History
Get Your History Degree From a Christian University
Prepare for a successful career while earning your bachelor’s, master’s, doctoral, associate, or minor from Liberty University’s Department of History. With our history, social sciences, and military studies degree programs, your knowledge of these fields will be enriched as you explore exciting career options.
Courses are taught from a Christian worldview by experienced professors who share your passion for history and are grounded in their faith. Interested in a career in politics, education, or communications? A degree from our Department of History will get you ready for these career opportunities and more.
History Featured Areas of Study
View all History Degrees
- Earn a bachelor’s and master’s degree with our History dual degrees
- Enhance your degree with a History minor
- View certificate programs offered by the History department
- For advising, contact history@liberty.edu
Featured History Faculty
Student Opportunities
Public History Projects
- Chaplains Museum
Open Monday through Friday 12:00 p.m.-4:30 p.m. and Saturday 10:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. on the terrace level of the JF Library. Summer hours vary.
- New London Projects
The New London projects give students hands-on opportunities in archaeology, historical architecture, historical interpretation, and much more.
- 250th Commemorative Conference
In honor of the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States, the Department of History invites scholars, students, and researchers to participate in our commemorative conference, America’s Founding: Legacy and Influence. Join us as we reflect on the story of a nation and the faith, courage, and convictions that continue to shape it. Liberty University is proud to be a Commemorative Partner of VA250—Virginia’s American Revolution 250 Commission.
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History students SHOWED UP for Research Week this year! Congrats to all of our award winners!
Undergraduate Textual or Investigative Poster – 1st – Sydney Gilbert
Undergraduate Textual or Investigative Oral – 1st – Ethan Hope Ogden; 2nd – Nathaniel Estrada; 3rd – Chandler Lilley
Graduate Textual or Investigative Oral – 3rd – Dylan Cumbo
Graduate People’s Choice Three Minute Thesis – 1st – Rebecca Felton
May 11
As May continues, we pause to remember several important moments from this spring month in American history. On May 8, 1846, the Battle of Palo Alto marked the first major engagement of the Mexican-American War. Fought near present-day Brownsville, Texas, the battle took place on a coastal plain dotted with trees — an environment that inspired its Spanish name, Palo Alto, meaning “tall timber.”
Mexican forces under General Mariano Arista, numbering more than 3,000 men, faced General Zachary Taylor and his American troops. A key factor in the engagement was U.S. artillery, including cannons originally intended for Fort Texas (later Fort Brown). Mexican artillery fire frequently fell short of American lines, limiting its effectiveness. By the end of the fighting, U.S. forces held a clear advantage and suffered relatively few casualties. General Arista’s army reported more than 200 soldiers killed or wounded, while American losses totaled just over 50, including Major Samuel Ringgold, a pioneer of U.S. light artillery tactics.
Today, the Palo Alto Battlefield remains largely undeveloped and is preserved by the National Park Service. Visitors can explore the site in South Texas and reflect on the opening chapter of a war that reshaped the continent.
May 8
American labor history remembers a major turning point on May 4, 1886, with the anniversary of the Haymarket Square Riot in Chicago, Illinois. Haymarket Square was the location of a rally that had been organized by labor activists and radicals following the events of May 3. On May 3, 1886, strikers at the McCormick Reaper Works factory clashed with Chicago police, and at least five strikers were killed. Many fellow strikers were upset over the deaths, and activists and anarchists called for a rally to be held the next day in Haymarket Square. One of the anarchist leaders was August Spies, who had witnessed the deaths on May 3 while he was speaking to strikers. Later that night, Spies wrote a piece in an anarchist newspaper entitled “Workingmen, To Arms.” The next day, May 4, other anarchist groups called for a rally to protest police brutality, which Spies opened by giving a speech deifying the strikers. Even the Chicago mayor Carter Harrison attended the rally in order to oversee a peaceful event.
Unfortunately, there was no peaceful end to the rally. When police officers were working to disperse the crowd at the end of the night, an unidentified individual threw a bomb at the police officers. Shots rang out from officers and possibly other citizens in the crowd. As a result of the violence of the night, seven police officers were killed and many citizens were injured. The aftermath of the violence brought about the arrest of eight men, including August Spies, all of whom were convicted of charges of conspiracy to throw the bomb, although there was no evidence of a connection to any of the eight. The Haymarket Square Riot and the convictions that followed had mixed reactions from the American public. Some Americans became more anti-labor, and others deified the eight men and earlier strikers as early labor heroes. Regardless, the Haymarket Square Riot made a significant mark in American labor history, representing a violent clash between law enforcement and citizen strikers in a large city.
May 4
Last week, History students presented their research at Research Week!
Image 1: Graduate students who participated in 3 Minute Thesis.
Image 2: Timothy Johnson presenting “Analysis of the contents of Oral Histories from the Voices of 9.11 archive and the Naval History and Heritage Command records of 9/11 at the Pentagon.”
Image 3: Wesley Jones presenting "Winston Churchill’s Crucial Role in Developing the Tank."
May 1
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(434) 592-4366
history@liberty.edu
DeMoss Hall 4334
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