Advanced Placement U.S. History
Course Description
History is more than a mere set of dates and facts to be memorized. History is a discipline that is constantly
changing as new evidence is found and old beliefs are revised. The Advanced Placement American History
Course is equivalent to a college survey course in American History. The course covers political, diplomatic,
economic, social, cultural, military, and intellectual history of the U.S. from 1492-2000. In addition, the
following themes will also be covered ethnic diversity, economic transformations, slavery, religion, diplomacy,
globalization, culture, and reform movements.
This course is taught at the college level. The main difference between this course and a regular United States
history course in high school is the amount of reading and the depth of focus. Students will be required to
frequently analyze, synthesize, and evaluate primary and secondary resources. Please understand that the
student is responsible for their own learning. This means students cannot fail to complete any assigned readings
or assignments.
Text
Brinkley Alan. American History, Connecting with the Past AP Edition. (14th ed.). New York: McGraw 2012.
Supplemental Resources
Garraty, John. Historical Viewpoints. New York: Longman, 2002
Stanford History Education Group. Reading Like a Historian. http://sheg.stanford.edu.
Zinn, Howard. A People’s History of the United States. New York: Harper Collins, 2003.
Course Objectives
Students will:
 Grasp an understanding of the institutional, cultural, and social factors that have shaped the people and
society of the United States from 16th Century to the present.
 Use historical evidence to defend and support basic arguments and positions
 Interpret and draw conclusions from various pieces of historical data including primary sources,
cartoons, graphs, etc.
 Demonstrate an effective use of analytical skills of evaluation, cause-and-effect relationships, and
compare and contrast.
 Prepare for and pass the AP U.S. History Exam administered by the College Board on May 11, 2012.
Exam Overview
Length of the Test: 3 hours 15 minutes
The AP Exam questions measure students’ knowledge of U.S. history and their ability to think historically.
Questions are based on key and supporting concepts, course themes, and historical thinking skills.
Format of the Assessment
Section I - Part A: Multiple Choice | 55 Questions | 55 Minutes | 40% of Exam Score
Questions appear in sets of 2-5.
Students analyze historical texts, interpretations, and evidence.
Primary and secondary sources, images, graphs, and maps are included.
Section I - Part B: Short Answer | 4 Questions | 50 Minutes | 20% of Exam Score
Questions provide opportunities for students to demonstrate what they know best.
Some questions include texts, images, graphs, or maps.
Section II - Part A: Document Based | 1 Question | 55 Minutes | 25% of Exam Score
Analyze and synthesize historical data.
Assess written, quantitative, or visual materials as historical evidence.
Section II - Part B: Long Essay | 1 Question | 35 Minutes | 15% of Exam Score
Students select one question among two.
Explain and analyze significant issues in U.S. history.
Develop an argument supported by an analysis of historical evidence.
Instructional Strategies to include but are not limited to:
1. Cornell Notes from text reading
2. Debates/Discussion on controversial issue
3. Paragraph Writing
4. Free Response Essays
5. Document Based Questions
6. Peer Grading & Reading
7. Prepare conceptual lists for essay test
8. Map analysis
9. Article Summaries
10. Historical Jeopardy
11. Small Group Discussions
12. Historical Newspapers/Magazines
13. Write news articles for historical events, personalities, & issues
14. Political Cartoon analysis
15. Fill-In the blank reviews
16. Primary Source analysis
17. Document Shuffle
18. Prepare a video
19. Historical Biography
Course Evaluation
Homework
Homework is used to supplement and enhance regular classroom activities. Homework will primarily
consist of reading assignments and several essays. Students are responsible for completing the assigned
readings prior to the day the class meets. Students are expected to come to class "prepared" to discuss
assigned topics. Prepared means they have read and taken notes on the topics to be discussed. During
class students will be held accountable for having completed the reading assignments. This means
students should expect reading quizzes and discussion questions based on the assigned reading.
