Syllabus: History 350--Fall 2006
American Radicalism
Daniel Pope
Office: 331 McKenzie, 346-4015
Office Hours: 10:00-12:00 Tues,; 1:00-2:00 Wed.
or by appointment
E-mail: dapope@uoregon.edu
Syllabus last updated
11/27/2006
GTF: Lilia Putintsev
340B McKenzie, 346-6239
lputints@uoregon.edu
Offire Hours: 11:30-1:30 Wed.
or by appointment
History 350 (American Radicalism) focuses on
issues, activities and ideas concerning movements for social and cultural change
in the United States from the American Revolution through about 1900. This
course does not assume previous course work in American history; there are no
prerequisites. (History 351, to be offered Winter 2007, deals with
twentieth-century movements. Although the two terms develop some common themes,
they are independent and can be taken separately.)
Please look the syllabus over soon.
The URL is: http://www.uoregon.edu/~dapope/350syllabus--fall06.htm.
I suggest you bookmark it in your browser. You'll find it contains various web links
as well as information about readings, requirements and class sessions. By the time
of each class session, you'll find a link here to the outline for that class. The
notes on the web are meant as a framework for your own notetaking and consideration of
course material. They're not a substitute for class attendance and doing the
assignments.
Link to Sept. 25 outline Sept. 27 outline Oct. 2 outline Oct. 4 outline Paper topics handout Oct. 9 outline Oct. 11 outline
Oct. 16 outline Oct. 18 outline New! Midterm Essay Questions Oct. 23 outline Oct. 25 outline Nov. 1 outline Nov. 6 outline
Link to grading scale explanation Nov. 8 outline Nov. 13 outline Nov. 15 outline Nov. 20 outline Nov. 22 outline
NEW! Final Exam Questions now on line! Nov. 27 outline Nov. 29 outline
Books:
The following books are required. They should
all be available at the U of O Bookstore. Paine and Oates may also be available at used bookstores
nearby. Used copies of all of them are also likely to be available at
local bookstores or on the
web.
Tom Paine, Common Sense (I've ordered an inexpensive edition from Dover
Publishers but any edition will do, and it's also on the web at http://www.bartleby.com/133/.)
Stephen B. Oates, The Fires of Jubilee
Vivian Gornick, The Solitude of Self: Thinking about Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Martin Duberman, Haymarket: A Novel
The following is optional. Readings from it are required, but it's
expensive so I'll put several copies on reserve in Knight Library. It will
also be used in History 351 winter quarter if you plan to take that class.
Daniel Pope, ed., American Radicalism
I've also ordered some copies of William Styron, The Confessions of Nat Turner. It will be needed for one of the paper topic options. Don't buy it until you've decided that option is the one you want to choose.
Requirements:
A. A midterm exam, Monday, October 30.
Midterm is worth about 25% of your grade.
B. A short paper (4-7 pages typed double-spaced) worth about 25%, due Wednesday, November 22 at class time. I'll distribute a handout with various paper topic options in the early weeks of the term. NEW! Paper topics handout
C. A final exam, Thursday, Dec. 7,
10:15 a.m.., worth about 50%. You'll have the choice of an in-class
exam or a take-home final exam. The take-home will have to be submitted by 10:15
December 7, before the in-class final.
D. Useful class participation (quality, not quantity)
will weigh in your favor in borderline cases.
Class Sessions and Reading Assignments:
Note: I'll post links to each class session's outline
on this syllabus before (or soon after) the class. This syllabus will also
link to information about assignments, study questions, etc.
September 25: Introduction--Some Themes and Controversies
Read: "Introduction: The
Nature and Significance of American Radicalism," on line via the link
here or in Pope, American Radicalism
(pp.1-14).
In this session, I'll offer some
definitions, note some themes in the history of American radicalism, and discuss claims
that American history is marked by the absence of significant radical
movements.
September 27-October 4: American Revolution or War for Independence?
Read: Start reading Paine, Common Sense;
Pope, American Radicalism,
Chapter One "Riot and Radicalism in the American Revolution," (pp.15-49).
