APUSH--What's the best textbook to use for AP US History?

[Harriet Vane]

Dd will be attempting the US History AP next year. What text do your recommend? Why? Any I should avoid?

 

Thanks!

[EndOfOrdinary]

:lurk5:

[foxbridgeacademy]

We haven't done APUSH yet of course, but I have started a preliminary collection of links....

 

Here's a possibility http://www.amazon.com/The-American-Pageant-David-Kennedy/dp/1111349533/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1401246534&sr=8-2&keywords=The+American+Pageant+12th+Edition

 

You can take a look at it chapter by chapter here

http://teachersites.schoolworld.com/webpages/SColl/resources.cfm?subpage=1604124 (there are actually multiple places to see it)

 

This goes really nicely with the above book

http://www.apstudynotes.org/us-history/

 

The College Board has a bunch of info

http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/courses/teachers_corner/3501.html

 

and here's their list of suggestions from CB

http://www.collegeboard.com/html/apcourseaudit/courses/us_history_textbook_list.html

 

and now I need to bookmark this page so I can actually use all this in a couple years.

 

[swimmermom3]

I have no personal experience with either resource other than I own the text and we will use a portion of it next year:

 

History by Era

 

Making America: The History of the United States

 

Both of these resources are used by Susan Richman at Pennsylvania Homeschoolers. Her classes routinely get very high marks for interest and effectiveness from her students. I believe the students also have access to the Teaching Company lectures on the US History.

[EndOfOrdinary]

The History by Era looks wonderful! Thanks!

[ucfgizmo]

Berkin's Making America is a really well laid out text (highlighted vocabulary, key terms, places, excellent maps, etc) and easy to read, comprehend, and review.  We used it at the university I taught at for years.  When I first started teaching with it, I felt it was too easy of a read for academically advanced students, but soon found that getting the students to actually read and absorb the text was a huge step that the book really did accomplish!  :D  If it is your students' favorite subject you might look for something stronger, otherwise that or Out of Many would be good choices.  With a good primary source collection, the spine is more framework and much less important!  It's learning to analyze the themes deeply and write that is key to that test.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

It's worth looking at the proposed AP US History revisions. They are changing the course quite a bit. There isn't a lit of suggested texts that I have found but there is a list of which texts by which publisher are supposed to be compatible with the new AP emphasis.

 

Which is not to say others wouldn't be good spines too. But you may need to bring in more outside sources for some than others.

[swimmermom3]

It's worth looking at the proposed AP US History revisions. They are changing the course quite a bit. There isn't a lit of suggested texts that I have found but there is a list of which texts by which publisher are supposed to be compatible with the new AP emphasis.

 

Which is not to say others wouldn't be good spines too. But you may need to bring in more outside sources for some than others.

 

Are the sample syllabi up yet? If they follow what was done with chemistry, the new syllabi will have notations that reflect areas that have been changed.

 

This is a note I recently received:

 

Dear AP® European History Teacher:

 

We want to let you know about a change to the length of the redesigned AP European History Exam from what was initially outlined in the curriculum framework released last fall.

 

Beginning with the 2016 exam administration, there will be 55 multiple-choice questions, and the multiple-choice section, document-based question, and long essay have each been extended by five minutes:

 

 

•

55 multiple-choice questions (55 minutes, 40 percent)

 

 

 

 

•

Four short-answer questions (45 minutes, 20 percent)

 

 

 

 

•

One document-based question (60 minutes, 25 percent)

 

 

 

 

•

One long essay question (35 minutes, 15 percent)

 

 

 

The total testing time will be 3 hours, 15 minutes.

 

This change was made as a result of full-length pilot tests of both the AP U.S. History and AP European History Exams, administered in December 2013 and April 2014, respectively. As a standard part of the AP Exam development process, these pilot tests are designed to ensure adequate time for students to respond to all questions.

 

Thank you for your ongoing efforts to provide students with challenging and engaging history course work.

