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Oakdale High School
Advanced Placement United States History
Mr. Simoncini
2017 Summer Work Requirements
All students enrolled in Advanced Placement (AP) United States history for the 2017-2018 school year will be required to complete three specific assignments during the summer. Two will be due on Friday, July 21, 2017 and one will be due on the first day of classes, scheduled for Thursday, August 10, 2017. The purpose of this information sheet is to enumerate those requirements. The teacher expects students to complete each of the following assignments demonstrating a very high level of quality in their work.
Project 1: Students will be required to prepare an 800-1,000-word (3-5-page), double-spaced, typewritten research paper. At the summer work class meeting in May 2017, I shall arbitrarily assign specific topics to individual students (see attached sheets). Each student must perform research on and write his or her paper about the topic that he or she is assigned. This is a research project. As such, students must: incorporate at least 3 sources, one of which must be a book; parenthetically document the sources of their information in the body of the paper; and indicate all research sources on a Works Cited page at the end of the paper. Papers must also have a cover sheet. There will be no trading of topics between students. Additionally, I shall not grant permission for alternate topics. I shall, however, be available during most of the summer to provide assistance with research as needed. Papers are due on Friday, July 21, 2017. I may extend that due date to a later time if unforeseen circumstances pertaining to MY situation warrant a change. On the due date, students should bring their papers to Oakdale High School classroom F-11 between 9:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. Students desiring to submit their papers before the due date (something that I would welcome) may do so by e-mail (). Unless a student’s scheduling problems have been previously coordinated with me, students who fail to turn-in their research papers by July 22nd will be involuntarily dropped from the course.
Project 2: Students also must prepare a poster, about their research paper topic, that is suitable for hanging on the classroom wall.
Project 3: Students must obtain a copy of The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair, read the book, and write a 2-3 page paper (typed, double spaced) analyzing Sinclair’s description of the lives of immigrants and his description of abuses of the meat-packing industry in Chicago, Illinois in the early years of the 20th century. Note: the book covers more than just the aforementioned topics; however, students are to focus their work solely on how Sinclair treats immigrants and the meat-packing industry.
The term paper will be worth 100-points, the book report will be worth 75-points, and the poster will be worth 50-points. I shall include the 225-points for summer work in the First Quarter grade book for each student, which will also become part of that student’s First Semester grade.
During the summer, please feel free to contact me by e-mail should you have any questions about these projects or any other issues pertaining to this course. Additionally, as the summer progresses, students should periodically check the class website (http://psimonciniohs.net) for announcements and possible changes to due dates.
Oakdale High School
Advanced Placement United States History
Mr. Simoncini
2016 Summer Term Paper Topics
Topic Prompt
1 Compare the ways in which TWO of the following reflected tensions in colonial society
a. Bacon’s Rebellion (1676)
b. Pueblo Revolt (1680)
c. Salem Witch Trials (1692)
d. Stono Rebellion (1739)
2 Although the power of the national government increased during the early republic, this development often faced serious opposition. Compare the motives and effectiveness of those opposed to the growing power of the national government in TWO of the following:
a. Whiskey Rebellion (1794)
b. Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions (798-1799)
c. Hartford Convention (1814-1815)
d. Nullification Crisis (1832-1833)
3 Analyze the ways in which farmers and industrial workers responded to industrialization in the Gilded Age (1865-1900).
4 How did economic, geographic, and social factors encourage the growth of slavery as an important part of the economy of the southern colonies between 1607 and 1775?
5 The Jacksonian Period (1824-1848) has been celebrated as the era of the “common man.” To what extent did the period live up to its characterization. Write about TWO of the following: economic development, politics or reform movements.
6 How and why did transportation developments spark economic growth during the period from 1860 to 1900 in the United States?
7 Describe and account for the rise of Nativism in American society from 1900 to 1930.
8 Compare the ways in which religion shaped the development of colonial society (to 1740) in TWO of the following regions: New England, Chesapeake, or the Middle Atlantic.
9 Analyze the contributions of TWO of the following in helping establish a stable government after the adoption of the Constitution: John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, or George Washington.
10 Compare and contrast U. S. foreign policy after the First World War and after the Second World War. Consider the periods 1919-1928 and 1945-1950.
11 How did the African American Civil Rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s address the failures of the Reconstruction?
12 Evaluate the extent to which the Articles of Confederation were effective in solving the problems that confronted the new nation.
13 In what ways did developments in transportation bring about economic and social change in the U. S. in the period 1820-1860?
14 Evaluate the impact of the Civil War on political and economic developments in TWO of the following regions: the South, the North, or the West.
15 Compare and contrast U. S. society in the 1920s and the 1950s with respect to TWO of the following: race relations, role of women, consumerism.
16 Analyze the impact of the American Revolution on both slavery and the status of women in the period from 1775-1800.
17 Analyze the effectiveness of political compromise in reducing sectional tensions in the period 1820-1861.
18 Compare and contrast the programs and policies designed by reformers of the Progressive era to those designed by reformers of the New Deal period, with particular emphasis on how those programs addressed the needs of those living in poverty.
19 Analyze the successes and failures of the U. S. Cold War policy of containment as it developed in TWO of the following regions of the world during the period 1945 to 1975: East and Southeast Asia, Europe, Latin America, or the Middle East.
20 Compare and contrast the ways in which economic development affected politics in Massachusetts and Virginia in the period from 1607 to 1750.
21 To what extent did the debates about the Mexican War and its aftermath reflect the sectional interests of New Englanders, westerners, and southerners in the period from 1845 to 1855?
22 Describe the patterns of immigration in TWO of the following periods: 1820-1860, 1880-1924, or 1965-2000. Compare and contrast the responses of Americans to immigrants in these periods.
