932), Unit 7 – American Phoenix (1933 – 1960), and Unit
8 – Testing the Limits (1961 to the present). Unit B – Review for the AP US History exam follows Unit 8.
Throughout the course, students will have ample opportunity to practice the craft of the historian over the course of
the school year as they examine various forms of primary source material (charts, graphs, maps, letters, photographs,
political cartoons, selected excepts from various types of publications, speeches, and tables displaying data to name
but a handful of the types of primary source material that historians rely upon in practicing their craft) and learn how
to critically analyze and summarize secondary source material (either in the form of an historiographical essay or a
scholarly essay about a particular issue or theme).
“The Quest for Illumination”
Inspired by decades (yes, I am that old) of reading and reflection about the nature of a liberal arts education, this
course embraces the inquiry-based model of learning. Oft-times, “education” is simply the teacher speaking from his
or her bully pulpit in hopes that the words uttered will somehow flow into the “empty vessels” sitting before the
teacher. In this typical model of passive learning, the student takes lecture notes, often erroneously, and does the
assigned reading with the hope of gleaning the most important information and/or concepts. Indeed, in this model,
the vast majority of students see a social science text [or, for that matter, lectures] as simply an accumulation of
“key” facts or concepts that must be digested and then regurgitated come examination day. The resultant foul stench
drives students away from the feast table that is knowledge. Students are rarely encouraged to genuinely look, smell,
and taste what it is they are about to consume. Nor are students asked to imagine how different combinations of
spices might alter the taste of the meal.
In stark contrast, the inquiry-based model calls upon the teacher to create an environment in which students come to
the feast table of knowledge eager to sample the fare. In such a course, students are made aware that knowledge is
more than the progressive absorption of more and more information. Students gradually come to the realization that
knowledge occurs when one can synthesize information and/or concepts into comprehensible relationships.
Our inquiry-based classroom will utilize a Workshop Model where I serve as the Master Craftsman and you play the
role of young apprentices to the craft. I will provide a systematic, structured environment in which your knowledge
of American History will grow as will your capacity to read critically and write well about various issues associated
with the field. Throughout this course, students will be continually asked to pose questions about the materials under
review and to offer up tentative answers of their own-making – to practice the Art of Scholarship. To facilitate this
process, students will be exposed to a number of academic articles that provide students with models of how to
tackle and write about issues of historical importance. Also, students will be engaged in a number of activities in
which they learn how to analyze various types of documents. By the end of our intellectual journey, students should
be confident, independent thinkers who have added a spatial perspective to their intellectual quiver and who are
willing to venture out on their own intellectually. Such a journey is not easy. However, the knowledge one gleans as
a result of the experience will enable the student to illuminate the pathway of future intellectual endeavors.
Textbook
George Brown Tindall and David E. Shi, America: A Narrative History, Brief Edition (New York, W.W. Norton,
2009), 8th edition.
In addition, students will read a number of selections from the following secondary texts:
Couvares, Saxton, Grob, & Billias (eds.), Interpretations of American History, volumes 1 and 2 (New York, The
Free Press, 2000), 7th edition.
Boyer, et al. The Enduring Vision (Kentucky, Centage Learning, 2003), 5th Ed / AP Edition
Brinkley, Alan. Unfinished Nation (New York, McGraw-Hill, 1999), 3rd edition
.
Also, students will be asked to use EBSCO to identify additional academic articles that might prove useful in
crafting their argumentative papers. The username and password for EBSCO use will be distributed at the start of
the school year and there will be an activity in the library using EBSCO so that students can be comfortable using
that system. Students may also use electronic documents from internet sources that focus on history.
Components of the Apprenticeship Program
Foundational Work (24% - 480 points)
Discussion (8%) – 4 x 40 points
Discussion is a critical component of this course and will center on assigned readings (primary documents, scholarly
articles, and textbook passages) and on peer review of reflection exercises and writing exercises associated with
DBQs, précises, and argumentative papers. The format of discussions will vary depending on the items under review
and the length of a particular class period. As a general rule, discussion will open in small group format (three or
four students per group) and close in large group format (the entire class). The intent of the small group format is to
expose students to a wide variety of viewpoints as they discuss the readings and/or critique student writing. The goal
of the large group format is to sharpen each student’s critical thinking and oral argumentative skills as I pose queries
regarding the topic at hand. I will be an equal opportunity inquisitor – meaning that I will solicit responses from a
wide variety of students on any given day and that every student will be called upon at least once per week. A
student will automatically receive 34 points (B) each unit provided he comes to class prepared, participates in small
group, and demonstrates a basic grasp of the material when called upon. A student’s point count will go up if he
demonstrates a thorough understanding of the material under review or down if he is not prepared to discuss the
material under review.
