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  • Welcome!

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    Welcome to CHIS 2023: American History II. 

    Course Introduction
    American History II is a survey of United States history from the Civil War era to the present. This course will survey American history from Reconstruction to the modern-day.  Students are encouraged to think critically about events, people, and developments covered during the course of the semester. The course is designed to meet the general education goals listed in the catalog.  Students will learn how to think critically, research, analyze documents, communicate effectively, and improve their information literacy, all skills that can be applied in a variety of careers.  

    Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to achieve the following Course Level Objectives (hereafter referred to as CO throughout the rest of the course):

    1. Distinguish events and figures of American history since 1865 by time, place and action.

    2. Explain basic arguments of ongoing historical debates by evaluating primary and secondary source material.

    3. Explain the factors that shaped the development of America after the Reconstruction period.

    4. Explain how the United States became a global superpower.

    5. Analyze how the concept and legal definition of citizenship changed over time and the role of government in protecting the rights of citizens.

    6. Compare and contrast the experience of different groups since Reconstruction, including marginalized groups.

    7. Evaluate primary source documents of all types.

    Navigating the Course
    Adopting institution should provide learners information on how to navigate the course. Consider adding an introductory navigation video. Text description could include, for example:
    This course is set up in Modules covering various topics which may be accessed from the course navigation menu on the left or by scrolling below. Modules may be collapsed in the menu and it the body of the course to minimize scrolling. Each module includes the relevant chapters followed by various activities, which may include discussion forums, listening activities and quizzes, practice quizzes, module tests, and other relevant activities as appropriate for each module. Many items are required and may be marked as completed automatically when the activity has been submitted (the broken check box), but others will marked as done by the student (the solid check box). 

    Please move through the items below and continue through the Learner Support and Getting Started modules before moving on to Module 1. Be sure to check for announcements and due dates to stay on track.

    Creative Commons attribution license This course and its contents are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License by LOUIS: The Louisiana Library Network, except where otherwise noted. 

  • Learner Support

    Chapter 1: The Era of Reconstruction, 1865–1877

  • Getting Started

    This module contains all the items you should review and complete before you begin Module 1. Before moving on, be sure to:
    1. Check the News and Announcements Forum
    2. Read the Course Syllabus
    3. Introduce yourself to the class
    4. Read the instructions for the Q & A Forum
    Good luck in the course!
    • Forum icon
      News and Announcements Forum
      This forum contains general news and announcements. You can find all announcements listed in the "Latest News" block in Course Tools within this course or on your My Courses page.
    • File icon
      Course Syllabus and Schedule File
      Students must
      Mark as done
    • Forum icon
      Introduce Yourself! Forum
      Students must
      Mark as done

      Use this forum to tell us a little about yourself and your interests. Some topic ideas:

        1. What is your field of study/research interest or concentration?
        2. What are you most interested in learning about in this class and why?
        3. Have you ever taken an online class before?
        4. Any other information you would like to share with your classmates, such as special interests or activities.

      Post a picture!  We look forward to meeting you.

    • Forum icon
      Q & A Forum for Students
      Students must
      Mark as done

      Use this forum to ask your instructor any questions you have about the course. You may post at any time, and your instructor will respond here. Be as specific as possible.

      Please keep in mind that others can see your posts, so do not post any personal information. If you have questions about your grade, please email your instructor directly. You can expect a response to posts and emails within 24 hours M-F, next business day on weekends. 


  • FOR INSTRUCTORS: Using This Template and Additional Resources

    Use the information in this module to customize the template to your needs. This module is currently hidden from students, and available for you to refer to throughout the semester.

  • Module 1: The Era of Reconstruction, 1865–1877

    Image from Chapter 16 of U.S. History from OpenStax, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution License v4.0 with the image information: political cartoon by Thomas Nast, which appeared in Harper’s Weekly in October 1874.

    Few times in U.S. history have been as turbulent and transformative as the Civil War and the twelve years that followed. Between 1865 and 1877, one president was murdered and another impeached. The Constitution underwent major revision with the addition of three amendments. This module will explore this turbulent time in depth.

    In this module you will be presented with an overview of the Reconstruction Era, focusing on the following topics: presidential Reconstruction, the disparity between southern white and African American expectations for the post-war South, federal programs for Reconstruction, the successes and failures of Republican state governments in the South during Reconstruction, and the circumstances and decisions that brought an end to the Reconstruction era. Students will learn that although Reconstruction reunited the states after the Civil War, the Radical Republicans' idealist program of freedom and equality for Black Americans, was never fully supported by whites in either the North or the South, and many gains for African Americans collapsed by 1877. Although the Reconstruction amendments (13,14, and 15) remained on the books but were unenforced until a “second Reconstruction” in the Civil Rights movement in the 20th century.

