HIST A175: History of the United States Since 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 A175, History of the United States Since 1876. Part 1: This course is a historical survey of the United States from the end of the Civil War to the present; The course also introduces students to historical reasoning skills; Part 2: A continuation of the survey of American history development since 1876; Satisfies the state college requirement of American History Enrollment Limitation: HIST C1002H; students who complete HIST C1002 may not enroll in or receive credit for HIST C1002H. Transfer Credit: CSU; UC. C-ID: HIST 140.C-ID: HIST 140.

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 United States since 1865CE.
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, since 1865CE.
Students will analyze origin of major issue or problem in United States history since 1865CE.

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, and ethnicity.
Analyze economic, political, and cultural developments as well as social movements and assess their historical significance
Analyze the relevance of Modern 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.
Analyze major political trends, attitudes, conflicts and events--including both mainstream and reform efforts--and explain 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. Reconstruction and the New South.

3. Immigration, industrialization, and urbanization in the Gilded Age.

4. Closing of the frontier and Resistance of Indigenous Peoples.

5. Progressive Era Reform Movements.

6. Imperialist expansion and emergence of the United States as a world power.

7. World War I.

8. Post-War America and the 1920s.

9. The Great Depression and the New Deal.

10. World War II and Its Aftermath.

11. Cold War Era.

12. Civil Rights Movements.

13. Vietnam, the Great Society, and the Transformation of America.

14. From Nixon to Reagan.

15. Entering the New Millennium.

16. Twenty-first century and the recent past.

Part 2:

Reconstruction (1865-1876)
The Historical Context of Change (1876-1900)
1. Industrialization and urbanization
  1. Sources of industrialization/commercial expansion
  2. Immigration
  3. The changing structure of the city
  4. Consequences of urban and industrial change
2. National politics
  1. Reform movements
  2. Beginnings of a new foreign policy
  3. From isolation to empire
The Quest for Order and Justice (1900-1920)
1. Progressivism
2. The new foreign policy and World War I
The United States in Prosperity, Depression, and War (1920-1945)
1. The 1920s--prosperity, cultural change and government policy
2. The Great Depression and New Deal
3. World War II
The United States Since World War II (1945-present)
1. Building economic security and the affluent society
2. The Cold War
3. The Civil Rights Movement
4. Vietnam War era
5. The Conservative Turn
6. Globalization
7. The twenty-first century and global change

Method(s) of Instruction

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

Instructional Techniques

This classroom-based version of the course is classified as a lecture course, but instructors will use a variety of strategies to help students achieve course objectives/student learning outcomes. These may include: Lecture enhanced with Power point, overhead, white board, and/or handouts to highlight concepts Audiovisual materials to establish historical context Discussion with full class and in small groups Role playing Group activities Guest speakers Field trips 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

Students will read 1-2 textbook chapters and related primary/secondary source material per week. (54 hours total)

Writing Assignments

Students will write essays in which they apply appropriate historical information in answering questions related to the course objectives/student learning outcomes. Students will write an essay/report in which they interpret primary and secondary sources and compose an argument which uses them, as appropriate, for support. (27 hours total)

Out-of-class Assignments

Students may be assigned homework to help them develop and/or assess their ability to Derive pertinent information from assigned readings Prepare for class discussion Find appropriate primary/secondary sources through library research Interpret primary/secondary sources correctly Manage the steps of a research project . (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

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