Lecture Notebook (4%) – 4 x 20 points
Students are required to keep a lecture notebook. This notebook will be turned-in the day of the each MultipleChoice Exam. A student will receive full credit if he demonstrates that he has been an active listener. The goal of the
lecture notebook is to encourage students to develop strong note-taking skills and to provide them with a set of notes
in order to aid in their preparation for the various exams given in this class as well as the AP exam.
Text Questions (12%) – 8 x 30 points
A series of text questions will be given to students at the start of each unit. Students must generate a paragraph-long
response to each of the assigned questions. Responses will be used to facilitate classroom discussion of the issues at
hand and to prepare students for the DBQ, Essay, and Multiple – Choice exams. Responses will be collected twice
per unit.
Objective Exams (24% - 480 points)
Multiple-Choice Exam (8%) – 4 x 40 points
There will be four multiple-choice exams per semester.. Each exam will consist of forty AP-style multiple-choice
questions and you will be given thirty-five minutes to complete the exam. The purpose of this exam is to measure
your mastery of key concepts / facts and to develop critical reading skills as you grapple with each question and the
possible answers. The score on this section of the exam will be your raw score plus four points (the four points
reflect the curve I build into the score because of the difficulty of AP questions). If no one achieves a raw score of
36, a rare occurrence, I will curve the exam until the top score translates into a score of 40 / 40.
Semester Exam – M/C portion (8%) – 1 x 160 points
There will be a cumulative multiple-choice exam during the semester exam period. You will be given thirty-five
minutes to answer forty multiple-choice questions. The score on this section of the exam will be four times your raw
score plus sixteen points (the sixteen points represent the 10% curve I utilize in the multiple-choice section of the
Unit Exam). The Cumulative Final is a good predictor of your success on this part of the actual AP exam.
On-Demand Writing Exercises (26% - 520 points)
Document-Based Question Essay (8%) – 4 x 40 points
The DBQ requires students to craft an argumentative essay based on documentary evidence (charts, graphs, pictures,
political cartoons, and a variety of written texts) and the question posed. The documents vary in length and students
will be given 15 minutes to analyze the documents and 45 minutes to craft a well-written essay. In addition, students
must address the contextual element(s) in which the documents were created and explain how the major issues of a
given time period or theme apply to the posed question. The DBQs assigned will address a wide-range of historical
issues.
Essay Exam: Short Answers (4%) – 2 x 40 points
Students will be given twenty-five minutes to craft responses to a paired set of questions (you will select from one of
two paired-sets per Essay Exam). Each response will be worth 20 points (40 points total per exam) and should
address the key issues associated with the historical question under review.
Essay Exam: Essay Response (6%) – 2 x 60 points
Students will have thirty-five minutes to respond to a single question (you will select from two questions). The
purpose of this exercise is to have students generate an argumentative essay in an on-demand, timed format.
Students are expected to incorporate key concepts and/or facts in support of their thesis.
Semester Exam: Essay Response (8%) – 1 x 160 points
Students will have 55 minutes to respond to two essay questions. Each response will be worth 80 points. The
questions may be overarching in nature or address a major issue or theme from a given historical era. Questions that
are overarching require students to touch upon a number of issues addressed over the course of the semester or a
given historical era. Both types of essays require students to generate an argumentative essay not a descriptive essay.
Reflective Writing Exercises (26% - 520 points)
(Format for all Reflective Writing Exercises: Times New Roman, 11 font, 1 ½ line spacing, 1” margins, Justified)
Argumentative Papers (12%) – 2 x 120 points
Students will write two argumentative papers each semester, each essay will be 5 – 7 pp. in length. Students will
draw upon the two assigned scholarly articles (the ones used for the précis writing assignments), an historiographical
essay that gives a brief overview of a number of historical interpretations on the assigned topic, and a number of
documents pertinent to the topic. The 1st semester essay topics are The Origins of the American Revolution and The
Civil War: Avoidable or Inevitable. The 2nd semester topics are The Origins of American Imperialism and The
Origins of the Cold War.