    Upon completion of this module, you will be able to:

    1. Describe Lincoln’s plan to restore the Union at the end of the Civil War (CO 1-5)
    2. Discuss the tenets of Radical Republicanism (CO 1-5)
    3. Analyze the success or failure of the Thirteenth Amendment (CO 1-5)
    4. Describe the efforts made by Congress in 1865 and 1866 to bring to life its vision of Reconstruction (CO 1-5)
    5. Explain how the Fourteenth Amendment transformed the Constitution (CO 1-5)
    6. Explain the purpose of the second phase of Reconstruction and some of the key legislation put forward by Congress (CO1-5)
    7. Describe the impeachment of President Johnson (CO 1-5)
    8. Discuss the benefits and drawbacks of the Fifteenth Amendment (CO 1-5)
    9. Explain the reasons for the collapse of Reconstruction (CO 1-7)
    10. Describe the efforts of White southern “redeemers” to roll back the gains of Reconstruction (CO 1-7)


    To achieve these objectives:

    1. Read the Module 1 Introduction above.
    2. Read and view the materials in Chapter 1 (click below)
    3. View the Chapter 1 PowerPoint below.
    4. Complete Module 1 quizzes/assignments/discussion boards based on chapter/document reading.


    Module Pressbooks Resources and Activities

    You will find the following resources and activities in this module at the Pressbooks website. Click on the links below to access or complete each item.

  • Module 2: Go West Young Man! Westward Expansion, 1840-1900

    Image from Chapter 17 in U.S. History (opens in new window) from OpenStax, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution License v4.0 with the image information: A widely held belief in the nineteenth century contended that Americans had a divine right and responsibility to settle the West with Protestant democratic values. Newspaper editor Horace Greely, who coined the phrase “Go west, young man,” encouraged Americans to fulfill this dream. Artists of the day depicted this western expansion in idealized landscapes that bore little resemblance to the difficulties of life on the trail.

    In the middle of the nineteenth century, farmers in the “Old West”—the land across the Allegheny Mountains in Pennsylvania—began to hear about the opportunities to be found in the “New West.” They had long believed that the land west of the Mississippi was a great desert, unfit for human habitation. But now, the federal government was encouraging them to join the migratory stream westward to this unknown land. For a variety of reasons, Americans increasingly felt compelled to fulfill their “Manifest Destiny,” a phrase that came to mean that they were expected to spread across the land given to them by God and, most importantly, spread predominantly American values to the frontier. This module explores Westward Expansion. 


    Upon completion of this module, you will be able to:

    1. Explain the evolution of American views about westward migration in the mid-nineteenth century (CO 1-7)
    2. Analyze the ways in which the federal government facilitated Americans’ westward migration in the mid-nineteenth century (CO 1-5)
    3. Identify the challenges that farmers faced as they settled west of the Mississippi River (CO 1-7)
    4. Describe the unique experiences of women who participated in westward migration (CO 1-7)
    5. Identify the major discoveries and developments in western gold, silver, and copper mining in the mid-nineteenth century (CO 1-5)
    6. Explain why the cattle industry was paramount to the development of the West and how it became the catalyst for violent range wars (CO 1-5)
    7. Describe the methods that the U.S. government used to address the “Indian problem” during the settlement of the West (CO 1-7)
    8. Explain the United States policy of Americanization as it applied to Native peoples in the nineteenth century (CO 1-7)
    9. Describe the treatment of Chinese immigrants and Hispanic citizens during the westward expansion of the nineteenth century (CO 1-5)

    To achieve these objectives:

    1. Read the Module 2 Introduction above.
    2. Read and view the materials in Module 2 (click below)
    3. View the Module 2 PowerPoint below.
    4. Complete Module 2 quizzes/assignments/discussion boards based on chapter/document reading.

    Module Pressbooks Resources and Activities

    You will find the following resources and activities in this module at the Pressbooks website. Click on the links below to access or complete each item.

  • Module 3: Industrialization, 1870-1900 & The Growing Pains of Urbanization, 1870-1900

    Browse to find your image above. Then update alt text here. Set the first size number below to between 300-400.

    Image from Chapter 19 in U.S. History from OpenStax, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution License v4.0 with the image information: In photographs such as Bandit’s Roost (1888), taken on Mulberry Street in the infamous Five Points neighborhood of Manhattan’s Lower East Side, Jacob Riis documented the plight of New York City slums in the late nineteenth century.

