\ This course will examine the history of United States from the first contacts between European colonists and indigenous Americans to the period of
\ This course will examine the history of United States from the first contacts between European colonists and indigenous Americans to the period of Reconstruction following the American Civil War. Our exploration of US history will be focused around a number of central questions that will help us to think critically about complex topics and issues:
What are some of the key events and turning points in American history?
How have historians’ views of the events we are studying changed over time?
Where do these events fit in the larger context of world history?
Are there any people or perspectives missing from these histories?
How can we further investigate these topics, events, and issues to develop new perspectives on history?
How have large-scale historical forces (like the development of capitalism, familial relations, or racial ideologies) influenced the course of events in American history?
By completing a series of focused readings, analytical writing assignments, and online discussions of primary and secondary source material, students will engage with these broad concepts and questions and develop their ability to think and write critically and historically.
Our common readings each week will consist mainly of primary source documents, excerpts from important secondary works, and two full scholarly monographs. The required texts are:
Eric Foner, ed. Voices of Freedom: A Documentary History, 4th edition, Volume 1. New York: W. W. Norton and Co., 2014.
John Demos, The Unredeemed Captive: A Family Story from Early America. New York: Vintage Books, 1994.
James Oakes, The Radical and the Republican: Frederick Douglass, Abraham Lincoln, and the Triumph of Antislavery Politics. New York: W. W. Norton & Co., 2007.
Henry Louis Gates, ed., The Classic Slave Narratives. New York: Penguin, 2002.
All required texts are available at the CCNY bookstore, and are also available through most online booksellers (often at a lower price). Copies of all texts will also be put on reserve in CCNY’s Cohen Library. Additional readings will be provided as handouts or posted to Blackboard throughout the term.
This course assumes a basic working knowledge of the broad contours of United States history, but for those who may want or need a supplementary narrative history, there will be a recommended reading each week from The American Yawp, a FREE, collaborative, online textbook (www.americanyawp.com). While the readings listed in the syllabus from the American Yawp are not technically required, I strongly recommend at least skimming them quickly to refresh yourselves on the “story” of American history – our class lectures, required readings, and online discussions will build on this knowledge base to deepen our understanding of the major events, people, and ideas that shaped the history of the United States.
Course Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to:
identify and apply the key historical concepts of change-over-time, cause-and-effect, agency, historical empathy, and continuity and discontinuity, and recognize how these concepts are employed in the historical method.
analyze and interpret primary sources with attention to audience, authorship, and context.
recognize some of the ways in which historians have conflicting interpretations of the past.
produce a paper with a clear thesis and appropriate citations based on strong evidence drawn from historical sources.
identify and discuss the importance of contact and conquest, colonial foundations, revolution and Constitution, immigration, geographic expansion, experiences of native peoples, role of women, slavery and African American experiences and the sectional crisis leading to the Civil War.
explain and evaluate the roles of race, class, gender, and religion in shaping American history.
express their ideas clearly and coherently in writing and class discussion.
Assignments and Course Requirements
Shared Reading Quizzes (10%) – All class readings are required. We will have at least 7 quizzes during the term (usually at the beginning of class on a Tuesday), and I will count the highest 5 quiz grades toward your final grade (2% of final grade for each quiz). If you do the reading, these quizzes will be simple – if you don’t, you will not pass them…so do the reading.
Online Discussion Assignments (20%) only need to do 10 of 15 questions – Because our class is so large, much of our discussion of primary and secondary sources will take place online. Each Thursday, a discussion prompt will be posted to the Discussion Board section of our class Blackboard site asking students to discuss the meaning of a specific primary source document or to evaluate and critique the argument made in a piece of secondary literature. Students will be responsible for posting their own response to the writing prompt, as well as responding to AT LEAST ONE other student’s post. All posts and responses must be completed before the next week’s discussion forum opens. In total, fifteen discussion prompts will be posted throughout the term, and all students MUST participate in AT LEAST TEN online discussions. Participation in each online discussion will be worth up to 2% of the final grade.
Reflection Papers (20%) – only need to do 2 out 3 papers. Students will be responsible for writing TWO short (3-5 pages) response papers throughout the term, each worth 10% of the final class grade. These papers will provide an opportunity for students to synthesize their thoughts about the primary and secondary sources we’ve read and discussed in class and through the online discussion assignments. A total of THREE writing prompts will be posted throughout the term, but students are only required to complete TWO reflection papers. You may choose either to skip a paper or turn in all three assigned papers and drop the lowest grade.
