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AP History Syllabus Heitz AP U.S. History Syllabus Course Description AP U.S. History course is a comprehensive look at the history of the United States from pre-colonial time up to the present day. The course is intended to prepare the students for the AP U.S. History exam. Emphasis will be placed on content knowledge through considerable assignments outside class time along with essay writing and interpretation of original documents. Daily readings and guided reading assignments will be assigned during each unit and discussed in class. Students are responsible for keeping up with reading assignments. Unit tests will be given and DBQ essays will be written during each unit using DBQ’s from previous AP U.S. History exams. Tests will be a combination of multiple choice and essay questions, similar in style to the AP U.S. History exam. Course Materials You will need to bring the following materials to class everyday. • Pen or Pencil • Notebook • Folder (one slot for new assignments and the other slot for returned assignments) Course Textbook • The American Pageant, Tenth Edition, Thomas Baily, David M. Kennedy Additional Texts: Readings and historical documents provided by the instructor. • Discovering the American Past, Volume 1 to 1877, Third Edition, Wheeler and Becker • The American Spirit, Volume II, Thomas Baily and David Kennedy • America, A Concise History, Second Edition, Volume 2: Since 1865, James Henretta, David Brody, and Lynn Dumenil • America Past and Present, Volume 2, Fourth Edition, Robert Divine, T.H. Breen, George Fredrickson, R. Hal Williams • Doing the DBQ, Advanced Placement U.S. History Examination, Teaching and Learning with the Document-Based Question, The Colleger Board Grading will be determined on cumulative points attained from all assigned coursework and tests. A 100-95% A- 94-90% B+ 89-87 B 86-84 B- 83-80 C+ 79-77 C 76-74 C- 73-70 D+ 69-67 D 66-64 D- 63-60 F 60 - 0 Day One: Discovery. Perspectives on Discovery Due Read pages 3 - 21 (The American Pageant, Tenth Edition, DBQ Preparation, and writing a document based essay Thomas Baily, David M. Kennedy) Writing a thesis statement, using 2006 DBQ Themes of the day: Founding the New World Test • The First Discoverers of America • The Earliest Americans • Indirect Discoverers of the New World Day Four: Seventeenth Century Life in America • Europeans Enter Africa • Columbus Comes Upon a New World Read pages 62 - 78 (The American Pageant, Tenth Edition, • When Worlds Collide Thomas Baily, David M. Kennedy) • The Spanish Conquistadores • The Conquest of Mexico Themes for the day: • The Spread of Spanish America • The Unhealthy Chesapeake • The Tobacco Economy Perspectives on Discovery Assigned • Frustrated Freemen and Bacon’s Rebellion DBQ Preparation, and writing Document based essays. • Colonial Slavery Using 2006 Republican Motherhood/Cult of Domesticity DBQ • Africans in America • Southern Society • The New England Family Day Two: Colonization • Life in the New England Towns Read pages 23 - 39 (The American Pageant, Tenth Edition, • The Half-Way Covenant and the Salem Witch Trials Thomas Baily, David M. Kennedy) • The New England Way of Life • The Early Settlers’ Days and Ways Themes of the day: • England’s Imperial Stirrings America’s Distinct Culture Assignment, essay “melting pot” or • Elizabeth Energizes England “salad bowl?” • England on the Eve of Empire • England Plants the Jamestown Seedling • Cultural Clash in the Chesapeake Day Five: Colonial Society and Economy • Virginia: Child of Tobacco • Maryland: Catholic Haven Read pages 80 - 90 (The American Pageant, Tenth Edition, • The West Indies: Way Station to Mainland America Thomas Baily, David M. Kennedy) • Colonizing the Carolinas • The Emergence of North Carolina Themes for the day: • Late-Coming Georgia: The Buffer Colony • Conquest by the Cradle • The Plantation Colonies • A Mingling of the Races • Interpreting the Mayflower Compact, an in-depth analysis • The Structure of Colonial Society • Clerics, Physicians, and Jurists Discovering the American Past: Chapter One • Workaday America Pages 7-11 Selections from Cortes’s Letters, Interpret • Horsepower and Sailpower information. Discovering the American Past: Chapter Three Background Day Three: European Conflict in the Colonies The Evidence Read pages 50 - 60 (The American Pageant, Tenth Edition, Thomas Baily, David M. Kennedy) Day Six: Colonial Religion and Culture Themes of the day: Read pages 90 - 99 (The American Pageant, Tenth Edition, • Seeds of Colonial Unity and Independence Thomas Baily, David M. Kennedy) • Andros Promotes the First American Revolution • Old Netherlanders at New Netherland Themes for the day: • Friction with English and Swedish Neighbors • Dominant Denominations • Dutch Residents in New York • The Great Awakening • Penn’s