Winter 2005 History 202 - History of the United States

I. Course Description

This course explores the development of the United States during the antebellum, Reconstruction, and Progressive eras–roughly the 1830s through 1908. The course represents the second term of a three-quarter introductory survey of American history and does not require History 201 as a prerequisite. History 202 satisfies Group Requirements for Social Science.

This course introduces students to the major topics of slavery, abolitionism, women’s rights, sectionalism, the Civil War, Reconstruction, territorial expansion, the western frontier, immigration, industrialization, and imperialism. An underlying theme titled, “the Incorporation of America”, will examine the emergence of market capitalism and the modern corporation, and consider their impact on capital, labor, citizenship, and the federal state. Finally, lectures and discussion will also contemplate the analytical categories of race, ethnicity, class and gender.

Despite the large-lecture format, the course strives to cultivate a learner-centered environment that fosters active and collaborative learning, and encourages student participation and peer interaction. The lectures, discussions, and assignments are designed to engage students in the dynamic process of reconstructing the past, and reducing their role as merely passive receivers of information. The course structure enables students to focus on the “big picture” and contextualize facts within broader themes, trends, patterns, and ideas. In particular, the instructor and discussion leaders will encourage students to investigate historical questions of “causation”–cause-and-effect relationships–and “agency”–the power of both individual historical actors and non-human forces to influence change.

Students will attend two lectures weekly. The course packet and Blackboard will provide students with lecture outlines or “guided notes,” which contain factual data including specific names, dates, and statistics. Since class size limits the opportunity for spontaneous questions, students can enhance their lecture experience by completing the assigned reading and perusing the lecture outlines prior to class.

Students will also attend a weekly discussion section led by a Graduate Teaching Fellow (GTF) that complements the lectures and comprises a critical component of the course. Discussions function as a peer community and a forum for a strong student-instructor relationship within the large-lecture format. Specifically, the discussion invests the course will several important elements: 1) a chance to comment on questions or issues raised during the lectures; 2) continuing guidance on composing the assignments; 3) an opportunity to prepare for examinations; 4) an on-going dialogue about major course themes; 5) and a workshop where students can perform a temporary apprenticeship in the historian’s craft with “hands-on” experience in primary source analysis, secondary literature review, critical thinking, explanatory writing, and oral communication–an invaluable skill set with inter-disciplinary and cross-occupational application.

II. Required Reading

Note: All assigned readings will be available on four-hour reserve at the University of Oregon Knight Library. The course syllabus, lecture outlines and other handouts will be available on Blackboard.

Ayers, Edward L., et. al., eds. American Passages: A History of the United States. Compact Edition. (paperback) ISBN: 053464791X

Jacobs, Harriet. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. Dover, 2001. (paperback) ISBN: 0486419312

Donald, David Herbert, ed. Why the North Won the Civil War: Six Authoritative Views on the Economic, Military, Diplomatic, Social and Political Reasons Behind the Confederacy’s Defeat. Simon & Schuster, 1996. (paperback) ISBN: 0684825066

Course Packet: (available at UO Bookstore)

Contents:

$ Scott, Donald M. “Abolition As a Sacred Vocation.” In Antislavery Reconsidered: New Perspectives on the Abolitionists, eds. Lewis Perry and Michael Fellman, 51-74. New Orleans: Louisiana State University Press, 1981.

$ Hersh, Blanche Glassman. “Am I Not a Women and Sister?” In Antislavery Reconsidered: New Perspectives on the Abolitionists, eds. Lewis Perry and Michael Fellman, 252-283. New Orleans: Louisiana State University Press, 1981.

$ Fleming, Walter L. “Organization and Principles of the KKK.” in The Ku Klux Klan, 1905. [3 pp.]

$ Tourgee, Judge Albion. “On the KKK.” New York Tribune. May 1870. [4 pp.]

$ Wells, Ida B. A Red Record, 1895. (Chapters 1-6). [28 pp.]

$ Carnegie, Andrew. “The Gospel of Wealth” The North American Review 148:391 (June 1889): 653-662.

$ Sumner, William Graham. “State Interference” The North American Review 145:369 (August 1887): 109-120.

$ Powderly, Terence V. Thirty Years of Labor, 1859-1889. Philadelphia, 1890. p. 128-31, 200-29.

$ Veblen, Thorstein. “Conspicuous Consumption” in The Theory of the Leisure Class: An Economic Study of Institutions. 1899. [25 pp.]

$ Goldman, Emma. Living My Life. Volume 1: Chapter 8. New York: Alfred Knopf, 1931. [18 pp.]

