This course will survey the major social, political, economic, and intellectual trends in the history of the United States from 1830 to 1880. Among the main topics to be considered are the institution of slavery, the development of southern nationalism, the rise of an organized abolitionist movement, the role of politics in causing the Civil War, the revolutionary impact of that conflict on both the South and the North, the political and constitutional controversies over Reconstruction policies, and the adjustments of planters and former slaves to freedom. Special consideration will be placed upon the Afro-American community and its evolving social, economic, and political status within a white-dominated and generally hostile nation.

Nature and Amount of Student Responsibility: The success of this course depends upon the completion of the reading assignments and participation in class discussion by the students. If a student falls behind in his/her readings she/he will soon find it difficult to follow the subject matter of class discussion or join in it. Students should feel free to ask questions about unclear material at any time during the class. Students also should feel free to talk to the instructor about any course-related problems especially in cases when a student believes that his/her assignment grades do not accurately reflect her/his performance in the course.

There will be three major graded assignments for this course. Students are required to take a mid-term examination tentatively scheduled for February 28th and a final examination scheduled for May 4th. On both examinations, students will prepare answers for their choice of two out of four essay questions presented by the instructor. The general content of these questions will be drawn from the topics dealt with in course reading and class discussion. Each question will be framed to encourage students to exercise their own judgment and interpretative skills in dealing with an important subject of historical debate. The subject matter covered on each of the two examinations will not be cumulative.

Students also will prepare a research paper on an aspect of the history of the Civil War and Reconstruction Era. Expected minimum length of these papers are 10-12 typed pages for undergraduate students and 15-20 typed pages for graduate students. The completed paper is due on April 18th. The student can elect to explore her/his topic either through the investigation of primary sources or through a critical analysis of the existing historical literature. The topics of these papers should be determined in coordination with the instructor. A one page prospectus briefly describing the topic of the paper and the major sources for research is due on

Required Readings: The following five books are paperback and are available at the IUPUI Bookstore. Occasionally during the semester, the instructor will distribute photocopies of pertinent primary sources for student reading.

(1) John McCardell, The Idea of a Southern Nation: Southern Nationalists and Southern Nationalism, 1830-1860 (1979).

A clearly-written synthesis of current historical thought concerning the distinctiveness of antebellum southern culture and its role in the movement for southern independence.

(2) Michael Perman, The Coming of the American Civil War (1993 ed.)

A survey of the long debate among historians over the causes of the American Civil War. Perman provides key selections from the major historians who have argued the case for different interpretations for why the great conflict occurred.

(3) Gabor Borit, Why the Confederacy Lost (1992)

Another collection of essays by five leading historians offering analysis of the factors that explain the military outcome of the United States Civil war.

(4) James M. McPherson, Abraham Lincoln and the Second Reconstruction (1991)

Written by one of the leading scholars on the Civil War era, this book attempts to assess the reputation of Abraham Lincoln as a political as well as military leader. The book offers a controversial thesis on why Emancipation became the Union's war goal.

(5) Eric Foner, A Short History of Reconstruction (1990)

This work is an abridged edition of Foner=s magisterial synthesis of the history of Reconstruction. Foner presents not only apolitical history of what he terms the Asecond American Revolution, but details the monumental social and economic changes brought about by Reconstruction.

Course Schedule: The following is a prospective schedule of class topics, reading assignments, and examinations: