In the future, I would like to explore a less expensive textbook. The Roark was inexpensive (at least relatively so) when I started using it, but there have been multiple editions since then, raising used prices, and I would also like a more engaging text. Suggestions are welcome.
U.S.
History to the Civil War
Spring
2015, HI 111
1:00-2:15pm,
HC 303
Instructor: Dr. Kerry Wynn Office:
Henderson 311E
Email:
kerry.wynn@washburn.edu Office
phone: 670-2062
Office hours: Tuesday/Thursday,
10:30-12:00 (and by appointment)
Course Description:
This course provides an
introduction to the history of the United States from the Colonial Era to
Reconstruction (roughly 1500-1865). Over
the course of the semester, we will travel from the meeting of separate cultures
on the North American continent to the reunion of Northern and Southern states
after the Civil War. We will examine the
people and circumstances that created the United States, and we will discuss
the possibilities and limitations of the American nation. We will cover an extended period of time, in
which immense changes occurred on the North American continent. By 1865, the landscape, peoples, and
governments of the Americas had been changed by centuries of inter-cultural human
interaction. The United States had become
an independent nation, with an innovative form of government. Exploration, colonization, and warfare pushed
the boundaries of the United States to the north, south, and west. The economic base of the colonies and then
the nation shifted with the establishment and abolition of systems of slavery,
the growth of a “free labor” movement, and the beginnings of
industrialization.
We will examine all of
the changes mentioned above, and more, as the semester progresses. As we do, the assignments you complete and
the discussions we will have will fulfill the goals of general education: to
develop a broad understanding of human experience, provide a foundational base
of knowledge, and teach students critical and creative thinking skills. By the end of the semester, you should have a
better understanding of the multiple, complex traditions that came together
(and often clashed) on this continent.
You should be familiar with ways that the common, everyday actions of individuals
are important to the grand narrative of history. Finally, you should be able to interpret and
use historical sources to analyze the history of the United States.
Course Objectives:
By the end of the
semester, you should be able to
·
Explain
political, social, and economic trends in American History from the colonial
era to the end of the Civil War
·
Analyze
primary sources (materials produced during the time period we are studying) and
secondary sources (materials produced at a later time about a historical event)
for content and point of view
·
Construct
effective arguments that pinpoint the causes and effects of important events in
U.S. history
Required Reading:
· Roark, et al. The American Promise: A Compact History (volume
I), Fourth Edition. New York:
Bedford/St. Martins, 2010.
· Throughout the semester,
you will be required to read primary sources, which will be available through
the course website. These are listed on
the syllabus below. Additions or
substitutions will be announced in class.
Course Requirements:
Success in this course
requires completing all of its components: attending lectures, reading text
assignments by the dates specified, participating in class discussions, and
completing tests, in-class and take-home writing assignments, and essays. Students in this course will take 3 short
answer/essay exams, participate in 5 history labs, and write one essay (3-5
pages). More details regarding the exams, history labs, and essays will be
given in class. Students will also be
graded on their attendance and participation in class discussions and debates,
as well as the completion of a few assignments to be completed outside of
class.
Grade Distribution:
Exam
1 (February 26)................................................ 15%
Exam
2 (April 9)........................................................ 15%
Final
Exam (May 11)................................................. 20%
History
Labs.............................................................. 25%
Essay
(April 24)........................................................ 15%
Attendance
and Participation.................................... 10%
Cell Phone and Computer
Policy:
The use of cell phones and other computing technology is prohibited in
normal class sessions (that includes texting, smart phones, and computers). Recent studies have indicated that students retain
more information and do better in courses if they do not use personal
technology during class, even to take notes.
Phones are particularly problematic, and if I see you using a phone during
the class, you will lose all of your attendance and participation credits for
that day.
There are two exceptions to the no-tech rule.
- You may use a tablet/computer to access course
materials from the website when we
are discussing those materials in class.
- On History Lab days, you may bring a computer
or tablet to class in order to access the sources for the lab. You are welcome to bring print copies of
the documents we will use instead, and I will attempt to bring extra
tablets for those who want to use a tablet but did not bring their own.
HI 111 as a General
Education course:
This course fulfills Washburn's general education requirement in two
ways. First, "U.S. History to the
Civil War" meets the social science general education distribution
requirement. The goal of general
education (as expressed in the Washburn University Academic Catalog) is as
follows: “The General Education component of higher education specifically
focuses on introducing students to ways of knowing, integrative knowledge,
appreciation of historical context, common themes of human experience, social
responsibility, analytical reasoning, civic engagement, and the development of
practical skills and reflective habits of mind. The General Education
requirements at Washburn University are designed with the intent of providing
students with a grounding in liberal arts and sciences and shaping an informed,
capable citizenry through a broad education in a range of disciplines. These
courses ensure that students are equipped with the knowledge and skills
necessary to engage with our rapidly-changing world over their lifetimes.”
