Welcome to HIS 101: History of the US: From the Era of the Columbian Exchange to the Civil War via the web. This course has been designed to be primarily a discussion-based examination of United States History prior to 1877. While giving students basic information about the United States, this course will also introduce students to what historians do. This course was also designed to be fun and informative.

Students find college level history classes different from high school level courses. In high school classes, students are expected to learn and repeat basic information. In college level courses, students are expected to learn information and then weave it into a coherent answer to a question. Students will frequently be asked to express their opinion based upon the information. Student mistakes often come from trying to find reasons NOT to answer the given question!