War with Mexico Debate

Ask any questions you might have here or call when you meet after school... the sub should have printed out a guide for you in class, if not let me know and I will e-mail as soon as I can.

Jacksonian Democracy

In order to understand the mystique of Jackson's presidency and the deceptively tumultuous times under his presidency, we must analyze many things. His actions, statements, philosophy on government give us insight into the times. Were these times truly democratic? Was Jackson a supporter of the common man? Was the country growing together or apart and why? We will be answering these questions as we study Andrew Jackson the man and Andrew Jackson the legend.

Task 1 - Election of 1828 - Nullification Crisis: Review the era of Jacksonian Democracy. Terms, names, multiple choice quiz. Answer basic questions in class after reviewing homework notes. Answer Questions in class.

Homework for weekend (Dec. 1,2, and 3):

1. Answer in paragraph form: How did the woes of van Buren's presidency highlight the problems and mistakes of Jackson's?

2. Write an essay on the following question to be handed in on Monday... treat it as an FRQ:

Statement: Andrew Jackson and his supporters were unfair and inconsistent in their advocation of majority rule and the supremacy of the federal government.

Assess the validity of this criticism in the cases of the spoils system, the recharter of the Bank, the Indian Remoaval policy, and the nullification controversy.

Jefferson's Administration and the Growth of Nationalism

VACATION HOMEWORK: DBQ Question regarding nationalism post War of 1812. Follow the outline you did for homework. If you need help, consult the AMSCO book pages 161-166. Leave comments or questions and I will try to check every few hours.

Readings:

AMSCO 7 and 8
American Pageant Chapter 11 and 12
Source Packet #1 and #2
Handouts (I will provide these when necessary)
Zinn Readings

Themes:

1. Peaceful transition of power (election of 1800)
2. Changes in party platforms
3. New Frontiers
4. Rise of Nationalism
5. Role of Women
6. America Grows

Content:

Peaceful "Revolution of 1800"
*Jefferson's savvy domestic politics
*Louisianna Purchase
*Diplomatic Issues
*Madison's Presidency

War of 1812: Casues, Course, Consequences
*Major Battles/Events
*Legacy of War

Marshall Court and Judicial Review

Cult of Domesticity and Women's role in America

American System
*Facets of the system
*Self Sufficiency
*Era of Good Feelings?

Missouri Compromise

Monroe
*Presidency
*Monroe Doctrine

Marshall Court
*Landmark cases
______________________________

Major Assignments:

*American System Foladable
*Marshall's Court paper chase
*DBQ
*FRQ on role of women and the "Cult of Domesticity"

Week of 10/23-10/27

More on the Constitution

Monday - Continue Federalist and Antifederalist debate.
HW: N/A

Tuesday - Analyze data (maps and #s) relevant to the ratification of the Constitution. Where did support on both sides come from? What issues held up the ratification process? Why?
HW:

MORE TO COME!

Week of 10/16-10/20

Constitutional Convention

Monday: Discuss motives of "framers". Who's interests were they protecting in this new "democracy"? Reading from Zinn. What were the issues being discussed at the Constitutional Convention?
HW: Fill in issues chart

Tuesday: I will be out. In-class essay on Compromise at the CC.
HW: Complete Essay

Wednesday: Intro to the Issues at the CC. What were they? Why were these the main issues? Discuss the different plans and compromises of the CC. Reading from CC. Who wanted what? Who were Federalists and Antifederalists and what did they want?
HW: Complete chart (based on whether you are a federalist or antifederalist) Click here for a chart to help get you started.

Thursday: In class research. Federalists vs. AntiFederalists. Discuss main points of views. Why did these people hold these views?

DEBATE RESEARCH:: CLICKE HERE for help on specific men
HW:

This is good as well

And lastly

Okay now lastly

Friday: Ratification. Political cartoon analysis. Process and consequences of ratification.
HW: Terms and Names for AMSCO 7. Outside readings w/ questions.

NEXT: What does the Constitution say and how can we twist its meaning so that your phone can be tapped.

