Harper's Academy U.S. History and American Literature

Most of us have heard about this legendary Native American Princess from history and maybe a few of us have seen Disney's version of her story. Often, legendary stories are mixed with half-truths and great story-telling. The study of history asks us to look more closely at some of the information we CAN verify. This can be done through primary sources. Primary sources are defined by Wikipedia as "  an artifact, a document, diary,  manuscript , autobiography, a recording, or any other source of information that was created at the time under study. It serves as an original source of information about the topic." (emphasis mine). I like to go to the source as often as possible when I'm reading about a historical event, lest I confuse the Disney princess with the actual historical figure. Sometimes the writing is more archaic, or old-fashioned. There might be strange spellings or words you aren't familiar with. That's okay. You will understand more than you rea...

Class, I'm glad to have each of you join me for this journey into American history, literature, art, and music. Our goal this year is to gain a broader sense of our American culture, its major events and movements, our greatest artists and musicians, and the influences and shifts that have shaped our nation into what it is today. There is a great deal of information to cover, but I want to emphasize to you that we will not be experts by the end. In fact, learning is a lifelong pursuit. What I hope we can accomplish this year is to lay a healthy foundation, introducing you to the major players and events. We will break history down into units. Those units will have many sub-topics. Your task is to pick a couple of those sub-topics each week and research them more in-depth and prepare yourself for both class discussions and debates. You have some freedom here with your choices. If you are more interested in battles, then you can focus there. If you are more interested in the politica...