Research Guides: Open Educational Resources Subject Guide: U. S. History

Textbooks

OpenStax Books
US History to 1877. A collection of modules by Dr. James Ross-Nazzal and David White, this textbook will examine US history from the pre-Colombian era to the end of Reconstruction in 1877.
Boundless US History
OpenStax Books
U.S. History covers the breadth of the chronological history of the United States and also provides the necessary depth to ensure the course is manageable for instructors and students alike. U.S. History is designed to meet the scope and sequence requirements of most courses. The authors introduce key forces and major developments that together form the American experience, with particular attention paid to considering issues of race, class, and gender. The text provides a balanced approach to U.S. history, considering the people, events, and ideas that have shaped the United States from both the top down (politics, economics, diplomacy) and bottom up (eyewitness accounts, lived experience).
Open Course Library
HIST 146 -- US History l. The first in the introductory surveys of U.S. history. After exploring North America before the arrival of Europeans, we study the early interactions of Europeans with indigenous peoples and as the course progresses confine our study to the history of peoples in the area now defined by the United States’ borders.
Open Course Library
HIST 147 -- History ll. The second in the introductory surveys of U.S. history. We begin in that decade when the United States in three years (1845-48) grew by 50 percent. Through the Civil War to the 20th century, we explore how different people experienced the transformation of the country into an industrial nation and emerging world power.
Creative Commons License
Open Course Library
HIST 148 -- History III. This course "surveys the significant forces and people that have shaped American civilization since the Progressive Era to the present."
OpenStax Books
U.S. History Since 1877: The Progressive Era (Part 1). A module by Dr. James Ross-Nazzal.

Videos

Historic Film Archive (British Pathe Limited)
This film archive allows the user to locate and download for preview film clips from the entire 3,500-hour British Pathe Film Archive which covers news, sport, social history, and entertainment from 1896 to 1970.

Open Course Library

History 119 -- The Civil War And Reconstruction Era, 1845-1877
This course explores the causes, course, and consequences of the American Civil War, from the 1840s to 1877. The primary goal of the course is to understand the multiple meanings of a transforming event in American history.
Saylor Foundation: Introduction to U.S. History: Reconstruction To The Present
This course covers the major economic, political, and social changes of this period.