Course: AP U.S.

History
School: Portland High School
Instructor: Gavin Glider

Syllabus Contents

Curricular Requirements .................................................................................................... 1

Advanced Placement U.S. History.......................................................................................2
Course Description...................................................................................................2
Course Texts .............................................................................................................3
Unit 1: Pre-Contact Cultures in and European Settlement of Colonial America .....4
Unit 2: Birth of the New Nation (1759-1789) .........................................................4
Unit 3: The Early National Period (1789-1812) ......................................................5
Unit 4: The War of 1812 and its Aftermath (1812-1828) ........................................5
Unit 5: Jacksonian Democracy (1828-1840) ...........................................................6
Unit 6: Reform Era Policies and Practices (1800-1850) ..........................................6
Unit 7: Westward Expansion (1819-1850) ..............................................................7
Unit 8: Coming of the Civil War (1830-1860) .........................................................7
Unit 9: Era of the Civil War (1858-1865) ................................................................7
Unit 10: Reconstruction (1865-1877) ......................................................................8
Unit 11: Westward Expansion and Industrialization (1880-1900) ...........................8
Unit 12: The Gilded Age (1880-1900) .....................................................................9
Unit 13: American Imperialism and the Progressive Era (1890-1920) ...................9
Unit 14: World War I and its Aftermath (1914-1932) ............................................10
Unit 15: The Great Depression and the New Deal (1929-1941) ...........................10
Unit 16: America and the Second World War (1935-1945) ...................................11
Unit 17: Origins of the Cold War, Cold War Culture and Society, and the Vietnam
War and its Aftermath (1945-1975) .........................................................12
Unit 18: Sound Bite Society (1970-Present) ..........................................................13
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Curricular Requirements:

CR1a The course includes a college-level U.S. history textbook.

CR1b The course includes diverse primary sources including written documents and
images as well as maps and quantitative data (charts, graphs, tables).
CR1c The course includes multiple secondary sources written by historians or scholars
interpreting the past.
CR2 Each of the course historical periods receives explicit attention.
CR3 Students are provided opportunities to investigate key and supporting concepts
through the in-depth study and application of specific historical evidence or examples.
CR4 Students are provided opportunities to apply learning objectives in each of the
seven themes throughout the course.
CR5 Students are provided opportunities to evaluate the reliability of primary sources by
analyzing the author’s point of view, author’s purpose, audience, and historical context.
— Analyzing evidence
CR6 Students are provided opportunities to analyze and compare diverse historical
interpretations. — Interpretation & Comparison
CR7 Students are provided opportunities to compare historical developments across or
within societies in various chronological and geographical contexts. — Comparison &
Synthesis
CR8 Students are provided opportunities to situate historical events, developments, or
processes within the broader regional, national, or global context in which they occurred.
— Contextualization
CR9 Students are provided opportunities to make connections between different course
themes and/or approaches to history (such as political, economic, social, cultural, or
intellectual) for a given historical issue. — Synthesis
CR10 Students are provided opportunities to explain different causes and effects of
historical events or processes, and to evaluate their relative significance. — Causation
CR11 Students are provided opportunities to identify and explain patterns of continuity
and change over time, relating these patterns to a larger historical process. — Patterns of
continuity and change over time
CR12 Students are provided opportunities to explain and analyze different models of
periodization. — Periodization
CR13 Students are provided opportunities to articulate a defensible claim about the past
in the form of a clear thesis. — Argumentation
CR14 Students are provided opportunities to develop written arguments that have a
thesis supported by relevant historical evidence that is organized in a cohesive way. —
Argumentation
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Course Description:

AP U.S. History is a two year course that covers the spectrum of American history from pre-
Columbian days through the modern ra. Using chronological and thematic approaches to the
material, the course exposes students to extensive primary and secondary sources and to the
interpretations of various historians. Class participation through reports, discussions, debates,
and role-playing activities is required; special emphasis is placed on critical reading and essay
writing to help students prepare for the AP examination. The course is structured chronologically
and divided into eighteen units. Each unit includes one or more of the nine periods and/or key
concepts outlined in the AP U.S. History Course and Exam Description.

