To understand History we need to understand the overall story of it and how things fit together. In this class, learners will learn about the overall story of American History by looking at the smaller stories that are a part of it. These will be given from a variety of perspectives and viewpoints. Each week there will be a lecture about the events, and if time allows there will be some discussion about the events and their importance. Each week there will be an assigned essay question related to what was discussed in class, learners should submit a one paragraph answer to the teacher before the following week's class. 

*Please note this class is scheduled by parent request only, for families who want a more condensed version of one of The Story of the History of the United States of America classes

Spring 2024 class: Pre Civil War To 1880

Week 1: 
Class 1: Life for Life for Blacks before the Civil War
Enslaved Blacks life, resistance, abolitionist movement, Compromise of 1850 

Class 2: Lead up to Civil War
Bleeding Kansas, formation of Republican Party, Election of 1856, Dred Scott case

Week 2: 
Class 1: Country Splits in Two 
Election of 1860, South Secedes, Lincoln becomes President, War begins

Class 2: Country during Civil War
Causes of the war, Lincoln's policies, North and South during the War

Week 3: 
Class 1: Civil War
Major events of the war, Foreign relations during the war

Class 2: End of Civil War
Emancipation Proclamation, Election of 1864, Final phase of war, Lincoln's assassination, effects of war

Week 4: 
Class 1: Start of Reconstruction
13th and 14th Amendments, Andrew Johnson as President, Reconstruction governments, rise of Radical Republicans

Class 2: Reconstruction Governments
15th Amendment, Types of governments, Impeachment and Johnson, Election of 1868

Week 5: 
Class 1: Development of Solid South
Force Acts, Election of 1872, Corruption with Grant's administration, South unifies, Depression of 1873

Class 2: End of Reconstruction
Election of 1876, Hayes administration, Southern whites evade 14th and 15th Amendments, sharecropping and agriculture

Week 6: 
Class 1: New South
Farmers and inflation, start of grange, south grows and develops

Class 2: The Last Frontier
Migration to great plains, Election of 1880