AP United States History Syllabus - Weebly · Primary Source Analysis: Read pages 190-195, 199-200...

AP United States History

Course Description

This course is designed to enable students to excel on the Advanced Placement United States

History Exam. The history of America will be studied and analyzed from various historical

perspectives in order to understand social, economic, and political motivations of the past, as

well as recognize the changes over time that affect the nation’s behavior. Major themes

covered include the development of the American identity, the movement towards greater

democracy, the reign of capitalism, the effects of various cultural/religious traditions, the

growth of globalization, and the causes of American foreign policy. These themes will be

discussed each class in reference to the unit. Knowledge of these themes is assessed on exams

in the form of thematic essays. Students are required to read a chapter of the main text before

each class. The following is a general outline of the themes, topics, and activities that will be

covered throughout the year.

Main Texts:

Kennedy, David M., Lizabeth Cohen, and Thomas A. Bailey, The American Pageant. 12th

ed. Vol. 1 New York:

Houghton Mifflin, 2002.

Kennedy, David M., Thomas A. Bailey. eds. The American Spirit. 10th

ed. Vol. 1. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2002.



Other Resources

Ayers, Edward L., Lewis L. Gould, David M. Oshinsky, and Jean R. Soderland. American Passage: A History of the

United States. 2nd

ed. Belmont: Wadsworth Thomas Learning, 2004.

Bonomi, Patricia U. Under the Cope of Heaven: Religion, Society and Politics. New York: Oxford UP, 1988.

Borrit, Garbor S., ed. Why the Confederacy Lost. New York: Oxford UP, 1992.

Faragher, John M., Mari Jo Buhle, Daniel Czitrom, and Susan H. Armitage. Out of Many: A History of the American

People. 3rd

ed. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2002.





Kennedy, David M., Lizabeth Cohen, and Thomas A. Bailey, The American Pageant. 12th

ed. Vol. 1 New York:

Houghton Mifflin, 2002.

Kunhardt Jr, Phillip B. Phillip B. Kunhardt III and Phillip B. Kunhardt. The American President. New York: Riverhead

Books, 1999.

McDuffie, J.A., G.W. Piggrem, and Steven Woodworth. AP United States History (REA)- The Best Prep for the AP

Exam. 7th

ed. Piscataway: Research & Education Association, 2007.

McPherson, James M. Abraham Lincoln and the Second American Revolution. New York: Oxford UP, 1992.

Murrin, John M., Paul E. Johnson, James M. McPherson, Gary Gerstle, Emily Rosenberg, and Norman L. Rosenberg.

Liberty, Equality, Power; a History of the American People. 4th

ed. Belmont: Wadsworth Thomas Learning, 2005.

Newman, John J., and John M. Schmalbach. United States History: Preparing for the Advanced Placement

Examination. 4th

ed. Brooklyn: D&S Marketing Systems, 2000.

Unit One

Pre-Columbian Societies and the Age of Exploration

Assigned Readings:

The American Pageant Chapter 1

Major Themes:

1. The Pre-Columbian Americas

2. Various cultural/religious traditions

Topics Covered:

• Native Americans before Columbus

• The quest for a water route to Asia

• Early explorers

• The Columbian Exchange

• The conquest of the New World.

Major Assignments:

Mapping Activity: Native American Tribes at the time of Columbus (major crops and natural

resources).

Primary Source Analysis: Read pages 3-6 of The American Spirit, vol. 1, Juan Gines de Sepulveda

Belittles the Indians 1547 and Bartolome de Las Casas Defends the Indians. Compare and

contrast the different views/opinions about Native Americans. Use the Venn diagram outline

provided. The diagram should clearly explain the two viewpoints, including similarities and

differences. The class will provide quotes and evidence for each point.

Document Based Question: Students will be introduced to DBQ’s and begin to analyze topics to

effectively and thoroughly answer the question. Students define question words, learn how to

cite evidence and establish effective and acceptable forms of argument to ensure a strong,

well-written essay. Students will practice thesis writing and evidence selection.

