Southern Utah University

Course Syllabus

Southern Utah University
Southern Utah University
Fall Semester 2025

US Economic History (Online)

ECON 1740-300

Course: ECON 1740-300
Credits: 3
Term: Fall Semester 2025
Department: ECON
CRN: 33067

Course Description

Satisfies American government requirement of General Education. History from colonial times to present. Coverage of U.S. Constitution; national economy; pluralism; ethnicity, race, gender; distribution of wealth and power; social conflict and reform; entrepreneurs, workers, workplace; cultural encounters; popular culture; and U.S. and global affairs. (Fall, Spring) [Graded (Standard Letter)] Registration Restriction(s): Intensive English Program majors may not enroll General Education Category: American Institutions, Social and Behavioral Sciences

Required Texts

Berri, David. 2023 The Last Hero’s Lesson
Great Rivers Learning.  


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Learning Outcomes

U.S. Economic History is part of the General Education program at Southern Utah University. This course fulfills the American Institution requirement.  It also is designed to achieve three general learning outcomes.  These include....

1.      Inquiry – or the ability to systematically explore issues.
2.      Analysis – or the ability to break complex topics and issues into parts to gain better understanding
3.      Critical thinking – or the ability to comprehensively explore issues BEFORE accepting or formulating an opinion and/or reaching a conclusion.

More specifically, at the conclusion of this course the student should 
1.                 understand the methods of economists and economic historians.
2.                 understand how past world events shaped the economic development of the United States 
3.                 understand the role economic incentives have played in shaping U.S. history and specifically the development of political parties.
4.                 understand the role institutions and basic path dependency have played in shaping U.S. history.
5.                 develop an appreciation of the world they are living in and have more optimism about the future. 

Course Requirements

Weekly Quizzes/Thought Questions
Frequent quizzes help you stay current with the class. I will try and post one or two of these each week.  You will generally have one week to take these.

Most quizzes will include “thought questions”.  These are literally just questions where I ask you to write a brief essay discussing what you think of the stories, songs, movies, etc…  You are given credit for writing these so please take some time when you are asked to share some thoughts!
Overall, the quizzes are worth 50% of your final grade. 
Note:             You must take (not pass, just take) at least half of these quizzes to pass the class.  

Midterm and Final Exam
We have two exams in this class.  The “midterm exam” (it is really just a longer quiz!) is a comprehensive exam over the first part of the class.  This exam is worth 15% of your overall grade. 
The final exam – given during finals week -- is comprehensive over the entire course.  The focus of the final will be on the primary lessons you learned in this class.  The exam will be worth 35% of your final grade and it will be given online during finals week. 

Course Outline

Week 1: America Today

Week 2: The Malthusian Trap and the Story of Economic Growth

Week 3: Adam Smith and the Origins of Economics

Week 4: The Role of Government in a Market Economy

Week 5: Common Law, Magna Carta, and the Bill of Rights

Week 6: Inflation and the National Debt

Week 7: The American Colonies

Week 8: The Rise of Industry and the American Farmer

Week 9: Women in American Economic History

Week 10: the History of Money and Banking in America

Week 11: The Federal Reserve

Week 12: The Great Depression

Week 13: Monetary Policy and Fiscal Policy

Week 14: Income Inequality and Immigration

Instructor's policies on late assignments and/or makeup work

The quizzes all have deadlines.  They are generally open for 7-10 days.  If I did not do this, some people would try and take all the quizzes the last week of class.  That would be very, very difficult.  Deadlines exist to force you to pay attention to the classes and read the book.  

Of course, sometimes the quiz will close before you take it. When I taught face-to-face my make-up policy was quite simple.  I didn’t offer these.  That made sense since I generally teach about 200 students (or more) each semester and giving face-to-face make-up quizzes would be very time consuming.  

But on Canvas these are much easier to give.  So, my policy on make-up quizzes is that I would like to not give these.  Again, you are given 7-10 days to take each quiz and that should be enough time.  That being said, stuff in life happens.  And when stuff happens that prevents you from taking the quizzes on time, please let me know 

So, my make-up policy is that I would prefer you not do this. But if you need to take a quiz after it closes, please just ask me to reopen the quiz! 

Attendance Policy

This is a Hyflex course.  This means it meets face-to-face. But those face-to-face recordings are broadcasted live on zoom and those zoom broadcasts are recorded. Students can take the course face-to-face. They can take it via synchronous zoom.  Or they can just take it via asynchronous zoom.  It is their choice and therefore there is no attendance policy. 

Course Fees

Content for this section will be provided by the instructor.

ADA Statement

Students with medical, psychological, learning, or other disabilities desiring academic adjustments, accommodations, or auxiliary aids will need to contact the Disability Resource Center, located in Room 206F of the Sharwan Smith Center or by phone at (435) 865-8042. The Disability Resource Center determines eligibility for and authorizes the provision of services.

