Rediscovering the American Republic, 1877–Present (US History)

  • Duration: 15 Weekly 60-min. Discussions
  • Schedule: Spring 2027
  • Price: $400
Objective

To recognize the sources of America’s economic prosperity and trace the nation’s emergence as a world superpower, while acknowledging ongoing challenges of living up to the founders’ commitment to protecting natural rights.

Outline

Part 1: America in the Gilded Age, 1877–1901

  1. Gilded Age America
  2. Native Americans in the Nineteenth Century
  3. Populism

Part 2: Progressive Reform and Human Nature, 1901–1929

  1. Progressivism
  2. The Great War
  3. The Roaring Twenties

Part 3: The Emergence of the American Superpower, 1929–1953

  1. The Great Depression and the New Deal
  2. The Second World War
  3. The Iron Curtain

Part 4: The Cold War and Civil Rights, 1953–1981

  1. The Cold War and the Civil Rights Movement
  2. The Sixties
  3. The Vietnam War and the Feminist Movement

Part 5: The Triumph and the Vulnerability of the World’s Only Superpower

  1. Reaganomics and the End of the Cold War
  2. The Nineties
  3. America’s Quest for Ordered Liberty Today
Related Course(s)
Instructor

Dr. Ryan MacPherson holds a PhD in history and philosophy of science from the University of Notre Dame. After serving for twenty years as a professor at Bethany Lutheran College, he was appointed academic dean of Luther Classical College in 2023. He is author of Rediscovering the American Republic, a two-volume anthology of primary sources in American history, as well as several other books on topics ranging from theology to politics to bioethics. Dr. MacPherson has testified in court in defense of a homeschool father and for the protection of traditional American civics curricula, contributed to legal briefs submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court in defense of marriage and the rule of law, appeared regularly on a variety of radio shows, and taught seminars for pastors and educators in Canada, Denmark, and Ecuador.

Our Unique Approach

  • Supporting families in lifelong learning
  • Offering interactive live sessions through small-audience videoconferencing
  • Teaching according to the classical pursuit of goodness, truth, and beauty
  • Cultivating the values of Western civilization: natural law, cardinal and theological virtues, Socratic questioning, syllogistic reasoning
  • Promoting the ideals of America’s founding: representative government and the rule of law for protecting people’s God-given rights to life, liberty, and property
  • Standing on the foundation of the historic Christian faith as taught in Holy Scripture and confessed in the ecumenical creeds and Augsburg Confession

Registration Opens May 1

Registration for  Fall 2026 opens on May 1.

For our Natural Childbirth Class, registration is available now by clicking here.

For all other courses, please browse our catalog of offerings and contact us if you wish to be updated when registration opens.

Testimonials

Not only does Mrs. MacPherson have a huge breadth of knowledge ranging across many fields, but she possesses that rare gift of being able to impart that knowledge to her students in a meaningful way. My sons marveled at how much they learned in a single course and appreciated the clarity with which complicated ideas were communicated. We will definitely be looking for more classes from Mrs. MacPherson!

—Elise, Kentucky

Dr. Ryan MacPherson does an excellent job using the Socratic method to lead his students toward goodness, truth, and beauty. I have gained a wealth of knowledge from his teaching.

—Douglas, Montana