Test: Pre-Columbian Era

Unit Two

The Formation of America

Assigned Readings:

The American Pageant Chapters 2-5

Major Themes:

1. The cause and effect of Anglo expansion on the New World

2. England and global economy

3. The founding and settling of the colonies and the various structures, freedoms, and

ideologies

4. Daily life in colonial America as determined by geographic location, climate, natural

resources and cultural backgrounds

5. Social, economic and political patterns in pre-revolution Colonial America

6. The foundations of the development of the American Identity.

Topics Covered:

• The expansion of Elizabethan England

• The foundation and growth Maryland and Virginia

• The English settlers and Native Americans

• The foundation and growth of the Carolinas and Georgia

• The foundation and growth of Plymouth Colony and Massachusetts Bay Colony

• The Foundation and Growth of Rhode Island, Connecticut and New Hampshire

• The Dominion of New England

• New Netherlands to New York

• The Quaker founding of Pennsylvania

• The Foundation and growth of New Jersey and Delaware

• Daily Life and family structures of New England

• The Chesapeake region

• The South

• Indentured servants, Bacon’s Rebellion and the spread of slavery

• The Salem witchcraft trials

• Immigration, population growth and the resulting effects on the colonial social structure

• The role of religion and the Great Awakening

• Education and employment in the pre-revolutionary colonies

• The emerging political patterns of pre-revolutionary America and the effect on the

attitude of the colonists.

Major Assignments:

Primary Source Analysis: Read Pages 32-33 of The American Spirit vol. 1. Be prepared to discuss

the document The Starving Time 1609, by John Smith. Relate to the pattern of general life in

the middle colonies.

Mapping Activity: Record boundaries, founding dates, and names of the colonies

Chart: Research and record founding dates, founders, founding purpose, Governmental status

by 1775, religious majorities, and general societal characteristics of the 13 colonies.

Primary Source Analysis: Read pages 39-40 and 51-52. Compare and contrast the Act of

Toleration to the Puritan Mistreatment of the Quakers 1660. Answer the questions: How did

religious tolerance vary between colonies? What are the reasons for these differences? In

what way are colonies similar and why did these similarities exist?

Thesis Practice: Students edit and correct thesis statements written by their peers in order to

learn to form accurate and concise sentences.

Document Based Question: Read A Servant Describes His Fate, pages 67-73 in The American

Spirit vol. 1, and select quotations from the document to support the answer to the questions

on page 67 in The American Spirit text.

Test: Colonial America

Unit Three

Revolution

Assigned Readings:


The Declaration of Independence

Major Themes:

1. The French and English dispute over North America and its effects on colonial obedience

to the throne

2. The growing tensions between England and it’s colonies as well as the emerging colonial

mindset

3. The American Rebellion

4. The revolutionary change in the development of the American identity

Topics Covered:

• New France and relations with the Native Americans and the Anglo colonies

• Early disputes between England and France and the French and Indian War

• English Victory

• The King’s evaluation of the cost of protection for the Colonies and the Proclamation of

1763

• The merits and menace of mercantilism

• A series of economic disputes: The Stamp Act, The Townshend Acts, The Boston Tea

Party and the Intolerable Acts

• Early attempts for a united colonial front, the unifying effects of the Boston Tea Party

and the resulting Continental Congress

• Lexington, Concord and the other early skirmishes

• The American interpretation of rights, responsibilities and republicanism and the

resulting declaration of Independence

• Patriots and Loyalists and their ideological positions

• The effects of the French alliance

• The end of the War: Yorktown and the Treaty of Paris

Major Assignments

Chart: The schools of thought regarding the Revolution. Research the various schools of

thought on the reasons for the American Revolution. Include major historians who ascribe to

the view, time period that the view acquired scholarly popularity, and opinions on the validity

of the view.

