HIST 220 History of the United States to 1876 3 hours credit– surveys American History from colonial times through the end of Reconstruction. It focuses upon the major political, diplomatic, economic, and social developments, paying particular attention to the interaction of red, white, and black cultures, the development of democracy, territorial expansion, and the changes of the Civil War era.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:
- Summarize and explain the major events of the years from Colonial Times to 1876, in order to show clear, concise understanding of how they changed America.
- Communicate orally, by discussing original documents and key issues in American History from Colonial Times to 1876.
- Demonstrate informational literacy; i.e. know when there is a need for information, and to be able to identify, locate, evaluate, and effectively use that information for the issue or problem at hand.
- Express themselves in formal writing, by authoring papers such as essays, analyses, book reviews, or bibliographies that offer a clear and supported position on a complex historical subject or event.
- Think critically, from analyzing the successes and failures of the past and explaining and predicting how people with values and mindsets different from our own handle similar circumstances.
- Make historical connections by recognizing contemporary behaviors, actions, and policies that demonstrate how people fail to learn lessons from those past successes and failures.