Key Themes: The course is structured both chronologically and thematically. The seven themes
are:
• American and National Identity (NAT)
• Politics and Power (POL)
• Work, Exchange, and Technology (WXT)
• Culture and Society (CUL)
• Migration and Settlement (MIG)
• Geography and the Environment (GEO)
• America in the World (WOR)

Skills Developed: In each unit, students will get practice developing the following content-
driven skills: analyzing historical sources and evidence, making historical connections,
chronological reasoning, and creating and supporting a historical argument. In addition, class
activities and assignments will address the following academic skills: reading for comprehension
and recall, improving study skills in preparation for assessments, improving formal writing skills
(addressed below), improving public speaking skills in class discussions and activities, and
improving skills of map reading and interpretation.

Writing Focus: Historical work at a college level requires students to write proficiently. For this
reason, writing is emphasized in every unit of this course. Students receive “essential questions”
to frame class discussions; these are often used as writing assignments. Assessment of essays are
measured by the following: the degree to which they fully and directly answer the question; the
strength of thesis statement; level and effectiveness of analysis; amount and quality of supporting
evidence; and organizational quality. In addition to these standards, document-based questions
(DBQs) are graded on the basis of the degree to which a significant number of the documents
have been used to support the thesis, and the amount and quality of outside information included
in the response.

Historical Interpretations: Another key to work at the college level is an understanding of

basic historiography. To provide students with an introduction to this aspect of historical study,
several units include “Historical Interpretations” activities. Textbook materials are supplemented
by several scholarly readings. These authors help students recognize how historical
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interpretations change over time and examine how emerging trends can influence the process of
historical inquiry.

Primary Source Analysis Activities: To be truly meaningful, the study of history requires
primary source analysis. For this reason, most units in this course provide students with the
opportunity to read and interpret a diverse selection of primary source materials. The teacher
introduces each document, and then students (either alone or in groups) read, interpret, and
discuss the document, noting the author’s point of view, author’s purpose, audience, and
historical context. These activities help students become more familiar with primary sources, and
develop their abilities to read, understand, and use these sources. As a result, students are better
prepared to respond to DBQs on the AP U.S. History exam.

Textbook:
Kennedy, David M. and Lizabeth Cohen. The American Pageant. 16th ed. Boston: Cengage
Learning, 2016. [CR1a]
[CR1a] — The course includes a college-level U.S. history textbook.

Supplemental Texts (including but not limited to):

Brooks, Lisa Tanya. Our Beloved Kin: A New History of King Philips War. New Haven ;
London: Yale University Press, 2018.
Cesarani, David. Final Solution: The Fate of the Jews 1933-1949. S.l.: Picador, 2017.
Foner, Eric. Reconstruction: America’s Unfinished Revolution, 1863-1877. New York: Harper
Perennial Modern Classics, 2014.
Gilbert, Martin. The First World War. New York: Holt, 2004.
Halberstam, David. America and the Korean War. London: Macmillan, 2008.
Heffner, Richard D. and Alexander Heffner. A Documentary History of the United States,
Expanded and Updated. 9th ed. New York: Signet, 2013.
Horsman, Reginald. Race and Manifest Destiny. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press,
1986.
Howe, Daniel Walker. What Hath God Wrought: The Transformation of America, 1815-1848.
New York: Oxford University Press, 2009.
Lewis, Michael. The Big Short. New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company, 2011.
McPherson, James M. Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era. New York: Oxford University
Press, 2013.
Morgan, Edmund S. American Slavery, American Freedom: The Ordeal of Colonial Virginia.
New York: W.W. Norton &, 2003.
Morgan, Edmund. The Birth of the Republic, 1763-89. 3rd ed. Chicago: University of Chicago
Press, 1992.
Nash, Gary B. The Urban Crucible: Social Change, Political Consciousness, and the Origins of
the American Revolution. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1981.
Potter, David M., and Don E. Fehrenbacher. The Impending Crisis: America before the Civil
War; 1848-1861. New York: Harper Perennial, 2011.
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Units of Study:

