HIS 150 - U.S. History to 1877

1. Compare and Contrast various Native American cultures in terms of religion, attitudes toward the environment, and culture
   1. Judge the various theories on Native American migration to the New World
   2. Assess the diversity amongst the First Peoples of North America
   3. Critique the cultural interactions between European and Native Americans in North America
2. Evaluate among the patterns of settlement of the European powers after 1492
   1. Map the American possessions claimed by Spain, England, and France
   2. Compare and contrast the European colonies with one another
3. Outline, specifically, the patterns of English settlement after 1607
   1. Examine the differences among the English colonies in terms of an economic basis, political systems, religious preferences, relations with Native Americans, and family life
   2. List the reasons why people moved from Europe and Africa to colonial America
   3. Characterize mercantilism
   4. Correlate the origins of the Atlantic Slave Trade and the development of slavery
   5. Examine the Great Awakening and Enlightenment’s influence on colonial Americans.
4. Evaluate the various “wars of empire” in the late-1600s and early-1700s, and the origins of the Revolutionary War
   1. Explain Native American and European relations during the French and Indian War
   2. Evaluate the causes of the Revolutionary War
   3. Summarize the major strategies, battles, and political figures of the Revolu­tionary War
   4. Distinguish the major provisions of the Treaty of Paris
   5. Describe how the American Revolution affected Loyalists, whites, the freed black population, slaves, and Native Americans
5. Analyze the political and constitutional developments and issues in the early national period
   1. Compare the types of state governments set up after the Revolu­tion
   2. Contrast the Articles of Confedera­tion with the Constitution
   3. Trace the early development of the two-party system
   4. Illustrate the constitutional nationalism of the Supreme Court under John Marshall
   5. Describe the origins and consequences of the War of 1812
   6. Explain the process of American industrialization
6. Critique the events and developments of the antebellum period in terms of their significance to North-South relations
   1. Examine the rise of Jacksonian politics, expansion of the elector­ate, and the election of Andrew Jackson
   2. Identify the main issues of Jackson’s presidency, especially nullification and Indian Removal
   3. Trace the rise of the Whigs and the return to a two-party system
   4. Explain the shaping of a national economy during the ante­bellum years, including the significant commercial, agricultural, and early manufacturing sectors
   5. Relate the various reform movements before the Civil War, includ­ing educa­tional reform, the temperance, early women’s, romantic, and abolition movements
   6. Define the term “manifest destiny” and connect westward expansion to sectionalism
   7. Summarize slavery’s role in sectionalism and the various compromises between North and South
7. Critique the various events of the 1850s which led to the Civil War
   1. Identify the importance of the Kansas-Nebraska Act and the formation of the Republican party
   2. Evaluate the Dred Scott decision
   3. Outline the national significance of the Lincoln-Douglas debates
   4. Analyze how the presidential election and Lincoln’s view on slavery led to secession and the Civil War
8. Evaluate the Civil War in terms of its causes, the military strat­egies involved, and its major consequences
   1. Measure the relative strengths and weaknesses of each side as well as their respective war aims, logistics, and mili­tary strategies
   2. Examine the “home front” on both sides
   3. Explain how Lincoln and Union soldiers came to support the abolishment of slavery
   4. Measure the various human, economic, political, social, and psychological costs of the Civil War
9. Explain the major issues and consequences of Reconstruction after the Civil War
   1. Assess the important constitutional, political, and other issues presented by Reconstruction
   2. Compare presidential and Radical Reconstruction in terms of their goals, methods, and consequences
   3. Relate the constitutional and political importance of President Johnson’s impeachment
   4. Explain how Reconstruction ended
   5. Appraise the long-term political, constitutional, econom­ic, and social conse­quences of Reconstruction
10. Demonstrate effective communication and critical thinking skills through writing
    1. Define and interpret primary sources
    2. Create a formal research paper with a coherent argument