AP U.S.

History - Syllabus
Mr. Todd Edmond - Tiffin Columbian High School

Course Description:
The purpose of this course is to give students the ability to dive deeper into the
analysis of historical emotion, facts and data than ever before. Too many history courses rely
on “dates and dead people” to simply memorize facts. This course, however, will look into the
purpose and meaning of history - and why it can point to the future. One can memorize facts
and win a game show, but understanding, interpreting, analyzing, and studying those same
facts and truly show someone the soul of those in the past.
The A.P. U.S. History course is designed to provide students with the analytic skills
and factual knowledge needed to deal critically with the problems and materials in U.S.
History. The program prepares students for intermediate and advanced college courses by
making demands upon them equivalent to those made by full-year introductory college
courses. Students should learn to assess historical materials - their relevance to a given
interpretive problem, reliability, and importance - and to weigh the evidence and
interpretations presented in historical scholarship. This course will help the student develop
the skills necessary to arrive at conclusions on the basis of an informed judgment and to
present reasons and evidence clearly and persuasively in essay format. (Taken directly from
the course description from The College Board.)

Purpose/Rationale of the Course:

AP U.S. History meets five days per week for 52 minutes each day. It depends upon
the students to handle a rigorous format of reading, analyzing, and writing. the vast majority
of the evaluations will be done via the essay format - the written word. It is vital that students
be able to interpret, analyze, and comprehend their thoughts via the written word. All writing
prompts will reflect the AP essay format in nature. This is to prepare the students for the “free
response” portion of the AP examination.
The course will also include multiple choice questions that will reflect the nature of the
AP examination as well. The goal of the course is to make the student confident in their ability
to properly answer AP examination questions - as well as be understood via the written word.

Time Frame of the Course:

This course is designed to be completed during the course of one full school year.

Materials and Resources:

The main text for the course is The American Pageant (Wadsworth Cengage
Learning: Kennedy, Cohen & Bailey, 2012).
Other resources for this course will include readings, handouts and other activities
(which may include field trips as they become available and useful for the course).

Supplemental readings may include the following and are subject to change:
Shaara, Michael, The Killer Angels (New York: Ballantine Books, 1974).
The AP Examination:
The AP U.S. History examination is distributed in May of each year. The exam is three
hours and five minutes in length. There are two parts to the exam: a 55-minute multiple
choice section; and a 130-minute free response section. The free response section includes a
mandatory 15-minute reading section.

Topic Outline/Competency Goals and Objectives:

Historical Ideas and Reasoning
(First week and a-half of school)

Objectives

Theme: Students will analyze the importance of studying history and the development
of historical reasoning.
1. Why learn history in the first place?
2. How history is interpreted - via the written word, music, film, media
3. Writing history - and how to write about history
4. How historical reasoning shapes our view of the world around us.

Assignments: The study of short film clips; media clips and articles; the song “We didn’t start
the fire” by Billy Joel.

Content: Investigating why we believe what we believe. How we interpret the world based on
our ideals, society, and structure.

Major Assessments: Writing exercises on the impact of media, music and documents.
Final paper analyzing all thoughts on the issue - while using specific documents as material to
be sited. (DBQ)

Competency Goal #1: Colonial America (1492-1754) The learner will

identify causes of European exploration and colonial settlement and
assess the structure of the European colonies. (2 weeks)

Objectives:

Theme #1: Pre-Columbian Societies (Identify and evaluate what factors led the early
inhabitants to the Americas. Analyze the impact these inhabitants had on the region.)
1. Early inhabitants of the Americas
2-5. American Indian Empires
-Mesoamerica
 -the Southwest
-Mississippi Valley
6. American Indian cultures in North America (European contact)

Theme #2: Transatlantic Encounters and Columbia Beginnings (1492-1690) (Identify

and evaluate the causes of European exploration from the late 15th to the early 17th
century.)
7. First European contacts with Native Americans.
8. Spain’s Empire in North America
9. French colonization of Canada
10-12. English settlement of:
-New England
-Mid-Atlantic
-South
13. Servitude to Slavery in Chesapeake
14. Religious diversity in the colonies
15. Resistance to colonial authority:
-Bacon’s Rebellion
-the Glorious Revolution
-Pueblo Revolt

Theme #3: Colonial North America (1690-1754) (Analyze the social, economic, and
political effects of the British Empire on the American Colonies with regard to the New
England, Middle, and Southern colonies.)
16. Population growth and immigration
17. Transatlantic trade
18. The 18th Century back country
19. Growth of plantation economies and slave societies
20. The Enlightenment and Great Awakening
21. Colonial governments and imperialism in the colonies.