Short Week 10/11-10/13

This school week is only 3 days long. We will be preparing for a multiple choice test on Friday. As such, we will be reviewing information and test taking strategies in the short week. Here is a good review sheet. We are up to page 14. Please bring in any questions regarding what you don't understand from the history we have read and studied. Please be sure to review your notes as well as key terms and names. You should be able to give the definition and significance of the terms and names in Pageant and AMSCO (they cover the same material).

Wednesday: Multiple Choice intro -- we will learn what questions are really asking and how to go about giving yourself a better shot. Preview multiple choice creator worksheet.
HW: Print THIS out at home and look it over. Come up with 5 topics to write a multiple choice question on in class.


Thursday: Making questions in order to understand questions. We will analyze questions you created in class.
HW: Study for test.


Friday: Multiple Choice Test. Timed.

Week 0f 10/2 - 10/6

Monday - DBQ work.

Tuesday - In class DBQ.

Wednesday - Complete DBQ in class. Was the revolution a civil war? Complete “Dealing with the Problem of Loyalists”, and “A Cartoon View of the Revolution” in class.

HW: How was the revolution was won, list major reasons (you should have done this least year. What were the provisions of the Treaty of Paris in 1783? What commonalities existed among the new state governments created during the revolution? Introduction of Articles of Confederation.
**Review notes on Articles of Confederation in both Pageant and AMSCO. Answer in notebook: What sort of relationship did the Articles of Confederation create between the central government and the state governments? What powers did the Articles of Confederation give to the central government?

Thursday - I will not be in school Thursday. In class/HW questions:
1. In what ways did the Articles of Confederation limit the power of the central government?
2. Under the Articles, what important powers did the central government lack?
What social changes occurred as a result of the American Revolution?
3. Why was western land such a major problem for the nation? How did the government under the Articles systematize the settlement of western lands?
4. What were the main provisions and the significance of the Land Ordinance of 1785? What were the main provisions and the significance of the Northwest Ordinance of 1787?
5. In what sense were the Land Ordinance of 1785 and the Northwest Ordinance designed to be democratic/egalitarian?
6. Why did Americans increasingly criticize the Articles of Confederation as too weak? Be sure to mention both economic and political concerns.
7. What is the significance of Shays' Rebellion for the drafting of the Constitution?
8. How does the traditional fear of tyranny make the Articles of Confederation a "weak" attempt to construct a national government? Whom does a weak central government help? Whom does it hurt?


Friday - Why did people come to believe that the Articles should be replaced?
Terms: Northwest Territory, Land Ordinance of 1785, Northwest Ordinance of 1787, Shays' Rebellion.
HW: Chapter 6 AMSCO notes. Chapter 9 and 10 in Pageant notes. Multiple Choice test on Wednesday (Proclomation of 1763 - Articles of Confederation). Do not complain about the HW you have 4 days to complete it and if you are on the website you can certainly get ahead.

Week 2 - 9/25 - 929

UPDATE: Click here for samples of low, mid, and high range essays based on the prompt you recently completed.

The first essay was given a low score. The second a mid-range score. The third a high score.



Monday - French and Indian War and the changing relationship between Britain and it's colonies.
HW: Chart colonial tensions

Tuesday - Charting colonial tensions. Britain's policies and the colonial reaction.
HW: None because people like writing on bathroom walls instead of their notebooks

Wednesday - Progression of a revolution. Using primary sources to determine colonial attitudes. Study three PSDs in class. Summarize attitude and positions taken. What was the goal of each writing?
HW: How and why did colonial attitudes change towards the independence movement? Answer in detail.

Thursday - Continuation of Wednesday. Peer evaluation of student work. Was the American Revolution radical or conservative? Discussion. Talk about DBQs.
HW: Find and bring in relevant primary and secondary sources on the subject of 'Was the American Revolution radical or conservative?'. This could include political cartoons, writings, speeches, paintings, advertisements. We will be making our own DBQ. Each student should bring in two psds. Use the internet.
Click here.
Or here.
Or maybe here.
Of course this is nice too.
Look at the 1751-1800 portion here.
Here as well.
J is the best teacher alive.
My suggestion would be to get together and go nuts with reading to see if the source is helpful. Print, scan, cut and paste. You don't have to use entire works, you can cut and use pieces that are relevant. CITE ALL SOURCES!!!!!

Friday - TBA... most likely DBQ in class. Timed.
HW: Notes chapter 8. AMSCO reading chapter 5.

