Introduction to US History
• Historical Methods
• Periodization
• Themes
HM: The Problem of Evidence
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Primary
Secondary
Tertiary
Bias
HM: The Problem of Objectivity
• Source Bias
• Historian Bias
• Is Objective History Possible?
HM: The Problem of Causation
• Great Men?
• Impersonal Forces
HM: The Problem of Motives
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Deciphering Witness Statements
Lack of Witness Statements
Actions Speak Louder Than Words
Economic vs. Idealistic
Themes
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Land Hunger and Agriculture
The Ever Moving Frontier and Social Class
Indian Relations
Foreign Entanglements
The Development of American Democracy
The Sectionalization of America
The Shadow of the Civil War
Periodization: Colonial America
(1492-1783)
• Economy: Agriculture
• Political: Propertied People Vote
• Religion: Only New England is very
religious.
• Slavery: Exists in all colonies.
• Social: Fronteir vs. Settled Areas
Periodization: Early Republic
(1783-1828)
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Economy: Agriculture, growing foreign trade.
Political: Increased Democracy For White Men.
Religion: Second Great Awakening
Slavery: Sectional Differentiation
Social: Growing Classes but Frontiersmen defy
this.
Periodization: Antebellum
America (1828-1860)
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Economy: Industrial North; Slave Agricultural South
Political: Universal White Manhood Suffrage
Religion: Catholic vs. Protestant.
Slavery: North grows Anti-Slavery; South defends it
fanatically.
• Social: Rise of the Middle Class and gender ideologies
Periodization: Civil War (1861-1865)
and Reconstruction (1865-1877)
• Economy: Industry triumphs.
• Political: Blacks gain right to vote, though
often denied it.
• Religion: Rise of the Black Churches.
• Slavery: Slavery is abolished.
• Social: Veterans dominate society for the
rest of the century.
The World in 1500
Rise of Nation States:
Absolute Monarchy: France
• Hundred Year’s War
• French Absolutism, Taxes, and Military Power
• France will dominate Europe by 1650
Rise of Nation States:
Limited Monarchy: England
• Defeat in the Hundred Year's War
• England in Decline:
– International Impotence
– Limited Monarchy, Taxes, and Military Power
– But Rising Trade
Rise of Nation States:
International Empire: Spain
• Spain and International Empire
– Charles V: King of Many Nations
– Absolute Monarchy + Wealth of the Americas
– Most Catholic King
Rise of Nation States:
International Empire: Spain
Spain and International
Empire
• Charles V: King of Many
Nations
• Absolute Monarchy + Wealth
of the Americas
• Most Catholic King
Rise of Nation States:
Republic: The Netherlands
• Cutting Edge of Capitalism
• Cash Crops
• International Colonies.
• Joint-Stock Companies
• The Dutch are a semi-democratic Republic.
The Dutch Revolt
Rise of Nations:
The Dutch Revolt
• Protestant Revolt:
• The Dutch also become one of the first Protestant
nations, leading to revolt against Spain
• This leads to 80 years of war with Spain, sapping
Spain
• Dutch finance enables the Dutch to field armies
which can fight
• .Spain on even terms.
The Rise of Nation States:
Rising Anarchy: Holy Roman Empire
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Early Strength:
Late Medieval Decline:
Fragmentation:
Reformation:
The Reformation: Problems of
Renaissance Catholicism
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Temporal Power:
Rising Heresies:
Monastic Corruption:
The Indulgences Issue:
The Reformation:
Martin Luther
• Origins: Luther was a German Augustinian monk, who came to feel
he wasn't holy enough despite being a monk, and who came to
criticize the Church, leading to him nailing the famous 95 Theses (a
list of complaints about the Church) to the door of his local cathedral.
• His Protests:
– Sale of Indulgences
– The Focus on Penances and Works as key to salvation
– The refusal to translate the Bible into modern languages.
The Reformation:
Luther’s Theology
• Salvation by Faith
• An End to Celibacy
• Sola Scriptura
• His Impact: Luther shattered the unity of the Western Church and
opened the way for the creation of the several thousand Protestant
denominations which exist today.
