AP US History Summer Reading
Download the Summer Reading Assignment. This includes watching the video of our summer reading author, Joseph Ellis. Then, read his book, Founding Brothers, and respond to the questions in the assignment. Before our first class, please watch the videos below on the differences between primary and secondary sources.
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- Chapter One: The Duel covers the deadly political and personal rivalry between Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton, which ultimately led to the Burr-Hamilton duel, which Ellis attributes in part to the passions inflamed by the Revolution. Only a few facts are known about "the most famous encounter of its kind in American history." (p. 20) Burr and Hamilton rowed out to a secluded spot in separate boats and exchanged pistol shots at about 10 yards distance. Hamilton was shot in his right side and died.
- Chapter Two: The Dinner explores the secret conversations and negotiations leading to selection of the Potomac River site for construction of the new national capital, in exchange for Virginia's support of Hamilton's plan for assumption of state debts by the federal government.
- Chapter Three: The Silence describes the tacit agreement by the nation's founders to postpone discussion of regulation of Slavery in the United States, concluding that any early attempt at abolition would doom the union before it had a chance to become established.
- Chapter Four: The Farewell dissects the Farewell Address of President George Washington, and Washington's views on the best course for the new nation.
- Chapter Five: The Collaborators analyzes two important relationships; the one between John Adams and his wife Abigail during his presidency; and the other between Thomas Jefferson and James Madison during the same time period.
- Chapter Six: The Friendship is devoted to the extensive correspondence between Adams and Jefferson during the last fourteen years of their lives, reviving their lost friendship and expounding on their lives.
Primary v. Secondary Sources
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A secondary source interprets and analyzes primary sources. These sources are one or more steps removed from the event. Secondary sources may have pictures, quotes or graphics of primary sources in them. A primary source is a document or physical object which was written or created during the time under study. These sources were present during an experience or time period and offer an inside view of a particular event. |
How do you find sources? This can differ depending on what you are researching. Ms. Eckert has a ton of tools for this on the "Students" page of the website. The fastest way to get general information is to do a google search, but we are historians! We want to dive deeper. Google or wikipedia are always good places to start but they are not reliable or academic. If you do a general search, this may give you some ideas as to where to start looking for the real information. Click Here to see Ms. Eckert's recommended sites for reliable information. You can also check out the libaray and it's website. After that, you may want to consider local college and university libraries, which often have a larger selection of books. Then you may want to consider visiting local historical societies and archives.
How do you decipher meaning from the sources you find? This is a tricky question, and one we will spend the entire course trying to solve. Some of the big questions you need to ask are:
Who created this source? Do they have a bias?
What are they saying about the event, time period, or feeling?
When was it created? Before the time of the event, during, or afterward?
What was the response to this source if any?
But in order to do this you will need to understand and be able to cite (point to) textual evidence in the original document.
Textual Evidence is anything taken from a document to support an argument or claim. This could be an author's comment, a definition, or a description of a historical event from a primary source.
How do you analyze a primary source? Don't get thrown off by the word "analyze." All you are being asked to do is draw conclusions, or come up with ideas about what the source means. Analyze also means picking up on hits about how the author thinks and feels. Ms. Eckert has a few organizers that can help to make analysis more manageable. We will use these often in class.
How do you decipher meaning from the sources you find? This is a tricky question, and one we will spend the entire course trying to solve. Some of the big questions you need to ask are:
Who created this source? Do they have a bias?
What are they saying about the event, time period, or feeling?
When was it created? Before the time of the event, during, or afterward?
What was the response to this source if any?
But in order to do this you will need to understand and be able to cite (point to) textual evidence in the original document.
Textual Evidence is anything taken from a document to support an argument or claim. This could be an author's comment, a definition, or a description of a historical event from a primary source.
How do you analyze a primary source? Don't get thrown off by the word "analyze." All you are being asked to do is draw conclusions, or come up with ideas about what the source means. Analyze also means picking up on hits about how the author thinks and feels. Ms. Eckert has a few organizers that can help to make analysis more manageable. We will use these often in class.
