Elizabeth R. Osborn                                                                      Fall 2001

 

                            

The South, Sectionalism, and the Civil War

A421   Mon and Weds   section C374  9:30-10:45 CA217

                                                         

Office:  CA 243C                                                                       

Office phone: 274-7463                                                               

Office Hours: Weds  8:30-9:30 am; Mon 12-1; and by appt.                

History office: CA 504M  (mailbox)                                              

E-mail:  eosborn@indiana.edu                                                       

 

Description:

This class will examine life in America from approximately the Constitutional Convention through the end of the Civil War.  The majority of our time will be spent exploring social, political, and economic events between 1830-1860.  The course is structured thematically and regionally rather then chronologically.*  We will not study everything that happens in this era, instead we will focus on selected issues that help us to understand the growing sectionalism within the United States, and how this sectionalism, tragically, led to war.  We will begin with a study of early  signs of sectionalism and then we will move on to explore the Market Revolution and how it influenced people’s lives. This framework/background will then be used to explore the causes and consequences of the Civil War.

 

Required Texts:  (listed as we will read them--available at the IUPUI bookstore and Folletts)

            Major Problems in the Early Republic (Sean Wilentz)

            Andrew Jackson: The Symbol of an Age (John William Ward)

            A House Divided: Sectionalism and Civil War (Richard H. Sewell)

            Twelve Years a Slave (Solomon Northup)

            Embattled Courage (Gerald F. Linderman)

            Mother’s of Invention (Drew G. Faust)

           

*This course assumes that you have a broad familiarity with the general outline of American history.  If you have not taken H105 (or a similar class) recently you may want to purchase the text Out of Many.  This book is on the shelf with our other texts, but any standard US history text will work just as well.

                                                                                               

Course Requirements:*

1.  Quizzes: 25%

There will be 4 quizzes.  One from each of the readings except Wilentz (material from Wilentz will help you to score well on those quizzes and must be demonstrated on the exams) and Faust (covered on the final exam). A list of reading questions for each book will be posted on Oncourse.  Quizzes will be drawn from these questions.  Typically the quiz will feature a question combining elements from several of the ones on your list.  There will be no make-ups. Quiz dates are on the syllabus, plan accordingly.   Each quiz will be worth approximately 25 pts. 

 

 

 

2.  Exams: 50%

There will be 2 exams, a mid-term and a final.  Both exams will be in an essay/id format.  They will cover content from the textbooks (including Wilentz), lecture, class discussion, and any other topics/reading assigned by the instructor.  Each exam will be worth approximately 100 points

 

3.  Research Project: 25%

Each student will complete a 7-10 page research paper based on a topic agreed upon between the student and the instructor.  This topic must be selected by 9/5 or a topic will be assigned to you.  I have a list of suggested topics, but will consider other proposals.  Multiple papers on similar topics will be discouraged, so sign up early.   This assignment emphasizes the skills necessary for historical research with primary documents.  A complete hand-out is available for you to print out on Oncourse and from the syllabus posted on the department’s website.  The paper is due 11/19.  The research project is worth approximately 100 points. 

 

One of the objectives of this project is to plan and carry out a long term assignment, and to experience real historical research and the related challenges/obstacles/ and rewards.  To meet these goals,  a working bibliography (due 10/1) and a working outline (due 11/12) are considered essential components of the final project.  Failure to complete and turn in these preliminary tasks will result in a loss of 3% points off of your final project grade for each missing element.  They are milestones to help you research and write a good historical essay, they are not graded necessarily for content or strength of argument.  I will simply record whether or not you completed them according to the criteria provided.

 

4.  Participation/Preparation

In an upper division course it is expected that you come to class prepared (that means having read the assigned texts) and willing to participate regularly in discussion. During discussion periods I often keep a running tally of those who participate.  If you have difficulty speaking up in class, come and see me in office hours.  I will be happy to discuss strategies for getting involved in the discussions, and for counting office discussions as a part of your participation grade.  While no specific percentage of your grade is assigned to participation, it will be taken into account when figuring your final grade.  Lack of preparation can have a negative impact on your grade, but regular contributions to discussion and demonstrated preparation can raise your average.

 

* In the calculation of the semester grade, improvement over the course of the semester is an important consideration and can raise the final grade above the mathematical average.

 

* Every effort will be made to return all work within one week or by the 3rd class meeting after it is collected.  Papers may take up to 2 weeks. Late exams/assignments will be graded as time permits.  

 

Course Policies: 

 

Attendance: You are expected to attend all class meetings (as per new university policy, attendance will be taken) and to complete the readings before the first class meeting each week.   Everyone is automatically given 3 “free” absences. If you are gone for job related requirements, sporting events, doctor’s appointments, illness, etc. it will be deducted from these 3 “free” absences.  Remember, you may not make up a quiz, exam, or class assignment if it falls on a day you are absent.

 

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Absences will be excused only at the instructor’s discretion and in extreme circumstances (hospitalization–not merely a doctor’s appointment, death in the family, etc.) and with appropriate documentation.  Please do not e-mail me telling me you will be absent–that is why you get 3 freebies.  After 3 absences,  if you feel that you have extenuating circumstances warranting an excuse, please come and see me in person during office hours. 

