2/8/2026 6:17:47 AM	HIST C1001 Course Outline as of Fall 2026	Changed Course
CATALOG INFORMATION
Discipline and Nbr:  HIST C1001	Title:  UNITED STATES TO 1877
Full Title:  United States History to 1877
Last Reviewed:5/5/2025

Units		Course Hours per Week			Nbr of Weeks	Course Hours Total
Maximum	3.00	Lecture Scheduled	3.00		17.5 max.	Lecture Scheduled	52.50
Minimum	3.00	Lab Scheduled	0		6 min.	Lab Scheduled	0
		Contact DHR	0			Contact DHR	0
		Contact Total	3.00			Contact Total	52.50
		Non-contact DHR	0			Non-contact DHR Total	0

Total Out of Class Hours:  105.00

Total Student Learning Hours: 157.50

Title 5 Category:  AA Degree Applicable
Grading:  Grade or P/NP
Repeatability:  00 - Two Repeats if Grade was D, F, NC, or NP
Also Listed As: 
Formerly:  HIST 17.1

Catalog Description:

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.

 

 

Prerequisites/Corequisites:

Recommended Preparation:
Eligibility for ENGL C1000 (formerly ENGL 1A) or EMLS 10 (formerly ESL 10) or equivalent or appropriate placement based on AB705 mandates

Limits on Enrollment:

Schedule of Classes Information
Description:

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.

 

 

(Grade or P/NP)
Prerequisites:
Recommended:Eligibility for ENGL C1000 (formerly ENGL 1A) or EMLS 10 (formerly ESL 10) or equivalent or appropriate placement based on AB705 mandates
Limits on Enrollment:
Transfer Credit:UC.
Repeatability:00 - Two Repeats if Grade was D, F, NC, or NP

ARTICULATION, MAJOR, and CERTIFICATION INFORMATION

Associate Degree:		Effective:	Fall 2025	Inactive:
Area:	D F L3 L4 L7	Social and Behavioral Sciences American Institutions Arts and Humanities Social and Behavioral Sciences American Institutions
CSU GE:	Transfer Area			Effective:	Inactive:
	C	Arts and Humanities		Fall 2020
	C2	Humanities
	D	Social Science
	D6	History
	X1	U.S. History
	D	Social Science		Fall 2010	Fall 2020
	D6	History
	X1	U.S. History
	D	Social Science		Fall 1988	Fall 2010
	D1	Anthropology and Archeology
	D2	Economics
	D6	History
	X1	U.S. History
	D	Social Science		Fall 1981	Fall 1988
	D1	Anthropology and Archeology
	D2	Economics
	X1	U.S. History
IGETC:	Transfer Area			Effective:	Inactive:
	4	Social and Behavioral Science		Fall 1981
	4F	History
	XA	U.S. History
CSU Transfer:		Effective:		Inactive:
UC Transfer:	Transferable	Effective:	Fall 1981	Inactive:
C-ID:
CID Descriptor: HIST 130	United States History to 1877	SRJC Equivalent Course(s): HISTC1001

Certificate/Major Applicable: Major Applicable Course

COURSE CONTENT

Student Learning Outcomes:
At the conclusion of this course, the student should be able to:

1. Analyze the political, economic, cultural and social developments in U.S. history from pre-colonial times until Reconstruction.

2. Assess the causes and effects of particular historical events.

3. Analyze and distinguish between primary and secondary sources as historical evidence.

 

Objectives:

Statewide Required Objectives/Outcomes:

 

At the conclusion of this course, the student should be able to:

1. Demonstrate the ability to interpret primary and secondary sources and to compose an argument which uses supportive evidence.

2. Demonstrate an understanding of U.S. History through analytical categories such as race, class, gender, sexuality, ethnicity.

3. Analyze economic, political, and cultural developments as well as social movements and assess their historical significance.

4. Analyze the relevance of Early American History to the present day.

 

 

Expanded and Additional Local Objectives/Outcomes:

 

At the conclusion of this course, the student should be able to:

1. Integrate geographical knowledge with historical study.

2. Question their own values and assumptions about American history.

3. Assess the claim that the heritage and institutions of the United States are to some degree unique and explore the rationale that supports this "uniqueness."

Topics and Scope

Statewide Required Topics:

 

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.

 

 

Expanded and Additional Local Topics:

 

I. Native American Societies

    A. North America

    B. Meso America

II. Europe - before 1492

    A. Patterns of exploration

    B. Rise of kings

III. Conquest and Colonization

    A. Spanish

    B. French

    C. English

IV. The Chesapeake

    A. Powhatans

    B. Tobacco

    C. Indentured Servitude

    D. Bacon's Rebellion

V. New England

    A. Puritans and Pilgrims

    B. Hierarchies and dissent

VI. Middle Colonies

    A. Mercantilism

    B. Plural Societies

VII. Slave Trade

    A. African societies

    B. Slave Triangle

    C. Plantation System

VIII. The Enlightenment and the Great Awakening

    A. Philosophies

    B.  Religious reactions

IX. Revolutionary Period

    A. Seven Years War

    B. Taxes

    C. Resistance 1763-1776

    D. Articles of Confederation

    E. War for Independence

X. The Federalist Era

    A. The Constitution

         1. Compromises

         2. Bill of Rights

    B. Formation of our government and the birth of parties

XI. Jeffersonian Period

    A. Agrarian Republic

    B. Expansion

XII. Jacksonian Period

    A. Trail of Tears

    B. Presidential power

XIII. Industrialization

    A. Cotton gin

    B. Transportation - railroads and canals

    C. Factories at Lowell

    D. Middle Class

    E. Irish immigration

XIV. Religion and Reform

    A. Temperance

    B. Abolition

    C. Women's Rights

XV. Antebellum South

    A. Planter Class

    B. Slave culture

    C. Slave resistance

XVI. Sectional conflict

    A. Battle over the West

    B. Election of 1860 and secession

XVII. Civil War

    A. Southern victories

    B. Emancipation

    C. Northern dominance

XVIII. Reconstruction

    A. 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments

    B. Freedoms extended and denied

    C. Jim Crow

Assignments:

