Let’s get the ball rolling. Are you guys chilling or already starting to study APUSH? Any summer work? What textbook are you using? Any review books? </p>
And if you have questions, ask :)!</p>
<p>Second AP history class here, I was just wondering if you guys had any suggested reading or “to know” stuff before entering.</p>
<p>Here’s a basic overview of what to know. The details I’m including are VERY important. This list is by no means comprehensive but it’ll get any new APUSH students started. </p>
<p>Pre-colonial:</p>
<p>Portugal was the first to conduct regular maritime expeditions into the South Atlantic. The Spanish came and brutally mistreated the Native Americans (Indians). </p>
<p>Colonial era:</p>
<p>Here the focus shifts to England. Why did England start colonizing? Key: religious dissent (Puritans vs. Anglicans). </p>
<p>Know the details about each colony. John Winthrop of the Massachusetts Bay Colony exemplified American exceptionalism when he proclaimed his colony to be a “city upon a hill.” Know the state of religious tolerance in each colony. Know about the economics of each colony. Know about labor. Remember, indentured servitude was popular until about 1676 (Bacon’s Rebellion). After that, slavery increased. </p>
<p>Pre-Revolutionary era:</p>
<p>What caused the revolution? Think about the Navigation Acts and salutary neglect. Think about the Royal Proclamation of 1763. </p>
<p>Revolution: Battle of Saratoga (turning point … think of a toga … and how it wraps or “turns” around the body …). America won because of French aid. </p>
<p>Post-Revolution:</p>
<p>Why were the Articles of Confederation ineffectual? Key word: lack of the ability to regulate commerce. States were taxing other states’ products. The union was hardly a union, or only a union in name. </p>
<p>What were some successes of the Articles? The Land Ordinances. These allowed for the orderly settlement of the west and made provisions for education. </p>
<p>Constitution. Know the provisions that were in the Constitution as submitted to the states for ratification in 1789. </p>
<p>Diplomacy. Washington’s Farewell Address. Jefferson’s Louisiana Purchase. Federalists vs. Anti-federalists.</p>
<p>War of 1812 and the death of the Federalist Party (the Federalists protested the war but America won anyway) </p>
<p>Treaty of Ghent </p>
<p>Era of Good Feelings - national patriotism after “winning” the War of 1812 </p>
<p>Rise of the Party System - the wealthy Eastern merchant vs. the common man out west </p>
<p>Jacksonian Democracy - nearly all adult white males were enfranchised by the 1840s. </p>
<p>Transportation and Market Revolutions; canals, railroads </p>
<p>Civil War; sectional tensions. Remember that 1/4 of Southerners were slave owners. ONLY 25% OWNED SLAVES. The other 75% mostly couldn’t (too poor). </p>
<p>Reconstruction: carpetbaggers and scalawags; why did Reconstruction end in 1877? </p>
<p>Gilded Age; political and economic malfeasance; horizontal and vertical integration; very unstable (economic booms and busts) </p>
<p>Labor unrest - the Homestead strike, the Pullman Strike; labor unions (IWW; Knights of Labor; American Federation of Labor) </p>
<p>The Progressive Era - Teddy Roosevelt </p>
<p>Harlem Renaissance - Langston Hughes, etc. </p>
<p>WWI - African-Americans start migrating to cities to fulfill labor shortages; Wilsonian idealism </p>
<p>Post-war disillusionment - authors, etc. </p>
<p>The Interwar Years - pseudo-isolationism; Republican prosperity </p>
<p>The Great Depression - 1936 was a pivotal year; African-American votes go toward the Democratic candidate, FDR, rather than the Republican candidate </p>
<p>WWII - sparked an economic boom that began after the war ended; Baby Boom after the war ended; suburbanization (soldiers and their families left cities for the suburbs). </p>
<p>The Civil Rights era: desegregation of the military</p>
<p>Cold War - McCarthyism; containment </p>
<p>1950s: post-war disillusionment; conformity; Beatniks </p>
<p>The 1960s - 1968; Kennedy; Cuba; Russia; Civil Rights Act of 1965; Voting Rights Act of 1965; Vietnam. Civil Rights figures - MLK, Carmichael, Malcolm X, etc. Culture: counterculture </p>
<p>The 1970s - Nixon; Carter; Hostage Crisis</p>
<p>1980s - the resurgence of the political right; Moral Majority; Reagan; migration to the Sunbelt (from the Frostbelt)</p>
<p>Other Random Stuff To Know:</p>
<p>Hudson River School
Ashcan School of Art
Hemingway</p>
<p>The above was completely extemporized. You should, however, know every point on the list above by the time the AP exam rolls around.</p>
<p>^Thanks for the imput.</p>
<p>I’m taking Honors US and self studying APUSH.(The AP teachers are dreadful at my school). So I guess I kinda count. I actually going to start self studying soon so that way it will also make the class easier during the school year. Plus I have to take all the SATs, 4 SAT IIs, PSAT Again(NMS), and atleast 1 other AP exam so I’ll be busy enough with self studying during the year.</p>
<p>I really want to get a 5 on APUSH, and I will be taking the course at school this year. Being summer, I have nothing to do… and I was wondering if there is anything I can study to start learning US History. I figure a review book wouldn’t help, because I haven’t “learned” any material to be “reviewed”…</p>
<p>What can I do? (I suppose to rephrase this question, how can I start learning for APUSH?)</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Go to the bookstore and read some review book for APUSH. These books will provide a foundation. Sure they’re “review” books but they can also be introductory books. Don’t get too bogged down in the details. By the end of this summer hopefully you’ll be able to fill in the outline I typed above with one or two details for each section. That’ll get you ready.</p>
<p>IceQube, have you already taken APUSH exam?</p>
<p>Took APUSH this year, had the worst possible teacher you can ever think of, did not learn one thing in that class, the class served as a homework/study hall period for me. However, the 2-3 weeks before the test I read the princeton review book and memorized most of the Barrons Flashcards. Got my score yesterday and got a 5. Don’t stress over the test</p>
