H105: American History to 1865

Course Section #: 15407; MW 11:00-12:15

Fall, 2004

Cavanaugh Hall 217

Instructor: Fred Witzig

Email: fwitzig@indiana.edu

Office Hours: MW, 10-11 AM; TR, 3:30-4:00 PM. CA313 (most likely cubical A).

Brief course description and requirements:

History is made up of fascinating people, cultures, and events. History at its finest is about stories, some magnificent and exhilarating, some tragic and disheartening. Often these stories can help us appreciate other people and their cultures, and understand what makes this world tick. In this course we will learn about the key people, cultures, and events that make up the history of what we now call the United States. We will begin with a survey of the peoples who for millennia had lived in “blissful ignorance” of each other, separated by thousands of miles of Atlantic Ocean: the peoples of North America, Africa, and Europe. What happened when these people discovered each other? How did they adjust to the changes that followed? How did they cause change themselves? What sorts of social institutions did they build as they sought to chart their course amidst incredible opportunities and crises?

Along the way we will cover many of the familiar events and people of American history: Jamestown, the Pilgrims, the American Revolution, and the Civil War, for instance. But hopefully we will also discuss topics that will enable you to think about history in refreshing and useful ways: the ability of Native and African-Americans to creatively and persistently transform their relationships with European-Americans; the unique ways in which religion invigorated and guided American societies; the unfortunate prevalence of war and conflict, culminating in the most bloody war in American history; and the transformation of a traditionally agricultural to an industrial nation.

While you will be held accountable for knowing key dates and people, this is not a memorization class. Rather, consistent with the goals of the “IUPUI Principles of Undergraduate Learning,” you will be required to “analyze carefully and logically information and ideas from multiple perspectives”; “to recognize roots of your own cultural traditions and to understand and appreciate the diversity of the human experience within the United States”; to consider American history in light of your—and other’s—values and ethics; and to communicate your thoughts intelligently in written form. I encourage you to read through all of the Principles, as they will help you to gain the most from your experience here at IUPUI. You can find these Principles posted on the Department of History’s Home Page at www.iupui.edu/~history.

To accomplish these tasks you will read chapters from an American history textbook, read and discuss in class “true stories” of several people who helped make American history, watch short film clips, and take notes during class lectures. To monitor progress and to enhance your analytical and writing abilities you will be required to complete three exams, several reading quizzes, and two article summaries. See below for details.

Required texts:

Robert A. Divine et al, America Past and Present, vol. I,

Altina Walker and William Graebner, eds, True Stories from the American Past, vol. I, Third Edition (McGraw-Hill, 2003).

In addition, there are numerous short readings linked to the Oncourse class webpage.

Two recommendations for reading history:

1. Do not get bogged down in reading the history textbook. I encourage you to look for the larger points, rather than memorize countless details. For instance, understanding how differences in agricultural conditions in the northern colonies and the southern colonies caused each region to develop strikingly different cultures (that in some ways continue to reverberate in American society today) is far more important than simply memorizing the top five crops of each colony. Of course, to make that argument you will need to know some details, but let the arguments determine the details that you learn.

2. Enjoy the reading! Read the stories in the textbook and True Stories for what they say about the human experience. What do they tell you about life centuries ago? What do they indicate about human nature and the ability and inability to form societies of material, spiritual, and cultural prosperity? Can you see elements of today’s American culture in the Puritan churches, the Boston Tea Party, or the slave quarters? Take what you learn from the readings and form your own “true stories” of the American past.

Assignments:

Midterm and Final Exams. All exams will be comprised of a combination of objective (multiple choice, fill-in) and essay questions, taken primarily from the lectures, the readings on Oncourse, and the True Stories readings. I may form questions from sections in the textbook that cover material not dealt with in class, but I will tell you which sections I draw from. Study guides will be posted on Oncourse before the exams. The two midterms will not be cumulative. The final exam will be cumulative only in the objective section: up to 10 questions from each of the midterms will be included, verbatim, on the final exam, in addition to new questions from the last unit of the class.

Reading Quizzes: reading quizzes are designed to ensure that all students complete the readings in a thoughtful manner. They will mostly be objective (multiple choice, true/false). They will be distributed at the beginning of class. If you arrive at class after the quizzes have been collected, you missed the quiz. No makeup quizzes will be given. Note, however, that the lowest quiz score will be dropped.

Article summaries: Each student is required to complete summaries of three readings listed on the “Article Summaries” options page posted on Oncourse. Choose the three that interest you the most.

Instructions for each summary: Read the article, and respond to the following questions in a one page summary paper (double-spaced; 12 point font, 1” margins, your name and the title and author of the article at the top):

1. What is the thesis, or key point, of the article?

2. What does the author use for evidence in support of the thesis?

Papers will be graded based on the following criteria: Does the paper answer the two questions above? Is the paper thoughtful and insightful? Is the paper properly constructed (sentence structure, grammar, spelling, etc). Is the paper of adequate length? Is the paper too long (no longer than one page)?

