US Women’s History Series 1: From Puritans to Pioneers

Teacher

Dylan Monshaugen

Categories

History

Review

$75

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Class Description
Syllabus

This is the 1st of 2 installments in our Women’s US History course.

The second installment is:
US Women’s History Series 2: The Gilded Age to the 2000s

It is not required, but it is highly recommended that students first take US History Series 1 (or have equivalent US history knowledge from colonial through western expansion) before taking this class.

Note: This Women’s History course series is scheduled a bit differently.
The US History course series provides a solid background on which the Women’s history courses are built. Series 1 of US Women’s History correlates with US History Series 1, so it is offered in the spring semester after US History Series 1 finishes in the fall. US Women’s History Series 2 starts in the fall to allow students to first take US History Series 2, 3, and 4 in the prior spring semester. You do not have to take Women’s History 1 before 2.

CLASS DESCRIPTION
From Puritans to Pioneers is the first of a two part series about the roles of women in the United States. From the earliest days of Jamestown and Plymouth, women were instrumental in the formation and the perpetuation of the country; and they contributed in ways that often get completely overlooked. Let’s give these women the credit they deserve through studying the contributions to the American Dream. (The history studied in this course lines up near perfectly with the historical context that is studied in US History Series 1. It serves as a deeper look into the people who formed and fought for the United States.)

DISCLAIMER: As this course focuses on US history from the perspective of women, a discussion about the role and evolution of sex in women’s history is important, relevant, and will be briefly discussed at times in this course.

CLASS FORMAT
No live classes—view lessons on YOUR schedule. In general, expect 1.5-2.5 hours to work through the lesson plan each week, and an additional 2-5 hours working on assignments (it really depends what assignment your child chooses to do and how they manage their time). For classes with two levels, the material is the same for both—the depth of the assignments differs. Younger students should usually be placed in Level 1. Older students, or younger students who want more of a challenge, should be placed in Level 2.

Each lesson consists of a fully narrated PowerPoint presentation with images and videos to enhance the topics. Students will have access to our learning management system, Canvas, for viewing their lesson, printing worksheets, taking quizzes, viewing/submitting assignments, participating in discussions, and viewing grades/feedback. Read more details about class format.

Week 1: Colonial Women
The first week of this course begins with the earliest European women who arrived in the New World. Focusing on the early American colonies, we will explore the role of women in the formative years of the United States. Women in the New World often found themselves in new situations but in the same old traditional gender roles.

Week 2: Revolutionary Women
As the American colonies grew into a major power in Britain’s imperial system, they found themselves looking away from the Crown and towards independence and the West. In this week, we will be looking into the roles of women as the colonies became more settled and the Revolutionary War loomed over the heads of many.

Week 3: Antebellum Belles
After the United States gained its independence from the British, the roles of women developed further. In some cases, these women filled roles as ladies of the house, posh women who were relegated to the luxurious plantation homes of the Antebellum South.; but in others, they stepped into lives of drudgery and difficulty.At the beginning of the nineteenth century, women were on the precipice of changing the spheres in which they operated in American society.

Week 4: Abolitionists and African Americans
As the drastic changes in American life due to the Civil War approached, so too did changes in the way women acted. This week covers African American women living in slavery and the women who worked to free them. Though it was not clear at first, women in the mid-nineteenth century were setting themselves up for a wave of revolution over the next 150 years.

Week 5: War and the West
Women played important roles in both the Civil War and westward expansion. Through a variety of jobs and careers, women contributed to the war effort and the building of the American West. This week focuses on those brave pioneers who focused took to battlefields and unknown territories and paved the way for both men and women to follow in their footsteps.