Course goals and learning outcomes support the Foundational Component Areas defined by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. Course goals are linked to the respective Core Curriculum Competencies: Critical Thinking Skills, Communication Skills, Social Responsibility, and Personal Responsibility. Specific competencies are identified in designated course goals and learning outcomes.

Upon successful completion of this course, students will:

Create an argument through the use of historical evidence by using appropriate reading, listening, writing, and critical analysis skills by
1. comprehending text materials and other documents;
2. demonstrating an understanding of lectures, presentations, and film;
3. preparing written work as assigned.
Analyze and interpret primary and secondary sources by
1. comprehending primary and secondary sources as part of a larger understanding of the discipline of history and how historians work;
2. demonstrating an understanding of various interpretations of specified historical events.
Analyze the effects of historical, social, political, economic, cultural, and global forces on this period of United States history by
1. explaining the impact of industrialization and the growth of big business in the late nineteenth century;
2. summarizing the causes and results of the Spanish-American War in terms of United States global power and acquisition of territory;
3. demonstrating an understanding of the Populist and Progressive political movements and their impact on United States politics in the twentieth century;
4. explaining the causes of the Great Depression and the impact of the New Deal on American life, attitudes, and politics;
5. explaining evolving post-World War II politics, from the idealism of the 1960s to the neo-conservatism of the 1980s;
6. describing the Watergate scandal, its impact on the American presidency, and the role played by the media in American politics during Watergate and since the resignation of Richard Nixon.
Demonstrate an understanding of the social growth and development of the United States during this period by
1. describing the impact of post-Civil War segregation on Americans in general and African-Americans specifically;
2. tracing the evolution of the Civil Rights Movement from the beginning of the twentieth century through the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, with emphasis on the events of the 1950s and 1960s that generally define the movement;
3. describing post-Civil War immigration trends as well as the accompanying issues faced by the United States as a result of a large population of arriving immigrants from both Europe and Asia;
4. explaining the growth and impact of mass media from the 1890s to the present, including but not limited to yellow journalism, muckrakers and investigative journalism, and the role of radio and television during the twentieth century;
5. describing the cultural and political impact of late twentieth century movements involving civil rights of minority groups such as women, Hispanics, Native Americans, and homosexuals.
Demonstrate an understanding of how history is related to other disciplines by
1. comprehending the relationship of history to economics;
2. comprehending the relationship of history to sociology;
3. comprehending the relationship of history to psychology;
4. comprehending the relationship of history to literature;
5. comprehending the relationship of history to philosophy;
6. comprehending the relationship of history to the arts;
7. comprehending the relationship of history to other relevant disciplines.
Demonstrate an understanding of the United States’ place in a global society, both historically and as a prelude for understanding both the present and the future by
1. explaining the causes and consequences of American involvement in World War I and World War II;
2. explaining the cultural and political impact of the Cold War (c. 1947–1989) between the United States and the Soviet Union, including the conflicts in Korea and Vietnam;
3. analyzing the role of the United States in the world during the twentieth century through examinations of selected United States Presidential administrations.
Critical Thinking Skills: Demonstrate critical thinking skills by
1. reading, analyzing, and critiquing historical documents;
2. demonstrating knowledge of major arguments and problems in history;
3. discussing well-reasoned historical arguments;
4. explaining how competing approaches within the discipline are evaluated.
Communication Skills: Demonstrate communication skills by
1. defining and appropriately using important historical terms;
2. explaining different interpretations of historical events;
3. presenting and discussing well-reasoned positions in oral, written, or visual form.
Social Responsibility: Demonstrate social responsibility by
1. discussing the importance of presenting differing views of historical events and figures;
2. identifying opposing sides of events in history and understanding the accounts of all sides in major events.
Personal Responsibility: Demonstrate personal responsibility by
1. applying a historical perspective to the world we live in;
2. recognizing how history has impacted various groups of people in different ways.

HIST 1302

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HIST 1302 - United States History II