Detailed Outline of Argumentative Papers (6%) – 2 x 60 points
Students will write a detailed outline of their proposed paper. Essentially, this outline will be the rough draft of the
argumentative paper written in outline form.
Précis Exercises (8%) – 4 x 40 points
Students will write four précises each semester, each précis will be two pages in length and address a specific
scholarly article. A précis is a specialized summary that explicates the author’s thesis and the key lines of argument
in support of that thesis. The purpose of this analytical assignment is to develop a student’s critical reading and
writing skills. Each précis will require students to read a scholarly article with a critical eye and to write a clear,
coherent response that illustrates a student’s understanding of the assigned reading.
Extra Credit (40 points)
Students will have the opportunity to earn 40 points of extra-credit per semester, equivalent to 2% of the points
available for the semester – 20 points per grading cycle
Quiz and Exam Make-Ups
The make-up day for Multiple-Choice exams will be Wednesdays at lunch, 7th period, or after school. Make-ups for
DBQs or Essay Exams will be 7th period or after-school depending on the student’s schedule.
Late Work Policy
Text Questions submitted after the due date but before the Multiple-Choice exam will be marked down 20%. Text
Questions submitted after the Multiple-Choice exam but before the Essay Exam will be marked down 50%. Late
Reflective Writing Exercises will be marked down 20% if received within one week of the due date or 50% if
received after one week. No late work will be accepted after the Essay Exam..
Grades
The grading policy for the Social Studies depart is:
A 90.0 - 100.0%
B 80.0 - 89.9%
C 70.0 - 79.9%
D
60.0 - 69.9%
F
below 60.0%
AP US History
Calendar of Assignments
2013 – 2014
Dates
8/5 – 8/9
8/12 – 8/16
8/19 – 8/23
8/26 – 8/30
9/2 – 9/6
9/9– 9/13
9/16 – 9/20
9/23 – 9/27
9/30 – 10/4
10/7 – 10/11
10/14 – 10/18
10/21 – 10/25
10/28 – 11/1
11/4 – 11/8
11/11 – 11/15
11/18 – 11/22
11/25 – 11/29
12/2 – 12/6
12/9 – 12/13
12/16 – 12/20
Monday
1/6 – 1/10
1/13 – 1/17
1/20 – 1/24
1/27 – 1/31
2/3 – 2/7
2/10 – 2/14
2/17 – 2/21
2/24 – 2/28
3/3 – 3/7
3/10 – 3/14
3/17 – 3/21
3/24 – 3/28
3/31 – 4/4
4/7 – 4/11
4/14 – 4/18
4/21 – 4/25
4/28 – 5/2
Grades Due
Labor Day
Tuesday
Text Q/A #1
Text Q/A #2
Text Q/A #3
M/C Exam #1
Wednesday
In-Service
W/S Activities
Paper #1 Outline
Text Q/A #4
M/C Exam #2
Grades Due
Veterans Day
Paper #2 Outline
Thanksgiving
MLK, Jr. Day
Grades Due
Paper #4 Outline
Friday
Extra Credit #1
Précis #1
Précis #2
DBQ #1
W/S Activities
Paper #1
DBQ #2
Essay Exam #1
Précis #3
Précis #4
DBQ #3
W/S Activities
Paper #2
Thanksgiving
DBQ #4
Essay Exam #2
SE
Extra Credit #1
Précis #1
Précis #2
DBQ #1
In-Service
Paper #1
Senior Mass
Essay Exam #1
Extra Credit #2
Précis #3
Précis #4
Senior Mass
W/S Activities
Paper #2
Thanksgiving
DBQ #4
Essay Exam #2
SE
Précis #5
Précis #6
DBQ #5
W/S Activities
Paper #3
DBQ #6
Essay Exam #3
Précis #7
Précis #8
Extra Credit #3
W/S Activities
Paper #4
DBQ #7
