This course will introduce students to some of the main processes that shaped the history of the United States, from the colonial period to the American Civil War. In particular we will examine the process of separation from Britain and the formation of the democratic regime; the establishment of an enslaving society and the deepening abyss between north and south over the question of slavery and human bondage; and the process of industrialization and its impact on the American society

2- Prof. Eyal nave

The course will explore the origins of the US by looking at the formation of American society, politics and culture. We will start with the first English settlement in the New World; continue with the American Revolution and the process toward independent and the formation of the Federal Constitution at the end of the 18^th century. Then we will deal with major historical events in the history of the US during the first half of the 19^th century. The course will end with the Civil War, its origins, major characteristics and consequences

4-Dr yael sternhel

The course will offer a critical reading of American history, from the onset of the European conquest to the outbreak of the Civil War. Central topics will include the formation of the slave system, the outbreak of revolution, the framing of the Constitution, the birth of capitalism, and Western expansion. We will examine the United States not as a land of unlimited opportunity, but as a contested terrain of ethnic, political, and social struggle.