Sunnyslope High School

SUNNYSLOPE HIGH SCHOOL

AP U.S. HISTORY (APUSH)

MR. HICKMAN

Syllabus: 2011-2012

Overview: Welcome! Thank you for accepting the challenge of Advanced Placement United States History. The AP course is designed to provide students with a broad overview of central concepts and topics in American history. The readings and assignments are geared toward assisting students in developing a deeper understanding of the broad themes in the development of the nation as well as the influence and contributions felt by key people, groups, and events.

Classroom Rules & Procedures:

1. Attendance:

· Attendance and tardy policies are consistent with those listed in the SHS handbook.

2. Preparation and Classroom Behavior:

· Due to the rigorous curriculum and demands of the course, diligent and consistent preparation by the student is absolutely necessary for success. The class will operate as a seminar, with heavy emphasis on discussion, analysis, critical thinking and thoughtful writing. As a result, students will be expected to complete readings in advance in order to be prepared for classroom discussion. I reserve the right to quiz students over any reading material and I will exercise this right frequently.

· Disruptions of the learning environment are unacceptable and will not be tolerated. The course is taught as a college course, and I expect adult behavior and acceptance of responsibility from my students. The Teacher has the right to teach, the Student has the right to learn.

3. Grading:

· A student’s grade will reflect his/her success in a variety of different areas. Assignment categories are weighted to reflect the significance of a given skill or assignment. The semester grade will be determined as follows:

A= 100%-89.5%

B= 89.4%- 79.5%

C= 79.4%- 69.5%

D= 69.4%- 59.5%

F= 59.4% or less

4. Assignments:

· Listed below are the assignment categories and their relative weight.

1st semester 2nd semester

Homework/ Projects/Presentations = 20% Homework/Projects/Presentations = 20%

Quizzes = 10% Quizzes = 10%

Tests = 30% Tests = 25%

Essays = 30% Essays = 25%

Final Exam = 10% Final Exam = 10%

Review Project 10%

(For second semester, these categories are slightly altered in order to reflect the addition of a review component as the AP Exam approaches near the end of the school year).

5. Late Work/Make-up Work:

· Credit will only be given to assignments received on time. If a student is absent when an assignment is given, the student will have 5 school days to complete the assignment. Even if a student is absent, long term assignments (defined here as anything given more than 5 school days before the due date) are due on the assigned date since they are given in advance. It is the responsibility of the student who has been absent to arrange a time for make-up tests or work to be done. If you are aware of a day where you will be absent, please alert me in order to make arrangements prior to your absence.

· Consistently missed test dates will be looked upon as a request to leave the class for non-advanced placement curriculum. Make up tests will cover the same content, but will not be the same test administered to the students who take the test on the assigned date.

· Extra Credit cannot be used in lieu of completing an assignment. Extra credit is rarely given, and opportunities for extra credit will be offered by the teacher, not suggested or requested by the student.

Plagiarism: (Plagiarism, derived from Latin roots: plagiarius, an abductor, and plagiare, to steal)

· Plagiarism is a serious offense and will not be tolerated in this class. Simply stated, plagiarism is considered to be any attempt by a student to steal the work or ideas of another and pass it off as his/her own work. Plagiarism includes, but is not limited to, copying the homework of another student, looking off the paper of a student during a test or quiz, or reproducing information from the internet. If a student is guilty of plagiarism on any assignment, the student (or students) will receive a “0” for the assignment and a “U” in citizenship.

7. Expanded Opportunity Period:

· Every Wednesday morning, from 8:15-8:55, SHS provides students with additional time for make-up work or enrichment opportunities known as EOP. For AP History, students are encouraged to utilize EOP to review model essays, read additional texts, review previous exams and keys, or refine writing skills with additional practice questions. Moreover, students who miss a test, quiz, or essay are expected to meet these course requirements at the first available EOP session.

8. Electronic Devices:

· Due to the disruptive nature of electronic devices such as cell phones, ipods, MP3 players, etc., use of these devices will be prohibited in class.

