HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES TO 1865
 

History 201-01, Fall Semester 2004

(4 Credits)

 

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COURSE DESCRIPTION:

What is this course? In accordance with the catalogue description, this course surveys developments in that geographic area which became the United States from before “colonial beginnings through the Civil War." Various aspects of North American society and culture, including politics, economics, philosophy, the fine arts, popular mores, and religion, will be examined in historical context.

What will class meetings be like? The course will meet three times a week. In general, lectures will constitute much of in-class time each week. Additionally, however, significant time will be regularly taken in discussion of the readings and viewing relevant video clips.

What will be expected in general of each student? The workload of the course reflects both liberal arts expectations in general and historical method in particular. Attendance at all class meetings is, of course, expected. Some 1450 pp. of assigned reading will be required.  Research reading will be required.  Various longer and shorter writing assignments will be central to the course.  Discussion time will be provided for.  There will be three required exams.

 

COURSE OBJECTIVES (WHAT DIFFERENCE THIS COURSE SHOULD MAKE):

1.      To become familiar with major elements and examples of American life and thought as they have developed from Indian life before the arrival of Europeans to the end of the Civil War, since to examine America's historical experience is to examine something of ourselves.

2.      To further develop skills in analytical reading, critical thinking and writing, and oral presentation through course assignments and activities, since such liberal arts skills are key tools for learning how, with the Apostle Paul, to "take every thought captive to obey Christ" (2 Cor. 10:5).

3.      To further develop practice of historical method beyond the level of the Western civilization sequence through deeper attention to such issues as context, sources, and interpretation while engaged with course material, since historical method can be a tool for living "wise as serpents and innocent as doves" (Mt. 10:16).

4.      To provide tools and opportunity for integrating a deepened understanding of America's historical experience with a Christian perspective on faith and life, for "in [Christ] all things hold together" (Col. 1:17).

 

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COURSE OUTLINE:<div align="center">

 

 

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COURSE REQUIREMENTS:

1. READING NOTE: Reading is fundamental to higher education in general; it is especially so for history courses.  For gaining knowledge and understanding about the past, reading remains, on the whole, the best means.

Each student is responsible for all assigned reading.   That is, if the pages are assigned, the instructor assumes that you have read them and are thus able to use them, as relevant, in all papers, quizzes, and other written assignments and in class discussions.

There is not enough in-class time to go over all the reading, but, if there is something in the reading you wish to ask about or discuss, please, do not hesitate to raise your question or make your observation.  If you become an active, engaged reader, it will help you learn, not just in this course but beyond it as well.

Reading (in assignment order):

·         Brown, Victoria Bissell and Timothy J. Shannon.  Going to the Source: The Bedford Reader in American History.  Vol.1: To 1877.  Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2004.

·         Carnes, Mark C. and John A. Garraty. American Destiny. 1^st ed.  New York: Longman/Penguin Academics, 2003.

·         Hurtado, Albert L.  Intimate Frontiers: Sex, Gender, and Culture in Old California.  Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1999.

·         Cronon, William.  Changes in the Land: Indians, Colonists, and the Ecology of New England.  20^th Anniversary Ed.  New York: Hill & Wang, 2003.

·         Appleby, Joyce.  Inheriting the Revolution: The First Generation of Americans.  Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2000.

 

2. Assignments:

A. A BIOGRAPHICAL RESEARCH PAPER will constitute 30% of the course grade.

1.      The paper TOPIC is up to the student, so long as

·         it is about an American individual (not necessarily native born) who is no longer living but significant sometime between 1492 and 1865 who has produced or led to the production of

·         one or more primary document (e.g., a recorded oral account, a memoir, a diary, a collection of letters, a sermon, a speech, a report, an opinion piece, a painting, a composition, a photographic collection etc.).

2.      The TASK of the biographical paper is to

·         provide a biographical overview of the person chosen (biographee),

·         critically summarize and assess the primary document(s) content, and

·         situate the biographee and the primary document(s) in historical context so that a claim about their significance in the history of the U.S. up to 1865 can be clearly made and plausibly supported.

3.      Given the TASK (2.A.2), the completed paper should entail or address the following:

3.1.   Research and reading:

3.2.   Elements of narration, exposition, and analysis:

·         Each paper should be written for a general rather than a specialist reader, i.e., explain what would need explaining for someone who has not read the materials that you (the author) have read.