 

Sincerely,

 

Advanced Placement Program

 

 

[PeterPan]

Yup, I had been planning to do APUSH with her using the FundaFundy syllabus.  I already have all the stuff and still plan to use it, but I'm not sure we'll fiddle with the exam.  It seems like they're totally rebalancing the content.  I would think a PA Homeschooler class would be a pretty good way to go if you want to know you're nailing it.  Or just do a DE course through Cedarville or wherever and get your credit and be done with it.

[Kareni]

My daughter (now a college graduate) took an out of the home AP US History class which used Bailey's American Pageant. (Here's a link to the 15th edition; my daughter used the 12th.) She enjoyed the book (the class read the entire 1000 page plus book!); she thought it had personality. For a summer reading assignment prior to the start of class, they read Upton Sinclair's The Jungle and 10 Days That Unexpectedly Changed America by Steven M. Gillon. The latter book was written to accompany a History Channel series of that title.

Before the AP test, she found these flash cards of use for review; she also took the SAT subject test and scored well.  A fun add on was the Cartoon History of the United States by Larry Gonick.

Regards,
Kareni

[Harriet Vane]

My daughter (now a college graduate) took an out of the home AP US History class which used Bailey's American Pageant. (Here's a link to the 15th edition; my daughter used the 12th.) She enjoyed the book (the class read the entire 1000 page plus book!); she thought it had personality. For a summer reading assignment prior to the start of class, they read Upton Sinclair's The Jungle and 10 Days That Unexpectedly Changed America by Steven M. Gillon. The latter book was written to accompany a History Channel series of that title.

 

Before the AP test, she found these flash cards of use for review; she also took the SAT subject test and scored well.  A fun add on was the Cartoon History of the United States by Larry Gonick.

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

This is really, really helpful. Thank you!

 

A quick question. Some reviews of American Pageant state that it has a distinct bias. What do you and your daughter think of that? Which end of the spectrum is the bias?

 

I know that all history books display some level of bias, so it's not necessarily an issue. Just want to understand the perspective of this text.

 

Thanks!

 

[Sebastian (a lady)]

I'm not sure if what is listed as sample syllabi on the Course Home Page are up to date with the revision.

 

There are planning and pacing guides that are what most people would think of as syllabi that are available on the Advances in AP page for US History. The one I looked at was quite complete, but didn't have the annotations of where each curricular requirement was met that is needed for the course audit.

[swimmermom3]

This is the new list from the AP Central site:

 

AP United States History: Example Textbook List  

The list below represents examples of textbooks that meet the curricular requirements of AP United States History. The list below is not exhaustive and the texts listed should not be regarded as endorsed, authorized, recommended, or approved by the College Board. Not using a book from this list does not mean that a course will not receive authorization. Syllabi submitted as part of the AP Course Audit process will be evaluated holistically, with textbooks considered along with supplementary, supporting resources to confirm that the course as a whole provides students with the content delineated in the curricular requirements of the AP Course Audit.

The specified editions of the following textbooks meet the AP United States History Course Audit curricular requirements. Earlier editions of these texts or other textbooks not listed here may meet the AP Course Audit curricular requirements if supplemented with appropriate college-level instructional resources. For discussions regarding the usefulness of these texts and other teaching materials in the AP United States History classroom, please consult the Teachers' Resources section of AP Central.

Index of Textbooks

Ayers, Edward L., Lewis L. Gould, David M. Oshinsky, Jean R. Soderlund. American Passages: A History of the United States, 74th edition. Cengage, 2015.

Ayers, Edward L., Lewis L. Gould, David M. Oshinsky, Jean R. Soderlund. American Passages: A History of the United States, Brief 64th edition. Cengage, 2013.

Berkin, Carol, Christopher L. Miller, Robert W. Cherny, James L. Gormly, Douglas Egerton, Kelly Woestman. Making America: A History of the United States, Brief, 6th edition. Cengage 2013.

Boyer, Paul S., Clifford E. Clark, Jr., Karen Halttuenen, Joseph F. Kett, Neal Salisbury, Harvard Sitkoff, Nancy Woloch. The Enduring Vision: A History of the American People, 8th edition. Cengage, 2013.

Brinkley, Alan. American History: A Survey w/PSI CD, 12th edition. McGraw-Hill, 2008.

Brinkley, Alan. The Unfinished Nation: A Concise History of the American People, 7th edition. McGraw-Hill, 2013.

