I had to take this class as the course component for the civic literacy requirement at UF. If you have to do that I would definitely recommend this class over other options.

There are 1-3 readings weekly that each require a 200 word minimum summary of your notes. They are very simple and easy to get done. For the midterm there were 6 questions that each had a 300 word minimum response. The questions were given out very early in the semester making it easy to get done way before the due date. There were no real exams and the workload was very light.

Professor Chatfield is super sweet. He is very accommodating when it comes to late assignments and is genuinely interested in the content he is teaching.

The only tedious thing about this class was having to be in attendance Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, even though the lectures pretty much just summarize the readings you've already done. However, participation is not really required.

The class is overall very interesting if you like history. It is a lecture class, so be ready for a lot of students. However, the professor does ask questions for students to answer during lecture sessions, as he does want people to participate. The TA sections are a good way to review content and ask questions.

Most of your grade is based on weekly assignments from chapters of the textbooks. However, both textbooks that I was assigned (American Yawp and Emancipation Betrayed) are provided online by Dr. Bird so you do not need to buy a physical copy if you don't want to. There is also attendance, which is mandatory for lecture sessions, and is measured by surveys at the end of lectures; two quizzes, one on the US States and one on Constitutional Amendments; and the midterm and final, which are weighted 70% essay and 30% multiple choice.

Dr. Bird is really enthusiastic about the class and makes the class entertaining. The TAs are also really helpful.

An overall very time consuming class, but it's essentially just reading and videos for the entire course, so if your someone who enjoys that type of work you will do well in this class.

Very straightforward content, goes through US history by the numbers by videos and firsthand documents. You will have to write A LOT for the course, as all of the assignments are discussion based, but once you get the hang of how the assignments work it gets pretty easy. There is a final and midterm, both are relatively easy if you brush through the content before taking it. There is also an essay that takes up most of the grade, its very straightforward, just make sure you have enough information on your chosen topic.

Professor was very hands off for 90% of the course aside from midterms and essays. Lost class time due to hurricane but was very accommodating for my situation.

Because of the civic literacy requirement there are biweekly zoom meetings, I did not take these as they were only 5% of the grade and I still passed with an A. So I wouldn't use those unless you need a grade boost or help with the content ngl.