Welcome AP U.S. History!
Hello, ladies! This course places emphasis on critical and evaluative thinking skills, essay
writing, interpretation of original documents, and historiography. Your summer assignments
reflect the nature of the course. In order to be fully prepared by the exam, you will need to devote
considerable time to reading, homework, and studying. In preparation for next year’s class, you
will begin reading our text, The American Pageant, by David Kennedy and Lizabeth Cohen. All
students must purchase a copy of the book before leaving school for the summer. To save
money, you will purchase your textbooks from the current AP US students, please come to room
2 to be assigned an individual. Then bring a check made out to the person you have been
assigned by May 31.
Your assignments are detailed below. Be sure to take effective notes while reading and prepare
yourselves for in-depth discussion and assessment when you get back to school in September.
Please do not panic! I know that it looks like a lot of work (and it is!), but I guarantee you that by
next May you will be thankful that you got some of the work out of the way over the summer.
We have a lot to cover next year!!! Meanwhile, have a safe and relaxing summer and enjoy
reading your history books!!!
Textbook:
David Kennedy, Lizabeth Cohen, Thomas A. Bailey: The American Pageant
(purchased from current APUSH student)
Fast Track to a 5 (purchase via school website)
Richard Hofstadter: Great Issues in American History, Vol. I-III
(purchased from current APUSH student)
 Great Issues in American History, Vol. I: From Settlement to Revolution
 Great Issues in American History, Vol. II: From the Revolution to the Civil War
 Great Issues in American History, Vol. I From Reconstruction to the Present Day
Additional Books:
All additional course materials can be purchased at most bookstores, however I highly suggest
purchasing on amazon.com. These books are widely used in AP courses and college classrooms
and therefore can be obtained for a fraction of the bookstore price on amazon. Some costing as
low at $.01 + shipping and handling. I have included links to materials available on the internet.
Daniel J. Boorstin; The Americans: The Colonial Experience
Howard Zinn: A People's History of the United States: 1492 to Present
can be read FOR FREE online at http://www.historyisaweapon.com/zinnapeopleshistory.html
Suggested but not mandatory:
Ethel Wood APUSH Essentials:
http://www.woodyardpublications.com/ap_united_states_history
If you have any questions, comments or concerns please email me directly at
[email protected]
Sources:
C. Greer
P. Johnson
M.Tomasetti H. Zinn
McGrorty
Advance Placement United States History
2016-2017
A little on the new format of Advanced Placement United States History Exam…..
Ladies, I can assure you this is like no History course you have taken before in your life.
In 2014 the College Board reformatted the examination and aligned it to reflect the skills
you need in college courses. The following graphs will help organize and navigate the
new approach.
McGrorty
Advance Placement United States History
2016-2017
McGrorty
Advance Placement United States History
2016-2017
Summer Assignment:
Reading:
“a historian (or a journalist, or anyone telling a story) was forced to choose, out of an
infinite number of facts, what to present, what to omit. And that decision inevitably would
reflect, whether consciously or not, the interests of the historian.” Zinn
Chapters 1-6; The American Pageant *Advance Placement Edition, by David
Kennedy, Lizabeth Cohen, Thomas A. Bailey
*You must take notes and make study guides for each chapter in the format Mrs. Derstine
explained in our end of year meeting.
Chapters 1-3; A People’s History of the United States, by Howard Zinn.
Entire Book: Daniel J. Boorstin; The Americans: The Colonial Experience
Howard Zinn's Biased History, by Daniel J. Flynn. Some conservative historians and
authors criticize Zinn and his admittedly leftist leanings. This is an article by conservative
author Daniel Flynn, which can be found at the following websites:
http://hnn.us/articles/1493.html
Writing: Must utilize MLA format. Cite all sources!!!
“History is always interpretative of the past. Factual events, such as the Battle of
Saratoga, become significant through the interpretations given to them by
contemporaries and by the historians and others who view them from the distance of
time, whose worldviews and biases are usually quite different from those accepted when
the events took place.” (C. Greer)
For this assignment you will use critical and evaluative thinking skills,
interpretation of original documents, historiography and essay writing to
demonstrate your understand of the perspectives prevalent in academia.
Perspective Essay:
 For this assignment you are to research biographical information for the authors
Howard Zinn and Daniel Boorstin.
 You are then to write a one-page reaction paper; Construct an argument regarding
whether the authors life experience shape their approach and perspective to
History.
Research Essay:
Using ABC CLIO you are to research and write a short (1-1.5 page) paper on the Pequot
Wars. (See last page for ABC CLIO instructions.)
McGrorty
Advance Placement United States History
2016-2017
Analytical Essay:
Directions: In an analytical essay, evaluate A People’s History of the United States, by
Howard Zinn and The Americans: The Colonial Experience, by Daniel J. Boorstin. In
your response, address the following issues (do not simply list), citing specific examples
from the required readings using parenthetical documentation and MLA format.
Cite EVERYTHING and do not forget a works cited!
You will want to cut and paste the following into a document and type your answers
below the questions.
 Purpose - According to the author, what is his main purpose for writing the book?
What would you consider to be the thesis?
 Case Study – From your research on the Pequot War. (Make sure to cite your
source – Wikipedia or other encyclopedias are not valid sources!!!! Use ABC
Clio) Was that source’s summary closer to Flynn’s, Boorstin’s or Zinn’s summary
of the conflict? Explain the similarities and differences.
 Perspective–
o How might a person’s race and social class affect a person’s view of
history?
o How does Zinn address this issue in A People’s History of the United
States?
o How does Boorstin address this issue in The Americans: The Colonial
Experience?
o On page 14 of Why Students Should Study History, Zinn says, “Objectivity
is neither possible nor desirable. It’s not possible because all history is
subjective; all history represents a point of view.” Zinn says teachers
should give their opinions in class. Do you think this is appropriate in a
high school course? Why or why not?
 Interpretation - Compare and contrast Zinn’s and Boorstins’s interpretations of the
Colonial Period. Which one do you agree with more? Why?
 Critique –
o What do you think about Howard Zinn’s approach to history? What did
you like or dislike?
o What criticism does Flynn put forth of Zinn as a writer?
o From your research of his background do you have criticism of Zinn as a
writer?
o What do you think about Daniel Boorstin’s approach to history? What did
you like or dislike?
o From your research of his background do you have criticism of Boorstin
as a writer?
o Which one of these historians (Zinn, Flynn or Boorstin) would you rather
have as your history teacher? Why?
McGrorty
Advance Placement United States History
2016-2017
Analysis/Interpretation of Original Documents:
Utilizing the Avalon Project of Yale University, Historical Society of Pennsylvania or
The National Archive you must select two primary documents from the period of history
you have read (discovery-colonial period) and complete two written document analysis
worksheets.
Worksheets can be found at: http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/worksheets/
Avalon Project: http://avalon.law.yale.edu/default.asp
Historical Society of Pennsylvania: http://hsp.org/ (link under Education)
National Archives: http://www.archives.gov/research/
ABC Clio Login:
You can access ABC Clio at: http://databases.abc-clio.com/Authentication/LogOn
(or you can google ABC Clio login)
username: gmahs
password: gmahs