This course introduces students to the history of the United States before 1877. It focuses on the creation of a distinctive set of American cultures. Central themes include the colonial meeting of Spanish, French, English, native American, and African American cultures; the development of distinctly American Creole cultures in the eighteenth century; race and conquest; the American Revolution and the creation of a republican political culture; the transformation of that political culture through struggles over industrialization and wage labor, slavery, and women's rights; and the revolution in American political culture and social relations during the Civil War and Reconstruction.
Course Credits
3