This course is a survey of the American past from 1877 to the present. It examines the major forces, personalities, events, and institutions that have shaped the American experience to the present. Topics include westward expansion, industrialization, urbanization, mass immigration, race relations, and the global role of the United States in the 20th and 21st centuries. Students develop the ability to think, read, and write critically and analytically and to understand the various forms of human interaction through a study of the growth of the United States since 1877. The course aids students in their efforts to understand the principles of group behavior and how power is wielded in society.