History of the United States to 1877 Section 7 (TUURI) 21:512:201:07 T TH 4:00-5:20 p.m. Smith Hall (SMT) 245

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1 1 History of the United States to 1877 Section 7 (TUURI) 21:512:201:07 T TH 4:00-5:20 p.m. Smith Hall (SMT) 245 NB: This syllabus is subject to change during the course, check Blackboard periodically for updates to syllabus. Instructor: Rebecca (rebtuuri@eden.rutgers.edu) Office Location: Conklin Hall 312 Office Phone number: (973) Office Hours: Tuesdays 1:50-3:20 p.m. and by arrangement Course Description: This course will examine the history of the United States development, from pre-colonial contact through the end of the Civil War. We will use lectures, documents, films and discussion to enrich our understanding of events and the historical interpretations of events in this time period changes in Native American societies before European contact, the European contact with the new world, creation of an American system of chattel slavery and the racial codes to enforce it, the American Revolution, the development of a new country, and the near dissolution of it. Required Texts: James West Davidson, Brian DeLay, Christine Leigh Heyrman, Mark H Lytle, Michael Stoff, U.S. A Narrative History (2008 edition) NOT the May 2011 edition. ISBN: Camilla Townsend, Pocahontas and the Powhatan Dilemma (paperback) (2005) ISBN: Michael Shaara, The Killer Angels: The Classic Novel of the Civil War [Paperback] (1987) ISBN: In addition, you will have brief primary source documents to read available on Blackboard, unless otherwise noted. You must complete the readings before the beginning of class. 1

2 2 Grade Distribution: Paper 1 15% Midterm Exam 15% Paper 2 20% Final Exam 20% Pop Quizzes 15% Participation 15% Papers 1 and 2 (15% and 20% respectively) You will have two papers of between 4 and 5 pages on Camilla Townsend s Pocahontas and the Powhatan Dilemma and Michael Shaara s The Killer Angels. You will receive the topic for the paper about a month in advance of the paper deadlines. No papers will be accepted by . Must be submitted in PAPER form by end of class period on 9/29 and 12/8 respectively. If you miss one of these classes, you still must submit your paper to me by the end of class on this day or it will be late. (see late policy below for more information) Midterm Exam and Final Exam (15% and 20% respectively) The Midterm and Final Exam will contain a series of short answer identification questions and an essay question covering reading, lecture, and discussion material. The Final will NOT be cumulative. Pop Quizzes (15%) To ensure that you are keeping up with the reading, I will be giving you four pop quizzes during the semester. The quizzes will follow a fairly simple format simple multiple choice or short identification. I will drop your lowest quiz grade. Participation (15%): For our discussions to be successful, reading assignments must be completed before the indicated class. Your participation grade will be based on how often you speak up in class and how well you use information from readings and lectures to support your interpretations. You must come prepared to discuss the readings for that day. Attendance: Lectures and class discussions will play a crucial role in the course. Class attendance is mandatory. Three unexcused absences are permitted. Each additional unexcused absence will lower your final class grade by a grade (i.e. A to B+, B+ to B, etc.). Excused absences are limited to those that are due to medical emergencies, family emergencies, and university business, which require you to be out of town (such as athletic participation). You must provide evidence of the emergency or university business. Late arrivals are disruptive to the class. Therefore, you will be penalized for late arrivals as well. Three unexcused late arrivals equal one absence. 2

3 3 Any student who misses eight or more sessions through any combination of excused and unexcused absences will not earn credit in this course. Such students should withdraw to avoid getting an F in the class. Late or Missed Assignments: Only emergencies that would also result in an excused absence (see above) are valid reasons for submitting an assignment late. Without proof of emergency, any late paper will be marked down. Makeup exams will be offered without a penalty only if you miss the exam due to extreme circumstances, for which you can provide written proof of the situation (doctor s note, funeral notice, bail bond receipt, etc.) Papers will be marked down one grade (A to B+; B+ to B; etc) for each class period late. If you fail to submit Paper 2 before the last day of class, you will continue to be penalized for late submission, but now in addition to the one grade penalty for the time from 12/8 to 12/13, you will also be penalized another grade for each additional business day that the paper is late. After 12/13, you must turn any late assignments into the history department office during regular business hours where they will be time-stamped and I will penalize them accordingly. Disabilities: If you have any disabilities that require special accommodation, see the professor immediately. Note on Plagiarism and Academic Responsibilities: You are expected to abide by the University s policy on academic integrity, found at While completing the papers for this course, be sure to cite any editorial or explanatory information (e.g. author biographies) you find in the database you select, or in any other source, which shapes your interpretation. If you have any questions about what constitutes plagiarism, speak with me immediately. You will receive a 0 for your plagiarized assignment, will most likely be reported to the dean, and risk failing the course if you commit plagiarism. Course Schedule WEEK 1: Thursday 9/1 - Introduction to Course, Historiography, Understanding primary and secondary sources. 3