9. Conferences:

· You are welcome to arrange an appointment to talk with me at any time outside of class. I am typically available before school starts from 7:15-8:00, but it is best to arrange a specific meeting time with me in advance. Parents may also reach me at 632-915-8760, ex. 2801. Please feel free to call, and I will return your call as quickly as I can.

I have read and discussed the classroom rules, expectations and consequences with my child. Signatures below will indicate knowledge and understanding of classroom policies, procedures, and expectations for the class. Please sign, detach, and return to Mr. Hickman by Friday, August 19, 2011

Print Student Name: ______

______

(Student signature) (Parent signature)

Course Text Book

· Nash, Gary B. The American People Creating a Nation and a Society (4th edition) Longman Publishers (1998). This is the standard textbook that will be used in the course.

Throughout the year, we will be reading excerpts from the listed supplemental readings. Using secondary sources beyond the textbook provides students with exposure to different perspectives on interpreting the American past.

1) Davis, Kenneth. Don’t Know Much About History. While many students may find the textbook a bit dry, Mr. Davis may be more accessible to students as a result of his wit and insight. Mr. Davis is brief but to the point in his discussion of key events in American history.

2) AP U.S. History. (7th edition). Research & Education Association, Inc (2006): Provides an outstanding overview of units as well as practice tests for preparation and review.

3) Zinn, Howard. A People’s History of the United States. Harper Collins Publishers (1995). While most texts are strong in political history, Zinn’s book is exceptional for its examination of social history in the U.S.

4) Zinn, Howard and Arnove, Anthony. Voices of a People’s History of the United States. Seven Stories Press (2004). An excellent publication that brings to life the extraordinary history of ordinary people who built the movements that made the United States what is today. Voices of a People’s History of the United States seeks to educate and inspire a new generation working for social justice.

5) Krieger, Larry. AP U.S. History Crash Course Research and Education, Inc. (2010). The single most outstanding resource for review on the AP History Test. While the benefits of the book throughout the year are marginal, as the test approaches, this is an extraordinary resource. HIGHLY Recommended

6) Loewen, James W. Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong. Simon & Schuster (1995). This book critically examines twelve American history textbooks. Interesting perspective on how American history is conveyed.

Students are further introduced to historical scholarship by reading and analyzing a number of outside documents. Students will be responsible for reading the documents and preparing notes that will be used in class for discussion of the topics associated with each document.

· Common Sense (Pain), Social Contract (Locke). Declaration of Independence (Jefferson): How can you see the morals and ideas of the American Revolution reflected in Common Sense and the Declaration? How does Social Contract Theory surface in Common Sense and the Declaration?

· Articles of Confederation, The Federalist Papers and the Constitution: Were the Federalist Papers in favor of democracy or against it? How did the Federalist Papers reflect criticism of the Articles of Confederation? How was the Constitution a radical departure from the Articles of Confederation?

· Judicial Review; Marbury v. Madison: What was the long term significance of this case? How was it about more than just “midnight judges”?

· Resistance to Civil Government: Civil Disobedience (Thoreau): What influence did Henry David Thoreau’s work have on notable American historical figures that shaped their ideology?

· Gospel of Wealth (Carnegie), Social Darwinism (Spencer), Laissez-Faire (Whately and Franklin): How did these three concepts combine to become and justify the attitude if the Industrial Revolution?

· The Jungle (Sinclair, History of Standard Oil (Tarbell): How did these publications break ground for modern day investigative journalism?

· Sacco and Vanzetti Trial Transcripts, Reemergence of the KKK, Scopes Monkey Trial: What do these three articles recounting significant events of the 1920’s indicate about America’s post WWI attitude?

· Little Rock Nine, Emmett Till, Letter From a Birmingham Jail, Mississippi Burning, The Basis of Black Power: These readings trace the evolution of the Civil Rights Movement, how did it evolve? What happens to the non-violent movement and its early innocence?

