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HIST 2111: United States History to 1877
Tue/Th- 5:30-6:45 p.m
GRU Augusta
David E. Hollingsworth, Ph.D
Required Texts:
George Brown Tindall and David Emory Shi. America: A Narrative History, Brief Ninth Edition (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2012).
Bruce Frohnen, ed. The American Republic: Primary Sources (Indianapolis:
Liberty Fund, 2002).
Jack Rakove, Declaring Rights: A Brief History with Documents (Boston:
St. Martins, 1998).
Forrest McDonald, Imperium in Imperio: States’ Rights and the Union, 1776-
1877 (Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2001).
Course Description: A survey course in United States history from the founding to 1877.
Course Requirements: This class will consist of lectures that focus on the course objectives. Students must actively participate in class discussion. Throughout the lectures, questions will be posed by the professor and students will be expected to provide and defend their answers. Furthermore, the professor encourages and expects students to ask questions throughout the lectures.
Students are responsible for all material covered in the lectures, discussions, and readings.
Document Quizzes: Several times throughout the semester students will take a quiz based upon the documents contained in Frohen, American Republic. The quizzes will cover all the assigned documents since the previous quiz. The quizzes will be either identification of the document or a short answer that will combine several of the documents, or, a combination of both. There will be 5 quizzes during the semester, I will drop your lowest score!
Students will take two (2) exams during this semester course and one (1) final exam. Exams will consist of Identifications, Chronological Order, and one (1) Essay selected from a selection of questions (found on page seven of this syllabus). Note: Good exam essays will draw material from both the lecture and the textbook!
Students will write one (1), four to six (4-6) page paper on questions based on the outside texts (Rakove, McDonald). Essay prompts and instructions are included on the last page of this syllabus.
Grading: Grades in this course are based on point totals (not percentages). All examinations, quizzes, and papers will be graded on what is written, not on what the student subsequently decides she or he "really meant." The following is a breakdown of points and equivalent grades. No curve, ever.
Test 1: 100pts
Test 2: 100pts
Test 3 (Final): 100pts
Document Quizzes: 100pts (25 pts each)
Paper : 100 pts
Total: 500pts
Thus for a particular grade, students will have to fall within these points breakdown:
450-500pts = A
449-400pts = B
399-375pts = C
374-350pts = D
349-0pts = F
There will be opportunities for earning extra credit by doing a three-page book review of Daniel B. Smith’s An American Betrayal: Cherokee Patriots and the Trail of Tears (New York: Holt, 2011) and student documentation of visits made to approved historical sites (Amount of points given is at the sole discretion of the professor. Individual road signs don’t count!).
Reserved Clause: The instructor reserves the right to make changes in the syllabus when necessary.
Academic Dishonesty:
Please refer to the Student Code of Conduct in the Student Handbook. The penalty for any dishonesty(including plagiarism) in this course is receiving no credit for any disputed work.
Attendance: Your attendance is required and any absence will be duly noted. If you miss this course 6 (six) times FOR ANY REASON you will receive no higher than a D for the course. You can be withdrawn for missing more than ten percent of classes. As a student in this class it is your responsibility to attend class. Excused absences as defined by the Student Handbook will be accepted if I am notified in writing from the Academic Affairs or Student Life Office. Excess tardies (more than one, unless pre-approved by professor) will result in point deduction from final point total of no more than 5 points per tardy.
Classroom Deportment:
1. Anyone disrupting class will be asked to leave and counted as absent for the day.
2. Anyone found to be engaged in extra-classroom work (electronic communication, surfing the internet, writing letters, studying for another class, reading a magazine, etc.) will be counted as absent for the day. The instructor reserves the right to limit/curtail use of personal computers in the classroom.
3. There is to be no eating in the classroom.
4. Cell Phones are to be TURNED OFF. For every disruption due to a cell-phone, the student will lose 20 points from final point total.
Late Work including Exam:
All assignments are due AT THE BEGINNING OF CLASS. If you are tardy to class, your work will be considered late. The penalty for late work (INCLUDING LATE EXAMS) is a grade reduction of one letter grade. The grade will be reduced another letter grade for every 24 hours it is late, counting weekends and holidays. So if the assignment is due Tuesday at 8am. and you turn it in anytime after 8am on Tuesday the grade is lowered by 1 letter grade. If you turn it in after 8am on Wednesday it will be reduced by two letter grades and so on. All late work must be handed to the instructor personally.