Examinations
1. Reading quizzes
2. Chapter Exams
3. AP Practice Exams
Make-up Assignments
1. The responsibility for make-up work lies with the student. If your absence from class is excused, you
have two class periods to complete all make-up work for each day that you missed. It is your
responsibility to schedule the make-up time for all test and quizzes within the two-day timeframe.
2. If you are tardy to school or have an early dismissal that results in missing this class, you should pick
up your work on that day. You should also turn in any assignments due that day.
3. No late work will be accepted! All work will be completed and turned in as directed by the teacher.
(Except in cases of illness, family emergencies, etc.)
4. If you are absent from a class you will be held responsible for any and all lecture notes you might
have missed. It is up to you to obtain the missed material from one of your fellow classmates.
5. Outside activities (sports, work, etc.) are not an excuse for the failure of a student to complete class
assignments. If you are having a difficult time completing assignments please discuss this problem
with the teacher before it adversely affects your grade.
Attendance
Oral participation and regular daily attendance are required as an essential part of this course. Much of
this course cannot be duplicated outside of regular class time. Consequently, daily attendance,
promptness, preparedness, and readiness to learn are necessities. Attendance is extremely important. A
student should not be absent from class unless absolutely necessary. Excessive absences are a common
cause of student failure. Please refer to the student handbook for information regarding attendance.
Note that students who have ten or more unexcused absences will not receive credit for the course.
Course Materials
A two inch, 3-ring binder with the following dividers:
Syllabus and guidelines
Notes
Handouts
Homework assignments (loose-leaf paper)
Loose Leaf Notebook Paper
Blue, black, and red pens
Pencils
A Highlighter
Course Schedule
First Quarter: Pre-Columbian Societies – 1828
Content
The Collision of Cultures
Transplantations and Borderlands
Society and Culture in Provincial America
The Empire in Transition
The American Revolution
The Constitution and the New Republic
The Jeffersonian Era
Varieties of American Nationalism
August 24 –October 29, 2015
Skills
Students will:
 Identify significant historical information from text and supplemental readings
 Evaluate historical information
 Analyze primary source documents dealing with the variety of colonial religion by John Winthrop, Roger
Williams, Cotton Mather and others.
 Assess the reasons for English Colonization
 Compare and contrast the Colonial New England, Middle and Plantation Societies and Economies
 Examine the Economic Philosophy of Mercantilism
 Weigh the events and causes of the American Revolution
 Read and Analyze the Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation and U.S. Constitution as primary
sources
 Consider the philosophy and concepts of the U.S. Constitution
 Contrast Broad and Strict Construction of the Constitution
 Account for the Emergence of Political Parties
 Explain the Impact of the French Revolution on U.S. Politics
 Read and analyze Washington’s Farewell Address and later contrast it with the Monroe Doctrine
 Contrast the Presidencies of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson
 Weigh the Causes and Consequences of the War of 1812
 Assess the Dangers and Contributions to National Unity between 1815-1825
 Consider the Impact of the Market/Transportation Revolution
 Examine the Controversy over the Election of 1824
Assessment
Multiple Choice tests and quizzes from textbooks, released AP Exams (1984, 1988, 1996 & 2001) and teacher
created test bank
Standard Free Response Essays on the following topics: (Two questions will be mandatory, students will choose
two more)
Colonial Religion
Social Structure
Mercantilism
Causes and/or Consequences of the American Revolution
The Articles of Confederation and the Constitution contrasted
First Party system
Causes and Consequences of the War of 1812
Transportation Revolution
The Evolution of “New Politics”
Document Based Questions:
1. “Account for the differences between New England and the Chesapeake by 1700” (1990)
2. “Evaluate the extent of unity and identity on the eve of the American Revolution.” (1999)
