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*SYLLABUS - HIS 163: UNITED STATES HISTORY TO 1876 - SPRING 2010

  Class Time: TTH 9.30-10.50   Class Time: TTH 11.00-12.20  
  Classroom: CHSS 120      Classroom: CHSS 120  
  Credit Hours: 3 hours   Credit Hours: 3 hours  
  CID Number: 1338   CID Number: 1342  
  Section Number: HIS 163.05  

Section Number: HIS 163.06

  
  Semester: Spring 2010   Semester: Spring 2010  

 

*TEACHING FACULTY

  Dr. Jeff Littlejohn   Telephone: 936.294.4438    
  Office: AB4 – 455   Email: littlejohn@shsu.edu  
  Hours: TTH 12.30–2:00 & by appt.     Web: http://www.studythepast.com  

 

*COURSE DESCRIPTION
     
 

HIS 163 is the first part of a two-semester series of courses on the history of the United States. This class offers students an introductory survey of the chief social, cultural, and political developments in North America between 1400 and 1876.

HIS 163 focuses on four primary topics: 1) the meeting of European, Amerindian, and African cultures during the Age of Exploration; 2) the establishment of the English colonial system in North America; 3) the development of the American Revolution and early Republic; and, 4) the expansion, fracturing, and reconstruction of the American nation in the mid-nineteenth century.

 

 

*LEARNING OUTCOMES
     
 

1) Students will gain factual knowledge. Students will gain a more in-depth understanding of the periods covered in this course, including the Age of Exploration, the Colonial Era, the American Revolution, the Early Republic, the Civil War, and Reconstruction.

2) Students will learn fundamental principles, generalizations, and theories. Students will be taught the fundamental principles of historical scholarship as they encounter traditional and recent interpretations of the American past.

3) Students will learn to analyze and critically evaluate ideas, arguments, and points of view. Students will learn to evaluate primary documents and secondary sources as they consider conflicting historical interpretations.

 

 

*REQUIRED BOOKS
     
 

Kevin M. Schultz, HIST: Vol. I Through 1877 (Wadsworth, Cengage Learning).

Elizabeth Hoffman & Jon Gierde, Major Problems in American HIstory: Vol. 1 (Houghton Mifflin).

The two textbooks listed above are available at the campus bookstore as a package for $57.15.

In addition to the books listed above, you will be assigned various primary documents and scholarly articles over the course of the semester. These readings should be completed by the date they appear on the syllabus.

  



*COURSEWORK AND GRADING
     
  Your final course grade will be based on the following assignments.

Examination 1   February 18   100 points
Examination 2   March 30   100 points
Examination 3   May 6   100 points
5 Participation Checkpoints   Ongoing   100 points
         
Total Points Available       400 points

Grading Scale: A=400-360 B=359-320 C=319-280 D=279-240 F=239-0
 

 

*COURSEWORK DESCRIPTION
     
 

Examinations: Each exam in this course will cover the material in the unit immediately preceding it. Exams will be based on class lectures as well as assigned readings. Exams will include multiple choice, matching, and true false questions. Review sheets will be posted before each exam. Please note: Make-up exams will only be given for excused University absences. All make-up exams will be administered on Dead Day, Friday May 7.  

Participation Checkpoints: Students should complete reading assignments, attend class, and participate in discussions. Periodically, a "checkpoint" assignment will be given to determine how well each member of the class has prepared. Six of these participation assignments will be given over the course of the term. You may drop your lowest score. No makeup assignments will be allowed.

 

 

*ATTENDANCE AND RELIGIOUS HOLIDAYS

     
 

Regular attendance and punctuality are indicative of serious scholarship. You should be in class, awake and aware, and prepared for discussion. Students missing more than six classes may receive a failing grade at the end of the term. Students who are regularly tardy will be denied entrance to class.

Section 51.911(b) of the Texas Education Code requires that an institution of higher education excuse a student from attending classes or other required activities, including examinations, for the observance of a religious holy day, including travel for that purpose. A student whose absence is excused under this subsection may not be penalized for that absence and shall be allowed to take an examination or complete an assignment from which the student is excused within a reasonable time after the absence.

SHSU policy 861001 provides the procedure to be followed by the student and instructor.  A student desiring to absent himself/herself from a scheduled class in order to observe (a) religious holy day(s) shall present to the instructor involved a written statement concerning the religious holy day(s). This request must be made in the first fifteen days of the semester in which the absence(s) will occur. The instructor will complete a form notifying the student of a reasonable timeframe in which the missed assignments and/or examinations are to be completed.