 

3% points will be deducted from your final course average for each absence after your 3 freebies.  More than 6 absences may result in an F for this class.

 

Due Dates: All assignments/papers are due at the beginning of class.  Late assignments will lose 3% points for each day they are late, including weekends and holidays. Make-ups and late papers are allowed only in exceptional circumstances with appropriate documentation.  Students who for extraordinary reasons cannot meet a deadline should discuss their situation with the instructors before the due date.

 

Oncourse/E-mail: Please familiarize yourself with the Oncourse system that is maintained by the University and is accessible from the IUPUI homepage.  I will post announcements, assignments, hand outs to be printed and brought to class, and other important information at this site.  It is your responsibility to check Oncourse on a regular basis.  The system also allows you to easily contact me and your classmates–you simply click on a person’s name in order to send them an e-mail.

 

Plagiarism:*

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:

            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 ideas, opinion or theory; or

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

 

*(See Indiana University Academic Handbook, p.123)

 

Please note:

This syllabus and other course materials can be found on Oncourse and the homepage of the Department of History at  http://www.iupui.edu/~history/  Then choose the Schedule of Classes option.  Then Fall 2001.  You can locate this class by section number, meeting time, or my last name (Osborn).  Please see section on Oncourse above as well.

 

Additions/changes to course policies, procedures, due dates, exam dates, and assignments may be made at any time.  Students are responsible for keeping their paper copies up-to-date and periodically checking oncourse for posted changes.

 

Osborn–A421–Fall 2001

 

                                 Course Schedule and Reading Assignments*

 

*Reading assignment should be completed BEFORE the first class meeting of the week

                                                                             

              Weds 8/22                 Introduction

                       Major Problems: pp.1-25

 

Week 1: Mon 8/27       Early Signs of Sectionalism

              Wed 8/29       Early Signs of Sectionalism

                        Discuss paper assignment (8/29)           

                        Major Problems: pp.25-33; 49-53; 96-101

                                           

Week 2: Mon 9/3                     No Class: Labor Day

             Wed 9/5                      American in 1815: General Values

                        Major Problems: pp.156-186

                                Paper Topic Due 9/5

                               

Week 3: Mon 9/10                   American in 1815        

              Wed 9/12                   The Market Revolution: What is it?

            Ward: Andrew Jackson

 

Week 4: Mon   9/17                 The Market Revolution: How did it change workers’ lives?

               Wed 9/19                  Andrew Jackson

                        Major Problems:198-209; 227-236    

                        Ward: Andrew Jackson

                                Ward Quiz 9/17

 

Week 5: Mon 9/24                  Jacksonian Democracy

              Wed 9/26                   Northern life: The Emerging Middle Class

                        Go over bibliography (9/26)

                        Major Problems: 391-399; 195-197

                                                                                               

Week 6: Mon 10/1                   Antebellum Reform Societies: Rejecting the Market Revolution

               Wed 10/3                  Southern Life: The “Old” South

                        Major Problems: pp.423-4434; 443-461

                        Northup:  Twelve Years a Slave

                                Working Bibliography is due 10/1

 

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Week 7: Mon 10/8                   Southern Life: The Political Culture of Slavery v. Abolitionism

              Wed 10/10                 Life as a Slave

                        Northup:  Twelve Years a Slave

                                Major Problems: pp.238-264; 279-286

                                Northup Quiz 10/8

 

Week 8: Mon 10/15                 Mid-Term Exam

               Wed 10/17                Conferences about Papers

                        Major Problems: pp.288-331

                               

Week 9: Mon 10/22                 The West and Manifest Destiny

               Wed 10/24                The West and Manifest Destiny

                        Major Problems: pp.523-567

 

Week 10: Mon 10/29   The Far West

                Wed 10/31               The Compromise of 1850: The Calm Before the Storm 

                        Sewell:  A House Divided

                                                                           

Week 11: Mon 11/5                 Crisis of 1850: Sectional Politics

                Wed 11/7                 Crisis of 1850

            Sewell:  A House Divided

                                Sewell Quiz 11/5

                                                               

Week 12 :  Mon 11/12 Preparing for the War

                  Wed 11/14 Soldiering

                        Linderman:  Embattled Courage

                        Working Outline is due 11/12

 

Week 13: Mon 11/19               Soldiering

                 Wed 11/21 No Class: Thanksgiving Holiday

                        Final Paper due 11/19

                        Linderman:  Embattled Courage

                       

Week 14: Mon 11/26               Emancipation

                Wed 11/28               War on the Homefront

                        Faust:  Mothers of Invention

                        Linderman Quiz 11/28

 

Week 15: Mon 12/3                 War on the Homefront 

                Wed 12/5                 Consequences of the War

                        Faust:  Mothers of Invention         

 

Week 16: Mon 12/10   Conclusion                              

                       

 

FINAL EXAMINATION

 

Cavanaugh Hall 217  section C374                 Final Exam: 8-10 am Friday 12/14

                                                                                                (Faust question on the final exam)

*All exams in regular classroom