In my analysis of the flawed passages in the text, I will briefly explain the distortions, point out contradictions, and sometimes comment on the defective historical methods used. In my criticism, I include fifteen chapters from The American Pageant that cover the — period.
I use the 12th edition of The American Pageant , which was published in , and is still the text used in many classrooms. Some schools are using newer editions, but those editions incorporate almost all of the errors described in the edition. We are, however, preparing a study of more recent editions that correlates my criticisms with the new page numbers in these editions. Since The American Pageant is such a misleading text, we should perhaps not be surprised that the authorship of the text is presented in a misleading way in modern editions.
The original author was Thomas Bailey, a long-time professor at Stanford, who originally published The American Pageant in By the edition, he had added his colleague David Kennedy as a co-author. Bailey died in the s and shortly thereafter Lizabeth Cohen of Harvard University was added as co-author. Few students realize that The American Pageant was first written over sixty years ago by Thomas Bailey, and that many of the most egregious original chapters have been only mildly changed since then.
If Bailey had told his readers he was writing a biased textbook that stressed for students a Left-liberal view of American history, he would have been giving them a fully honest approach. In his public comments, Bailey portrayed himself and his textbook as neutral and independent. Not true. Students deserve better. I encourage you to read The American Pageant and then read my challenge to the substance of this text.
There will be reading assignments on a weekly basis, done outside of class while class time will focus on applying primary and secondary readings to the content and themes of this course. This will be done in a variety of ways, including analysis of Primary and Secondary sources, class discussions, writing, and other activities. The class will be covering approximately chapters of material a week.
Solid reading and writing skills, along with a willingness to devote considerable time to study, are necessary to succeed in this class. Individual colleges and universities determine how many credits will be granted for the AP exam score. While students are not required to take the AP exam it is strongly recommended that they plan to do so.
Course Format: The course will be a combination of lecture and seminar class discussion formats. Students will be take notes, discuss important readings relating to the themes of United States History, as well as analyzing primary and secondary sources i.
Students will be expected to read outside of class, so that the bulk of class time will be availed for questions and discussion. Readings should be done prior to class. Course Expectations: Your presence in the classroom is fundamental to your success in the class. To this end, do not be late or absent, and make arrangements to avoid conflicts involving this class with appointments and other meetings. While homework assignments will vary throughout the course in terms of scope and rigor, all students are responsible for completing assignments on the assigned due date.
If you are absent, you are responsible for obtaining class notes and completing any missed work. Students with excused absences may complete any missed work for full credit in accordance with school policy.
Furthermore, any assignment that has an extended due date is due on the assigned day, regardless of the reason for absence. Exams: Exams will mirror the AP exam, which is a combination of primary source based multiple-choice questions, short answer questions as well as document based and free response essays.
Exams are rigorous because they are intended to challenge students at the AP Exam level. Moreover, they are designed to give students frequent experience with the types of multiple-choice questions, free-response questions, and document-based questions that appear on the AP Exam. Frequent exams also ensure that students read the textbook and supplementary readings, consistently check for understanding, and take notes that are thorough and well organized.
Quizzes: Quizzes are a combination of identification and fill-in-the-blank questions that are designed to review essential material that students must master if they are going to succeed on the unit exams. Primary Document Reading Assignments : All students will be required to analyze and reflect on primary documents speeches, photographs, cartoons, maps, charts, works of art in preparation for the APUSH Exam.
Classroom activities : Activities will include peer editing on practice DBQ responses and classroom discussion. Students are expected to contribute to class discussions and participate effectively in class activities.
Many class sessions are seminars. In order for seminars to work, student preparation and participation is critical.
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