Holy Experiment in Pennsylvania • Schools and Colleges • Quaker Pennsylvania and Its Neighbors • Culture in the Backwoods • The Middle Way in the Middle Colonies • Pioneer Presses • The Great Game of Politics • Colonial Folkways Day Nine: The Struggle for Independence Interpreting Documents: Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, Read pages 139 - 147 (The American Pageant, Tenth Edition, by Jonathan Edwards. An in-depth analysis. Thomas Baily, David M. Kennedy) Themes for the day: Day Seven: Colonial World Wars • Congress Drafts George Washington • Bunker Hill and Hessian Hirelings Read pages 101 - 117 (The American Pageant, Tenth Edition, • The Abortive Conquest of Canada Thomas Baily, David M. Kennedy) • Thomas Paine Preaches Common Sense • Interpreting Common Sense, an in-depth analysis Themes for the day: • Jefferson’s “Explanation” of Independence • France Finds a Foothold in Canada • Patriots and Loyalists • New France Fans Out • The Loyalist Exodus • The Clash of Empires • General Washington at Bay • George Washington Inaugurates War with France • Global War and Colonial Disunity Discovering the American Past, Chapter 4: What really • Braddock’s Blundering and Its Aftermath happened in the Boston Massacre, pages 71-96, The Legal • Pitt’s Palms of Victory Papers of John Adams. Analysis and interpretation. • Restless Colonials America’s Distinct Culture Due Day Ten: America Conquers the British DBQ Preparation 2, writing a document based essay using 1993 New England and Chesapeake regions DBQ Read pages 147 - 157 (The American Pageant, Tenth Edition, Colonial Life Test Thomas Baily, David M. Kennedy) Americans: A People of Destiny Themes for the day: • Burgoyne’s Blundering Invasion • Strange French Bedfellows Day Eight: Revolutionary War, The British Menace • The Colonial War Becomes a World War • Blow and Counterblow Read pages 119 - 136 (The American Pageant, Tenth Edition, • The Land Frontier and the Sea Frontier Thomas Baily, David M. Kennedy) • Yorktown and the Final Curtain • Peace at Paris Themes for the day: • A New Nation Legitimized • The Deep Roots of Revolution • The Mercantile Theory Revolutionary War Campaigns Due • Mercantilist Trammels on Trade • The Merits of Mercantilism Revolutionary Era Test • The Menace of Mercantilism • The Stamp Tax Uproar • Parliament Forced to Repeal the Stamp Act Day Eleven: The Articles of Confederation • The Townshend Tea Tax and the Boston “Massacre” • The Seditious Committees of Correspondence Read pages 159 - 167 (The American Pageant, Tenth Edition, • Tea Parties at Boston and Elsewhere Thomas Baily, David M. Kennedy) • Parliament Passes the “Intolerable Act” • The Continental Congress and Bloodshed Themes for the day: • Interpreting the Declaration of Independence, an in-depth • A Revolution of Sentiments analysis • Constitution Making in the States • Imperial Strength and Weakness • Economic Crosscurrents • American Pluses and Minuses • A Shaky Start Toward Union • A Thin Line of Heroes • Creating a Confederation • The Articles of Confederation Revolutionary War Campaigns Assignment, How did the Northern campaigns differ from the Southern campaigns? Interpreting The Articles of Confederation, an in-depth analysis, Were they ALL bad? Day Twelve: The Constitutional Convention Day Fifteen: Jeffersonian Democracy Read pages 167 - 179 (The American Pageant, Tenth Edition, Read pages 204 - 211 (The American Pageant, Tenth Edition, Thomas Baily, David M. Kennedy) Thomas Baily, David M. Kennedy) Themes for the day: Themes for the day: • Landmarks in Land Laws • Federalist and Republican Mudslingers • The World’s Ugly Duckling • The Jeffersonian “Revolution of 1800” • The Horrid Specter of Anarchy • The Federalist Finale • A Convention of “Demigods” • Responsibility Breeds Moderation • Patriots in Philadelphia • Jeffersonian Restraint Helps to Further a “Revolution” • Hammering Out a Bundle of Compromises • The “Dead Clutch” of the Judiciary • Safeguards for Conservatism • Jefferson Threatens the Supremacy of the Court • The Clash of Federalists and Antifederalists • The Great Debate in the States DBQ Preparation 3, writing a document based essay • The Four Laggard States using 1985 Articles of Confederation DBQ • A Conservative Triumph Interpreting the Bill of Rights, an in-depth analysis, Protection Day Sixteen: The Louisiana Purchase from ourselves? Was it necessary? Read pages 211 - 223(The American Pageant, Tenth Edition, Thomas Baily, David M. Kennedy) Day Thirteen: The Infantile Nation Themes for the day: Read pages 182 - 189 (The American Pageant, Tenth Edition, • The Pacifist Jefferson Turns Warrior Thomas Baily, David M. Kennedy) • The Louisiana Godsend • Out-Federalizing the Federalists in Louisiana Themes for the day: • Louisiana in the Long View • A New
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