Course Title:  AP United States History
 
2 Semesters – 10 Credits – 5 Class periods per week
 

Course Objectives:
Foundational to the course is a central underpining of a “Core of Biblical Truths,” or CBTs.  This “heart” of the course emphasises Truths such as:  God’s sovereignty and His faithfulness; man’s depravity and results of living according to the “fruits of the flesh”; stewardship and its importance for both the government and individuals; the importance of participating in God’s redemptive mission for this fallen planet; and the great importance of always looking for Truth rather than man’s convoluted and twisted reinterpretations of how history occurred. These Truths provide the intregal skeleton that all the remainder of the course is built upon.
 
 AP U.S. History is a challenging course that is meant to be the equivalent of a freshman college course.  It is a two-semester survey of American History from the age of exploration and discovery to the present.  Solid reading and writing skills, along with a willingness to devote considerable time to homework and study, are necessary to succeed.  In addition to factual knowledge about the past, emphasis is placed on 1) critical and evaluative thinking skills, 2) essay writing, 3) interpretation of original documents, and 4) historiography—the analysis of various historical interpretations.  Additionally, significant emphasis is placed on preparation for the AP exam in May.
 
Course Description:
With the Biblical Core established, students will then begin their study of United States History.  Because this is an Advanced Placement course overseen by the College Board, certain parameters to its teaching must be adhered to in order to receive its “AP” designation.  With this is mind, the fleshing out of the course is as follows:
Although the course is taught to a certain extent chronologically, various themes will help weave together content from the many historical periods, not only to give students a sense of narrative, but also to enable them to grasp the various analytical approaches to history (i.e. economic, political, cultural, etc.).  They are designed to help students think conceptually about the American past and to focus on historical change over time.  In each chapter of study, several of the themes will be highlighted.  We will typically analyze most of the themes within each unit of study.  However, each chapter will have one or two that receive special focus.  The thematic approach to AP US History has twelve different aspects that are explored. American Diversity:  The diversity of the American people and the relationships among different groups.  The roles of race, class, ethnicity, and gender in the history of the United States.  American Identity: Views of the American national character and ideas about American exceptionalism.  Recognizing regional differences within the context of what it means to be an American.
Culture:  Diverse individual and collective expressions through literature, art philosophy, music, theater and film throughout U.S. history.  Popular culture and the dimensions of cultural conflict within American society.  Demographic Changes:  Changes in birth, marriage, and death rates; life expectancy and family patters; population size and density.  The economic, social, and political effects of immigration, internal migration, and migration networks.  Economic Transformations:  Chapters in trade, commerce, and technology across time.  The effects of capitalist development, labor and unions, and consumerism.  Environment:  Ideas about the consumption and conservation of natural resources.  The impact of population growth, industrialization, pollution, and urban and suburban expansion.  Globalization:  Engagement with the rest of the world from the fifteenth century to the present: colonialism, mercantilism, global hegemony, development of markets, imperialism, cultural exchange.  Politics and Citizenship:  Colonial and revolutionary legacies, American political traditions, growth of democracy, and the development of the modern state.  Defining citizenship; struggles for civil rights.
Reform:  Diverse movements focusing on a broad range of issues, including anti-slavery, education, labor, temperance, women’s rights, civil rights, gay rights, war, public health, and government.  Religion:  The variety of religious beliefs and practices in America from prehistory to the twenty-first century; influence of religion on politics, economics, and society.  Slavery and its Legacies in the U.S.:  Systems of slave labor and other forms of unfree labor (e.g. indentured servitude, contract labor) in Native American societies, the Atlantic World, and the American South and West.  The economics of slavery and its racial dimensions.  Patterns of resistance and the long-term economic, political, and social effects of slavery.  War and Diplomacy:  Armed conflict from the pre-colonial period to the twenty-first century; impact of war on American foreign policy and on politics, economy, and society.  Intregal to these studies is woven the ideas of the Biblical Core, so that students will be able to learn to discern from the various schools of revisionist thought and the Truth according to God’s Word.  Within this study, the student will be challenged to see how God’s Truth impacts the interpretation of these themes and sheds a true light on how these themes apply to history.
 
 
Textbook:
The Bible
 
The American Pageant.  Kennedy, Cohen and Bailey.  McDougall-Little: 2006
 
Prerequisites:
In order to be eligible for the AP US History course, students must be a junior upon entry having completed World History and earning a “B” or better in both semesters.  Students may also be required to take an entrance exam to determine reading and writing abilities.  Recommendations from previous teachers are also required before admission into the course.