History 121 Descrition & Objectives

History 122: U.S. History II
Course Description & Objectives

History 122 covers U.S. history from Reconstruction, 1863-1877, to the recent past (approximately 1980) and is divided into four parts as follows:

Part I: America from 1865-1900
Reconstruction: America's “Unfinished Revolution”: Origins of the Modern Civil Rights Struggle
The American West: Cowboys & Indians, Railroads & Miners.
The “Gilded Age”: America Becomes a Physical and Industrial Giant
The Working Classes: Immigration and Labor Issues

Part II. Progrssivism and Imperialism: The United States 1900-1920
The Progressive Era: An Age of Reform
America Gains an Empire—The Spanish American War
The United States and World War I

Part III: America in the Early Twentieth Century: 1920-1945
The Roaring Twenties: Return to “Normalcy”—The End of the Victorian Era
The Crash of 1929 & the Great Depression
FDR and the New Deal
Fascism and the Rise of Germany and Japan
The U.S. in World War II

Part III: American History Since 1945: The Cold War, Vietnam and Civil Rights
The Nuclear Age: America Becomes the First “Superpower”
The Cold War in Europe, Asia and At Home
The Truman and Eisenhower Years
The Vietnam War
America and the Soviet Union: Berlin to Detente
The Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon Years
The Modern Civil Rights Movement

The History 122 Web pages are divided into the same three sections. Each section requires one exam and one written project. An extra short quiz is required during Week 3. In addition, each student is required to do two site visits to a site related to this course, with written report as part of an essay project or separately submitted. See project instructions for details. Entries in online discussion forums are invited and may be awarded extra

History 122 is taught through the NVCC Distance Learning Center (Extended Learning Institute.) All materials for this course can be accessed from the History 122 Course Home Page. This is a fully online course, so you will need regular access to a computer with an Internet connection. You will not have to attend any class meetings. You will have to take three proctored exams at any NVCC campus testing center. Proctoring at other locations can be arranged. You will also use the Blackboard component of the course for online discussions, practice quizzes and exams. You will automatically be enrolled in Blackboard before the course officially begins.

Course Objectives: Our goals will be to:

Understand the lasting impact of the Civil war and its relation to the Modern civil rights struggle;
Appreciate how the massive immigration from 1865-1910 changed the look and character of America;
Understand the ways in which Americans responded to the challenges of the industrial revolution during the great reform period known as the Progressive Era;
Examine America's transition from an esentially isolationist nation into a major power on the world stage;
Evaluate America's growth in the 20th century through the Great Depression and World War II into the status of superpower.

By the end of the course students should understand how America changed after the Civil War and how the great movements and events of the 19th and 20th centuries transformed America into a modern economic and industrial superpower.

History 122 Home | Assignments Fall 2007 | Assignments Spring 2008

Updated August 16, 2007

August 16, 2007