Teaching American History Program I: Seminar Descriptions
Colonial America, Early Republic and the Revolution
Sectionalism, Civil War and Reconstruction
Westward Expansion and Life on the American
Frontier
Women in American History
Industry, Immigration and the Progressive Era
World War II, the Cold War and the Modern
Era
Colonial America, Early Republic and the
Revolution
Participants will develop knowledge of the main historical interpretations
of Colonial America and indentify the political and economic factors
that contributed to the American Revolution and the Early Republic.
The seminar will focus on the people, events, causes and the significance
of the American way of life and will analyze implications of the
major historical documents, including the Declaration of Independence,
the Federalist Papers, and the Constitution. It will examine the
important events, the myths and realities of life and politics in
America from the fifteenth to the eighteenth century.
Sectionalism, Civil War and Reconstruction
In this seminar, participants will develop the ability to analyze
the root causes of the Civil War, including the changes in American
Society that led to the conflict. These include indicators of growing
regionalism created by the effects of the industrial revolution
on agrarian society, slavery’s impact on the economy, and
the Southern mindset. The intellectual movements of the time including
Transcendentalism and the social movements including temperance
and abolition will be examined. The road to war, the Missouri Compromise,
the Nullification crisis, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, the Kansas-Nebraska
Act, Dred Scott and the Lincoln-Douglas debates, the role of King
Cotton in the South and other prominent events will be studied.
Westward Expansion and Life on the American
Frontier
Participants will be able to answer essential questions about how
the frontier experience shaped America. The seminar will focus on
examining the meaning of the frontier to various groups depending
on race, ethnicity, class and gender. It will analyze the ways the
frontier continues to shape our destiny, including how the American
frontier acted as a historical force.
Women in American History
Notable women in American history and the roles they played in
shaping our American experience will be explored in this seminar.
Discussion, readings, and research will focus on the role of women
in New England textile factories, in the Abolitionist Movement,
women’s suffrage, progressivism, in World War II, the baby
boom, and civil rights. It will look at the careers of prominent
American women in history, including such people as Harriet Tubman,
Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, Margaret Fuller, Jane
Addams, and Rosa Parks.
Industry, Immigration and the Progressive
Era
Causes and consequences of the Industrial Revolution, the impact
of mass immigration on the industrialization and westward expansion
of America, the origins of Progressivism and major accomplishments
of this movement, the post-Civil War struggles of African Americans
to gain basic civil rights, and America’s growing role in
world affairs will be explored. Participants will be able to analyze
how the forces during this era established America as a world power.
World War II, the Cold War and the Modern
Era
In this seminar the development of the industrial era to the end
of World War I will be explored, focusing on growth of mass immigration
to America, how those contributions fostered a pluralistic society
and the struggle of Black Americans subsequent to the passing of
the 13th Amendment. Study will include World War II and the relative
tranquility of the 1950’s, the Civil Rights movement, the
War in Vietnam, the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the war on
terrorism.
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