America to 1775 Assignment

UPDATE: Click here for a good chart summary that pertains to your current assignment.

I know there are vast amounts of raw information to analyze, summarize, evaluate, and spit back out in this time frame. However, a well done product will be an invaluable guide to this time period later on. Follow the assignment as a guide and use the outline below if you need a bit more guidance in structure:

Intro - Explain that the 13 colonies were all founded for different reasons by different people, yet that by 1750 there were events, institutions, and trends that intertwined to create a uniquely American identity.

New England P1 - Brielfy explain a timeline of how the colonies in this region developed differently (again use your assignment sheet to figure out exactly what should go here)

NE P2 - Make generalizations about this region (colonies combined) that describe it's identity. Always back up generalizations with EVIDENCE! Go from general to specific. Highlight a trend present in this region and then explain it using events/people/facts from a specific colony.

(example: Religion played a major role in the development of this region socially and politically. In Massachusetts, Puritans made the church the center of town. People would gather here for social events including sermons and town meetings. Sermons (like that of Cotton Mather's) were one of the few leisure time activities Puritains could take part in. Town meetings were an early sign of democracy in the region, and tied the church closely to the state.)

Middle Colonies - Repreat steps for NE

Southern Colonies - Ditto

Conclusion P1 - Summarize the major differences between the regions

Conclusion P2 - Formulate a description of what the 'American Identity' was in 1750. Give some insight here! You won't find your opinion in any book. Make a judgement and support it. You have to become a historian seeing the value of facts as evidence for an argument, not the plot of the past.

Good Luck!

Intro Paragraph

9/18 - Complete your intro paragraph for homework. The intro should include your thesis statement and a very brief but concise explanation of your thesis. For help on essay writing, click the link below (you have seen two of the four already).

ESSAY HELP LINK

AMSCO Book

The AMSCO book that you should order for this class is $16. This does not include shipping and handling or tax. You can order the book here. I strongly recommend you buy this as soon as possible. We will be using it soon.

This book contains not only information, but documents for analysis and practice tests. It will be invaluable as the year goes on. Thank you for getting it on short notice.

GET A HOLD OF THIS BOOK AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!!! Nobody should be without one by the end of next week.

1st Assignment

Aside from your summer reading, the assignment you are working on in class will be your first major grade. As is such, you should plan to use class time and time at home to complete the presentation you will be giving on Thursday. Remember to include primary source documents in your presentation that can either be put on an overhead, displayed on a poster, or handed out to the class (the more legitimate and relevant primary source documents, the better off the class will be!). Find some documents here. Other useful sites on your period can be found here. These types of assignments put a focus on teaching each other in the class. So put your best foot forward in creating a good presentation. You should come up with an activity for the class to partake in with your presentation, whether it be analyzing your primary sources or role playing a key theme. Remember to be creative, the point of this class is to get you thinking historically.

Things to keep in mind while creating to presentations and observing them:

1. What themes does it hit upon (of the 14)
2. What are the key events? Who are the key players?
3. Can this time frame be interpreted in more than one way (ie: Are there two sides to the story? ALWAYS give both sides. For instance, what was the reaction of Native Americans to the 'glorious' discovery of the "New World" once they saw how they would be treated? One person's encomienda is another's tragic past)


Helpful ideas to fuel your brainstorming... questions drive the lesson. For example:

When given the major pre-Columbian trade off between Native Americans and Europeans (crops, diseases, technology, etc...), ask yourself,

"What affect did the meeting of these two cultures have on one another?"

You've just created a good jump start to your presentation's basis. It could also be a possible AP essay question. Well done!

Essays

In order to do well in this class and on the AP test, you must be able to write a good essay. We will start with the study of the questions, or prompts, that you will be getting used to. View the following powerpoint and take critical notes on how to deal with these prompts:

Prompts Powerpoint

Next you will be viewing and taking notes on the importance of a good thesis statement:

Thesis Statements

Be thorough, for you will use this information from now on.

Welcome to APUSH!

Your first task will be to complete the first two quizzes from the following website:
Click Here for Quizzes
Good luck. If you have not yet finished your notes for chapters 1-6, do so now.

Hello and welcome!

This will be the first of many posts to come. Enjoy!

-J