Part of the mission of this class is to inform you about the facts of America s early history, but the goals of this course go beyond this.
History is one of several disciplines that encourage critical thinking.
Do not accept blindly everything you read even in the assigned texts or everything you hear even from me. Historians generally agree on what the facts are, but they often differ widely and significantly on what the facts mean. It is my hope, then, that this course will not only convey the facts, but also that it will actually help you to use the facts to form coherent arguments. Most of this will occur in the discussion sections. You will be asked to offer your thoughts about what you have read and what you have heard in the lectures.