H105– AMERICAN HISTORY I: U.S. History to 1865, Fall, 2009

15922 (M,W 9:00-10:15 A.M.)

15924 (T,Th 1:30-2:45 P.M.) (3 credits)

Instructor: Dr. Paul A. Buelow

Office Hours: Mon. 10:30-12:00; Tues 12:00-1:00; by app’t., CAV313

Phone/voice mail: History Dept.; fax: 317/278-7800; e-mail:

Description. The ability to examine change and continuity in the past from the viewpoint of the present makes the study of history both fascinating and important. Looking at American geography, famous and nearly anonymous individuals and groups, politics and government, technology, business and industry, this course will study the United States from pre-colonial time to the end of the Civil War. Celebrating unity of identity as citizens of the United States, and diversity of culture and background, the course promotes inquiry concerning

  • the relationship between European and colonial cultures and political systems.
  • the ways in which geography influenced the growth and development of the American colonies.
  • the ways in which American forms of government developed.
  • patterns in colonial, early national, and antebellum American social and political movements.
  • the early-19th-century growth of the new United States.
  • the coming of a Civil War.

Goals.Conforming to IUPUI’s “Principles of Undergraduate Learning” (see which all students are expected to have mastered by graduation, assignments for this class are designed to help develop reading and communication skills by analyzing historical documents and concepts. Logical thinking and effective communication are helpful to every person. The study of history fosters such thinking, writing, and speaking by teaching students to consider a document or argument in its time/space context and its philosophical and political foundations.

Requirements.Lectures provide an outline of topics as well as specific information, but discussion provides a way to solidify understanding. Students should come to class having read the material listed for that day on the syllabus, and having formulated a question or two they’d like to answer.

Readings (books may be purchased at campus bookstore, in any store carrying new or used books, or on line):

  1. For your reference (not required). Any of various histories of the United States on-line as e-books out of copyright and free to download or peruse on-line (e.g., America.gov’s Project Gutenberg’s
  2. Required. Johnson, Michael P. Reading the American Past: Selected Historical Documents, Volume I to 1877 (collection of primary-source documents). Purchase. BRING THIS TO EACH CLASS SESSION.
  3. Required. Rand McNally Company. American History Atlas. Purchase. BRING THIS TO EACH CLASS SESSION.
  4. Required. Richter, Conrad. A Light in the Forest. Purchase.
  5. Required. Morgan, Edmund. The Puritan Dilemma: The Story of John Winthrop. Purchase.
  6. Required. Forbes, Esther. Johnny Tremain. Purchase.
  7. Required. Article [download] on an antebellum reform from list in “Resources” on Oncourse. To be used with a primary source you find from an antebellum reformer dealt with in the article you chose. Download from Oncourse or Library.
  8. Required. Hanchett, William. Out of the Wilderness: The Life of Abraham Lincoln. Purchase.

Topics (each topic has a number of lectures, and the class will participate in other in-class activities using Michael Johnson’s Documents collection and Rand McNally’s American History Atlas. Please bring each of these books to class for each session):

  1. Introduction: Timeline of America, 1492-1865
  2. The World and the Americas, 1400 to 1763

Reading:Morgan, The Puritan Dilemma

  1. The wider world and the American colonies, 1700-1754

Reading:Richter, Light in the Forest

  1. The British colonies in America in 1775: Revolutionary Ideas and Actions

Reading:Forbes, Johnny Tremain

  1. The New Nation Under the Articles of Confederation, 1780-1787: A Confederation of Sovereign States, or a Federation of States Under a Sovereign Government?
  2. Mid-term examination.
  3. The United States Begins to Get Down to Business: Becoming a New Nation, 1790s-1820s
  4. Antebellum Reforms: “Every Day, In Every Way, We are Getting Better and Better!”Readings and Major Writing Assignment: Antebellum Reform (See articles in Oncourse “Resources” Section, and Primary Sources you find yourself.)
  5. Dividing into Parties, Dividing into Sections: Is the United States Really United?
  6. Abraham Lincoln

Reading: Hanchett, Out of the Wilderness

  1. The Civil War

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  1. Summing Up
  2. Final Examination

Assignments:

  1. (Suggested) An American History three-ring binder, in which to keep a) lecture handouts, b) maps, c) down-loaded readings, d) questions and notes on lectures and readings, and d) miscellaneous information organized into sections corresponding with Topics.
  2. (Required) In-class written answers to questions posed on
  3. Morgan’s The Puritan Dilemma
  4. Richter’s Light in the Forest
  5. Forbes’ Johnny Tremain
  6. Hanchett’s Out of the Wilderness
  7. (Required) A four-to-six page typed paper containing a précis (summary) with complete bibliographical citation of the article on antebellum reform you chose to read, and an explanation (with complete bibliographical citation) of a primary source you find that was written by the reformer described in the article. One purpose of this paper is to learn how to find and read scholarly articles on topics having to do with college classes. Another purpose is to practice writing in careful, accurate sentences using correct citations to the authors you are describing or quoting. Another is to gain experience in making statements and backing them up with evidence from verifiable sources. You will answer four questions in this paper: 1) What was the purpose of the reform described in the article? 2) How did the life, ideas, and actions of the reformer himself or herself measure up to the purpose of the reform? 3) What were some results of the efforts expended by this reformer and others like her or him? 4) How do you evaluate these efforts in 2009? Examples will be provided in a handout. This is due on the day the class deals with John Brown and “Bleeding Kansas” (approximately