AP U.S. History

Syllabus: 1st Semester - Fall 2011

General Topic Outline

WEEK

1-2

Pre-Columbian Societies

· Early inhabitants of the Americas

· American Indian empires on Mesoamerica, the Southwest, and Mississippi Valley

· American Indian cultures of North America at the time of European contact

Transatlantic Encounters and Colonial Beginnings, 14-92-1690

· First European contact with Native Americans

· Spain’s empire in North America

· French colonization of Canada

· English settlement of North America, the Mid-Atlantic region, and the South

· From servitude to slavery in the Chesapeake region

· Religious diversity in the American colonies

· Resistance to colonial authority: Bacon’s Rebellion, the Glorious Revolution, and the Pueblo Revolt

Colonial North America, 1690-1754

· Population growth and immigration

· Transatlantic trade and growth of seaports

· The eighteenth-century back country

· Growth of plantation economies and slave societies

· The Enlightenment and the Great Awakening

· Colonial governments and imperial policy in British North America

3-4

The American Revolution Era, 1754-1789

· The French and Indian War

· The Imperial Crisis and resistance to Britain

· The War for Independence

5-6

Freedom and Independence:

· State Constitutions and the Articles of Confederation

· The Federal Constitution

7-8

The Early Republic, 1789-1815

· Washington, Hamilton, and shaping of the national government

· Emergence of political parties: Federalists and Republicans

· Republican Motherhood and education of women

· Beginnings of the Second Great Awakening

· Significance of Jefferson’s presidency

· Expansion into the trans-Appalachian West,; American resistance

· Growth of slavery and free Black communities

· The War of 1812 and its consequences

9-11

Transformation of the Economy and Society in the Antebellum America

· The transportation revolution and creation of a national market economy

· Beginnings of industrialization and changes in social and class structures

· Immigration and nativist reaction

· Planters, yeoman farmers, and slaves in the cotton South

The Transformation of Politics in Antebellum America

· Emergence of the second party system

· Federal authority and its opponents: judicial federalism, the Bank War, tariff controversy, and state’s rights debates

· Jacksonian democracy and its successes and limitations

Religion, Reform, and Renaissance in Antebellum America

· Evangelical Protestant revivalism

· Social Reforms

· Ideals of domesticity

· Transcendentalism and Utopian communities

· American Renaissance: literary and artistic expressions

Territorial Expansion and Manifest Destiny

· Forced removal of American Indians to the trans-Mississippi West

· Western migration and cultural interactions

· Territorial acquisitions

· Early U.S. Imperialism: The Mexican War

The Crisis of the Union

· Pro and antislavery arguments and conflicts

· Compromise of 1850 and popular sovereignty

· The Kansas-Nebraska Act and the emergence of the Republican Party

· Abraham Lincoln, the election of 1860, and secession

14-16

Civil War

· Two societies at war: mobilization, resources, and internal dissent

· Military strategies and foreign diplomacy

· Emancipation and the role of African Americans in the war

· Social, political, and economic effects of the war in the North, South, and West

Reconstruction

· Presidential and Radical Reconstruction

· Southern state governments: aspirations, achievements, failures

· Role of African Americans I politics, education, and the economy

· Compromise of 1877

· Impact of Reconstruction

The Origins of the New South

· Reconfiguration of southern agriculture: sharecropping and the crop lien system

· Expansion of manufacturing and industrialization

· The politics of segregation: Jim Crow and disenfranchisement

Development of the West in the late Nineteenth Century

· Expansion and development of western railroads

· Competitors for the West: miners, ranchers, homesteaders, and American Indians

· Government policy toward American Indians

· Gender, race, and ethnicity in the far West

· Environmental impacts of western settlement

Final Exams

END OF FIRST SEMESTER

AP HISTORY 2011

AMERICAN COLONIAL PERIOD: U.S. HISTORY

Directions: Throughout the week, you will read sections from of your textbook and answer questions from each section in order to help you understand important events and themes during the American Colonial Period. The answers to the questions are due the day of the exam, at the start of class.

1-2 American Colonial Period

Primary sources and document analysis:

· Colonial map study

· Readings from supplemental texts TBA

· Content specific Primary Documents: i.e.

· 1993 DBQ (first activity for interpreting, categorizing, incorporating documents) (Please see document at end of colonial period unit titled :Introduction to the DBQ)

Monday: (8/15) (abbreviated schedule, shorten class periods)