United States History to 1865

 HIST 111 is a course designed to introduce students to the history of the colonial Americas starting from 1492, continuing through the establishment of the American nation during the era of the American Revolution (1775-1783), and through the trials and tribulations of that new nation as it faced the burdens of slavery and Western expansion prior to the American Civil War (1861-1865).

The course is also organized to educate students about the social construction of knowledge, and how historians apply the social construction of knowledge to their research methods in efforts to avoid biases in the writing of history. In that vein, this course is intended to deliberate upon the many different groups of people within the early Americas, rather than simply the leaders of the American Revolution and their ideological ancestors. Similarly, discussions of the Civil War will focus primarily upon the burdens placed upon slaves, the goals of ending the institution of slavery, and the social history of immigration rather than upon Union and Confederate Generals.

In order to focus upon lesser-known population groups in our study of the early Americas and the antebellum history of the United States, this course will apply numerous primary source documents written by the historical actors themselves. We will read of slavery from as close to the slave perspective as we can, we will read of the place of women from the female perspective, and we will attempt to understand the destruction of Native America not from the hands of those performing the destruction, but from the Native Americans who resisted the end of their way of life.

Learning Outcomes

1. Students will learn to blend their previous knowledge of history with new understandings gained from discussions and their readings of representative primary documents.
2. Students will be able to write essays in a standard format, with an introduction, body, and conclusion, and present persuasive papers regarding difficult questions of American history.
3. Students will be able to present difficult arguments through succinct, non-personal, and objective means.
4. Students will gain an understanding of the historian’s profession through a consideration of document reading and objectivity.
5. Students will learn the narrative of American history from 1492 until 1865, with goals of both understanding the timeline and major events, but also questioning the importance of those specific events for different populations.