Review: The Nomadic Professor American History, Parts 3 & 4

Today, I’m sharing my review of The Nomadic Professor American History course, Parts 3 and 4. (I reviewed Parts 1 and 2 earlier this summer.)

Disclosure: I received a complimentary subscription for review from Timberdoodle and The Nomadic Professor. All views expressed are my own.

Overview

The Nomadic Professor American History, Parts 3 and 4, is a 10-month online subscription for high school students or adults. It offers “authentic, place-based learning” with a strong emphasis on critical thinking.

Each part is typically completed in one semester, with both parts for a full school year. (For a robust chronological two-year U.S. history study, I recommend completing Parts 1 and 2 one year, followed by Parts 3 and 4 the following year.)

The Nomadic Professor American History course has a total of four parts:

Pre-1492 to 1788: From the pre-Columbian Americas to the ratification of the Constitution
1789 to 1877: From Washington’s presidency to the end of Reconstruction
1878 to 1941: From Crazy Horse to Pearl Harbor
1942 to near the present: From World War II to the 21st Century

What’s Included

Each unit presents the information in various ways to reinforce the concepts and cater to a broad spectrum of learning styles.

On-screen text to read
Historical photos, maps, and charts to illustrate the text throughout
Video lectures filmed on location to tie in with the historical period or subject matter
Guided notes to utilize alongside the video
Downloadable audio files that include both the on-screen text and video lectures
Illustrated timeline to show when events happened in relation to one another
Document lessons to examine primary sources
Glossary to learn or review
Activities and worksheets to reinforce concepts
Discussion topics
Writing prompts

Resources for the parent or instructor include:

Course handbook
Answer keys for the guided notes
Grading rubrics
Online record-keeping
Tracking and scheduling options

Part 3: Monsters to Destroy

The 10 units in Part 3 include:

1877-1883: the first decades after Reconstruction, including the presidencies of Hayes, Garfield, and Arthur
1884-1890: changes in American business and politics toward the end of the nineteenth century
1891-1897: wealth and education, economic and foreign policies, labor and capital, race relations
1898-1904: foreign policy in the Americas and Asia, life and politics around the turn of the century
1905-1911: the Second Industrial Revolution, Progressivism, the presidencies of Roosevelt and Taft
1912-1918: the presidency of Wilson, progressive reforms, America’s “neutral” years, America’s entrance into WWI
1919-1925: the Treaty of Versailles, international communism, prohibition, women’s suffrage, the presidencies of Harding and Coolidge
1926-1932: Hoover’s response to the Wall Street Crash, the rise of FDR
1933-1939: the Great Depression, global turmoil
1940-1941: Pearl Harbor, America’s entrance into WWII

Part 4: A Great Consolidation

The 10 units in Part 4 include:

1942-1945: America in World War II
1946-1952: postwar American foreign policy, the Cold War, the Korean Wars, Truman’s presidency
1952-1958: Eisenhower’s presidency, the CIA abroad, the developing Civil Rights movement, Cold War tensions
1958-1962: Kennedy’s presidency, American popular culture, the space race, developments in the Cold War and the Civil Rights movement
1963-1965: social and civil upheavals, JFK’s assassination, Johnson’s presidency
1965-1969: assassinations, riots, civil unrest, the Vietnam War
1969-1975: ERA, environmentalist movement, Roe v. Wade, Wounded Knee, Watergate, the Cold War, the end of the Vietnam War
1975-1983: foreign policy, the bicentennial, the election of Reagan
1983-1991: presidencies of Reagan and Bush, the fall of the Berlin Wall
To 9/11 and After: the Gulf War, the War on Terrorism, presidencies of Bush, Clinton, and Bush

My Thoughts

My earliest recollection of national or world events is the day Richard Nixon resigned the presidency. I was 8 years old. I guess he had been president as long as I could remember, and it hadn’t occurred to me that he could step down and have someone else take over the job. I knew nothing about Watergate nor why there was a change; it was just that a man named Gerald Ford would now be the president.

While I have, of course, studied American history since then, going through The Nomadic Professor American History course recently helped me better understand some of the events during the past century (and before) that affected historical events in my lifetime and even the repercussions they have on current events.

If you’re looking for an immersive American history course for your high school student (or for your own enrichment), I definitely recommend The Nomadic Professor. Parts 3 and 4 cover the most recent history, including events we have lived through.