4
HSTA 255: Montana
Professor Jeff Wiltse
LA 251 / ex. 2987 /
Office hours: M: 2:00-3:30, F: 9:30-10:30
Course Description and Learning Objectives
This course surveys Montana history from the time of first inhabitants to the present. Lectures provide an outline of Montana history, focusing on major social, political, and economic developments. Course readings provide interesting and revealing accounts of key aspects of Montana history. The primary learning objectives for this course are:
•Develop a broad understanding of Montana history from earliest human settlement to the present
•Develop an in-depth understanding of several critical aspects of Montana history: Indian cultures and contacts between Montana Indians and non-Indians, mining and industrial development, homesteading and rural life, and the state’s environment and landscape
•Develop intellectual skills, including the ability to read critically, think analytically, and write clearly
Readings
Copies of the following books are available at the bookstore. They are required texts.
Andrew Graybill, The Red and the White: A Family Saga of the American West
Michael Punke, Fire and Brimstone: The North Butte Mining Disaster of 1917
Nedra Sterry, When the Meadowlark Sings: The Story of a Montana Family
You will also be reading two documents and a book chapter that are available as files on the course Moodle page. Print these readings, so you can highlight key passages and take notes in the margins.
Frank Linderman, “From Plenty-coups, Chief of the Crows,” in William Kittredge and Annick Smith, eds. The Last Best Place: A Montana Anthology, 280-297.
Pearl Price Robertson, “Homestead Days in Montana,” in William Kittredge and Annick Smith, eds. The Last Best Place: A Montana Anthology, 532-543.
Jared Diamond, “Modern Montana,” in Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed, 25-76.
Assignments and Grading
The grading for this course will be based on in-class exams that test your mastery of course content, your analysis of course readings, and your ability to write clearly.
Exam #1: Wednesday, September 30, and Friday, October 2
Exam #2: Friday, October 30, and Monday, November 2
Exam #3: Friday, November 20
Exam #4: Friday, December 18, 8:00 to 10:00 am
*Make-up exams will only be given in the cases of documented medical emergencies, documented family emergencies, and for participation in required UM activities.
All students must take this course for a grade. Your final grade will be the weighted average of your individual grades for the exams. Final letter grades are figured at 90%=A, 80%=B, 70%=C, 60%=D. The dividing line for +s is _7% and _3% for -s. Grades will be weighted as follows:
Exam #1 30 percent
Exam #2 30 percent
Exam #3 10 percent
Exam #4 30 percent
Academic Honesty
Plagiarism and other forms of cheating will not be tolerated. It is unfair to fellow students, undermines the credibility of UM degrees, and deprives the offending student of an education. The work you submit must be your own. Cheating will result in a failing grade for the course.
Drop Deadlines
The last day to drop this course using Cyberbear is September 21. The last day to drop with instructor and advisor signature is November 2. A WP or WF will appear on your transcript for courses dropped after this date. December 11 is the last day to drop by petition.
DSS Accommodation
If you have a documented learning disability, please contact me so we can ensure you have suitable accommodation.
Course Schedule
Mon, Aug. 31: Course Introduction
Unit One: First Peoples and Pioneer Period
Wed, Sep. 2: First Peoples
Start reading: Graybill, The Red and the White
Fri, Sep. 4: Montana Indian Tribes and Cultures
Mon, Sep. 7: No Class (Labor Day)
Wed, Sep. 9: Montana Indians during the “Century of Transformation”
Fri, Sep. 11: Lewis and Clark Expedition
Mon. Sep. 14: The Fur Trade Era
Wed., Sep. 16: Treaties of the 1850s
Fri, Sep. 18: No class
Mon. Sep. 21: The Montana Gold Rush
Wed. Sep. 23: Dispossessing Montana Indians
Read: Linderman, “Plenty-coup, Chief of the Crows”
Fri, Sep. 25: Cattle Kingdom
Mon. Sep. 28: Discuss The Red and the White and “Plenty-coups”
Wed. Sep. 30: Exam 1A on The Red and the White and “Plenty-coups”
Fri, Oct. 2: Exam 1B on Unit One lectures
Unit Two: Industrial Montana
Mon, Oct. 5: Long Road to Statehood
Start reading: Punke, Fire and Brimstone
Wed, Oct. 7: Industrialization of Mining
Fri, Oct. 9: Immigrants and Cities
Mon, Oct. 12: Smoke Wars
Wed, Oct. 14: Clark-Daly Feud
Fri, Oct. 16: War of the Copper Kings
Mon, Oct. 19: Reforming Montana Politics
Wed, Oct. 21: Dawes Act and Indian Education
Fri, Oct. 23: Homestead Boom
Read: Robertson, “Homestead Days in Montana”
Mon, Oct. 26: Montana and World War I
Wed, Oct. 28: Discuss Fire and Brimstone
Fri, Oct. 30: Exam 2A on Fire and Brimstone
Mon, Nov. 2: Exam 2B on Unit 2 Lectures
Unit Three: Modern Montana
Wed, Nov. 4: Agricultural Depression of the 1920s
Start reading: Sterry, When the Meadowlark Sings
Fri, Nov. 6: Great Depression in Montana
Mon, Nov. 9: New Deal in Montana
Wed, Nov. 11: No class (Veteran’s Day)
Fri, Nov. 13: Indian New Deal
Mon, Nov. 16: Montana During World War II
Wed, Nov. 18: Discuss When the Meadowlark Sings
Fri, Nov. 20: Exam 3 on When the Meadowlark Sings
Mon, Nov. 23: Postwar Stagnation
Start reading: Diamond, “Modern Montana”
Wed, Nov. 25: No class (Thanksgiving Break)
Fri, Nov. 27: No class (Thanksgiving Break)
Mon, Nov. 30: Montana Indians during the Postwar Period
Wed, Dec. 2: 1970s Politics and Environmentalism
Fri, Dec. 4: Economic Boom and Bust
Mon, Dec. 7: Montana Indians in Contemporary Times
Wed, Dec. 9: Contemporary Montana
Fri, Dec. 11: Discuss Diamond, Collapse
Final Exam: Friday, December 18, 8:00 to 10:00 am