H105: American History I

INSTRUCTOR: JAMIE WARREN TIME: MW, 12:00-1:30

OFFICE HOURS: Mon, 1:30-2:30 PLACE: Cavanaugh 215

Course Description:

This course begins in the late 15th Century, with European Exploration in the Americas and ends with the American Civil War in 1865. The course is designed to introduce students to major themes in United States history, with a focus on the idea of American freedom. By exploring the perspectives of different groups of peoples living in early America--Native Americans, Africans, and Europeans--we will discover that the meaning of "freedom" was never absolute, but rather meant different things to different people. In fact, we will discover that the meaning of freedom in early America was always entangled with the reality of slavery. This class will also explore other major themes such as slavery, nation-building, national identity, geographic and economic expansion, and sectional conflict in the history of the United States from its founding to its ultimate failure in the Civil War.

Objectives:

  • To introduce students to central themes in American history, 1600-1865
  • To analyze secondary sources and place primary source materials in historical context.
  • To actively discuss American history in an academic setting.
  • To make connections between economic, social, cultural, and political changes.

How This Course Will Help You Learn These Things

  • Through reading, class lectures, and class discussion, we will survey American history.
  • We will examine primary sources in class and work on building critical reading skills and how to use sources to interpret events and the past.
  • In homework assignments you will practice reading and analyzing documents—at first with questions that guide you through a step-by-step process and later on your own.

Assignments/ Grade Break-down:

  • Exams: You will take three in-class exams. Exams will include short answer and longer essay questions. These exams will be based on readings and lectures. The Final Exam is NOT cumulative. There will be no make-up exams, except in the case of extreme, documented emergencies.

Each exam is worth 80-120 points, totaling 300 possible points for your overall grade. Your first exam is worth 80 points, the second exam is worth 100 points, and your final exam is worth 120 points. The exams are not cumulative.

  • Quizzes:You will take six quizzes online using Oncourse. Quizzes must be submitted online by the deadline. All six quizzes will account for a total of 50 points of your overall grade.
  • In-Class Writings:You will complete 6 in-class writing assignments based on your assigned readings. You can prepare by using the study questions provided for you. Each writing assignment will count for 25 points, for a total of 125 points of your overall grade (one grade dropped).
  • Attendance and Participation: Regular attendance and participation in class discussion is expected and required for success in this class. We will cover topics in lecture and discussion that are not covered by your texts. Please make every effort to attend each class. If for some reason you have to miss class, it is your responsibility to get notes from another classmate. Do not ask me for my lecture notes or power point slides.

You will receive 1 point for each class that you attend and participate,* for a maximum of 25 points. (There will be a total of 27 possible attendance points. Therefore, you can miss two classes, and still earn all 25 participation points.)

*A note on participation: In my course participating in class means the following:

1) Showing up to class on time

2) Remaining awake and engaged in class lecture, discussion,

and activities

3) Being respectful of the instructor and your fellow classmates

(This means turning off your cell phone, refraining from

discussion with others, etc.)

4) Asking questions

5) Joining in class discussions

Therefore, if you disrupt the class by chatting with friends, texting, sleeping, or other disruptions, you will be considered to be not participating, and you will not receive your point for that class meeting.

  • Extra credit: You will have one extra credit option, worth a possible bonus of 15 points. To be discussed in class.
  • Makeup examinations are strongly discouraged. No makeup exam will be given without documentation proving an extreme emergency. Documentation includes doctors’ forms, funeral notices, accident reports, and similar verifiable papers. The instructor reserves the right to refuse to grant a makeup exam if the documentation is not presented or is deemed invalid.

Grading scale: (including the standard plus/minus scale)

  • A (450-500 pts.): Thorough knowledge of the material; polished and creative essays; critical analysis of readings in discussions.
  • B (400-449 pts.): Thorough knowledge of the material; well-written essays; regular participation in discussion.
  • C (350-399 pts.): Basic knowledge and understanding of the material; occasional participation.
  • D (300-349 pts): Limited or mistaken knowledge of the material; unorganized essays; little participation.
  • F (250-299 pts): Lacking knowledge of the material; assignments incomplete; no

participation.

