Welcome to APUSH! A year journeying through the fascinating historical narrative of the United States!
"American history is longer, larger, more various, more beautiful, and more terrible than anything anyone has ever said about it." James A. Baldwin
The examination of a national history is to navigate through a collection of celebrated national achievements, notable abuses of power, the differing impact of both individuals and group, and entrenched myths to discover a narrative that helps us better understand who we are as a people and where we have come from over time. Although comparably a modern nation-state, the trajectory of United States history is no different. Echoes of our national history are everywhere, steeped in our daily traditions, reinforced through the media and even visible in something as mundane as our street names!
And in explaining how the United States achieved the meteoric rise from group of British colonies to global super power in a relatively short time, part of the narrative is infused with “exceptionalism” - that the national history of U.S. is in some way different, if not more prestigious, than the histories of other nations. Therefore, as historians of U.S. history, our responsibility is not only to recognize the eulogizing of our national story, but to also provide a critical examination of the historical events themselves to understand how the nation was constructed, who was included in that construction, and perhaps most importantly, who was excluded.
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During this study, we will encounter the cultural, racial, socio-economic and political strains of U.S. history, and how these strains often existed in tension with each other, yet were woven together to create our national story.
While this course is essentially a survey of American history, addressing the major themes that have shaped all aspects of American life over the last four centuries, it will culminate around four essential questions:
Please use this webpage to find all the readings and assignments for this year's APUSH course!
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