Ad helium Pace Parati: prepared in peace for war. This sentiment was much on the mind of Captain Arthur L. Wagner as he contemplated the quality of military education at the Infantry and Cavalry School at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, during the 1890s. Wagner believed that the school's curricula during the long years of peace had become too far removed from the reality of war, and he cast about for ways to make the study of conflict more real to officers who had no experience in combat. Eventually, he arrived at a concept called the "Staff Ride," which consisted of detailed classroom study of an actual campaign followed by a visit to the sites associated with that campaign. Although Wagner never lived to see the Staff Ride added to the Leavenworth curricula, an associate of his, Major Eben Swift, implemented the Staff Ride at the General Service and Staff School in 1906. In July of that year, Swift led a contingent of twelve students to Chattanooga, Tennessee, to begin a two-week study of the Atlanta campaign of 1864.

The US/American History I course was developed through the Ohio Department of Higher Education OER Innovation Grant. This work was completed and the course was posted in September 2019. The course is part of the Ohio Transfer Assurance Guides and is also named OHS043. For more information about credit transfer between Ohio colleges and universities, please visit: transfercredit.ohio.gov.Team LeadCraig Semsel                                     Lorain County Community College   Content ContributorsSharon Deubreau                              Rhodes State CollegeRuth Dubinsky                                   Stark State CollegePeter Manos                                      Cleveland State UniversityLibrarianTim Sandusky                                   Ohio Dominican UniversityReview TeamDavid Stebenne                                Ohio State University 

"The American Civil War, the bloodiest in the nation’s history, resulted in approximately 750,000 deaths. The war touched the life of nearly every American as military mobilization reached levels never seen before or since... The Civil War was a defining event in the history of the United States and, for the Americans thrust into it, a wrenching one." -The American Yawp, Chap. 14 Introduction[Image: 23rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry Color Guard - Ohio History Connection]

U.S. History is designed to meet the scope and sequence requirements of most introductory courses. 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). U.S. History covers key forces that form the American experience, with particular attention to issues of race, class, and gender.

U.S. History is designed for a two-semester American history sequence. It is traditional in coverage, following a roughly chronological outline, and using a balanced approach that includes political, economic, social, and cultural developments. At the same time, the book includes a number of innovative and interactive features designed to enhance student learning. Instructors can also customize the book, adapting it to the approach that works best in their classroom.

The Origins and Outbreak of the Civil War
Early Mobilization and War
1863: The Changing Nature of the War
The Union Triumphant

Modern wars are not confined to the battlefield. Americans in the North and South contributed to the war effort unlike civilians of any previous conflict. The political leaders in the Union and Confederacy each had battles of their own to wage. The Civil War would also require a complete revolution in the economies of both regions. The results of such changes would not only determine the outcome of the war, but would utterly transform the new nation politically, socially, and economically.

The American Civil War brought women new responsibilities on the battlefield and at home. Many became providers for their families, managing farms and businesses while male relatives served in the military. Many also contributed to the Union or Confederacy. Some raised money and supplies through ladies’ aid and soldiers’ aid societies as well as the US Sanitary Commission, a private agency that operated across the North and became critical to the Union victory. Others nursed soldiers (Louisa May Alcott, author of the beloved novel Little Women, worked as an army nurse), spied on the enemy, cooked and laundered for enlisted men, and served as uniformed battlefield helpers called vivandières. Unknown numbers of women fought as soldiers by concealing their identities and enlisting as men.