UNITED
STATES HISTORY TO 1865
HIST 1311-008 * Fall 2009 * UH 110
9:30-10:50
Dr.
Stephanie Cole
E-Mail:
scole@uta.edu
Office Phone: (817) 272-2868
Office hours: T/TH
12:30-2 p.m. and by appointment in University Hall 314
TA:
Derek Stanik
Office Hours: T/TH 8-9:30 a.m. in UH 228
E-mail: Derek.stanik@mavs.uta.edu
Course Objectives:
In addition to attaining a firm grasp of the major events, people, and
circumstances which have shaped the history of the United States, we will
attempt to understand why the US has developed as it has. I
want you to learn to think, read, and write analytically about American
history.
Student
Learning Outcomes:
Course
Requirements and Grading:
1)
One short written assignment on Bacon’s
Rebellion (10%)
2)
Participation on CPS system, in-class exercises
and surveys (10%)
3)
Three mainly-essay exams (midterms 25% each,
final 30%, total 75%)
Explanations:
1)
The Bacon’s Rebellion paper
is a 2 page essay (typed, double-spaced) that requires you to choose one
explanation of Bacon’s Rebellion of the several discussed in class.
You will then prove why that explanation is the best one by using
elements of at least TWO primary sources provided in class and/or linked
below. Further directions will
follow in class, but the objective is for you to support a clearly-stated
thesis with evidence from the sources, and summarize how your evidence
supports your argument. Your grade
will be based on how well you address the following areas (within reason):
a clear thesis, supported by evidence in a logical way; evidence
explained and connected back to thesis; thoughtful analysis; placed within the
historical context; and on clarity of writing (clear intro and conclusion,
well-organized, free from serious grammatical or spelling errors).
Plagiarism will result in a failing grade.
See http://library.uta.edu/howTo/plagiarizing.jsp
for more information about how to
avoid this fate.
2)
The Classroom performance, or “clicker,”
system will be explained in class. The
University will provide the clickers for this class, as part of a study of
their effectiveness in helping students learn.
You will pick up your assigned clicker at the beginning of each class,
and return it at the end. Your regular participation with the clickers rather
than your “correctness” on the questions posed in class will earn you an
“A” participation grade. In
addition, occasional class projects and the completion of pre- and post-tests
and surveys in class will be critical for getting a full participation points.
3)
The essay exams
will have one essay and a few short identification questions.
One week before each test, I will give you three or four possible
questions, one of which will be on your exam verbatim.
The review sheet will also offer a list of possible short
answer/identification questions, some of which will appear on the exam.
MAKE-UP EXAMS WILL ONLY BE GIVEN FOR DOCUMENTED EMERGENCIES, and it is
impossible to pass the course without taking all three exams.
In addition I must be notified before the test is given, if possible.
The final exam will follow the same format as the midterms.
I WILL PROVIDE ALL BLUE BOOKS.
Required
reading:
1.
Faragher et al, Out of Many Volume 1, TLC 5th edition
2.
Harriet Jacobs [Linda Brent] Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
- any edition or free online at:
http://xroads.virginia.edu/~HYPER/JACOBS/hj-site-index.htm
3. Assigned Primary
Sources, as they are handed out in class, or made available online
Rules
For class: Because I will evaluate
your final grade by considering how have you have participated in class, it is
necessary for you to be IN CLASS, ON TIME, and, as often as humanly possible,
PREPARED. If you are frequently
absent or late for class, walk in and out of the classroom, answer email, IM,
or visit your favorite social networking sites during lectures or discussions,
or otherwise neglect to participate, I will dock your participation grade
accordingly, and will furthermore not give you the benefit of the doubt if you
are on the cusp between two grades at the end of the term.
Those who use laptops for purposes other than note-taking will be
banned from using a computer during class.
Moreover, there are simply too many people in this class to ignore
basic rules of mannerly behavior. Please
turn cell phones off, inform me if you will need to leave class early,
limit talking in class to discussion of the material, and otherwise conduct
yourself accordingly.
Drops:
I am not permitted to drop for non-attendance.
If you quit attending, please remember to stop by the History Office
(UH 202) to drop the course. The
last day to do so is October 30 , 2009.
Need
extra help? For problems directly
connected with this course—about the material, or hints on how to read
history sources and texts more efficiently, for example—you should contact
me and/or the teaching assistant. It
is our job to offer both general advice and specific suggestions about how to
improve your performance in this course. We
hold regular office hours (see above), and will provide review sessions before
the tests as needed. In addition,
this course has been assigned a Supplemental Instructor, Grady Hill. Mr. Hill will hold
regular review sessions, the times of which he will announce in class.
Attendance at these sessions is completely voluntary,
and is kept confidential from me. However,
the SI office can document significant benefits from regular attendance.
You should also know that the University of Texas at Arlington supports
a variety of student success programs to help you connect with the University
and achieve academic success. They
include learning assistance, developmental education, advising and mentoring,
admission and transition, and federally funded programs.
Students requiring assistance academically, personally, or socially
should contact the Office of Student Success Programs at 817-272-6107 for more
information and appropriate referrals.
Student Disability:
The University of Texas at Arlington is on record as being committed to both
the spirit and the letter of federal equal opportunity legislation; reference
Public Law 93112 --The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended.
