Course Goals and Objectives for History 231 U.S. History to 1865:

Goal 1: Students will learn the chronology and topical organization of U.S. history from the origins of European colonization to the conclusion of the Civil War.

Objective #1: Students will be able to identify the major chronological divisions of U.S. history and discuss in writing how and why scholars have divided the past into various periods.

Objective #2: Students will be able to identify the major topical divisions of U.S. history and recognize on objective tests and discuss in writing the significance of such topics as epidemic disease in the founding period, the role of political ideology in the coming of the Revolution, the rise of slavery and abolitionism, the political consequences of westward expansion, and the origins of the Civil War.

Goal 2: Student will learn about the origins of European colonization and the consequences of contact among the peoples of America, Europe, and Africa in the colonial period.

Objective #1: Students will be able to explain the motivations behind European colonization of the New World, the origins of the transAtlantic slave trade, the rise of the plantation economies, and the roles of mercantilism and religious persecution in the founding of the American colonies.

Objective #2: Students will be able to define and discuss such terms as Columbian Exchange, virgin-soil epidemics, and Eurocentrism.

Goal 3: Students will acquire an understanding of the principal political documents of U.S. history, including but not limited to the Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation, Constitution, Federalist and Anti-Federalist Papers, and the Emancipation Proclamation.

Objective #1: Students will be able to write about the core political ideology of the American Revolution as embodied in the Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation, and the Constitution.

Objective #2: Students will be able to explain the historical context and significance of the Emancipation Proclamation.

Goal 4: Students will acquire an appreciation and understanding of diversity through the study of the history of the contributions of ethnic and racial minorities and women.

Objective #1: Students will be able to write about and discuss orally the contributions of African Americans to early American history in terms of labor, society and culture.

Objective #2: Students will be able to write about and discuss orally the contributions of and the prescribed role of women in colonial America and how that role changed as a result of the American Revolution and the subsequent urbanization of the United States.

Goal 5: Students will learn about the lives of significant individuals in American history.

Objective #1: Students will be able to identify on objective tests and/or essays the significant individuals in the history of the United States from colonial times to 1865.

Objective #2: Students will be able to write about the contributions of a number of important people in the history of the United States from colonial times to 1865.

Goal 6: Students will learn about the importance of republican principles and civic education in the sustaining of the American political system.

Objective #1: Students will be able to identify the core principles of republicanism and the role of an educated electorate through an examination of a number of historical crises in the era preceding 1865, e.g. the colonial debate over taxation and representation, the struggle for the ratification of the Constitution, the Missouri Compromise, the Mexican War, the Nullification Crisis, the Compromise of 1850, and the Secessionist Crisis.

Goal 7: Students will learn the geographical setting for historical events and the role expansion played in American history.

Objective #1: Students will be able to identify on maps and/or objective exams and essays the important geographic settings, locations, and context for historical events.

Course Goals and Objectives for History 232 U.S. History Since 1865:

Goal 1: Students will learn the chronology and topical organization of U.S. history from the end of the Civil War to the Present.

Objective #1: Students will be able to identify the major chronological divisions of U.S. history and discuss in writing how and why scholars have divided the past into various periods.

Objective #2: Students will be able to identify the major topical divisions of U.S. history and recognize on objective tests and discuss in writing the significance of such topics as Reconstruction, industrialization, Populism, Progressivism, the origins of American involvement in World War I, the culture and economy of the 1920s, the Great Depression, the New Deal, the origins of World War II, the Cold War, the Civil Rights Movement, the 1960s, the Vietnam War, and the post-Cold War era.

Goal 2: Student will learn about critical themes in the development of American history since the Civil War.

Objective #1: Students will be able to explain the motivations behind the conduct of and end of Reconstruction, the segregation and disfranchisement of African Americans, the Populists and Progressives, the transformation of the U.S. into a world power, the development of New Deal liberalism, the Cold War, the Civil Rights Movement, the various social movements of the 1960s, the Vietnam War, and the resurgence of conservatism.

Objective #2: Students will be able to define and discuss such terms as Social Darwinism, Laissez-faire, New Deal coalition, “Separate but Equal,” and Great Society.

Goal 3: Students will acquire an understanding of the principal political documents and judicial decisions in U.S. history.

Objective #1: Students will be able to write about the significance of the Reconstruction Amendments, the expansion of suffrage especially as embodied in women’s suffrage, and the evolution of civil rights legislation.

Objective #2: Students will be able to discuss the principle judicial decisions shaping our country, such as Plessy v. Ferguson, Brown v. Board of Education, Korematsu v. United States, and Miranda v. Arizona.

Goal 4: Students will acquire an appreciation and understanding of diversity through the study of the history of the contributions of ethnic and racial minorities and women.

Objective #1: Students will be able to write about and discuss orally the labor, cultural, social, and political contributions of peoples such as African Americans, Asian Americans, Latinos, and Native Americans to American history.

Objective #2: Students will be able to write about and discuss the contributions of women and how their role has changed over time in the context of suffrage, protective legislation, feminism, and the women’s rights movement.

Goal 5: Students will learn about the lives of significant individuals in American history.

Objective #1: Students will be able to identify on objective tests and/or essays significant individuals in the history of the United States from 1865 to the present.

Objective #2: Students will be able to write about the contributions of a number of important people in the history of the United States from 1865 to the present.

Goal 6: Students will learn about the core principles of a democracy and the need for civic education in the sustaining of the American political system.

Objective #1: Students will be able to identify the importance of republicanism and the role of an educated electorate through an examination of a number of crucial historical controversies, including debates over suffrage and disfranchisement, the U.S. role in the world, and the role of the state in modern life.

Goal 7: Students will learn the geographical setting for historical events and the role expansion played in American history.

Objective #1: Students will be able to identify on maps and/or objective exams and essays the important geographic settings, locations, and context for historical events.