U.S. History Since 1877

This American History course will cover the history of the United States from Reconstruction to the present. We will focus on a number of key themes, including the emergence of the United States as a world power, the industrialization of the American economy, the growing authority of the federal government, efforts of American minorities to win greater civil rights, and reform movements that changed the nation.

By exploring these themes, we will examine how American history since 1877 has shaped the world and defined how Americans understand who they are today.

Course:	AMH 2020 U.S. History Since 1877
Semester:	Fall 2015
Credits:	3
GenEd:	Diversity (D); Social & Behavioral (S)
Instructor:	Steve Noll, Ph.D. Deptartment of History College of Liberal Arts & Sciences

By the end of this course, you will be able to:

• Explain why Reconstruction set up all of American history from that point on.
• Explain how and why American society industrialized during the late 19th century.
• Explain the causes and consequences of urbanization.
• Explain why racial, ethnic, and gender divisions arose in American society from 1877 to the start of World War I.
• Explain how and why the federal government increased its authority and power in the years following World War I.
• Show when and why a mass national culture emerged.
• Explain how World War II fundamentally changed America
• Show how the Cold War started and why it lasted so long.
• Explain why the Civil Rights movement occurred and how it reshaped American society.
• Show how and why the United States got involved in Vietnam and how that war shaped domestic events.
• Explain the rise of conservatism in the late 1970s and how it ties into the “Reagan Revolution.”

Image source: flic.kr/p/pphnpz