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| − | Welcome to "American history," also known as "United States history." This is likely to become your favorite course. It has something for everyone: heroes, villains, criminal trials, comical mistakes, competitions, politics, literature, gold, silver, war, and peace. You name it, American history has it. We are going to have some fun in this course. | + | Welcome to "American history," also known as "United States history." This is likely to become your favorite course. It has something for everyone: heroes, villains, criminal trials, comical mistakes, competitions, politics, literature, geniuses, treasures, inventions, war, and peace. You name it, American history has it. We are going to have some fun in this course. |
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| | We will start without a textbook, to encourage students to take initiative in learning history and to avoid duplication in reading. All you need to read are the lectures, starting with this one. Later we may add a textbook if we find a good one. | | We will start without a textbook, to encourage students to take initiative in learning history and to avoid duplication in reading. All you need to read are the lectures, starting with this one. Later we may add a textbook if we find a good one. |
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| | The Pilgrims came to America with a group not much bigger than our class, traveling in a boat called the "Mayflower" that was not much larger than our classroom. Just before arriving on shore, the Pilgrims agreed to a written agreement or "compact" to bind them after they arrived. The very first words of their "[[Mayflower Compact]]" were "In the name of God Amen."<ref>The Mayflower Compact is viewable here: http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/amerdoc/mayflower.htm</ref> | | The Pilgrims came to America with a group not much bigger than our class, traveling in a boat called the "Mayflower" that was not much larger than our classroom. Just before arriving on shore, the Pilgrims agreed to a written agreement or "compact" to bind them after they arrived. The very first words of their "[[Mayflower Compact]]" were "In the name of God Amen."<ref>The Mayflower Compact is viewable here: http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/amerdoc/mayflower.htm</ref> |
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| − | Just as our Nation's founders started with a prayer, so do we. Prayer clears out the noise in our minds. We are looking for knowledge and inspiration here, and that comes from God. In most countries parents do not have the freedom even to have a class like this. The main reason we have freedoms is because America was established on principles of liberty, and religious devotion in America remains among the strongest in the world today, as it was 250 years ago. | + | Just as our Nation's founders started with a prayer, so do we. Prayer clears out the noise in our minds. We are looking for knowledge and inspiration here, and that comes from God. In most countries parents do not have the freedom even to have a class like this. The main reason we have freedoms is because America was established on principles of liberty, and religious devotion in America remains among the strongest in the world today, as it was nearly 400 years ago. |
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| | Now is a critical time in our nation's history, and this class may be as important to the future as the Mayflower voyage was. Let's begin. | | Now is a critical time in our nation's history, and this class may be as important to the future as the Mayflower voyage was. Let's begin. |
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| | <br>Foreign Policy - 13-17% | | <br>Foreign Policy - 13-17% |
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| − | The biggest part of the exam by far is politics, mostly concerning what happened in the federal government in [[Washington, D.C.]]. | + | The biggest part of the exam by far is politics, mostly concerning what happened in the federal government in [[Washington, D.C.]] |
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| | == Periods in American History == | | == Periods in American History == |