AMH4571: American Civil War & Reconstruction

Transcription

1 AMH4571: American Civil War & Reconstruction University of Florida Department of History Spring 2012 Professor Sean Adams Lectures, MW Period 4; Discussion Sections F Lectures in Little Hall, Room 109 Course Description This course will span three turbulent decades of American history from 1848 to It is roughly divided into three thematic and chronological sections. First, we will examine the growing political, economic, and cultural rift between the American North and South in the late 1840s and 1850s. Second, this course will focus upon the various military, social, and political facets of the Civil War and the complex process of emancipation. Finally, we will look also at both the great promise and the great failure of the Reconstruction years. An additional theme of this course will be memory and the history of the period, as the Civil War is one of the most memorialized and most controversial events in American history. After completing this course, students will have a greater appreciation of the significant events in the history of the United States from 1848 to 1877, including the pivotal issues of slavery, political crisis, military conflict, and the competing visions of the reconstruction of the American South. Students also should expect to spend time analyzing primary sources, the raw ore of historical research, as well as synthesizing them into broader historical arguments. Over the course of the semester, students will also hone verbal and written arguments that use both primary and secondary sources in order to address complex historical questions. These exercises are designed to improve critical thinking and writing skills in a rigorous academic setting. Required Readings There are six (6) required texts available for purchase at most local bookstores. If you choose to purchase these books online, please make sure that you leave enough time for shipping. A tardy delivery will not be an acceptable excuse for not having the reading materials. In addition to these books, there will be various readings, images, and other primary sources available online via the course Sakai e-learning site at These are required readings and will form the basis of many assignments. Whether you print them out as hard copy or not is up to you, but please be sure that you can access them in time for class. 1. Stanley Harrold, ed., The Civil War & Reconstruction: A Documentary Reader (Boston: Wiley- Blackwell, 2007). ISBN

2 2 2. Louis Masur, The Civil War: A Concise History (New York: Oxford University Press, 2011). ISBN Tony Horwitz, Midnight Rising: John Brown and the Raid That Sparked the Civil War (New York: Henry Holt, 2011) ISBN William Barney, The Making of a Confederate: Walter Lenoir s Civil War (New York: Oxford University Press, 2008) ISBN Elizabeth Varon, Southern Lady, Yankee Spy: The True Story of Elizabeth Van Lew, a Union Agent in the Heart of the Confederacy (New York: Oxford University Press, 2005) ISBN Ted Tunnell, Edge of the Sword: The Ordeal of Carpetbagger Marshall H. Twitchell in the Civil War and Reconstruction (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2004) ISBN The weekly readings are all due to be completed by the Friday discussion sections in which they are assigned. These readings are critical for success in both the discussion sections and the various written assignments that students will complete over the course of the semester. The schedule is important not only for this reason, but because if you fall behind you run the risk of getting lost as you try to catch up with the rest of the class. Grading Policy Your grade in this class will be determined by your performance on a variety of exercises ranging from participation in discussion sections, brief written assignments and longer exams. Your discussion section grade will be calculated using a blend of the participation in those sessions and brief writing assignments. Attendance at all lectures and discussions is critical and will reflect your commitment to the course. We will discuss the expectations of the written assignments in class and in discussion section. Your final grade will be calculated on the following basis: Grade Calculation Grading Scale Grade Value First Exam: 20% =A A=4.0 Second Exam: 25% 92-90=A- A-=3.67 Final Exam: 25% 89-87=B+ B+=3.33 Section Grade: 30% 86-83=B B= =B- B-= =C+ C+= =C C= =C- C-= =D+ D+=1.33