·         Each paper should, in part, provide a general reader with an overview of the biographee in historical context, i.e., when and where born and died, major relationships and activities, what things in the time, place, society, and culture were most important in shaping the life, thought, and actions of  her/him, etc.

·         Each paper should provide a general reader with a summary and critical analysis in historical context (time, place, society, culture) of one or more primary document by or connected with the biographee.

·         Each paper should make and sustain a claim that connects the primary documents and the nature of the biographee’s significance for some appropriate aspect of pre-1865 national historical context.  For example, 1) “[Biographee’s] diary is important for helping us understand the complications of immigrants assimilating to the dominant Anglo-American culture”; 2) “[Biographee’s] sermons show how many middle-class Protestants in mid-18^th century were revising traditional understandings of revelation”; 3) “[Biographee’s] argument in support of slavery suggests that even many northerners in the 1850s were not prepared to dismantle ’the peculiar institution.’”

·         Each paper should have foot- or endnotes when quotations are made or when sources need to be noted, per Chicago Style (for form, see www.dianahacker.com/resdoc/history/bibliography.html).

·         Each paper should have a bibliography, per Chicago Style (for form, see www.dianahacker.com/resdoc/history/bibliography.html).

4.      A 1 page TOPIC STATEMENT (handwritten or typed) indicating the biographee, the primary document(s), and any other sources identified by then is due no later than SEPT. 24 (Fri.). Failure to submit a statement by the specified due date will mean that the final paper will receive a penalty reduction of half of a letter grade.

5.      The final paper should be a) TYPED DOUBLE-SPACED, b) should have a TITLE PAGE that includes a title for your paper, your name, the date, and your RSC box #, and c) should be 10-12 pp. including footnotes PLUS bibliography.

6.      The final paper is DUE no later than class time, DEC. 6 (Mon.). EARLY PAPERS ARE WELCOME; LATE PAPERS WILL BE PENALIZED!

7.      The paper can be submitted either 1) as a single copy of Microsoft Word file attached to an e-mail to the instructor’s e-address (firth@nwciowa.edu) or 2) two paper copies.

8.      In outlining and writing your paper, remember that in addition to the instructor, the WRITING CENTER is an excellent resource.

9.      The most important FACTORS IN EVALUATING THE PAPER include a) do you in fact meet all the stipulations of the assignment? b) does your paper indicate thorough research within the limits of the assignment and the course? c) how lucid and cogent is your presentation? d) how accurate is your content? and e) how insightful is your analysis and interpretation?

 

B. THREE EXAMS on course material will constitute 40% of the course grade.

1.      Two unit exams, each worth 11% of the course grade, will be given in class, #1 on OCT. 6 (Wed.) and #2 on NOV. 8 (Mon.)

2.      A comprehensive exam (#3), worth 18% of the course grade, will be given during the scheduled final period.

3.      The two unit exams will each consist of two or three short essay questions and one or two long essay questions.  The comprehensive exam will consist of two or three short unit essay questions, one or two long unit essay questions, and a take-home comprehensive essay question.

4.      For each exam, a study sheet will be distributed a week ahead of the exam.  The study sheet for exam #3 will also include the take-home essay question.

5.      On exam days, no textbooks or other course material should be used during the exam (on penalty of voiding the entire exam) except for one 8 ½ x 11 inch exam sheet of outlines and notes (typed or handwritten, both sides if necessary).  This exam sheet must be handed in with the exam blue book.

6.      Blue books will be required for each exam.  (These are available in the NWC bookstore.)

C. THREE PRÉCIS will constitute 15% of the course grade.

1.      A précis is a critical abstract or summary.

2.      A précis is required for the Cronon, the Appleby, and the Hurtado reading (Sept. 22, Nov. 1, and Nov. 22, respectively).

3.      Each précis will constitute 5% of the course grade.

4.      Each précis should address three things:  a) What is the main thesis of the book? b) What are the main arguments and the sorts of evidence used in support of the book’s thesis (considered by chapter)? and c) Has, or how well has, the author made his or her case (explain)?

5.      Each précis should be two pages—no less, no more—, typed double-spaced, with student’s name, the date, the report #, and RSC Box # at the head of the first page (no title page is necessary).

6.      When quoting from the assigned book or otherwise referring to a specific page or pages in the book, indicate the page(s) quoted or referred to as follows: (p. 53).

7.      The most important factors in evaluating each précis include a) how accurate and thorough is your grasp of the assigned book’s thesis, arguments, and evidence? b) how cogent yet concise is your presentation? and c) how insightful is your evaluation?

