The Old South- History 4476

Fall 2004

“Tell about the South. What’s it like there. What do they do there. Why do they live there. Why do they live at all.” Canadian Shreve McCannon to his Mississippi-born Harvard roommate, Quentin Compson (from William Faulkner, Absalom, Absalom)

Keith S. Bohannon, Assistant Professor, Department of History

Office: Room 3247, History Department, 3d Floor, Technology Learning Center

Office Phone: 770-836-4558

Office email: Kbohanno@westga.edu

Office Hours: 10-11, 1:45-4:00, Monday and Wednesday and by appointment

Course Meetings: This class meets on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 9-9:50 in Pafford, Room 204.

Learning Outcomes: History 4476 will examine the South as a region from the early seventeenth century to the Civil War. The principal goal of the course is to acquaint students with the political, economic, social and intellectual history of the South. We will also ponder the creation of a Southern identity and whether the South was a truly distinctive region of the United States. What is the South? Historian Michael O’Brien rightfully claims that “no man’s South is the same as another’s.”

In addition to learning the subject matter, students will develop their writing, analytical, and verbal skills through a variety of assignments, including essay exams, frequent classroom discussions, and in-class response papers based on assigned readings.

Grading/Course Requirements

Mid-term- 25% of final grade

Final exam- 25% of final grade

Response papers (in class)- 25% of final grade

Book reviews- 25% of final grade

Mid-term and final exam- These will be in-class essay tests based on material from the lectures, assigned books, and assigned readings placed on electronic reserve.

Class participation and discussion- Students are encouraged to ask and answer questions in class. Classroom discussions will be a regular and integral part of this course. Everyone must be prepared and contribute. The instructor will keep a record of your participation in class during discussions. Class participation can only help your final grade in the course and will be taken into consideration at the end of the semester in the case of students with borderline grades.

Response papers- There will be a number of papers written in class throughout the semester in response to assigned readings. These assigned readings will include the books listed below and articles placed on electronic reserve by the UWG Library. (Instructions on how to access online reserve readings will be given to you in a separate handout.) Your cumulative grade on the response papers will count for a quarter of your final grade, so it is important to come to class having read the material.

Book Reviews- Students will be required to write three critical reviews of Young, Domesticating Slavery, Heyrman, Southern Cross and White, Arn’t I a Woman. The reviews must be three to five pages in length, typed, and double-spaced. Kate Turabian’s Manual for Writers is the preferred style manual for these papers. Papers that earn an “A” will not only summarize the content of the books, but also offer a thoughtful critique. If you quote from the books or utilize any source in your paper besides the assigned text, you must identify them using either footnotes or endnotes.

Makeup exams and late assignments- Makeup exams will be given only under emergency circumstances. Students needing to make up an assignment must have a written excuse from a doctor, coach, etc. explaining their absence. Students with valid excuses will have one week to make up assignments, after which time they will be given a zero on the assignment. One letter grade will be deducted per day for all assignments turned in late without an excuse.

Attendance- Regular classroom attendance is critical to earning a passing grade in this course. Attendance sheets will be passed around on a daily basis and taken into account at the end of the semester in assigning course grades. If a student misses class, it is his/her responsibility to find out what was missed.

Students who need to leave during class must provide an excuse to the instructor before the class begins. Anyone who leaves during class without providing an excuse will be marked absent and will receive a zero on any assignment given that day, even if the student has completed the assignment.

Cheating- Cheating and plagiarism will not be tolerated in this course. Plagiarism consists of the failure to acknowledge properly anyone quoted, cited, or consulted in the preparation of a written work. It also includes passing off another’s work as your own. Students should be aware that computer software now exists that make it relatively easy for an instructor to track down material used from online sources. Anyone caught cheating or plagiarizing will receive an F on the assignment and possibly an F in the course.

Writing Center- Students who need assistance with writing are encouraged to see the instructor during his office hours and/or go to the Writing Center on campus. The website for the Center is: http://www.westga.edu/~writing/

Reading Assignments (Note: The readings also include a number of articles placed on electronic reserve. These reserve readings are listed in the “Schedule of Lectures and Assignments” section of this syllabus.) The assignments must be read prior to the discussion dates given in the schedule.

Escott and Goldfield, Major Problems in the History of the American South Volume I: The Old South, Second Edition

Heyrman, Christine, Southern Cross: The Beginnings of the Bible Belt

White, Deborah Gray, Arn’t I A Woman? Female Slaves in the Plantation South

Young, Jeffrey R. Domesticating Slavery

Weekly Assignments

Week 1- August 23-27 What is the South?

Escott, Chapter 1

Week 2- August 30-September 3 Early Settlement Clash of Cultures

Escott, Chapter 2; Chapters 6 and 7 of Alan Taylor, American Colonies (on electronic reserve)

Week 3- September 6-10 The Colonial South: Economy & Society

Escott, Chapter 3; Chapter 11 of Taylor, American Colonies (on reserve) Note: No class on Sept. 6

Week 4- September 13-17 The Colonial South: Politics and Religion

“Popular Upsurge, The Challenge of the Baptists,” from Rhys Isaac, The Transformation of Virginia, on electronic reserve

Week 5- September 20-24 The Revolution

Escott, Chapter 4

Week 6- September 27-October 1 The South in the New Republic

Paper on Young, Domesticating Slavery, due October 1

Week 7- October 4-8 The Emergence of Southern Nationalism

Escott, Chapter 5 Note: No class on Friday, October 8

Week 8- October 11-15 A New Party System: Democrats vs. Whigs

Chapter 14 of Freehling, Road to Disunion on electronic reserve

Midterm on Friday, October 15

Week 9- October 18-22 Planters and Yeoman

Escott, Chapters 6 & 8

Week 10- October 25-29 Intellectual and Religious Life in the Old South

Paper and discussion on Heyrman, Southern Cross, due on October 29

Week 11- November 1-5 The World the Slaves Made

Escott, Chapter 7 Note: No class on Friday, November 5

Week 12- November 8-12 The Institution of Slavery

Finkelman, “The Emergence of Proslavery Thought,” Calhoun, “Speech in the U.S. Senate,” Thomas R.R. Cobb, “Effects of Abolition in the United States,” and Rev. A.T. Holmes, “The Duties of Christian Masters,” in Finkelman, Defending Slavery on electronic reserve

Week 13- November 15-19 Women’s society and culture in the Old South

Escott, Chapter 9; Paper and discussion on White, Arn’t I A Woman, due on November 19

Week 14- November 22-26 The Crisis of the 1850s

Escott, Chapter 10 Note: No class on November 24 or 26 (Thanksgiving break)

Week 15 November 29- December 3 The Southern Confederacy

Escott, Chapter 11 and Gary W. Gallagher, “Popular Will,” from The Confederate War, on electronic reserve

Research Paper on 1850 Census due on Monday, April 21

Week 16 December 6-10

Final exam is on Wednesday, December 15, 8-10 am