AMERICAN HISTORY 102: CIVIL WAR RECONSTRUCTION TO PRESENT

About This Course

History isn’t a settled story — it’s an argument still in progress. American History 102: Civil War Reconstruction to Present picks up where American History 101 leaves off and carries that argument through to today. Across 48 lessons, from Reconstruction to the 21st century, students don’t memorize a tidy narrative. They work through the questions Americans are still debating: Who counts as free? Who holds power? What does self-government actually mean?

By the end of this course, you will be able to:

  • Explain how Reconstruction tried to redefine freedom and citizenship after the Civil War, and why it fell short.
  • Describe how industrialization transformed American work, cities, and politics.
  • Analyze America’s role in the World Wars and how those wars changed the nation at home.
  • Evaluate the New Deal and the debate over whether it was a success or a half-measure.
  • Trace the civil rights movement and the ongoing struggle over who is included in American democracy.
  • Connect the arguments of the past to the questions Americans are still debating in the 21st century.
  • Weigh conflicting historical evidence and reach your own well-supported conclusions.

Every major turning point is told through conflicting vantage points. Court rulings and presidential decisions sit alongside the voices of formerly enslaved people, Indigenous nations, immigrants, laborers, and activists who lived the same moments very differently. American history was never one story; it was always several, running at once.

Who is this course for?

  • High school students studying U.S. history.
  • Homeschool families looking for a complete, question-driven curriculum.
  • Adult learners who want to understand how modern America took shape.
  • Students continuing from American History 101: Pre-Colonial to Civil War.
  • Teachers — the companion Teacher’s Handbook brings the course into the classroom, with assessment tools built around the same question-driven approach.

Why choose this course?

  • A comprehensive 48-lesson course: self-paced lessons from Reconstruction to the 21st century.
  • Lesson quizzes and a final exam: a quiz with every lesson, plus a full final exam.
  • Alternative perspectives: special looks at key turning points that other courses overlook.
  • “Debating the Past”: real disagreements among historians — was the New Deal a success or a half-measure? — with students weighing the evidence themselves.
  • Built on the textbook: follows American History 102: Civil War Reconstruction to Present by Clyde J. Cleveland and Eric B. Randall.

UNIT I — Reconstruction and the Remaking of the Constitution

America After Appomattox: A Nation Saved, But Not Yet Reunited
Lesson 1 of 12 within section UNIT I — Reconstruction and the Remaking of the Constitution. You must enroll in this course to access course content.
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Lincoln’s Assassination and the Shock to Reconstruction
Lesson 2 of 12 within section UNIT I — Reconstruction and the Remaking of the Constitution. You must enroll in this course to access course content.
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Andrew Johnson and the Battle Over Presidential Reconstruction
Lesson 3 of 12 within section UNIT I — Reconstruction and the Remaking of the Constitution. You must enroll in this course to access course content.
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Congress Takes Control: Radical Reconstruction Begins
Lesson 4 of 12 within section UNIT I — Reconstruction and the Remaking of the Constitution. You must enroll in this course to access course content.
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The 13th Amendment: Ending Slavery in America
Lesson 5 of 12 within section UNIT I — Reconstruction and the Remaking of the Constitution. You must enroll in this course to access course content.
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The 14th Amendment: Citizenship, Equal Protection, and Due Process
Lesson 6 of 12 within section UNIT I — Reconstruction and the Remaking of the Constitution. You must enroll in this course to access course content.
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The 15th Amendment: Voting Rights and the Promise of Political Equality
Lesson 7 of 12 within section UNIT I — Reconstruction and the Remaking of the Constitution. You must enroll in this course to access course content.
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Freedmen, Schools, Churches, and the Struggle to Build New Lives
Lesson 8 of 12 within section UNIT I — Reconstruction and the Remaking of the Constitution. You must enroll in this course to access course content.
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Resistance to Reconstruction: Black Codes, Violence, and the Rise of the Ku Klux Klan
Lesson 9 of 12 within section UNIT I — Reconstruction and the Remaking of the Constitution. You must enroll in this course to access course content.
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Impeachment of Andrew Johnson: A Constitutional Crisis
Lesson 10 of 12 within section UNIT I — Reconstruction and the Remaking of the Constitution. You must enroll in this course to access course content.
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Ulysses S. Grant and the Enforcement of Reconstruction
Lesson 11 of 12 within section UNIT I — Reconstruction and the Remaking of the Constitution. You must enroll in this course to access course content.
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The End of Reconstruction and the Compromise of 1877
Lesson 12 of 12 within section UNIT I — Reconstruction and the Remaking of the Constitution. You must enroll in this course to access course content.
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UNIT II — The Constitution in Practice After the Civil War

