Common Course Outline

Course discipline/number/title HIST 1625: U.S. History from 1865 to Present

Catalog Description

Credits 3
Hours/Week 3
Prerequisites (Course discipline/number) None
Other requirements College level reading and writing is recommended
MnTC Goals (if any) Goal 5/History and Social and Behavioral Sciences, Goal 7a/Human Diversity

Course Description

Beginning with the period of Reconstruction, the course encompasses the Gilded Age, rapid industrialization, the Progressive reform era, World War I, the 1920s, and the Great Depression. The second half of the course concerns itself with World War II, the Cold War, United States containment policies, the turbulence of the 1960s, as well as events of the 1970s, through the present day. In covering these topics, the course will dwell on the major events and participants that made these historical epochs.

Date Last Revised (Month, year)

October, 2024

Outline of Major Content Areas

  1. Reconstruction, the Gilded Age, and Expansion
  2. The Progressive Era and World War One
  3. The 1920s and the Great Depression
  4. World War II, The Cold War, and 1950s
  5. The 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s
  6. The 1990s-Present

Learning Outcomes (General)

The student will be able to:

  1. Assess the significance of political, intellectual, and social developments within United States history.
  2. Identify key personalities, institutions, and concepts within United States history.
  3. Analyze the causes and results of major events within United States history.
  4. Recognize the diversity of ideas, religions, and cultures among those who live and have lived within the United States.
  5. Analyze historical sources, distinguishing primary from secondary sources.

Learning Outcomes (MnTC)

Goal 5/History and Social and Behavioral Sciences

The student will be able to:

  1. Employ the methods and data that historians and social and behavioral scientists use to investigate the human condition.
  2. Examine social institutions and processes across a range of historical periods and cultures.
  3. Use and critique alternative explanatory systems or theories.
Goal 7a/Human Diversity

The student will be able to:

  1. Understand the development of and the changing meanings of group identities in the United States' history and culture.
  2. Describe and discuss the experience and contributions (political, social, economic, etc.) of the many groups that shape American society and culture, in particular those groups that have suffered discrimination and exclusion.
  3. Demonstrate an awareness of the individual and institutional dynamics of unequal power relations between groups in contemporary society.

Methods for Evaluation of Student Learning

Methods may include but are not limited to:

RCTC Core Outcome(s)

This course contributes to meeting the following RCTC Core Outcome(s):

Critical Thinking
Students will think systematically and explore information thoroughly before accepting or formulating a position or conclusion.

Special Information (if any)

None