III. Evaluation

1. Essay One. (20%) Due in Discussion Sections, 1/25 or 1/26.
Compose an analytical essay (three-page, doubled spaced) on slavery or abolitionism in antebellum America drawing evidence primarily from the discussion readings. Essays should begin with a clearly defined thesis statement supported with specific content. Successful essays will avoid a descriptive summary of the readings and will instead present a critical and explanatory treatment of the material. The incorporation of relevant information selected from lectures and the text may also strengthen the essay. Discussion leaders will provide more specific guidance and feedback on focusing topics, formulating thesis statements, and overall format.

2. Essay Two. (20%) Due in Discussion Sections 3/1, or 3/2.
Compose an comparative essay (three-page, double spaced) examining the theme of “The Incorporation of America,” drawing evidence from the primary source materials considered in discussion after the midterm. The essay will present a comparative analysis of the perspectives, ideologies, or proposals of two or more historical actors–Fleming, Tourgee, Wells, Carnegie, Sumner, Powderly, Veblen, or Goldman. Discussion leaders will provide more specific guidance and feedback on focusing topics, formulating thesis statements, and overall format.

3. Midterm Exam. (20%) 2/8.
A midterm exam comprised of essay and short answer.
Essay Section: Students will write one essay, selected from a list of three questions. Essays must articulate a coherent thesis (argument) supported by clear reasoning and specific content drawn from the lectures, class discussion, and assigned readings to answer the questions successfully. Essays also need to establish an accurate chronology to demonstrate an understanding of cause-and-effect relationships and the broader context. Although specific dates are not mandatory, essays should clarify the sequence of historical events. The evaluation of essays is largely based on peer performance within the group dynamic of each particular course. Hence, no “absolute” or “abstract” model will be applied to the essays. Despite this approach, those essays that assert the most lucid thesis, incorporated the most specific evidence, and express the most coherent reasoning will receive the highest marks, and those with comparatively less clarity and substance will be graded accordingly. Errors in spelling and grammar (within reason) will not significantly undermine performance, however, a lack of specific content and well-reasoned arguments will.
Short Answer Section: Students will define four terms selected from a list of seven. These definitions must include two elements: a description of specific details and an explanation of broader significance. The specific description should address the who, what, where, when, and why information. To ensure you have illustrated the broader significance of the term ask yourself the following questions. How does this term reflect or symbolize a larger theme, trend, or model? How is this term an important precedent or change from the past? How does this term establish a new pattern? How does this term fit into a larger cause-and-effect relationship? How is this term influential? Terms may encompass individuals, ideas, events, laws, court cases, publications, and places. Successful responses to short-answer questions typically comprise two substantive paragraphs, the first addressing the specific description and the second clarifying the broader significance.

4. Final Exam. (25%) 8:00AM 3/18 (Friday).
A final exam of the same format as the midterm, except students will write two essay selected from a list of four questions; and six terms from a list of nine.

5. Attendance/Participation. (15%)
Regular attendance, engaged interaction, and substantive participation (listening and speaking) in the discussion section.

IV. Schedule of Lectures, Reading, & Discussion Assignments

Week 1:

1/4: Lecture: Course Introduction & Constitutional Foundations of the Republic

1/6: Lecture: The Market Revolution & the Americanization of Corporation Law

Week 2:

1/11: Lecture: Jacksonian Democracy

1/13: Lecture: Antebellum Slavery & Free Blacks

Lecture Reading: Ayers, Chapter 10: The Years of Andrew Jackson, 1829-1836.
Discussion Reading: Jacobs, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, pp. 11-176.

Week 3:

1/18: Lecture: Anti-Slavery & Abolitionism

1/20: Lecture: Manifest Destiny, Part 1: The “Indian Question” & Oregon Country

Lecture Reading: Ayers, Chapter 11: Panic and Boom, 1837-1845
Discussion Reading: Scott, “Abolition as a Sacred Vocation” &
Hersh, “Am I Not a Woman and Sister?”

Week 4:

1/25: Lecture: Manifest Destiny, Part 2: Sectionalism, The Texas Revolution & Mexican War

1/27: Lecture: The Political Crisis of the 1850s, Part 1

Lecture Reading: Ayers, Chapter 12: Expansion and Reaction, 1846-1854
Essay One Due in Discussion Sections 1/25, 1/26

Week 5:

2/1: Lecture: The Political Crisis of the 1850s, Part 2

2/3: Lecture: The Election of 1860 & Secession

Lecture Reading: Ayers, Chapter 13: Broken Bonds, 1855-1861
Discussion Reading: Donald, Why the North Won the Civil War, pp. 13-113.

