CHIST 2121 United States History to 1865
This course examines major social, political, economic, and cultural shifts that shaped the development of the "new world" that became the United States. It introduces students to the ways historians think about and critically analyze the United States’ complex past. Students build critical thinking skills, learn how to effectively analyze primary sources, and explore history through diverse perspectives. In particular, this course uncovers the experiences and voices of marginalized groups that have often been omitted or silenced in U.S. history, such as religious and political outsiders, women, Native Americans, and enslaved Africans and their descendants. Topics covered include: pre-Columbian settlements; Europe before colonization; Native American culture and interactions with colonists; transatlantic slave trade and African / African American culture; social, cultural, intellectual and political developments in colonial America and the Early Republic; national and global economic shifts, industrialism, and expansion; the American Revolution; and the emergence of the Civil War.