With the passage of new federal legislation entitled Americans With
Disabilities Act (ADA), pursuant to section 504 of The Rehabilitation Act,
there is renewed focus on providing this population with the same
opportunities enjoyed by all citizens. As a faculty member, I am required by
law to provide “reasonable accommodation” to students with disabilities,
so as not to discriminate on the basis of that disability.
Student responsibility rests with informing faculty at the beginning of
the semester and in providing authorized documentation through designated
administrative channels.
Dishonesty Policy:
It is the philosophy of The University of Texas at Arlington that academic
dishonesty is a completely unacceptable mode of conduct and will not be
tolerated in any form. All persons
involved in academic dishonesty will be disciplined in accordance with
University regulations and procedures. Discipline
may include suspension or expulsion from the University.
“Scholastic Dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, cheating,
plagiarism, collusion, the submission for credit of any work or materials that
are attributable in whole or in part to another person, taking an examination
for another person, any act designed to give unfair advantage to a student, or
the attempt to commit such acts.” (Regents’ Rules and Regulations, Part
One, Chapter VI, Section 3, Subsection 3.2, Subdivision 3.22.)
Schedule of Assignments:
(Subject to change; please check with me or other students if you miss class.)
Week
1 (Aug. 25-27) Introduction and 3 worlds before contact; pre-test
Read:
Faragher et al Out of Many
(hereafter referred to as Faragher), chapter 1
Week
2 (Sept. 1-3) Three worlds collide -- Environmental and cultural repercussions
Read:
Faragher, chapter 2
Week
3 (Sept. 8-10) Colonization and Explaining Colonial Conflict
Read: Faragher,
chapter 3 and class handouts
Bacon’s Rebellion ESSAY WILL BE DUE SEPTEMBER 17, 2009* Directions handed out in class. For Sept. 10, read the following. You do not have to read the longer documents in their entirety before class:
Compilation of sources for Bacon's Rebellion (hotlinked on this syllabus HERE
National
Park Services on Bacon's Rebellion
http://www.nps.gov/jame/historyculture/bacons-rebellion.htm
PBS
Africans in America
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part1/1p274.html
Governor Berkeley
http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/D/1651-1700/bacon_rebel/berke.htm
Bacon's Manifesto
http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/D/1651-1700/bacon_rebel/bacon.htm
Robert Beverly's history
http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/D/1651-1700/bacon_rebel/bever.htm
Virginia's laws on slaves and slavery
http://www.law.du.edu/russell/lh/alh/docs/virginiaslaverystatutes.html
Week
4 (Sept. 15-17) Colonial New England and the World of Witches
Read:
Faragher,
chapter 4 and for Sept. 16 excerpts from Salem Witchcraft Trial records.
Read
Bridget Bishop’s Case at http://etext.virginia.edu/salem/witchcraft/texts/BoySal1.html
Look
at map at http://jefferson.village.virginia.edu/%7Ebcr/salem/salem.html
Look
at the images at http://www.iath.virginia.edu/salem/generic.html
*REMEMBER
Bacon’s Rebellion ESSAY DUE SEPTEMBER 17, 2009*
QUESTIONS
FOR MIDTERM #1 HANDED OUT SEPT. 17, 2009
Week
5 (Sept. 22-24) The American Revolution – Evaluating long-term vs.
short-term causes
Read:
Faragher, chapters 5 and 6
MIDTERM
EXAM #1 ON THURSDAY, SEPT. 24, 2009
(covers Faragher, chapter 1-6 and all lectures)
Week
6 (Sept. 29- Oct. 1) The American Revolution – A fight to conserve or
innovate?
Read:
Faragher, chapter 7
Week
7 (Oct. 6-8) A Jeffersonian World and Its Demise
Read:
Faragher, chapters 8 and 9
Week
8 (Oct. 13-15) A Jacksonian World
Emerges
Read:
Faragher, chapters 11
Week
9 (Oct. 20-22) American Society
Transformed – Industrialization and Urbanization
Read:
Faragher, chapter 12
QUESTIONS
HANDED OUT OCT. 22, 2009
Week
10 (Oct. 27-29) Coming to Terms
– Evangelicalism, Reform, and Workers Movements
Read:
Faragher, chapter 13
MID-TERM
#2 ON THURSDAY, OCT. 29, 2009
(covers Faragher chapters 7-13, except for chapter 10).
Week
11 (Nov. 3-5) Southern Society
Read:
Faragher, chapter 10
Start reading Jacobs, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
(Intro by Childs, to chap. 7)
Week
12 (Nov. 10-12) Slavery
Read:
Jacobs, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl (to
end)
http://xroads.virginia.edu/~HYPER/JACOBS/hj-site-index.htm
Week
13 (Nov. 17-19) Expanding Westward and the Politics of Sectionalism
Read:
Faragher, Chapter 14
Week
14 (Nov. 24) The Coming War
Read:
Faragher, chapter 15
Thanksgiving
Holiday, Nov. 26, 2009 – No class
Week
15 (Dec. 1-3) The Civil War and its Aftermath on American Society and
Government
Read:
Faragher, chapter 16
QUESTIONS FOR FINAL EXAM HANDED OUT DEC. 1, 2009 IN CLASS
FINAL
EXAM SCHEDULE:
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2009, FROM 8:30 – 10:30 A.M IN THE SAME CLASSROOM.