The Rise and Fall of Indian Country, 1776-1900

3 units

This course examines the long history of Indian Country as both a physical space and a political concept. It asks how North America's indigenous peoples shaped the political history of the continental interior from the establishment of the United States to the closing of the frontier in the 1890s. Indian Country as a historical concept touches on some of the crucial aspects of American history: race, space, and political identity. Rather than a narrative of conquest and exclusion, this course challenges students to see the history of Indian Country as an integral component of how the United States came into being physically and culturally.