Historian as Detective/Journalist

Research Sites: 1. Reagan Conservatism: Reagan, PBS – Major Speeches – NY Times Articles – Presidential Library 2. The Iran-Contra Affair: Reagan, PBS, Iran Contra – Iran/Contra from the National Security Archive – The Secret Government (Iran/Contra Affair) Video – Time: The US and Iran 3. US/Soviet Relations: 4. Reaganomics 5. Woman’s Rights 6. Environmentalism [...]

World War II Mock Trials

Welcome to your first Mock Trial in AP US History.  Since we’ve recently covered the chapter on World War II, we are going to debate the questions related to the necessity and decision to drop the atom bomb on the Japanese at Hiroshima and Nagasaki as well as the questions concerning war crimes and the [...]

Documania!

OK.  Here’s the idea: I show documentaries after school and you watch them.  We discuss, learn, and you blog your comments, questions and reviews.  I count it as extra credit and you get more and more prepared for the AP exam.  What do you think?  Some are long and might have to be edited for [...]

Hard Times: Oral History Project

Studs Terkel is one of America’s greatest treasures: a person who devoted their entire life to recording and retelling the stories of common people who lives encounter extraordinary events and issues.  Perhaps one of Terkel’s greatest works is Hard Times, a collection of oral histories from the Great Depression. Here in AP US History, we [...]

1920′s Slang

Want some extra credit? Of course you do! All you have to do is use conversational 1920′s slang for the rest of the week (yes, only appropriate slang). Here are some links that you might find interesting. By the way, the history of this country is not rooted in politics and economics alone. The study [...]

March/April AP Calendar

It’s already time for the March/April AP US History calendar!  March is that great big dry month in the middle of two vacations, but it is also the time of a lot of interesting learning in 20th century American history.  I know you’ll enjoy it, even with all of the work.  There is one mistake [...]

A Victory of Democracy?

Students have been learning about the Great War this week. In class today, they will read and highlight Part II – Securing the Peace, from the Choices Program packet on the League of Nations debate. Copies will be available in class. Students will then read President Wilson’s Fourteen Points. Copies will also be available in [...]

Draft of the Constitution Found

Early draft of the Constitution found in Phila. By Edward Colimore Inquirer Staff Writer Researcher Lorianne Updike Toler was intrigued by the centuries-old document at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. On the back of a treasured draft of the U.S. Constitution was a truncated version of the same document, starting with the familiar words: “We [...]

January/February AP Calendar

Although most of January is gone, I wanted to update the webpage on the calendar for January and February. Remember to check your nightly reading assignments, as well as dates for tests and quizzes. You can also see the topics we will cover each day in class. Finally, do not forget that Friday, Feb. 5th [...]

Howard Zinn (1922-2010)

Howard Zinn, historian who challenged status quo, dies at 87 By Mark Feeney and Bryan Marquard, Globe Staff Howard Zinn, the Boston University historian and political activist who was an early opponent of US involvement in Vietnam and whose books, such as “A People’s History of the United States,” inspired young and old to rethink [...]

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