Chart: Causes of the Revolution web. Diagram, explain and provide evidence for the causes of

the revolution as categorized by social, political and economic motivations.

Primary Source Analysis: Compare the two points of view of the British Empire found in the

political cartoons on pages 142-143 in The America Spirit vol. 1. Answer the following questions

for each: Who is the audience? What type of people is the cartoon addressed to? How do the

artists each view the relationship between the mother country and the colonies?

Test: The American Revolution

Unit Four

Building a New Nation

Assigned Readings:

The American Pageant 9-11 and 12 pages 233-240

Major Themes:

1. The strengths and weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation

2. The necessity for the Constitution

3. Troubles and successes of the new Republic

4. The movement towards greater democracy

Topics Covered:

• The emergence of strong, democratic state constitutions

• Economic troubles and resulting complaints and rebellions

• The Articles of Confederation

• The Northwest Ordinance and it’s legacy

• The Constitutional Convention

• Ratifying the Constitution and the Bill of Rights

• The establishment of the present-day presidential position as demonstrated by George

Washington

• Hamilton’s economic policy

• The Whiskey Rebellion

• The rise of political parties

• The impact of the French Revolution

• Jay’s Treaty

• The Alien and Sedation Acts

• The Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions

• Federalists vs. Republicans: issues and ideologies

• The Jeffersonian Presidency

• John Marshall and the establishment of a strong Supreme Court

• The Louisiana Purchase

• French, English and American Relationships

• The Second War for Independence and the Treaty of Ghent

Major Assignments:

Primary Source Analysis: Read pages 190-195, 199-200 and 202-203 in The American Spirit vol.

1. The documents are the viewpoints/writings of Alexander Hamilton compared to Thomas

Jefferson on various topics including popular rule, states’ rights, the bank and the French

Revolution. Complete the worksheet requiring students to identify who, between Hamilton

and Jefferson, would most likely say various quotes.

Video: PBS’S Lewis and Clark. The Film depicts the journey based on the journals and

chronicles from the journey.

Free Response Essay: “Although historically represented as distinct parties, the Federalists and

the Whigs shared a common political ideology. They both represented many on the same

interests groups and proposed similar programs and policies.” Assess the validity of this

statement.

Test: Designing America

Unit Five

The Era of the Common Man

Assigned Readings:

The American Pageant 12-15

Major Themes:

1. The upsurge of new nationalism as America begins to stand her ground

2. The rise of mass democracy

3. The development of the national economy

4. National movement for reform and advancement

5. The movement towards greater democracy

Topics Covered:

• The new national identity

• The American System

• The era of good feelings under James Madison

• Westward expansion

• The Missouri Compromise and the seeding of sectional disputes

• The Monroe Doctrine

• The “corrupt bargain” and the Adams Presidency

• The triumph of Andrew Jackson

• The Tariff of Abominations

• The nullification crisis

• Jackson’s removal of the Native Americans in the Southeast

• Jackson’s war on the bank

• The rise of the Whig party

• The Revolution in political campaigning in the Harrison run for the White House

• The establishment of the two-party system

• The effect of the westward movement

• European immigration

• Nativism and assimilation

• The rise of the factory system

• Commercial agriculture

• Utopian experience

• The transportation revolution

• Religious revivals

• The temperance movement

• Educational advances

• American literature

• The change in women’s roles and rights.

Major Assignments:

Primary Source Analysis: Read pages 324-327 in The American Spirit vol. 1; The Seneca Falls

Manifesto. Answer the following questions in essay form: In what ways was it a man’s world in

the 19th

century? How much has changed today? In what ways did the changes in women’s

role in the 19th

century represent an improvement or deterioration from previous conditions?

Free Response Essay: “American reform movement between 1820 and 1860 reflected both

optimistic and pessimistic views of human nature and society. Assess the validity of this

statement in reference to reform movements in three of the following areas: education,

temperance, women’s rights, utopian experiments, penal institutions.”

