The AP US History course is designed to provide students with the skills and knowledge needed to think critically about the history of the United States. The course helps prepare students for undergraduate courses and is leveled as a full-year introductory college survey course. Emphasis is placed on critical and evaluative thinking skills, essay writing, interpretation of original documents, and historiography. Students will learn to evaluate primary and secondary source material and to present their arguments persuasively.

While a major focus of this course is to prepare the students for the College Board AP US History Exam, the ultimate focus is the development of historical reading, writing, and reasoning skills.

As the AP US History curriculum is similar to a college-level survey course, so too are the expectations for the class. It is important that you understand the commitment that you are making to act with personal accountability and an intrinsic sense of motivation. The desire to receive a weighted grade or have an AP course on your transcript will not sustain you through this year of hard work and self-driven study, and you will need to find an incentive beyond the grade book to drive your work for this class. The largest factors of success in APUSH have historically been an affinity for social studies, a desire to learn the historical context of modern-day occurrences, and a passion for reading and thinking analytically.

To prepare for the coming year, we have compiled a collection of textbook chapters and secondary sources addressing the early years of the American continent. We recommend beginning this review over the summer to reduce stress at the beginning of the year.