This course provides a chronological introduction to the social, political, and cultural history of the United States, from the1400 to the end of Reconstruction in 1877.. The class centers around the following essential questions:
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Who decides who is an American?
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What do American citizens owe their nation?
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When was America "great?"
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Where in history have events changed the trajectory of the nation?
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How does America's past change the way people feel that they "belong" to the nation?
By using lectures, discussions, primary source documents, and readings, this class aims to allow students to answer these questions. All information sourced will be from documents that a wide variety of citizens have produced, from those in National Security to those whom it scrutinized, others who traveled widely, and those who never left their home of origin. By placing students into the role of historians, this survey will attempt to give students the tools of historical inquiry.
- Teacher: Erica Jameson