Course Syllabus

HIST 2700 United States History to 1877

Course Description

This course covers the development of the United States to 1877, to include the Colonial Period, the American Revolution, the Nationalistic Period, Westward Expansion, Sectionalism, the Civil War, and Reconstruction. HIST 2700, taken in conjunction with HIST 2710, will satisfy the American Institutions requirement established by the Utah State Legislature.

Justification

HIST 2700, taken together with HIST 2710, satisfies the American Institutions (AI) requirement established by the Utah Legislature and USHE. HIST 2700 provides a foundation for understanding the history of America. This course is designed to be equivalent to HIST 2700 at all USHE institutions.

General Education Outcomes

1. A student who completes the GE curriculum has a fundamental knowledge of human cultures and the natural world. After completing this course, students are prepared to recognize and appreciate the diversity of ideas that constitute American history. Students read and discuss a variety of primary sources in order to understand these ideas from a variety of perspectives. Class discussions, written assignments, exams, and/or other assignments will ask students to consider how—in a variety of contexts—American institutions influenced US history from the colonial era to 1877.
2. A student who completes the GE curriculum can read and research effectively within disciplines. After completing this course, students are prepared to work competently with a variety of media sources as they engage in analysis of American history. Students read, watch, and listen to a variety of primary media and are assessed, in discussion and written response, on content. Class discussions, written assignments, exams, and/or other assignments are designed to elicit constructive and critical responses.
3. A student who completes the GE curriculum can draw from multiple disciplines to address complex problems. Upon the successful completion of this course, students will understand various disciplines such as history, economics, social issues, gender issues, and political knowledge. Assessment will be accomplished through class discussion and written assignments.
4. A student who completes the GE curriculum can reason analytically, critically, and creatively. Students must demonstrate an understanding of cultural and historical influence to some degree in every class discussion, written assignment, and exam. Understanding “America” and its history requires reasoning analytically, critically, and creatively about multiple factors.

General Education Knowledge Area Outcomes

1. Through the study of primary source documents, students will examine a variety of factors that explain the origins, development, and current dynamics of the political, social, and economic system of United States. Class discussions, exams, written assignments, and/or other assignments will allow students to demonstrate they can articulate viewpoints of historical figures and modern; students will demonstrate that they understand and can participate in debates on the history, principles, form of government, and economic system of the United States of America. Through the study of primary source documents, students will examine a variety of factors that explain the origins, development, and current dynamics of the political, social, and economic system of United States. Class discussions, exams, written assignments, and/or other assignments will allow students to demonstrate they can articulate viewpoints of historical figures and modern; students will demonstrate that they understand and can participate in debates on the history, principles, form of government, and economic system of the United States of America.
2. Explain and use historically, politically, and economically relevant information. Through reading primary and secondary sources, students will understand how to evaluate and use historically relevant information to use to make and critique arguments about American history. Students will be asked to demonstrate their ability to use historically relevant information in class discussions, written assignments, exams and/or other assignments.
3. Communicate effectively about the history, principles, form of government, and economic system of the United States. Students will be able to communicate knowledge, analysis, and critiques of the history, principles, form of government, and economic system of the United States, with a special emphasis on history. Student abilities in this area will be demonstrated in class discussions, exams, written assignments, and/or other assignments.
4. Engage a diversity of viewpoints in a constructive manner that contributes to a dialogue about the history, principles, form of government, and economic system of the United States. By engaging a range of sources, students will understand multiple viewpoints about the history, principles, form of government, and economic system of the United States, with a particular emphasis on history. Students will be able to discuss these viewpoints in historical context and be able to articulate connections to contemporary issues. Class discussions, exams written, assignments, and/or other assignments will allow students to make their own contribution to the dialogue about the history of the United States.
5. Use historical, political, and economic methods to come to an understanding of the United States that integrates those viewpoints. This course addresses multiple disciplines in a single course. This is best accomplished through American Historiography. Through this method, historical, political, and economic methods can all be addressed to make the class more robust. Methods of assessment will be primarily assignments.

Course Content

Through lecture, readings, multimedia, class discussion, exams, and written assignments, this course traditionally follows a chronological path, analyzing how politics, culture, and societal factors shaped the history of the United States of America through 1877. The course takes broad purview of American history, looking at larger transformations across time, while also more closely examining how individuals and groups caused and responded to these larger changes. This broad scope allows for this class to incorporate a multitude of cultures into the education. Aspects of cultural differences are often missed in high school instruction. This class aims to, among other things, account for those deficiencies and provide an increased understanding of peoples and places in America. Both primary and secondary source reading assignments are intended to present a more complete picture of early American history. Possible topics include: Early explorers and their exploration of the New World; Colonization by England and other European countries; Native American relations with European colonies; Declaration of Independence and the reasons for revolution; Revolutionary War; Articles of Confederation and the Critical Period; Constitutional Convention and the ratification of the U.S. Constitution; Federalist Era; Republican Era; War of 1812 (what some have called the Second War for Independence); Manufacturing, industry and labor; Nationalism and Sectionalism; Jacksonian Democracy; Manifest Destiny and westward expansion; The peculiar institution of slavery; Tumult of the 1850s; Civil War; Reconstruction. All of these topics taken together lead to an education of an array of issues.