Documented Disabilities:
Any student who has a documented and registered disability on file with Testing and Disability Services is invited to inform the professor at the beginning of the semester. Any considerations and adaptations will be made according to the recommendations of Testing and Disability Services.
Class Schedule:
January 7: Introduction to course.
January 9: The founding of England’s colonies
American Republic: 92-97, 4-10, 23-31
January 14: The Puritans and New England
AR: 34-36, 15-22, 12-15
January 16: Everyday life in the English Colonies: Men, Women, and Children
AR: 42-65
January 21: Religion in Colonial America
AR: 42-65
January 23: Colonial America’s Economy and Mercantilism
AR: 582-583 (Only Massachusetts, Maryland, North Carolina, and Connecticut)
January 28: Conflicts and Accommodation: Euro-Indian Relations and the Rise of Slavery.
January 30: Politics in Colonial America
Document Quiz
February 4: England’s “Glorious Revolution,” The English Constitution, and The 18th Century
Imperial Wars and the Great War for Empire
AR: 98-109
February 6: The Imperial Crisis: Stamp Act and Republicanism
AR: 110-115, 117-119, 135-139
February 11: The Crisis Continued and the Revolution Begun
AR: 146-158
February 13: The American Revolution and Confederation Period
AR: 154-158, 189-196, 196-205
February 18: No Class. Reading Day.
February 20: Exam One!!! (Mid-term is March 3. Last day to drop class without penalty.)
February 25: The Philadelphia Convention
AR: 231-241, 309-326
February 27: Ratification Debates
Document Quiz
March 4: The Age of Federalism
AR: 348-350, 374-391, 398-402
March 6: The Age of Federalism continued.
March 11: The Jeffersonian Ascendancy and the War of 1812
AR: 366-374, 447-457
March 13: A Nation in Transition: The Development of a Market Economy, 1790-1860
AR: 501-502
March 18: A Nation in Transition: Westward Movement and Changes in Society, 1790-1860
AR: 528-537
March 20: Antebellum America and the Age of Reform
AR: 582-588, 595-599, 665-689
March 25: Elections, Tariffs, Banks, and the Age of Jackson
AR: 491-500, 538-564
Document Quiz
March 27: Exam Two!!!
April 1: Manifest Destiny, Texas, and the Politics of Slavery
AR:565-581, 589-594, 600-645
April 3: 1850s and the Politics of Brinksmanship
April 8: Spring Break. No Class
April 10: Spring Break. No Class.
April 15: Rise of the Republican Party and the Crisis of the Union
AR: 646-664, 720;Document Quiz
April 17: The Civil War (War Between the States)
Read the Constitution of the Confederate States of America and Lincoln’s First Inaugural Address. Both can easily be found online
April 22: The Civil War continued
Document Quiz
April 24: Intro to Reconstruction; Catch Up; Constitution Bonus Quiz
FINAL EXAM: Thursday, May 1, 6-8 p.m.
Students must use an unblemished “blue book” for each exam. They can be purchased at the university bookstore.
Test One Essay Prompts:
1: A Professor makes the following claim: “Colonial America was little more than a smaller version of England. Colonial American society, governments, economy, and religion were fundamentally the same as the Mother Country.” How accurate is this quote? In a big picture (and the topic of this essay), describe what was Colonial America like – what were its society, government, religion, and economies like?
2: Answer the validity of the following remarks: The American Revolution, 1776-1787, was intended to start the world anew. The purpose of the Revolution was to alter society by creating new definitions of liberty and equality. Unprecedented governments, based on a new and original understanding of rights, would be established. The uniqueness of the Revolution came from the fact that the Americans of 1776 had no experiences, either personal or from other places, from which to lead their rebellion.
Test Two Essay Prompts:
1. During the Ratification struggle, Noah Webster wrote that the Federal Constitution was “A Revolution in favor of government.” Was he right? Was the 1787 Federal Constitution a “Revolution” or was it just another (if not last) episode of the American Revolution? What aspects of the Constitution make it unique and what make it similar to what had come before it? To completely answer this question, you need to examine both the Constitution and some of the “Constitutional” issue that came before it, possibly even including the Colonial period!
