College of San Mateo
Official Course Outline
1. TITLE: HIST 201 - United States History I
Semester Units/Hours: 3.0 units; a minimum of 48.0 lecture
hours/semester
Method of Grading: Letter Grade Only
Recommended Preparation:
o Eligibility for ENGL838/848 or equivalent.
Any 400 level READ course with a minimum grade of C.
2. COURSE DESIGNATION:
Degree Credit
Transfer credit: UC; CSU
3. COURSE DESCRIPTIONS:
Catalog Description:
Minimum of 48 lecture hours per term. Survey of European expansion in
America, Indian-White encounters, colonial culture and institutions, the
Revolution, the implementation of the Constitution, the Federalist and
Jeffersonian eras, the age of Jackson, the slavery issue and the Civil War.
Covers economic, political, social, and cultural developments of the
period.
4. STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES (SLO'S):
Upon successful completion of this course, a student will meet the
following outcomes:
1. Trace and explain the development of democratic ideals and
practices, as well as representative institutions, and the
forces which nurtured them from the colonial period to 1835.
2. Demonstrate knowledge of North American geography
during the colonial and early national periods and an
understanding of it as a significant factor in the region's
development.
3. Demonstrate an understanding of federalism, its
development, and its importance from 1690 to 1865.
4. Describe and analyze the causes and important
consequences of the American Revolution as a seminal
development of American history.
5. Demonstrate an understanding of the important role played
by religion in American life throughout the scope of this
course from 1620 through 1865.
6. Demonstrate an understanding of the U.S. Constitution,
including the structure and powers of government it created,
and important factors which explain its nature.
7. Explain the social development of the U.S. through 1877 in
terms of social, cultural, and class changes and the impact of
diverse ethnic groups.
5. SPECIFIC INSTRUCTIONAL OBJECTIVES:
Upon successful completion of this course, a student will be able to:
. Same as Student Learning Outcomes
6. COURSE CONTENT:
Lecture Content:
I. Overview of American and United States history
a. Differences between two time frames — pre- and post-1776
b. Equating American history with the westward movement; George
Bancroft and the beginnings with barbarian tribes in Central Europe
c. Identifying two sets of founding fathers — 1607-1763; 1763-1800
d. Highlighting two revolutions — 1500- 1750; 1750 - 1789
II. Europe — Intellectual and religious upheaval
a. Destroying universality of Europe — Reformation 1517
b. Three reformations, three reformers — Martin Luther, John Calvin,
Henry VIII
c. Creating intellectual confusion chaos and crisis
d. Spread of Calvinistic thinking — Germanies, Holland, France,
England
e. The “Elizabethan Compromise” and its significant breakdown
f. America, the “House that a Protestant God Built”
III. The “Real” American Revolution [John Adams]
a. Radical changes in the thinking of American colonists during 17th
century
b. Massachusetts/New England — formation of unique ideas;
government of the people, initiative, rule by consent of governed,
separation of church and state; meaning/significance of free public
education
c. Gradual movement toward religious toleration; increased freedom
of conscience
d. Society of Friends — Charter of Privileges, creating “American”
vocabulary, identifying basic freedoms and inalienable rights
III. Creating a “new breed of people” [Jean Hector St. John de Crevecoeur]
a. Time periods — 1607-1689; 1689-1763 — dramatic differences
b. Significance of England in setting social, cultural, intellectual tone
c. Other immigration: Scotch-Irish, German, French, Irish, other less
dominant personalities
d. Distinct differences in patterns of colonization
e. Moving west — settlement of Back Country
IV. Labor — America’s ongoing crisis
a. The Native American and attitudes toward
b. Unique discrimination; ultimate relocation
c. Forms of white labor — indentured/redemptioner servitude
d. African slavery — the “peculiar institution”
e. Slavery — how the system functioned
f. Origins of abolitionist thinking
V. Cracks in British colonial system
a. French and Indian War
b. George III and radical changes in administration of empire
c. Taxation measures and American opposition
d. Widespread belief in evil nature of British leadership
VI. Making America a better place to live
a. The American enlightenment — humanitarian, rational, scientific
trends of thinking, an intellectual revolution
b. Leadership — Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson et al.
c. Creating vocabulary for Declaration of Independence
d. Changes in religious thinking — sects vs. denominations
e. Orphanages — other charitable institutions
f. Introducing institutions of higher learning — Harvard, Yale,
Princeton, Dartmouth, others
VII. The road to independence
a. Intellectual disagreement regarding causes of War for Independence
b. Historiography — Bancroft, Beard, Turner, Bailyn
c. The conspiracy that never was
VIII. The War for Independence
a. Fighting begins
b. A “war” as opposed to “revolution”
c. Thomas Jefferson — declaring the nation independent
c. Creating an American government — Articles of Confederation, a
perpetual government that failed
d. Enlightened military and political leadership
e. Old World assistance — highlighting the French connection
f. The “critical period” of American history
g. Philadelphia and the Constitutional Convention — altering an
unworkable system
h. Ratification and establishment of a Federal Government
I. The Bill of Rights — revisiting Charter of Privileges; Quaker political
ideals
IX. The right people at the right time
a. Highlighting framers of the new nation — Washington, John and
Abigail Adams, Jefferson, James and Dolly Madison
b. Eli Whitney creates the American South
c. Exploring toward the Pacific — Jefferson and the Lewis & Clark
expedition
d. Doubling the size of the nation — Jefferson and Louisiana
e. New Orleans becomes an economic center
f. Economic development and the New England factory system
g. Western lands make a difference — construction, meaning of the
Erie Canal
X. The breakdown of political deference
a. Expectations of framers
b. Disputed election of 1824
c. Andrew Jackson — inaugurating new age of American politics;
government by the “people”
