Turning Points in US History

APUSH OverviewMs. Stevens & Ms. Chandler

O’Connor HS

Historical Thinking Skills

Chronological Reasoning

Periodization

Proficient students should be able to:

Explain ways historical events and processes can be organized into discrete, different, and definable historical periods

Evaluate whether a particular event or date could or could not be a turning point between different, defiable historical periods, when considered in terms of particular historical evidence

Analyze different and/or competing models of periodization

APUSHOrganizational Periods

Period 1 1491-1607

Period 2 1607-1754

Period 3 1754-1800

Period 4 1800-1848

Period 5 1844-1877

Period 6 1865-1898

Period 7 1890-1945

Period 8 1945-1980

Period 9 1980-present

Colonial Period 1607-1763

• Jamestown-1607• First African Americans, 1619• French and Indian War 1754-1763

1763-Treaty of Paris ends French/Indian War

• No foreign enemies • Brits need $ to pay war costs→new TAXES • Begins clash that leads to Revolution

1776-Dec of Independence

• First colonies to demand independence • Must win war to make real • “all men created equal” challenge for future

generations

Jefferson

Paine

American Revolution

• 1775-1783• American Victory or British loss?• Inevitable?• Was it really a revolution? Why?

1789-Ratification of Constitution

• No more Articles… • Federalism • Separation of powers • Foundation of growth • 3/5’s clause

EXAMPLE United States historians have proposed various events to mark the beginning of an American identity.

A) Choose ONE of the events listed below, and explain why your

choice best represents the beginning of an American identity. Provide at least ONE piece of evidence to support your explanation.

◆◆ End of the Seven Years’ War (French and Indian War) in 1763 ◆◆ Signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776

◆◆ Ratification of the United States Constitution in 1788 B) Contrast your choice against ONE of the other options,

demonstrating why that option is not as good as your choice.

1800-Revolution of 1800

• Jefferson’s victory ushers out Federalists (Business), for Democrat-Republicans (agrarian) w/o violence

• Midnight appoints of Adams’ sets in motion Marbury v. Madison

1803-Louisiana Purchase/Marbury v. Madison

Purchase • Jefferson moves towards ‘loose’

interpretation of constitution • Expands size of union, downfall of

Federalists Marbury

• Judicial Review • Supreme Court=presidency and Congress

Treaty of Ghent (ends War 1812)

• War increased nationalism-though no war victory

• Encourages American industry and westward movement (Indians lose British allies who may have helped resistance)

• Strengthens isolationist mood-no foreign war for a century

1848-Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo (ends Mexican War)

• US gains more land • Revives debate over slavery • Lasting resentment towards US in Latin

America

1861-Civil War

• Slavery cannot be settled peacefully-“all men created equal?”

• Lincoln expands power of presidency

1865-Civil War ends/Lincoln Assassinated

• (Easy) Presidential Reconstruction gives way to Radical Reconstruction

• Congressional Republicans expand political power (and freedom?) by expanding opportunities for Blacks, before southerners (Democrats all) return

• Increase tension between N and S (all men created equal?)

1877-End of Reconstruction

• Pres. Hayes (R) agrees to remove troops from South

• End of Reconstruction• Troops leave→ Jim Crow enters

American Imperialism - The Spanish American War

Some historians have argued that the Spanish–American War in 1898 marked a turning point in United States foreign policy. Support, modify, or refute this contention using specific evidence.

1914-Great War

• Progressive reform gives way to military readiness

• Great Migration→Harlem Renaissance

1919 Treaty of Versailles

• Failure of US to join League→ isolationism • Split between President (D) and Congress

(R)

1929-Stock Market Crash

• Signaled start of global Depression • FDR’s New Deal introduces welfare state-

move away from laizze-faire

1941-Pearl Harbor

• US enters global conflict w/ Axis powers • Military spending ends Depression in US • Expansion of presidential powers • Size and scope of federal government

expands significantly

1945-end of WWII

• Atomic Age • Cold War • Beginning of the end of Colonialism • US/USSR as sole world powers

Some historians have argued that the development of the policy of containment after the Second World War marked a turning point in United States foreign policy. Support, modify, or refute this contention using specific evidence.

1954

• Brown v. Board of Education Plessy overturned…separate but equal

• Direct US involvement in Vietnam begins when French lose Dien Bien Phu

• 1955: Montgomery Bus Boycott, emergence of King, SCLC

"My activism did not spring from being black...The racial injustice that was present in this country during my youth was a challenge to my belief in the oneness of the human family." - Bayard Rustin

1960-First sit-ins in Greensboro, NC

• Election of JFK (D) • Rising expectations for African Americans • Executive branch pushed by Civil Rights

movement

1964-Passage of Civil Rights Act

• Outlawed segregation in public facilities • Banned discriminatory practices in hiring,

voting and education • Gulf of Tonkin Resolution-allowing

president to use force in Vietnam (blank check)

1968-King and RFK killed

• 500,000 soldiers in Vietnam • Tet Offensive• Streets and campuses in a boil • Nixon (R) elected→beginning of

conservative resurgence

1973 Paris Peace Conference

• US out of Vietnam • Congress passes War Powers Act-attempt to

reign in executive branch ability to enter an undeclared war

1989-Berlin Wall dismantled

• Solidarity wins in Poland• Eastern European economies collapse-

signal end of USSR in 1991 • New era in US diplomatic relations w/

world. Uni-polar world?

1994-Republicans win both houses of Congress

• Voters express dissatisfaction w/ long-standing welfare legislation

• Contract with America• Return of power to state governments

(states’ rights?)

September 11, 2001

• World Trade Center and Pentagon attacked• War in Afghanistan• Axis of Evil• 2003: War in Iraq• Is this a Turning Point in History

This question asks students to relate the development of American national identity (addressed in learning objectives ID-1 and ID-5) to a relevant piece of information from the Revolutionary period that the students learned in their AP U.S. History class. Students must provide an explanation of why the connection they made is plausible, but they do not need to develop an entire thesis argument. Students then need to counter the other options, again by referencing evidence about U.S. history that they have encountered in their class.

2. United States historians have proposed various events to mark the beginning of an American identity.

A) Choose ONE of the events listed below, and explain why your choice best represents the beginning of an

American identity. Provide at least ONE piece of evidence to support your explanation. ◆◆ End of the Seven Years’ War (French and Indian War) in 1763 ◆◆ Signing of the Declaration of Independence in

1776 ◆◆ Ratification of the United States Constitution in 1788 B) Contrast your choice against ONE of the other options, demonstrating why that option is not as good as your

choice.

1. Some historians have argued that the Spanish–American War in 1898 marked a turning point in United States foreign policy. Support, modify, or refute this contention using specific evidence.

Some historians have argued that the development of the policy of containment after the Second World War marked a turning point in United States foreign policy. Support, modify, or refute this contention using specific evidence.