If your instructor requires attendance, you may need to seek an ADA accommodation to request an exception to this attendance policy. Please contact the Disability Resource Center to determine what, if any, ADA accommodations are reasonable and appropriate.

Academic Credit

According to the federal definition of a Carnegie credit hour: A credit hour of work is the equivalent of approximately 60 minutes of class time or independent study work. A minimum of 45 hours of work by each student is required for each unit of credit. Credit is earned only when course requirements are met. One (1) credit hour is equivalent to 15 contact hours of lecture, discussion, testing, evaluation, or seminar, as well as 30 hours of student homework. An equivalent amount of work is expected for laboratory work, internships, practica, studio, and other academic work leading to the awarding of credit hours. Credit granted for individual courses, labs, or studio classes ranges from 0.5 to 15 credit hours per semester.

Academic Freedom

SUU is operated for the common good of the greater community it serves. The common good depends upon the free search for truth and its free exposition. Academic Freedom is the right of faculty to study, discuss, investigate, teach, and publish. Academic Freedom is essential to these purposes and applies to both teaching and research.

Academic Freedom in the realm of teaching is fundamental for the protection of the rights of the faculty member and of you, the student, with respect to the free pursuit of learning and discovery. Faculty members possess the right to full freedom in the classroom in discussing their subjects. They may present any controversial material relevant to their courses and their intended learning outcomes, but they shall take care not to introduce into their teaching controversial materials which have no relation to the subject being taught or the intended learning outcomes for the course.

As such, students enrolled in any course at SUU may encounter topics, perspectives, and ideas that are unfamiliar or controversial, with the educational intent of providing a meaningful learning environment that fosters your growth and development. These parameters related to Academic Freedom are included in SUU Policy 6.6.

Academic Misconduct

Scholastic honesty is expected of all students. Dishonesty will not be tolerated and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent (see SUU Policy 6.33). You are expected to have read and understood the current SUU student conduct code (SUU Policy 11.2) regarding student responsibilities and rights, the intellectual property policy (SUU Policy 5.52), information about procedures, and what constitutes acceptable behavior.

Please Note: The use of websites or services that sell essays is a violation of these policies; likewise, the use of websites or services that provide answers to assignments, quizzes, or tests is also a violation of these policies. Regarding the use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI), you should check with your individual course instructor.

Emergency Management Statement

In case of an emergency, the University's Emergency Notification System (ENS) will be activated. Students are encouraged to maintain updated contact information using the link on the homepage of the mySUU portal. In addition, students are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the Emergency Response Protocols posted in each classroom. Detailed information about the University's emergency management plan can be found at https://www.suu.edu/emergency.

HEOA Compliance Statement

For a full set of Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA) compliance statements, please visit https://www.suu.edu/heoa. The sharing of copyrighted material through peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing, except as provided under U.S. copyright law, is prohibited by law; additional information can be found at https://my.suu.edu/help/article/1096/heoa-compliance-plan.

You are also expected to comply with policies regarding intellectual property (SUU Policy 5.52) and copyright (SUU Policy 5.54).

Mandatory Reporting

University policy (SUU Policy 5.60) requires instructors to report disclosures received from students that indicate they have been subjected to sexual misconduct/harassment. The University defines sexual harassment consistent with Federal Regulations (34 C.F.R. Part 106, Subpart D) to include quid pro quo, hostile environment harassment, sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking. When students communicate this information to an instructor in-person, by email, or within writing assignments, the instructor will report that to the Title IX Coordinator to ensure students receive support from the Title IX Office. A reporting form is available at https://cm.maxient.com/reportingform.php?SouthernUtahUniv

Non-Discrimination Statement

SUU is committed to fostering an inclusive community of lifelong learners and believes our university's encompassing of different views, beliefs, and identities makes us stronger, more innovative, and better prepared for the global society.

SUU does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, citizenship, sex (including sex discrimination and sexual harassment), sexual orientation, gender identity, age, ancestry, disability status, pregnancy, pregnancy-related conditions, genetic information, military status, veteran status, or other bases protected by applicable law in employment, treatment, admission, access to educational programs and activities, or other University benefits or services.

SUU strives to cultivate a campus environment that encourages freedom of expression from diverse viewpoints. We encourage all to dialogue within a spirit of respect, civility, and decency.

For additional information on non-discrimination, please see SUU Policy 5.27 and/or visit https://www.suu.edu/nondiscrimination.

Pregnancy

Students who are or become pregnant during this course may receive reasonable modifications to facilitate continued access and participation in the course. Pregnancy and related conditions are broadly defined to include pregnancy, childbirth, termination of pregnancy, lactation, related medical conditions, and recovery. To obtain reasonable modifications, please make a request to title9@suu.edu. To learn more visit: https://www.suu.edu/titleix/pregnancy.html.

Disclaimer Statement

Information contained in this syllabus, other than the grading, late assignments, makeup work, and attendance policies, may be subject to change with advance notice, as deemed appropriate by the instructor.