  

 

*COMMUNICATION
     
 

As part of this class, you will be expected to check your university email and our blackboard page at least once a day. To email me, you can either go to blackboard or send directly to littlejohn@shsu.edu.

  

 

*CLASSROOM RULES OF CONDUCT
     
 

HIS 163 is a lecture and discussion course. Students are encouraged to ask questions and initiate discussion. To facilitate an open classroom dialogue, students must adhere to the SHSU Code of Student Conduct, which can be found at http://www.shsu.edu/students/guide/StudentGuidelines2010-2012.pdf#page=29. And within this classroom, students must also demonstrate civility at all times. In other words, please do not come in late, leave early, text message, sleep, read the paper, or engage in any other activities that disrupt the class. Civility must also be maintained in all communications with me and with other classmates whether online or in person. Keep in mind that this class is a community, and the community cannot function if we don’t all show basic courtesy and respect and devote our full attention to each other during the time we’re together. Students who demonstrate incivility may be required to leave the classroom or drop the course.

 

 

*SAM CENTER
     
 

You are very fortunate to be enrolled at SHSU, which has an outstanding academic resource to help you succeed as a student: the SAM Center. The SAM Center is now located in CHSS Suite 170. The SAM Center offers academic advising and counseling for numerous issues. They also offer an excellent study skills course. Visit their website for more information: http://www.shsu.edu/~sam_www/.

 

 

*WRITING CENTER AND READING CENTER
     
 

For those of you who need help with any writing assignments, please visit the Writing Center in Farrington 111. The center’s website is located at: http://www.shsu.edu/~wctr/. For those of you who need help with reading strategies, go to the Reading Center located in Farrington 109. See their website: http://www.shsu.edu/~rdg_www/.

 

 

*ACADEMIC DISHONESTY
     
 

The University expects all students to engage in all academic pursuits in a manner that is above reproach. Students are expected to maintain complete honesty and integrity in the academic experiences both in and out of the classroom.  Any student found guilty of dishonesty in any phase of academic work will be subject to disciplinary action.

5.31 The University and its official representatives, acting in accordance with Subsection 5.32, may initiate disciplinary proceedings against a student accused of any form of academic dishonesty including, but not limited to, cheating, plagiarism, collusion, and the abuse of resource materials.
"Cheating" includes the following and similar actions:
(1) Copying from another student's test paper, laboratory report, other report, or computer files, data listings, and/or programs.
(2) Using, during a test, materials not authorized by the person giving the test.
(3) Collaborating, without authorization, with another student during an examination or in preparing academic work.
(4) Knowingly, and without authorization, using, buying, selling, stealing, transporting, soliciting, copying, or possessing, in whole or in part, the contents of an unadministered test.
(5) Substituting for another student, permitting any other person, or otherwise assisting any other person to substitute for oneself or for another student in the taking of an examination or test or the preparation of academic work to be submitted for academic credit.
(6) Bribing another person to obtain a test or information about an unadministered test.
(7) Purchasing, or otherwise acquiring and submitting as one's own work any research paper or other writing assignment prepared by an individual or firm. This section does not apply to the typing of the rough and/or final versions of an assignment by a professional typist.

5.32 "Plagiarism" means the appropriation and the unacknowledged incorporation of another's work or idea into one's own work offered for credit.
5.33 "Collusion" means unauthorized collaboration with another person in preparing work for credit.
5.34 "Abuse of resource materials" means the mutilation, destruction, concealment, theft or alteration of materials provided to assist students in the mastery of course materials.
5.35 “Academic work” means the preparation of an essay, dissertation, thesis, report, problem, assignment, or other project that the student submits as a course requirement or for a grade.

2.00 PROCEDURES IN CASES OF ALLEGED ACADEMIC DISHONESTY

2.01 Procedures for discipline due to academic dishonesty shall be the same as in disciplinary actions specified in The Texas State University System Rules and Regulations and Sam Houston State University Student Guidelines except that all academic dishonesty actions shall be first considered and reviewed by the faculty member teaching the class. The faculty member may impose failure or reduction of a grade in a test or the course, and/or performing additional academic work not required of other students in the course. If the faculty member believes that additional disciplinary action is necessary, as in the case of flagrant or repeated violations, the case may be referred to the Dean of Student Life or a designated appointee for further action. If the student involved does not accept the decision of the faculty member, the student may appeal to the chair of the appropriate academic department/school, seeking reversal of the faculty member's decision.

