Course Contents at a Glance

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The following list shows the topics and core content pages for the course. To see all of the course pages, visit the Table of Contents.

Module 1: Westward Expansion (1840-1900)

  • Introduction to the Westward Spirit
    • American Views on Westward Migration
    • Westward Migration and Government Assistance
  • Introduction to Opportunities and Challenges of the West
    • Homesteading: Dreams and Realities
    • Making a Living in Gold
    • The Cattle Industry and Range Wars
  • Introduction to the Indian Wars
    • Indian Relations in the West
    • The Dakota War
    • The Battle of Little Bighorn and the Massacre at Wounded Knee
  • Introduction to the Cultural Impact of Westward Expansion
    • Americanization and the Loss of American Indian Life and Culture
    • The Impact of Expansion on Chinese Immigrants and Hispanic Citizens
    • The Mythic American West
  • Historical Hack: Analyzing Primary Sources
    • Analyzing Documents Using the HAPPY Analysis
    • Analyzing Images

Module 2: Industrialization and Urbanization (1870-1900)

  • Introduction to Invention, Industry, and a New Industrial Order
    • Inventors of the Age
    • Industrial Growth and Big Business
    • Giants of Wealth: Big Businesses of the Gilded Age
  • Introduction to Urbanization and Immigration
    • The Explosive Growth of American Cities
    • The Immigration Boom
  • Introduction to Life and Labor
    • Life in Working-Class America
    • Labor Unions
    • Machine Politics and Challenges of Urban Life
  • Introduction to Cultural Change and Consumer Culture
    • A New American Consumer Culture
    • Leisure and Entertainment
    • Middle and Upper-Class Life in the Cities
  • Historical Hack: Examining Historical Arguments
    • Historical Arguments and Machine Politics
    • Comparing Historical Arguments: Helpful or Corrupt?

Module 3: The Gilded Age (1870-1900)

  • Introduction to the Corruption in the Gilded Age
    • The Gilded Age
    • The Election of 1876 Sets the Tone
    • Political Patronage in the Gilded Age
    • Presidential Politics, Tariffs, and Gold
  • Introduction to Unrest in the Gilded Age
    • The Populist Movement
    • Social and Labor Unrest in the 1890s
    • The Rise and Decline of the Populist Party
  • Introduction to Migration and Change During the Gilded Age
    • The New South
    • Change Reflected in Thought and Writing
  • Historical Hack: Understanding Racism as a System
    • Understanding Systemic Racism
    • Ida B. Wells and Systemic Racism

Module 4: Age of Empire—American Foreign Policy (1890-1914)

  • Introduction to American Foreign Policy After the Civil War
    • American Interest in Foreign Affairs
    • Creating an Empire
  • Introduction to the Spanish-American War
    • The Spanish-American War
    • Establishing Peace and Building an Empire
  • Introduction to American Imperialism in Asia and Panama
    • Economic Imperialism in East Asia
    • Roosevelt’s “Big Stick” Foreign Policy
    • Taft’s “Dollar Diplomacy”
  • Historical Hack: Social Darwinism Past and Present
    • Social Darwinism and Imperialistic Attitudes
    • Imperialism and the Insular Cases Today

Module 5: The Progressive Era (1890-1920)

  • Introduction to the Progressive Movement
    • The Origins of the Progressive Spirit in America
    • Progressivism at the Grassroots Level
    • Social Justice and Social Reform
    • Radical Progressive Movements
  • Introduction to Movements for Women and African Americans
    • The Women’s Rights Movement and the 19th Amendment
    • A Segregated America
    • Leaders Emerge in the Early Civil Rights Movement
  • Introduction to Progressive Era Presidents
    • Roosevelt and the Square Deal
    • Environmentalism
    • The Taft Presidency and the Election of 1912
    • Wilson’s New Freedom
  • Historical Hack: Bias & Sensationalism in Primary Media Sources
    • Point of View and Bias in the Media
    • Identifying Sensationalism in Reporting

Module 6: America in World War I (1914-1919)

  • Introduction to American Isolationism and the European Origins of War
    • Wilson’s Foreign Policy
    • The Great War Begins
    • U.S. Declaration of War
  • Introduction to Economic and Social Change During World War I
    • The United States Prepares for War
    • A New Home Front
    • The Last Vestiges of Progressivism
  • Introduction to the End of World War I
    • From War to Peace
    • The U.S. and the Creation of the Postwar World
    • Demobilization and the Difficult Aftermath
  • Historical Hack: Wilson’s Plans for Peace
    • Wilson’s Postwar Plans
    • Differing Opinions About the End of the War

Module 7: The Jazz Age (1919-1929)

  • Introduction to Changes in Popular Culture in the Jazz Age
    • Prosperity and the Production of Popular Entertainment
    • Automobiles and Airplanes: Americans on the Move
  • Introduction to Societal and Political Tensions of the 1920s
    • The Great Migration
    • Nativism and the Second Ku Klux Klan
    • Faith, Fundamentalism, and Science
  • Introduction to a New Generation
    • Changing Roles for Women and Black Americans
    • Prohibition and the Lost Generation
  • Introduction to the Presidents of the 1920s
    • Warren G. Harding’s Presidency
    • Calvin Coolidge’s Presidency
  • Historical Hack: The Research Process
    • Finding Sources
    • Evaluating Sources

Module 8: The Great Depression (1929-1932)

