This course explores the dramatic story of how the United States was born and how it almost fell apart. We begin in the mid-1700s, looking at the ideas and tensions that led to the American Revolution, when thirteen colonies decided to become an independent nation. We will study how different groups including European settlers, Indigenous peoples, and enslaved Africans interacted to create a unique American culture. Students will learn how the early "Founding Fathers" tried to build a government based on the idea of liberty, even while the country struggled with deep inequality and different ways of life between the North and the South.
As the story moves into the 1800s, we will examine how the United States grew larger and more powerful, leading to the "Industrial Revolution" and the move toward the West. However, this growth also caused a massive conflict over the practice of slavery, which eventually resulted in the Civil War. We will finish the course by looking at Reconstruction, the difficult period after the war when the country tried to rebuild itself and define what it truly means to be an American citizen. By the end of the term, you will understand how these historical events shaped the diverse and complex American civilization we see today.