 

D. SOURCE ANALYSES and CLASS PARTICIPATION will constitute 15% of the course grade.

D.1. SOURCE ANALYSES (SAs) will constitute 12% of the course grade

1. Twelve SAs are due, per course outline schedule, for twelve of the thirteen chapters in Brown/Shannon.
2. Each SA will constitute 1% of the course grade.
3. The question(s) for the next SA will be announced one class ahead of when the SA is due.
4. Each SA will be on one or two questions from the “Analyzing the Source” section of the assigned Brown/Shannon chapter.
5. Depending on the question(s), each SA should be roughly a half to a full page/one or two paragraphs in length.
6. SAs may be handwritten, but they must be legible, and they should be clearly labeled with the student's name, Brown/Shannon chapter, date, and RSC box # as a header.
7. Late SAs (i.e., handed in after the in-class collection) will not be accepted.  In the case of unavoidable absences, consult with the instructor; also, see D.2.3 below.
8. Unless specified otherwise, each DA is worth 10 points for accuracy, attention to historical context, thoughtfulness in interpretation, neatness, and meeting the above formal specifications.

D.2. CLASS PARTICIPATION will constitute 3% of the course grade

1. Class participation is a portion of the grade based on the instructor’s estimation of the integrity of each student’s engagement with the course material and the classroom environment.
2. Normally, regular attendance and the handing in of complete assignments when due will be taken as at least sufficient for fulfilling this part of the course grade.  If such fulfillment is of exceptional quality, this will be noted.
3. When appropriate, the instructor is prepared to be flexible with occasional student scheduling problems, but the instructor must be consulted.  “Exceptions” are not an entitlement.
4. Factors that could give the instructor pause about a student for this portion of the grade include (but are not limited to):

·         frequent absences.

·         frequent lateness in attending class or excuses for the failure to complete assignments or to complete them when due.

·         frequent in-class indications that could give the impression that a student has done little to no work with the assigned materials.

·         persistent in-class demeanor or behavior that could give the impression that a student has little respect for themselves, others, and the task(s) at hand.

 

COURSE MISCELLANY:

1.  Grading

1. We the faculty of the History Department do not believe that "grade inflation" is good for you. Jesus admonishes us to "Let your word be 'Yes, Yes' or 'No, No'" (Mt. 5:37); in other words, let grades have integrity as indicators of knowledge and/or competence for a given assignment or course.
2. Therefore, an A=excellent or outstanding work; B=good work (more than adequate but not excellent); C=sufficient work (the assignment or the course’s requirements have been met, but not with any remarkable quality); D=insufficient work (does not fully meet the assignment); F=failing work.
3. Grades for assignments, unless otherwise specified, and for the course as a whole are based on a 100% scale, as follows:

A = 90-100

B = 80-89

C = 70-79

D = 60-69

F = 0-59

4. Within the 100% scale for letter grades, + and - will be given on the following scale (exceptions: no A+ or F + or F-):

+ = x7-x9

- = x0-x2

Remember--grades are NOT a measure of your personal worth; that is already established by God! Grades are measures of the quality of your work for a given assignment and/or course--nothing more and nothing less.

 

2.  Study Advice

1. Rule of thumb: If you wish to do well in history classes, generally plan on two hours of outside work for every in-class hour. Much reading and some writing is involved, and this takes time to do adequately, let alone well.
2. Spirituality: Approach your studies with a prayerful attitude. Pray for discipline, for attentiveness, for discernment and understanding. Christ is Lord of all of life, so he is Lord of our learning. Give him the glory with the mind he has given you. We don't think of playing an instrument or playing basketball without practice; why would anyone think that glorifying God with our minds takes any less time--any less prayer and disciplined action?
3. Reading: READ ATTENTIVELY AND INTELLIGENTLY. For history courses, the point of reading is to gain information AND to put that information within some context, or thesis, or pattern. Your goal in reading for a history course is to watch for all the cues the author gives you as to 1) what facts are more important than others and 2) how the facts are marshaled into larger patterns that "tell a story" or "make a point."
4. Taking notes is always relevant—in and on your reading, on lectures, on discussions, on videos.  (If you have a photographic memory or already know all the material, then of course taking notes would be pointless . . .)

Further Help: You should be able to handle this course with sufficient time and attention. After all, hundreds of other students have. However, if you run into problems, DON'T HESITATE TO ASK FOR HELP: me and also, for papers especially, folks in the Writing Center.

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