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Is it necessary for a student, if he wants a better understanding, to take an Antebellum period course before taking a Civil War course?
I think that really depends on:1) Your knowledge of American history of the 18th and early 19th Centuries.2) Your goals for the course - what do you hope to learn and how does it fit in your overall understanding of American history?I think that if your are the type of student who reads the required readings and does the work to the best of your ability, then no, I don't think you need to take the Antebellum course. BUT, if you're the type of student who also reads the "suggested" readings (and then some), is never fully satisfied with your papers, and even re-writes them after the class is over, then yes, the Antebellum course may well lend perspective.There is something to be said for taking history courses in chronological order - for continuity in your studies.
There is something to be said for taking history courses in chronological order - for continuity in your studies.
That's more my thinking.I'm very curious as to what led to the war, so I am leaning towards taking it. Also, my knowledge of 18th and early 19th century US history is limited at best.
There is something to be said for taking history courses in chronological order – for continuity in your studies.
I really, really prefer to take courses in chronological order. In fact, I don't know of any type of history course which would not be aided by first studying the previous period's history. The problem is simply that there's too much history for the amount of time we have available, so we have to cut corners. If I had the choice between a course on the Antebellum period and one on the Civil War, I think the latter would be much more beneficial.
I need 4 courses to fulfill US history requirements. I want to take Civil War and very much want to understand it as much as possible. With that in mind, it would probably be of great benefit to take the Antebellum course. (and wouldn't that period also cover the Westward expansion a lot? Or is that covered in Jacksonian America?) I'll just take 5 US history courses, and use one as an elective.
Sounds like fun. Will you take all four within successive time periods? Or are there certain courses that are more thematic in nature? In any case, it must be a delight to be able to have to fulfill these “requirements”.
In sequence of course. Next up is Jacksonian America. I'm just not sure I'm taking this now. I really, really want to take that Ancient Military history course. BTW, I've been out of school for a few months. It'll be good to get back into it.
Something that may really help…If you haven't read Allan Millet's and Peter Maslowski's For the Common Defense, I'd recommend that you do so, at least up to the period just after the Civil War. It gives an excellent overview of the development of the American military and its tenuous and tempestuous relationship with the American government. For me, it really set things in perspective. I've been a military historian for years, but it is amazing the gaps that I had in my understanding of the foundations of the the U.S. military (and I didn't even know that most of the gaps were there).