Document Based Question: “The period of the 1820s and the 1830s is commonly referred to as

the “Age of Jackson.” Using both the documents and your knowledge of the period, explain to

what extent Andrew Jackson was or was not a representative figure out that era.”

Test: An America for the Common Man

Unit Six

The Road to Disunion

Assigned Reading:


Major Themes:

1. The economic differences between the North and the South

2. The Slavery Controversy

3. Manifest Destiny and it’s legacy

4. Sectional struggles

5. Moving towards war

6. The growth of globalization

7. The causes of American foreign policy

Topics Covered:

• The economy of the Cotton Kingdom

• Poor whites and freed blacks

• The plantation system

• The human face of slavery

• The peculiar institution becomes a necessary evil

• The abolitionists crusade

• The white southern response

• Slavery compared to the factory system

• Abolition and the Northern conscience

• Tyler becomes president

• Fixing the Maine boundary

• The annexation of Texas

• Oregon fever

• Polk

• The dark horse becomes President

• War with Mexico

• Popular Sovereignty

• Zackary Taylor and California statehood

• The Compromise of 1850

• The inflammatory Fugitive Slave Law

• President Peirce and expansion

• Senator Douglas and the Kansas-Nebraska Act

• Uncle Tom’s Cabin and the spread of the abolitionists movement in the North

• The contest for Kansas

• The election of James Buchanan

• The Dred Scot Case

• The financial panic of 1857

• Lincoln-Douglas Debates

• John Brown’s raid on Harper’s Ferry

• Lincoln and Republican Victory

• Secession

Major Assignments:

Primary Source Analysis: Read 422-424 in The American Spirit vol.1; Charles Sumner Assails the

Slavocracy. List and discuss evidence of inflammatory remarks made by Sumner and discuss the

resulting attack by Brooks.

Document Based Question: “To what extent was the breakup of the Union in 1861 a result of

the conflict over slavery and to what extent was it due to other factors? Using you knowledge

of the antebellum period, construct an essay that explains the reasons the nation went to war

and what circumstances led to this point of natural crisis. Use the documents and your

knowledge of the time period 1844-1861 to construct your answer”

Test: Building to War

Unit Seven

The Civil War and Reconstruction

Assigned Reading:

The American Pageant, Chapters 20-22

Major Themes:

1. Causes of the Civil War

2. Major battles and military strategy

3. The effect of women and minorities on the outcome of the war

4. Reconstruction’s immediate and lasting effect on the South

5. The beginning of the end of the Radical Revolution

Topics Covered:

• The attack on Fort Sumter

• The crucial border states

• The balance of the forces at the start of the war

• The threat of European intervention and the importance of diplomacy

• Lincoln

• Civil liberties

• The growth of the government

• Men in uniform

• The economic impact of the war

• Women and the war

• The fate of the South

• Bull Run ends the hopes of a short war

• The Peninsula campaign

• The Union wages total war

• The Battle of Antietam

• The Emancipation Proclamation

• Black Soldiers

• Confederate high tide at Gettysburg

• The war in the west

• Sherman’s march

• Appomattox Courthouse

• The assassination of Lincoln

• The defeated south

• The freed slaves

• Johnson’s Reconstruction as compared to Lincoln’s and contrasted to the radical

republicans

• Congressional Reconstruction

• Military Reconstruction

• Freed people enter politics

• “Black Reconstruction” and the Ku Klux Klan

• The impeachment of Johnson

• The legacy and failure of reconstruction

Major Assignments:

Historical Scholarship: Read, outline, reflect and discuss the collection of essays found in the

book; Why the Confederacy Lost.

Historical Discovery: Using a teacher created computer program, students interview fictional

individuals from various states in the South (deep, middle, upper) to determine the various

reasons for the order of secession rooted in social, cultural and ideological traditions in those

areas. Students focus on the economic back grounds of the various regions, the dependency on

the institution of slavery, the representation of slave holding males in the states’ government,

and the proximity to the Union to determine which state will secede first.