Major Assessments: Multiple choice quizzes over reading and content material. DBQ and
short extended response questions as well as discussion.

Readings: Chapters 1-4 (pgs. 4-88) The American Pageant.

Competency Goal 2: The Revolutionary Era (1754-1783) The learner will

examine the causes for revolution, the course of the war, and evaluate the
results.
(1 week)

Objectives:

Theme: The American Revolutionary Era (1754-1789) (Examine the status of European
rivalries in the New World and the causes for revolution among the American colonies.
Assess how the new national and state governments were formed and their effects on
American society.)
22. The French and Indian War
23. The Imperial Crisis and resistance to Britain
24. The War for Independence
25. The Articles of Confederation
26. The federal Constitution

Major Assessments: Presentations on the colonial era; reading quizzes; DBQ extended
response question.

Readings: Chapters 5-8 (pgs. 88-174) The American Pageant.

Competency Goal #3: The New Nation (1783-1816) The learner will identify,
investigate, and assess the formation and effectiveness of the institutions
of the emerging republic.
(1 week)

Objectives:

Theme: The Early Republic (1789-1815) (Identify and evaluate the events and
compromises that led to the formation of a new government and differentiate between
the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists viewpoints. Assess the major foreign and
domestic issues and conflicts experienced by the nation during this period and
evaluate their impact on the new nation.)
27. Washington & Hamilton = Federal Government
28. Federalists and Republicans
29. Education for women
30. The Second Great Awakening
31. Significance of the Jefferson presidency
32. Expansion into the trans-Appalachian West
33. Growth of slavery
34. Free black communities
35. The War of 1812

Major Assessments: Reading quizzes; free-response essay questions - containing, but not
limited to Federalists vs. Republicans.

Readings: Chapters 9-11 (pgs. 174-248) The American Pageant.

Competency Goal #4: Nationalism, Sectionalism, and Reform (1816-1848)

The learner will analyze the competing forces of nationalism and
sectionalism and assess the effectiveness of the emerging reform
movements.
 (1 week)

Objectives:

Theme: Transformation of the Economy and Society (Antebellum) (Examine the

reasons for the emergence of nationalism and sectionalism during this period. Assess
its impact on America. )
36. Transportation revolution
37. Creation of a national market economy
38. Industrialization
39. Changes in social and class structure
40. Immigration and Nativism
41. Planters, Yeoman, and slaves in the South

Major Assessments: Debate over the institution of Slavery; reading quizzes; DBQ on the
state of America in the sectionalist time period; Presidential quiz (1789-1828)

Readings: Chapters 14-15 (pgs. 305-372) The American Pageant.

Competency Goal #5: the Era of Expansion (1828-1848) The learner will
analyze the cause and effect of Jacksonian Democracy and Manifest
Destiny.
(2 weeks)

Objectives:

Theme #1: The Transformation of Politics (Antebellum)(Examine the evolution of the

American economy during the first half of the 19th century and identify key events,
inventions, and ideas as well as determine their significance.)
42. Second Party System
43-46. Federal authority:
-Judicial Federalism
-The Bank War
-Tariff Controversy
-States’ rights debates
47. Jacksonian democracy

Theme #2: Religion, Reform and Renaissance (Antebellum) (Evaluate the extent to
which the characterization of this time period as the era of the common man is
correct.)
48. Evangelical Protestant revivalism
49. Social Reforms
50. Transcendentalism & Utopia
51. Literary and artistic expressions
Theme #3: Territorial Expansion and Manifest Destiny (Analyze American expansion
through the major events of the time period such as the Texas issue, Mexican War, and
the Oregon controversy.)
52. Forced removal of American Indians
53. Western migration
54. Territorial acquisitions
55. The Mexican War

Major Assessments: Reading quizzes; possible DBQ on Jackson, Social Reforms and
Manifest Destiny; presentations on the Antebellum time period - visual presentations only
looking at the heart of America through political cartoons and other media; Mid-Term
examination.

