Student+Survival+Guide+to+APUSH

Very early on in the year you are going to think, “What did I get myself into?” As someone who has completed the course (and with solid grades) I can tell you now that taking AP US History is a choice you will not regret in the long run. This is assuming you are a history junkie like me; everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. This course is definitely a good place to start to realize what kind of a student //you// are.

Things to expect:

On average, the amount of homework that you will receive will be about an hour. Now this is if you are working efficiently. Let’s be honest, if you are on Facebook while you are doing this work, not only will you not learn the material well but that one hour of work can exponentially grow into two to three hours of work - I've been there. You will be doing, on average, ten pages of reading each night and with those ten pages will come somewhere between 10 and 20 key terms (see an example of key terms). On certain nights, you will do notes and analysis of a Where Historians Disagree (WHD) and/or completion of Chapter Questions (see examples of Where Historians Disagree and Chapter Questions). The Where Historians Disagree will take about twenty minutes to read carefully and take good notes. Make sure you always include your opinion at the end. The Chapter Questions will take about 10 minutes each and the total time will depend on how many questions you are completing. Make sure you use your words and incorporate key terms and data when appropriate! Mr. Max will give it back to you to redo if you don't do those things.

DO NOT think for one second that any of these assignments are negligible because these are assignments that come up a great deal on tests and quizzes.

What you will get out of the course… other than learning about 400 years of American History:

You will realize what kind of student you are and for some people, it will help you become a more mature student. Time management is a huge part of succeeding in this class and you will learn how to analyze effectively and how to put it into writing. You will also see connections to history everywhere in the world today - a lot of lightbulbs go off the more you learn in this class and pay attention to things going on in the news.

How to provide...
 * Critical Analysis and Connections**
 * Being able to provide insightful and profound analysis in each one of your pieces of writing is absolutely essential to your success in AP US History. Critical analysis will ultimately help you to put facts and other data into context and form a strong thesis and overall argument. **


 * For instance, how would we answer this chapter question: **
 * "To what extent was the New Deal era a successful one for African Americans, Native Americans, and women?" **


 * 1. First you would find relevant information about the the topic. **
 * In this instance we will provide you with these facts: **
 * i. New Deal Programs like the Civilian Conservation Corps and the National Recovery Administration did not help to break existing patterns of racial discrimination, favoring whites and continuing to underpay or deny minorities. **
 * ii. Public figures like Eleanor Roosevelt (the First Lady) and Hattie Caraway (one of the first females elected to public office) advocated for equal rights among African Americans and women. **
 * iii. Native Americans, despite increasing the amount of land they owned through the Indian Reorganization, continued to remain the poorest segment of society in the 1930s. **


 * 2. Using this information, you'd put your findings in one coherent thesis statement or topic sentence: **


 * For many minority groups, including African Americans, Native Americans, and women, the New Deal only represented superficial or symbolic progress, and did relatively little to change prevailing practices of discrimination throughout the country. **


 * Notice that this statement, which will become the topic sentence of the Chapter Question Response, directly addresses the initial question - this is a key part of AP work - be sure that you directly answer the question, don't dance around what is being asked. **


 * 3. Finish writing your chapter question by supporting your thesis statement/topic sentence with facts and data and analysis. **


 * Here is the rest of the Chapter Question Response. The key terms are underlined and the analysis is bolded. **


 * For many minority groups, including African Americans, Native Americans, and women, the New Deal <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">only represented superficial or symbolic progress, and did relatively little to change prevailing notions of discrimination throughout the country <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">. For instance, first lady __<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">Eleanor Roosevelt __ <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-weight: normal;"> became a strong advocate for equal rights for women and Africans Americans; she spoke throughout the 1930s about racial justice and helped secure government permission for <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">black singer __<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">Marian Anderson __ <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-weight: normal;"> to perform on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. Despite some small victories, government programs like the __<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">CCC and the NRA __ <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-weight: normal;"> did little to stop existing patterns of discrimination in employment, continually underpaying or even denying blacks from working with the government. Women were also granted little real change. Although some women like __<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">Hattie Caraway __ <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">, senator from Arkansas, were elected to political office, <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">notions that men held precedent over women when it came to scarce jobs proved that prevailing general norms were only being upheld. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-weight: normal;"> For Native Americans, the __Indian Reorganization Act__ granted Indians __<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">4 million acres of land __ <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">and helped to increase their agricultural income __<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">from under $2 in 1934 million to $49 million in 1947, __ <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-weight: normal;"> but most of this land was undesirable (often arid desert) and Native Americans remained in the __<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">poorest segment of society __ <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-weight: normal;"> in the 1930s. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Although the New Deal Recovery helped to alleviate some of the lagging parts of the American economy, it disproportionately favored whites and continued to neglect minorities like African Americans, Native Americans, and women. **