Test: The Civil War

Unit Eight

The Rise of Industrial America

Assigned Readings:


The Supreme Court Declares that Separate is Equal

Major Themes:

1. Corrupt politics and calls for reform

2. The rise of industry

3. The development of major cities as a hallmark of American Society

4. The reign of capitalism

Topics Covered:

• General Grant as President

• Corruption and reform in the post-Civil War era

• The depression of the 1870s

• The Compromise of 1877 and the end of Reconstruction and the lasting effects

• Race and poverty in America

• Civil Service Reform

• Harrison and the “Billion Dollar Congress”

• The Populists

• Cleveland returns to the Whitehouse

• The Railroad boom

• Early efforts in government regulation

• Lord of Industry

• The Laboring class

• The rise of trade unions and societies reactions

• The rise of the major cities

• The changing landscape of the cities

• The “New Immigrants”

• New jobs for women

• Settlement houses

• Nativism

• Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Dubois

• A new morality for women

• Art, music and entertainment in urban America

Major Assignments:

Primary Source Analysis: Read pages 24-32 in The American Spirit vol. 2; various accounts of

the Ku Klux Klan Reign of Terror. Use the documents to cite evidence in order to answer the

following questions: By what means did whites assert political and economic control over

blacks. In the light of these testimonies, how should the success or failure of the

Reconstruction policy be judged?

Primary Source Analysis: Read 42-43 in The American Spirit vol. 2; A southern senator defends

Jim Crow and a southern black woman reflects on the Jim Crow system. Answer the following

questions: How and why did legally sanctioned segregation emerge in the South? Why did the

segregationist’s regime last so long?

Primary Source Analysis: Read 72-75 in the American Spirit vol. 2; Andrew Carnegie’s Gospel of

Wealth. Answer the following questions: Why does he believe the millionaire is a trustee for

the poor and that direct charity is evil?

Test: The Changing face of America; Industry Emerges

Unit Nine:

Manifest Destiny and Imperialism

Assigned Readings:

The American Pageant; Chapters 26-28

Major Themes:

1. The movement to the West and the loss of the frontier

2. The agricultural revolution

3. America’s empire



Topics Covered:

• The final conquest of the Native Americans

• Mining and cattle farming

• Free land

• The industrialization of agriculture

• The farmer’s protest and the People’s Party

• The Pullman Strike

• The election of 1896 and the defeat of the Populists

• Manifest Destiny

• The Venezuelan boundary dispute

• America’s dealings with Hawaii

• The explosion of Maine

• The Spanish American War

• The invasion of Cuba

• The Role of the media

• Acquiring Puerto Rico and the Philippines

Major Assignments:

Free Response Essay: “Write your definition of imperialism. Then use this definition to argue

whether conduct of American foreign relations between 1890 and 1900 was or was not

imperialistic.

Memory Device: The Populist Party and the Wizard of Oz. Students analyze various roles in the

movie Wizard of Oz for supposed parallels to the Populist Party in order to better understand

the era.

Document Based Question: “To what extent was the American-Philippine War (a war fought

from 1898 to 1902 to suppress the Filipino insurrection against the American Military forces) a

logical extension of American foreign policy during the second half of the 19th

Century? Use the

documents and your knowledge of the period from 1850-1899 to construct your response.”

Test: America on the World Stage

Unit Ten

Progressivism at Home and Abroad

Assigned Readings:


Major Themes:

1. The protection of workers, women and children

2. The progressive movement’s attempt to aid the world

3. The effects of the idealistic World War 1


5. The movement toward greater democracy

6. The effects of various cultural/religious traditions

Topics Covered:

• Campaigning against social injustice

• The muckrakers

• The politics of progressivism

• Women battle for the vote

• Roosevelt, labor and trusts

• Consumer protection

• Conservation

• Roosevelt’s legacy

• The presidency of Taft

• Dollar diplomacy

• Roosevelt breaks with the party

• New Freedom vs. the New Nationalism

• Wilson and the tariff

• The banks and the trusts

• The war in Europe and American neutrality

• Wilson’s re-election

• America is pushed into war

• The idealism of the “Fourteen Points”

