HIST 153b: Slavery and the American Civil War
FALL 2015
MWTh 12-12:50
Prof. Abigail Cooper ()
Office hours: Wed. 1-3pm & by appt. (Olin-Sang 121)
Teaching Fellow: Josh Luger ()
This course investigates the institution of slavery in America and grapples with the Civil War it took to bring about emancipation. Themes of this course include: slavery and capitalism, emancipation and human rights, religion and culture in systems of oppression, the development of race and slavery over time, slavery and republicanism, slavery and democracy, modern and premodern societies, political compromise, westward expansion, American imperial ambitions, the development of sectional antagonism, secession, the development of modern warfare, Civil war medicine, Confederate and U.S. nation-building in wartime, black military service, emancipation policy, experience of emancipation on the ground, migration and refugee camps, the experiences of black women, Reconstruction, 13th, 14th, and 15th Constitutional Amendments, Civil War memorialization, the evolution of historical scholarship on slavery and the Civil War.
The course normally consists of two lectures each week, on Monday and Wednesday and one weekly discussion group on Thursday. Discussion organization will be determined based on course enrolllment, to be set by Sept 3.
READINGS:
At the bookstore and on reserve at the library:
Peter Kolchin, American Slavery, 1619-1877(2003 edition)
James McPherson, Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era (2003 edition)
Other readings are available on LATTE. They are listed under each week in the course outline.
Course Requirements & Percentage of Course Grade:
Participation / 20%LATTE assignments / 20%
Midterm / 20%
Research project / 20%
Take-home exam / 20%
LATTE assignments:
LATTE posts: Post a comment or question related to the readings by 8pm the Wednesday before you participate in your Thursday discussion group.
LATTE quizzes: Periodically, the professor will post LATTE quizzes. Instructions will be contained within each quiz. This exercisefunctions to reinforce retention of the material of the course. Performance on the quizzes goes toward your overall LATTE assignment grade.
Midterm: The midterm comes late in the semester but serves as a venue for assessment for our work on slavery and the Civil War before we move on to Reconstruction after Thanksgiving. The midterm will comprise identification, short answer, and similarly-structured questions. Further details to come.
Research project: Details to come.
Take-home exam: The take-home exam will be posted to LATTE on Dec. 10. Upload your completed exam to LATTE by Dec. 17.
General expectations: include completion of assigned readings and demonstration of both comprehension and curiosity, attendance at all classes (excused absences due to extenuating circumstances may come up; please notify the professor or teaching fellow and keep such absences to a minimum), engaged and courageousparticipation in discussion, completion of all assignments,
Academic Accommodations: If you are a student with a documented disability at Brandeis and wish to request a reasonable accommodation for this class, please see me immediately.
Plagiarism and Academic Integrity: Violations of University policies on academic integrity can result in failure in the course or on the assignment, or in suspension or dismissal from the University. If you are in doubt about the instructions for any assignment in this course, it is your responsibility to ask for clarification. Please read the University’s policies on academic integrity at I will refer suspected instances of academic dishonesty to the Office of Student Development and Conduct.
The semester in calendar form:
L=Lecture Disc=Discussion SL=SLAVERY CW=CIVIL WAR REC=RECONSTRUCTION
SEPTEMBERSun / Mon / Tue / Wed / Thu / Fri / Sat
AUG 27
INTRO
31 / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5
L1a
SL / L1b
CW / Wk 1 Disc
6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 / 12
Labor Day
no class / L2a
SL / Brandeis Mon.
Wk 2 Disc
13 / 14 / 15 / 16 / 17 / 18 / 19
Rosh Hashanah
no class / L3a
SL / Wk 3 Disc
20 / 21 / 22 / 23 / 24 / 25 / 26
L4a
SL / Yom Kippur
no class / Wk 4 Disc
27 / 28 / 29 / 30 / Oct. 1
Sukkot
no class / Brandeis Mon.
