HIST A170: History of the United States to 1876

Course Outline of Record
Item	Value
Eff Term	Fall 2026
Curriculum Committee Approval Date	11/12/2025
Top Code	220500 - History
Units	3 Total Units (Lecture Units 3)
Hours	54 Total Hours (Lecture Hours 54)
Total Outside of Class Hours	108
Total Student Learning Hours	162
Course Credit Status	Credit: Degree Applicable (D)
Material Fee	No
Basic Skills	Not Basic Skills (N)
Repeatable	No
Open Entry/Open Exit	No
Grading Policy	Standard Letter (S), Pass/No Pass (B)
Associate Arts Local General Education (GE)	Area 3 Arts and Humanities 3A Theory (OC1) Area 4 Social and Behavioral Sciences 4A U.S. History and Constitution and American Ideals (OD1)
Associate Science Local General Education (GE)	Area 3B Humanities (OSC2) Area 4 Social and Behavioral Sciences (OSD)
California General Education Transfer Curriculum (Cal-GETC)	Cal-GETC 3B Humanities (3B) Cal-GETC 4 Social & Behavioral Sciences (4) Cal-GETC 4F History (4F) US1 CSU American Institutions (US1)
Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC)	IGETC 3B Humanities (3B) IGETC 4 Social&Behavioral Sci (4) IGETC 4F History (4F)
California State University General Education Breadth (CSU GE-Breadth)	CSU American Institutions (US1) CSU C2 Humanities (C2) CSU D6 History (D6)

Course Description

Formerly: HIST A170, History of the United States to 1876. Part 1: This course is a historical survey of the United States, from Indigenous North America to the end of Reconstruction; The course also introduces students to historical reasoning skills; Part 2: A survey of American historical development from the founding of the English colonies to 1876; Emphasis is placed on the evolution of the nation’s political and economic institutions, social and intellectual history, and foreign policy; Satisfies the state college requirement in American History; This course may also be offered online Enrollment Limitation: HIST C1001H; students who complete HIST C1001 may not enroll in or receive credit for HIST C1001H. Transfer Credit: CSU; UC. C-ID: HIST 130.C-ID: HIST 130.

Course Level Student Learning Outcome(s)

Upon the successful completion of this course, students will display the ability to develop and persuasively argue a historical thesis in a written assignment that identifies and explains major social, economic, political and/or cultural historical themes or patterns that are relevant to the course geographic area and timeline of study.
Students will analyze the impact of peoples and their political ideologies, religions and technology from one geographic region of the United States upon other peoples of other geographic regions of the United States over time, through 1876CE.
Students will analyze origin of major issue or problem in United States history through 1876CE.

Course Objectives

Part 1: \\nDemonstrate the ability to interpret primary and secondary sources and to compose an argument which uses supportive evidence.
Demonstrate an understanding of U.S. History through analytical categories such as race, class, gender, sexuality, ethnicity.
Analyze economic, political, and cultural developments as well as social movements and assess their historical significance.
Analyze the relevance of Early American History to the present day.
Part 2:\\nDemonstrate the ability to interpret primary and secondary sources and to compose an argument which uses them, as appropriate, for support.
Demonstrate an understanding of U.S. History through current analytical categories of race, class, gender, and ethnicity.
Demonstrate an understanding of America's growth in a global context.
Explain the major economic, technological and scientific developments and their historical significance.
Analyze major political trends, attitudes, conflicts and events--including both mainstream and reform efforts--and explain their historical significance.
Explain the major social and cultural developments, their causes and effects, and their historical significance.

Lecture Content

Part 1:

Themes may include but are not limited to class, race, gender, and ethnicity; immigration; systems of labor; intellectual, technological, environmental, social, and cultural history; and foreign relations.

1. Introduction to basic methods of historical research and analysis.

2. Indigenous peoples, cultures, and lands.

3. European colonization.

4. Indentured servitude, chattel slavery, and the evolution of colonial labor systems.

5. Establishment and maturation of diverse colonial settlements and populations.

6. Colonial policies and imperial rivalries in North America and their implication for settlements.

7. The American Revolution.

8. The formation of the United States government from the Articles of Confederation through the ratification of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

9. The Early Republic including the meanings of democracy; political parties; economic and territorial expansion.

10. Sectionalism, expansion of slavery, and the Market Revolution in Antebellum America.

11. Manifest Destiny, the War with Mexico and its aftermath, and Indigenous policy.

12. Second Great Awakening, Abolitionist Movement, Women’s Rights and other Antebellum Revival and Reforms.

13. Crisis of the 1850s and the coming of the Civil War.

14. The Civil War.

15. Reconstruction.

Part 2:

Pre-Columbian 50,000 BC - 1492 AD
1. The People of America Before Columbus
2. Classical Civilizations on the Eve of Contact
European Background 1420's-1530's
1. Europe in the Age of Exploration
2. The Iberian Conquest of America
Colonial American Scene 1607-1670's
1. The Chesapeake Tobacco Coast
2. The Quaker s Peaceable Kingdom
Colonial American Society I
1. Puritan Predecessors in New England
2. The Achievement of New Societies
Colonial American Society II
1. African Bondage and Slave Culture
2. The Struggle for Land
Colonial American Politics
1. The Ideology of Revolutionary Republicanism
2. The Ferment of Revolutionary Politics
War of Independence 1774-1783
1. Forging a Revolution
2. The Crucible of Revolution
Consolidating the Revolution
1. Struggle with the Peacetime Agenda
2. Toward a New National Government
Early National Scene 1783-1789
1. Political Tumult in the States
2. Indian Treaties
Early National Politics 1789-1861
1. Launching the New Republic
2. Restoring American Liberty
Early National Society 1820-1860's
1. Building an Agrarian Nation
2. A Nation of Regions
Westward Movement 1803-1860's
1. Going West - Living on the Frontier
2. Fruits of Manifest Destiny
American Sectionalism 1820-1860
1. Southern Agriculture after 1800
2. Northern Agriculture and the Industrial Revolution
Prelude to the Civil War
1. Slavery in the Territories: Kansas and the Two Cultures
2. Polarization and the Road to War
The Civil War 1861-1865 and Reconstruction 1865-1877
1. Clashing on the Battlefield, The Tide Turns
2. Life After Slavery: Reconstruction in the States