Essay Exam #4
Holy Thursday
Easter Vacation
Précis #5
Précis #6
DBQ #5
Text Q/A #11
In-Service
DBQ #6
Essay Exam #3
Senior Mass
Précis #8
No School
W/S Activities
Paper #4
DBQ #7
Essay Exam #4
Good Friday
Easter Vacation
AP
AP
Extra Credit #4
SE - DBQ #8
No School
SE - DBQ #8
Nat. Testing Day
Text Q/A #5
Text Q/A #6
Text Q/A #7
M/C Exam #3
Thanksgiving
Text Q/A #8
M/C Exam #4
SE
Text Q/A #9
Text Q/A #10
M/C Exam #5
Paper #3 Outline
Presidents’ Day
DBQ #2
Thursday
Text Q/A #12
M/C Exam #6
Text Q/A #13
Text Q/A #14
Text Q/A #15
M/C Exam #7
DBQ #3
Thanksgiving
SE
W/S Activities
Paper #3
Précis #7
Easter Vacation
Text Q/A #16
M/C Exam #8
SE
Easter Vacation
SE
Easter Vacation
5/5 – 5/9
5/12 – 5/16
AP
AP
AP
AP
AP
AP
5/19 – 5/23
5/26 - 5/30
Memorial Day
SE - DBQ #8
SE - DBQ #8
6/2 – 6/6
Grades Due
Note: Lecture Notebooks are due the day of the M/C Exam
Topics / Sources for Argumentative Papers
Qtr 1: Origins of the American Revolution
Primary Sources:
Selected documents from The Reasons for Declaring Independence in 1776
(Source: Enduring Vision - AP Edition – DBQ #2)
Selected documents from Impact of the French – Indian War on Britain’s Relationship with Its Colonies
(Source: College Board – 2004 AP US History Exam)
Secondary Sources:
The American Revolution: Social or Ideological? packet - packet includes an historiographical essay on the origins
of the American Revolution, an essay by Gary B. Nash, and an essay by T.H. Breen.
(Source: Interpretations of American History, v. 1)
Qtr 2: Origins of the Civil War
Primary Sources:
Selected documents from The Crisis of the Union, 1850 – 1860
(Source: Enduring Vision - AP Edition – DBQ #7)
Selected documents from The 1850s: Prelude to Civil War
(Source: College Board – 1987 AP US History Exam)
Secondary Sources:
The Civil War: Repressible or Irrepressible? packet - packet includes an historiographical essay on the origins of the
Civil War, an essay by Allan Nevins essay, and an essay by William Freehling.
(Source: Interpretations of American History, v. 1)
Qtr 3: Origins of the American Imperialism
Primary Sources:
Selected documents found at or linked to the Imperialism section of Fordham’s Modern History Sourcebook series
Selected documents from Expansionism, Old and New
(Source: College Board – 1994 AP US History Exam)
Secondary Sources:
American Imperialism: Economic Expansion or Ideological Crusade? packet - packet includes an historiographical
essay on the origins of an American Imperialism, an essay by Walter LaFeber, and an essay by Gerald F.
Linderman.
(Source: Interpretations of American History, v. 2)
Qtr 4: Origins of the Cold War
Primary Sources:
Selected documents found at or linked to the Cold War section of Fordham’s Modern History Sourcebook series
Selected documents from US-USSR Relations, 1941 – 1949 /
(Source: College Board – 2006B AP US History Exam)
Secondary Sources:
America and the Cold War: Containment or Hegemony? packet - packet includes an historiographical essay on the
origins of the Cold War, an essay by John Lewis Gaddis, and an essay by H.W. Brands.