Readings: Chapters 12-13 (pgs. 248-305) & ch. 17 (396-416) The American Pageant.

Competency Goal #6: Crisis, Civil War, and Reconstruction (1848-1877)

The learner will analyze the issues that led to the Civil War, the effects of
the war, and the impact of Reconstruction on the nation.
(3 weeks)

Objectives:

Theme #1: The Crisis of the Union (Evaluate the role of compromise and crisis in
bringing about the American Civil War. Assess the impact of Abraham Lincoln and the
emergence of the Republican Party in relation to Civil War and secession.)
56. Pro-and -Anti slavery arguments
57. Compromise of 1850 (popular sovereignty)
58. The Kansas-Nebraska Act
59. 1860 Election (secession)

Theme #2: The Civil War (Analyze the major, military , political, economic and social
events of the Civil War period and determine their impact on the course of the war.)
60. Two societies at war.
61. Military strategies of both sides.
62. Role of African Americans (emancipation)
63. Effects of the war on the North & South

Theme #3: Reconstruction (Examine Reconstruction and assess its effectiveness.)

64. Presidential and Radical Reconstruction
65. Southern State Governments
66. Role of African Americans in postwar
67. Compromise of 1877
68. Impact of Reconstruction
Major Assessments: Reading the novel The Killer Angels (quizzes); Presentations on the
impact of the Civil War on society in America; DBQ on the era of Reconstruction; Presidential
quiz (1828-1877)

Readings: Chapter 16 (pgs. 372-396); ch. 18-22 (pgs. 416-513) The American Pageant.
The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara

Competency Goal #7: The Great West, the New South, and the Rise of the
Debtor (1862-1896) The learner will evaluate the great westward
movement, the emergence of the New South, and the impact of the
agricultural revolution on the nation.
(1 week)

Objectives:

Theme: Origins of the New South (Examine the rise of The New South and assess the
changes and impact that this concept brought to the southern economy and society.)
69. Reconfiguration of southern farming
70. Expansion in manufacturing
71. Jim Crow Laws

Major Assessments: Reading quizzes; debate on the way the South was rebuilt. Tea-party
game where students will need to justify the placing of a group of specific people at the same
dinner table - and the conversation that would result.

Readings: Chapter 26 (pgs. 633-669) The American Pageant.

Competency Goal #8: The Gilded Age (1877-1900) The learner will describe
and analyze how industrialization, immigration, urbanization, political
machines, and the new intellectual movements impacted America.
(3 weeks)

Objectives:

Theme #1: Development of the West in the late 19th Century (Evaluate the impact of
westward expansion on American Indians, the environment, and the American
economy.)
72. Expansion of the railroad system
73. The people of the West (homesteaders, Natives, ranchers)
74. Government policy toward Natives.
75. Gender, race and ethnicity in the West
 76. Environmental impact of western settlements.

Theme #2: Industrial America in the late 19th Century (Contrast the Second Industrial
Revolution with the First Industrial Revolution and analyze the contributions of
industrial leaders and the following industries: Railroad, iron, coal, electricity, steel, oil,
and banking.)
77. Emerging corporate industry.
78. Technology development/impact on workers
79. Labor unions
80. National politics and impact on corporate power
81. Migration and Immigration
82. Social Darwinism

Theme #3: Urban Society in the late 19th Century (Describe the rise of cities in the last
half of the 19th century and analyze the problems and reforms that resulted. Evaluate
the intellectual and cultural movements of the time and determine how they impacted
American life and society.)
83. Urbanization
84. Political Machines and corruption
85. Cultural and Popular movements (entertainment)

Major Assessments: Group presentation on the development of the United States in the late
19th century; DBQ possibly created by the students themselves looking at the impact and
rationale for each document they find. Preparation for the semester examination.

Readings: Chapters 23-25 (pgs. 538-632) The American Pageant.

