HIST-1301 United States History I

Raymond Taylor

Credit Fall 2025

Section(s)

HIST-1301-002 (21707)
LEC MW 10:30am - 11:50am RRC RRC1 1222.00

HIST-1301-081 (21768)
LEC MW 12:00pm - 1:20pm RRC RRC1 1222.00

HIST-1301-119 (21787)
LEC TuTh 9:00am - 10:20am RRC RRC8 8304.00

HIST-1301-126 (21790)
LEC TuTh 10:30am - 11:50am RRC RRC8 8304.00

Course Requirements

Course Description:  A survey of the social, political, economic, cultural, and intellectual history of the United States from the pre-Columbian era to the Civil War/Reconstruction period. United States History I includes the study of pre-Columbian, colonial, revolutionary, early national, slavery and sectionalism, and the Civil War/Reconstruction eras.

Credit Hours: 3

Instructional Methodology: This course will employ a combination of instructional methodologies including lecture, in-person discussion, online discussion, and group work. 

Grading.  In determining your final grade for this course, I will use the following weights:

Exams  (4 x 10):  40%

Online Discussions (3 x 6.6): 20%

Attendance:  20%

In-Class Contribution: 10%

Map Quiz: 10%

Exams.  You will take four exams, one for each unit of the course.  Please consult the Weekly Schedule below for dates.  The exams will consist of short essay and identification questions.  The exams will address the Learning Objectives described in the Weekly Schedule below, as well as topics we discussed in class.  To do well, you’ll need to complete the assigned readings, take notes in class, then review the Learning Objectives and your notes of our class meetings prior to taking the exams.

In-Class Discussion.  To do well, you must come to class prepared, take part in class activities, and demonstrate your familiarity with the assigned text.

Online Discussions.  You will view several videos and post your response to a class discussion board.

Attendance.  Attendance is mandatory.  If you must miss, please contact me in advance by email.

Map Quiz.  You will take a quiz on the map of North America early in the semester.  Learning the geography of the continent will help you understand its history and associate events with places.

COURSE POLICIES.

Missed Exam and Late Work Policies.

If you must miss a class where an exam or other in-class work was due, please contact me in advance via email (raymond.taylor@austincc.edu).  Expect a 10% grading penalty for late work.  If I agree to give you a makeup exam, please be prepared to take it on the first day you return to class after your absence.

GAI POLICY.

GAI (generative artificial intelligence, AI for short) is transforming the internet as well as your browser and word processing software.  In contrast to older search engines, GAI browsers will surf the web in response to a user query and generate a reply.  Your word processor probably offers a feature that allows GAI to compose a whole letter or essay for you.  While GAI has both advantages and disadvantages, it cannot substitute for the individual thinking skills and historical consciousness that this course seeks to develop.  Here is my policy:  We will use the internet and GAI freely during in-class discussion.  However, we will close our books and put away our phones during graded assignments like exams or the map quiz.  You won’t have access to the internet or GAI.  Unauthorized use of phones or notes during these assignments will result in a grade penalty.

Readings

Readings

W.H. Brand, American Stories: A History of the United States, Volume 1: (to 1877), 4th Edition or 5th Edition, Pearson.

Videos and additional readings:  See Blackboard.

Course Subjects

 

Course Schedule

Please note that schedule changes may occur during the semester.  Any changes will be announced in class and posted as a Blackboard Announcement.

November 26, College closed at Noon

November 27-30, Thanksgiving Holiday

 

Week

Units and Test Date

Textbook Reading

Assignments.  

Common Course Objectives

Week

1

M 8/25

Unit 1

 

BR Chapter 1,

“New World

Encounters

Preconquest-1609.”

 
  1. Describe the European background of New World colonization and identify motives of those who migrated to the western hemisphere.

 

Week

2

T 9/2

Labor Day Monday September 1.

 

No classes on Monday.

Online

Discussion 1, Due Sunday 9/7

 

 

 

 

 Chapter 2,

“England’s New

World

Experiments 1607-1732.”

 
  1. Explain the diversity of English speaking colonies of North America.

 

 

Week

3

M

9/8

Exam 1 W9/10 and TH 9/11

 

 

 

 

Chapter 3, “Putting Down Roots:

Opportunity and

Oppression in

Colonial Society

1619-1783.”

 
  1. Explain the societies that evolved in the English colonies of North America, together with  the development of unfree labor systems.

