History 301: America to 1877
TTh 12:30-1:50PM
Colorado State University -
Pueblo
Fall
2004
Jonathan Rees
Office: Psych 124
Office Phone: 549-2541
Office Hours:
E-Mail: Jonathan [dot] Rees [at] colostate-pueblo [dot] edu
This course will examine the
social, cultural and political changes in early American history through the
signing of the Constitution in 1787. The topics covered will be similar to those
discussed in the first part of my version of History 201, the U.S. History I
survey. However, in this course we will spend most of our time examining primary
and secondary sources, rather than hearing lectures and we will go into specific
topics in greater detail than in the survey class.
I encourage students with
questions or concerns about any aspect of this course to either visit me during
office hours, make an appointment or contact me by E-Mail. Any student eligible
for and needing academic adjustments or accommodations because of a disability
should speak to me during the first two weeks of class.
The taping of class discussions
is not permitted unless you have my explicit permission.
In order to facilitate
communication between me and you (for example, last minute class agenda changes)
and communication between students, having an e-mail address is a course
requirement. If this is a problem for any reason, please see me immediately.
Please turn off your cellular
phones before class begins.
Required Reading
Berlin, Ira.
Many Thousands Gone: The First Two Centuries of Slavery in North
America.
Brown, Richard D.
Major Problems in the Era of the American
Gross, Robert A.
The Minutemen and Their World.
Karlsen, Carol F.
The Devil in the Shape of a Woman.
Kupperman, Karen Ordahl.
Major Problems in American Colonial History, Second Edition.
Grading and Attendance
Policies
In order to make up for the
deficiencies in my knowledge of the subject of this course, our class will be
run seminar-style. Assignments will
be all reading and writing. There
will be no exams. However, because
of this format class attendance and participation will be particularly important
It is assumed that students will
make every effort to attend each class period, arrive on time and stay for the
entire class. An attendance sheet will be passed around at the beginning of each
class. If you arrive late to class, make sure your name is on the attendance
sheet before you leave. Otherwise, you will be counted as absent. You will be
permitted three unexcused absences during the course of the semester (to account
for the random mishaps, mistakes and burdens of everyday life). After that, you
will fail the class participation section of this course. If you miss class six
times for any reason, I reserve the right to drop you from the course.
When determining class
participation, I will be interested in the quality of your statements rather
than the frequency with which you talk. If your comments demonstrate that you
have not done the reading, you are better off not speaking at all. However,
failure to talk at all during the class will make even an average grade on class
participation impossible. And
because of the importance of class participation to this course,
I will call on you if you do not speak regularly.
This is not an idle threat.
The basis of your final grade
will be determined by this formula:
-
Paper on Carol Karlsen’s The Devil in the Shape of a Woman (15%).
-
Paper on Ira Berlin’s Many Thousands Gone (20%).
-
Summary of Robert Gross’ The Minutemen and Their World (5%).
-
Paper on individual book on the American Revolution (30%).
-
Class Participation (30%).
The question for your Karlsen
paper is: Explain what Carol Karlsen’s
The Devil in the Shape of a Woman tells us about gender in Colonial America.
It should be from six to eight pages long, double-spaced.
For more information on your
Berlin Paper, click here.
You will also have to summarize and explain the historiographic significance of the Gross book in 50 words or less then send those essays to me via e-mail at the dates specified below. And yes I'm serious about the 50 words. If you go over 50 words or if you do not send me the essay by the beginning of the specified class discussion, you will get no credit for this assignment. Your summary will be graded on a 0-5 scale. 0 is bad. 5 is good. No late summaries will be accepted. After all, what's the use once the discussion is over?
For information on your American
Revolution book paper, click here.
For advice on how to write a good
paper and the format it should take, click
here.
For information on footnote and bibliography format, go to: http://www.wisc.edu/writing/Handbook/DocChicago.html.
