This course is designed to help students figure out what happened in the American past, why Americans acted as they did, and what the American past has to do with you and me. Throughout the period of American history, thousands of famous people and millions of ordinary people have lived and struggled for what they thought was a noble purpose. Everything we do in this course involves you in historical thinking and reporting. To do quality thinking you will need to become familiar with the methods and practices of historians. You will need to learn and think deeply about the questions historians ask. You will need to learn the purposes they have when they ask and learn. You will need to learn how to gather relevant and accurate information, which relates to the questions historians have. You will need to analyze and come to reasoned judgments about what you learn and report--yet still keeping an open mind.