L5a SL / L5b
SL / Wk 5 Disc
OCTOBER
Sun / Mon / Tue / Wed / Thu / Fri / Sat
4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10
Shmini Atzeret
no class / L6a
SL / Wk 6 Disc
11 / 12 / 13 / 14 / 15 / 16 / 17
L7a
SL / L7b
SL / Wk 7 Disc
18 / 19 / 20 / 21 / 22 / 23 / 24
L8a
CW / L8b
CW / Wk 8 Disc
25 / 26 / 27 / 28 / 29 / 30 / 31
L9a
CW / L9b
CW / Wk 9 Disc
NOVEMBER
Sun / Mon / Tue / Wed / Thu / Fri / Sat
1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7
L10a
CW / L10b
CW / Wk 10 Disc
8 / 9 / 10 / 11 / 12 / 13 / 14
L11a
CW / L11b
CW LIB. EVENT / Wk 11 Disc
15 / 16 / 17 / 18 / 19 / 20 / 21
L12a
CW / L12b
CW / Wk 12 Disc
22 / 23 / 24 / 25 / 26 / 27 / 28
MIDTERM / Thanksgiving
no class / Thanksgiving
no class
DECEMBER
Sun / Mon / Tue / Wed / Thu / Fri / Sat
Nov.30 / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5
L13a
REC / L13b
REC / Wk 13 Disc
6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 / 12
L14a
REC / LAST CLASS
L14b / TAKE-HOME EXAM POSTED
13 / 14 / 15 / 16 / 17 / 18 / 19
TAKE-HOME EXAM DUE
20 / 21 / 22 / 23 / 24 / 25 / 26
GRADES
POSTED
27 / 28 / 29 / 30 / 31
COURSE OUTLINE:
Thur, Aug. 27: INTRODUCTORY CLASS[AC1]
Mon, Aug. 31:Lecture 1a:SLAVERY RACE/CIVIL WAR & NATION: THE VIEW FROM THE 21stCENTURY, Pt. 1[AC2][AC3]
Wed, Sept. 2: Lecture 1b: SLAVERY RACE/CIVIL WAR & NATION: THE VIEW FROM THE 21st CENTURY[AC4], Pt. 2[AC5]
Thur, Sept. 3: Week 1 Discussion
Week 1 Readings:
W.E.B. DuBois, “The Propaganda of History” in Black Reconstruction (1935)
Drew Faust, “Telling War Stories” (2011)
Brett Bursey & Daniel Hollis, “The Day the Flag Went Up” (1999)
Ta-Nehisi Coates, “Why Do So Few Blacks Study the Civil War?"
Stephen Berry,“The Future of Civil War Era Studies,” Journal of the Civil War Era (2012)*
Viewings: Key & Peele, Leslie Jones, Django Unchained clip
*It is perfectly all right to skim this piece. The point of the assignment is to peer into the conversation historians are having among themselves at the current moment about possible future directions for Civil War era history. Read the opening paragraphs closely, take note of each enumerated point, and skim the material within each point so as to understand why these topics might be de rigeur at the moment. If you have further interest in Civil War scholarship, by all means, give this a full read. Prof. Cooper is always up for a chat on this.
SLAVERY
Mon, Sept. 7: Labor Day – NO CLASS
Wed, Sept. 9: Lecture 2a: THE MIDDLE PASSAGE & NEW WORLD SLAVERY[AC6][AC7]
Thur, Sept. 10: (Brandeis Monday but for us, a discussion day) Week 2 Discussion
Week 2 Readings:
Peter Kolchin, American Slavery, Chapter 1
Saidiya Hartman, Lose Your Mother: A Journey Along the Atlantic Slave Route (selection)
Exhibit: “In Motion: The African American Migration Experience” by The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture
Mon, Sept. 14: Rosh Hashanah – NO CLASS
Wed, Sept. 16: Lecture 3a: FROM AFRICAN TO AFRICAN-AMERICAN, FROM A SOCIETY WITH SLAVES TO A SLAVE SOCIETY
Thur, Sept. 17: Week 3Discussion
Week 3 Readings:
Ira Berlin, Many Thousands Gone (selection)
Peter Kolchin, American Slavery, Chapters 2 & 3
Mon, Sept. 21: Lecture 4a: THE SECRET LIFE OF SLAVES: PART I
Wed, Sept. 23: Yom Kippur – NO CLASS
Thur, Sept. 24: Week 4 Discussion
Week 4 Readings:
Peter Kolchin, American Slavery, Chapters 4 & 5
Unorthodox readings in fragments, artifacts, materials
Mon, Sept. 28: Sukkot – NO CLASS
Wed, Sept. 30: Lecture 5a: THE SECRET LIFE OF SLAVES: PART II
Thur, Oct. 1: Week 5Discussion
Week 5 Readings:
Michael Gomez, Exchanging Our Country Marks, Chapters 4 & 9
The Autobiography of Omar ibn Said(primary source)
Mon, Oct. 5: Shmini Atzeret – NO CLASS
Wed, Oct. 7: Lecture 6a: SLAVERY AND CAPITALISM
Thur, Oct. 8: Week 6 Discussion
Week 6 Readings:
Seth Rockman, “Liberty is Land and Slaves”
Walter Johnson, Soul by Soul: Life in the Antebellum Slave Market (Chap. 5)
Amy Dru Stanley, “Slave Breeding and Free Love: An Antebellum Argument over Slavery, Capitalism,and Personhood”
Mon, Oct. 12: Lecture 7a: WAGE LABOR AND FREE SOIL
Wed, Oct. 14: Lecture 7b: A POLITICAL CRISIS AND A LIBERAL DILEMMA
Thur, Oct. 15: Discussion 7
Week 7 Readings:
Peter Kolchin, American Slavery, Chap. 6 “The White South: Society, Economy, Ideology”
Robin Blackburn, "Emancipation and 'Human Rights' from Empire to Decolonization," The American Crucible: Slavery, Emancipation, and Human Rights (2011)