(Source: Interpretations of American History, v. 2)
Supplemental Readings for Discussion
Historiography: The American Population before Columbus (Source: Unfinished Nation – Debating the Past #1)
Historiography: The Origins of Slavery (Source: Unfinished Nation – Debating the Past #3)
Historiography: The American Revolution (Source: Unfinished Nation – Debating the Past #5)
Historiography: Jacksonian Democracy (Source: Unfinished Nation – Debating the Past #7)
Historiography: The Character of Slavery (Source: Unfinished Nation – Debating the Past #8)
Historiography: The Causes of the Civil War (Source: Unfinished Nation – Debating the Past #9)
Historiography: Reconstruction (Source: Unfinished Nation – Debating the Past #10)
Historiography: The Frontier and the West (Source: Unfinished Nation – Debating the Past #11)
Historiography: Populism (Source: Unfinished Nation – Debating the Past #12)
Historiography: Progressivism (Source: Unfinished Nation – Debating the Past #13)
Historiography: Causes of the Great Depression (Source: Unfinished Nation – Debating the Past #14)
Historiography: The New Deal (Source: Unfinished Nation – Debating the Past #15)
Historiography: The Decision to Drop the Atomic Bomb (Source: Unfinished Nation – Debating the Past #17)
Historiography: The Cold War (Source: Unfinished Nation – Debating the Past #18)
Historiography: The Vietnam Commitment (Source: Unfinished Nation – Debating the Past #21)
Historiography: Watergate (Source: Unfinished Nation – Debating the Past #22)
*** Note: This readings are two pages in length and easily handled as part of discussion days
DBQs
Used to practice document analysis and for DBQ Exams – does not include the DBQ documents assigned for
Argumentative Papers (see previous page) – students will do at least one per unit, more if time permits
Unit 1
European Colonization of North America to 1660 (Source: Enduring Vision - AP Edition – DBQ #1)
English Colonies, North and South (Source: College Board – 1993 AP US History Exam)
Impact of Puritanism on the New England colonies from 1630 – 1660 - (Source: College Board – 2010 AP US History Exam)
Unit 2
The Emergence of the First Party System, 1789 – 1808 (Source: Enduring Vision - AP Edition – DBQ #3)
The 1780s?: A Critical Period (Source: College Board – 1985 AP US History Exam)
Interpretations of the Constitution in the Early Republic (Source: College Board – 1998 AP US History Exam)
Impact of the American Revolution on American Society, 1775 – 1800 (Source: College Board – 2005 AP US History Exam)
Unit 3
DBQ: Economic Change and Family Life, 1815 – 1860 (Source: Enduring Vision - AP Edition – DBQ #4)
Evolving Ideals of American Womanhood, 1770 – 1860 (Source: College Board – 2006 AP US History Exam)
Andrew Jackson & Indian Removal (Source: College Board – 2006 AP US History Exam)
Jacksonian Democracy (Source: College Board – 1990 AP US History Exam)
Reform Movements, 1825 – 1850 (Source: College Board – 1990 AP US History Exam)
Unit 4
The Crittenden Compromise (Source: College Board – 1974 AP US History Exam)
African-Americans Impact on the Civil War & Reconstruction (Source: College Board – 2009B AP US History Exam)
John Brown’s Raid (Source: College Board – 1982 AP US History Exam)
Unit 5
Immigration and Assimilation in Urban America, 1870 – 1900 (Source: Enduring Vision - AP Edition – DBQ #9)
The Populists (Source: College Board – 1983 AP US History Exam)
Impact of Big Business on the economy and politics, 1865 – 1900 (Source: College Board – 2012 AP US History Exam)
Unit 6
National Progressivism, 1901 – 1917 (Source: Enduring Vision - AP Edition – DBQ #10)
Effectiveness of Progressive Era reformers at the national level (Source: College Board – 2003B AP US History Exam)
Booker T. Washington & W.E.B. DuBois (Source: College Board – 1989 AP US History Exam)
Government Responses to Immigration, 1880 – 1925 (Source: College Board – 2008B AP US History Exam)
Unit 7
The Changing Roles of Women, 1933 – 1945 (Source: Enduring Vision - AP Edition – DBQ #11)
FDR and the Great Depression (Source: College Board – 2003 AP US History Exam)
The Decision to Drop the Atomic Bomb (Source: College Board – 1988 AP US History Exam)
Hoover and Roosevelt: Liberal or Conservative? (Source: College Board – 1984 AP US History Exam)
Unit 8
Korea, Vietnam, and the Cold War, 1950 – 1975 (Source: Enduring Vision - AP Edition – DBQ #12)
African American Civil Rights Movement, 1960s (Source: College Board – 1988 AP US History Exam)
Nixon Administration’s Domestic and International Policies (Source: College Board – 2011 AP US History Exam)
The Interstate Highway System, 1956 – 2000 (Source: Enduring Vision - AP Edition – DBQ #13)
Impact of the Vietnam War on the US, 1964 – 1975 (Source: College Board – 2008 AP US History Exam)
Teaching Units – Major Topic Areas Covered
Unit 1 – Colonial America (1490 – 1763)
America before Columbus, Europe Looks Westward, The Arrival of the English, The Early Chesapeake, The
Growth of New England, The Restoration Colonies, Borderlands and Middle Grounds, The Evolution of the British