Midterm Paper (25%) – The midterm will be a take-home paper (5-7 pages) on the American Revolution, and will require students to complete a number of scaffolding assignments including a thesis statement, a primary source analysis, and a peer critique, to be completed over the course of a few weeks, noted specifically in the Course Outline below. Completion of these scaffolding assignments will account for 10% of the grade, and the completed paper will account for 15%.
Final Exam (25%) – The final exam for this course will be a culmination of the work we do throughout the semester. It will be a combination of multiple choice, short answer, chronological order, and essay response questions, and will cover all of the material reviewed over the course of the term.
University Policies:
Plagiarism/Academic Dishonesty – From CCNY’s statement on academic integrity: “Academic integrity is an essential part of the pursuit of truth, and of your education. We are all are all responsible for maintaining academic integrity at City College – it is the rock on which the value of your degree is built. If you cheat on a test or plagiarize by using someone else's work or ideas, you defeat the purpose of your education. In addition, academic dishonesty is prohibited in the City University of New York, and is punishable by failing grades, suspension and expulsion.” Academic dishonesty will be punished to the fullest extent of CUNY and CCNY policy, including immediate failure for the course. Any time you use another person’s words or ideas, you MUST cite your source in Chicago Style footnotes and include a Works Cited page. If you are unsure about whether or not you are citing your sources correctly, please ASK ME. For more information on CCNY’s policies regarding academic integrity and plagiarism, visit https://www.ccny.cuny.edu/about/integrity.
Accommodations for Students with Disabilities – In compliance with federal, state, and local law and CUNY policy, and to ensure the full and meaningful participation of all students, CCNY provides appropriate academic accommodations through the AccessAbility Center. Students requiring special accommodations, including testing accommodations, should contact the AccessAbility Center and provide all pertinent documentation to their course instructor at the beginning of the term. For more information, visit https://www.ccny.cuny.edu/accessability.
CCNY Counseling Center – CCNY offers free counseling to all students and runs regular workshops on such topics as conflict resolution, strategies for managing stress, time management, and crisis intervention. From the Counseling Center’s mission statement: “We provide short-term, student-centered and culturally informed psychological services from a modern and integrative theoretical orientation, treating all students with respect and recognition of their unique strengths. We are a liaison to the community, linking students to more intensive and longer term services when needed. We are committed to supporting faculty in the identification of students who may benefit from our services and reaching students in need. We provide education to the City College community and work towards wellness and prevention in our outreach models. Our goal is to assist students in the resolution of any barriers that may hinder their ability to achieve their highest academic potential, while ensuring their mental health needs are met, regardless of ability to pay.” For more information on counseling services, visit https://www.ccny.cuny.edu/counseling.
Writing Center – The CCNY Writing Center offers one-on-one support for students working on writing assignments in any discipline and helps students develop their skills in all phases of the writing process from thesis development, to citation and usage of sources, to editing and revision strategies. For more information on services offered by the Writing Center, or to make an appointment for tutoring, visit https://www.ccny.cuny.edu/writing.
Course-Specific Policies:
Attendance - Attendance will be taken regularly. Much of your course grade will be determined by participation in class assignments and discussions, so excessive absence will have a negative impact on your overall grade. If you are going to be absent from class, please notify me via email BEFORE our scheduled class time. MORE THAN FOUR UNEXCUSED ABSENCES WILL RESULT IN IMMEDIATE, NON-NEGOTIABLE FAILURE FOR THE COURSE.
Writing Assignments – All written work must be submitted both via e-mail to [email protected] and in hard copy. Papers must also be submitted to turnitin.com to be screened for plagiarism (see instructions posted to Blackboard). All papers should follow standard formatting conventions (12 pt. font, Times New Roman, 1” margins) and be submitted in .doc or .pdf format. I am happy to give comments on rough drafts, but will only do so in person – any student who wishes to discuss a rough draft must come to office hours or make an appointment with me to go over their work. No late papers will be accepted unless the student has contacted me in advance with a compelling argument for an extension.
Email and Communication – All communication with the class will be done through Blackboard, so please make sure that the email address linked to your Blackboard account is current, and that you check it often. I always try to respond to emails as promptly as possible, but please be patient as the volume of emails in a class of this size can be daunting. Also, I do not generally respond to student emails over the weekend or during breaks.
