HST 235, 237 - American Civil War & Reconstruction

1 course unit

This course examines United States history from the coming of the American Civil War through Reconstruction, focusing on the causes, the war itself, its aftermath and consequences. The dramatic political, social, and cultural events surrounding the war, the end of slavery, and the reconfiguration of American society afterwards continue to define us even to this day. Why does the war remain a touchstone in the United States? How did the Civil War change American society? What issues remain unresolved? These guiding questions underlie this course’s exploration of the Civil War era. Topics to be covered include: the role of slavery in American politics, sectional conflict in the 1850s, women’s war efforts, the experience of battle for both soldiers and civilians, Native Americans and the war in the West, and the rise of white supremacy and Jim Crow in the post-war South.
Meets general academic requirement HU (and IL when offered as 237).