d. Dealing with Native Americans — Cherokee removal; the Trail of
Tears
XI. Half slave; half free — Can the nation survive?
a. Increased differences between North and South — Beyond slavery
b. Southern dependence upon slave labor
c. Slave conditions at their worst
d. Rise of the Abolitionist Movement — William Lloyd Garrison;
Frederick Douglas; others
XII. Americans move west
a. Stephen Long and the “Great American Desert”
b. The American prairie — unique world of Native Americans
c. Americans, cotton and the Texas frontier
d. Sam Houston, Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna — the Alamo and San
Jacinto
e. George Catlin, Karl Bodmer — Artists documenting a prehistoric
people
e. From sea to shining sea — expansion — Manifest Destiny
f. War with Mexico
g. Dealing with new territory — restricting slavery in western lands
XIII. Introducing the Mineral Frontier
a. California and the Mother Lode
b. The world rushes in — Americans, Europeans, Latin Americans,
Chinese, Pacific Islanders, Australians
c. Shifting centers of power
d. California joins the Union — Compromise; delicate political balance
upset
e. Comstock Lode — silver in Nevada
f. Other bonanzas — Colorado, Utah, Oregon, Idaho, Montana,
Washington, Arizona
g. Accommodating new territories, dangers of disunion, building a
transcontinental railroad
h. Uniting a united state
XIV. A deepening sectional crisis
a. Dealing with western territories
b. Compromise of 1850 — a new awareness of slave horrors
c. John C. Fremont and birth of the Republican Party
d. Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin and other Abolitionist
concerns
e. John Brown and Harper’s Ferry
f. Lackluster presidential leadership — Franklin Pierce; James
Buchanan
g. Abraham Lincoln, Lincoln-Douglas debates, election 1860
XV. The War Between the States
a. War begins
b. Military-political leadership of Abraham Lincoln
c. The Emancipation Proclamation and the 13th Amendment
d. Lincoln and his generals
e. The military revolution of the Civil War — Mr. Lincoln’s High Tech
War
f. Constitutional changes as a result of Civil War
g. Did Civil War result in new nation; new interpretation of U.S.
Constitution?
7. REPRESENTATIVE METHODS OF INSTRUCTION:
Typical methods of instruction may include:
. Lecture
A. Discussion
B. Other (Specify): The primary method of instruction is traditional
lecture carefully interwoven with discussion of assigned readings,
analysis of selected primary source documents and evaluation of
motion pictures that students are required to view independently.
[Students are presented a variety of titles that may be viewed
independent. Examples of such titles include Public Broadcasting
films ? ?Slavery and the Making of America;? ?John Adams;? ?A
History of American Indian Achievement;? ?Dolly Madison ?
America?s First Lady;? and ?Founding Fathers;? Ken Burns? ?Civil
War;? In addition to engaging in such academic conversations,
students are asked to prepare well-written, analytical essays
discussing the meaning of these films.
8. REPRESENTATIVE ASSIGNMENTS
Representative assignments in this course may include, but are not
limited to the following:
. Writing Assignments:
Regular essay writing to be assigned as part of the overall
evaluation for the course. For example, an essay on any topic
discussed in the assigned text asking students to combine material
from primary source documents with secondary historical works.
A. Reading Assignments:
Regular reading assignments from the required textbooks and
other primary sources will be made through the instructor's
syllabus.
9. REPRESENTATIVE METHODS OF EVALUATION
Representative methods of evaluation may include:
. Class Participation
A.
B.
C.
D.
Exams/Tests
Home Work
Papers
Quizzes
10.
REPRESENTATIVE TEXT(S):
Possible textbooks include:
o
Kennedy, David M. and Lizabeth Cohen. American Pageant: Vol. I to
1877, ed. Wadsworth Publishing, 2013
o
James, Henrietta. America: A Concise History, ed. Bedford/St.
Martin's, 2012
o
Oates, Stephen B. and Charles J. Errico. Portrait of America, Vol. 1,
ed. Wadsworth Publishing, 2012
o
Edwards, Rebecca. America: A Concise History, Volume One: To
1877, ed. Bedford/St. Martin's, 2012
o
Johnson, Michael P.. Readings in the American Past--Selected
Historical Documents, ed. Bedford/St. Martin's, 2012
o
Roark, James L. et al.. The American Promise, ed. Bedford/St.
Martin's, 2012
Other:
o
Supplementary reading titles vary with each semester. Examples
include:
Edmund Morgan: The Puritan Dilemma
Abbot Smith: Colonists in Bondage
Carl Bridenbaugh: Myths & Realities ? Societies of the Colonial
South
Bernard Bailyn: The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution
Hugh Henry Brackenridge: Modern Chivalry
Howard Peckham: The War for Independence
Cokie Roberts: Founding Mothers ? The Women who Raised Our
Nation
Joseph J. Ellis: American Sphinx ? The Character of Thomas
Jefferson
David McCullough: John Adams
John Ferling: Adams vs. Jefferson ?The Tumultuous Election of
1800
Kenneth Stampp: Slavery ? The Peculiar Institution
Bernard Devoto: The Year of Decision, 1846
Harriet Beecher Stowe: Uncle Tom?s Cabin
Thomas B. Allen & Roger Macbride Allen: Mr. Lincoln?s High Tech
War
Origination Date: August 2010
Curriculum Committee Approval Date: April 2012
Course Originator Michael Svanevik