D267 is Western Governors University's general education survey of American history, from early colonization to the mid-twentieth century.
WGU's program guide says the course explores how historical events and major themes have affected diverse populations, influenced changes in policy and established the American definition of democracy. It has an introduction and five major sections, matched by five competencies, and WGU estimates 30 to 40 hours of content for newcomers.
The course is used in many bachelor's programs; the B.S. Finance guide, for example, lists it in term 10. The challenge is method: the competencies ask you to analyze sources and explain effects, not memorize names and dates.
Course at a Glance
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| University | Western Governors University (WGU) |
| Course code | D267 (codes can change between catalog versions) |
| Level | Undergraduate general education |
| Competency units | 3 |
| Coverage | Early colonization to the mid-twentieth century |
| Format | Self-paced, five sections, one final assessment |
What D267 Covers
| Competency (summarized) | What it asks of you |
|---|---|
| Analyze secondary sources | Use historians' accounts to understand events and processes |
| Analyze primary sources | Read documents from the time and explain what they reveal |
| Explain the effect of individuals' actions | Show how particular people changed the course of events |
| Explain the effect of institutions on society | Courts, Congress, churches, unions or schools and their impact |
| Describe how economic, political and social factors affect communities | Link broad forces to the lives of specific groups |
Key Concepts Explained
Primary and Secondary Sources
A primary source was created at the time: a letter, speech, law, photograph or newspaper. A secondary source interprets the past later, such as a historian's book. Each needs different questions.
Example: Frederick Douglass's 1852 speech "What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?" is a primary source. Ask who wrote it, for whom, when and why. A modern historian's chapter on abolitionism is secondary: ask what argument it makes and what evidence it uses.
Individuals and Institutions
History happens through both people and structures. A strong answer shows how a person acted within, or against, an institution.
Example: In 1955 Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat in Montgomery. Her act mattered partly because organizations such as the NAACP and local church networks turned it into a sustained bus boycott, and because the federal courts later ruled the city's bus segregation unconstitutional.
Economic, Political and Social Factors
When describing a community, separate the three: jobs and money, laws and power, and family, culture and status. Then show how they interacted.
Typical Assessment Work and How to Approach It
| Task type | What it tests | How to approach it |
|---|---|---|
| Primary source analysis | Close reading in context | Author, audience, date, purpose, then what it reveals |
| Secondary source use | Understanding interpretation | Summarize the historian's argument before using it |
| Individual or institution | Explaining effects | Describe the action, then trace its consequences |
| Community impact | Linking forces to people | Organize by economic, political and social factors |
Reading Sources: A Quick Method
Source analysis carries two of the five competencies, so it is worth having a reliable routine. The questions below work for letters, speeches, laws, photographs and cartoons.
| Question | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Who created it? | Their position shapes what they saw and said |
| When and where? | Context explains references and urgency |
| For whom? | Audience shapes tone and emphasis |
| Why? | Purpose reveals bias and intent |
| What does it show? | The historical insight you can defend |
Example: The Declaration of Sentiments from the 1848 Seneca Falls Convention deliberately echoes the Declaration of Independence. Asking "why?" reveals the strategy: its authors claimed the founding ideals of democracy for women. That insight connects a primary source to the course's central theme, how the American definition of democracy was contested and widened.
For secondary sources, add one more question: what is the historian's argument, and what evidence supports it? Summarize that argument fairly before agreeing or disagreeing with it.
Where Students Get Stuck
- Summarizing sources. Retelling a document is not analysis. Explain what it shows and why it matters.
- Ignoring context. A source makes sense only against the time, place and audience it was written for.
- Great-person history. Individuals matter, but explain the conditions and institutions that shaped what they could do.
- Treating groups as one. The course stresses diverse populations; the same event often affected groups very differently.
Study Tips for D267
- Use a five-question template for every source: who, when, for whom, why, and what it shows.
- Build a timeline of the course's major periods with one source and one institution for each.
- For each case, note who gained and who lost. It makes community-impact answers sharper.
- Read the task wording closely: "analyze", "explain" and "describe" ask for different depth.
How We Help with D267
Send the task instructions, the sources you must use and any feedback. A history tutor explains the context, prepares model source analyses and explanations, or reviews your draft for accuracy and depth.
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Frequently Asked Questions
WGU describes it as a survey from early colonization to the mid-twentieth century.
Five: analyzing secondary sources, analyzing primary sources, explaining the effect of individuals, explaining the effect of institutions, and describing how economic, political and social factors affect communities.
A primary source comes from the period itself; a secondary source is a later interpretation, usually by a historian.
WGU estimates 30 to 40 hours of content for students new to the subject.
No. That is a separate WGU general education course. D267 is a history survey built around sources and themes.
Yes. Send the source and the task, and a tutor walks you through context, purpose and meaning.