The zoom link should become operational at 3:30 on class days, though the class period is officially 4:00-5:15.
These powerpoints are not linked to any specific class; they are used in Hist 201 survey classes and posted here simply because the may include maps, etc., that will be useful in our OLLI class discussions.
Please read pages 57 to 62 of the above chapter before class. The book is Stannard, American Holocaust.
Multiple sources for further research
What was the main cause of the American Revolution? Historians have offered different interpretations; one highly controversial argument was presented as part of the 1619 Project. Undoubtedly there were a variety of reasons for the conflict between the colonies in North America and Great Britain. In week 2 we will discuss some of those reasons and see if we can narrow it down to one issue that seems to outweigh all the others.
This four-page document shows how historians from different periods explaining the coming of the American Revolution. It's a short but interesting summary.
Please read the text of the Declaration of Independence before Monday's class
Please read the 4-page article above before Monday's class
This "fact checking" article provides a summary of key points from the 1619 project that historians have challenged.
Gordon Wook is a Pulitzer-prize winning historian of the American Revolution
1. Did the "founding fathers" anticipate the existence of political parties when they drafted the U.S. Constitution in 1787?
2. Why did political parties form?
3. Have political parties undermined the government and democratic process as envisioned by our nation's founders?
GUEST SPEAKER: DR. MIKEL NORRIS
Please read this document before our third class
From the Library of Congress
Please read this short document before our third class
1789 federalist versus antifederalist map
1800 presidential election map
2020 presidential election map
1. Was the Civil War inevitable?
2. Did individual states have the right to secede?
3. Was it possible for the Confederacy to survive and prosper?
GUEST SPEAKER: DR. MATTHEW McDONOUGH
3-page Washington Post article
March, 1858 speech in which William Seward said a civil war was inevitable.
These are primary sources -- declarations issued by Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, and Virginia -- explaining why they seceded from the Union in 1860-61. This is a lengthy document; you may want to read just one declaration. The declaration issued by South Carolinians appears on pages 11-16.
Alexander Stephens was the Vice President of the Confederate States of America. He gave this speech in March, 1861; the Civil War started the following month.
Chapter 5 (pages 161-210) from Roger Ransom's book, The Confederate States of America, What Might Have Been
Note: If the text is sideways, just use the arrow at the top to rotate the page
Westward Expansion/The Frontier in American History
1. Manifest Destiny: Was westward expansion God's plan or just a big power play?
2. The Turner Thesis: What is it and what's right and wrong about it?
GUEST SPEAKER: PROF. LARRY KENT
John Louis O’Sullivan,
PLEASE READ THIS FOR MONDAY'S CLASS
A paper read at the meeting of the American Historical Association in Chicago, 12 July 1893, during the World Columbian Exposition*
PLEASE READ THIS FOR MONDAY'S CLASS
1. Was there a point at which the U.S. should have stopped further immigration?
2. Were "robber barons" vital to the
economic growth of the U.S.?
GUEST SPEAKER: DR. THOMAS CASTILLO
"The Gilded Age." , directed by Sarah Colt. , produced by Helen Ryan Dobrowski, et al. , Public Broadcasting Service, 2018. Alexander Street, https://video.alexanderstreet.com/watch/the-gilded-age-2.
Please read this 3-page essay for Monday's class
Essays and photos on this topic from the Library of Congress. Note that each section has primary sources that you can access by clicking on the title at the bottom of the page
President Andrew Jackson: Hero or Villain?
1. Jackson the Indian fighter
2. Jackson the war hero
3. Jackson the invader
4. Jackson and the "corrupt bargain"
5. The "petticoat affair"
6. The 1830 Indian Removal Act
7. The bank war
8. The Nullification Crisis
9. The Panic of 1837
Highly recommended -- it's the History Guy!
Jackson, Andrew, “To the Cherokee tribe of Indians east of the Mississippi River,” Digital Public Library of America, https://dp.la/item/3d31fce0f293b6e2f624dc86906fbc6a.
Cartoons from the 1830s in the Library of Congress collection
McNamara, Robert. "The Bank War Waged by President Andrew Jackson." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/the-bank-war-by-president-andrew-jackson-1773350 (accessed March 20, 2022).
From the Library of Congress collections