ap us history essay questions

ap us history essay questions

Exploring Key Themes in American History Through Essay Questions

1. Introduction to the Study of American History

The essays can be used in numerous ways, depending on your grade level and your interests. Many teachers assign an essay for completion outside of class to be available for class discussion. Others select an essay as the subject for a modified Socratic Seminar or discussion during class. Since most essays can serve as models for writing, some teachers use at least one essay as an example before assigning a similar writing task. This collection was not initially created to serve as model writings, but it is hoped that you may find the sample essays as useful resources because of the student-centered writing. It is important to remember that the essay answers were partially developed by adult authors who have been trained as classroom teachers. Start your studies now by reflecting on the following questions and writing down your own thoughts. Then turn to the next section for some specific essay topics in American history.

Why is it important to learn and understand American history? We think it is necessary because history helps us to understand who we are and how the world around us came to be. Whether you have always loved history or cringed at the mere mention of the subject, our country’s history is an integral part of your life. Learning about the past provides each of us with an identity and a common bond. We want you to feel connected to American history and to appreciate the contributions and sacrifices made by many groups of people. The essays in this book are designed to help you better understand significant themes and personalities in American history. The essays are meant to stimulate meaningful discussions and reflection on the values, conflicts, and challenges of life in the United States.

2. Section 1: The Founding of the United States

This essay is designed to set forth several themes of American history that may be illuminated by an examination of the nature of the Constitution and the ideas of the leaders who were the principal spokesmen of the Federalist and Antifederalist Parties. It is divided into two parts. In Part I, the reaction of two novel sources of authority to some of the tangible, principal social, political, and intellectual realities that existed in the period between the outbreak of the Revolutionary War and the War itself is analyzed. The first was the response of Americans to the prospect of independence and the situational variants to which it gave rise. The second is the body of colonial ideas about political affairs. In Part II, the formation of the United States Constitution is explored, with an emphasis on the central, the most basic objective that the Founders expected it to serve. The significance of the role that the Constitution is assigned as an organizational framework capable of bringing coherence and stability to the governing activities of the country is examined in the light of the primary goal of the framers.

The founding of the United States The ratification of the United States Constitution in 1787 was a miracle. The right to establish a Constitution had been conferred by the people – not as the result of parliamentary procedure or even as the product of deliberation of some specially constituted assembly impervious to popular retraction, but explicitly by conventions whose members embodied what Edmund Burke called “that fleeting symbol of the nation.” The ratification was the crowning achievement of the Federalist Party, which included a number of the most distinguished citizens of New York, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania, among whom had been “our venerable Franklin and the man whose sins of pride have been most relentlessly visited upon him, Alexander Hamilton.” This miracle, this intellectual, political, and moral achievement was the object of the fears felt not only by the Antifederalists but also by men outside and inside the Federalist Party like Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, George Mason, and Samuel Adams.

3. Section 2: Expansion and Conflict in the 19th Century

The concept of Manifest Destiny, coined during the Taylor administration, reflected beliefs and exaggerations that characterized the first six presidencies. Later, partisans evoked these themes to justify the annexation of Hawaiian territory, acquired through violent revolution organized by American settlers. Promoters of “manifest destiny,” driven by opportunity and idealism, demanded expansion west. To repress the practice of polygamy by Mormons in Utah, Congress waged “Star Wars.” In 1848, expansionists sought additional territory from Mexico, obtaining California and the Southwest, the present-day boundaries of Texas, and seized sparsely populated areas to avoid the near impossibility that Mexicans could have maintained them. All these U.S. acres came primarily at the expense of Indians. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo marked the culmination of the first phase of west expansion and increased U.S. possessions by 93 percent.

4. Section 3: The United States in the 20th Century

4. How and why did work, gender, class, and racial ideologies and conventions of the 1950s pose such problems for educated and skilled white women, addressing work-family conflict and life goals? How did working-class, married suburban women manage these issues, and how successful were they in resisting and reforming the 1950s gender roles so posited?

3. Explain the four major reasons Japanese Americans were forced into internment camps. How were Japanese Americans who lived outside of the infamous West Coast Internment camps treated and what relationships did Japanese Americans in both places already have? In what ways did each group keep or lose the rights of which they were stripped?

2. Using Michael Honey’s analysis, contend that workers had a more significant impact on the Civil Rights Movement than traditionally recognized. In what ways did worker activism differ from and complement the much better known organized efforts of various middle-class organizations and associations?

1. Compare and contrast the experiences of New York City and Los Angeles as places where Mexicans migrated prior to and after the establishment of the United States as a nation. What factors drew Mexican Americans to these two cities? How did race, class, and changing capital/industrial needs of these two cities and the nation impact and shape migration and immigrants’ lives? In what ways were Mexican Americans or Chicanos’ experiences in Los Angeles unique?

5. Conclusion and Reflection on American History

The topics have been specifically selected to reflect the different types of essay questions a student might be required to construct and defend on an examination. Such basics might be: several of the essays ask students to link historical periods or events to particular themes or ideas; many of the essays ask that students describe the motivating ideas of those involved; numerous essays are more directly comparative in nature. Some ask for an explanation of the causes and effects of particular events. Finally, several of the essays require an evaluation, suggesting that students assess some action to determine if it were justified.

This book is an examination of essay questions that has two primary functions. First, it is a resource for those who are interested in expanding the way they think and talk about key themes in American history. Second, for educators who want their students to think deeply about these themes, it offers a list of questions written specifically to stimulate such thinking. I hope that students will use the essays to test their knowledge of American history, to challenge themselves to think critically about a variety of complex issues, and to improve their persuasive writing skills. I hope that teachers will use the essays to guide reflections on the many dimensions of American history study.