Ta-Nehisi Coates, “The Civil War Isn’t Tragic[AC8]”
Hammond, James H. Speech of Hon. James H. Hammond, of South Carolina, on the Admission of Kansas, Under the Lecompton Constitution. Delivered in the Senate of the United States, March 4, 1858
Lincoln, Abraham. "Annual Address Before the Wisconsin State Agricultural Society, at Milwaukee, Wisconsin, September 30, 1859
CIVIL WAR
Mon, Oct. 19: Lecture 8a: WESTWARD EXPANSION AND PLANTATION EMPIRES
Wed, Oct. 21: Lecture 8b: SECESSION & THE BORDER STATES
Thur, Oct. 22: Discussion 8
Week 8 Readings:
McPherson, Prologue & Chaps. 1-5 & 9
Mon, Oct. 26: Lecture 9a: SO THIS IS WHAT MODERN WAR LOOKS LIKE
Wed, Oct. 28: Lecture 9b: MEDICINE & MIDWIVES
Thur, Oct. 29: Discussion 9
Week 9 Readings:
McPherson, Chaps.10, 15, 16
Mon, Nov. 2: Lecture 10a: Turning Points and Transformations, Pt. 1
Wed, Nov. 4: Lecture 10b:Turning Points and Transformations, Pt. 2
Thur, Nov. 5: Discussion 10
Week 10 Readings:
McPherson, Chaps. 21, 23, 24
Mon, Nov. 9: Lecture 11a: THE THRILLING TEDIUM OF CIVIL WAR SOURCES
Wed, Nov. 11: BRANDEIS SPECIAL COLLECTIONS CIVIL WAR LETTERS EVENT
in Goldfarb Library (with a short Lecture 11b presented at the event; event goes until 2, but students may leave early as necessary)
Thur, Nov. 12: Discussion 11
Week 11 Readings:
James McPherson, Chaps 25-28 & Epilogue
Mon, Nov. 16: Lecture 12a: CONTRABAND CAMPS, PT. 1
Wed, Nov. 18: Lecture 12b: CONTRABAND CAMPS, PT. 2
Thur, Nov. 19: Discussion 12
Week 12 Readings:
Leon Litwack, ‘Been in the Storm So Long: The Aftermath of Slavery (selection)
Interactive map of the contraband camps of the Civil War
American Freedmen’s Inquiry Commission Records (primary source)
Mon, Nov. 23: MIDTERM
Wed, Nov. 25 & Thur, Nov. 26: THANKSGIVING RECESS – NO CLASS
RECONSTRUCTION
Mon, Nov. 30: Lecture 13a: FROM CONTRABAND TO FREEDMAN
Wed, Dec. 2: Lecture 13b: BLACK RECONSTRUCTION
Thur, Dec. 3: Week 13Discussion
Week 13 Readings:
Peter Kolchin, American Slavery, Chapter 7: The End of Slavery
[additional reading TBA]
Mon, Dec. 7: Lecture 14a: REDEMPTION
Wed, Dec. 9: Lecture 14b: CONCLUSION
1
[AC1]comparative slaveries, comparative emancipations
[AC2]Jelani Cobb, Slavery and Satire in 21st Century, Middle Passage, Emperor has no clothes, Slavery made Race in America, Race is a fiction, race is undeniable
[AC3]Topics include: How humor is operating vis a vis the tropes of slavery and the African American experience; Tensions of "Slaves as Property" and "Slaves as Valuable"; Slavery's Creation of a System of Value from which No One Could Escape; Slavery as Site of Trauma/Incongruity with Lightness of Sketch Comedy Show; Human Pain as Key to Comedy; Satire Making Slavery Visible
[AC4]Looking at the writing of history, W.E.B. DuBois’ Black Reconstruction, different ways you can look at race
[AC5]Slavery and Satire in the 21st Century
The emperor has no clothes. The emperor is naked. and not wise at all. and exposed.
The emperor pays a lot of money for some new magic clothes which can only be seen by wise people. The clothes do not really exist, but the emperor does not admit he cannot see them, because he does not want to seem stupid. Everyone else pretends to see the clothes too, until a child shouts, "The Emperor has no clothes on!" The “emperor has no clothes” describes a situation in which people are afraid to criticize something because everyone else seems to think it is good or important.
[AC6]Topics covered: Old World, New World; Religion, Ethnicity, & Race as Dividing Lines between Master and Slave in History; America's Place and Comparative Features in New World; the Transatlantic Slave Trade and the Formative Experience of the Middle Passage; American Slavery and British Consciousness of Republican Aspirations; the Development of Race-based Slavery in Colonial America; Is Virginia America?
[AC7]
Edmund Morgan/Kathleen Brown …Racism/Race
Approached as a cultural category (race) rather than as the foundation for an ideology (racism), the ways that race evolved with and through class, rather than simply in opposition to it, have become more apparent.
Point. Racism was a political tool. It evolved in opposition to class.
Counterpoint. Race was a cultural category. It evolved with class.
post-Morgan scholars emphasize subtler mechanisms through which racial categories support relations of power.
[
[AC8]liberals hate slavery. hate war. conundrum.