2.02 If the student does not accept the decision of the chair of the academic department/school, he/she may appeal to the appropriate academic dean. The chair of the academic department/school may also refer the case directly to the academic dean if the case so warrants. 

 

 

*STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES
     
 

It is the policy of Sam Houston State University that individuals otherwise qualified shall not be excluded, solely by reason of their disability, from participation in any academic program of the university. Further, they shall not be denied the benefits of these programs nor shall they be subjected to discrimination. Students with disabilities that might affect their academic performance are expected to visit with the Office of Services for Students with Disabilities located in the Counseling Center. They should then make arrangements with the instructor in order that accommodations can be made to assure that participation and achievement opportunities are not impaired.  SHSU adheres to all applicable federal, state, and local laws, regulations, and guidelines with respect to providing reasonable accommodations for students with disabilities. If you have a disability that may affect adversely your work in this class, then we encourage you to register with the Counseling Center and to talk with us about how we can best help you.  All disclosures of disabilities will be kept strictly confidential. Please note: No accommodation can be made until you register with the Counseling Center and provide us with proper documentation.

  

 

*VISITORS IN THE CLASSROOM
     
 

Unannounced visitors to class must present a current, official SHSU identification card to be permitted to the classroom. They must not present a disruption to the class by their attendance. If the visitor is not a registered student, it is at the instructor’s discretion whether or not the visitor will be allowed to remain in the classroom.

  

 

*INSTRUCTOR EVALUATIONS
     
 

At the end of the semester, students will be asked to complete an evaluation of the course, but I welcome feedback about readings, assignments, and my instruction throughout the semester. Let’s work together to make this a successful and rewarding learning experience for everyone.

 

 

*CHANGES TO THE SYLLABUS
     
 

This syllabus is your contract for the course. I will not change the nature of the course, the number of assignments, or the grading system. However, I reserve the right to update the course schedule and reading assignments throughout the term.

  

 

*DATES FOR EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
     
 

March 2: March to Sam Houston's Grave, Austin Hall to Oakwood Cemetery | 10:15 to 12:30

Other dates to be announced

 

 

 

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*READING AND LECTURE SCHEDULE
 


Please find our lecture schedule and reading list below. Daily readings are due on the date they appear.

Unit I – Exploration and Colonization, 1450-1700

Jan 14 – Class Introduction: What's the Story?
Using primary sources to piece together the principal elements of a story.


Jan 19 – Interpreting Primary Sources: The Duel
Interpreting primary sources to offer an argument of your own.
Website: The Duel [ html ]
Question: Did Alexander Hamilton try to kill Aaron Burr on the Plains of Weehawken, or did he purposefully throw away his shot, firing into the air, leaving his fate in Burr's hands?


Jan 21 – Reconceptualizing the Past: The Diamond Thesis
Film: Jared Diamond, Guns, Germs, and Steel, watch first two minutes [ video ]
Reading: Jared Diamond, “Human History . . . for the Last 13,000 Years” [ html ] 
Resource: Charts to Accompany Jared Diamonds article [ html ]
Question: Jared Diamond says that environmental factors outweigh biological factors in the broader span of history. What does this mean? And, what did you find most interesting about the reading?


Jan 26 – Columbus, Contact, and the Spanish Empire
Reading: Kevin A. Miller, “Why Did Columbus Sail?” [ pdf ]
Film: Columbus and the Taino [ video ]
MP1 Doc: Christopher Columbus Recounts His First Encounters with Native People, 1493
MP1 Doc: Fray Bernardino de Sahagun … Conquest of the Aztecs, 1519
MP1 Doc: Father Bartolomé de Las Casas Disparages the Treatment of the Indians, 1542
Question: According to Kevin Miller, what were the spiritual origins of Columbus's epic voyage in 1492?


Jan 28 – The Protestant Reformation and Colonial Stirrings in England
Website: The Protestant Reformation in England [ html ]
Website: The Six Wives of Henry VIII [ html ]
Website: Richard Hakluyt [ html ] Walter Raleigh [ html ]
Website: John White and Theodore De Bry Images [ html ]
Website: Elizabeth's Pirates [ html ]
Website: Roanoke Island [ html ]
Question: It seems that Protestantism, piracy, and profit all played a role in the English desire for colonies. Briefly explain how and why.