On line,
read
Declaration
of Independence; brief excerpts
from John Trenchard and Thomas Gordon
In these sessions, we will ask what, if anything, was revolutionary
about the American Revolution. First, was the winning of independence
also a social revolution for Americans, one that changed basic patterns of
life and social relations? Second, was the revolution an ideological
revolution that altered fundamental ideas about the relationship between people and
government?
October 9-11: Tom Paine--the Nation's First Radical?
Read: Finish Paine, Common
Sense and read some of his brief writings--follow these links
below:
1. Paine's "An
Occasional Letter on the Female Sex" (1775)
2. Paine's
letter on "African Slavery in America" (1775)
3. Excerpts from
Paine's pamphlet on
"Agrarian Justice" (1797)
Tom Paine's life and ideas make him in a very real sense the
world's first professional international revolutionary. We will look at his life
experiences and his political and intellectual contributions, examining in
particular the ideology of artisan republicanism he espoused. Where would
he stand on political and social issues today?
October 16-25: Slave Revolts and the Case of Nat Turner
Read: Oates, The Fires of Jubilee (entire book);
Pope, American Radicalism, Chapter Three,
"Violence and Manliness in the Struggle Against Slavery," (pp.88-122).
link to some study
questions on slave revolts
We will look at the varying patterns of slave revolts in the Western Hemisphere and
then discuss the Nat Turner revolt, examining motives, tactics and results. What is the
relationship between individual psychology and group action? Does Turner serve well
as an inspiration for movements of the oppressed? We'll also look at John Brown's
raid on Harper's Ferry, Virginia, another attempt to attack slavery by force, paying
special attention to issues of race and gender.
October 30: MIDTERM EXAM New! Midterm Essay Questions
November 1-13: Elizabeth Cady Stanton: Women's Rights, Anti Slavery, Racism and the
Right to Vote
New: questions on Elizabeth Cady Stanton and women's rights
Read: Gornick, The Solitude of Self
Pope, American Radicalism, Chapter Two, "Women's
Networks and Women's Protest," (pp.52-87).
The movement for the immediate abolition of slavery in the three
decades before the Civil War was the setting for new kinds of activism among both white
and African-American women. But the anti-slavery movement itself split around 1840
over what role women should play in the movement. In the years following the Civil
War and the defeat of slavery, the movement for women's rights had to decide whether to
support citizenship and voting rights for African-American men or to insist that women's
rights required equal and immediate attention. Once again, racism and conflict over
women's place divided movements for social change. In the late nineteenth century,
advocates of women's suffrage debated strategies and rationales for gaining the right to
vote. Elizabeth Cady Stanton, the most dynamic and philosophically profound advocate
of women's rights in her era, confronted these and other issues for more than half a
century.
November 15-29: Haymarket: Anarchism, Socialism and Radical Labor in
Industrializing America
New!
Link to study questions on Haymarket and
radical labor
Read: Duberman, Haymarket
Pope, American Radicalism,
Chapter Four, "Chicago's Anarchists and the Haymarket Bombing," (pp.123-169).
Throughout the nineteenth century the United States remained
predominantly rural and agricultural. But especially after the Civil War,
industrial capitalism made its mark dramatically on the nation. Conflict
between labor and capital became perhaps the central issue in American society.
In these sessions, we'll look at a major episode, the Haymarket "Massacre" of
1886. The event illuminates the development of anti-capitalist radical
labor movements in the United States and the "Red Scare" that attempted to crush
them in the aftermath of Haymarket.
Some Notes on the Course:
A. The syllabus here is rather tentative. There may be
digressions and alterations along the way.
B. Unfortunately, the length of the assigned readings varies from topic to topic. Try to plan ahead, so that you don't find yourself too burdened when you have other commitments. You will find the class sessions more fruitful if you keep up with reading assignments.
C. The political and ethical implications of the topics which we study should be of personal as well as academic concern to you. Therefore, class discussion and your own thoughtful evaluation of the material covered are essential parts of the course.