Carol Berkin, et al., Making America: A History of the United States; Volume One, To 1877 (7th ed., Stamford, CT: Cengage, 2015). ISBN: 9781285194806 PLEASE NOTE: Reading Quizzes and Document Assignments are based on THIS EDITION and THIS EDITION ONLY; it will be impossible to pass this course without access to this edition.   IMPORTANT: If you see a 7th edition that is labeled "Advantage" or "Advantage Books" THAT IS THE WRONG BOOK This is the primary text for the course and is required for all students. It contains information essential for completing all of the work for the class. You will not pass the class if you do not have this material. NOTE: You can purchase this book in electronic form (PDF files), either in its entirety or on a chapter-by-chapter basis. Click on the link below to review this option.

In addition, all students must have regular access to the Internet and a browser that is compatible with the version of Blackboard that is available for this campus. For details about compatibility, contact the COLT² by email at coltthelp@utrgv.edu or on the Edinburg campus by telephone at 956-665-5327 or visit the COLT² Helpdesk at EDCC 2.202; on the Brownsville campus by telephone at 956-882-6792 or visit the COLT² Helpdesk at Rusteberg 108. In addition to this general requirement, students will also need the following applications and skills:

• A Portable Document Format (PDF) reader (if you do not have one, Adobe Acrobat Reader may be downloaded free from http://get.adobe.com/reader/);
• A word processing program that has the capability to save files in one or more of the following formats: MS Word (.doc or .docx), Open Office (.odt), Hypertext Markup (.htm or .html), Rich Text Format (.rtf), or Portable Document (.pdf);
• Working familiarity with Blackboard including the following tools: email, discussions, assessments (quizzes), and the assignment drop box including how to submit attachments through the drop box tool. A Blackboard orientation is available under University Resources on the course home page and a Blackboard help manual is available on the course home page. If further assistance is required, please contact the COLT² Helpdesk as directed above.