Section 15638 meets TuTh, 9:50-11:40 am, Roberts Learning Center105.
America's Age of Expansion focuses on the era from 1789 when the new U.S. government began operation through 1848 and the signing of the Treaty Guadalupe-Hidalgo. In that approximately sixty year period, less than a single lifetime for most, America grew from a collection of coastal states to a nation that embraced a continent. The number of Americans soared from less than four million to well over twenty millions. Seventeen new states joined the original thirteen. Americans were busy: the GDP grew by twelve times and per capita income more than doubled. Americans were on the move, on new highways, canals, and railroads. Commerce connected Americans to one another and to the world. Communications were transformed, from leisurely hand delivered posts to the immediacy of the telegraph. Religion and reform inspired millions to seek personal and social perfection; the expansion of voting rights spurred record turnouts at the polls. The turmoil wrought tremendous changes upon Native Americans who fought displacement and African Americans whose enslaved populations increased by tenfold.
The questions to be addressed in this course aim to steer us toward a broad understanding of how this epoch unfolded by looking at a number of particular issues. Who were the winners, who were the losers, and how did it come about? How did the transformations in every aspect of society affect everyday lives, in burgeoning cities and on the frontier, in slave quarters and on newly formed reservations? How did technologies for production, agriculture, and communication interact with the expanding economy? Where did people seek opportunities? What were the ramifications of the expansion of democracy? What fueled this outburst of activity and expansion? What inspired reformers to challenge long-standing social institutions like drinking or slavery. What decisions did ordinary people face in making their lives?
We'll use a range of materials to work our way through these question and we'll write often on reflections of the readings and discussions. For a full schedule and other pertinent details, see the SYLLABUS.
Essay 6 Due 12/11
Causes of War of 1812 Historiography Journal dedicated to War of 1812