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AP American History: Assignment Sheet Unit 1 Post World War II America Tuesday 9/2: 1st day of class—Overview of US Constitution Wednesday 9/3: Overview of US Constitution, continued . Information sheet is due today! Due Thursday 9/6: Homework DUE— (1) Read just the introduction to David McCullough’s essay “Truman—One tough Son-of-a-Bitch of a Man.” Bring the essay to class, highlight the important points made in the introduction to this essay regarding the postwar status of the United States and the USSR and the perspectives of each nation. Be ready to discuss a post war comparison of the United States and the Soviet Union. (2) Google the following and provide a brief explanation of their importance: Yalta Conference, Berlin Blockade, Berlin Airlift, The Fall of China (1949), Dean Acheson, The Marshall Plan, NATO Due Friday 9/5: Post WWII tensions between US & USSR. HMK due: Read the following primary source documents: George Kennan Memo (“the long telegram”), Truman’s message to Congress, and Nivikov telegram. Highlight important points and be ready to discuss! Due Monday 9/8: Read the text of the McCullough essay on Harry Truman. Highlight and take notes; bring it to class! Written homework due: What is McCullough’s thesis in this essay on Truman? What evidence does he use in support of his thesis? Be specific! Due Tuesday 9/9: The Korean War. HMK due: Read in text, pp. 883-890; be prepared for a discussion of the U.S. and the War in Korea. Written homework due: (1) How was the Korean War different from other U.S. wars? (2) Why was the war going so badly for the U.S. at the outset? (3) What decision did Douglass MacArthur make that helped turn the tide of the war? (4) Why did conflict break out between MacArthur and President Truman; what Constitutional principle is exemplified by this conflict? (5) What was the outcome of the Korean War? Due Wednesday 9/10: McCarthyism and the Red Scare of the ‘50s HOMEWORK due: read in textbook 879-883, 890-891 (Take notes and be prepared for a quiz) Google the following and explain their significance: (1) Truman’s Loyalty Program, (2) The Smith Act (3) Dennis v. United States (4) The Alger Hiss Case (5) HUAC (6) The Rosenbergs (7) Senator Robert Taft (8) Henry Luce Due Thursday 9/11: Political events and legislation of the ‘50s. Written HOMEWORK: fill in handout (political events and legislation of the 1950s)…use your textbook to fill this in; you may have to Google a few of them! You must know everything on this sheet, so please fill it in carefully. Due Friday 9/12: Read text pgs 899-904 (1) Make a list of the major cold war events/issues/problems of Eisenhower’s presidency; for each, briefly explain the situation and the outcome. (2) In what ways did Ike’s and John Foster Dulles’ philosophy toward foreign policy differ from Truman’s? (3) What were the cold war fears of Americans in the 1950s? (4) How effective was Eisenhower in handling these fears? Due Mon 9/15: Your take-home test on Constitution is due today (based on summer reading project). This is your first exam grade of the 1st quarter. In class: Gender roles in Post WWII America. Regular HMK due: Read Marcia Cohen’s essay (don’t forget to read the editor’s introduction!) on Betty Friedan. Highlight and take notes; be prepared to discuss it. Written homework due: Summarize the important points make by Cohen; then identify two assertions made by Cohen and react to them in a paragraph. Due Tues 9/16: American culture of the post WWII era—economic and cultural changes, gender roles, conformity. Homework due: Read 908-915; Take notes & be prepared for a quiz. Questions due: (1) What were the economic and cultural changes in 50s America; (2) What is “cultural conformity” (3) What factors contributed to the homogenization of American culture in the 1950s? (4) Why was cultural conformity comforting to so many Americans in the 1950s? Due Wed 9/17: Read “When America was Rocked”—Culture of the 1950s. There is a lot of important information in this essay, please read it carefully, highlight and take notes! Written homework due: (1) Why does the author believe this event was so important to America? (2) In what specific ways was America changing in the postwar era? Due Thurs 10/18: Read “The