4 4 WEEK 2: Tuesday 9/6 Life before Contact and the meaning of American History Reading: Chapter 1. The First Civilizations of North America (USANH) Documents: The Iroquois Describe the Beginning of the World Thursday 9/8 NO CLASS (CHANGE OF DESIGNATION DAY MONDAY classes instead ) Reading: Camilla Townsend Pocahontas pps WEEK 3: Tuesday 9/13 Conquistadors and Priests among the Native Americans Reading: Chapter 2. Old Worlds, New Worlds [ ] (USANH), Camilla Townsend Pocahontas pps Documents: An Aztec Account of the Conquest of Mexico (1521); images of Native Americans as portrayed by Europeans Thursday 9/15 The English (Barely) Settle in Virginia Reading: Chapter 3. Colonization and Conflict in the South [ ] (USANH) Documents: excerpt Richard Hakluyt, A Discourse Concerning Western Planting (1584) WEEK 4: Tuesday 9/20 The New England Experiment Reading: Chapter 4. Colonization and Conflict in the North [ ] (USANH) Camilla Townsend Pocahontas pps Documents: A Puritan Prescription for Marital Concord (1712) Thursday 9/22 Discussion: discuss Pocahontas in preparation for paper Reading: finish Camilla Townsend Pocahontas pps Documents: Miantomi Calls for Algonquian Unity Against the English (1643) WEEK 5: Tuesday 9/27 Life in the Middle Colonies Reading: Chapter 5. The Mosaic of Eighteenth-Century America [ ] (USANH) Documents: William Penn, Charter of Privileges (1701) Thursday 9/29 The Atlantic Slave Trade PAPER 1 due on Pocahontas In class assignment: We will read and analyze documents related to slavery and servitude (Alexander Falconbridge, The African Slave Trade (1788); Runaway Advertisements from Colonial Newspapers) 4

5 5 WEEK 6: Tuesday 10/4 The Growth of Slavery Reading: Chapter 6. Toward the War for American Independence [ (USANH) Documents: Slave Conspiracy in Virginia (1709) Thursday 10/6 The Coming of the American Revolution Documents: Thomas Paine, Common Sense (1776); Paul Revere s Engraving from Boston Massacre (1770); Pontiac, Two Speeches ( ) WEEK 7: Tuesday 10/11 American Revolution Reading: Chapter 7. The American People and the American Revolution [ ] (USANH) Documents: songs and toasts from the Patriot Movement ( ) Thursday 10/13 Who s Revolution? Debating the direction of a new country Reading: letters between John and Abigail Adams (1776); Petition of Slaves to the Massachusetts Legislature (1777); Thomas Jefferson, An Act for Establishing Religious Freedom (1785) WEEK 8: Tuesday 10/18 Confederation to Constitution Reading: Chapter 8. Crisis and Constitution [ ] (USANH) Documents: James Madison, The Federalist, No. 51 (1787) Thursday 10/20 MID TERM REVIEW come to class with any questions that you have about the course WEEK 9: Tuesday 10/25 MID TERM EXAMINATION Thursday 10/27 A young nation defines itself Reading: Chapter 9: The Early Republic [ ] (USANH) Documents: The Alien and Sedition Acts (1798) WEEK 10: Tuesday 11/1 The Louisiana Purchase Reading: Chapter 10. The Opening of America [ ] (USANH) Documents: Tecumseh on Indians and Land (1810) Thursday 11/3 The Market Revolution Reading: Shaara pps Documents: Josephine L. Baker, A Second Peep at Factory Life (1840), 5

6 6 WEEK 11: Tuesday 11/8 The Age of Jackson Reading: Chapter 11. The Rise of Democracy [ ] (USANH) Shaara pps Documents: Petition of Cherokee Women (1817), Thursday 11/10 Revivalism and Reform Reading: Chapter 12. The Fires of Perfection [ ] (USANH) Shaara pps Documents: Charles G. Finney, Sinners Bound to Change Their Own Hearts (1836) WEEK 12: Tuesday 11/15 The Peculiar Institution Reading: Chapter 13. The Old South [ ] (USANH) Shaara pps Documents: excerpts from Autobiography of Linda Brent (Harriet Jacobs) (1861) Thursday 11/17 Manifest Destiny Reading: Chapter 14. Western Expansion and the Rise of the Slavery Issue [ ] (USANH) Shaara pps Documents: Wilmot Proviso (1846) WEEK 13: Tuesday 11/22 Life in the West CHANGE OF DESIGNATION DAY THURSDAY classes Reading: Shaara pps Documents: Cross Cultural Encounters in California ( ) Thursday 11/24 Thanksgiving Holiday, NO CLASSES Reading: Shaara pps WEEK 14: Tuesday 11/29 The Coming of the Civil War Reading: Chapter 15. The Union Broken (USANH) Shaara pps Documents: Lincoln-Douglas Debates (1858) 6

7 7 Thursday 12/1 The Civil War I Reading: Chapter 16. Total War and the Republic ( ) (USANH) Shaara pps Documents: No additional documents; be prepared to discuss Shaara on this day WEEK 15: Tuesday 12/6 Reconstruction from the Top Down Reading: Chapter 17. Reconstructing the Union, (USANH) Documents: 14 th and 15 th Amendments Thursday 12/8 Black Power and Backlash PAPER 2 on Shaara s The Killer Angels due No Reading Assignment today. In class assignment: We will read and analyze documents related to the efforts of newly freed blacks to gain economic, social, and political power, and the backlash that ensued against them. WEEK 16: Tuesday 12/13 Final Class Discussion of major themes in course in preparation for Final Examination WEEK 17: FINAL EXAM Tuesday December 20, 3:00-6:00 p.m. 7