2. A guest lecturer for our class makes the following statement: “After the adoption of the Constitution, there were no serious questions as to what that document meant. The first party system, 1789-1816, was really just a battle over policy differences with no constitutional aspects whatsoever.” How would you rebut his statement, or is he right? Was the first party system simply a dispute – albeit a serious one – over policy issues? Note: Please take notice of the dates!
3. After the War of 1812, the nation took a huge sigh of relief and spent the next forty years in relative calm. There were no political disputes of any great significance; society remained as it always had, and the economic situation remained status quo. In other words, things pretty much remained the same. How accurate is this statement? What occurs doing the years 1816-1850 that make this statement either true or false?
4. The Period of 1828-1848 has been called the run-up to the Civil War. What were the major political and social issues of this period and how could they be a precursor to the Civil War?
5. Historians sometimes call the period of 1830-1850 the Age of Reform; a time when people were motivated to change the problems of the nation. What were some of these reform movements? What did they stand for, and what were some of their effects upon society and politics?
Test 3 (The Final) Essay Prompts:
1: Answer the validity of following statement: From 1820-1861 slavery dominated the political events of the nation. Therefore, either explicitly or implicitly, slavery was the only cause of the Civil War.
2: Let’s imagine that Stephen A. Douglass had never been born. Would there have been a Civil War? To answer this question correctly you need to examine the events of the 1850s!
3: The rise of the Republican Party has been cited as a leading factor in the Civil War. What led to the formation of the Republican Party; who made up the party; what did the party believe in, and how did these affect the coming of the Civil War?
4: How did Manifest Destiny lead to the Civil War?
Essay Paper Questions [Note: You will select only one of the following two books from which to write your essay]:
Note: The material in your essay can and must come only from the books assigned for the essay. Any use of outside sources, which includes internet sources, lecture notes, or any other source, will result in a ZERO for the assignment. So, please stick only to the assigned book you have chosen!
I: Declaring Rights essay:
For the first paper you must read in its entirety Rakove, Declaring Rights and use a minimum of 8 (eight) documents. You can (and should) use the commentary in the book, but it should (and must) be used secondary to the actual documents.
1: Respond and answer the following question: Trace the development of the idea of rights in the Anglo-American political thought from 1600-1791 and answer the following questions: How did Anglo-Americans define rights and how did the development of the idea of rights lead to the American Revolution and the adoption of the Federal Bill of Rights?
II: States’ Rights and the Union essay prompts:
Answer one of the following prompts.
1: Taking your evidence from McDonald’s work, was the Civil War (1861-1865) presaged in the very foundations of the country? If so, how and why? If not, how and why?
2: How did the Founders resolve the issue of imperium in imperio and was there solution continued on into the nineteenth century?
3: What did Americans from the period of 1776-1861 mean by the term “States’ Rights” and how was the term used by both Southerners and Northerners from 1776 to 1865. Did both sections have a different understanding of the term? Please remember to cite examples to prove your point!
Essay Grading Rubric:
The A paper will
1. Contain a clear, well-develop thesis that addresses the essay topic.
2. Develops the thesis with substantial, relevant information surrounding the essay topic.
3. Provides an effective analysis of how the American Revolution could be considered a defense of liberty.
4. Contains effective use of the documents and does not merely restate what the document says.
5. Uses the documents to prove and analysis the thesis.
6. Tone consistent with the purpose and audience; tone enhances effectiveness of critical thinking; words clear, accurate and appropriate to the assignment in standard written English.
7. None or very few spelling errors, none of which would be caught by spell-check; words and phrases effectively combined, appropriate to the assignment; sentences varied and complex; punctuation, capitalization, and other conventions, such as documentation style, are correct.
The B paper will:
1. Contain a thesis that is partially developed in addressing the essay topic
2. Supports the thesis with only some relevant information surrounding the essay topic.
3. Provides a limited analysis of how the American Revolution could be considered a defense of liberty.
4. Makes only limited use document and provides little more than a restatement of what they say.