Grading will be done on an A-F
scale with pluses and minuses. Your final grades will be recorded the same way.
I will do my best to explain the criteria by which each assignment is graded
before you undertake them.
Any form of academic dishonesty
will result in a failing grade for the entire course. This includes plagiarism,
the taking of words and/or ideas of another and passing them off as your own. If
another person's work is quoted directly in a formal paper, this must be
indicated with quotation marks and a citation. Paraphrased or borrowed ideas
must be identified in the footnotes of the text.
Discussion Topics and Reading
Assignments
You are expected to have completed the reading for each session before
that discussion begins.
Week 1:
Aug.
24:
Introduction
Aug.
26:
First Contact
-
Crosby, “Colonization as “Swarming,”” Kupperman, p. 2.
-
“William Wood describes . . .,” Kupperman, p. 33.
-
“Miantonomi Calls for . . .,” Kupperman, p. 38.
-
Trigger, “Native North American Responses . . .,” Kupperman, p. 39.
Week 2:
Aug.
31:
Early Virginia
-
“Captain John Smith Analyzes . . .,” Kupperman, p. 58.
-
Richard Frethorne Begs . . .,” Kupperman, p. 65.
-
“A Blank Servant Indenture Form,” Kupperman, p. 67.
-
“George Alsop Argues . . .,” Kupperman, p. 68.
-
Horn, “Tobacco and the Peopling of Virginia,” Kupperman, p. 79.
Sep. 2:
Early New England
-
“Pilgrim Leaders Create . . .,” Kupperman, p. 88.
-
“The Reverend Thomas Hooker Warns . . .,” Kupperman, p. 90.
-
Anderson, “Religion, the Common Thread of Motivation,” Kupperman, p. 98.
-
Peterson, “The Mythical Opposition . . .,” Kupperman, p. 109.
Week 3:
Sep. 7:
Witchcraft, Part I
-
“Increase Mather Describes . . .,” Kupperman, p. 127.
-
“The Court Examines Rebecca Nurse . . .,” Kupperman, p. 129.
Karlsen
Discussion, Part I.
Sep. 9:
Witchcraft, Part II
-
Kamensky, “Outspoken Women and Witchcraft Accusations,” Kupperman, p. 145.
Karlsen
Discussion, Part II.
Week 4:
Sep. 14:
Colonial America in the British Empire, Part I
-
“Richard Hakluyt Lists . . .,” Kupperman, p. 222.
-
“Richard Ligon Describes . . .,” Kupperman, p. 226.
-
Kupperman, “England’s Dream of Caribbean Empire,” Kupperman, p. 235.
-
Greene, “The Continuing Connection . . . ,” Kupperman, p. 245.
Sep. 16:
Colonial America in the British Empire, Part II
-
“Virginia Governor Spotswood Adresses . . .,” Kupperman, p. 371.
-
The Albany Plan of Union, Kupperman, p. 408.
-
Olson, “Transatlantic Interest Groups . . .,” Kupperman, p. 379.
-
Hofstra, “British Imperial Policy and the Frontier,” Kupperman, p. 389.
Week 5:
Sep. 21:
Karlsen Draft Discussion
Bring one copy of your Karlsen draft to class and
e-mail me the other as an attachment.
Sep. 23:
The First Great Awakening
-
“Benjamin Franklin Listens . . .,” Kupperman, p. 331.
-
“Nathan Cole Describes . . .,” Kupperman, p. 333.
-
“Joseph Fish Reveals . . .,” Kupperman, p. 336.
-
“A Newspaper Account of the Expulsion . . .,” Kupperman, p. 338.
-
Hall, “Itinerancy and the Awakenings . . .,” Kupperman, p. 346.
Week 6:
Sep. 28:
Introduction to Slavery
-
“Olaudah Equiano Recalls . . .,” Kupperman, p. 292.
-
“The Reverend Hugh Jones Describes . . .,” Kupperman, p. 296.