Class Participation:

I assign participation points according to two criteria: quantity and quality:

q Quantity: Did you consistently and punctually attend class, or were you consistently absent or late?

q Quality: did you participate in class discussion in a professional manner? Did your participation indicate a thoughtful engagement with class material? Did your participation convey respect for other people, even when you disagreed with their viewpoints? Did you use professional language, without profanity or personal slight?

Office Hours and Contacting Mr. Witzig:

I hold office hours in part because I am required to (!), but also because interaction with students is what makes my job so enjoyable. I strongly encourage you to stop by whenever you have a question about course content, course requirements, the structure of the class, the history profession, or if you simply want to stop and chat. In fact, I encourage you to stop in at least once during the semester even if you don’t have anything particular on your mind. Please make every effort to come during my regular office hours, but if you want to talk in person and the scheduled office hours do not work in your schedule, let me know and no doubt we will be able to schedule an alternate time.

Other than office hours the easiest way to contact me is through email. I check it at least once a day (except Sundays). Please use the email listed at the top of the syllabus.

Please do not try to contact me via the telephone, or leave a message for me on a voicemail you may discover.

Attendance:

My policy on attendance is simple: show up on time and take good notes. I am required to report the names of those who do not show up consistently. I will discover those who don’t take good notes when I grade the exams. Finally, note that absence, non-participation in class discussion, and consistent tardiness will result in points deducted from participation.

Late work and Makeup work:

Five points will be deducted for each day that a paper is late, no exceptions. Makeup exams will be administered only in extreme circumstances (sickness, with a doctor’s note; car accident, with a police report; death, with a coroner’s report).

Administrative Withdrawal:

The class will follow the guidelines for administrative withdrawal described at http://life.iupui.edu/dos/code.htm.

Grading:

Midterm I and II	100 points (50 points each)
Final Exam	80 points
Article Summaries	60 points (20 points each)
Reading Quizzes	30 points (3 points each, 11 total, drop the lowest score)
Participation	30 points
Total	300 points

Scale:

279-300	A
270-282	A-
261-269	B+
249-260	B
240-248	B-
231-239	C+
219-230	C
210-218	C-
201-209	D+
189-200	D
180-188	D-
0-179	F

Cheating and plagiarism:

Neither will be tolerated. Penalties will range from receiving an F on the assignment, to the reporting of the incident to the proper authorities at IUPUI. Please consult the appropriate sections of the “Code of Student Ethics” and the “Indiana University Bulletin,” and/or the link http://life.iupui.edu/dos/code.htm

Tentative Schedule:

This schedule may change. Any changes will be announced in class. Students will be responsible for any changes made to this schedule.

Date	Topics	Readings	Assignments
August 25	Introduction
August 30; September 1	Pre-Columbian North America; European expansion	America, ch. 1 Verrazano Handout.	August 30: RQ1
September 6: Labor Day Holiday
September 8	European settlement	America ch. 2; True Stories, Kupperman. Oncourse: Ffrethorne	RQ2
September 13/15	War and Peace in Colonial America; 18^th Century Colonial Society: Deference or Defiance?	America, chs. 3 and 4. True Stories, Lockridge True Stories, Davis	September 13: RQ3
September 20/22	18^th Century Colonial Society: Religion and Politics.	America, ch. 3 and 4 True Stories, Bailyn Oncourse: Jonathan Edwards	September 22: First Article Summary Due.
September 27/29	Finish and Review Colonial Society.		September 29: Midterm I.
October 4/6	Moving to Independence	America, ch. 5 and Declaration of Independence. True Stories: Bellesiles	October 4: RQ4
October 11/13	Now what? The New Republic; Origins of the Constitution	America, ch. 6 and Constitution. True Stories, Nobles	October 11: RQ5.
October 18/20	Party Politics, the Election of 1800, and the Jeffersonian Ascendancy	America, chs. 7 and 8. Oncourse: Sedition Act. Oncourse: Thomas Jefferson on the French Revolution. Oncourse: Political Parties.	October 18: RQ6, October 20: Second Article Summary Due.
October 25/27	The Market Economy	America, ch. 9 True Stories, Edmunds True Stories, Way. Oncourse: Lowell, As It Was And As It Is	October 25: RQ7
November 1/3	The Age of Jackson	America, ch. 10 True Stories, Waller. Oncourse: Bayard-Smith on Jackson’s Inauguration.	November 3: Midterm II (Moving to Independence through The Market Economy).
November 8/10	American Society at Mid-Century..	America, ch. 11 Oncourse: Dorothea Dix Oncourse: Toqueville Excerpts	November 8: RQ8
November 15/17	Expansion West	America, ch. 12 California excerpt. Oncourse: Nahl Picture	November 15: RQ9
November 22	Slavery and Abolitionism	America, ch. 13 True Stories, McLaurin Oncourse: Weld Oncourse: Garrison.	November 22: RQ10. Third Article Summary due.
November 24: Thanksgiving Break
November 29/ December 1	Regionalism and the Problem of Slavery	America, ch. 14 Oncourse: Dred Scott Oncourse: Abraham Lincoln Oncourse: Jefferson Davis.	November 29: RQ11.
December 6/8	The Civil War; Review for Final	America, ch. 15. True Stories, Smith
December 15, 10:30-12:30: Final Exam