United States History to 1877

Catalog description

This course is a historical survey of the United States, from Indigenous North America to the end of Reconstruction. The course also introduces students to historical reasoning skills. Topics will include the contrasting worldviews of Native American, African, and European cultures as they converged in early colonial society; the road to revolution and the Revolutionary War; the drafting of the U.S. Constitution and the struggles of nation building; the contradictory rise of democracy and slavery; westward expansion and sectional tensions; industrial and technological advances; reform movements like abolitionism and women’s rights; and the causes and consequences of the Civil War. Credit will not be awarded for both the honors and regular versions of a course. Credit will be awarded only for the first course completed with a grade of "C" or better.