HIST 232-01, The United States in the Nineteenth Century, Spring 2007

Abstract

In the first half of the course we will explore the ways that territorial expansion, industrialization, and conflict over slavery shaped American life. We will investigate the changing nature of American national identity, both political and cultural. The struggles between Native Americans and whites over sovereignty and land, the search for community in a rapidly changing society, and the drift toward sectionalism form crucial parts of this story. In the second half of the course we will study the great conflict that pitted brother against brother, the American Civil War; and its aftermath, Reconstruction. We will consider the changes wrought by industrial expansion, urbanization, and westward migration during the late nineteenth century. Throughout the course, race, gender, ethnicity, and class will be addressed as variables in a people's historical experience. Through diverse points of view, we will develop a multicultural understanding of our past.As well as familiarizing you with key developments in nineteenth-century United States history, our purpose is twofold: 1) To encourage critical thought, by asking you to develop original interpretations supported by evidence and explanation. 2) To engage you in History methodology, through analysis of firsthand sources.