Last year’s presidential election was historic in many ways. Elements of that election will provide the basis for much of what we will be discussing this year as far as the role of the media, primaries, parties, interest groups. To get a start, the summer reading book is Epic Journey: The 2008 Elections and American Politics by James W. Ceaser, Andrew E. Busch, and John J. Pitney, Jr. They analyze the saga of the 2008 election with the “astonishing twists of fate, the uncanny detours, and the remarkable surprises” that the authors claim turned “an ordinary voyage into an epic journey.” In detailing the history of this fascinating election they cover much of the material that is the basis for the first semester of the class’s curriculum. If you didn’t pay close attention during 2007 and 2008 to political news, this book will provide you with an understanding and with examples that we will be using all year long in A.P. Government.
This book is a new book and bookstores probably won’t have many copies in stock, although they can order it for you. I recommend that you order a copy from Amazon where you can save about $7 to $10. I have a link on my website for this book and other summer reading assignments for other classes. Check the assignment download below for further instsructions.
Mrs. Newmark
Assignment:
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For this assignment we would like you to focus on the beginnings of colonial history in the history of North America. There are two elements to this assignment and you will be required to turn in both sections on the first day of classes in August.
You will need to buy the textbook in order to complete the assignment. We have arranged for you to buy the book from the school. It will cost $52 and you should make checks out to RCHS. The books will be delivered on Tuesday, June 2. We strongly urge that you buy it on Tuesday or during the rest of the week. The school will only be open two days a week during the summer. The book comes packaged free with two volumes of primary documents that we will be using throughout the year.
For the second part of your summer assignment, we would like you to watch the first episode of the new PBS series on Native American History, We Shall Remain. The episode is entitled “After the Mayflower” and can be viewed online at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/weshallremain/ or it can be rented from Blockbuster or Netflix. The episode is approximately ninety minutes long. Check the assignment download for the required written response to this video.

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The notes will be collected on the first day of school.