HIS 311LEC - The Early Republic: American Histories from 1789 to 1848

This class surveys the first sixty years or so of U.S. history. Although this period is often narrated as a triumphal story of a few wise national politicians building American democracy, these years were in fact a far messier and uncertain time when millions of people participated in the making of a new nation: free and enslaved, male and female, rich and poor alike. In our lectures, readings, writings, and discussions, we will examine the complicated dynamics of the era, from the making of “the people”; to the role of empire and warfare in shaping American nationalism; to the expansion and politics of slavery; to the violence of Indian removal; to the partisanship of Jacksonian America; to the impact of evangelical Christianity; and to the many sides, and many silences, of early-American capitalism. USH

Credits: 3

Grading
Graded (GRD)

Typically Offered:
Fall