Davidson, James W., Brian DeLay, Christine Leigh Heyrman, Mark H. Lytle, Michael B. Stoff. Nation of Nations: A Narrative History of the American Republic, 6th Edition. McGraw-Hill, 2007.

Divine, Breen, Fredrickson, Williams, Gross & Brands. America Past and Present, Combined Volume, 10th edition. Pearson Education, 2012.

Faragher, John Mack, Mari Jo Buhle, Daniel Czitrom & Susan Armitage. Out of Many, Combined Volume, 7th edition. Pearson Education, 2011.

Foner, Eric. Give Me Liberty! An American History, 4th edition. W.W. Norton & Company, 2013.

Fraser, James W. By the People, A History of the United States AP Edition. Pearson Education, 2015.

Garraty, John A. and Mark C. Carnes. American Destiny: Narrative of a Nation, Concise Edition, Combined Volume (Second printing), 4th edition. Pearson Education, 2011..

Gillon, Steven M. and , Cathy D. Matson. The American Experiment: A History of the United States, 3rd edition. Cengage, 2008.

Goldfield, David, Carl Abbott, Virginia DeJohn Anderson. The American Journey, 7th edition. Pearson Education, 2013

Henretta, James A., Rebecca Edwards, Robert O. Self. America's History, Combined Edition. 8th edition. Bedford/St. Martin's, 2014.

Hoffman, Elizabeth C., Edward J. Blum, and Jon Gjerde, eds. Major Problems in American History, Volume I: To 1877, Documents and Essays, 3rd edition. Cengage, 2011.

Hoffman, Elizabeth C., Edward J. Blum, and Jon Gjerde, eds. Major Problems in American History, Volume II: Since 1865, Documents and Essays, 3rd edition. Cengage, 2011.

Kennedy, David M.and Lizabeth Cohen. The American Pageant, 15th edition. Cengage, 2012.

Murrin, John M., Paul E. Johnson, James M. McPherson, Alice Fahs, Gary Gerstle, Emily S. Rosenberg, Norman L. Rosenberg. Liberty, Equality, Power: A History of the American People, Concise, 6th Edition, Cengage, 2013.

Nash, Gary, Julie Jeffrey, John Howe, Peter Frederick, Allen Davis, Allan Winkler, Mires & Pestana. The American People: Creating a Nation and a Society, Concise Edition, Combined Volume, 7th edition. Pearson, 2010.

Norton, Mary B., Carol Sheriff, David W. Blight, Howard P. Chudacoff, Fredrik Logevall, Beth Bailey. A People and a Nation: A History of the United States, 10th edition. Cengage, 2014.

Roark, James L., Michael P. Johnson, Patricia Cline Cohen, Sarah Stage, Susan M. Hartmann. The American Promise, 5th edition, Combined Version (Volumes I & II). Bedford/St. Martin's, 2012.

Tindall, George B., David E. Shi. America: A Narrative History, 8th edition. W.W. Norton & Company, 2009.

 

[swimmermom3]

I'm not sure if what is listed as sample syllabi on the Course Home Page are up to date with the revision.

 

There are planning and pacing guides that are what most people would think of as syllabi that are available on the Advances in AP page for US History. The one I looked at was quite complete, but didn't have the annotations of where each curricular requirement was met that is needed for the course audit.

 

The sample syllabi look to be in line with the new requirements. I am going to take a longer look just to make sure after Sailor Dude heads off to sail this afternoon.

 

I liked what I saw on the Advances page with regards to the fact that it addressed some of the problem areas that we experienced with AP Euro,  but it remains to be seen as to whether they can actually deliver greater depth in both APUSH and APEH without dumbing them down.

[swimmermom3]

We haven't done APUSH yet of course, but I have started a preliminary collection of links....