ATTENDANCE. Regular attendance is expected and rewarded (see grading system below). Please consult with the teacher about unavoidable absence due to illness or other serious difficulty to prevent needless penalty.

LATE OR MISSED WORK. Material handed in after the due date will be marked down for each calendar day it is late.

INTELLECTUAL HONESTY. Rigorous intellectual work and academic integrity are important for every student. Plagiarism and other forms of cheating will result in an “F” for the work in question and possible disciplinary action by the University, whose policy on plagiarism is stated in the IUPUI Campus Bulletin, 2004-2006 (p.36), as follows:

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

a. Quotes another person’s actual words, either oral or written;

b. Paraphrases another person’s words, either oral or written;

c. Uses another person’s idea opinion, or theory; or

d. Borrows facts, statistics, or other material, unless that information is common knowledge.

For more information, you can find the IUPUI Student Code of Conduct on line at: talk with your instructor if you have questions about what is or is not plagiarism.

WITHDRAWALS AND INCOMPLETES. If you decide to drop this class, please note 1) deadlines apply, and 2) you must submit an official “drop slip” to the registrar (signed by the appropriate people). University policy requires assigning an “F” to a student who stops showing up without submitting a signed drop slip (even if that student has told the professor that she or he plans to withdraw). About incompletes, IUPUI’s policy is that they are for students who have completed almost all of the course requirements and have been prevented by significant or unanticipated events from finishing the class. Documentation of these events may be required.

Nota bene: New Drop Limit Policy– University College freshmen (25 hours or below) may not drop more than one course per semester. This policy will be enforced through advisor sign-off on drop requests.The policy does not include course adjustments made during the first week of class nor does it apply to classes in which a student has been “administratively withdrawn”.

CLASSROOM WISDOM & ETIQUETTE. Come to every class session.You can learn quite a lot by listening carefully and thinking about what you hear and read! Eat and sleep well, exercise as you can, and you’ll be in good shape to learn! Class discussions are more interesting and useful if students keep up with the reading (indicated on the schedule below for each session). Please bring to class the syllabus, any handouts, and the texts needed. Practice taking useful notes as you read your texts and as you participate in class. In the case of physical disabilities, please call the office of Adaptive Educational Services in CA001E (phone 274-3241).

Questions in class are welcome at any time, but private conversations are not. Please turn off or mute cell phones, pagers, and beepers before class begins.

Use a method to read your texts! I recommend the SQR method. That is, S: Quickly survey the reading assignment, noting bold-faced headings and terms in the text; examine the illustrations and their captions; Q: think about what you already know about this topic and design a question for your reading to answer; R: read the selection with a piece of note-paper next to your open book to record an answer. You will be amazed at how your level of interest increases, along with your comprehension. (Bring your question to class to see if others were thinking the same things!)

The IUPUI Writing Center (CA 427; 274-2049; grammar hotline 274-3000) can be a great help in working on writing assignments. Save assignments on disk, backup your files, and print (and keep) at least one draft of work before you submit it in final form. This class will use ONCOURSE as a forum for communication. All students in this class should access ONCOURSE regularly. The instructor has an IUPUI e-mail address, and will be getting voice-mail.

Assessment categories and percentage values (subject to change with notification):

Classroom participation (one point for each attendance) 30 pts-03%

In-class writing assignment on Morgan 20 pts-08%

In-class writing assignment on Richter 20 pts-08%

In-class writing assignment on Forbes 20 pts-08%

In-class writing assignment on Hanchett 20 pts-08%

Mid-term exam 40 pts-15%

Major writing assignment (see separate instructions) 50 pts-25%

Final exam 50 pts-25%

Totals: 250 pts-100%

Grading scale—

A: 90%-100% (A+ = 98-100; A = 93-97; A- = 90-92);

B: 80%-89% (B+ = 88-89; B = 83-87; B- = 80-82);

C: 70%-79% (C+ = 78-79; C = 74-77; C- = 70-73);

D: 60%-69% (D+ = 68-69; D = 63-67; D- = 60-62);

F: below 60%.

Keep in mind that each category above is weighted according to percentages you see to the right, so a sum of points earned divided by total possible will not give an accurate grade.

Communicate with the instructor if you have questions, comments, or difficulties.

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