USE OF CELL PHONES, LAPTOPS, TABLETS, OR OTHER UNAUTHORIZED ELECTRONIC DEVICES DURING CLASS IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED UNLESS APPROVED BY THE INSTRUCTOR. PLEASE DO NOT TEXT OR BROWSE THE WEB DURING CLASS TIME.
Course Outline
BB = available on Blackboard VoF = in Voices of Freedom
Week 1 (8/25) – Course Introduction
Shared Readings:
Eric Foner, “Preface” from Who Owns History? (BB)
Demos, Unredeemed Captive, pp. xv–10 (BB)
Gates, Slave Narratives, 1-14 (BB)
The American Yawp – “Chapter 1: The New World”
Assignments:
Discussion Board Assignment #1
Week 2 (8/30 and 9/1) – Old Worlds and New Worlds: Europeans, Africans, and Indigenous Americans (1450-1607)
Shared Readings:
The American Yawp – “Chapter 2: Colliding Cultures”
Primary Source Documents
Gates, Slave Narratives, 17-63
Father John de Brebeuf on the Customs and Beliefs of the Hurons (VoF)
Thomas Morton, The Native Americans of New England (VoF)
John White Watercolor paintings (BB)
Secondary Literature
James H. Merrell, “The Indians’ New World: The Catawba Experience,” The William and Mary Quarterly, vol. 41, no. 4 (October, 1984): 537-565.
Demos, Unredeemed Captive, 11-54
Assignments:
Discussion Board Assignment #2
Week 3 (9/6 and 9/8) – American Slavery, American Freedom: Social and Economic Development in the Chesapeake (1607-1705)
Shared Readings:
The American Yawp – “Chapter 3: British North America”
Primary Source Documents
Gates, Slave Narratives, 64-79
Excerpts from Virginia Slave Codes (BB)
Nathaniel Bacon on Bacon’s Rebellion (VoF)
Complaint of an Indentured Servant (VoF)
Women in the Household Economy (VoF)
Secondary Literature
Edmund S. Morgan, “Slavery and Freedom: The American Paradox,” The Journal of American History, vol. 59, no. 1 (June, 1972): 5-29.
Demos, Unredeemed Captive, 55-119
Assignments:
Discussion Board Assignment #3
Week 4 (9/13) – Prophets or Profits?: Religion, Social Order, and Economic Development in New England (1620-1754)
***NOTE: CLASS WILL NOT MEET 9/15 – CHECK BLACKBOARD FOR ONLINE ASSIGNMENT***
Shared Readings:
The American Yawp – “Chapter 4: Colonial Society”
Primary Source Documents
Gates, Slave Narratives, 79-118
John Winthrop’s “Model of Christian Charity” (BB)
The Trial of Anne Hutchinson (VoF)
Excerpts from the Massachusetts Body of Liberties (BB)
Tituba, a Servant-Slave, Defends Herself from Allegations of Witchcraft (BB)
Secondary Literature
John Blanton, “The Problem of Personhood and the Long Anglo-Atlantic Antislavery Argument” (BB)
T. H. Breen, “An Empire of Goods: The Anglicization of Colonial America, 1690-1776,” Journal of British Studies, vol. 25, no. 4 (1986): 467-499.
Demos, Unredeemed Captive, 120-187
Assignments:
Discussion Board Assignment #4
Week 5 (9/20 and 9/22) – Slavery, Freedom, and the Crisis of Empire (1754-1775)
Shared Readings:
The American Yawp – “Chapter 5: The American Revolution”
Primary Source Documents
Virginia Resolutions on the Stamp Act (VoF)
Farmington, Connecticut Resolutions on the Intolerable Acts (VoF)
Thomas Paine, Common Sense (VoF)
Gates, Slave Narratives, 119-166
Secondary Literature
Alfred F. Young, “George Robert Twelves Hewes (1742-1840): A Boston Shoemaker and the Memory of the Revolution,” The William and Mary Quarterly, 3rd ser., vol. 38, no. 4 (October, 1981): 562-623.