 

Here's a possibility http://www.amazon.com/The-American-Pageant-David-Kennedy/dp/1111349533/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1401246534&sr=8-2&keywords=The+American+Pageant+12th+Edition

 

You can take a look at it chapter by chapter here

http://teachersites.schoolworld.com/webpages/SColl/resources.cfm?subpage=1604124 (there are actually multiple places to see it)

 

This goes really nicely with the above book

http://www.apstudynotes.org/us-history/

 

The College Board has a bunch of info

http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/courses/teachers_corner/3501.html

 

and here's their list of suggestions from CB

http://www.collegeboard.com/html/apcourseaudit/courses/us_history_textbook_list.html

 

and now I need to bookmark this page so I can actually use all this in a couple years.

 

I hope I am not sticking my foot in my mouth, but I have discovered with AP Central, that you really need to pay attention to where you are pulling your information from, especially if there is a redesign.

 

If I go to the first College Board link, it will take me to what is usually a wealth of wonderful resources. There is a link for a guide that a couple of teachers put together to help other teachers create their course audit. I find these guides to be really helpful; however, this guide here was created in 2007.  I believe the sample syllabi are also from before the revision.

 

I think the most up-to-date syllabi are on the course audit page.  and they have the annotations that Sebastian is talking about.

 

I've spent too much of my recent life on the AP Euro and the AP World History pages. This is new territory for me, so if I have it wrong, just let me know. I can take it. :tongue_smilie:

 

[Sebastian (a lady)]

The sample syllabi look to be in line with the new requirements. I am going to take a longer look just to make sure after Sailor Dude heads off to sail this afternoon.

 

I liked what I saw on the Advances page with regards to the fact that it addressed some of the problem areas that we experienced with AP Euro,  but it remains to be seen as to whether they can actually deliver greater depth in both APUSH and APEH without dumbing them down.

 

I think the question of dumbing down will really depend on the class. I would say to some extent the courses as written pre-revision don't give a lot of room for delving into history the way that our family is fond of.  We spent several months on the Civil War a couple years ago. There were period works (Uncle Tom's Cabin, Narrative of the Life of a Slave, Lincoln Douglas debates, Gettysburg Address), historical fiction (The Red Badge of Courage), and secondary history (Battle Cry of Freedom).  We toured several historical sites. We even went through some primary documents by way of reviewing the military records of family members. 

 

But this does take time. And there have to be choices. We didn't spend as long on Reconstruction or on the westward movement.

 

I do like the idea of presenting questions that can be addressed by several different historical examples. So for example, the conflict in Bleeding Kansas, one we spent time on (with ancestors who lived near John Brown and our own trip to Harper's Ferry), could be the basis for an essay discussing the causes of the Civil War. Another student could choose to discuss the conflict over federalism and states rights.  But neither would have to cover both, and still more besides, in a laundry list approach.

 

I am thinking of it a bit like the English Literature exam. Students address a topic, referencing a work of their choosing.  It remains to be seen if that is how it will really turn out.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

I hope I am not sticking my foot in my mouth, but I have discovered with AP Central, that you really need to pay attention to where you are pulling your information from, especially if there is a redesign.

 

If I go to the first College Board link, it will take me to what is usually a wealth of wonderful resources. There is a link for a guide that a couple of teachers put together to help other teachers create their course audit. I find these guides to be really helpful; however, this guide here was created in 2007.  I believe the sample syllabi are also from before the revision.

 

I think the most up-to-date syllabi are on the course audit page.  and they have the annotations that Sebastian is talking about.

 

I've spent too much of my recent life on the AP Euro and the AP World History pages. This is new territory for me, so if I have it wrong, just let me know. I can take it. :tongue_smilie:

 

 

This is some of the issue I was having as well. Some of the links on the Course home page are interesting, but don't seem to be updated.  Maybe that will happen in the next couple of weeks, now that the 2014 exams are in the bag.

[swimmermom3]

My daughter (now a college graduate) took an out of the home AP US History class which used Bailey's American Pageant. (Here's a link to the 15th edition; my daughter used the 12th.) She enjoyed the book (the class read the entire 1000 page plus book!); she thought it had personality. For a summer reading assignment prior to the start of class, they read Uptohn Sinclair's The Jungle and 10 Days That Unexpectedly Changed America by Steven M. Gillon. The latter book was written to accompany a History Channel series of that title.

 

Before the AP test, she found these flash cards of use for review; she also took the SAT subject test and scored well. A fun add on was the Cartoon History of the United States by Larry Gonick.