Why the Constitution Changed After the Civil War
Lesson 1 of 8 within section UNIT II — The Constitution in Practice After the Civil War. You must enroll in this course to access course content.
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Federal Power vs. States’ Rights After Reconstruction
Lesson 2 of 8 within section UNIT II — The Constitution in Practice After the Civil War. You must enroll in this course to access course content.
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The Supreme Court and the Narrowing of Reconstruction Rights
Lesson 3 of 8 within section UNIT II — The Constitution in Practice After the Civil War. You must enroll in this course to access course content.
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The Bill of Rights Applied to the States: Incorporation and the 14th Amendment
Lesson 4 of 8 within section UNIT II — The Constitution in Practice After the Civil War. You must enroll in this course to access course content.
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Civil Rights Cases, Plessy v. Ferguson, and the Rise of “Separate but Equal”
Lesson 5 of 8 within section UNIT II — The Constitution in Practice After the Civil War. You must enroll in this course to access course content.
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Voting Rights Under Attack: Poll Taxes, Literacy Tests, and Grandfather Clauses
Lesson 6 of 8 within section UNIT II — The Constitution in Practice After the Civil War. You must enroll in this course to access course content.
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The Constitution and the Meaning of Equal Protection
Lesson 7 of 8 within section UNIT II — The Constitution in Practice After the Civil War. You must enroll in this course to access course content.
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The Amendment Process: How Americans Change Their Constitution
Lesson 8 of 8 within section UNIT II — The Constitution in Practice After the Civil War. You must enroll in this course to access course content.
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UNIT III — Industrial America and the Gilded Age

Railroads, Steel, Oil, and the Rise of Big Business
Lesson 1 of 7 within section UNIT III — Industrial America and the Gilded Age. You must enroll in this course to access course content.
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Immigration, Urban Growth, and the New American City
Lesson 2 of 7 within section UNIT III — Industrial America and the Gilded Age. You must enroll in this course to access course content.
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Workers, Unions, Strikes, and the Question of Economic Liberty
Lesson 3 of 7 within section UNIT III — Industrial America and the Gilded Age. You must enroll in this course to access course content.
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Farmers, Populists, and the Demand for Reform
Lesson 4 of 7 within section UNIT III — Industrial America and the Gilded Age. You must enroll in this course to access course content.
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The Gilded Age Presidents and the Limits of Federal Government
Lesson 5 of 7 within section UNIT III — Industrial America and the Gilded Age. You must enroll in this course to access course content.
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The American West: Homesteaders, Railroads, and Native Nations
Lesson 6 of 7 within section UNIT III — Industrial America and the Gilded Age. You must enroll in this course to access course content.
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The Closing of the Frontier and the Changing Idea of America
Lesson 7 of 7 within section UNIT III — Industrial America and the Gilded Age. You must enroll in this course to access course content.
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UNIT IV — Progressivism, Reform, and New Amendments

