This challenging course is designed to provide a college-level experience and prepare students for the AP US History exam in early May. Over two 18 week semesters, the students are engaged in a wide variety of activities, with substantial emphasis on interpreting documents, writing analytical essays, and mastering factual content. Woven into the chronology of the course are the key themes of American History. Issues of American identity, diversity, religion and culture are examined. Economic transformations, the development of politic institutions and reform movements are evaluated. War, slavery, and demographic changes are assessed. Globalization and environmental issues are analyzed. These themes appear consistently in the course as the student journeys through broader course topics such as colonial and antebellum life, civil war and reconstruction, the gilded age and on to modern America.