This course is designed to introduce students to the study of the major social, political, economic, and intellectual developments that shaped American history from the Age of Discovery through the close of the Civil War. Topics may include the emergence of the slave trade; race, class, and gender in the colonial and early National eras; the struggle for American independence; the development of the Early American Republic; territorial expansion; and the coming of the American Civil War. Special attention will be paid to the topics of diversity, agency, political participation, and the development of systems and institutions. Students will also be introduced to historiography and historical methodology.