Feb 2 – Colonial Virginia and the Chesapeake
Reading: Edmund Morgan, “Jamestown Fiasco” [ pdf ]
MP2 Doc: Edward Waterhouse … Indian Attack on Early Virginia Settlement, 1622
MP2 Doc: Indentured Servant Richard Frethorne Laments His Condition in Virginia, 1623
Question: What is a fiasco? And, what does Edmund Morgan call early Jamestown a fiasco?


Feb 4 – Colonial Massachusetts and New England
Reading: Religious Dissenters and American Colonization [ html ]
Reading: Sandra F. VanBurkleo, "Instruments of Seduction: A Tale of Two Women" [ html ]
MP3 Doc: Puritan Leader John Winthrop Provides a Model of Christian Charity, 1630
MP3 Doc: William Bradford, Governor of Plymouth Colony, Mourns … 1642
Question: Why did John Winthrop clash with Anne Hutchinson? What was the outcome of the conflict? And, what does it tell us about the nature of early Massachusetts?


Feb 9 – The English Caribbean in the Mid-Seventeenth Century
Reading: Wayne Curtis, "Kill-devil" from And A Bottle of Rum: A History of the New World In Ten Cocktails | buy the book online | [ pdf ]
Reading: The Atlantic Slave Trade and Slave Life in the Americas [ html ]


Feb 11 – A Tumultuous Time: Virginia and Massachusetts from 1660 to 1700

Virginia
MP2 Doc: Nathaniel Bacon … Recounts the Misdeeds of the Virginia Governor, 1676
MP2 Doc: Virginia's Statutes Illustrate the Declining Status of … Slaves, 1660-1705
MP2 Doc: Southern Planter William Byrd Describes His Views … 1709-1710
Website: Africans in America: The Terrible Transformation [ html ]
Website: James River Plantations  [ html ]
Question: Discuss the causes and consequences of Bacon's Rebellion.

Massachusetts
MP3 Doc: Mary Rowlandson, A New England Woman, Recounts Her Experience … 1675
MP3 Doc: Massachusetts Officials Describe the Outbreak of Witchcraft in Salem, 1692
Online Module: Salem Witch Trials [ html ]
Question: Why does Mary Rowlandson view the Indians who take her captive in the way that she does? How does she view Indians who have converted to Christianity?


Feb 16 – Pennsylvania, the Middle Colonies, and the Early 18th Century
Reading: David Hackett Fischer, "Divergence in Four Colonial Cultures" [ pdf ]
Reading: The Great Awakening [ html ]
MP3 Doc: Proprietor William Penn Promotes His Colony, 1681
MP3 Doc: Reverend Jonathan Edwards Pictures Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, 1741
MP3 Doc: A Young Benjamin Franklin Celebrates a Life of Thrift and Industry, 1733, 1750
MP3 Doc: Dr. Alexander Hamilton Depicts the Material Acquisitions of Northern Colonists, 1744


Feb 18 - Exam One


Unit II – Resistance and Revolution , 1700-1800

Feb 23 - The Great War for the Empire and the Origins of Colonial Resistance
Film: Clips from Last of the Mohicans [ html ]
Reading: The French and Indian Attack on Deerfield Massachusetts 1704 [ html ]
Reading: Thomas Purvis, "Seven Years' War and its Political Legacy,” [ html ]


Feb 25 - Colonial Resistance to British Authority, 1763-1766
Film: Clips from Liberty: The American Revolution [ html ]
MP4 Essay: Woody Holton, The Revolution as an Economic Response to American Uncertainties
MP4 Doc: The Stamp Act Congress Condemns the Stamp Act, 1765
Reading: Thomas Whatley, “The Regulations Lately Made” (1765) [ pdf ]
Reading: Daniel Dulany, "Considerations on the Propriety of Imposing Taxes" (1765) [ pdf ]
Reading: Petition of the Merchants of London, Trading to North America (1766) [ pdf ]


March 2 - No Class: Texas Independence Day; March to Sam Houston's Grave
Biography of Sam Houston [ html ]
March to the Grave [ html ] Image from 1914 [ jpg ]


March 4 - Colonial Resistance to British Authority, 1767-1773
Reading: John Dickinson, "Letter 2 - Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania" (1767-1768) [ html ]
Reading: Boston Tea Party [ link ]
Reading: Thomas J. Fleming, “Verdicts of History I: The Boston Massacre” [ html ]