Note on Plagiarism:

According to the IU Code of Student Rights, Responsibilities, and Conduct, Part III, Student Misconduct, Academic Misconduct:

“A student must not adopt or reproduce ideas, words, or statements of another person without appropriate acknowledgment. A student must give credit to the originality of others and acknowledge an indebtedness whenever he or she does any of the following:

▪ Quotes another person's actual words, either oral or written;

▪ Paraphrases another person's words, either oral or written;

▪ Uses another person's idea, opinion, or theory; or

▪ Borrow facts, statistics, or other illustrative material, unless the information is common knowledge.”

Readings:

The Following texts need to be purchased for this class:

1)Eric Foner
Give Me Liberty! An American Story. Seagull Edition, Volume 1 (paperback)
W.W. Norton, 2005

2)Gary Nash

Race and Revolution, Madison House Publishers, 1990.

3) Frederick Douglass

Autobiography

In addition to these texts you will be given some primary sources, which will be handed out in class or made available on Oncourse.

Please note: You are responsible for completing the assigned reading, along with completing any accompanying handouts, before coming to class.

Classroom Etiquette:

This should go without saying, but just in case…

Please make sure you are in class on time ready to start. Do not pack up to go early while class is in session. And above all, DO NOT engage in discussion with classmates during class. This is very distracting to those around you, and to the instructor as well.

These are all just matters of politeness and respect.

Laptops are not permitted in my class. You may only use a laptop if you have a documented need/requirement for this technology. And, in these cases, you must sit in the front row of the class.

I hold the right to make changes to this syllabus as needed throughout the semester. But I will inform you of any changes made in advance.

Daily Schedule

Jan. 11th: Introduction to Class

Jan. 13th: The Age of Exploration

Read: Foner Chapter One

Columbus Letter

Jan. 18th: No Class

Jan. 20th: The First Permanent English Settlement in America

Reading Due: Foner 53-73

Primary Source: Richard Frethorne “An Indentured Servant’s Letter Home” (1623)

OnlineQuiz 1 due before class

Jan. 25th: The Search for Religious “Freedom”

Reading Due: Foner 74-87

Primary Source: “The Massachusetts’s Bay Colony Case against Anne

Hutchinson” (1637)

In-class writing #1, see study questions

Jan. 27th: Creating Anglo America

Feb 1st: The Growth of American Slavery

Reading Due: Foner 134-144

OnlineQuiz 2 due before class

Feb 3rd: The Struggle for Empire

Read: Foner 145-169

Feb 8th: EXAM1

Feb 10th: Film “Slavery and the Making of America Vol.2”

Feb 15th: Disintegrating Imperial Relations

Begin Reading Nash

Feb 17th: The American Revolution

Reading Due: Nash, Chapter 1 + Documents

In-class writing #2, see study questions

Feb. 22nd: Inventing the Nation

Feb. 24th: The Problem of Slavery in the Early Republic

Reading Due: Nash Chapter 2 +Documents

In-class writing #3, see study questions

March 1st: Securing the Nation

Read: Foner Chapter 8

Online Quiz 3 due before class

Mar. 3rd: The Market Revolution

Mar. 8th: Jacksonian Democracy and Indian Removal

Reading Due: Foner 353-383

Online quiz 4 due before class

Map/ Timeline activity in class

Mar. 10th: EXAM 2

Mar. 22nd: Antebellum Slavery

Begin Reading Douglass’s Autobiography

Mar. 24th: In-class Discussion of Frederick Douglass’s Autobiography

Finish Douglass Excerpt

In-class writing #4, see study questions

Mar. 29th: Age of Reform

Mar. 31st: The Origins of the Woman’s Rights Movement

Reading Due: Foner 444-457

Online Quiz 5 due before class

Apr. 5th: Territorial Expansion and War

Reading Due: Foner 463-474

Apr. 7th: Race and Expansion

Read: Excerpts from Thoreau, Douglass, etc.

In-class writing #5, see study questions

Apr. 12th: Rising Sectional Conflict

Reading Due: Foner 474-487

Apr. 14th: Slavery and National Disunion

Reading Due: Foner 487-499, Dred Scott Decision

In-class writing #6, see study question

Apr. 19th: Civil War

Reading Due: Foner 504-514

Apr. 21st: Civil War, Cont.

Reading Due: Foner 514-521

Online Quiz 6 due before class

Apr. 26th: Emancipation

Map/ Timeline activity in class

Apr. 28th: Re-Inventing American Freedom

May 3rd: The Failure of Reconstruction

Evaluations

FINAL EXAM DATE: MAY 5th 10:30 am-12:30 pm

Absolutely no make-ups for final exam.