In The Fourth Turning (Crown, 1997), authors Neil Howe and William Strauss predict a national crisis will occur somewhere around 2025. They argue that the United States has passed through three four-stage cycles since colonial times, each time rising to what they call an “American High.” The book, a national bestseller, concludes with the warning that there is no guarantee that we might experience a fourth American High. In this course, we will survey the past century in the United States—its key events and individuals—and come to our own conclusions.