Introduction to American History
*Passage from Paul Johnson’s A History of the American People
l“The creation of the United States of America is the greatest of all human adventures.  No other national story holds such tremendous lessons, for the American people themselves and for the rest of mankind.  It now spans four centuries and, as we enter the new millennium, we need to retell it, for if we can learn these lessons and build upon them, the whole of humanity will benefit in the new age which is now opening.” (1997)
*What do you expect to learn from this course?
Johnson, page 3:
“The creation of the United States of America is the greatest of all human adventures.  No other national story holds such tremendous lessons, for the American people themselves and for the rest of mankind.  It now spans four centuries and, as we enter the new millennium, we need to retell it, for if we can learn these lessons and build upon them, the whole of humanity will benefit in the new age which is now opening.  American history raises three fundamental questions:

(1.) Can a nation rise above the injustices of its origins and, by its moral purpose and performance, atone for them?
What is he talking about?  Native Americans, slavery, civil rights
“The United States, from its earliest colonial times, won its title-deeds in the full blaze of recorded history, and the stains on them are there for to see and censure: the dispossession of a indigenous people, and the securing of self-sufficiency through the sweat and pain of an enslaved race.  In the judgmental scales of history, such grievous wrongs must be balanced by the erection of a society dedicated to justice and fairness.  Has the United States done this?  Has it expiated its organic signs?”

(2.) Johnson asks if Americans got a good mix of ideals and altruism (desire to build a perfect community) mixed with acquisitiveness and ambition?  In other words, Americans wanted a perfect society but were ambitious and wanted to expand even at the expense of others – did America do it well?

(3.) “The Americans originally aimed to build an other-worldly ‘City on a Hill,’ but found themselves designing a republic of the people, to be a model for the entire planet.  Have they made good their audacious claims?  Have they indeed proved exemplars for humanity?  And will they continue to be so in the new millennium?”