Unit 1: Pre-Contact Cultures in and European Settlement of Colonial America

[CR2]

Major Topics:
Pre-Columbian societies with an emphasis on Pueblo, Cherokee, and Pequot nations; early
contact among groups in North America, and North American societies in the context of the
Atlantic World; Spanish exploration and the development of colonies in the Americas; the rise of
the English as an imperial power, including the conflict with the Spanish; initial English colonial
settlements, including successes, failures, and the unique attributes of each ofthe colonies; the
evolution of relations between the colonies and England, including the debate over citizenship
and representation; and the military conflicts with the French, culminating in the French and
Indian War.

Essential Questions:
Trace the rise of the English nation-state between 1492 and 1607. What important factors
influenced this rise? In what ways did later colonization efforts attempt to learn from earlier
experiences? To what extent was there religious freedom in the colonies? Explain the causes of
the conflict between the British and the Native Americans and French in 1754. How did the war
change the geopolitical standing of each group by the end of the war?

Unit 2: Birth of the New Nation (1759-1789) [CR2]

Major Topics:
Political and social causes of the French and Indian War; military engagements and
consequences of the French and Indian War; growing tensions between the colonies and
Parliament over taxation and representation; diplomatic relations between the colonies, the
British Parliament, the French strategies of both sides in the Revolutionary war, and the course of
the battles; origins and structure of the Articles of Confederation; political, social and economic
challenges of the Critical Period; circumstances surrounding the Constitutional Convention and
the structure of the Constitution; and argument over ratification and the development of the Bill
of Rights.

Essential Questions:
Was the American Revolution inevitable? To what extent could either side have contributed to a
peaceful resolution to their differences? Analyze the ways in which the colonists used both legal
and extra-legal means of protesting. Which tactic proved more successful and why? Who were
the greatest generals of the war and why? In what ways was the Articles of Confederation
designed to correct the perceived injustices of the Colonial Era? What were the resulting
strengths and weaknesses of the document?
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Unit 3: The Early National Period (1789-1812) [CR2]

Major Topics:
Birth of a new nation and struggle for identity; growing pains of the New Republic; George
Washington and the development of the role of the President; the debate over the First Bank of
the United States, and the emergence of political parties; foreign relations, including the Jay
Treaty, the Pinckney’s Treaty, the XYZ Affair, the conflict with the Barbary Pirates, and the
growing tensions with Europe during the Napoleonic Wars; Marbury v. Madison and the
development of the role of the Supreme Court; Jeffersonian Republicanism, including policies
regarding the First Bank of the United States, Louisiana, Aaron Burr, and foreign relations; and
elections from 1789 to 1812.

Essential Questions:
To what extent could it be said that the Anti-Federalists prevailed in the fight over ratification?
In what ways did the United States government work to achieve stability, both domestically and
internationally during the 1790s? Should the Alien and Sedition Acts be viewed as
unconstitutional, or were they just an early example of hardball politics? Is it accurate to say that
the Supreme Court did not become a co-equal branch of the government until after the
appointment of John Marshall?
How effective was the United States in responding to the geopolitical challenges it faced during
this period?

Unit 4: The War of 1812 and its Aftermath (1812-1828) [CR2]

Major Topics:
Growing pains of the New Republic; foreign relations between the United States, France, and
Britain; causes and events of the War of 1812; political, social, and economic aftermath of the
War of 1812, including the death of the Federalist Party, the emergence of the Second Bank of
the United States, and the conflict over internal improvements; the contested election of 1824
and the end of the Era of Good Feeling; tariffs and the specter of nullification; major decisions of
the Marshall Court; the Monroe Doctrine and the growth of the United States in regional politics;
and the rise of immigration and nativism.

