AOW #25: Text (APUSH Chapter 30)

Chapter 30 in The American Pageant, written by David M. Kennedy, Lizabeth Cohen, and Thomas A. Bailey (all renowned professors of history considered to be experts in the area of study), describes America’s role in and point of view during World War I. This book was written for American high school students who are preparing to take the AP United States History Exam in May, which influences the way it’s written insofar as which facts and concepts it highlights. For example, instead of delineating the exact warpath of each Allied army unit with full descriptions of each battle, the text book only mentions the most important ones with more focus on their historical significance than their military technicalities. This is because the AP exam focuses on the “historical mindedness” aspect of United States History: the overall trends and events that have shaped our society in a way that have caused our country to be the way it is today and how they did this. Memorizing each battle will not help with the AP Exam. The authors included other rhetorical elements that are intended to help students study for the exam, including organization, colored maps and pictures, and extra passages. The chapters are organized with bolded, colorful, attention-grabbing headings and titles that indicate what the section will be about. They also reflect the narrative style of the writing; rather than listing the information as dry facts, the authors write history as if it were a story and the titles are just as captivating. The colored maps and pictures provide more material for students to survey while reading which breaks up the sometimes-seemingly-monotonous text and also help students further understand concepts being discussed in the text. Extra passages are included to delve further into an idea discussed briefly in the main text (such as more detail about the migration of the Irish to America) or to introduce other ways of thinking about what was presented in the main text (such as the “Varying Viewpoints” passages inserted at the close of almost every chapter). With these rhetorical elements, the authors accomplish their purpose of helping students prepare for the AP exam.