Covers major themes including the post Civil War period, western expansion, industrial growth of the nation and its effects, immigration and urban discontent and attempts at reform, World War I, the Roaring Twenties, social and governmental changes of the thirties, World War II and its consequences, the growth of the federal government, social upheaval in the sixties and seventies, and recent trends in conservatism, globalization, and cultural diversity.

MAJOR COURSE LEARNING OBJECTIVES: Upon successful completion of this course the student will be expected to:

1. Describe the on-going development of an urban industrial society and a corporate-capitalist economy out of a rural, agrarian past.
2. Trace and analyze the rise of reform and social movements.
3. Evaluate the expanding role of the United States in European, Asian, African, and Latin American affairs, from the Civil War to the present.
4. Trace the expanding role of government in American society from the Civil War to the present.
5. Define the transformation of the patterns of everyday life: the emergence of mass culture, religious, intellectual, artistic, and scientific developments, and a pluralistic national culture.
6. Analyze the emergence of the United States as a world power.
7. Reflect on historical issues and themes using primary and secondary sources and form coherent, defensible interpretations about their domestic and global impact.

COURSE CONTENT: Topical areas of study include -  

• Reconstruction
• Rise of Urban America
• Western expansion
• Becoming a world power
• The Progressive Era
• World War I
• The Roaring Twenties
• The Great Depression and the New Deal
• World War II
• The Cold War
• The Vietnam War
• Civil rights and Counter-Culture
• Revival of conservatism
• Post-Cold-War Era