HIST 17 - American Civilization I

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American Civilization I
History 17
University of San Diego
Spring Semester 2001

Tues--Thurs 9:05 am - 10:30am
HM 100

http://sites.netscape.net/racheldshaw/HIST17/hist17syllabus.html

http://www.prenhall.com/faragher

Dr. Rachel D. Shaw Office Phone: (619) 260-4600 x4485

Trailer Annex #105 (near Hughes Admin.) History Dept.: (619) 260-4756

Office Hours: WF 10:30-12:00; 1:00-2:30pm E-mail: rshaw @ ucsd.edu

and by appointment. NOTE: This is not a USD account!

Welcome to American History! In this course we will explore the history of North American peoples from precontact to the Civil War and Reconstruction, focusing on the diverse communities which came to comprise the nation known as the United States. At the same time we will examine and practice the skills needed to become a successful student of history.

The course will be concerned with two large goals: first, to provide you with a general overview of American history up through 1877. Second, for you to learn and develop the skills needed to become a successful student of history, capable of pursuing such explorations on your own. In-class time will therefore be a mixture of lecture, discussion of the materials, analysis of primary documents, and introduction to technical skills such as how to use the library, reading historical monographs, making use of the internet, and critically assessing visual materials such as film and maps. Since merely memorizing the textbook will not allow you to meet this second goal, regular attendance is required and regular participation is strongly encouraged.

You will be tested with periodic quizzes, a midterm, and a final. If you attend class regularly, participate in discussions, and keep up with the assigned reading and assignments, these should be fairly straightforward. Note that workshops, lectures, and handouts are fair game for these tests.

You will also write brief reaction papers roughly every other week. These papers, 2-3 pages long, will require you to think critically and with focusabout a particular issue, historical event, primary document, or topic covered in class and/or the readings. (It’s harder than it sounds.)

The class will be divided in half for the purposes of these reaction papers, and for the purpose of certain discussions or activities where a group of 40 would be prohibitively large.

The course is complex, and the workload not insubstantial. It requires you to approach your classwork with enthusiasm and a willingness to work. If you are willing to work hard, however, you will get a lot out of the class. Basically, the more you put into the course, the more you will get out of it.

I look forward to exploring it with you!

Required Readings
(Available in the Bookstore)

Faragher, John Mack, et al, Out of Many: A History of the American People.Volume I: to 1877. 3^rd edition.

Faragher, et al. Out of Many Documents Set. Volume I.

Klick, Jonathon M., Out of Many Study Guide.

There is a website associated with the textbook, on line at http://www.prenhall.com/faragher which includes online quizzes, links to useful sites, and other helpful information. You are strongly encouraged to visit on a regular basis.

The website for the course proper is located at http://sites.netscape.net/racheldshaw/HIST17/hist17syllabus.html

This is where you will find online versions of the syllabus, assignments, and other course materials, and a direct link to my email.

Grading Breakdown

Attendance : 15%
Quizzes : 10%
Midterm : 20%
Biweekly Responses : 30%
Final: 25%

Grade Scale

In the following grade scale, the grade is centered at the number following it. That is, if you received an 83, it would count as a high B-. Similarly, an 84 would be a low B.

Note that written work notgraded by starting with 100 points and subtracting points for errors. Rather, each assignment is weighed on its overall merits, judged to be falling within a given grade range, and the number assigned accordingly. Moreover, comments on written work will focus on major and/or typical problems or strengths; they will not itemize every flaw or contribution.

While I am happy to read first drafts, you must make such arrangements with me at least a week in advance of the due date, and such drafts must be proofread beforehand. (In other words, I will help you with issues of organization, thesis, support, etc., but not grammar, spelling, typos, etc.)

If you have questions about how to improve your work, I will be happy to meet with you during office hours. You can also contact me by phone, email, or in person to arrange an appointment.

You are expected to come to class on time and to stay for the entire period. To do otherwise is to show a lack of respect for me and your fellow students, and you may miss important announcements.

You will definitely miss the quizzes if you are late. They will be given during the start of class, and late students will not be permitted to take them.

There will be an attendance sheet available at the start of class; late students will not be allowed to sign in.

To further reinforce the importance of prompt and regular attendance, note that attendance counts for 15% of your grade, and that I do take participation into account when making my final assessment of your progress during the semester. If you must be absent, please let me know ahead of time.