The Progressive Era: Reforming Government and Society
Lesson 1 of 7 within section UNIT IV — Progressivism, Reform, and New Amendments. You must enroll in this course to access course content.
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Federal Reserve and Jekyll Island
Lesson 2 of 7 within section UNIT IV — Progressivism, Reform, and New Amendments. You must enroll in this course to access course content.
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The 16th Amendment: The Income Tax and the Expanding Federal Government
Lesson 3 of 7 within section UNIT IV — Progressivism, Reform, and New Amendments. You must enroll in this course to access course content.
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The 17th Amendment: Direct Election of Senators
Lesson 4 of 7 within section UNIT IV — Progressivism, Reform, and New Amendments. You must enroll in this course to access course content.
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The 18th Amendment: Prohibition and the Limits of Moral Reform
Lesson 5 of 7 within section UNIT IV — Progressivism, Reform, and New Amendments. You must enroll in this course to access course content.
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The 19th Amendment: Women’s Suffrage and the Long Fight for the Vote
Lesson 6 of 7 within section UNIT IV — Progressivism, Reform, and New Amendments. You must enroll in this course to access course content.
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Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, and the Modern Presidency
Lesson 7 of 7 within section UNIT IV — Progressivism, Reform, and New Amendments. You must enroll in this course to access course content.
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UNIT V — America Becomes a World Power

The Spanish-American War and America’s Overseas Expansion
Lesson 1 of 6 within section UNIT V — America Becomes a World Power. You must enroll in this course to access course content.
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World War I: America Enters the Great War
Lesson 2 of 6 within section UNIT V — America Becomes a World Power. You must enroll in this course to access course content.
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Wilson’s Fourteen Points, the League of Nations, and the Treaty Fight
Lesson 3 of 6 within section UNIT V — America Becomes a World Power. You must enroll in this course to access course content.
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The 1920s: Prosperity, Culture, Conflict, and Constitutional Tensions
Lesson 4 of 6 within section UNIT V — America Becomes a World Power. You must enroll in this course to access course content.
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The Great Depression and the Crisis of American Confidence
Lesson 5 of 6 within section UNIT V — America Becomes a World Power. You must enroll in this course to access course content.
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Franklin Roosevelt, the New Deal, and the Growth of Federal Power
Lesson 6 of 6 within section UNIT V — America Becomes a World Power. You must enroll in this course to access course content.
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UNIT VI — War, Cold War, and Civil Rights

World War II: Democracy, Mobilization, and Total War
Lesson 1 of 6 within section UNIT VI — War, Cold War, and Civil Rights. You must enroll in this course to access course content.
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The Constitution in Wartime: Japanese Internment and Civil Liberties
Lesson 2 of 6 within section UNIT VI — War, Cold War, and Civil Rights. You must enroll in this course to access course content.
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The Cold War Begins: Containment, Communism, and National Security
Lesson 3 of 6 within section UNIT VI — War, Cold War, and Civil Rights. You must enroll in this course to access course content.
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Brown v. Board of Education and the Fall of Legal Segregation
Lesson 4 of 6 within section UNIT VI — War, Cold War, and Civil Rights. You must enroll in this course to access course content.
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The Civil Rights Movement and the Second Reconstruction
Lesson 5 of 6 within section UNIT VI — War, Cold War, and Civil Rights. You must enroll in this course to access course content.
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The 24th Amendment and the Voting Rights Act: Protecting the Ballot
Lesson 6 of 6 within section UNIT VI — War, Cold War, and Civil Rights. You must enroll in this course to access course content.
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UNIT VII — Modern America and the Constitution Today

The Warren Court, Individual Rights, and the Constitution in Modern Life
Lesson 1 of 2 within section UNIT VII — Modern America and the Constitution Today. You must enroll in this course to access course content.
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America Since 1968: Rights, Responsibilities, Division, and the Future of the Republic
Lesson 2 of 2 within section UNIT VII — Modern America and the Constitution Today. You must enroll in this course to access course content.
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AMERICAN HISTORY 102 — FINAL EXAM

American History 102 — Final Exam
Lesson 1 of 1 within section AMERICAN HISTORY 102 — FINAL EXAM. You must enroll in this course to access course content.
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