Second, "U.S. History to the Civil War" focuses on one of the
Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) the General Education curriculum is expected
to deliver. The learning outcome we
assess as part of General Education for this course is Critical and Creative
Thinking. Here is the description of
this SLO in the Washburn University Academic Catalog: "Critical and
Creative Thinking. Critical thinking is the intellectually disciplined process
of assessing and evaluating ideas and forms. It involves clarifying questions,
reflecting upon meaning, comparing multiple viewpoints, and evaluating evidence
to make an informed judgment. Creative thinking involves the production of
original ideas, forms or works by making connections, generating alternatives,
and elaborating or exploring new applications of accepted practices through
innovation and/or invention. Critical and creative thinkers gather information
from experience, observation, reasoning, reflection and communication. They explore
and synthesize related ideas, connect them to prior knowledge, and apply them
to new contexts." Every assignment
included in this course, all exams, essays, and discussions, are intended to
improve students' critical and creative thinking skills.
Each semester, professors in the History Department assess our progress
in teaching this learning outcome in each class by answering the questions in
the rubric available on the course website.
This is something that I do in order to provide information to the
administration of this University and the institutions that regulate our
standards. You do not need to complete
the questions on this rubric. It is
available for your general information.
Class Schedule:
January 20-22 Introduction; America and the World
in 1492
Roark, Chapter 1
·
Thursday:
Chekili, “Origin of the Creek Confederacy”
January 27-29 Empires and Global Trade
Roark, Chapter 2
·
Tuesday:
Bartolome de las Casas, Preface, The
Destruction of the Indies
·
**Thursday: History Lab 1 (assigned readings available on
D2L)**
February 3-5 Founding
Chesapeake Bay and the Southern British Colonies
Roark, Chapter 3
·
Tuesday:
Jamestown Interactive (website from National Geographic)
·
Thursday:
Richard Frethorne, “Our Plantation is Very Weak,” and George Alsop,
“They Live Well in the Time of their Service”
February 10-12 Founding Massachusetts Bay and the
Northern British Colonies
Roark, Chapter 4
·
Tuesday:
Edward Johnson, “Thus This Poore People Populate this Howling Desart”
·
Thursday:
Metacom, “Metacom Relates Indian Complaints about English Settlers”
February 17-19 Colonial Development in the Eighteenth
Century
Roark, Chapter 5
·
**Tuesday: History Lab 2 (assigned readings available on
D2L)**
·
Thursday:
Benjamin Franklin, “The Speech of Miss Polly Baker”
February 24 Imperial Conflict, Colonial
Resistance
Roark, Chapter 6
·
Thursday:
French North American Baptismal Register
February 26 **EXAM
1**
March 3-5 Reform
and Revolution
Roark, Chapter 7
·
Tuesday:
James Otis, “The Rights of the British Colonies, Asserted and Proved”
·
Thursday:
Brutus, “We Are All Equally Free”
March 10-12 Forging
a Nation
Roark, Chapter 8
·
Tuesday:
**History Lab 3 (assigned readings available on D2L)**
·
Thursday:
The Constitution
March 17-19 Spring
Break
March 24-26 Politics
and Nationalism in the Early Republic
Roark, Chapter 9 and Chapter 10 (to “Women’s
Status in the Early Republic”—p. 239)
·
Tuesday:
Thomas Cooper, Editorial, Sunbury and
Northumberland Gazette
·
Thursday:
Lewis and Clark Expedition Materials
March 31-Apr 2 American Communities and Institutions
Roark, Chapter 10 (from “Women’s Status in the
Early Republic”—p. 239) and Chapter 11 (to “Cultural Shifts, Religion and
Reform”—p. 264)
·
Tuesday:
Harriet Robinson, “Lowell Mill Girls” and illustrations
·
Thursday:
Letters from Gottfried Duden and John Doyle
April 7 Economic Revolution/Social
Reform
Roark, Chapter 11 (p. 264 to end)
· Tuesday: Charles
Finney, Sermon
April 9 **EXAM 2**
April 14-16 The
Transformation of America
Roark,
Chapter 12
·
**Tuesday: History Lab 4 (assigned readings available on
D2L)**
·
Thursday:
Henry David Thoreau, On Civil
Disobedience (excerpts)
April 21-23 Slavery
and Abolition in the Antebellum Era
Roark, Chapter 13
·
Tuesday:
Excerpts from narratives of former slaves
·
Thursday:
Free Soil Party Platform
April 24
(Friday) Essay due to D2L
April 28-30 The Conflict Escalates
Roark, Chapter 14
·
Tuesday:
William Seward to Henry Hopkins, 16 September 1839
·
**Thursday: History Lab 5 (assigned readings available on D2L)**
May 5-7 The Civil War
Roark, Chapter 15
·
Tuesday:
South Carolina ordinance of secession
·
Thursday:
First-person accounts of the Civil War
May 11 **Final Exam Scheduled (Under unusual circumstances, exam times
1:30 pm may change. I will announce any
changes in class, so be sure to confirm this time as December
approaches.)**
**Dates and readings may
be altered slightly during the semester.
Announcements of changes will be made in class.
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