U.S.
History I
Fall
2009, HI 111C
11:00-12:15,
Monday/Wednesday, HC 308
Instructor: Dr.
Kerry Wynn Office:
Henderson 311E
Email:
kerry.wynn@washburn.edu Office
phone: 670-2062
Office hours:
Tuesday, 2:30-4:30, and Wednesday, 10am-12pm (and by appointment)
Course
Description:
This course
provides an introduction to the history of the United States from the Colonial
Era to Reconstruction (roughly 1500-1877).
Over the course of the semester, we will travel from the meeting of
separate cultures on the North American continent to the reunion of Northern
and Southern states after the Civil War.
We will examine the people and circumstances that created the United
States, and we will discuss the possibilities and limitations of the American
nation. We will cover an extended period
of time, in which immense changes occurred on the North American continent. By 1877, the landscape, peoples, and
governments of the Americas had been changed by centuries of inter-cultural
human interaction. The United States had
become an independent nation, with an innovative form of government. Exploration, colonization, and warfare pushed
the boundaries of the United States to the north, south, and west. The economic base of the colonies and then
the nation shifted with the establishment and abolition of systems of slavery,
the growth of a “free labor” movement, and the beginnings of
industrialization.
We will examine
all of the changes mentioned above, and more, as the semester progresses. As we do, the assignments you complete and
the discussions we will have will fulfill the goals of general education: to
develop students’ abilities in reading intelligently, writing effectively, and
processing information. By the end of
the semester, you should have a better understanding of the multiple, complex
traditions that came together (and often clashed) on this continent. You should be familiar with ways that the
common, everyday actions of individuals are important to the grand narrative of
history. Finally, you should be able to
interpret and use the sources historians use to write the history of the United
States.
Course
Objectives:
By the end of
the semester, you should be able to
1
Explain
political, social, and economic trends in American History from the colonial
era to the end of the Civil War
2
Analyze
primary sources (materials produced during the time period we are studying) and
secondary sources (materials produced at a later time about a historical event)
for content and point of view
3
Construct
effective arguments that pinpoint the causes and effects of important events in
U.S. history
Required
Reading:
·
Roark,
et al. The American Promise: A
Compact History (volume I), Third Edition.
New York: Bedford/St. Martins, 2007.
·
Throughout
the semester, you will be required to read primary sources, which will be
available through the My.Washburn website or Mabee electronic reserve. These are listed on the syllabus below. Additions or substitutions will be announced
in class.
Course
Requirements:
Success in this
course requires completing all of its components: attending lectures, reading
text assignments by the dates specified, participating in class discussions,
and completing tests, in-class and take-home writing assignments, and
essays. Students in this course will
take 3 short answer/essay exams, complete 5 in-class writing assignments, and
write two short essays (3-5 pages each).
Each essay will answer a question based on your interpretation of
primary sources. More details regarding
the exams, in-class writing, and essays will be given in class. Students will also be graded on their
attendance and participation in class discussions, as well as the completion of
a few assignments to be completed outside of class.
Grade
Distribution:
Exam
1 (September 22)............................................. 20%
Exam
2 (November 3)................................................ 20%
Final
Exam (December 11)........................................ 20%
In-class
Writing.......................................................... 10%
Essay
1 (October 22)................................................. 10%
Essay
2 (December 3)................................................ 10%
Attendance
and Participation.................................... 10%
Class Schedule:
August 18-20 Introduction; America and the
World in 1492
Roark,
Chapter 1
·
Thursday:
Chekili, “Origin of the Creek Confederacy”
August 25-27 Empires and Global Trade
Roark,
Chapter 2
**In-class Writing 1 (Thursday)**
·
Tuesday:
Bartolome de las Casas, Preface, The
Destruction of the Indies and DeBry illustration
·
Thursday:
Theodor DeBry, illustrations from Historia
Americae
September 1-3 Founding Chesapeake Bay and the
Southern British Colonies
Roark,
Chapter 3
·
Tuesday:
National Geographic Jamestown Website (archaeological evidence)
·
Thursday:
Richard Frethorne, “Our Plantation is Very Weak,” and George Alsop,
“They Live Well in the Time of their Service”
September 8-10 Founding Massachusetts Bay and the
Northern British Colonies
Roark,
Chapter 4
**In-class Writing 2 (Thursday)**
·
Tuesday:
Edward Johnson, “Thus This Poore People Populate this Howling Desart”
·
Thursday:
Metacom, “Metacom Relates Indian Complaints about English Settlers”
September 15-17 Colonial Development in the Eighteenth
Century
Roark,
Chapter 5
·
Tuesday:
Olaudah Equiano, “Is it not Enough that We are Torn from Our Country and
Friends?”
·
Thursday:
Nathaniel Bacon, “Declaration,” and William Berkeley, “The Declaration
and Remonstrance of Sir William Berkeley”
September 22 **Exam 1**
September 24 Imperial
Conflict, Colonial Resistance
Roark, Chapter 6
·
Tuesday:
French North American Baptismal Register
·
Thursday:
Brutus, “We Are All Equally Free”
Sept 29-Oct 1 Reform
and Revolution
Roark,
Chapter 7
**In-class Writing 3 (Thursday)**
·
Tuesday:
The Declaration of Independence
·
Thursday:
Belinda, “Petition of an African Slave, to the Legislature of Massachusetts”
October 6 Forging a Nation
Roark,
Chapter 8
·
Tuesday:
Constitution of the United States
October 8 **Fall Break—No Class**
October 13-15 Politics and Nationalism in the
Early Republic
Roark,
Chapter 9
**In-class Writing 4 (Thursday)**
·
Tuesday:
The Federalist Papers, excerpts
·
Thursday:
Thomas Cooper, Editorial, Sunbury and
Northumberland Gazette
October 20-22 American Communities and
Institutions
Roark,
Chapter 10
**Essay 1 due at the beginning of Class,
Thursday, October 22**
·
Tuesday:
Lewis and Clark Expedition Materials
October 27-29 Economic Revolution and Social
Reform
Roark, Chapter
11
·
Tuesday:
Charles Finney, Sermon
·
Thursday:
Harriet Robinson, “Lowell Mill Girls” and illustrations
November 3 **Exam #2**
November 5 Expansionist
Conflict; Free Labor Ideology
Roark,
Chapter 12
·
Thursday:
Henry David Thoreau, On Civil
Disobedience (excerpts)
November 10-12 Slavery and Abolition in the Antebellum
Era
Roark, Chapter
13
**In-class Writing 5 (Thursday)**
·
Tuesday:
Harriet Jacobs, Incidents in the Life of
a Slave Girl (excerpts)
·
Thursday:
Frederick Douglass, excerpts from speeches
November 17-19 Conflict Escalates
Roark,
Chapter 14
·
Tuesday:
John Brown on Bleeding Kansas
·
Thursday:
Materials regarding the Oberlin-Wellington rescue
November 24 The Civil War
Roark,
Chapter 15
·
Tuesday:
First-person accounts of the Civil War
November 26 **THANKSGIVING BREAK—NO CLASSES**
December 1-3 Reconstruction
Roark, Chapter
16
**In-class Writing 6 (Tuesday)**
**Essay 2 due at the beginning of Class, Thursday,
December 3**
December 11 **Final
Exam Scheduled (Under unusual circumstances, exam times
1:30 pm may change. I will announce any
changes in class, so be sure to confirm this time as December
approaches.)**
**Dates and
readings may be altered slightly during the semester. Announcements of changes will be made in
class.