APUSH

Darnell

Semester 1 Final

Preparation Schema: Organize each historical era within this categorical schema so you can see patterns of change and continuity over time. Connect eras to modern events so you synthesize significant historical trends.

  1. Historical Era(s)
  2. Overarching Question(s)
  3. Historical Theme(s)
  4. PEGS Theme
  5. Political = domestic and foreign
  6. Economic = work-trade-technology
  7. Geographic = Peopling, Environment and Geographical Features
  8. Social = Identity, Ideas-beliefs-culture
  9. Transformative Event(s)
  10. Effect(s)
  11. How life/values/systems/principles/social attitudes changed in Short-term and Long-term
  12. American Ideal Impact
  13. Democracy
  14. Opportunity
  15. Rights
  16. Equality
  17. Liberty
  18. Historiographical Perspectives (How/why historical interpretations changed about era/event/theme/ideal)
  19. Traditionalist/Nationalist
  20. Progressive
  21. New-left
  22. Neo-conservative

Historical Eras and Overarching Questions:

  1. Pre-Columbian Society: to 1491
  2. What were the PEGS characteristics of native societies in the Western Hemisphere?
  3. European “ Discovery” and Early Colonization: 1492-1606
  4. What factors spurred conflict between Natives and Europeans?
  5. What benefits materialized from the Native-European cultural exchange?
  6. What factors created competition amongst European countries?
  7. Compare and contrast the Spanish, French and British colonial systems.
  8. British American Colonial Settlement: 1607-1763
  9. What PEGS factors spurred the development of a unique American Character?
  10. Road to the American Revolution: 1763-1775
  11. Were the patriots justified in their decision to rebel from Britain? Why and why not!
  12. What were the American founding ideals and have we lived up to them?
  13. The American Revolution: 1776-1783
  14. What factors delayed American victory and what factors contributed to the British defeat?
  1. From Confederation to Constitutional Government: 1781-1789
  2. What is the best form of government to balance individual liberty and social order?
  3. Why was a confederation form of government desired initially?
  4. Articles of Confederation weaknesses?
  5. Federal-Republican Constitutional strengths?
  6. The Early Republic: 1789-1827
  7. Why did Political Partiesevolve despite arguments in the Federalist Papers they were preventable under the Constitution?
  8. Rise of American Nationalism
  9. How did Judicial Nationalism shape the American experience?
  10. Why did a National Market Revolution emerge and what changes did it bring in work-trade-technology?
  11. What events spurred the development of a unique American cultural identity and what effect did it have on the American experience?
  12. Think: American Cultural Renaissance
  13. Religion (Second Great Awakening)
  14. Literature
  15. Art
  16. Architecture
  17. Philosophy
  18. How and why did American foreign policy shift from isolationism to unilateralism/interventionism from 1790-1823?
  19. What is meant by an “Era of Good Feelings” and why did it come about?
  20. Rise of Mass Democracy: 1828-1840
  21. Were the Jacksonian Democrats guardians of the Constitution?
  22. Westward Migration and the Road to the Civil War: 1830-1860
  23. What factors spurred American Manifest Destiny?
  24. How did American Manifest Destiny influence sectionalism?
  25. Was the Civil War irrepressible?
  26. The Civil War: 1861-1865
  27. In what ways did the Civil War test the American founding ideals?
  28. What were the key turning points in the war and how/why did they tip the balance toward the Union?
  29. What were the PEGS effects of the war on American society?
  30. The Reconstruction Era: 1865-1877
  31. How did presidential and congressional reconstruction differ?
  32. Why did Reconstruction collapse?
  33. Was Reconstruction a successful or failed policy?
  1. Late 19th Century Pangs of Progress: 1877-1900
  2. Second Industrialization
  3. What were the distinct characteristics and PEGS effects?
  4. Is there an acceptable cost-benefit to progress?
  5. Rise of the “New South”
  6. Was the New South a myth or was the South really “New”?
  7. Transformation of the West (Westward Expansion)
  8. What opportunities and hardships materialized for groups who interacted in this region?
  1. The Era of Big Business or the Gilded Age
  2. What PEGS effects did the Industrial Revolution have on American society?
  3. Social Darwinism v. Reform Darwinism!
  4. Should the business leaders of the late 19th century be hailed as Captains of Industry or reviled as Robber Barons?
  5. The Rise and Fall of Populism
  6. What was the “farmers’ dilemma” and how did they organize to improve their condition?
  7. Why did populism come about and why did it fail?
  8. Why does the election of 1896 signal a major turning point in American history?
  9. Race Relations at the Turn-of-the-century
  10. What political, economic and social barriers limited African-American opportunity?
  11. Did Booker T. Washington or W.E.B. Dubois have the more effective plan to achieve social equality for African-Americans?

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