HIST 332-01, The Origins of Modern America, 1877-1918, Fall, 1998

Abstract

This course deals with the social, economic, political, and constitutional development of the United States from the Reconstruction era through World War I. We will pay special attention to the attempts of late nineteenth century Americans to deal with the enormous changes unleashed by the Civil War and Reconstruction, i.e., how victorious northerners, defeated southerners, and newly-freed African Americans came to terms with the recent past and charted their respective futures. Moreover, we will examine how early twentieth century reformers began to think about society and government in new ways and how their vision for the nation was affected by American involvement in World War I. As we cannot cover everything that occurred during this era in a single semester, we will devote relatively little attention to the history of the West, Native Americans, or foreign policy.