Week 6:

2/8: Midterm Exam

2/10: Lecture: Reconstruction, Part 1: The Road to Emancipation

Lecture Reading: Ayers, Chapter 15: Blood and Freedom, 1863-1867

Week 7:

2/15: Lecture: Reconstruction, Part 2: Radical Republicans & the Election of 1876

2/17: Lecture: The Nadir: Neoslavery & the Rise of Jim Crow

Lecture Reading: Ayers, Chapter 16: Reconstruction Abandoned, 1867-1877
Discussion Reading: Fleming, “Organization & Principles of the KKK”
Tourgee, “On the KKK”
Wells, A Red Record

Week 8:

2/22: Lecture: The Incorporation of America, Part 1: Federal Indian Policy & Allotment

2/24: Lecture: The Incorporation of America, Part 2: The Corporation & Big Business

Lecture Reading: Ayers, Chapter 17: An Economy Transformed: The Rise of Big Business, 1877-1887
Discussion Reading: Carnegie, “The Gospel of Wealth”
Sumner, “State Interference”

Week 9:

3/1: Lecture: The Incorporation of America, Part 3: Industrialization & Big Labor

3/3: Lecture: The Incorporation of America, Part 4: Populism & the Rural Revolt

Essay Two Due in Discussion Sections 3/1, 3/2

Lecture Reading: Ayers, Chapter 18: Urban Growth and Farm Protest, 1887-1893
Discussion Reading: Powderly, Thirty Years of Labor, pp.128-31, 200-29.
Veblen, “Conspicuous Consumption”
Goldman, Living My Life

Week 10:

3/8: Lecture: Progressivism, Part 1: Social Justice & Social Control

3/10: Lecture: Progressivism, Part 2: Roosevelt & the Modern Liberal State

Lecture Reading: Ayers, Chapter 19: A Troubled Nation Expands Outward, 1893-1901
Ayers, Chapter 20: Theodore Roosevelt and Progressive Reform, 1901-1909

Week 11:

3/18: Final Exam: 8:00AM FRIDAY

V. Course Blackboard Site

The Blackboard Site for History 202 offers blends a digital learning space with traditional face-to-face meetings. These mutually-reinforcing avenues of interaction are intended to increase instructor and GTF accessibility, and facilitate peer-to-peer communication. The instructor will post all course materials, including the syllabus, lecture outlines, power point text, and other handouts in the “Course Documents” section of Blackboard. External links to relevant sites will also be made available. Discussion leaders may utilize Blackboard for a variety of instructional purposes within their individual sections, including discussion forums, grade book, digital drop box, and group e-mail. Please notify the instructor or your GTF immediately if you encounter difficulty with logging-in to Blackboard.

VI University Academic Honesty Policy

All work submitted in this course must be your own and produced exclusively for this course. You must acknowledge and document the ideas and words of others. Violations are taken seriously and are noted on student disciplinary records.

VII Policy on Missed Deadlines & Incompletes

Exceptional Emergency Situations:
The following are unforeseen/uncontrollable, exceptional emergency situations that are acceptable excuses for missed deadlines without penalty, and issuance of incomplete (I) final grades at the end of the course:

• Acceptable: Documented serious illness/injury; death in the immediate family; pregnancy
• Unacceptable: Weddings; family visits or special occasions, work and school conflicts

Missed Deadlines for Assignments:
To ensure a fair evaluation for all students, un-excused late assignments will lose 3% of their total potential value for every day passed the published due date. If you must miss discussion the day an assignment is due please arrange to submit your paper to the GTF according to their preference–office, e-mail attachment, Blackboard Digital Dropbox by the deadline.

Example: Essay One Deadline for Students with a Tuesday Discussion

Date and Time Essay Is Submitted / Potential Total Potential Value of Assignment

Tuesday 1/25 in class (as stated in syllabus): Assignment is worth a full 20%
Tuesday 1/25 after class by 5:00pm: Assignment is worth a full 20 %
Wednesday 1/26: Assignment is worth 17 %
Thursday 1/27: Assignment is worth 14%
Continues until Assignment Value declines to 0%

Issuance of an Incomplete Grade:
In accordance with the policy of the University of Oregon, a mark of I (incomplete) may be reported only when the quality of work is satisfactory, but a minor yet essential requirement of the course remains uncompleted. An incomplete will be granted in-lieu of letter grades only in exceptional emergency situations as stipulated above. Students must submit documented proof to the instructor before the end of the term to obtain an incomplete for the course. The instructor and student will then draft a contract stipulating the work and schedule required for completion and changing the incomplete grade. The student, instructor and department will retain copies of the contract.

In all other cases of unexplained/undocumented absences and/or missing assignments the final grade reported to the registrar will be based upon the work the student has completed by the end of the term, which may well result in a failing grade.

VIII Policy on Accommodating Disabilities

If you are having difficulty and are in need of academic support because of a documented disability, whether it be psychiatric, learning, physical, hard of hearing, or sensory, you may be eligible for academic accommodations through Disability Services. Contact the Disability Services at 541-346-1155 or disabsrv@darkwing.uoregon.edu.

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