  • Introduction to the Stock Market Crash of 1929
    • Hoover and the Stock Market Crash
    • The Causes of the Great Depression
  • Introduction to Hoover’s Handling of the Great Depression
    • President Hoover’s Response
    • Public Reaction to Hoover
    • Assessing the Hoover Years
  • Introduction to Life in the Great Depression
    • Everyday Life During the Great Depression
    • The Dust Bowl and Farming During the Depression
    • The Impact of the Great Depression on Black Americans
    • Culture and the Arts During the Depression
  • Historical Hack: Causes of the Great Depression
    • Understanding the Causes of the Great Depression
    • Making Cause and Effect Connections

Module 9: The New Deal (1932-1941)

  • Introduction to the Rise of Franklin Roosevelt
    • The Election of 1932
    • Roosevelt as Incumbent
  • Introduction to the First New Deal
    • The First New Deal
    • Rescuing Farms and Factories
    • The New Deal in the South
  • Introduction to the Second New Deal
    • The Legislation of the Second New Deal
    • The Impact of the Second New Deal
  • Historical Hack: Crafting Historical Arguments
    • Historical Arguments and Thesis Statements
    • Supporting Claims With Evidence

Module 10: World War II (1941-1945)

  • Introduction to the Beginning of World War II
    • The Origins of War in Europe
    • The Origins of the Pacific War
    • From Neutrality to Engagement
  • Introduction to WWII on the Home Front
    • Mobilizing and Preparing for War on the Home Front
    • Women and WWII
    • World War II and Race Relations in the U.S.
  • Introduction to the End of World War II
    • Wartime Diplomacy and D-Day
    • The Holocaust and Victory in the European Theater
  • Introduction to the Pacific Theater and the Atomic Bomb
    • The Pacific Theater
    • The Atomic Bomb
  • Historical Hack: Interpreting and Comparing Primary Sources
    • The Need for International Diplomacy
    • Interpreting and Comparing Primary Documents

Module 11: Post-War Prosperity and the Cold War (1945-1960)

  • Introduction to the Beginning of the Cold War
    • Truman and The Challenges of Peacetime
    • The Cold War Background
    • Cold War Beginnings
  •  Introduction to Communism and McCarthyism
    • Communism and McCarthyism in the United States
    • The Korean War
    • Eisenhower’s Policies
  • Introduction to the Affluent Society of the 1950s
    • Suburbanization
    • Popular Culture and Mass Media
  • Introduction to Civil Rights Milestones of the 1950s
    • Early Victories for Civil Rights
    • Desegregation and Integration
  • Historical Hack: Analyzing McCarthyism
    • McCarthy as a Demagogue
    • Communism and McCarthy

Module 12: America in the 1960s (1960-1970)

  • Introduction to The Kennedy Promise
    • Kennedy and the Cold War
    • Kennedy and Cuba
  • Introduction to the Milestones of the Civil Rights Movement
    • Kennedy, Johnson, and the Civil Rights Movement
    • The Civil Rights Movement Gains Momentum
    • Black Frustration, Black Power
  • Introduction to Lyndon Johnson’s Presidency
    • Lyndon Johnson and the Great Society
    • Lyndon Johnson and Vietnam
  • Introduction to Social Changes in the Sixties
    • The Mexican American Fight for Civil Rights
    • Challenging the Status Quo
    • Women’s Movements
  • Historical Hack: Understanding Historical Significance
    • Historical Significance
    • Historical Significance and the 1960s

Module 13: Political Storms at Home and Abroad (1968-1980)

  • Introduction to Identity Politics in a Fractured Society
    • Counterculture and the American Indian Movement
    • Gay Rights and Women’s Liberation
  • Introduction to Nixon’s Presidency
    • The Election of 1968
    • Nixon’s Policies
  • Introduction to the End of the Vietnam War
    • Antiwar Sentiment in the Vietnam Era
    • The War at Home: Counterprotests
    • Pulling Out of Vietnam
  • Introduction to Watergate and Its Fallout
    • The Election of 1972
    • The Impact of the Watergate Crisis
    • Jimmy Carter in the Aftermath of the Storm
  • Historical Hack: Interpreting History
    • Interpreting Events from Multiple Sources: The Stonewall Riots
    • Interpreting History: The Kent State Shooting

Module 14: From Cold War to Culture Wars (1980-2000)

  • Introduction to the Reagan Revolution
    • Ronald Reagan’s America
    • Reaganomics
    • Reagan’s Second Term
  • Introduction to the Cultural Wars of the 1980s
    • Culture Wars and Life in Conservative America
    • More Culture Wars and Pop Culture of the 1980s
    • Conservatism Continues With George H.W. Bush
  • Introduction to a New World Order: Foreign Policy under Reagan and Bush
    • Reagan and Foreign Policy in the 1980s
    • The Cold War Ends
    • George H. W. Bush and Foreign Affairs
  • Introduction to Clinton’s Presidency and the 1990s
    • Economic Changes and Welfare Reform
    • Domestic Concerns of the 1990s
    • Foreign Policy and the End of Clinton’s Presidency
  • Historical Hack: Examining Historical Context During the Culture Wars
    • Examining Historical Context
    • Context of the Culture Wars

Module 15: The Twenty-First Century (2000-2020)

  • Introduction to the War on Terror
    • The September 11th Attacks
    • Wars in Afghanistan and Iraq
    • Domestic Security
  • Introduction to the Changing Early 21st Century
    • Public Education and Government Action
    • The Great Recession
    • Immigration in the 21st Century
    • Social and Environmental Change
  • Introduction to Hope and Change
    • Obama’s First Term
    • Obama’s Second Term
    • The Recent Past
  • Historical Hack: Civil Discourse
    • Debating the Role of the U.S. in Foreign Affairs
    • Rogerian Arguments