Essential Questions:
Were the policies of the United States government new or merely a continuation of policies
already in place? How did the addition and settlement of southern and western lands contribute
to the political struggle that resulted in the Civil War? To what extent did the cotton boom
fundamentally transform southern society, economically, and culturally? In what ways was the
emergence of the factory economy of the north beneficial to the region and the nation? What
were the negative aspects of the new economy? Why is this period often considered the golden
age for American transportation?
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Unit 5: Jacksonian Democracy (1828-1840) [CR2]

Major Topics:
Circumstances surrounding the elections of 1824 and 1828; rise of the Jacksonian Democratic
party, including its beliefs, policies, and important members; the four main crises of the Age of
Jackson; the expanding view of democracy (spoils system, rotation in office); the Native
American question (court cases and Indian removal); the nullification crisis; and economic issues
of the period (Second Bank of the United States and the Panic of 1837).

Essential Questions:
To what extent were the Jacksonian democrats truly the guardians of the Constitution, political
democracy, individual liberty, and equality of economic opportunity? In what ways did Andrew
Jackson differ from his predecessors and in what ways did he continue the traditions, or reflect
the traditional values of the early national period? To what extent did the Jacksonian Era live up
to its characterization as the era of the "common man” in terms of economic development,
politics, and expansion? In what ways did the conflicts over nullification and the bank point to
the larger sectional, economic, and political tensions in the Jacksonian Era?

Unit 6: Reform Era Policies and Practices (1800-1850) [CR2]

Major Topics:
Trends in immigration, urbanization, and industrialization; social and cultural reactions to the
industrial age, including the Second Great Awakening, utopian movements, and reformers;
reform movements involving treatment of the poor, the blind, the deaf, the insane, and criminals;
the temperance movement; reform movements involving civil rights, including the status of
slaves and women; and artistic and philosophical movements of the age, including the Hudson
River School, romantic authors, and transcendentalists.

Essential Questions:
To what extent were the reform and utopian movements a reflection of Jacksonian ideals, and to
what extent were they a reaction to those ideals? In what ways did the philosophers, reformers,
artists, and authors of this time period contribute to the development of a uniquely American
identity? What were the larger social goals of the reformers and to what extent were they
successful in achieving these? In what ways did advocates for abolitionism, temperance, and
women’s rights make advances during this time? Which group made the most progress?
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Unit 7: Westward Expansion (1819-1850) [CR2]

Major Topics:
Trends in westward expansion, specifically independence in Texas and statehood issues
involving slavery; life on the trail; Oregon and California; border crisis involving Mexico and the
Mexican War; and negotiation of the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo and shifting power structure
in North America.

Essential Questions:
What effect did John Tyler’s presidency have upon the sectional tensions of the era? What
motivated settlers to come to Texas in the 1820s and 1830s? How did these motives contribute to
the conflict that led to Texan independence? What were the issues in the debate over the
admission of Texas to the Union? How did the gold rush and the establishment of the Oregon
Trail contribute to manifest destiny and the growing sectional crisis?

Unit 8: Coming of the Civil War (1830-1860) [CR2]

Major Topics:
Effects of the Mexican War in terms of land acquisition, slavery, economics, and politics; Uncle
Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe (1852); the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854; Dred Scott v.
Sandford (1857); John Brown's raid on Harper’s Ferry (1859); and the secession crisis.

Essential Questions:
In what ways did the debates over immigration and expansion merely mask the conflict over
slavery? At what point did secession become inevitable? Provide supporting evidence for why
you believe the Civil War could have been avoided before that point—or not.

Unit 9: Era of the Civil War (1858-1865) [CR2]

Major Topics:
Outbreak of the military conflict between the North and South, and the course of the war;
political, diplomatic, social, and economic consequences of the war, North and South; religion
and the abolitionist cause; the Emancipation Proclamation and its effects on the war effort and
the slave population; and generals and leadership in the North and South during the crisis.