Empire, The Colonial Population, The Colonial Economies, Patterns of Society, Great Awakening and the
Enlightenment, British – Colonial Relations in the early 18th c., The Struggle for the Continent, Provincial Politics,
and Provincial Political Culture
Unit 2 – The Early Republic (1763 – 1815)
The New Imperialism, Stirrings of Revolt, Decision for Independence, The States United, The War for
Independence, War and Society, The Creation of State Governments, The Search for National Government, Framing
a New Government, Republican Motherhood, Federalists and Republicans, Establishing National Sovereignty,
Political Crises of the 1790s, Revolution of 1800, Beginnings of the 2nd Great Awakening, Doubling the National
Domain, Westward Expansion and War, and the War of 1812
Unit 3 – Expansionist America (1800 – 1860)
The Era of “Good Feelings” and the Rise of Cultural Nationalism, Marshall Court, The Market Revolution, Stirrings
if Industrialism, Expanding Westward, Sectionalism and Nationalism, The End of the First Party System, the Rise
of Mass Politics, The Nullification Crisis, Indian Removal, Jackson and the Bank War, The Emergence of the 2 nd
Party System, Immigration and the Nativist Response, Transportation, Communications, and Technological
Revolutions, The Industrial North, The Agricultural North, Patterns of Living, the Cult of Domesticity, The Cotton
Economy, Social Structures in the Antebellum South, The Peculiar Institution, The Culture of Slavery, The
Romantic Impulse, Transcendentalism, and Utopian Communities, 2nd Great Awakening in Full Flower, and
Reforming Society, and the Abolitionist Movement
Unit 4 – A Nation Torn Apart (1840 – 1877)
Looking Westward, Manifest Destiny, The War with Mexico, The Sectional Debate, The Crises of the 1850s, The
Secession Crisis, The Mobilization of the North, The Mobilization of the South, Strategy and Diplomacy, The
Course of Battles, The Problems of Peacemaking, Radical Reconstruction, Reconstruction in Practice, The Grant
Administration, and Reconstruction Ends
Unit 5 – America Transformed (1865 – 1900)
The New South, The Society of the Far West, The Changing Western Economy, The Romance of the West, The
Dispersal of the Tribes, The Rise and Decline of the Western Farmers, Sources of Industrial Growth and the
Emergence of Industrial Capitalism, Capitalism and Its Critics, Industrial Workers in the New Economy, The Labor
Movement, The Urbanization of America, The Urban Landscape, Strains of Urban Life, The Rise of Mass
Consumption, Popular Culture in Urban America, High Culture in Urban America, The Politics of Equilibrium, The
Agrarian Revolt, The Crises of the 1990s, the Election of 1896, Stirrings of Imperialism, War with Spain, The
Republic as Empire
Unit 6 – The Emergence of the Regulatory State (1900 – 1932)
The Progressive Impulse, the “New” Woman and the Quest for Suffrage, Reforming Political Parties and Local
Government, Sources of Progressive Reform, Progressive Crusade for Social Order and Political Reform, Theodore
Roosevelt and the Creation of the Modern Presidency, Taft and the Progressive Movement, Woodrow Wilson and
the New Freedom, the “Big Stick”: America and the World, 1901 – 1917, The Road to World War I, America Over
There, The War and American Society, The Search for a New World Order, A Society in Turmoil – the Crises of
1919, The New Economy, The New Culture, Traditional Culture vs. Modern Culture, Republican Government, The
Coming of the Great Depression, The Diplomacy of the New Era, and The Ordeal of Herbert Hoover
Unit 7 – American Phoenix (1933 – 1960)
Launching the New Deal, The New Deal in Crisis, The New Deal in Disarray, the American People in Hard Times,
The Depression and American Culture, The New Labor Movement, Isolationism and Internationalism, From
Neutrality to Intervention, War on Two Fronts, The American People in Wartime, The Defeat of the Axis, Origins
of the Cold War, , American Society and Politics after World War II, The Korean War, Anti-Communism at Home,
“The Economic Miracle” of the Post-War Economy, A Revolution in Science and Technology, Affluent America,
the “Other” America, The Rise of the Civil Rights Movement, Eisenhower Republicanism, and Eisenhower, Dulles,
and the Cold War
Unit 8 – Testing the Limits (1961 to the present)
Expanding the Liberal State, The Battle for Racial Equality, “Flexible Response” and the Cold War, The Vietnam
Conflict (1945 – 1968), The Political Traumas of 1968, The Rise of Youth Culture, Mobilization of Minorities other
than African Americans, The New Feminism, The Birth of the Environmental Movement, Nixon, Kissinger, and
Vietnam Conflict, Nixon, Kissinger, and the World, Politics and Economics during the Nixon Administration, the
Watergate Crisis, Politics and Diplomacy under Ford and Carter, The Rise of the New American Right, The
“Reagan Revolution”, America and the Waning of the Cold War, Political Developments from 1993 – present, the
Economic Boom and Economic Collapse, Science and Technology in the New Economy, A Changing Society, a
Contested Culture, and The Perils of Globalization
I.