Method(s) of Instruction

Lecture (02)
DE Live Online Lecture (02S)
DE Online Lecture (02X)

Instructional Techniques

1. Lecture and explanation of topic concepts. 2. Instructor will provide verbal feedback to students questions during lecture, and written feedback on overhead/chalkboard to highlight concepts. 3. Small-group discussions to share individual written research assignments. 4. Instructor will provide verbal feedback to small discussion groups. 5. Instructor will provide written feedback on individual student essays. 6. Examinations will be a combination of objective material and essay answers. 7. Instructor will periodically provide handouts on historical issues for student analysis. Additional Variations for Distance Education: 1. Instructor will provide ADA compliant recorded lectures and visual educationally based content. 2. Instructor will provide feedback to students through the Canvas grading platform, including written, verbally recorded and via face-to-face electronic conferencing.

Reading Assignments

Assigned from textbooks, handouts online content via Canvas. (54 hours total)

Writing Assignments

1. Students will be write papers contained in areas within the Topic Outline. These papers will explain the student s position relative to controversial topics within American history, e.g., Colonial Society, Revolution and the New Republic, Antebellum America, or the American Civil War - Conflict and Resolution. 2. Essay Questions within Examinations. (27 hours total)

Out-of-class Assignments

Students will be write papers contained in areas within the Topic Outline. These papers will explain the student s position relative to controversial topics within American history, e.g., Colonial Society, Revolution and the New Republic, Antebellum America, or the American Civil War - Conflict and Resolution. Essay Questions within Examinations. (27 hours total)

Study Non-Contact Hours Recommended

108

Methods of Student Evaluation

Midterm Exam
Final Exam
Short Quizzes
Written Assignments
Essay Examinations
Objective Examinations
Report
Projects (Individual/Group)
Problem Solving Exercises
Oral Presentations
Skills Demonstration

Demonstration of Critical Thinking

Analytical papers on various topics in American history. Library resource reading to complete their writing assignments. Small-group, in-class discussions. Objective examinations will be given covering text and lecture materials. Short essays exploring clashing views on controversial issues in American history.

Required Writing, Problem Solving, Skills Demonstration

Resources Subscreen

Textbook: Carnes, Mark C. and John A. Garraty . The American Nation . Pearson (2021).
Textbook: Corbett, P. Scott, Janssen Volker, John Lund . “U.S. History OpenStax Free Textbooks Online.” . OER (2024 ).
Textbook: Faragher, John Mack, Mari Jo Buhle, et al. . Out of Many: A History of the American People. . Pearson. (2021 ).
Textbook: Foner, Eric, Kathleen DuVal, and Lisa McGirr. 2022. . Give Me Liberty! . W.W. Norton Company. (2022 ).
Textbook: Goldfield, David, Carol Abbott, et al. . The American Journey. . Pearson (2021 ).
Textbook: Kamensky, Jane, Carol Sheriff, et al. . A People and a Nation: A History of the United States. . Cengage (2017 ).
Textbook: Kennedy, David M. and Lizabeth Cohen . The American Pageant . Cengage Learning (2024 ).
Textbook: Locke, John and Ben Wright . American Yawp (OER) . Stanford University Press (2019 ).
Textbook: Murrin, John, Pekka Hämäläinen, et al. . Liberty, Equality, Power . Cengage Learning (2019 ).
Textbook: Nash, Gary, Julie Roy, et al. . The American People: Creating a Nation and a Society . Pearson (2023 ).
Textbook: Roark, James L., Michael P. Johnson , et al. . The American Promise . Bedford/St. Martin’s (2022 ).
Textbook: Tindall, George Brown and David E. Shi . America: A Narrative History . W.W. Norton & Company (2022 ).
Textbook: Calloway, Colin G. . First Peoples: A Documentary Survey of Native American History . Bedford/St. Martin's (2024 ).
Textbook: Brown, Leslie, Jacqueline Castledine, et al. . U.S. Women’s History: Untangling the Threads of Sisterhood . Rutgers University Press (2017 ).
Textbook: DuBois, Ellen and Lynn Dumenil . Through Women’s Eyes, Combined Volume: An American History with Documents. . Macmillan Learning (2024 ).
Textbook: White, Deborah Gray, Mia Bay, et al. . Freedom on My Mind: A History of African Americans, with Documents . Macmillan Learning (2020 ).
Textbook: Kendi, Ibram X. Christopher Dontrell Piper, et al. . Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America . Bold Type Books (2017 ).
Textbook: Choy, Catherine Ceniza, Cindy Kay, et al. . Asian American Histories of the United States . Beacon Press (2023 ).
Textbook: Ling, Huping . Asian American History . Rutgers University Press (2023 ).
Textbook: Gonzales, Manuel G . Mexicanos, Third Edition: A History of Mexicans in the United States . Indiana University Press (2019 ).

Eligible Discipline(s)

History: Master’s degree in history OR bachelor’s degree in history AND master’s degree in political science, humanities, geography, area studies, women’s studies, social science, or ethnic studies OR the equivalent. Master's degree required.

Academic Catalogs