Essential Questions:
To what extent did their generals shape the military fortunes of the North and South and their
leaders shape the political fortunes? In what ways and to what extent did the nature of warfare
change as a result of the Civil War? Who are the heroes of this time period and what makes them
so? Was it inevitable that the South would lose the Civil War? Why or why not?
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Unit 10: Reconstruction (1865-1877) [CR2]

Major Topics:
Competing models for Reconstruction: presidential, congressional, and white southern; the
assassination of President Lincoln and its implications for Reconstruction and the policies of
Andrew Johnson; military occupation of the South; the emergence of black republican
governments; impeachment of Andrew Johnson; radicalization of Reconstruction; Thirteenth,
Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments, white resistance, the KKK, and the spiral of violence;
and readmitting southern states, the Grant scandals, the restoration of conservative white
governments, and the gradual denial of black rights in the South.

Essential Questions:
To what extent did the assassination of Abraham Lincoln contribute to more harsh
Reconstruction policies? Trace the ways in which Congress attempted to secure rights for freed
slaves and the steps southern states took to obstruct Congressional actions. In what ways did the
impeachment of Andrew Johnson reveal the fault lines of American politics in the years
following the Civil War?
How did the scandals of the Grant administration undermine the goals of Reconstruction? To
what extent was congressional Reconstruction a success?

Unit 11: Westward Expansion and Industrialization (1880-1900) [CR2]

Major Topics:
Social and economic effects of post-antebellum industrialization in the North and the South; the
expanding economic power of the United States in the world economy; impact of an unregulated
economy on the development of heavy industry and the emergence of business tycoons; case
studies on Rockefeller, Carnegie, Morgan, and Vanderbilt; early attempts to rein in big business
by the government at the state and federal levels; westward expansion as seen in the context of
the railroad industry and emerging economic interests; conflicts between Native Americans and
settlers, ranchers, and miners; and military conflicts with Native Americans.

Essential Questions:
To what extent is the Gilded Age an apt description of the time period?
In what ways did the courts undermine Reconstruction efforts to bring about racial equality?
Trace the rise of American industrialization. What factors contributed to American
industrialization in the late nineteenth century?
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Unit 12: The Gilded Age (1880-1900) [CR2]

Major Topics:
Industrialization, urbanization, and cultural transformations; domestic and global challenges and
the creation of mass culture; cultural effects of deregulation, industrialization, and westward
expansion; urbanization and the competing ideals of city and rural life in America; immigration,
minority rights, and a rigid class system; corruption and machine politics in state and local
governments; the rise of agrarian discontent and the Populist response; and competing arguments
about the proper role of government in this era, leading to an introduction of Progressive ideals.

Essential Questions:
To what extent did state and federal governments attempt to regulate big business during the last
quarter of the nineteenth century?
In what ways did reform movements and organizations attempt to solve the social problems
facing U.S. society?
To what extent was society “reformed” by these efforts?

Unit 13: American Imperialism and the Progressive Era (1890-1920) [CR2]

Major Topics:
Industrialization, urbanization, and cultural transformation; domestic and global challenges and
the creation of mass culture; early expansionism, from the Young America movement to the
Chilean and Venezuelan conflicts; Mahan, Coaling Stations, the building of the United States
Navy, and initial imperialistic efforts, including Hawaii; American involvement and influence in
the Spanish-American War, the Philippine Insurrection, and the Panamanian Crisis; Mexico,
American involvement, the Tampico Incident, and Pancho Villa; and non-intervention in
European affairs at the outbreak of the First World War.

Progressivism defined, goals of Progressivism, and types of Progressives; muckrakers, social

reform, and the use of the media to achieve social, economic, and political goals; radical
movements, the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) and Socialist Party, and the changing
role in government (including state and local); role of Presidents Roosevelt, Taft, and Wilson in
promoting progressive agendas at the federal level; and successes and failures of the Progressive
Era.