Week

4

 

M

9/15

Unit 2

Map Quiz W 9/17, TH 9/18

 

 

 

Chapter 4. “Experience of Empire:

Eighteenth

Century America

1680-1763.”
  1. Explain the political relationships between the English colonies and the Mother Country.
  2. Describe the economic, religious and political developments in eighteenth century Colonial America.
  3. Identify the wars fought by English colonists in North America and evaluation the impact

Week

5

M

9/22

 

Chapter 5.  “The

American

Revolution:  From

Elite Protest to

Popular Revolt

1763-1783.”

 

 
  1. Trace the growing alienation of the colonies from Great Britain, whi ended with the decision to declare independence.
  2. Describe the course of the American Revolution to the winning of Independence, including the significant campaigns and the diplomatic maneuvers that helped gain victory.
  3.  Explain the impact of the American

Revolution on American society and politics and the problems that arose after independence.

 

 

Week 6

 

M 9/29

Discussion 2 Due Sunday 10/5.

Chapter 6.  “We

The People,

1783-1789.”

 
  1. Describe the restructuring of the Republic at the Constitutional Convention of 1787 and the fight for the ratification of the Constitution.

 

Week 7

 

M 10/6

 

Chapter

7.  “Democracy and Dissent: The Violence of Party

Politics 1788-1800.”
  1. Trace the rise and development of political parties during the 1790s, including the contributing domestic and foreign policy differences and the attempted suppression of the Republicans by the High Federalists.

Week 8

 

M 10/13

Exam 2, W 10/15, TH 10/16

Chapter 8.

“Republican

Ascendancy: The

Jeffersonian

Vision 1800-

1814.”

 
  1. Describe the key events and developments of the Jefferson and Madison administrations, including the attempts to avoid war with Britain, together with the outcomes of the War of 1812.

 

Week 9

 

M 10/20

Unit 3

Chapter 9.  “Nation Building and Nationalism 1815-1825.”

 
  1. Describe the territorial expansion and economic developments after the War of 1812.

 

 

Week 10

 

M 10/27

 

Chapter 10. “The

Triumph of White Men’s [sic]

Democracy.

 
  1. Trace the social, economic and political developments of the Jacksonian Era which democratized the United States and transformed the party system.
  2. Identify the religious developments of the Antebellum Era.

 

Week 11

 

M 11/3

Discussion 3 Due Sunday 11/9

Chapter 11. “Slavery in the US South 1793-

1861.”

 
  1. Trace the expansion of slavery in the early nineteenth century and explain the effects of that expansion.
  2. Describe the African American experience under slavery.

 

 

Week 12

 

M 11/10

Exam 3, W 1/12, TH 10/13

Chapter 12. “The

Pursuit of

Perfection 1800-1861.”

 
  1. Describe major religious, social, and demographic trends of the period 1800-1861.

Week 13

 

 

M 11/17

Unit 4

Chapter 13. “An

Age of

Expansionism 1830-1861.”

 
  1. Describe the territorial and internal expansion of the United States during the 1830s and 1840s, including the war with Mexico.

 

Week 14

 

M 11/24

 

Chapter 14. “The

Sectional Crisis 1846-1861.”

 
  1. Explain the events from the Compromise of 1850 to the election of 1860 that led to the disruption of the union.

 

Week 15

 

M 12/1

 

Chapter 15. “Secession and the Civil War 1860-1865.”

 
  1. Trace the course of the Civil War from succession to Appomattox, paying particular attention to the social, economic, and political effects of the conflict.

 

Week 16

 

M 12/8

Exam 4, W 12/10, TH 12/11

Chapter 16.  “The

Agony of

Reconstruction

1865-1877.”
  1. Describe the reconstruction of the South and explain its failure.
  2. Identify the major problems of the Grant administration and evaluation his handling of those problems.
             

 

Student Learning Outcomes/Learning Objectives

Student Learning Outcomes/Learning Objectives

History Department Common Learning Objectives.

See the Course Schedule below.

General Education Competencies

Upon completion of the general education component of an associate’s degree, students will demonstrate competence in:

  1. Gathering, analyzing, synthesizing, evaluating and applying information (Critical Thinking).
  2. Analyzing and critiquing competing perspectives in a democratic society (Civic Awareness).
  3. Comparing, contrasting, and interpreting differences and commonalities among peoples, ideas, aesthetic traditions, and cultural practices (Cultural Awareness).

Office Hours

Office Hours

Published: 07/27/2025 16:18:03