Faculty Syllabus
HIST-1301 United States History I
Rebecca Czuchry
Credit Fall 2026
Section(s)
HIST-1301-100 (39634)
LEC MW 12:00pm - 1:20pm SAC SAC1 1312
HIST-1301-109 (39643)
LEC MW 9:00am - 10:20am SAC SAC1 1312
Course Requirements
This course is an active-learning, face-to-face course that meets in-person, twice per week. It is both discussion- and lecture-based, requiring student participation.
*Chapter Reading Quizzes (5%): First and foremost - this is a reading intensive class. Students should plan to spend at least one hour outside of class each week reading each assigned chapter. Each chapter contains very brief multiple-choice quizzes after each section and then a longer multiple-choice quiz at the end of each chapter. These are required – and should be completed as you read (not in place of reading). These are simple recall questions that will help you retain more of what you are reading. They are not exam questions or “study questions” to memorize. Please note that chapters are to be read before coming to class for the scheduled lecture each week.
*Exams (95%): Students will take three, in-class multiple-choice exams. All students are expected to take their exams as scheduled; makeup exams are given in cases of documented medical necessity only. There are no exam “retakes” in this course. Exam 1 (30%), Exam 2 (30%), Final Exam (35%).
Grading: A (90-100, Excellent); B (80-89. Good); C (70-79, Satisfactory); D (60-69, Minimum Passing); F (59 and below, Failing). Grades will be posted on Blackboard. Please note: final grades are not “bumped” and are submitted as letter grades only and only to the ACC registrar’s office.
Readings
REQUIRED TEXTBOOK: You will use Pearson's REVEL platform to access the following required textbook: Brands, H.W., et al, American Stories, 5th edition, volume 1. This is an e-book and will be available the first day of the semester. This course includes a fee to cover the costs of required digital materials provided at a discounted rate from the ACC Bookstore. IMPORTANT! The digital materials fee is added to your tuition and fees when you register. You do not have a separate transaction to purchase the book. For more information, see https://www.austincc.edu/academic-and-career-programs/first-day-classes. In Blackboard, click on "Course Materials" to access the REVEL platform. If you have an account with Pearson from other classes you do not need to create a new account.
Course Subjects
This course will cover the following topics:
The Aztec and the Spanish
The British in North America
England's New World Experiments
Putting Down Roots - Colonial Society
18th Century America
The Meaning of Freedom – Revolutions
The Articles of Confederation & U.S. Constitution
The Violence of Party Politics; The Jeffersonian Vision
Nation Building and Nationalism
Slavery and the Anti-Slavery Movement
Manifest Destiny to the Mexican War
Sectionalism and The American Civil War
Reconstruction
Student Learning Outcomes/Learning Objectives
Unit I.
1. Identify consequences of the Portuguese exploration of the African coast.
2. Define the nature of Spanish nation-statehood and its significance in preparing Spain for western expansion.
3. Identify the areas in the Western Hemisphere colonized by the Spanish and Portuguese and the significance of the 1494 Treaty of Tordesillas.
4. Describe characteristics of the Aztec Empire at the time of Spanish conquest.
5. Explain the significance of French settlement in North America.
6. Compare and contrast the political and social dynamics of the early English colonies (New England, Southern, and Middle colonies), especially with regard to motivation for settlement, family life, interaction with Native Americans, and types of labor utilized.
7. Describe the effects of post-Restoration policies on the older colonies, including the Navigation Acts.
8. Explain the significance of Bacon’s Rebellion.
9. Identify the factors leading to the French and Indian War and the effect British victory had on British-colonial relations.
10. Explain the effect the 1763 Proclamation Line had on colonial relations with Britain and with Native Americans.
11. Analyze the economic and political relationship between England and its North American colonies by the mid-18th century.
12. Describe the significance of early pre-Revolutionary legislation such as the Sugar Act, the Stamp Act, and the Quartering Act, etc.
13. Analyze the impact of Thomas Paine’s Common Sense on the revolutionary cause.
14. Analyze the Declaration of Independence in terms of revolutionary rhetoric and political theory.
15. Identify the provisions of the 1783 Peace Treaty of Paris.
16. Describe the experience of loyalists during and immediately after the Revolutionary War.
Unit II
1. Explain the significance of the Articles of Confederation and identify its strengths and weaknesses.
2. Describe the new state constitutions written during the Founding Era, especially with regard to separation of powers.
3. Define the significant issues and compromises associated with the 1787 Constitutional Convention, especially the 3/5 Compromise, the electoral college, and separation of powers.
4. Explain the significance of early actions of Congress, such as creating the Bill of Rights, creating the Cabinet, and passing the 1789 Judiciary Act.
5. Explain the dynamics of the election of 1800 and Thomas Jefferson’s approach to the office of the presidency.
6. Explain the significance of the Louisiana Purchase and the subsequent Lewis & Clark Expedition.
7. Analyze the development of post-war of 1812 nationalism and technological advancement.
8. Explain the significance of the Missouri Compromise of 1820.
9. Analyze the foreign policy of the Secretary of State John Quincy Adams, especially the Adams-Onis Treaty and the Monroe Doctrine.
10. Identify the significance of the disputed 1824 presidential election.
11. Explain the appeal of Andrew Jackson to the “common man.”
12. Analyze the expansion of democracy during the Jacksonian era, especially with regard to “universal suffrage” and proliferation of political parties.
13. Analyze the significance of certain events during Jackson’s presidency, especially Indian removal and the Nullification Crisis.
Unit III
1. Identify the effects of the cotton gin in deepening the South’s dependence on slavery.
2. Describe the influence of the planter class in the antebellum South.
3. Describe and explain the lives of slaves on large plantations and on small farms.
4. Explain different types of slave resistance and escape, including escape via the Underground Railroad.
5. Identify the advantages/disadvantages faced by free blacks in the North.
6. Describe issues critical to the abolition movement, including the American Colonization Society and the response by radical abolitionists.
7. Describe issues critical to the women’s rights movement and the significance of the 1848 Seneca Falls convention.
8. Explain the meaning and significance of Manifest Destiny for 19th century Americans.
9. Analyze the settlement of Texas with regard to its relationship with Mexico.
10. Describe the beginnings of the War with Mexico and the provisions of the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo.
11. Describe the provisions of the Compromise of 1850.
12. Analyze the significance of Uncle Tom’s Cabin.
13. Explain the significance of the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854.
14. Analyze the Dred Scott case and the effects the decision had on expansion of slavery.
15. Explain the significance of the 1858 Lincoln-Douglas debates, especially with regard to the men’s stance on expansion of slavery.
16. Analyze the impact of John Brown’s raid on Harpers Ferry, Virginia, on North/South relations.
17. Describe the election of Abraham Lincoln to the presidency and the subsequent secession of South Carolina.
18. Describe the significance of the border states, especially Kentucky, to both the North and South.
19. Identify the provisions of and analyze the significance of the Emancipation Proclamation.
20. Explain how the Civil War affected Native Americans, especially the Cherokee.
21. Analyze the significance of President Lincoln’s death on early Reconstruction.
22. Explain the effect of the “Black Codes” on formerly enslaved people in the Southern states.
23. Describe the critical issues of the impeachment of President Andrew Johnson.
24. Analyze the significance of the three Reconstruction constitutional amendments.
25. Describe and analyze the process of “redemption” in the Southern states.
Office Hours
Published: 06/04/2026 13:17:10