Degrees

HIS 105 U.S. History I Course Objectives

Students in HI 101 should be able:

1. To introduce the student to American history, from approximately 1600 (Pre-Colonial America) to the era of the Civil War. (1861 - 1865).
2. To acquaint the student with the major political, economic, social, and cultural developments of these epochs, including (but not limited to) the history of the Native Americans, the rise of Colonial America, the rise of the Revolution and the Constitutions, to the era of Westward expansion, the Age of Jackson, and the era of Antebellum America.
3. To introduce the student to some of the major intellectual, religious, and political developments shaping the course and direction of early American history; included are reviews of the Enlightenment, the Great Awakening, the development of the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
4. To acquaint the student with some of the many individuals whose lives and efforts helped weave the rich multifaceted tapestry that is American history -- and thus became “historical.”
5. To be able to see and understand causality, the relationship between actions taken and their effects upon the fabric of American history and its myriad institutions, traditions, cultures, etc.
6. To strengthen their reading and comprehension skills as well as their writing/research skills -- all of which are demanded of entrants to the academic/business/professional worlds -- as well as demanded by everyday living.
7. To develop critical thinking and analytical skills to enable the student to see the cognitive and causal relationships extant among many components of knowledge and to acquire these skills so essential to work both inside and outside of the academic world.
8. To cultivate the literacy expected from individuals from life itself, regardless of the path one has chosen.