US History to 1877

(3 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

This course examines the history of the lands that became the United States from the era of Columbus to the end of Reconstruction in 1877. During this period, a variety of monumental events occurred: Native-European contact; the development of the British colonies; the War of Independence; the rise and fall of slavery; and the Civil War. How and why did these changes happen? What were the turning points and who were the key figures behind them? To answer these questions, this course will examine pre-Reconstruction American history through a variety of lenses including religion, race and ethnicity, war, politics, and intellectual developments. Topics receiving special attention include relations between settlers and natives, Puritanism and the Great Awakening, the American Revolution and formation of the nation, the role of slavery in American life, and the Civil War.