How did the United States of America arrive where it is today? Growing from an extremely poor and sparsely populated land into the wealthiest nation on earth, USA is a colonial success story. But there is more to the story than economic growth; poverty, inequality, racial conflict, declining fertility, violence, and economic instability are outcomes of economic decisions that were made in the past. During this course we will go over the characteristics, the main facts of the US economy that can be credited for its exceptional historic economic growth with an eye to understand its current economic conditions. We will break down the individual components of the US economy that have contributed to its long run growth trajectory. This is as much an economic course as it is a history one. You will be introduced to several tools needed to analyze historical events in the light of economic theory. We will discuss historical events and also theoretical models that will help us make sense of those events. We will employ critical thinking throughout contrasting different interpretations and analyzing the advantages and shortcomings of each of them.

How did the United States of America arrive where it is today? Growing from an extremely poor and sparsely populated land into the wealthiest nation on earth, USA is a colonial success story. But there is more to the story than economic growth; poverty, inequality, racial conflict, declining fertility, violence, and economic instability are outcomes of economic decisions that were made in the past. During this course we will go over the characteristics, the main facts of the US economy that can be credited for its exceptional historic economic growth with an eye to understand its current economic conditions. We will break down the individual components of the US economy that have contributed to its long run growth trajectory. This is as much an economic course as it is a history one. You will be introduced to several tools needed to analyze historical events in the light of economic theory. We will discuss historical events and also theoretical models that will help us make sense of those events. We will employ critical thinking throughout contrasting different interpretations and analyzing the advantages and shortcomings of each of them.