3. “Democratic–Republicans (Jefferson and Madison) and Federalists as Strict and Broad Constructionists,
1800-1815 (1998)
Resources
AP U.S. History textbook (Divine, Robert, et. Al, America Past and Present) Ch. 1-8
Textbook Website
College Board AP Website
Selected Documents
Supplemental text (Garraty, John A., Historical Viewpoints)
Second Quarter: 1828 – 1906
October 30 – January 22, 2016
Content
Jacksonian America
Cotton, Slavery, and the South
Antebellum Culture and Reform
The Impending Crisis
The Civil War
Reconstruction and the New South
The Conquest of the Far West
Skills
Students will:
 Contrast Broad and Strict Construction of the Constitution
 Account for the Emergence of Political Parties
 Explain the Impact of the French Revolution on U.S. Politics
 Read and analyze Washington’s Farewell Address and later contrast it with the Monroe Doctrine
 Contrast the Presidencies of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson
 Weigh the Causes and Consequences of the War of 1812
 Assess the Dangers and Contributions to National Unity between 1815-1825
 Consider the Impact of the Market/Transportation Revolution
 Examine the Controversy over the Election of 1824
 Examine the Events Leading to the Civil War
 Evaluate the Causes of the Civil War
 Analyze the Economic and Political Changes Wrought by the Civil War
 Trace the Various Measures Leading to Emancipation
 Contemplate the Problems and Plans of Reconstruction
 Survey the Accomplishments and Shortcomings of Reconstruction
 Assess the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments in the Context of Reconstruction
 Analyze Thomas Nast Reconstruction cartoons
 Formulate why and how the West and the Frontier were Romanticized by Americans
 Assess the impact of Technology and Government Policies on Native Americans in the West
 Study and Judge the Frontier Thesis of Frederick Jackson Turner
Assessment
Multiple Choice tests and quizzes from textbooks, released AP Exams (1984, 1988, 1996 & 2001) and teacher
created test bank
Standard Free Response Essays on the following topics: (Two questions will be mandatory, students will choose
two more)
Comparing the First and Second Political Party Systems
Jacksonian Politics
Religion and Reform Movements
Slavery as a Social and Economic Institution
Manifest Destiny
Causes of the Civil War
Consequences of Emancipation (social, political, & economic)
Failure of Reconstruction
Evaluation of the Frontier Thesis
Document Based Questions:
1. “Contributions of Reform Movements to Democratic Ideals, 1820-1850” (2002)
2. “1860-1877: A Revolution?” (1996)
3. “1850’s as a Constitutional Crisis” (1987)
4. “Failure of Compromise, 1820-1861” (Form B 2005)
5. “The Impact of the Environment on the Settlement of the West, 1840-1890” (1992)
Midterm Comprehensive Examination: Colonial Period through the end of the Frontier (Incorporates multiple
choice questions from released Advanced Placement Examinations and Essays)
Resources
AP U.S. History textbook (Divine, Robert, et. Al, America Past and Present) Ch. 9-16
Textbook Website
College Board AP Website
Selected Documents
Supplemental text (Garraty, John A., Historical Viewpoints)
Third Quarter: 1859– 1952
January 26 – April 7, 2016
Content
Industrial Supremacy
The Age of the City
From Crisis to Empire
The Progressives
U.S. Entry into WWI
Home front America
Intolerance in the 1920’s
The nature of the Great Depression
Impact of the New Deal
American isolationism and entry into WWII
War and Society
Cold War Origins
Skills
Students will:
 Examine the elements that led to industrial growth
 Weigh the ideology of laissez-faire conservatism
 Delve into the effects of technology on the worker
 Assess the failures and successes of the Labor Union Movement
 Consider the social, political and cultural problems of urban growth
 Analyze Jacob Riis photographs of urban America
 Understand national political issues, constituencies and elections from 1876 to 1900
 Compare and contrast the Old Manifest Destiny with the New Manifest Destiny
 Consider national interest, morality and economics in American foreign policy from 1977 to 1914
 Identify significant historical information from text and supplemental readings
 Investigate the origins, nature, limitations, goals, accomplishments, and membership of Progressivism
 Study the domestic accomplishments of Presidents Theodore Roosevelt, W.H. Taft and Woodrow Wilson in the
light of Progressivism
