HIS 600 - Early American Encounters
This guide contains links to readings for the course as well as library resources targeted to a greater understanding of the initial contacts between European explorers, colonists, Native Americans, and displaced Africans.
Writing Guide
- Reading, Writing, and Researching for History This link opens in a new windowA series of guides on reading, researching and writing history by Patrick Rael, professor of History at Bowdoin College can be found here.
U.S. History Videos Covering the Early America
- Nightmare in Jamestown This link opens in a new windowBubonic plague, starvation, maybe even cannibalism—such were the miseries of life in England’s Jamestown settlement, circa 1609. Four centuries later, this program explores the colony’s story with the help of dramatic reenactments and information on recent historical discoveries. Sophisticated forensics and archaeological methods reveal the contents of Jamestown graves, producing shocking evidence of hunger and disease as well as political intrigue and espionage. Viewers also learn how the Church of England has allowed the attempted exhumation of 17th-century remains—female bones that could hold clues to the Jamestown struggle and to the contributions of an unsung hero named Bartholomew Gosnold. A National Geographic Production. (51 minutes)
- Rebels: America - The Story of Us This link opens in a new windowThe story of the American nation begins with the founding of the Jamestown and Plymouth colonies, interactions with Native American peoples, the hardships and dangers that faced the colonists, the origins of the slave trade and a slave-dependent economy, and the tensions that developed between Britain and her New World territories as the colonies grew stronger and more self-sufficient. Distributed by A&E Television Networks. Part of the series America: The Story of Us. (60 minutes)
- The Romantic Horizon This link opens in a new window"Upon the boundless plains of the West I have viewed man in the innocent simplicity of nature," said George Catlin of the Indians. This program follows the path of Lewis and Clark, revealing the new lands through the eyes of artist-explorers George Catlin, Karl Bodmer, and Alfred Jacob Miller. Canvas and notebook in hand, they scoured the wilderness and returned East with the first glimpses of the frontier that would soon capture the world’s imagination. (57 minutes)
- Westward: America—The Story of Us This link opens in a new windowThe drama of America’s unstoppable growth continues with wagon trains and cattle barons headed westward, confronting Native American Indians as well as the interests of the Spanish and French. Resulting increases in Westward migration and the discovery of gold and other natural resources are covered in this program, along with the rise of the steamboat and a new era of commerce and industry. Distributed by A&E Television Networks. Part of the series America: The Story of Us. (60 minutes)
- New World Rising This link opens in a new windowNew World Rising-Native Americans tap ten thousand years of beliefs and traditions to fight the forces of Conquest. Distributed by PBS Distribution.
Historical Associations and Communities
- American Historical Association This link opens in a new windowThe professional and academic organization of academic historians, this organization has a wealth of information about careers in history as well as a directory of historians and historical programs
- H-Net: Humanities and Social Sciences Online This link opens in a new windowH-Net "creates and coordinates Internet networks with the common objective of advancing teaching and research in the arts, humanities, and social sciences." Contains public discussion lists related to numerous disciplines.
- Organization of American Historians This link opens in a new windowLess focused on academic history, the OAH nonetheless provides quite a bit of information about the profession, jobs, and current topics in history.