*** Semester Break ***

Competency Goal #9 & 10: The Progressive Movement and the emergence
of the United States in World Affairs (1865-1930) The learner will analyze
the economic, political, and social reforms of the Progressive Period as
well as the emergence of the United States as an imperial power.
(3 weeks)

Objectives:

Theme #1: Populism and Progressivism (Explain the origin and the goals of the
Progressive movement. Analyze the local and state reforms, including utility
socialism. Identify the three progressive presidents and the major actions that they
took during their terms.)
86. Origins of Progressive reform
87. Progressive Presidents (Teddy, Taft, Wilson)
88. Women’s roles in progressivism
89. Black America (urban migration and civil rights)

Theme #2: The Emergence of America as a World Power (Examine the factors that led
to the United States taking an increasingly active role in world affairs. Analyze how
American policy changed in the late 1800s and influenced Asia, latin America, and the
western hemisphere. Examine reasons for the United States attempting to remain
neutral as the Great War began and for becoming involved later.)
90. American Imperialism
91. War in Europe
92. WWI at home
93. Treaty of Versailles
94. Society and economy in the postwar years.

Major Assessments: Debate on Teddy/Taft/Wilson; reading quizzes; DBQ on the Treaty of

Versailles

Readings: Chapters 27-30 (pgs. 669-770) The American Pageant.

 Competency Goal #11: The Roaring Twenties (1919-1929) The learner will
appraise the economic, social, and political changes of the decade of the
Twenties.
(1 week)

Objectives:

Theme: The New Era (1920s) (Analyze the causes of economic prosperity and the rise
of consumerism. Elaborate on the actions of the three Republican presidents. Assess
the importance and types of social change which occurred during this time period.)
95. The economy
96. Republican decade (Harding, Coolidge & Hoover)
97. Modernism (culture)
98. Response to modernism (fundamentalism)
99. Struggle for equality (Af-Am & women)

Major Assessments: Reading quizzes; Presentation comparison of the Roaring 20s to the
Roaring 90s; Free-response question at end of the unit.

Readings: Chapter 31 (pgs. 770-798) The American Pageant.

Competency Goal #12: The Great Depression and the New Deal (1929-
1939) The learner will analyze the impact and influence of the Great
Depression and the New Deal on the political, economic, and social
aspects of America.
(1 week)

Objectives:

Theme: The Great Depression and the New Deal (Trace and elaborate on the underlying
causes of economic problems at the end of the 1920s. Analyze how the Stock Market
Crash sparked the beginning of the Great Depression. Outline and evaluate the events
and results, as well as the actions and reactions of the New Deal.)
100. Causes of the Great Depression
101. The Hoover Administration
102. FDR’s New Deal
103. Labor and Unions
104. New Deal critics
105. American society & survival

Major Assessments: Reading quizzes; Group work on the New Deal; DBQ on the factors of
the depression in society.
Readings: Chapter 32 (pgs. 823-853) The American Pageant.

Competency Goal #13: World War II (1930-1945) The learner will trace the
reemergence of the United States in world affairs, including analyzing the
causes and effects of the United States involvement in World War II.
(2 weeks)

Objectives:

Theme #1: WWII (Examine world events during the 1930s, rise of totalitarian states, and
the U.S. role to promote relationships with our American neighbors. Identify the causes
of World War II and trace the events that led to the U.S. entry into the war.)
106. Rise of Fascism
107. Road to war - policy & Pearl Harbor
108. Multi front war strategy
109. U.S. global power in the Atomic Age.

Theme #2: The Home Front in WWII (Summarize the results of wartime conferences,
the impact of the war on U.S. domestic and foreign affairs, and the rise of the United
States as an international super power. Analyze the impact of World War II on political,
economic, and social life of the United States.)
110. The economy
111. Urban migration
112. Women work
113. Civil Rights and Liberties
114. Regional development
115. Expansion of government power.

Major Assessments: Reading quizzes; Free response question analyzing WWII interviews
done by students; DBQ on the outcome of the war.

Readings: Chapters 34-35 (pgs. 853-910) The American Pageant.

Competency Goal #14: The Beginnings of the Cold War and the 1950s
(1945-1960) The learner will assess the causes and effects of the United
States/Soviet Union tensions, the Civil Rights Movement and the economic
prosperity.
(2 weeks)

Objectives:
Theme #1: The U.S. and the early Cold War (Analyze the changes in United States
foreign policy related to the tensions of the Cold War and assess the role of
organizations established to address them. )
116. Origins of the Cold War.
117. Truman and containment
118. Asia problem: China, Korea, Vietnam & Japan
119. Diplomatic strategies (Ike & JFK)
120. The Red Scare (McCarthyism)
121. Impact of the Cold War on society.