Demos, Unredeemed Captive, 188-252
Assignments:
Discussion Board Assignment #5
Reflection Paper #1 Assigned
Week 6 (9/27 and 9/29) – Home Rule or Who Should Rule at Home?: The People and the State (1776-1787)
Shared Readings:
The American Yawp – “Chapter 6: A New Nation”
Primary Source Documents
Pontiac, Two Speeches (VoF)
Abigail and John Adams Debate Women’s Rights (BB)
Noah Webster on Equality (VoF)
Petition of Slaves to the Massachusetts Legislature (VoF)
Gates, Slave Narratives, 166-204
Secondary Literature
Excerpt from Gary Nash, The Unknown American Revolution (BB)
Excerpt from Gordon Wood, The Radicalism of the American Revolution (BB)
Assignments:
Discussion Board Assignment #6
Reflection Paper #1 Due (9/29)
Midterm Primary Source and Thesis Statement Scaffolding Assignments Posted (9/27)
***NO CLASSES SCHEDULED WEEK OF 10/4 and 10/6 – MIDTERM THESIS STATEMENT SCAFFOLDING ASSIGNMENT DUE by 5pm on 10/7***
Week 7 (10/13 and 10/14) – We The People?: The Political Culture of the Early Republic (1786-1815)
Shared Readings:
The American Yawp – “Chapter 7: The Early Republic”
Primary Source Documents
James Madison, The Federalist no. 51 (VoF)
Pennsylvania Act for the Gradual Abolition of Slavery (BB)
Thomas Jefferson on Race and Slavery (VoF)
Judith Sargent Murray on the Equality of the Sexes (VoF)
Tecumseh on Indians and Land (VoF)
Gates, Slave Narratives, 251-316
Secondary Literature
Rosemarie Zagarri, “Women and Party Conflict in the Early Republic,” and Richard Newman, “Protest in Black and White: The Formation and Transformation of an African American Political Community During the Early Republic” in Jeffrey L. Pasley, Andrew W. Robertson, and David Waldstreicher, eds., Beyond the Founders: New Approaches to the Political History of the Early Republic (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2004). (BB)
Assignments:
Discussion Board Assignment #7
Midterm Peer Critique Scaffolding Assignment Due
Week 8 (10/18 and 10/20) – A Market Revolution?: Capitalist Development and Early Industry in the North (1807-1840)
Shared Readings:
The American Yawp – “Chapter 8: The Market Revolution”
Primary Source Documents
Complaint of a Lowell Factory Worker (VoF)
Harriet Hanson Robinson, a Lowell Girl, Recalls Her Life in the Mills (BB)
Orestes Brownson, “The Laboring Classes” (BB)
Gates, Slave Narratives, 239-263 and 449-469
Secondary Literature
Roundtable “Perspectives on the Market Revolution,” OAH Magazine of History, vol. 19, no. 3 (May 2005): 3-24.
Assignments:
Discussion Board Assignment #8
Midterm Papers Due (10/20)
Week 9 (10/25 and 10/27) – Democracy or Demagoguery?: The “Age of Jackson” (1828-1840)
Shared Readings:
The American Yawp – “Chapter 9: Democracy in America”
Primary Source Documents
John Quincy Adams on the Role of the National Government (VoF)
John C. Calhoun, The Concurrent Majority (VoF)
Chief Sharitarish on Changes in Indian Life (VoF)
Andrew Jackson Defends Indian Removal (BB)
Andrew Jackson, Veto of the Bank Bill (BB)
Gates, Slave Narratives, 363-383 and 470-499
Secondary Literature
Mary P. Ryan, “Civil Society as Democratic Practice: North American Cities During the Nineteenth Century,” Journal of Interdisciplinary History, vol. 29, no. 4 (Spring 1999): 559-584.
Glenn C. Altschuler and Stuart M. Blumin, “Limits of Political Engagement in Antebellum America: A New Look at the Golden Age of Participatory Democracy,” Journal of American History, vol. 84, no. 3 (December 1997): 855-885.
Assignments:
Discussion Board Assignment #9
Week 10 (11/1 and 11/3) – The Lords of the Lash and the Lords of the Loom: Slavery and American Economic Development (1820-1860)
Shared Readings:
The American Yawp – “Chapter 11: The Cotton Revolution”
Primary Source Documents
Gates, Slave Narratives, 383-415 and 499-545
Rise of the Cotton Kingdom (VoF)
Rules of Highland Plantation (VoF)
Slavery and the Bible (VoF)
Confessions of Nat Turner (VoF)
Secondary Works
James Oakes, “The Political Significance of Slave Resistance,” History Workshop, no. 22 (Autumn 1986): 89-107.
