It is my assumption that American history is not a fixed set of facts, figures, and events, that it is not a done deal. People, places, motivation and circumstance are the content for rigorous historical thinking. History was contested all along and continues to be contested. It is that complexity we will explore throughout the semester. To that end, this course explores the history (more accurately, the histories) of the United States—why it is the way it is and how it became that way--from its colonial antecedents through the Civil War. It treats the growth of democracy, the impact of early urbanization and industrialization, the movement west and the growth of the country, the transformation of the family, the displacement of Native American people, the origins (and death) of slavery and the plantation system, and the sources of ethnic diversity. Through lectures, readings (both primary and secondary), videos, and LOTS OF DISCUSSION, you will become acquainted with the central concerns of US history and you will begin to cultivate habits of critical understanding that allow you to draw significance from the past.

This page is maintained by Vivian Bruce Conger, vconger@ithaca.edu
This page was last updated on Tuesday, August 26, 2003 2:15 PM

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