Pre-Columbian Societies
A. Early inhabitants of the Americas
B. American Indian empires in Mesoamerica, the Southwest, and the Mississippi Valley
C. American Indian cultures of North America at the time of European contact
II.
Transatlantic Encounters and Colonial Beginnings, 1492–1690
A. First European contacts with American Indians
B. Spain’s empire in North America
C. French colonization of Canada
D. English settlement of New England, the Mid-Atlantic region, and the South
E. From servitude to slavery in the Chesapeake region
F. Religious diversity in the American colonies
G. Resistance to colonial authority: Bacon’s Rebellion, the Glorious Revolution, and the
H. Pueblo Revolt
III.
Colonial North America, 1690–1754
A. Population growth and immigration
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
IV.
Transatlantic trade and the growth of seaports
The eighteenth-century back country
Growth of plantation economies and slave societies
The Enlightenment and the Great Awakening
Colonial governments and imperial policy in British North America
The American Revolutionary Era, 1754–1789
A. The French and Indian War
B. The Imperial Crisis and resistance to Britain
C. The War for Independence
D. State constitutions and the Articles of Confederation
E. The federal Constitution
V.
The Early Republic, 1789–1815
A. Washington, Hamilton, and shaping of the national government
B. Emergence of political parties: Federalists and Republicans
C. Republican Motherhood and education for women
D. Beginnings of the Second Great Awakening
E. Significance of Jefferson’s presidency
F. Expansion into the trans-Appalachian West; American Indian resistance
G. Growth of slavery and free Black communities
H. The War of 1812 and its consequences
VI.
Transformation of the Economy and Society in Antebellum America
A. The transportation revolution and creation of a national market economy
B. Beginnings of industrialization and changes in social and class structures
C. Immigration and nativist reaction
D. Planters, yeoman farmers, and slaves in the cotton South
VII.
VIII.
IX.
X.
The Transformation of Politics in Antebellum America
A. Emergence of the second party system
B. Federal authority and its opponents: judicial federalism, the Bank War, tariff controversy, and states’ rights
debates
C. Jacksonian democracy and its successes and limitations
Religion, Reform, and Renaissance in Antebellum America
A. Evangelical Protestant revivalism
B. Social reforms
C. Ideals of domesticity
D. Transcendentalism and utopian communities
E. American Renaissance: literary and artistic expressions
Territorial Expansion and Manifest Destiny
A. Forced removal of American Indians to the trans-Mississippi West
B. Western migration and cultural interactions
C. Territorial acquisitions
D. Early US imperialism: the Mexican War
The Crisis of the Union
A. Pro- and antislavery arguments and conflicts
B. Compromise of 1850 and popular sovereignty
C. The Kansas–Nebraska Act and the emergence of the Republican Party
D. Abraham Lincoln, the election of 1860, and secession
XI.
XII.
Civil War
A. Two societies at war: mobilization, resources, and internal dissent
B. Military strategies and foreign diplomacy
C. Emancipation and the role of African Americans in the war
D. Social, political, and economic effects of war in the North, South, and West
Reconstruction
A. Presidential and Radical Reconstruction
B. Southern state governments: aspirations, achievements, failures
C. Role of African Americans in politics, education, and the economy
D. Compromise of 1877
E. Impact of Reconstruction
XIII.