Theme #2: The 1950s (Evaluate the significance of domestic adjustments during
postwar prosperity and the consumer culture. Identify the major events of the Civil
Rights Movement and evaluate the role of landmark Supreme Court cases.)
122. Modern civil rights
123. The “other” America
124. Suburbia & the Middle Class
125. Rebels and critics
126. Impact of changes (science, technology, medicine)

Major Assessments: Reading quizzes; free response essay on 1950s society in America;
group projects on the “two Americas” of the 1950s - visual presentation in nature; Presidential
quiz (1877-1960)
Mid-Term examination.

Readings: Chapters 36-37 (pgs. 910-972) The American Pageant.

Competency Goal #15: The 1960s and 70s (1960-1979) The learner will
identify and analyze political, social, and economic developments and
foreign affairs during this time period.
(2 weeks)

Objectives:

Theme #1: The 1960s (Describe major issues of social movements including race,
gender, economic and environmental problems and assess their impact on the
emergence of the counterculture.)
127. New Frontier & Great Society
128. Civil Rights
129. Cold War confrontations
130. Détente
131. The Counterculture & antiwar movement

Theme #2: Politics and Economics at the end of the 20th Century (Characterize and
identify the foreign policy of Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon in relation to Cuba,
Vietnam, China and the Soviet Union. Assess the changes in domestic policy and
society during this time period. )
 132. 1968 - Silent Majority
133. Nixon’s America
134. Changes in the economy (energy, deindustrialization)
135. The Reagan revolution
136. End of the Cold War

Major Assessments: Reading quizzes; DBQ on the political climate surrounding the 1960s
and 1970s.

Readings: Chapters 38-39 (pgs. 972-1031) The American Pageant.

Competency Goal #16: America since 1980 (1980 to the present) The
learner will evaluate trends in domestic and foreign affairs of the United
States during this time period.
(2 weeks)

Objectives:

Theme #1: Society and culture at the end of the 20th Century (Evaluate the
administrations of the modern Presidents. Explain the impact of new technology on the
economy and society.)
137. Demographic changes
138. Revolutions in technology & communication
139. Politics in a multicultural society

Theme #2: The U.S. in the post-Cold War world (Analyze the advancements of various
minorities in American society over the previous two decades.)
140. Globalization
141. Foreign policy
142. Domestic and foreign terrorism
143. Environmental issues in a global world

Major Assessments: Debate on political issues surrounding America since 1980; reading
quizzes; Presidential quiz (60-Now)

Readings: Chapters 40-42 (pgs. 1031-1083) The American Pageant.

AP Examination Review
(2 weeks)

Objective
Theme: Students will prepare for the AP U.S. History examination - which includes 55
multiple choice questions as well as free response and DBQ.

Students will be assigned review material. Class time will be used in test preparation (timed
practice) as well as test-taking strategies.

“TV AP”
(Post-AP Test: 3 weeks)

Objective

Theme: Students will analyze the impact of film, media (both written and visual), and
internet/television on the psyche of the American people.

Content: We will analyze the different ways Americans have received information over the
decades of the 20th Century.
1. World War II - it begins.
2. Music and media of the 1960s.
3. Political films of the 20th Century.
4. Rise of the internet age.
5. 24-hour media

Major Assessments: Group presentations on a wide range of topics involving the media;
free response essay on the impact the media has on elections, news, “real TV.” Preparation
for the final examination.

Course Evaluation
All procedures and weighting regarding quarter, semester, and final exam grades will
be followed as prescribed in the Tiffin Columbian High School student handbook. A rubric will
be provided for group presentations as well as free-response and DBQ answers.

Reading quizzes (multiple choice) = 10-15 points

Group presentations = 35 points

Free-response questions = 50 points

DBQ = 100 points (It should be noted that DBQs will be graded in much the same fashion as
the AP test itself. Answers should reflect mastery of content, use of outside knowledge, and
use of documents to support the answer.)