HST-41: America, 1820-1890

Week One Schedule:

An American Century


Tuesday (9/11)

Welcome and Introduction.
Nineteenth Century America: People, Places, and Episodes in Time.


Wednesday (9/13)

Interpreting 19th Century Change.
Read the "Passages" overviews in Ayers, et al., American Passages (compact 2d. ed.), pp. 257-258, 377-378 and 503-505. (Please bring your copy of this textbook with you to class.)
Then read the Columbia Encyclopedia's account of United States History in the nineteenth century, Jackson Speilvogel's Western Civilization (3d brief ed., vol. 3), the Novosibirsk State University of Russia's Outline of U.S. History, and the excerpt from the Conservapedia article on U.S. History. Compare the different accounts. What significant events and developments do they all mention? What things that you consider central to your own life and values do not seem to be covered in any of the accounts? How analytically rich are the different accounts? For example, what does each author say are the most important individuals and social forces causing the changes described?

Complete this and all subsequent ssignments before class on the listed day. You are strongly advised to take written notes (not just printouts or highlighting) and bring them with you in preparation for class discussion.

Please post a short biographical introduction about yourself and your interests to the Course Discussion Board.


Thursday (9/14)

1820 as an Exercise in Historical Significance.
Read the Ecyclopedia Britannica's biography of George Bancroft. Analyze the Wikipedia entry for the year 1820.

Today will be picture day in class.


Friday (9/15)

No Class Session Today.
Work on your event lists today. (See the SHDB project description pages and the library's HST-41 Course Resource Page for instructions and tools.)


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Note: The instructor reserves the right to change any provisions, due dates, grading percentages, or any other items without prior notice. All assignments on this schedule are covered under the university's policy on plagiarism and academic integrity. See the syllabus statement for further details. This page was last updated on 9/5/2007.