3 =D 61-59=D- 59-0=E D=1.00 D-=0.67 E=0.00 The narrative core of this course will unfold during lectures on Monday and Wednesday mornings. Please be respectful to your fellow students by turning off all cell phones and pagers, arriving on time, and please avoid making excessive noise. You may use a computer or tablet to take notes, but any distracting web surfing, game playing, or other behavior will not be tolerated. Students who do not abide by these simple rules of courtesy will be asked to leave. The instructions and materials for the assignments in this course are available online. There will be provisions for submitting graded materials online via the Sakai website. All students will be expected to turn in the major assignments to UF s Turnitin Anti-Plagiarism Service. For instructions on how to do that, please see the course Sakai website. Please do not hesitate to contact the instructor during the semester if you have any individual concerns or issues that need to be discussed. Students requesting classroom accommodation must first register with the Dean of Students Office ( The Dean of Students Office will provide documentation to the student who must then provide this documentation to the instructor when requesting accommodation. Plagiarism will not be tolerated in this class, as it constitutes intellectual theft and academic dishonesty. If you turn in the work of others and try to pass it off as your own, you will fail that assignment and risk expulsion from the University of Florida. I will give you the guidelines, expectations, and other information regarding the written work in this course, so you really have no reason to cheat. I take these matters very seriously and will prosecute vigorously if provoked. Any possible rewards derived from plagiarism simply don t justify the risk! All students must conform to UF s honesty policy regarding cheating, plagiarism, and the use of copyrighted materials, which you can find at Your assignments will be monitored with the Turnitin Anti-Plagiarism Service, so please keep in mind that cheating on the assignments in this course will be much more difficult than actually doing the work. Lecture and Readings Schedule (Subject to Change by Instructor) Week 1 January 9 January 11 Course Introduction North, South, East, West Life in Antebellum America

4 4 Readings: John L. O Sullivan, Annexation (1845) (e-learning site); Tunnell, Edge of the Sword, pp. 8-20; Elizabeth Varon, Southern Lady, Yankee Spy, pp. 9-34; Barney, The Making of a Confederate, pp Section One: A House Dividing Week 2 January 16 January 18 Martin Luther King Day No Lecture Southern Slaves and Their Allies Readings: Garrison, Declaration of Sentiments of the American Anti-Slavery Society (1833) and Henry Highland Garnet, Address to the Slaves of the US (1843) in Harrold, Civil War & Reconstruction, pp ; Frederick Douglass, What to the Slave is the Fourth of July? (1852) (e-learning site). Week 3 January 23 January 25 Compromise or Truce? Bleeding Kansas Readings: Readings: John C. Calhoun, Address of the Southern Delegates to their Constituents, (1849), in Harrold, Civil War & Reconstruction, pp ; Daniel Webster, The Constitution and the Union (1850) (e-learning site); Tony Horwitz, Midnight Rising, pp Week 4 January 30 February 1 The Impending Crisis The Slave Power Conspiracy? Readings: William Seward, Irrepressible Conflict, (1858) and John Brown, Last Speech (1859), in Harrold, The Civil War & Reconstruction, pp , 39-41; Horwitz, Midnight Rising, pp Week 5 February 6 The Election of 1860 February 8 Disunion! The Secession Crisis Readings: Disunion to War, in Harrold, The Civil War & Reconstruction, pp ; Address of William L. Harris... to the Georgia General Assembly, Dec. 17, 1860, from Dew, ed., Apostles of Disunion (e-learning site); Frederick Douglass, Revolutions Never Go Backward: An Address

5 5 Delivered in Rochester, New York on May 5, 1861 (e-learning site); Horwitz, Midnight Rising, pp ; Varon, Southern Lady, Yankee Spy, pp Section Two: A War on Many Fronts Week 6 February 13 The Yankee Leviathan and the Confederate Nation February 15 On to Richmond! On to Washington! First Exam Due Readings: Masur, The Civil War: A Concise History, 21-30; William Howard Russell, First Battle of Bull Run, 1861 (1861), Walt Whitman, 1861 (1861), Mary A. Ward, Confederate Women Prepare their Men for War (1861), Regis de Trobriand, Corruption in Washington, DC (1862), in Harrold, The Civil War and Reconstruction, pp , ; Tunnell, Edge of the Sword, pp ; Varon, Southern Lady, Yankee Spy, pp Week 7 February 20 February 22 The Political War The Invasion of the North Readings: Masur, A Concise History of the Civil War, pp ; William Monks, Battle of Wilson s Creek and the Guerilla War ( ), S. Dana Greene, The Monitor Battles the Virginia (Merrimac) (1862), David Strother, Battle of Antietam (1862), Julia Ward Howe, The Battle Hymn of the Republic (1862), Horace Greely and Abraham Lincoln, Union War Aims (1862), Joseph E. Brown, State Sovereignty in the Confederacy (1862) in Harrold, Civil War & Reconstruction, pp , Week 8 February 27 February 29 The War in the West If There is a Worse Place Than Hell, I Am In It Readings: Masur, A Concise History of the Civil War, pp ; Section Entitled The Trans- Mississippi West, in Harrold, Civil War & Reconstruction, pp ; Barney, The Making of a Confederate, pp ; Tunnell, Edge of the Sword, pp March 3-10 Spring Break Have a Good and Safe Holiday Week 9 March 12 Turning Points?