 

Regards,

Kareni

Kareni, this is a good suggestion. Two of the four new syllabi use American Pageant. If your dd found it engaging, that is a good recommendation. A not small portion of our history reading that has utilized ap texts has been dry, dry, dry.

[Kareni]

 

A quick question. Some reviews of American Pageant state that it has a distinct bias. What do you and your daughter think of that? Which end of the spectrum is the bias?

 

My apologies but it's been so long since my daughter took the class that I no longer recall what bias the book might have had.

 

Kareni, this is a good suggestion. Two of the four new syllabi use American Pageant. If your dd found it engaging, that is a good recommendation. A not small portion of our history reading that has utilized ap texts has been dry, dry, dry.

 

What I also recall my daughter saying was that it was clear to her that the book had two authors.  Some of the text was more engaging than other portions.  Hopefully more of the text was engaging than dry.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[swimmermom3]

So Harriet,

 

Will you be submitting a syllabus or will your dd pursue the test independently?

 

I spent some more time going over some of the text book options as well as looking at the sample syllabi.  It would appear that those instructors choose materials to purposely counter-balance bias, or to at least expose their students to opposing opinions.

 

In fact, several of the projects or essays focused on assessing contrasting source material and the opinions expressed within them.

 

Please do keep us posted with what you decide on.

[Harriet Vane]

So Harriet,

 

Will you be submitting a syllabus or will your dd pursue the test independently?

 

I spent some more time going over some of the text book options as well as looking at the sample syllabi.  It would appear that those instructors choose materials to purposely counter-balance bias, or to at least expose their students to opposing opinions.

 

In fact, several of the projects or essays focused on assessing contrasting source material and the opinions expressed within them.

 

Please do keep us posted with what you decide on.

 

I was thinking of pursuing the test independently. We did so this year, but we don't have dd's scores yet, so I don't know if our kamikaze approach worked or not.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

I am reviewing several possible textbooks. I think in the end any I choose will need to get a lot of supplementing just to present the rich history experience I'm looking for. I am sort of ruing the fact that we gave away several boxes of American Heritage magazines from the 1950s-70s. But they did weigh a lot.

 

I have been looking at The American Pageant and Out of Many. So far I would say that The American Pageant is very top down focused. The chapters on Progressivism and WWI were very Wilson focused. Other local and national figures were mentioned, but with very little background to them. I would not call the text biased or inaccurate, but simplistic in its conclusions. 

 

Out of Many does a better job at presenting a wider context of what was happening. Movement figures are presented with short vignettes. However, progressivism is portrayed with no downsides and the status quo as a nasty, brutish and short existence which immigrants, poor and undereducated had to be saved from.  The racist attitudes of some of the progressive figures goes unmentioned. The fact that many immigrants moved from poor tenement conditions into situations as small business owners and middle class homeownership is also unmentioned.  I did like the general formatting of Out of Many better. I especially like the AP edition, because it has practice AP questions at the end of the chapter.

 

I was able to find a pdf of The American Pageant (12th ed) on a school website and Out of Many AP edition 6ed. at the Pearson Higher Ed website.

 

Oddly enough I think I'm more likely to pick a book that leans left. I have a more conservative and pro-democracy, pro-free market leaning. That means that I notice the presumptions in a left leaning text that I might pass by in one that agreed with my general outlook. I also feel more able to find and deliver the counterarguments that come from my own viewpoint than to evenly present arguments from the other side. In other words, if I presume that most texts will need supplementing, I'd rather supplement from the viewpoint I'm more familiar with.

 

 

[Sebastian (a lady)]

Another couple thoughts.

 

American Pageant has several maps, but they are largely of presidential election returns by state (there was also one in the pre-WWI chapter showing US territories and interventions in the Caribbean and Central America). 

Out of Many shows immigration to the US, a map of the Caribbean showing US involvement, a map of conflict areas on the Western Front, and state legislation supporting women's suffrage.

 

Also I prefer how Out of Many has chapters with overlapping periods.  In other words, the chapter on WWI goes backwards in history to 1909 to discuss the rise of the US as a world power under TR, before moving forward into WWI.  The American Pageant had more of a march through history feel, with the effect of leaving events less connected.