Essential Questions:
To what extent did the domestic and international policies of Theodore Roosevelt reflect the
values of his era?
What were the causes, course, and effects of the Spanish-American War?
What were the chief arguments of the imperialists and anti-imperialists? What was the particular
significance of the Roosevelt Corollary?
How did the American interest in the development of a canal in Panama evolve?
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What were the root causes of the Progressive movement?

Why did the Progressive movement flourish in the North and West, but lack support in the
South?
To what extent did state and local governments influence the Progressive movement at the
national level?
Is it accurate to describe Roosevelt, Taft, and Wilson as Progressives? Who was the most
progressive and why? The least?
Were the conditions of farmers, the poor, women, and African Americans improved by
Progressive reforms from the Election of 1896 to the outbreak of World War I?

Unit 14: World War I and its Aftermath (1914-1932) [CR2]

Major Topics:
Domestic and global challenges, and the creation of mass culture; initial opposition to American
involvement in the First World War; the Lusitania, the Sussex Pledge, the Zimmerman Telegram,
and unrestricted submarine warfare; the course of the war, before and after American
involvement; civil rights for Americans during and after the war; the Treaty of Versailles, and the
Senate fight over ratification and the League of Nations; Warren G. Harding, normalcy, and the
end of the Progressive Era; and social, political, economic, and cultural trends during the 1920s.

Essential Questions:
In what ways were American relations with Mexico a demonstration of the United States as the
dominant power in the hemisphere?
How did regional relations evolve during this period?
What were the events and policies that culminated in the decision to go to war in 1917?
Assess Woodrow Wilson’s wartime leadership and explain his vision for a post-war world.
In what ways were the political disputes over proposed American entry into the League of
Nations and the Red Scare emblematic of the shift in America’s worldview in the years following
the Great War?
Were the major social issues and conflicts of the Twenties uniquely modern, or were they merely
continuations of earlier issues and conflicts?
To what extent is the following statement valid: “The Twenties were the new Gilded Age”?
To what extent did the writers and artists of the Twenties reflect and challenge traditional
American values?

Unit 15: The Great Depression and the New Deal (1929-1941) [CR2]

Major Topics:
Economic trends in the wake of the First World War and the collapse of the world economy; the
Stock Market Crash of 1929, crop failures, and the collapse of the banking industry by 1932; the
Bonus Army, Hoovervilles, and the social crisis surrounding the election of 1932; FDR, the
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Hundred Days (FDR’s first 100 days in office), the First and Second New Deals, and the
recasting of the role of government; court challenges to the New Deal programs, and other
dissenting voices, including economic and religious critics; the overall effects of the New Deal
programs on the economy, politics, and the popular understanding of the role of government in
American society.

Essential Questions:
What were the underlying causes of the Great Depression and the initial attempts by the Hoover
administration to mitigate its effects?
To what extent did the reforms of the New Deal truly transform the role of government, and to
what extent did they merely build upon an earlier foundation?
What was the evolution of the conflict between FDR and the Supreme Court from the beginning
of his first term to the beginning of the Second World War?
What were the major arguments made by New Deal critics?
To what extent did Americans accept and approve of the changes wrought by New Deal policies
and legislation?

Unit 16: America and the Second World War (1935-1945) [CR2]

Major Topics:
American isolationism in the 1930s, the Neutrality Acts, and the slow drift toward intervention
by 1941; Pearl Harbor, involvement in the war, mobilization, and its effects on American
economy, society, and politics; civil liberties during the war, especially the status of Japanese
Americans; the course of the war in the Pacific and in Europe, including the dropping of the
atomic bomb and the end of the war; and diplomacy during the war, from the Atlantic Charter to
the Potsdam Conference.

