History of the United States to 1877

This course is designed to introduce students to important themes in the history of the United States between the origins of the nation and its Civil War and Reconstruction. The following comprise the principal objectives of this course:

• Expose students to the art of critical reading and historical analysis of primary source documents.
• Allow students to develop their own interpretative frameworks for understanding the significance of various developments in America's first century.
• Provide students with a strong conceptual background to interpret conflict and social change in American culture both in the past and in the present.

REQUIRED READINGS: (The following books are available at the College Bookstore)

• Elliott Gorn, et al., Constructing the American Past, 3^rd ed.
• Edward Countryman, The American Revolution.
• Bruce Levine, Half Slave and Half Free.
• Christine Stansell, City of Women: Sex and Class in New York, 1789-1860.
• Henry. L. Gates, Classic Slave Narratives. [Frederick Douglass & Harriet Jacobs]
• Theda Perdue and Michael Green, eds., The Cherokee Removal.
• Peter Duus, The Japanese Discovery of America.
• Joseph Glatthaar, Forged in Battle: The Civil War Alliance of Black Soldiers and White Officers.
• James Roark, Masters without Slaves: Southern Planters in the Civil War and Reconstruction.

SUPPLEMENTAL READINGS: (Students will be required to read only one)

• Marcus Rediker, Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea.
• Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, A Midwife's Tale: The Life of Martha Ballard Based on Her Diary.
• Douglas Egerton, Gabriel's Rebellion: The Virginia Slave Conspiracies of 1800 & 1802.
• Annette Gordon Reed, Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings: An American Controversy.
• Christine Heyrman, Southern Cross: The Beginnings of the Bible Belt.
• Stephen Aron, How the West Was Lost: The Transformation of Kentucky from Boone to Clay.
• Patricia Cline Cohen, The Murder of Helen Jewett.
• Eric Lott, Love and Theft: Blackface Minstrelsy and the American Working Class.
• Winthrop Jordan, Tumult and Silence at Second Creek.

A Reserve Readings Binder (for paper assignments) has been placed on General Reserve at McCabe Library. Additional handouts will also be given as reading assignments.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:

Class participation: Students are required to attend all class meetings, complete all assigned readings, and be prepared to discuss the readings each week. Students are expected to contribute actively to the collective learning experience of the course. The following is the History Department policy on attendance: "Students are required to attend all classes for the successful completion of the course. Unexcused absences will result in a lower grade."

Writing Assignments:

Papers: Four papers (approximately 5 double-spaced pages [1,700 words maximum]) will be written throughout the semester. A handout will be distributed in class that outlines the expectations and requirements of the papers. ** No extensions will be granted. **

Book Reviews: Each student will sign up to write a book review (3-4 pages [1,200 words max.]) of one of the nine supplemental reading books. The books will be spread evenly among the students. The book reviews are due in class on the dates specified in the syllabus. On that day, the students who have written reviews of the same book will make an oral presentation (10 min) about the book to the class. Students should meet and prepare this presentation prior to class.

Writing Associates: Students will be required to submit their first three completed papers (not the book reviews) for review and assistance to an assigned Writing Associate (WA). It is the student's responsibility (not the WA's) to make sure that a meeting has been arranged and completed. Both copies of the paper (WA copy and Final draft) must be submitted on the final due date.

Final Examination: A comprehensive final examination will be given at the end of the semester, on the scheduled exam date.

CLASS SCHEDULE:

Week 1:

Sept. 2 -- INTRODUCTION

Week 2:

Readings:

Gorn, et al., Constructing the American Past, ch. 1-4.
Countryman, The American Revolution., prologue & ch. 1.

Sept. 7 -- COLONIAL LEGACIES

Sept. 9 -- EMPIRE, REBELLION & INDEPENDENCE

Week 3:

Readings:

Countryman, The American Revolution., ch. 2-7.
Gorn, et al., Constructing the American Past, ch. 5-6.
Levine, Half-Slave, Half-Free; Introduction.