• Propaganda and the restriction of civil liberties

• The home front

• The American Expeditionary

• Force in France

• The peace making process in Paris

• The American rejection of the Treaty of Versailles

Major Assignments:

Free Response Essay: “Explain why socialism failed to become a major force in American

politics between 1900-1940 despite widespread dissatisfaction with the social and economic

order and significant support for radical movements during that period.”

Document Based Question: “When WW1 broke out, the United States declares its policy of

neutrality. What the United States ever neutral in the conflict, and if so, when did it change to

a policy of favoring the Allies? Use the documents and your knowledge of history in the 1910s

to construct your response.”

Chart: The Progressive Presidents. Legislation, goals, and ideals are broken down to define the

presidencies of Roosevelt, Taft and Wilson.

Test: The Progressive Era

Unit Eleven

Boom, then Bust

Assigned Reading:


Major Themes:

1. The Republican hand leads to the rise of Big Business

2. Problems with the American economic policy

3. The Great Depression

4. The New Deal

5. The Reign of Capitalism

Topics Covered:

• The red scare

• Immigration restrictions

• Prohibition and gangsters

• The Scopes trial

• The emergence of mass-consumption economy

• The age of the automobile

• Radio and the movies

• Art, music and literature of the 20’s

• The economic boom

• Disarmament and isolationism

• The Harding scandals

• The entangling effect of international debt

• Hoover’s policies

• The Great Crash of 1929 and the resulting depression

• Aggression in Asia

• Policies towards Latin America

• Franklin D. Roosevelt as President

• The first 100 days

• The National Recovery Administration

• The Agricultural Adjustment Act

• The Tennessee Valley Authority

• The Social Security Act

• Gains for organized labor

• Packing the Supreme Court

• The New Deal assessed

Major Assignments:

Document Based Question: “To what extent did the US adopt an isolationist policy in the

1920s? Use the documents and your knowledge of the period from 1920-1930 to construct

your response to the question.”

Graphing Activity: Students will plot the patterns in the American economy from 1928 until the

end of World War II

Test: The Roaring Twenties and the Great Depression

Unit Twelve:

WWII and the Start of the Cold War

Assigned Reading:


Major Themes:

1. American policies in WWII

2. The atrocities of the war, and America’s response

3. The seeding and development of the Cold War

4. America’s interaction with the Soviets on the world stage


Topics Covered:

• Roosevelt’s early policies

• German and Japanese aggression

• The Neutrality Acts

• Destroyers for bases

• The Lend-Lease Act

• The Atlantic Charter

• Pearl Harbor

• The internment of Japanese-Americans

• The war ends the need for the New Deal

• Wartime economic changes

• The War’s effects on African Americans, Native Americans and Mexican Americans

• The economic and social impact of the war

• Winning back the Pacific

• The war in Northern Africa and Italy

• D-Day and Normandy

• Germany surrenders

• The atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

• Postwar Prosperity

• The rise of the Sunbelt

• The rush to the suburbs

• The baby boom

• Harry Truman as President

• The Yalta Conference

• The origins of the Cold War

• The rise of the world economic system

• The United Nations

• The doctrine of containment

• The Truman Doctrine

• The Marshall plan and NATO

• Anti communism at home

• The outbreak of the Korean War

Major Assignments:

Free Response Essay: Explain the domestic impact of World War II. What changes in American

society were brought about because of the war? Consider the following: the power of the

federal government (include the Presidency), the role of the military-industrial complex,

economic concentration, income distribution, the farmer, labor and minorities.

Timeline Activity: Students plot the change in conflict over time from the start of the Cold War

until its end. Students graph major events and the level of tensions. Events are categorized by

economic, social, and political conflicts.

