This course is designed to change the way you think about the history of the United States. Most students tend to think of U.S. history as a collection of facts relating to political events such as the American Revolution, the Civil War, the two world wars, and a litany of presidential elections. That has been the focus of the older style of political history. In this course we will move beyond political history to consider newer approaches to the past. In particular the recent research conducted by social historians and environmental historians will provide the substantive backbone for this course.

Rather than focusing on prominent individuals, this course will place ordinary people on the center stage. The course will pay close attention to the unfolding of the capitalist economic system and its consequences for the lives of these everyday individuals. We will also seek to understand how economic changes have altered people's relationships with the natural world. Throughout the semester close attention will be paid to the transformation of nature into a commodity, the changing patterns of people's lives as workers and consumers, and the evolving conceptions of race and gender over time. Instead of talking about Abraham Lincoln and George Washington, we will discuss the histories of topics as varied as McDonalds, paper towels, suburbs, cars, prisons, groceries, and hunting. The goal of this course is to provide you with a new appreciation for the study of the past.