6 6 March 14 Seeing the Elephant Readings: Frank Haskill, Battle of Gettysburg (1863), Samuel E. Hope, Black-White Guerilla War in Florida (1863), James Longstreet, Battle of Chickamauga (1863), *Dora Miller+, Life in Besieged Vicksburg, Abraham Lincoln, Emancipation Proclamation, and Gettysburg Address (1863), Clement Vallandgiham, Northern Opposition to the Civil War (1863), Frederick Douglass, Men of Color to Arms! (1863) and the section entitled Soldier s Experiences, in Harrold, Civil War & Reconstruction, pp , , Week 10 March 19 March 21 The Unruly North and the Occupied South Those Not Skinning Can Hold a Leg Readings: Sallie Brock Putnam, Richmond Bread Riot (1863) and New York City Draft Riot (1863) in Harrold, Civil War & Reconstruction, pp ; Varon, Southern Lady, Yankee Spy, pp ; Barney, The Making of a Confederate, pp Week 11 March 26 March 28 From War to Crusade The Final Days of the Confederacy Readings: Masur, The Civil War: A Concise History, pp ; Julia Wilbur, Contraband Camps in Alexandria, Virginia (1863), Robert E. Lee, Surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia (1865), Ulysses S. Grant, General Report of Operations ( ), Robert Barnwell Rhett, Jr., War for Slavery (1865) and Abraham Lincoln, Second Inaugural Address (1865) from Harrold, Civil War and Reconstruction, pp ; Varon, Southern Lady, Yankee Spy, pp , Section Three: Reintegration or Reconstruction? Week 12 April 2 Wartime Reconstruction April 4 Reconstruction or Reintegration Second Exam Due Readings: Masur, A Concise History of the Civil War, pp ; Abraham Lincoln, Presidential Reconstruction (1863), Alexander Gardner, State Convention of Colored People of South Carolina, Memorial to the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States, 1865

7 7 (1865), and Thaddeus Stevens, Congressional Reconstruction (1865), in Harrold, The Civil War and Reconstruction, pp ; Tunnell, Edge of the Sword, pp Week 13 April 9 April 11 The Rise and Fall of Andrew Johnson The Radical Vision Readings: United States, Reconstruction Amendments ( ), in Harrold, The Civil War & Reconstruction, pp ; Frederick Douglass, We Need a True, Strong, and Principled Party: Addresses Delivered in Washington, D.C., on 29 March 1871, (e-learning site); Barney, The Making of a Confederate, pp ; Tunnell, Edge of the Sword, pp Week 14 April 16 April 18 Radical Reconstruction in the South Freedman into Citizen Readings: National Woman Suffrage and Educational Committee, An Appeal to the Women of the United States (1871) and Elias Hill, Ku Klux Klan Terrorism (1871) in Harrold, The Civil War & Reconstruction, pp ; Barney, The Making of a Confederate, pp ; Tunnell, Edge of the Sword, pp ; Varon, Southern Lady, Yankee Spy, pp Week 15 April 23 April 25 The Meaning of Free Labor The Death of Reconstruction Readings: Albion Tourgee, Failure of Reconstruction (1879) in Harrold, The Civil War & Reconstruction, pp ; Tunnell, Edge of the Sword, pp ; Varon, Southern Lady, Yankee Spy, pp Final Exam Period: Wednesday, May 2, 12:30-2:30 p.m. Contact Information Dr. Sean Adams Office: 227 Keene-Flint Hall Tel: (352) spadams@ufl.edu Personal Website: Office Hours: Wednesday 2-3 p.m.; Thursdays, a.m.; by appointment.