The Reformation:
Anglicanism
• The Quest for Heirs:
• The Split with the Church:
• Impact:
The Reformation:
The Wars of Religion
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The Holy Roman Empire Self Destructs:
The Dutch Revolt:
Habsburgs Bankrupt Spain:
England and France Torn by Dissension:
Rise of International Trade and Exploration:
The Silk Road and the Spice Trade
• The Silk Road
• The Rise of Islam and the Silk and Spice Routes
• The Fall of Constantinople
Rise of International Trade and Exploration:
The Rise of Portuguese Exploration
• Prince Henry the Navigator (March 4, 1394–November 13, 1460):
This Portuguese prince played a crucial role in the beginning of
Portuguese explorations by providing funding and gathering experts to
strengthen Portuguese shipping and navigation.
• Technical Innovations:
– The Caravel
– Square and Lateen sails
– The Compass
– Gunpowder
Rise of International Trade and Exploration:
Portugal and the East
• The Rounding of Africa: In 1488,
Bartholemew Dias rounded the Cape of
Good Hope.
• The problem of the Indian Ocean
Rise of International Trade and Exploration:
Africa in 1500--Problems
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Climate and Disease:
Semi-Isolation:
Lack of Science:
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Low Literacy
Few cities
Few schools
Little access to Arabic and Greco-Roman philosophy and scholarship
Rise of International Trade and Exploration:
Africa in 1500--Society
• Sub-Saharan Trade Route Empires
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Mali (1235 to 1645 AD)
• Tributary Empire
• Centralized military
• Large cities
• Moslem Rule
• African Artisanry
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Done by hand, not mass produced
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Luxury items for the wealthy and export
Rise of International Trade and Exploration:
Africa in 1500--Economics
• African Trade
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Europeans want slaves, gold, ivory, tropical produce
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Africans want cloth, alcohol, firearms, metal tools
• African Slavery
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Not necessarily for life
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War captives or punishment for crime
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Not based on race
• European Slave Trade in Africa
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Driven by need for labor in the New World
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Coastal Africans sell interior Africans to Europeans for
goods
The Isolated Americas:
Initial Migration Conditions
• The Last Ice Age: Ended
somewhere around 13,000 BC.
• Patterns of Migration: Push
South in Waves
The Isolated Americas:
Technological Isolation
• Stone age arrival
• Low levels of trade between regions
• Contrast to Europe/Asia/Africa
The Isolated Americas:
Bio-Deficiencies
• Lack of Draft Animals
• Fewer indigenous diseases
• Cultural Impacts
Dominant Cultures:
Aztecs
• The Valley of Mexico
• The Rise of the Aztecs
• The Aztec Empire
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Aztec Religion and Society
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Huitzilopochtli
(Sun God)
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Human Sacrifice
Tenochtitlan
Aztec Society
Aztec Economy
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Cacao + Cotton
'Money'
Aztec Warfare
Women in Aztec
Society
Aztec Warfare
Aztec Warfare
Aztec Technology
Dominant Cultures:
Incas
• Would you walk 2,600 miles?
• Absolute Monarchy
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Mountain Irrigation
Primitive Socialism
Labor Taxes
State Employees
• Dress Codes
Inca Technology
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Expert
Stonemasons
Expert Irrigators
Long-Distance
Road and
Communications
Network
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No writing system
(just a knot code)
Stone age
weaponry
Little
metalworking
Dominant Cultures:
North America
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Forest Tribes
Mound Builders
Plains Tribes
Great Basin Tribes
Pacific Northwest
Arid Southwest
The Colombian Exchange:
Columbus
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The Portuguese Monopoly
Columbus’ plan
What Columbus Did
Beginning of Spanish Colonization
The Colombian Exchange:
The Conquistadores
• The Fall of Mexico
• The Fall of the Incas
• The Limits of Spanish Expansion
The Colombian Exchange:
The Ravages of Disease
• Thresholds of Disease
• How Plagues Spread
• Demographic Catastrophe
The Colombian Exchange:
Plants
• Americas to Africa and Europe
– The Potato
– Corn
– Beans and Peppers
• Africa and Europe to the Americas:
– The Yam
– Wheat and Spices
– Alcohol
The Colombian Exchange:
Animals
• Europe to Americas: Horse, Cattle, Pigs,
Goats, Chickens
• Americas to Europe: Turkey
• Improved Agriculture
• Improved Nomad Lifestyles