Essential Questions:
Citing leaders, battles, and other events, what were the high points, low points, and turning
points of the war in Europe?
Citing leaders, battles, and events, what were the high points, low points, and turning points of
the war in the Pacific?
To what extent can the two wars be compared in terms of: (a) treatment of minorities, (b)
opportunities for women, (c) civil liberties, and (d) plans for the post-war order?
Trace the course of diplomatic relations between allies from the beginning of the war to the end.
How did the goals and strategies change over time? What were the arguments for and against
dropping the atomic bomb in 1945?
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Unit 17: Origins of the Cold War, Cold War Culture and Society, and the
Vietnam War (1945-1975) [CR2]

Major Topics:
The emergence of two opposing superpowers; containment, the Marshall Plan, NSC-68, and the
growing military and economic burden of the Cold War; initial conflicts in Greece and Turkey
produce the Truman Doctrine as a cornerstone of U.S. foreign policy; division of Korea, the
invasion of the south in 1950 and the course of the Korean War; the role of the United States in
Cold War conflicts in Egypt, Hungary, French Indochina, and Cuba; and Kennedy and the Cold
War: Bay of Pigs, Berlin, and the Space Race. Trends in popular media and culture during the
1950s and 1960s; the Red Scare and its impact on cultural conformity, and the backlash against
that conformity during the 1960s; the modern civil rights movement, including Brown v. Board,
the Montgomery bus boycott, sit-ins, the Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act, Dr. Martin
Luther King, Malcolm X, Huey Newton, the Black Panthers; civil rights movements by other
groups, including women, Native Americans, and gays; post-war religious trends; youth and
farm workers; and baby boomers and the emergence of anti-institutionalism. Dien Bien Phu, Ho
Chi Minh, the assassination of Diem, and the growth of American involvement in French
Indochina; the Gulf of Tonkin incident and the expansion of American involvement in the war;
the course of the war from 1964 to 1975, including bombing campaigns of the North, the Tet
Offensive, the incursion into Cambodia, the Paris Peace Accords, and the Fall of Saigon; and
American support for and opposition to the war in Vietnam, and its effects on the political,
economic, and social situation in the United States during this time.

Essential Questions:
In what ways was the Marshall Plan an attempt to avoid the mistakes that had been made after
the Treaty of Versailles?
To what extent did relations break down between the United States and the Soviet Union in the
wake of the Second World War?
In what ways did the containment policy and the fallout from the Chinese Revolution contribute
to the culture of fear and conservatism during the 1950s?
In what ways were the Bay of Pigs, the Space Race, and the Cuban Missile Crisis related?
Who were the great figures in post-war art and literature? Specifically, what did their work say
about the post-war society and values?
To what extent was the sexual revolution revolutionary? To what extent was it a continuation of
past movements?
What were the high and low points of the civil rights movement, from 1954 to 1968, and to what
extent were the civil rights of African Americans extended? How did the role of students evolve
during this period?
In what ways did the war in Vietnam reflect the geopolitical struggles of the Cold War?
To what extent did growing discontent with the war influence changes in American policy
between 1968 and 1975?
How effective were the tactics used by opponents of the war?
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To what extent was the counterculture movement driven by opposition to the war, and to what
extent were other contributing factors at work?

Unit 18: Sound Bite Society (1970-Present) [CR2]

Major Topics:
Increasing prosperity and global responsibilities after World War II; globalization and redefining
national identity; creation of the Environmental Protection Agency; Watergate, the resignation of
President Nixon, and the emerging distrust of government; expanding role of the popular media;
modern religion and political activism; Reaganism: deregulation, increase in military spending,
and the Iran-contra scandal; liberalism on the wane: the Republican Revolution of 1994, the
impeachment of President Clinton; Rodney King and Anita Hill; Welfare Reform Act of 1996;
the election of 2000, terrorism and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and emerging questions
about civil liberties and the role of the federal government during a time of war; trends in
immigration; and the election of 2008.

Essential Questions:
What ways did the various Middle Eastern conflicts first symbolize and later replace the major
conflicts of the Cold War?
To what extent were the Reagan/Bush presidencies successful in rolling back reforms of the New
Deal and Great Society and in reshaping the role of government?
To what extent was America transformed by societal changes—from television to race relations
to AIDS and crack cocaine?
How did the role of the President change in the years from the Watergate scandal through the
terrorist attacks of September 11th?