-
“Johann Martin Bolzius Describes . . .,” Kupperman, p. 298.
-
Berlin, “Time, Space and the Evolution of Afro-American Society,” Kupperman, p. 302.
Karlsen Paper Due
Sep. 30:
Berlin
Discussion, Part I
American Revolution Topic Due
Week 7:
Oct.
5:
Berlin
Discussion, Part II
Oct.
7:
The Seven
Years’ War and Its Immediate Aftermath
-
“The Rev. Thomas Barnard Looks to Future Glories,” Brown, p. 77.
-
Anderson, “Friction Between Colonial Troops and British Regulars,” Brown, p. 79.
-
Marshall, “Britain Defined By Its Empire,” Brown, p. 88.
Week 8:
Oct.
12:
Draft Berlin Paper Discussion
Bring one copy of your Berlin Draft to class and
e-mail me the other as an attachment.
Oct. 14: The Stamp Act and Reaction
-
“Governor Francis Bernard Describes . . .,” Brown, p. 100.
-
“The Declaration of the Stamp Act Congress,” Brown, p. 102.
-
“Parliament Repeals . . .,” Brown, p. 112.
-
“John Dickinson Exhorts . . .,” Brown, p. 113.
-
Maier, “The Townshend Acts . . .,” Brown, p. 128.
Week 9:
Oct.
19:
Independence
-
“Thomas Paine Calls . . .,” Brown, p. 155.
-
“The Declaration of Independence,” Brown, p. 170.
-
Doerflinger, “The Mixed Motives of Merchant Revolutionaries,” Brown, p. 173.
Oct. 21:
The American Revolution
-
“General George Washington Asks . . .,” Brown, p. 194.
-
“A Soldier Views Mutiny . . .,” Brown, p. 198.
-
“General George Washington Explains . . .,” Brown, p. 200.
-
“Two Views of the Battle of Yorktown,” Brown, p. 202.
-
Higginbotham, “The Strengths and Weaknesses of the Militia,” Brown, p. 212.
Berlin Paper Due
Week 10:
Oct.
26: The Problem of Slavery
-
“Massachusetts Slaves Argue for Freedom,” Brown, p. 257.
-
“Worcester County, . . .,” Brown, p. 258.
-
“Lord Dunmore Promises . . .,” Brown, p. 259.
-
Frey, “Slavery Attacked and Defended,” Brown, p. 262.
-
Berlin, “The Revolution in Black Life,” Brown, p. 275.
Oct.
28:
Gross Discussion
Gross Questions Due
Week 11:
Nov. 2: Class Cancelled (Work on your Revolution papers)
Nov.
4:
The Articles of Confederation
-
“The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union,” Brown, p. 343.
-
“Hampshire County, . . .,” Brown, p. 357.
-
“Regulators Call for Popular Support,” Brown, p. 358.
-
Rakove, “American Federalism Before the Constitution,” Brown, p. 364.
Week 12:
Nov.
9: The Constitutional Convention
-
“The Constitution of the United States of America,” Brown, p. 411.
-
Rakove, “Ideas and Interests Drove Constitution-Making,” Brown, p. 428.
Nov.
11:
The Ratification Debate
-
“The Federalist Expounds . . . (all), Brown, p. 440.
-
“Antifederalists Attack the Constitution, 1787-1788” Brown, p. 451.
-
Kramnick, “The Main Themes of Constitutional Discussion,” Brown, p. 464.
Week 13:
Nov.
16:
Revolution Book Discussions
Nov. 18: Revolution Book Discussions
Week 14:
Nov.
30:
The Aftermath of the Revolution
-
Young, “The Revolution Was Radical . . .,” Brown, p. 494.
-
Countryman, “the Revolution Rearranged . . .,” Brown, p. 512.
Dec. 2: Revolution Paper Discussion (Voluntary Session)
Revolution Paper Due During Final Exam Period