23 Analyze the extent to which TWO of the following transformed American society in the 1960s and 1970s: the Civil Rights movement, the antiwar movement, or the women’s movement.
24 Analyze the differences between the Spanish settlements in the Southwest and the English colonies in New England in the seventeenth century in terms of TWO of the following: politics, religion, or economic development.
25 Explain why and how the role of the federal government changed as a result of the Civil War with respect to TWO of the following during the period 1861-1877: race relations, economic development, or westward expansion.
26 Historians have argued that Progressive reform lost momentum in the 1920s. Evaluate this statement with respect to TWO of the following: regulation of business, labor, or immigrants.
27 While the U. S. appeared to be dominated by consensus and conformity in the 1950s, some Americans reacted against the status quo. Analyze the critiques of U. S. society made by TWO of the following: youth, Civil Rights activists, or intellectuals.
28 Settlers in the eighteenth-century American backcountry sometimes resorted to violent protest to express their grievances. Analyze the causes and significance of TWO of the following: the march of the Paxton Boys, the regulator movement, Shays’ Rebellion, or the Whiskey Rebellion.
29 In what ways did the Second great Awakening in the North influence TWO of the following: abolitionism, temperance, the cult of domesticity, or Utopian communities?
30 To what extent did the role of the federal government change under President Theodore Roosevelt in regard to TWO of the following: labor, trusts, conservation, or world affairs?
31 “Landslide presidential victories do not ensure continued political effectiveness or legislative success.” Assess the validity of this statement by comparing TWO of the following presidential administrations: Franklin Roosevelt (1936), Lyndon Johnson (1964), Richard Nixon (1972), or Ronald Reagan (1984).
32 Early encounters between American Indians and European colonists led to a variety of relationships among the different cultures. Analyze how the actions taken by BOTH American Indians and European colonists shaped those relationships in TWO of the following regions. Confine your paper to the 1600s: New England, Chesapeake, Spanish Southwest, or New York and New France.
33 Analyze the impact of the market revolution (1815-1860) on the economies of TWO of the following regions: the Northeast, the Midwest, or the South.
34 Following Reconstruction, many southern leaders promoted the idea of a “New South.” To what extent was this “New South” a reality by the time of the First World War? In your paper, be sure to address TWO of the following: economic development, politics, or race relations.
35 Presidential elections between 1928 and 1948 revealed major shifts in political party loyalties. Analyze both the reasons for these changes and their consequences during this period.
36 Analyze the ways in which British imperial policies between 1763 and 1776 intensified colonials’ resistance to British rule and their commitment to republican values.
37 Analyze the social, political and economic forces of the 1840s and early 1850s that led to the emergence of the Republican Party.
38 Choose TWO of the following organizations and explain their strategies for advancing the interests of workers. To what extent were these organizations successful in achieving their objectives between the years 1975 and 1925?
Knights of Labor; American Federation of Labor; Socialist Party of America; Industrial Workers of the World
39 Analyze the home-front experiences of TWO of the following groups during World War II: African Americans, Japanese Americans, Jewish Americans, or Mexican Americans.
40 Analyze the political, diplomatic, and military reasons for the United States victory in the Revolutionary War between 1775 and 1783.
41 Analyze the ways in which controversy over the extension of slavery into western territories contributed to the coming of the Civil War between 1845 and 1861.
42 Analyze the roles that women played in Progressive Era reforms from the 1880s through 1920. Focus your paper on TWO of the following: politics, social conditions, labor and working conditions.
43 Explain the causes and consequences of TWO of the following population movements in the United States during the period 1945 to 1985: suburbanization, the growth of the Sun Belt, immigration to the United States.
44 Analyze the origins and development of slavery in Britain’s North American colonies in the period 1607 to 1776.
45 To what extent did political parties contribute to the development of national unity in the United States between 1790 and 1840?
46 Compare and contrast the ways that many Americans expressed their opposition to immigrants in the 1840s-1850s with the ways that many Americans expressed their opposition to immigrants in the 1910s-1920s.
47 African American leaders have responded to racial discrimination in the United States in a variety of ways. Compare and contrast the goals and strategies of African American leaders in the 1890s-1920s with the goals and strategies of African American leaders in the 1950s-1960s.
48 Analyze the effect of the French and Indian War and its aftermath on the relationship between Great Britain and the British colonies. Confine your response to the period from 1754 to 1776.
49 Analyze how western expansion contributed to growing sectional tensions between the North and the South between the years 1800 and 1850.
50 Analyze the origins and outcomes of the intense cultural conflicts of the 1920s. In your response, focus on TWO of the following: immigration, Prohibition, religion.
51 Compare and contrast the Cold War foreign policies of TWO of the following presidents: Harry Truman (1945-1953), Dwight Eisenhower (1953-1961), or Richard Nixon (1969-1974).
52. Compare and contrast the impact of religion on the United States in the antebellum period (1800-1860) and in the second half of the twentieth century (1945-2000). In the development of your argument, explain the reasons for the similarities and differences.
53. Compare and contrast the impact in the United States of anticommunism during the period 1917-1929 and the period 1939-1959. In the development of your argument, explain the reasons for the similarities and differences.
54. Evaluate the extent to which the ratification of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments to the Constitution marked a turning point in the history of United States politics and society. In the development of your argument, explain what changed and what stayed the same from the period immediately before the amendments to the period immediately following them.
55. Evaluate the extent to which United States participation in the First World War (1917-1918) marked a turning point in the nation’s role in world affairs. In the development of your argument, explain what changed and what stayed the same from the period immediately before the war to the period immediately following it.