1. Reading Assignments consist of either primary or secondary sources (30 to 50 pages per week)          

2. A research component will be assigned, such as a project, a paper, or presentation.

3. Writing Assignments (2000-4000 total words) that will critically interpret primary and secondary sources, such as:

    a. Analytical essays

    b. Research papers

    c. Reaction papers

4. Exam(s) (1-2) and a final.  All exams must include writing (essays or short answers) with optional objective questions. Face-to-face classes will have a minimum two in-class exams; online classes will have a minimum two timed exams.

5. Participation in discussions

6. Note taking (ungraded)

7. Additional assignments as determined by instructor may include:  

     a. Objective quizzes

    b. Group work

    c. Presentations

    d. Journals

8.  Online sections; additional writing assignments of 500 -1000 words may be assigned

 

 

 

Statewide Required Methods of Evaluation:

 

Methods of formative and summative evaluation used to observe or measure students' achievement of course outcomes and objectives must include academic writing and research.

Additional methods of evaluation are encouraged and at the discretion of local faculty and may incorporate assessments and exercises such as journals, quizzes, discussions, group work, and presentations.

 

Expanded and Additional Local Methods of Evaluation: See table below.

Methods of Evaluation/Basis of Grade.

Writing: Assessment tools that demonstrate writing skill and/or require students to select, organize and explain ideas in writing.		Writing 30 - 50%
Reaction papers, analytical essays, and/or research papers (including primary and secondary sources)
Problem solving: Assessment tools, other than exams, that demonstrate competence in computational or non-computational problem solving skills.		Problem Solving 0 - 0%
None
Skill Demonstrations: All skill-based and physical demonstrations used for assessment purposes including skill performance exams.		Skill Demonstrations 0 - 0%
None
Exams: All forms of formal testing, other than skill performance exams.		Exams 40 - 50%
Exam(s) and a final exam
Other: Includes any assessment tools that do not logically fit into the above categories.		Other Category 0 - 30%
Attendance and participation, quizzes, possible research project or presentation, additional assignments (if assigned)

Representative Textbooks and Materials:

Statewide Representative Textbooks:

 

Instructor discretion to choose scholarly and primary sources that enable an academic interrogation of history.Types of Course Materials: textbook; classics; document reader; scholarly articles; and/or monograph

Representative Texts:

Carnes, Mark C. and John A. Garraty. 2021. The American Nation. Pearson.

Corbett, P. Scott, Janssen Volker, John Lund "U.S. History OpenStax Free Textbooks Online."

 

(OER). 2024.

Faragher, John Mack, Mari Jo Buhle, et al. 2021. Out of Many: A History of the American People. Pearson.

Foner, Eric, Kathleen DuVal, and Lisa McGirr. 2022. Give Me Liberty! W.W. Norton Company.

Goldfield, David, Carol Abbott, et al. 2021. The American Journey. Pearson.

Kamensky, Jane, Carol Sheriff, et al. 2017. A People and a Nation: A History of the United States. Cengage.

Kennedy, David M. and Lizabeth Cohen. 2024. The American Pageant. Cengage Learning.

Locke, John and Ben Wright. American Yawp (OER). Stanford University Press.

Murrin, John, Pekka Hämäläinen, et al. 2019. Liberty, Equality, Power. Cengage Learning.

Nash, Gary, Julie Roy, et al. 2023. The American People: Creating a Nation and a Society. Pearson.

Roark, James L., Michael P. Johnson , et al. 2022. The American Promise. Bedford/St. Martin's.

Tindall, George Brown and David E. Shi 2022. America: A Narrative History. W.W. Norton & Company.

 

Supplemental Options:

Calloway, Colin G. 2024. First Peoples: A Documentary Survey of Native American History. Bedford/St. Martin's.

Brown, Leslie, Jacqueline Castledine, et al. 2017. U.S. Women's History: Untangling the Threads of Sisterhood. Rutgers University Press.

DuBois, Ellen and Lynn Dumenil. 2024. Through Women's Eyes, Combined Volume: An AmericanHistory with Documents. Macmillan Learning.

White, Deborah Gray, Mia Bay, et al. 2020. Freedom on My Mind: A History of African Americans, with Documents. Macmillan Learning.

 

 

Additional Local Representative Textbooks:

 

A People and a Nation, Vol  1. 11th ed. Kamensky, Jane and Sheriff, Carol and Blight, David. Cengage Learning. 2019. (classic)

Abigail Adams: A Revolutionary American Woman. 3rd ed. Akers, Charles. Pearson Longman. 2007. (classic).

America: A Concise History, Vol 1. 9th ed. Edwards, Rebecca and Hinderaker, Eric and Self, Robert. Macmillan. 2018.(classic)

The Federalist Papers.  Hamilton, Alexander and Madison, James and Jay, John. Signet Classic. 2003. (classic).

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Written by Himself. Bedford, St. Martins. 2003. (classic).

The Unfinished Nation, Vol. I. 9th ed. Brinkley, Alan. McGraw Hill. 2019. (classic)

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