Course Syllabus

Rich in culture, land, people, customs, and beliefs, the United States grew from a country of thirteen colonies, to a large country of fifty states, to a superpower in the world with one of the largest economies. This course will guide you along a path of discovery as you learn how this nation was born, how its powerful Constitution formed, and how it struggled internally and externally as it learned and continues to learn the boundaries, dynamics, and relationships based upon the three ideals of liberty, equality, and the pursuit of happiness.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. -- That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, -- That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776