U.S. History 1 (to 1865)
History 2111, Summer 2004
Dr. Ann McCleary Class meetings: Tuesday/Thursday
History Department 8-10:30
Office: TLC 3-211 Pafford Hall, room 2004
770-838-3031
Office hours: Tuesday/Thursday, 10:30-noon, and by appointment
Class Objectives
This class will explore the major themes and issues in the history of the United States, from the eve of colonization in the 17th century through the Civil War. Class assignments and discussions will emphasize critical thinking and writing skills and the analysis of primary historical documents. Throughout the class, we will explore how historians have interpreted and reinterpreted the early American past and students will be expected to make and defend their own interpretations.
Learning Outcomes
1. The student will be able to identify culturally grounded assumptions which have influenced the perception and behavior of people in the past and to identify those which influence his/her own perception and behavior.
2. The student will be able to identify and critique the theories, concepts, and assumptions which historians have used to create coherent interpretations of the past.
3. The student will be able to use independently the theories and conceptual frameworks to organize, synthesize, and communicate his/her interpretation of historical phenomena.
4. The student will develop and take responsibility for his/her own interpretations of the past by explaining and defending them orally and in writing.
Required Readings
These readings should be at the campus bookstore:
Faragher, John, et al. OUT OF MANY, volume 1. Prentice Hall publishers, Brief Fourth Edition. The packaged set should include the textbook, documents set, and a study guide.
Assignments and Grading
20% Written assignments responding to historical documents and issues of historical debate
During the semester, students will write at several small assignments analyzing historical documents, developing and defending an interpretation of a historical event, or evaluating different historians’ perspective and interpretations of the past. These assignments will include analyses of primary documents in the documents reader, and in-class writing responses.
60% Examinations
The class will include two examinations, each worth 30% of the final grade. Each test will include short answer questions, identifications, and an essay, which will require the student to use the information he or she has learned to develop and defend an argument about this period of American history. The final will not be cumulative but rather will cover the chapters after the midterm examination.
20% Class discussion and participation
This course encourages class discussion and participation. Rather than following a more traditional lecture format for two and a half hours each day, I will expect students to have done the reading in advance so we can explore issues in greater depth.
I will take attendance on each class day. More than three unexcused absences will lower a student’s final grade by one letter grade. More than five unexcused absences will lower a student’s final grade by two letter grades.
Honor Expectations
Students are expected to turn in written work that is their original work. When preparing your written assignments, plagiarism is not acceptable. Any work that is plagiarized will be returned with no grade. Plagiarism means stealing and using the ideas or writing of another as one’s one. You may not copy words directly from another writer, unless those words are included in quotations and you reference the writer in a footnote or citation.
Tentative Class Schedule
Please note!
Some reading assignments (including documents and the essays from the Taking Sides book) and writing assignments will be announced in class. You are still responsible for all assignment even if you miss class.
June 8: North America at the Eve of Colonization
Read: Out of Many, chapter 1
June 10 The Age of Exploration
Read: Out of Many, chapter 2
June 15 The Colonization of North American in the 17th century
Read: Out of Many, chapter 3
June 17 Slavery and Empire
Read: Out of Many, chapter 4
June 22 The North American Colonies in the 18th Century
Read: Out of Many, chapter 5
June 24 The American Revolution
Read: Out of Many, chapter 6
July 29 Creating the United States
Read: Out of Many, finish chapter 7
July 1 Midterm exam
July 6 The Constitutional Crisis
Read: finish Out of Many, chapter 8
July 8 A New Republic
Read: Out of Many, chapter 9
July 13 The Democratic Era
Read: Out of Many, chapter 10
July 15 Sectional Divisions: The South and Slavery
Read: Out of Many, chapter 11
July 20 Sectional Divisions: The North and Industry
Read: Out of Many, chapter 12
July 22 America at Mid-Century: Growth and Expansion
Read: Out of Many, chapters 13 and 14
July 27 Sectional Crisis: The Coming of the Civil War
Read: Out of Many, chapter 15
July 29 Final Exam, 7:30-9:30