Sept. 14 -- THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION

Sept. 16 -- CONSTITUTION & RACIAL ORIGINS OF AMERICAN REVOLUTION

Week 4:

Readings:

Stansell, City of Women.
Levine, Half-Slave, Half-Free; ch. 2.

Sept. 21 -- TRANSITION TO CAPITALISM

Sept. 23 -- INDUSTRIALIZATION IN THE NORTH

FIRST PAPER DUE: SEPT. 23 (in class). [FINAL DRAFT - DUE: OCT. 1]

Week 5:

Readings:

Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, in Gates, Classic Slave Narratives.
Levine, Half-Slave, Half-Free; ch. 1 & 4.

Sept. 28 -- SLAVERY IN THE SOUTH

Sept. 30 -- SLAVE RESISTANCE

Week 6:

Readings:

Gorn, et al., Constructing the American Past, ch. 8: "Slave Conspiracy of 1822".
Harriet Jacobs, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl in Gates, Classic Slave Narratives.

Oct. 5 -- THE LIVES OF SLAVES

Oct. 7 -- AN AFRICAN-AMERICAN CULTURE

Fall vacation: October 12 & 14

Week 7:

Readings:

Levine, Half-Slave, Half-Free; ch. 6.
Gorn, et al., Constructing the American Past, ch. 7: "Camp Meeting Christianity".

Oct. 19 -- RELIGIOUS REVIVALISM & REFORM

Oct. 21 -- ABOLITIONISM

SECOND PAPER DUE: OCT. 21 (in class). [FINAL DRAFT - DUE: NOV. 2]

Week 8:

Readings:

Levine, Half-Slave, Half-Free; ch. 3, 5, & 7.
Gorn, et al., Constructing the American Past, ch. 10.

Oct. 26 -- THE MEANINGS OF POLITICAL DEMOCRACY

Oct. 28 -- FAMILY, SEX, AND GENDER

Week 9:

Readings:

Perdue & Green, Cherokee Removal.

Nov. 2 -- WESTWARD EXPANSION & CONQUEST --

Nov. 4 -- INDIAN REMOVAL & "MANIFEST DESTINY"

Week 10:

Readings:

Duus, Japanese Discovery of America.
Gorn, et al., Constructing the American Past, ch. 9: "Remembering the Alamo"

Nov. 9 -- MISSION & EMPIRE: THE U.S. CONFRONTS A WIDER WORLD

Nov. 11 -- "JAPANESE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA"

Week 11:

Readings:

Levine, Half-Slave, Half-Free; ch. 8-10.
Gorn, et al., Constructing the American Past, ch. 11: "A House Divided"

Nov. 16 -- SECTIONAL CONFLICT & CIVIL WAR

THIRD PAPER DUE: NOV. 16 (in class). [FINAL DRAFT - DUE: NOV. 24]

Nov. 18 -- CIVIL WAR

Week 12:

Readings:

Joseph Glatthaar, Forged in Battle
Gorn, et al., Constructing the American Past, ch. 12: "New York City Draft Riots"

Nov. 23 -- DISCUSSION: "BLACK SOLDIERS IN THE CIVIL WAR"

Nov. 25 -- Thanksgiving Holiday

Week 13:

Readings:

Roark, Masters without Slaves.

Nov. 30 -- EMANCIPATION

Dec. 2 -- RECONSTRUCTION

Week 14:

Readings:

Gorn, et al., Constructing the American Past, Ch. 13: "Rise of the Ku Klux Klan"

Dec. 7 -- DISCUSSION: "WHITE TERRORISTS"

Dec. 9 -- OVERVIEW AND REVIEW

FOURTH PAPER DUE: DEC. 10 (by 4pm) [NO WA COPY REQUIRED]

FINAL EXAMINATION: Date & Time: _________________________