Research Activity: Students research the war time contribution and the treatment of a selected

group: women, African Americans, Native Americans, Hispanic Americans, or Japanese

Americans.

Test: Worldwide Conflict

Unit Thirteen

Tensions at Home and Abroad

Assigned Reading:

The American Pageant 38-40

Major Themes:

1. Social Rebellion

2. Civil Rights

3. Modern world conflicts and America’s involvement

4. Political turmoil in the age of media

5. The development of the American identity

6. The effects of various cultural/religious traditions


Topics Covered:

• The election of Eisenhower

• McCarthyism

• Desegregating the South

• Brown v. the Board of Education

• The Civil Rights Revolution

• The Suez Canal crisis

• The race for space

• Kennedy’s victory over Nixon

• Changing economic roles for men and women

• The rise of the consumer culture

• The Bay of Pigs invasion

• The Cuban missile crisis

• Kennedy assassinated

• Johnson and the great society

• Vietnam

• The election of Nixon

• Cultural upheavals

• The end of the post-war economic boom

• Nixon and China

• The Watergate scandal

• Israelis, Arabs and oil

• The Ford Presidency

• The election of Carter

• Diplomatic success in Panama and the Middle East

• The energy crisis

• The Iranian hostage humiliation

Major Assignments:

Chart: Against the “Man.” List and outline the various groups including goals, leaders and

methods that fought for a greater voice in American politics in the era of protest.

Primary Source Analysis: Read 544-556; The National Organization for Women Proclaims the

Rebirth of Feminism, 1966 and 552-556 Betty Friedam has Second Thoughts, 1981. Answer the

following questions citing documents as evidence: How did “second wave” feminism compare

to the feminist movements of the 19th

and early 20th

centuries? Comment on the statement “It

has been argued that women are the social group most disrupted by the demands of

modernity.”

Primary Source Analysis: Students listen to various protest songs and record evidence of

emotion, ideas about the government, and goals of the protest movements.

Test: The Stormy Era

Unit Fourteen

Modern Conservatives in Postindustrial America

Assigned Readings:


Major Themes:

1. The rise of social and economic conservatism

2. The end of the Cold War

3. The increase in conflict in the Middle East

4. The movement towards a global economy and its effects on the traditional American

economy

5. The social effect of the new American demographic

6. The development of the American identity

7. The Growth of globalization

Topics Covered:

• The New Right

• Budget battles and tax cuts

• Reagan, the Soviets and the thawing Cold War

• The Iran-Contra scandal

• Reaganomics

• The election of George Bush

• The Persian Gulf War

• The election of Bill Clinton followed by the Republican victory in Congress

• Clinton’s foreign policy

• The Clinton impeachment trial

• The election of George W. Bush

• The postindustrial economy

• The feminist revolution

• Immigration patterns at the end of the century

• Treatment of minorities

• The emerging culture

Major Assignments:

Primary Source Analysis: The Reagan Revolution in Historical Context. View the political

cartoon on page 602 in The American Spirit vol. 2; and answer the following question using the

document and outside information: Did Reagan actually overthrow the liberal reform tradition

of Theodore Roosevelt’s square deal, Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal, and Harry Truman’s Fair

Deal? In what ways did Reagan’s presidency resemble the others? In what ways did it differ?

Class Debate: After reading 640-642 in The American Spirit vol. 2; Affirmative action on the

Rocks, 1996 the class will debate the future of the era of affirmative action. Consider on what

grounds (constitutional, moral, or political) might affirmative action be defended?

Test: The Foundation of Present Day America

Unit Fifteen:

Review

Assigned Readings:

REA’s Review Guide

Major Assignments:

Various practice AP tests, DBQs, and FREs

Chart of Major Treaties

Timeline of Women’s Studies

Timeline of African American Studies

Timeline of Native American Studies

AP United States History Syllabus - Weebly · Primary Source Analysis: Read pages 190-195, 199-200...

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