Course Description

Studies factors that led to the division between the States. Examines the war, the home fronts, and the era of Reconstruction. Lecture 3 hours per week.

General Course Purpose

To establish a course of special interest to students which will help them understand the events which led to the conflict and the importance of the Civil War and Reconstruction to the development of the United States.

Course Prerequisites/Co-requisites

It is preferable but not mandatory that the student take a general course in American History before enrolling in HIS 269 - Civil War and Reconstruction.. The ability to read and write the English language effectively at the college level is expected.

Course Objectives

Upon completion of the course, the student will be able to:

• Interpret the Civil War and Reconstruction era in the larger context of American History
• Analyze the impact of the Civil War and Reconstruction on the development of American economic, social, and political institutions
• Discuss the emancipation of the slaves, and analyze its long term consequences for American race relations
• Identify and discuss the causes of the Civil War
• Describe the military developments (campaigns, technology, and strategy) during the war and explain the war's outcome

Major Topics to be Included

· The Antebellum Period:

· The economic and social differences between the North and South

· Slavery in the American history-slave work, life, and resistance

· Reform movements and the anti-slavery movement

· The Constitution, slavery, and compromise before the 1850s

· The decade of the 1850s-the drift toward secession

· Secession and the creation of the Confederacy

Reconstruction: