Hawaii Pacific University
HIST 2401 American History to 1877 Section ____
Semester and year, meeting times
Instructor: Name, contact information and other relevant information about the instructor.
Course description: A study of the discovery and colonization of America, the Revolution, the forming
of the government, and internal and foreign affairs down through Reconstruction.
Course prerequisite: Any Communication Skills A Course
General Education Requirement: This course is classified under the World Cultures Theme and meets
the requirement for a course in World Cultures C: Other World Cultures Courses.
General Education Student Learning Outcomes and the Five Themes: HPU’s general education
curriculum is focused around five themes. This course emphasizes the World Cultures Theme and
provides students with opportunities to achieve the following related general education student
learning outcomes.

Students will develop informed perspectives on the historical development of cultures that focus
upon the interrelationship among institutions, values, and ideas . History, as an academic
subject, focuses on how institutions, values and ideas in the past interacted, encouraging
encourages students to go beyond mono-causal answers to complex problems and teaches
them to engage in an analysis of the multifaceted and byzantine nature of superficially
uncomplicated historical phenomena. For example, explaining the dissolution of the union in
1861 requires that students demonstrate an understanding of the interrelationship between the
institutions of U.S. federal and state governance, the philosophical underpinnings of states
rights, the intellectual and pragmatic rationales for and against slavery as a mode of living and as
a labor institution, and the correlation between the development of industrial capitalism and
sectionalism, in order to explain the eruption of Civil War.

Students will describe the significance of important movements or themes which have shaped
the world’s diverse cultures. The course covers themes such as slavery, industrialization,
capitalism, migration, warfare etc., which have all shaped modern U.S. culture and indeed can
be considered universal themes that shape global societies.

Students will investigate the roles that race, ethnicity, class, power, belief systems, and gender
play in past and present cultural systems. The history of America is a history of immigration,
voluntary or involuntary. Thus, it is impossible to examine the history of America without
talking about ethnicity or “race.” Moreover, it is impossible to study history without
understanding the belief system that underpinned each world culture.

Students will analyze cultural forces that have influenced customs and choices in contemporary
lifestyles and worldviews. The historian’s mantra is that one cannot understand the present if
one cannot understand the past. Thus implicit in the study of history is the belief that the
revelation of the past can illuminate contemporary society. The study of American history,
therefore, is implicitly the study of modern America.
Note: Purple text shows places where specific course information must be filled in. Red text provides
explanatory notes to the instructor which should be deleted before using the syllabus. Blue explanations
above should be rephrased by the individual instructor to reflect the specific approach in that section of
the course. Course specific outcomes below are an example and may also be rephrased or modified by
the instructor.
Course-Specific Student Learning Outcomes for HIST 2401 American History to 1877
Through the study of American history from the pre-Columbian period through Reconstruction, students will
1.
gain a broad, basic factual grasp of the course of United States history and, as a result, better understand
contemporary U.S. events
2)
understand and demonstrate that American development did not occur in isolation, and thus comprehend the
origins of the current position the U.S. occupies in the wider world.
3)
understand the U.S. as part of larger world systems by studying the heterogeneous ethnic and national
influences on the historical development of American political, social, economic etc., infrastructures, and thus
develop an understanding of the interconnectedness of political, social, economic, religious, cultural etc.,
phenomena within the United States. (Supports Five Themes: World Systems)
4)
develop communication skills through the writing of papers, and exams, and participation in debates and
discussion. Students will develop the ability to think critically about the past and historical issues and to
communicate those ideas verbally and in writing. (Supports Five Themes: Communication)
5)
develop skills in gathering and analyzing evidence and in reaching informed conclusions based upon such
evidence. (Supports Five Themes: Research and Epistemology)
6)
advance their ability to make informed value choices by studying the diversity of political, religious, and social
systems in America from the Pre-Columbian period to Reconstruction. Students will comprehend how these
systems framed the moral and value choices made by both individuals and the state. Students will therefore
understand the historical context within which they make their own moral and value choices today. (Supports
Five Themes: Values and Choices)
For the rest of these required syllabus items see the details in the faculty handbook. Delete this note
once the syllabus is complete. For online courses there are some additional requirements given at this
link.
Texts List textbooks with ISBN’s and include this language as well
All textbook information (pricing, ISBN #, and e-books) for this course can be found on the HPU
Bookstore website: hpu.edu/bookstore.
If you have any questions regarding textbooks, please contact the HPU Bookstore at:
Phone:
808-544-9347
Or e-mail:
jyokota@hpu.edu
mmiyahira@hpu.edu
Assignments and mode of evaluation
Summary of important dates and deadlines (if the schedule is a separate document and due dates are
not given with the description of the assignments).
Class rules and policies (including regarding attendance, late work and academic dishonesty)
Schedule of events (may be attached separately)