Category: APUSH Ideas

James Madison University

This post is part of the APUSH Gameday series.

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James Madison University “Knowledge is Liberty”

Founded in 1908 as a women’s college, James Madison University was established by the Virginia General Assembly. It was originally called The State Normal and Industrial School for Women at Harrisonburg. In 1914, the name of the university was changed to the State Normal School for Women at Harrisonburg. At first, academic offerings included only today’s equivalent of technical training or junior college courses; however authorization to award bachelor’s degrees was granted in 1916. During this initial period of development, the campus plan was established and six buildings were constructed. The university became the State Teachers College at Harrisonburg in 1924 and continued under that name until 1938, when it was named Madison College in honor of James Madison, the fourth President of the United States whose Montpelier estate is located in nearby Orange, Virginia. In 1976, the university’s name was changed to James Madison University.

I work the James Madison into my course when I cover the following topics:

Plain, Honest Men – Philadelphia 1787 In an atmosphere of crisis, fifty five delegate met in Philadelphia and forged a radically new of government through conflict, compromise, and fragile consensus.

Ratification: The People Debate the Constitution [1787-1788]The ratification debate, waged in the newspapers, through pamphlets, and on the floor of the state conventions, led to heated arguments about our new government’s structure and function.

 

 

San Diego State Aztecs

This post is part of the APUSH Gameday series.

San Diego State University “Leadership Starts Here”  San Diego State University (SDSU, San Diego State) is a public research university in San Diego, California, and is the largest and oldest higher education institution in San Diego County. Founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, it is the third-oldest university in the 23-member California State University.

After the athletic teams were established in 1921, media referred to the teams as “Staters” or “professors”. The school newspaper tried to encourage “Wampus Cats” during its coverage of the 1923-24 school year. In the fall of 1924, Athletic Director C.E. Peterson urged the students to select a nickname and the school newspaper, The Paper Lantern, invited suggestions. Over the next few issues, names such as Panthers, Balboans and Thoroughbreds were suggested and submitted to a committee of Dean Al Peterson, C.E. Peterson and a student. In 1925, student leaders chose the nickname “Aztecs” over such other suggestions as “Balboans”. They felt the terminology was more representative of a southwest image and the selection met with no dissent. In February of 1925, President Hardy gave his formal approval to the “Aztec” nickname and teams adopted that identity within a week.

 

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I work the San Diego State Aztecs into my course when I cover the following topics:

From Pangaea to Paradise – The Americas Before European Conquest [1491] Pre-Columbian indigenous populations were not sparsely settled in a pristine wilderness,  rather, a vastly more populous and sophisticated civilizations that actively shaped and influenced the land around them .

The Spanish Mission System – “A Wealth of Souls to Harvest”The Spanish clergy, particularly Jesuits and Franciscans, played a critical role in settling the Southwest using the mission system.Over the centuries, this became the most effective means of “civilizing” natives.

APUSH Gameday

This year I decided to work my favorite TV show into my Advanced Placement United States History course.  College Football Gameday goes on location Every week the crew from Gameday typically broadcasts from the campus of the team hosting a featured game being played that day and features news and analysis of the day’s upcoming games.

While on they were hosting from campus of James Madison University I thought I could have some fun weaving a college’s history (founding mascots, and notable alumni) into my curriculum.  So it began, I ordered a bunch of College Polo’s from Fanatics.com using money I made selling resources on my TeachersPayTeachers site.  I will be posting info about the colleges I choose to incorporate into my course as we move through the semester.