[swimmermom3]

I am reviewing several possible textbooks. I think in the end any I choose will need to get a lot of supplementing just to present the rich history experience I'm looking for. I am sort of ruing the fact that we gave away several boxes of American Heritage magazines from the 1950s-70s. But they did weigh a lot.

 

I have been looking at The American Pageant and Out of Many. So far I would say that The American Pageant is very top down focused. The chapters on Progressivism and WWI were very Wilson focused. Other local and national figures were mentioned, but with very little background to them. I would not call the text biased or inaccurate, but simplistic in its conclusions. 

 

Out of Many does a better job at presenting a wider context of what was happening. Movement figures are presented with short vignettes. However, progressivism is portrayed with no downsides and the status quo as a nasty, brutish and short existence which immigrants, poor and undereducated had to be saved from.  The racist attitudes of some of the progressive figures goes unmentioned. The fact that many immigrants moved from poor tenement conditions into situations as small business owners and middle class homeownership is also unmentioned.  I did like the general formatting of Out of Many better. I especially like the AP edition, because it has practice AP questions at the end of the chapter.

 

I was able to find a pdf of The American Pageant (12th ed) on a school website and Out of Many AP edition 6ed. at the Pearson Higher Ed website.

 

Oddly enough I think I'm more likely to pick a book that leans left. I have a more conservative and pro-democracy, pro-free market leaning. That means that I notice the presumptions in a left leaning text that I might pass by in one that agreed with my general outlook. I also feel more able to find and deliver the counterarguments that come from my own viewpoint than to evenly present arguments from the other side. In other words, if I presume that most texts will need supplementing, I'd rather supplement from the viewpoint I'm more familiar with.

 

This is really helpful. However, your part in bold baffles me a bit. I've always assumed I lean left, but I am pro-democracy and I think a lot of the free market, perhaps not an unlimited one where lead paint in children's toys is okay, but you get the idea.  When you have time, could we take this discussion elsewhere? I am still wondering how one finds a "balanced" text if that is one's goal, but I don't want to derail Harriet's thread. Perhaps this is why APUSH teachers have large resource lists.

 

 

[Sebastian (a lady)]

 

 

Oddly enough I think I'm more likely to pick a book that leans left. I have a more conservative and pro-democracy, pro-free market leaning. That means that I notice the presumptions in a left leaning text that I might pass by in one that agreed with my general outlook. I also feel more able to find and deliver the counterarguments that come from my own viewpoint than to evenly present arguments from the other side. In other words, if I presume that most texts will need supplementing, I'd rather supplement from the viewpoint I'm more familiar with.

 

 

This is really helpful. However, your part in bold baffles me a bit. I've always assumed I lean left, but I am pro-democracy and I think a lot of the free market, perhaps not an unlimited one where lead paint in children's toys is okay, but you get the idea.  When you have time, could we take this discussion elsewhere? I am still wondering how one finds a "balanced" text if that is one's goal, but I don't want to derail Harriet's thread. Perhaps this is why APUSH teachers have large resource lists.

 

 

 

 

My phrasing is misleading. 

 

I'm not trying to say that pro-democracy, free market and right of center inherently go together or that pro-democracy, free-market ideas are not found in liberal hearts. I am trying to say that I think I am more likely to notice and be prepared to give counter examples to ideas that are slightly left of mine.  I'm not interested in what I feel is extreme on either side. 

 

Thus I won't use something like Zinn or some of the books touted by very conservative outlets.

[swimmermom3]

Harriet, I am now on the APUSH teacher community and this seems to be the most talked about book that schools are adopting this year: America's History by Henretta. Of course, it's new and in stock on Amazon on June 5th with a killer price tag.

 

It is written to the format of the revised test and you can read a sample chapter here.

 

If this is the route you want to go, it looks like it might be cheaper ordering directly from Bedford/St. Martin's.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

Did to have to submit a syllabus to get onto the teacher community?

[swimmermom3]

Did to have to submit a syllabus to get onto the teacher community?

 

No, it took a couple of days, but there was no problem.