    In this module, you will learn about the inventions and industrialization that helped define American in the last decades of the nineteenth century. You will investigate the business inventions, particularly the communication technologies, electric power production, and steel production. You will examine the leading tycoons of the period, notably Andrew Carnegie, John Rockefeller, and J.P. Morgan, individuals who not only accumulated great wealth, but also revolutionized business management. You will also explore how the tycoons built their wealth on the backs of laborers, who suffered through long hours for low wages in often dangerous conditions. Finally, you will analyze the growth of organized labor, including organizations like the American Federation of Labor and Knights of Labor, in response to the exploitation of workers.

    Upon completion of this module, you will be able to:

    Industrialization, 1870-1900

    1. Explain how the ideas and products of late-nineteenth-century inventors contributed to the rise of big business (CO 1-5)
    2. Explain how the inventions of the late nineteenth century changed everyday American life (CO 1-5)
    3. Explain how the inventions of the late nineteenth century contributed directly to industrial growth in America (CO 1-5)
    4. Identify the contributions of Andrew Carnegie, John Rockefeller, and J. P. Morgan to the new industrial order emerging in the late nineteenth century (CO 1-5)
    5. Describe the visions, philosophies, and business methods of the leaders of the new industrial order (CO 1-7)
    6. Explain the qualities of industrial working-class life in the late nineteenth century (CO 1-5)
    7. Analyze both workers’ desire for labor unions and the reasons for unions’ inability to achieve their goals (CO 1-7)
    8. Describe the characteristics of the new consumer culture that emerged at the end of the nineteenth century (CO 1-7)

    The Growing Pains of Urbanization, 1870-1900

    1. Explain the growth of American cities in the late nineteenth century (CO 1-5)
    2. Identify the key challenges that Americans faced due to urbanization, as well as some of the possible solutions to those challenges (CO 1-7)
    3. Identify the factors that prompted African American and European immigration to American cities in the late nineteenth century (CO 1-5)
    4. Explain the discrimination and anti-immigration legislation that immigrants faced in the late nineteenth century (CO 1-5)
    5. Identify how each class of Americans—working class, middle class, and upper class—responded to the challenges associated with urban life (CO 1-7)
    6. Explain the process of machine politics and how it brought relief to working-class Americans (CO 1-5)
    7. Explain how American writers, both fiction and nonfiction, helped Americans to better understand the changes they faced in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries (CO 1-5)
    8. Identify some of the influential women and African American writers of the era (CO 1-7)

    To achieve these objectives:

    1. Read the Module 3 Introduction above.
    2. Read and view the materials in Module 3 (click below)
    3. View the Module 3 PowerPoints below.
    4. Complete Module 3 quizzes/assignments/discussion boards based on chapter/document reading.

    Module Pressbooks Resources and Activities

    You will find the following resources and activities in this module at the Pressbooks website. Click on the links below to access or complete each item.

  • Module 4: Politics in the Gilded Age, 1870-1900

    George M. Hill illustration for The Wonderful Wizard of OZ by L. Frank Baum.Image from Chapter 20 in U.S. History (opens in new window) from OpenStax, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution License v4.0 with the image information: L. Frank Baum's story of a Kansas girl and the magical land of Oz has become a classic of both film and screen, but it may have originated in part as an allegory of late nineteenth-century politics and the rise of the Populist movement.

    In this module, you will explore politics in the post-Civil War United States. In the years following the Civil War, American politics were disjointed, corrupt, and, at the federal level, largely ineffective in terms of addressing the challenges that Americans faced. All told, from 1872 through 1892, Gilded Age politics were little more than political showmanship. The political issues of the day, including the spoils system versus civil service reform, high tariffs versus low, and business regulation, all influenced politicians more than the country at large. Factors such as overproduction and high tariffs left the country’s farmers in increasingly desperate straits, and the federal government’s inability to address their concerns left them disillusioned and worried. As the economy worsened, more Americans suffered; as the federal government continued to offer few solutions, the Populist movement began to grow. 


