The first semester of this course surveys our country's history from 1763 through the end of the Civil War. The American Revolution and the National Period are the first topics studied. The development of America during the the presidencies of Jefferson and Jackson is analyzed in terms of territorial expansion and the evolution of democratic practices. The course ends with sectionalism and those forces that culminated in the Civil War. Reconstruction and the growth of American industry are the first topics studied.
Emphasis is placed on the progress and problems of industrialization.