This course offers students a sweeping survey of some of the major transformations in the 19th-century U.S. We begin with the clash between early republicanism and early capitalism. We then turn to the origins, nature and consequences of the American civil war. We conclude with the advent of monopoly capitalism and the making of an imperial republic. Some of the key questions we explore include How did capitalism made slavery the great contradiction in the liberal republic? How did a civil war for unionism end up becoming a civil war over abolitionism? What was the role of manifest destiny here and abroad? and, the function of modern sports in United States' nation-building? We will also situate the C19th US firmly within a global framework of burgeoning capitalism, the abolition of unfree labor, and nation-building.
Unless preregistered students attend the first class meeting or communicate directly with the instructor prior to the first class, they will be dropped from the class list. NOTE: Students must still submit a completed Drop/Add form to the Registrar's Office.
COURSE FORMAT: Lecture
Level: UGRD Credit: 1 Gen Ed Area Dept: SBS HIST Grading Mode: Graded
Prerequisites: NONE
Last Updated on MAR-24-2000
Copyright Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut, 06459