Beats” by Moran & Gannon (highlight and take notes). Google the following works; explain how each presents a critique of postwar American culture: (1) Alan Ginsberg’s Howl (2) Jack Kerouac’s On the Road; (3) J.K. Galbriath’s The Affluent Society; (4) Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman (5) Sloan Wilson’s The Man in the Grey Flannel Suit Due Fri 10/19: We will discuss cultural non-conformity of the 1950s… Written homework due: Write a thesis statement, an introductory paragraph, and an outline for the following question: To extent does the decade of the 1950s deserve its reputation for cultural conformity? Your thesis statement must be bold and definitive; your outline must indicate what evidence you would use to support the thesis. Due Monday 9/22: The Rage Within—Black America in the 1950s HMK DUE: Explain how each of the following has affected the status of women in American society since 1940; be sure to indicate whether the impact has been positive or negative: • Changing economic conditions • The rebirth of an organized women’s movement • Advances in reproductive technology • The persistence of traditional definitions of women’s roles Due Tuesday 9/23: Read the essay by historian Michael Bechloss in your folder “Eisenhower and Kennedy—Contrasting Presidencies in a Fearful World” Highlight and take notes! Be prepared for a class discussion on this essay (bring it to class). Written hmk: (1) What is the author’s thesis? (2) What evidence does he use in support of his thesis? (3) Choose a single item of information, or assertion made by Bechloss and react to it (one paragraph is fine). Due Wednesday 9/24: Read in textbook pgs. 905, 921-923. We will discuss the United States and Cuba. Google and/or look up in your textbook and explain: (1) The Platt Amendment (2) The Bay of Pigs Invasion (3) The Cuban Missile Crisis Due Thursday 9/25: Read Vietnam sections of textbook… p. 899, 920-921, 934-938, 948-950, 954, 957-958. We will discuss background to United States involvement in the Vietnam War. (1) When did US involvement in Vietnam begin? (2) What was the Tonkin Gulf incident? (3) What was the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution? Due Friday 9/26: Read essay by King in your folder—LBJ and the Nightmare of Vietnam. Highlight and take notes; bring it to class. Be prepared for a discussion on it. (1) What would you say is King’s thesis? (2) What evidence does he use in support of this thesis? (3) What do you think of his argument? Due Monday 9/29: We will discuss Nixon’s foreign policy. Google/or look up in your textbook and explain: (1) The Silent Majority (2) Peace with honor (3) Vietnamization, (4) Détente (5) Nixon’s China visit (6) SALT I Tuesday 9/30 and Wednesday 10/1: No School—Rosh Hashana Due Thursday 10/2: Read textbook pgs. 960-963, 970-971, 973-975 (1) What were the major foreign policy events of the Ford Administration? (2) What were Carter’s major diplomatic triumphs? (3) What is considered to be his major failure? Due Friday 10/3: Read textbook pgs 981-987 (1) What was Reagan’s attitude toward the Soviet Union/what actions did he take that demonstrated his views? (2) What was the Iran/Contra affair? (3) What was the Reagan Doctrine? Due Monday 10/6: Read “Some Lessons of the Cold War” by Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. Highlight, take notes, bring it to class (do I have to keep saying this?) Be prepared to discuss this historian’s views. Also, read “Four Views on the end of the cold war.” Our class discussion of these two readings will wrap up this unit. Written Homework: (1) Choose a single item of information or assertion, made by Schlesinger in his essay on the lessons of the cold war, and react to it (one paragraph please). (2) Explain the different views of Gorbachev and Thatcher on the end of the cold war. (3) What does Chirac predict will be the main post-cold war foreign policy issues? Tuesday 10/7: In class: “How to write an AP Essay” (Review Sheet for Unit 1 is due today!!) Wednesday 10/8: Full period essay exam; Unit 1 Thursday 10/9: No School—Yom Kippur Friday 10/10: In-Class Multiple Choice Exam on Unit 1—Post WWII America; Cold War Politics: 1945-1989—Questions from your Summer Reading Packet may pop up as well! Monday 10/13: No School—Columbus Day |