The Origins of the New South
A. Reconfiguration of southern agriculture: sharecropping and crop-lien system
B. Expansion of manufacturing and industrialization
C. The politics of segregation: Jim Crow and disfranchisement
XIV.
Development of the West in the Late Nineteenth Century
A. Expansion and development of western railroads
B. Competitors for the West: miners, ranchers, homesteaders, and American Indians
C. Government policy toward American Indians
D. Gender, race, and ethnicity in the far West
E. Environmental impacts of western settlement
XV.
XVI.
XVII.
XVIII.
XIX.
Industrial America in the Late Nineteenth Century
A. Corporate consolidation of industry
B. Effects of technological development on the worker and workplace
C. Labor and unions
D. National politics and influence of corporate power
E. Migration and immigration: the changing face of the nation
F. Proponents and opponents of the new order, e.g., Social Darwinism and Social Gospel
Urban Society in the Late Nineteenth Century
A. Urbanization and the lure of the city
B. City problems and machine politics
C. Intellectual and cultural movements and popular entertainment
Populism and Progressivism
A. Agrarian discontent and political issues of the late nineteenth century
B. Origins of Progressive reform: municipal, state, and national
C. Roosevelt, Taft, and Wilson as Progressive presidents
D. Women’s roles: family, workplace, education, politics, and reform
E. Black America: urban migration and civil rights initiatives.
The Emergence of America as a World Power
A. American imperialism: political and economic expansion
B. War in Europe and American neutrality
C. The First World War at home and abroad
D. Treaty of Versailles
E. Society and economy in the postwar years
The New Era: 1920s
A. The business of America and the consumer economy
B.
C.
D.
E.
XX.
XXI.
XXII.
Republican politics: Harding, Coolidge, and Hoover
The culture of Modernism: science, the arts, and entertainment
Responses to Modernism: religious fundamentalism, nativism, and Prohibition
The ongoing struggle for equality: African Americans and women
The Great Depression and the New Deal
A. Causes of the Great Depression
B. The Hoover administration’s response
C. Franklin Delano Roosevelt and the New Deal
D. Labor and union recognition
E. The New Deal coalition and its critics from the Right and the Left
F. Surviving hard times: American society during the Great Depression
The Second World War
A. The rise of fascism and militarism in Japan, Italy, and Germany
B. Prelude to war: policy of neutrality
C. The attack on Pearl Harbor and United States declaration of war
D. Fighting a multifront war
E. Diplomacy, war aims, and wartime conferences
F. The United States as a global power in the Atomic Age
The Home Front During the War
A. Wartime mobilization of the economy
B. Urban migration and demographic changes
C. Women, work, and family during the war
D. Civil liberties and civil rights during wartime
E. War and regional development
F. Expansion of government power
XXIII.
The United States and the Early Cold War
A. Origins of the Cold War
B. Truman and containment
C. The Cold War in Asia: China, Korea, Vietnam, and Japan
D. Diplomatic strategies and policies of the Eisenhower and Kennedy administrations
E. The Red Scare and McCarthyism
F. Impact of the Cold War on American society
XXIV.
The 1950s
A. Emergence of the modern civil rights movement
B. The affluent society and “the other America”
C. Consensus and conformity: suburbia and middle-class America
D. Social critics, nonconformists, and cultural rebels
E. Impact of changes in science, technology, and medicine
XXV.
XXVI.
The Turbulent 1960s
A. From the New Frontier to the Great Society
B. Expanding movements for civil rights
C. Cold War confrontations: Asia, Latin America, and Europe
D. Beginning of Détente
E. The antiwar movement and the counterculture
Politics and Economics at the End of the Twentieth Century
A. The election of 1968 and the “Silent Majority”
B. Nixon’s challenges: Vietnam, China, and Watergate
C.
D.
E.
XXVII.
XXVIII.
Changes in the American economy: the energy crisis, deindustrialization, and the service economy
The New Right and the Reagan revolution
End of the Cold War
Society and Culture at the End of the Twentieth Century
A. Demographic changes: surge of immigration after 1965, Sunbelt migration, and the graying of America
B. Revolutions in biotechnology, mass communication, and computers
C. Politics in a multicultural society
The United States in the Post–Cold War World
A. Globalization and the American economy
B. Unilateralism vs multilateralism in foreign policy
C. Domestic and foreign terrorism
D. Environmental issues in a global context