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American History 1860-1898

This class will start by examining the great physical and moral crisis of the Civil War; its causes, its outcomes, and especially July 3rd/4th 1863, the turning point of the war when the south lost both Vicksburg and Gettysburg. Students will then move on to explore the settling of the west from the land grabbing Indian Wars to the first cattle drives invention of barbed wire. It was an era of great energy and inventions like the telephone, the light bulb, and the mail order catalog. It was also an era of extremes; the robber barons contrasted with Ellis Island which processed a million immigrants a year. With the help of both extremes, the US built its longest railroad, its biggest bridge, and its tallest buildings.

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