What do you think this course will be about? What do you expect it to cover? What do you hope to learn from this course? This should not be a collection of random thoughts; you must carefully organize and present your ideas in a logical order, and the paper should have a sense of purpose.

Pick one group from the New World and compare their perspective of Contact with that of a group from the Old World. Remember that both "Indians" and "Europeans" were comprised of many diverse groups, such as Cherokee, Zuñi, Spanish and Dutch. (This means that your paper cannot compare a generic "Indian" perspective and a generic "European" one.) Be sure to use specific examples to support and illustrate your position. You may draw from the Documents collection if you wish.

As children, we are often told that the United States was founded on the ideas of democracy, independence, and equality. Assess the accuracy of this claim in light of what we have read so far. As before, be sure to use specific examples to support and illustrate your position.

Traditionally America is described as a "melting pot" of peoples and cultures, meaning that everyone, no matter how different, eventually is absorbed and enriches the nation. Does this metaphor hold true for the first half of the 19^th century? Again, specific examples are necessary.

Both women and people of color struggled to obtain legal and social equality with white men through much of the history of the United States. Sometimes members of each group saw themselves as having common cause with the other (as when women became abolitionists); sometimes they did not. During the 19^th century, which do you think was the more productive strategy? Why? Be sure to use specific examples and be aware of the historical context in which such strategies were pursued.

Return to your first reaction paper. Have your ideas about American history changed in any way? Explain your current thoughts about American history and how they have or have not changed as a result of taking this course.

All papers must be proofread, typed, double-spaced, have a clear thesis and conclusion, and follow proper citation format. If you have questions about what the proper format might be, The Chicago Manual of Style and Turabian’s A Manual for Writers are acceptable guidebooks. Note that historians prefer endnotes or footnotes over parenthetical citations.

Plagiarism is a severe breach of academic ethics. It is unfair to borrow someone else’s ideas without giving them credit. How would you feel if someone stole your ideas and passed them off as their own? So don’t do it! What this means is that you must cite whatever sources influenced your paper, whether you quoted them, paraphrased them, or borrowed ideas or information from them. A footnote or endnote for each paragraph summing up all the sources that went into it is a good idea.

Be aware that a 2-3 page paper is more difficult to write than you might suppose, since the space restriction requires that you be focused and get right to the point. Note that you are expected to present your ideas in clear and organized fashion; these papers should not read like random trains of thought.

Arguments are generally more convincing when they include specific examples and you take care to explain your thinking to the reader. Remember that what seems obvious to you might not be obvious to someone else who is less familiar with the material than you are. Which of the following is clearest, for example?

To avoid these and other potential pitfalls, I strongly recommend writing a 3-4 page draft first, then honing it down to the essential elements. I am happy to read such drafts, provided I receive them at least a week before the final version is due, and provided that they are already proofread. I will read drafts for content and organization only, not to correct errors of grammar or style.

You might also want to check out the following site:
" How to Write a History Paper " at http://www.brown.edu/Student_Services/Writing_Center/lodewick.htm
Although the papers described are more involved than the ones you're being asked to do here, it is a good source of information and might be useful if you take more history classes.

Although aspects of this schedule may change over the course of the semester, unless otherwise noted you must have completed the readings and other assignments by the start of class on the day they are assigned . In other words, if the reading assignment appears under a weekly heading -- such as "When Worlds Collide" for Week 2 -- then you need to have it completed by the start of class on Tuesday.

You must also make sure that you bring the week’s readings with you to class even if discussion is not explicitly scheduled; lectures can blend into discussions, and even in formal lectures I may ask you to look at a specific passage and comment on it. It is a good idea to purchase a folder to hold any handouts you may receive and bring it with you to every class, as such handouts may be used again later.

With the exception of Weeks 1, 7, and 8, quizzes will be given at the start of class every Tuesday. All the materials assigned since the previous quiz are fair game. This includes handouts and lectures.

You are encouraged to check with me at any point during the course when you are unsure about assignments or need to make up work missed on account of illness. I will be happy to assist you in getting back up to speed. I also encourage you to drop by my office just to chat ? I don’t bite, really!

Week 1: Introduction to American History
"Community and Diversity"
Chapter 1, "A Continent of Villages, to 1500"
Recommended: "Preface to the Student" and Chapter 1 in the study guide.