    Upon completion of this module, you will be able to:

    1. Discuss the national political scene during the Gilded Age (CO 1-5)
    2. Analyze why many critics considered the Gilded Age a period of ineffective national leadership (CO 1-7)
    3. Explain the difference between the spoils system and civil service, and discuss the importance of this issue in the period from 1872 to 1896 (CO 1-7)
    4. Recognize the ways in which the issue of tariffs impacted different sectors of the economy in late nineteenth-century America (CO 1-5)
    5. Explain why Americans were split on the issue of a national gold standard versus free coinage of silver (CO 1-7)
    6. Explain why political patronage was a key issue for political parties in the late nineteenth century CO 1-5)
    7. Understand how the economic and political climate of the day promoted the formation of the farmers’ protest movement in the latter half of the nineteenth century (CO 1-5)
    8. Explain how the farmers’ revolt moved from protest to politics (CO 1-5)
    9. Explain how the Depression of 1893 helped the Populist Party to grow in popularity in the 1890s (CO 1-5)
    10. Understand the forces that contributed to the Populist Party’s decline following the 1896 presidential election (CO 1-5)

    To achieve these objectives:

    1. Read the Module 4 Introduction above.
    2. Read and view the materials in Module 4 (click below)
    3. View the Module 4 PowerPoint below.
    4. Complete Module 4 quizzes/assignments/discussion boards based on chapter/document reading.

    Module Pressbooks Resources and Activities

    You will find the following resources and activities in this module at the Pressbooks website. Click on the links below to access or complete each item.

  • Module 5: Leading the Way: The Progressive Movement, 1890-1920

    Browse to find your image above. Then update alt text here. Set the first size number below to between 300-400.Image from Chapter 21 in U.S. History (opens in new window) from OpenStax, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution License v4.0 with the image information: The western states were the first to allow women the right to vote, a freedom that grew out of the less deeply entrenched gendered spheres in the region. This illustration, from 1915, shows a suffragist holding a torch over the western states and inviting the beckoning women from the rest of the country to join her.

    This module explores the Progressive Movement from 1890-1920. In its first decade, the Progressive Era was a grassroots effort that ushered in reforms at state and local levels. At the beginning of the twentieth century, however, Progressive endeavors captured the attention of the federal government. Progressive campaigns stretched from the hurricane-ruined townships of Texas to the slums of New York, from the factory floor to the saloon door. But what tied together these disparate causes and groups was the belief that the country was in dire need of reform. The Progressive commitment to promoting democracy and social justice created an environment within which the movements for women’s and African American rights grew and flourished. Theodore Roosevelt's activism in the executive branch spoke to the Progressive spirit in the nation and transformed the president’s office for the twentieth century.


    Upon completion of this module, you will be able to:

    1. Describe the role that muckrakers played in catalyzing the Progressive Era (CO 1-7)
    2. Explain the main features of Progressivism (CO 1-5)
    3. Identify specific examples of grassroots Progressivism relating to the spread of democracy, efficiency in government, and social justice (CO 1-7)
    4. Describe the more radical movements associated with the Progressive Era (CO 1-5)
    5. Understand the origins and growth of the women’s rights movement (CO 1-7)
    6. Identify the different strands of the early African American civil rights movement (CO 1-5)
    7. Explain the key features of Theodore Roosevelt’s “Square Deal” (CO 1-5)
    8. Explain the key features of William Howard Taft’s Progressive agenda (CO 1-5)
    9. Identify the main pieces of legislation that Woodrow Wilson’s “New Freedom” agenda comprised (CO 1-7)

    To achieve these objectives:

    1. Read the Module 5 Introduction above.
    2. Read and view the materials in Module 5 (click below)
    3. View the Module 5 PowerPoint below.
    4. Complete Module 5 quizzes/assignments/discussion boards based on chapter/document reading.

    Module Pressbooks Resources and Activities

    You will find the following resources and activities in this module at the Pressbooks website. Click on the links below to access or complete each item.

  • Module 6: Age of Empire: American Foreign Policy, 1890-1914

    Browse to find your image above. Then update alt text here. Set the first size number below to between 300-400.Image from Chapter 22 in U.S. History (opens in new window) from OpenStax, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution License v4.0 with the image information: This poster advertises a minstrel show wherein an actor playing Theodore Roosevelt reenacts his leadership of the Rough Riders in the Spanish-American War and illustrates the American public’s zeal for tales of American expansionist glory.

    This module explores the Age of Empire, an era of American expansionism. In the last decades of the nineteenth century, after the Civil War, the United States pivoted from a profoundly isolationist approach to a distinct zeal for American expansion. American economic growth combined with the efforts of Evangelist missionaries to push for greater international influence and overseas presence. By confronting Spain over its imperial rule in Cuba, the United States took control of valuable territories in Central America and the Pacific. But at the same time, the country sought to expand its reach through another powerful tool: its economic clout. When Roosevelt succeeded McKinley as president, he implemented a key strategy for building an American empire: the threat, rather than the outright use, of military force. All around the globe, President Taft sought to use U.S. economic might as a lever in foreign policy. He relied less on military action, or the threat of such action, than McKinley or Roosevelt before him.