March 9 - The Radical Revolution and Declaration of Independence, 1774-1776
Reading: Paul Revere's Ride [ html ]
Reading: Bunker Hill and the Revolutionary War [ html ]
Reading: Declaration of Independence Project [ html ]
MP4 Doc: Pamphleteer Thomas Paine Advocates the "Common Sense" of Independence, 1776


March 11 - The American Revolutionary War
Film: Trailer "The Patriot" [ link ]
Reading: Review of "The Patriot" [ link ]
Handout: Weapons and Tactics of the Revolutionary War [ pdf ] [ html ]
Reading: Spy Letters and the American Revolutionary War [ html ]
MP4 Doc: General Washington Argues for Greater Military Funding ... at Valley Forge, 1778
MP4 Doc:Loyalists Plead Their Cause to the King, 1782


March 15 to 19 - Spring Break


March 23 - Confederation and Shays's Rebellion
Reading: Alden T. Vaughan, "The 'Horrid and Unnatural Rebellion' of Daniel Shays" [ link ]
Question: What were the roots of Shays's Rebellion? Were Daniel Shays and his men justified in taking the actions that they did? Why or why not? Why was the Rebellion important?


March 25 - The Constitutional Convention and Ratification Debates
Reading: The Constitution of the United States [ link ]
Assignment: Constitutional Questions Due


March 30 - Film: Founding Brothers
Reading: Stuart Leibiger, "Founding Friendship" [ link ]
Question: Describe the changes that occurred in the relationship between George Washington and James Madison. Were the changes the result of political issues? If so, what issues divided the two men?


April 1 - Exam Two

 

Unit III – National Development and Disunion


April 6 – Conflict and Compromise: The Federal Era and First Party System, 1789-1800
Reading: Alexander Hamilton [ html ]


April 8 – The Elusive Republic: Thomas Jefferson his World, 1800-1815
Reading: Drew McCoy, "Jefferson and the Empire of Liberty" [ html ]
Reading: Thomas Jefferson, Notes on Virginia, Query XIV on race [ pdf ]
Optional Resources on Jefferson: Biography [ html ]; Monticello [ html ]; Exhibition [ html ]
Question: According to Drew McCoy, Thomas Jefferson believed that three essential conditions were necessary to create and sustain a republican political economy. What were these conditions? Explain.

April 13 - The Market Revolution and the Second Party System, 1815-48
Andrew Jackson and the Nullification Debate [ html ]


April 15 - Slavery and Southern Society in the Antebellum Era
Texas Slavery Project [ html ]
Film: Africans in America: Judgment Day [ html ]


April 20 – American Abolitionism, Nat Turner's Rebellion, and the Slavery Debate
James McPherson, Differences Between the Antebellum North and South [ pdf ]
Scott French, The Confessions of Nat Turner [ html ]
Optional Resource: The Revival Experience [ html ]
Reading: William Lloyd Garrison and "The Liberator" [ html ]


April 22 – Westward Expansion, the Slavery Debate, and the Compromise of 1850
Reading: Minstrel shows and race in 19th Century America [ html ]
Reading: John O'Sullivan and Manifest Destiny [ html ]
Reading: Debating the Mexican War [ html ]


April 27 - The Tumultuous 1850s
Reading: Incidents in the Live of A Slave Girl , chapters XL (351-353)
Reading: Henry Box Brown [ html ]
Question: Abolitionists spoke out against the Fugitive Slave Law. How did proslavery Southerners defend it, and what did Northern states pass to counteract its effects?


April 29 - The Civil War, 1861-1865
Examine Abraham Lincoln's position on slavery by looking at the following three eras.
1) Before and during the Election of 1860
2) With the Emancipation Proclamation, Sept 1862 - Jan 1863
3) With the end of the War
Question: How did Abraham Lincoln's position on slavery change during the Civil War? Focus on three critical points in his political career.

May 4 - Reconstruction, 1865-1877
Reading: American Saga,
Optional Website: Reconstruction: The Second Civil War [ html ]
Question: How did the Civil War change the landscape for Native and African Americans?

May 6 – Exam III

PLEASE NOTE: EXAM III IS THE FINAL EXAM. IT IS OFFERED ONLY ON MAY 6. WE WILL NOT MEET DURING THE FINAL EXAM PERIOD SCHEDULED FOR THE WEEK OF MAY 10 TO 14.



 

 

 

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