 Survey the various reason for American entry into WWI
 Inspect the domestic ramifications of WWI on American life and politics
 Breakdown the causes for the Senate rejection of the Treaty of Versailles and League of Nations
 Uncover the various reasons for and manifestations of the Red Scare of 1919-1920 and subsequent intolerance in
the 1920’s
 Comprehend the social and cultural tensions of the 1920's
 Generate evidence for the 1920's as a "New Era"
 Examine the causes of the Great Depression
 Examine the impact of the Depression and New Deal on ordinary Americans
 Marshall evidence to show the New Deal as liberal or conservative
 Evaluate the changes, impact, successes and failures of the New Deal
 Read and analyze documents by “ordinary” Americans affected by the Depression such as Meridel LeSueur, John
Steinbeck, Tom Kromer and Woody Guthrie
 Analyze the causes of American isolationism in the 1920's and 1930's
 Reconstruct the events that led to American entry into WWII
 Consider the domestic impact of WWII on the United States










Scrutinize Allied strategy and diplomacy during WWII
Classify tension among the Allies during WWII
Define and account for the Cold War
Assess the impact of Cold War on American life and politics
Weigh the changes in American foreign policy brought on by the Cold War
Account for the popularity of President Eisenhower in the 1950's
Consider the Prosperity and Conformity of the 1950’s. Analyze primary sources by intellectual and alternative
critics
Look into the reasons for the resurgence of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950's
Examine the reasons for a resurgence of American feminism
Evaluate President John F. Kennedy's successes and failures in domestic and foreign policy
Assessment
Multiple Choice tests and quizzes from textbooks, released AP Exams (1984, 1988, 1996 & 2001) and
teacher created test bank
Standard Free Response Essays on the following topics: (Two questions will be mandatory, students will choose
two more)
Document Based Questions:
1. “The Failure of the U.S. Senate to Ratify the Treaty Versailles: Wilson or Opponents?” (1991)
2. “Hoover and Roosevelt as Liberals/Conservatives” (1984)
3. “Effectiveness of the New Deal” (2003)
4. “The Decision to Drop the Atomic Bomb (1988)
Resources
AP U.S. History textbook (Divine, Robert, et. Al, America Past and Present) Ch. 17-26
Textbook Website
College Board AP Website
Selected Documents
Supplemental text (Garraty, John A., Historical Viewpoints)
Fourth Quarter: 1947- 2008
April 11– June 9, 2016
Content
Society in the 1950’s
Civil Rights Movement
Cold War Policies and Crises from 1945-1963
Civil Rights Movement
Vietnam
The 1960’s
The Affluent Society
Civil Rights, Vietnam, and the Ordeal of Liberalism
The Crisis of Authority
From the Age of Limits to the Age of Reagan
The Age of Globalization
Skills
Students will:
 Account for the changes in strategy, tactics, rhetoric and goals in the civil rights movement at the mid 1960's by
reading primary source selections
 Consider the success and failures of LBJ's Great Society program
 Account for American entry into and failure to win in Vietnam
 Analyze the various social protest movements of the 1960’s
 Calculate the reasons for Richard Nixon's paranoia and Watergate
 Appraise the impact of Watergate on American politics, the media and public opinion
 Compare and contrast the Ford, Carter and Reagan presidencies




Breakdown the reasons for the end of the Cold War and collapse of the USSR
Account for the victory of GHW Bush in 1998 and his defeat in 1992
Survey the Clinton presidency and impeachment
Review for the Advanced Placement Examination in May
Assessment
Multiple Choice tests and quizzes from textbooks, released AP Exams (1984, 1988, 1996 & 2001) and teacher
created test bank
Standard Free Response Essays on the following topics:
Civil Rights
Vietnam
1960s
Document Based Questions:
1. “Eisenhower Administrations ‘s ability to ease Cold War tensions and fears in the 1950’s” (2001)
2. “Changes in the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960’s” (1995)
Actual AP Examination on May 11
Short Research Projects After AP Examination
Final Examination on Second Semester
Resources
AP U.S. History textbook (Divine, Robert, et. Al, America Past and Present) Ch. 27-32
Textbook Website
College Board AP Website
Selected Documents
Web Resources
Supplemental text (Garraty, John A., Historical Viewpoints)