<p>Taking this alongside AP Euro next year. I don’t have any summer homework, but there are two teachers at my school and the other gave an assignment. I should probably get some materials to start learning. :x</p>
<p>I took APUSH in 2010-2011 and got a 5. If anyone needs a study guide for it, I made one that’s 40 pages long, inbox me your email address and I’ll send it. I also made a website <a href=“https://sites.google.com/site/apushstudyguides/home[/url]”>https://sites.google.com/site/apushstudyguides/home</a></p>
<p>For my class we don’t have to do anything LOL. I considered studying, but I’m too lazy for that. I am taking the class, so I’ll probably end up paying attention in class and then cram for two days before the AP exam. xDD /SOLAZY</p>
<p>I already bought like $50 worth of study guides for my other APs, so I’m probably just going to study with whatever books I can borrow from my friends who are already finished with APUSH. XD</p>
<p>I got my score back recently and scored 4. Kinda disappointing, but I didn’t prepare that much. REA Crash Course was all I used, and it helped me so much on MC. It was a breeze and I actually enjoyed that part. But do practice a lot for the essays… my teacher only gave my class 2 DBQs and 2 FRQs to practice and didn’t even grade them. I’m pretty sure the essay portion was why I didn’t get a 5.</p>
<p>Self studying using The Essential Content by Larry Kreiger. Hoping for a 5 in May and an 800 on the SAT II in November.</p>
<p>Before you all go off buying 500 review books. Take a look at collegebaord tweets, the entire apush exam was revamped . </p>
<p>Sent from my Desire HD using CC</p>
<p>Watch the following History Channel documentaries and you’ll be good to go.</p>
<p>-> The Revolution; a fairly lengthy series of documentaries on the American Revolution. Very good and will cover aftermath of Seven Years War to Washington’s Presidency.</p>
<p>-> First Invasion: War of 1812; a good background and aftermath of the conflict will serve you well in AP US</p>
<p>-> Jackson; Andrew Jackson as a General and President is very crucial to the period between Jefferson and Lincoln. His monetary policies/reforms as well as political measures are thoroughly covered in this.</p>
<p>-> The Presidents; If you watch nothing else, WATCH THIS DOCUMENTARY for US History. It covers every single President with a good deal of policy background on each one.</p>
<p>You can find most of these on Youtube or Netflix.</p>
<p>This is awesome that the thread is up already, for those of us who want an early start. Just like TheVisionary, I am taking Honors US 2 which is from 1870-present (took Honors 1 last year, it was precolonial- lincoln), and self studying APUSH. The AP teacher at my school is known to be very rough, highest grade last year was a 94. I have done quite a bit of research on what I will need for this, and I hope this can help. Direct Hits in a Flash, REA Crash Course, Barron’s Flash Cards, and 5 Steps to a 5 (500 Questions), seem to be the only purchases you’ll need to make to achieve a 5. American Pageant textbook is optional, but there are a few comprehensive reviews chapter by chapter that are excellent (which I will be using), and the book is very long, but it is up to you. One of the better ones is on apnotes.net . Also, the AMSCO APUSH book can be found entirely FREE online, which is at <a href=“http://www.amscopub.com/\images\file\File_749.pdf[/url]”>http://www.amscopub.com/\images\file\File_749.pdf</a> . If anyone has some other suggestions I would be very open to them. I known the necessary purchases may sound a little bit overkill, but I am aiming for a 5 and I am self studying so if you are taking the class you may not need all of those materials. I am also taking AP Chemistry and AP Spanish Language in school, and ATTEMPTING to self study AP Psychology, Environmental Science, Human Geography, US Gov. and Politics, Comp Gov. and Politics, as well as APUSH. I am a rising junior and am attempting for National AP Scholar this year, but I have no other AP courses under my belt, so I will attempt the 8. I will be posting threads similar to this for all the courses I listed if they have not already been made. I have also researched what materials I need for many of those courses as well. Feel free to look them up :)</p>
<p>mschusler,</p>
<p>You’re self-studying some very hard APs. Make sure you’re up for the Weekends your going to have to sink into really reviewing each of them to be able to get at least a 4 for the National AP Scholar. You may want to think about taking something like AP English Language that’s basically an SAT and requires little to no studying if you just need an extra AP rather than one that requires lots of studying.</p>
<p>There’s a recent review of guides at <a href=“http://ushistorytest.com/top-10-ap-us-history-study-guides/[/url]”>http://ushistorytest.com/top-10-ap-us-history-study-guides/</a> . The author is a big fan of Krieger’s new AP Essentials book, placing it at #1. Pretty sure it’s got more tips and tricks than any of his prior books. Not clear to me how useful the book’s information on historical testing data is if dirkslam is right about the CollegeBoard actually revamping the test for 2013. Everything else about AP Essentials seems pretty solid. It’s not like history itself is changing. </p>
<p>It looks like Krieger’s old book from Direct Hits (US History in a Flash) is out of print. At the very least, it’s not on Amazon. Has anyone compared US History in a Flash with AP Essentials? Do you think it’s worth hunting down Direct Hits?</p>
<p>No summer work for me because we have two teachers teaching it and I haven’t gotten my school schedule to know which teacher I got.</p>
<p>@Longstride I heard that English Language is a lot of analyzing Literature and writing essays. I did get an 11 on my SAT essay but I feel the essays on that would be oriented differently. If you could justify as to why I should take it or any other AP’s you think would be a good idea, I gladly will. BTW which courses did you consider to be hard?</p>