History: US History to 1865

Survey of American history from the pre-Revolutionary period through the Civil War era.

Open to Degree and PACE students

This is an introductory course on the history of the United States to the end of the Civil War. It is based on in-class lectures supported by assigned readings from short primary source materials and selected academic articles. The course situates the history of the United States with the broader context of the Americas and of Global History, and it pays particular attention to the pre-contact experiences of Native America.

The course is based on in-class lectures which students must attend in person. I am always open to responding to student questions in the course of a lecture, and for those interested in getting more deeply into the issues under discussion there will be several voluntary out-of-class discussion sessions.

Students will write four short (2-page) essays analyzing primary source materials and two longer (4-page) essays instead of midterm and final exams. There will be no quizzes or in-class exams.