HIS2300: America’s Colonial Foundations
05/01/2023 to 04/30/2024 • Modified 06/08/2023
Course Description
This semester-long course provides an introduction to the major topics of the establishment of British colonies in North America, including their political, economic, and social structures; religious and intellectual characteristics; and the transition from distant citizens of Great Britain to a new American identity. Students will examine changing relationships with Native Americans, the development of racial slavery as a labor source, and European cultural influences on the various colonial regions. In addition, students will explore a variety of primary sources from the colonial era and study biographies of important historical figures such as William Bradford, John Smith, and Peter Minuit.
Prerequisite
None
Schedule
Module 1: Colonizing the New World
- Week 1: Exploration & First Contact
- Week 2: New England
- Week 3: Maryland and the “News”
- Week 4: The Middle and Southern Colonies
- Week 5: Assessments: Colonizing the New World
Module 2: Colonial American Economy & Labor
- Week 6: Land, Industry, and Trade
- Week 7: Immigration, Servitude, and Slavery
- Week 8: Biographical Paper
- Week 9: Test: Colonial American Economy & Labor
Module 3: Colonial Society, Law, and Religion
- Week 10: Colonial Society
- Week 11: Law & Order in Colonial America
- Week 12: Colonial Religion
- Week 13: Assessments: Colonial Society, Law, and Religion
Module 4: Becoming Americans
- Week 14: The Great Awakening & Colonial Education
- Week 15: Great Awakening Quiz & the Backcountry
- Week 16: Colonial Transformation
- Week 17: Assessments: Becoming Americans
- Week 18: Final Exam
