Course Description
A survey of the history of the United States from the late 1870s to the present. Emphasis is placed on political as well as economic, cultural, and social forces which have shaped the American past. IAI: S2 901.
Prerequisite(s)
Appropriate assessment score or ENGL 1422 with a grade of C or better - Must be taken either prior to or at the same time as this course.
At the end of this course, students will be able to:
- Distinguish between primary and secondary sources as the foundation of modern historical scholarship
- Interpret primary sources critically by analyzing their historical contexts
- Formulate historical interpretations, both orally and in writing, and defend them critically with reference to primary and secondary sources
- Demonstrate an understanding of the various political, social, and economic movements within the United States, including the origins and development of its peoples and cultures to 1877
Topical Outline
1. Winning the West
2. The Rise of Industrial America
3. Life in Industrial America
4. The Rise of the Urban Metropolis
5. Politics in the Gilded Age
6. The Populist Movement
7. America Becomes a World Power
8. Social Progressivism
9. Political Progressivism
10. America and the Great War
11. The Roaring Twenties
12. The Great Depression
13. The First New Deal
14. The Second New Deal
15. The Road to the Second World War
16. America and the Second World War
17. The Rise of the Cold War
18. Cold War America
19. The Civil Rights Movement
20. The Height of Liberalism
21. The Vietnam War Era
22. The Rights Movement
23. America in Crisis
24. The Conservative Revolution
25. End of the Cold War Era
26. Post-Cold Ware America
27. America in a New Millennium
28. An Era of Historic Firsts