Week 2: New World Encounters
Chapter 2, "When Worlds Collide, 1492-1590"
Document 2-3, "An Early Proponent for Native Rights Condemns the Torture of the Indians in 1565"
Recommended: Chapter 2 in the study guide.

Week 3: Establishing European Communities
Chapter 3, "Planting Colonies in North America, 1588-1701"
Document 3-3, "John Smith Writes about the Chesapeake Indians of 1608"
Recommended: Chapter 3 in the study guide.

Week 4: Slavery and Freedom
Chapter 4, "Slavery and Empire, 1441-1770"
Document 4-3, "A Slave Tells of His Capture in Africa in 1798"
Recommended: Chapter 4 in the study guide.

Week 5: A Continent of Diverse Communities
Chapter 5, "The Cultures of Colonial North America, 1700-1780"
Document 5-2, "An Iroquois Chief Argues for His Tribe’s Property Rights in 1742"
Recommended: Chapter 5 in the study guide.

Week 6: Calls for Independence and Equality
Chapter 6, "From Empire to Independence, 1750-1776"
Chapter 7, "The Creation of the United States, 1776-1786"
Document 6-8, "The Colonists Declare Their Independence, 1776"
Document 7-2, "A Colonial Woman Argues for Equal Rights, 1776"
Recommended: Chapters 6 and 7 in the study guide.

Week 7: A Nation Begins to Take Shape
Chapter 8, "The United States of North America, 1787-1800"
"Immigration and Community: The Changing Face of Ethnicity in America, to 1800"
Recommended: Chapter 8 in the study guide.

Optional: Read ahead in the textbook and document packet. What might be some of the issues we discuss in the future? Visit the textbook web site and explore it further. Check out some of the links for chapters we’ve read and future chapters.

Week 9: Establishing National Patterns
Chapter 9, "An Agrarian Republic, 1790-1824"
Chapter 10, "The Growth of Democracy, 1824-1840"
Document 10-3, "The Cherokee are Sent to the Indian Territory, 1835"
Document 10-4, "A Cherokee Speaks for His Tribe, 1826"
Recommended: Chapters 9 and 10 in the study guide.

Week 10: The Question of Slavery
Chapter 11, "The South and Slavery, 1790s-1850s"
Document 11-4, "Slave Culture Documented in Song, 1867"
Document 11-8, "A Slave Girl Tells of Her Life, 1861"
Recommended: Chapter 11 in the study guide.

Week 11: The North Transformed
Chapter 12, "Industry and the North, 1790s-1840s"
Document 12-7, "A Woman Worker Writes Home to Her Father in 1845"
Recommended: Chapter12 in the study guide.

Week 12: Reforming Society
Chapter 13, "Coming to Terms with the New Age, 1820s-1850s"
"Immigration and Community: The Changing Face of Ethnicity in America, 1800-1860"
Document 13-3, "Feminists Hold a Convention, 1848"
Document 13-9, "A Black Feminist Speaks Out in 1851"
Recommended: Chapter 13 in the study guide.

Week 13: Of Frontiers and Manifest Destiny
Chapter 14, "The Territorial Expansion of the United States, 1830s-1850s"
Document 14-3, "A Newspaper Man Declares the 'Manifest Destiny' of the United States in 1845"
Recommended: Chapter 14 in the study guide.

Week 14: The Straws that Broke the Camel’s Back
Chapter 15, "The Coming Crisis, the 1850s"
Chapter 16, "The Civil War, 1861-1865"
Document 15-9, "A New President Is Sworn In, in 1861"
Document 16-2, "President Abraham Lincoln Issues the Emancipation Proclamation of January 1, 1863"
Recommended: Chapters 15 and 16 in the study guide.

Week 15: Licking the National Wounds
Chapter 17, "Reconstruction, 1863-1877"
Document 17-6, "The Civil Rights Act of 1866"
Document 17-7, "President Johnson’s Veto of the Civil Rights Act of 1866"
Document 17-8, "The First Reconstruction Act, 1867"
Recommended: Chapter 17 in the study guide.

NOTE: We may have a take-home final in lieu of an in-class exam. It is your responsibility to attend class regularly so as to be aware of any possible changes, and to check with me if you are unsure about materials covered in class or miss a section due to illness.