Excerpt from Gavin Wright, Slavery and American Economic Development (BB)
Assignments:
Discussion Board Assignment #10
Reflection Paper #2 Assigned
Week 11 (11/8 and 11/10) – Religion, Reform, and Social Control: Class Structure and the Meaning of American Reform (1824-1848)
Shared Readings:
The American Yawp – “Chapter 10: Religion and Reform”
Primary Source Documents
Gates, Slave Narratives, 416-442 and 546-581
David Walker’s Appeal (VoF)
Catharine Beecher on the “Duty of American Females” (VoF)
Angelina Grimke on Women’s Rights (VoF)
Declaration of Sentiments of the Seneca Falls Convention (VoF)
Secondary Literature
Oakes, Radical & Republican, xiii–38
W. Caleb McDaniel, “The Fourth and the First: Abolitionist Holidays, Respectability, and Radical Interracial Reform,” American Quarterly, vol. 57, no. 1 (March 2005): 129-151.
Assignments:
Discussion Board Assignment #11
Reflection Paper #2 Due
Week 12 (11/15 and 11/17) – Slavery, Empire, and America’s “Manifest Destiny” (1803-1848)
Shared Readings:
The American Yawp – “Chapter 12: Manifest Destiny”
Primary Source Documents
Gates, Slave Narratives, 582-614
The Monroe Doctrine (VoF)
A Woman in the Westward Movement (VoF)
John L. O’Sullivan, Manifest Destiny (VoF)
A Protest Against Anti-Chinese Prejudice (VoF)
Secondary Literature
Oakes, Radical & Republican, 39-85
Excerpts from Frederick Jackson Turner, “The Frontier in American History” (BB)
Assignments:
Discussion Board Assignment #12
Week 13 (11/22) – A War of Northern Aggression?: Antislavery Politics and the Coming of the Civil War (1848-1860)
Shared Readings:
The American Yawp – “Chapter 13: The Sectional Crisis”
Primary Source Documents
Gates, Slave Narratives, 615-634
William Henry Seward, “The Irrepressible Conflict” (VoF)
Hinton R. Helper, The Impending Crisis (VoF)
The Lincoln-Douglas Debates (VoF)
South Carolina Ordinance of Secession (VoF)
Secondary Literature
Oakes, Radical & Republican, 87-143
Excerpt from James Oakes, The Scorpion’s Sting: Antislavery and the Coming of the Civil War (New York: W. W. Norton and Co., 2015), 22-50. (BB)
Assignments:
Discussion Board Assignment #13
Week 14 (11/29 and 12/1) – What This Cruel War was Over: Slavery, Union, and The Civil War (1860-1865)
Shared Readings:
The American Yawp – “Chapter 14: The Civil War”
Primary Source Documents
Gates, Slave Narratives, 635-665
Samuel S. Cox Condemns Emancipation (VoF)
Abraham Lincoln, The Gettysburg Address (VoF)
Frederick Douglass on Black Soldiers (VoF)
Letter by the Mother of a Black Soldier (VoF)
Mary Livermore on Women and the War (VoF)
Secondary Works
Berlin et al, “The Role of African Americans in the Abolition of Slavery” (BB)
Oakes, Radical & Republican, 143-245
Assignments:
Discussion Board Assignment #14
Reflection Paper #3 Assigned
Week 15 (12/6 and 12/8) – Reconstruction: America’s Unfinished Revolution? (1865-1877)
Shared Readings:
The American Yawp – “Chapter 15: Reconstruction”
Primary Source Documents
Petition of Committee on Behalf of the Freedmen to Andrew Johnson (VoF)
The Mississippi Black Code (VoF)
A Sharecropping Contract (VoF)
Frederick Douglass, “The Composite Nation” (VoF)
Robert B. Elliott on Civil Rights (VoF)
Secondary Literature
Oakes, Radical & Republican, 247-288
Excerpt from Steve Hahn, A Nation Under Our Feet: Black Political Struggles in the Rural South (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2003). (BB)
Excerpt from David Blight, Race and Reunion: The Civil War in American Memory (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2001). (BB)
Assignments:
Discussion Board Assignment #15
Reflection Paper #3 Due
***12/13 – OPTIONAL FINAL EXAM REVIEW SESSION – TIME & LOCATION TBD***
***OUR FINAL EXAM WILL BE HELD ON TUESDAY, DECEMBER 20th, 2016 at 8:00AM***