    Upon completion of this module, you will be able to:

    1. Explain the evolution of American interest in foreign affairs from the end of the Civil War through the early 1890s (CO 1-7)
    2. Identify the contributions of Frederick Jackson Turner and Alfred Thayer Mahan to the conscious creation of an American empire (CO 1-5)
    3. Explain the origins and events of the Spanish-American War (CO 1-7)
    4. Analyze the different American opinions on empire at the conclusion of the Spanish-American War (CO 1-5)
    5. Describe how the Spanish-American War intersected with other American expansions to solidify the nation’s new position as an empire (CO 1-5)
    6. Explain how economic power helped to expand America’s empire in China (CO 1-5)
    7. Describe how the foreign partitioning of China in the last decade of the nineteenth century influenced American policy (CO 1-5)
    8. Explain the meaning of “big stick” foreign policy (CO 1-7)
    9. Describe Theodore Roosevelt’s use of the “big stick” to construct the Panama Canal (CO 1-7)
    10. Explain the role of the United States in ending the Russo-Japanese War (CO 1-5)
    11. Explain how William Howard Taft used American economic power to protect the nation’s interests in its new empire (CO 1-5)

    To achieve these objectives:

    1. Read the Module 6 Introduction above.
    2. Read and view the materials in Module 6 (click below)
    3. View the Module 6 PowerPoint below.
    4. Complete Module 6 quizzes/assignments/discussion boards based on chapter/document reading.

    Module Pressbooks Resources and Activities

    You will find the following resources and activities in this module at the Pressbooks website. Click on the links below to access or complete each item.

  • Module 7: Americans in the Great War, 1914-1919

    Return of the Useless (1918), by George Bellows, is athea kind of artistic imagery used to galvanize Americans for W.W. I.Image from Chapter 23 of U.S. History (opens in new window) from OpenStax, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution License v4.0 with the image information:  Return of the Useless (1918), by George Bellows, is an example of a kind of artistic imagery used to galvanize reluctant Americans into joining World War I. The scene shows German soldiers unloading and mistreating imprisoned civilians after their return home to Belgium from German forced-labor camps.

    This module explores America during World War I. You will examine how President Woodrow Wilson initially attempted to keep America out of the conflict between the European powers, and the events--including the sinking of U.S. ships by German u-boats and the infamous Zimmerman telegram--that shifted American opinion in favor of war. You will explore the government's efforts to prepare for war, including increased control over the economy, a propaganda campaign, and a military draft. You will also analyze the government's repressive measures, including the use of new laws to silence opposition to the war. You will investigate the changing American home front, including new opportunities for African Americans and women, particularly for the latter group with the passage of women's suffrage. You will examine the American contributions to the Allies' success, and the failure of President Wilson's Fourteen Points. Finally, you will analyze the difficult post-war period marked by the Influenza Pandemic of 1918-1919 and anti-Black riots. 


    Upon completion of this module, you will be able to:

    1. Explain Woodrow Wilson’s foreign policy and the difficulties of maintaining American neutrality at the outset of World War I (CO 1-7)
    2. Identify the key factors that led to the U.S. declaration of war on Germany in April 1917 (CO 1-5)
    3. Identify the steps taken by the U.S. government to secure enough men, money, food, and supplies to prosecute World War I (CO 1-5)
    4. Explain how the U.S. government attempted to sway popular opinion in favor of the war effort (CO 1-7)
    5. Explain how the status of organized labor changed during the First World War (CO 1-5)
    6. Describe how the lives of women and African Americans changed as a result of American participation in World War I (CO 1-5)
    7. Explain how America’s participation in World War I allowed for the passage of prohibition and women’s suffrage (CO 1-7)
    8. Identify the role that the United States played at the end of World War I (CO 1-5)
    9. Describe Woodrow Wilson’s vision for the postwar world (CO 1-7)
    10. Explain why the United States never formally approved the Treaty of Versailles nor joined the League of Nations (CO 1-5)
    11. Identify the challenges that the United States faced following the conclusion of World War I (CO 1-5)
    12. Explain Warren G. Harding’s landslide victory in the 1920 presidential election (CO 1-5)


    To achieve these objectives:

    1. Read the Module 7 Introduction above.
    2. Read and view the materials in Module 7 (click below)
    3. View the Module 7 PowerPoint below.
    4. Complete Module 7 quizzes/assignments/discussion boards based on chapter/document reading.