Catalog Description

Hours: 54 lecture
Description: History of the United States from its origins to 1877. Emphasis on evolution of colonial societies, the American Revolution and the establishment of the Republic, Constitution and constitutional developments, and emergence of a national political tradition; ethnic and racial pluralism of settlement, growth and development; the market revolution and emergence of democracy; institution of slavery, territorial expansion, and events, issues, and developments culminating in the Civil War and the Reconstruction of the South. (C-ID HIST 130) (CSU, UC)

Course Student Learning Outcomes

  • CSLO #1: Analyze the role of geography in the economic and political development in America and its place in a global context.
  • CSLO #2: Compose coherent, persuasive historical argument using correct academic citation methods.
  • CSLO #3: Differentiate primary and secondary sources and how each are used to make historical claims.
  • CSLO #4: Investigate major political, economic and social changes in the United States with emphasis on the roles of racial and ethnic minority groups.
  • CSLO #5: Investigate the origins of the American Constitution and its impact on American cultural developments with emphasis on race, class, gender and/or ethnicity.

Effective Term

Fall 2019

Course Type

Credit - Degree-applicable

Contact Hours

54

Outside of Class Hours

108

Total Student Learning Hours

162

Course Objectives

1. Demonstrate the ability to interpret primary and secondary sources and to compose an argument which uses them, as appropriate, for support;
2. Examine, discuss, and compare the development of the various regions and the establishment of differing societies in colonial America;
3. Demonstrate an understanding of American History through current analytical categories of race, class, gender and ethnicity;
4. Demonstrate an understanding of America's growth in a global context;
5. Explain the major economic, technological, and scientific developments and their historical significance;
6. Analyze major political trends, attitudes, conflicts and events - including both mainstream and reform efforts - and explain their historical significance;
7. Explain the major social and cultural developments, their causes and effects, and their historical significance.

General Education Information

  • Approved College Associate Degree GE Applicability
    • AA/AS - Literature & Language
    • AA/AS - Multicultural Studies
    • AA/AS - Social Sciences
  • CSU GE Applicability (Recommended-requires CSU approval)
    • CSU - US1 Hist/Const/Amer Idea
    • CSU - US2 Hist/Const/Amer Idea
    • CSUGE - C2 Humanities
    • CSUGE - D6 History
  • Cal-GETC Applicability (Recommended - Requires External Approval)
    • IGETC Applicability (Recommended-requires CSU/UC approval)
      • IGETC - 3B Humanities
      • IGETC - 4F History

    Articulation Information

    • CSU Transferable
    • UC Transferable

    Methods of Evaluation

    • Essay Examinations
      • Example: The American Revolution was the result of a culmination of factors in colonial North America. What developments in the colonies led to the founders declaring independence in 1776? Be sure to explain the importance of colonial development, religion, the French and Indian War, and taxation. Lastly, if you were to point to one factor that was most significant in bringing about the Revolution which would it be and why do you think this is the case? Your essay will be graded based upon an established rubric.
    • Objective Examinations
      • Example: 1. Bacon's Rebellion had what consequence: a. generated decades of class conflict in Virginia; b. encouraged the elites to import black slaves; c. forced the crown to tighten its control; d. small farmers and the poor lost rights. Add 2-3 sentences that develop the ideas in the sentence. 2. According to 18th-century political thought, without property, liberty is impossible. Why? a. only individuals with enough property can be independent from the will of others b. paying property taxes should give you rights c. property was a measure of God's blessings d. property guaranteed the next generation's liberty

    Repeatable

    No

    Methods of Instruction

    • Lecture/Discussion
    • Distance Learning

    Lecture:

    1. The instructor will assign primary source materials on the American Revolution for students to read prior to class. In lecture/discussion format, the instructor will use these materials as a starting point to compare and contrast historical points of view in either classroom/web-based discussions or in writing assignments.
    2. The instructor will provide material in lecture format (either oral or written) on "European Colonial Settlements in the 17th century." The instructor will divide students into groups (either in web-based discussions or in classrooms) and have students summarize and analyze the material. Instructor will monitor and support group discussions as necessary.
    3. The instructor will divide students into small groups and have them compare their summary of assigned reading and their reactions to the founding of Virginia and Massachusetts.

    Distance Learning

    1. The instructor will assign a Discussion Board assignment in the online course, which requires the students to compare and contrast Spanish and British colonialism in a post. The students must then respond to two students in the discussion board.

    Typical Out of Class Assignments

    Reading Assignments

    1. Based upon reading assignments reflected in the course syllabus, complete the reading and "Sectionalism, slavery, and antebellum America" and be prepared to discuss the material in class and as part of written examinations. 2. Complete reading in assigned course reader on "The American Revolution" and be prepared to summarize both orally and in a carefully written paragraph.

    Writing, Problem Solving or Performance

    1. Based upon reading and class discussions, write a 500-word essay contrasting the lives of white indentured servants and black slaves. 2. Make a chart that contrasts the Federalist party with the Jeffersonian Democratic-Republicans. Include in it the differing visions of the new nation, their differences on issues such as a national bank and a free press, their differences in foreign policy, and detail what groups supported each party and why.

    Other (Term projects, research papers, portfolios, etc.)

    In ten pages (typewritten) answer the following question based on your reading in The Fires of Jubilee by Stephen B. Oates: 1. Nat Turner's Rebellion destroyed the South's mythology about slaves and slavery. After the uprising, white Southerners were forced to "confront a grim and dreaded reality": slaves were neither content nor docile and were capable of a terrible and violent retribution against their masters. Describe the justifications Southerners used to defend slavery BEFORE Nat Turner's Rebellion and their complex and contradictory attitude toward their slaves. After a brief description of the rebellion and its immediate aftermath, describe the Great Southern Reaction: how Southerners justified slavery after Turner's revolt; how laws were changed in the South, making it a very repressive community; how Southerners blamed Northern abolitionists for the rebellion and how they then began to attack federal power and argue for states' rights.

    Required Materials

    • Give Me Liberty! An American History, Volume 1
      • Author: Eric Foner
      • Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company
      • Publication Date: 2017
      • Text Edition: 5th
      • Classic Textbook?:
      • OER Link:
      • OER:
    • Out of Many, Volume 1
      • Author: John Mack Faragher, Mary Jo Buhle, and Daniel Czitrom
      • Publisher: Prentice Hall
      • Publication Date: 2012
      • Text Edition: 7th
      • Classic Textbook?:
      • OER Link:
      • OER:
    • Voices of Freedom: A Documentary Reader
      • Author: Eric Foner
      • Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company
      • Publication Date: 2017
      • Text Edition:
      • Classic Textbook?:
      • OER Link:
      • OER:
    • Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
      • Author: Frederick Douglass
      • Publisher: Bedford/St. Martin
      • Publication Date: 1993
      • Text Edition:
      • Classic Textbook?:
      • OER Link:
      • OER:
    • Going to the Source
      • Author: Victoria Bissel Brown, editor
      • Publisher: Bedford/St. Martin
      • Publication Date: 2008
      • Text Edition: 2nd
      • Classic Textbook?:
      • OER Link:
      • OER:

    Other materials and-or supplies required of students that contribute to the cost of the course.