SUPA American History 101
American History to 1865
2015-2016 School Year: 1st and 2nd Quarters
Class Meets Period 3: Mr. Smith’s Room (229)
Times outside of class I am available:
7:30-8:10, 2:45-3:30 and Periods 6, 8 and 9.
If possible, please let me know when you are going to stop by so I can
keep my schedule open.
School E-mail: Smithg@hohschools.org
Google Drive E-mail: Smithg@learn.hohschools.org
Home E-mail: GMS827@aol.com
School Phone: (914)478-6291
Cell Phone: (914) 588-8468
SUPA American History at HHS is broken into two very
distinct parts: 101 and 102. This syllabus is an outline of
American History 101. You will receive a new syllabus for 102
at the start of the 3rd Quarter.
Required Texts (All books will be provided to you as we read them)
Textbook: Out of Many: A History of the American People, Combined
Volume, 6th ed. by Faragher, Buhle, Citzrom and Armitage.
This textbook may be brought home and left there for the duration of the
year. This is the only textbook that will be utilized in both 101 and 102.
You will also read the following texts throughout the semester:
James Horn, A Land as God Made It (Summer Reading)
Edmund Morgan, The Puritan Dilemma
Gordon S. Wood, Radicalism of the American Revolution
Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
William Kelleher Storey, Writing History: A Guide for Students
Herman Melville, Benito Cereno
Miscellaneous Readings
Throughout the semester I will also be giving many different handouts
from scholarly journals and other academic sources to read. I ask that
you keep these organized so they can be easily referenced.
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Course Description
While this course is an “introductory” course in American history
covering the period from 1607 to 1865, it is not a “survey” course in the
sense that we will not attempt to discuss every fact or cover every event
in 250 years of American history. Rather we will approach this period of
history through the discussion of three themes. The first, essentially
covering the period from the “founding” down to the middle of the
eighteenth century, will deal with the question on how Europeans from a
medieval culture became Americans. The second theme will explore the
political, social and economic impact the Revolution had upon American
Society. And finally, we will focus on the modernization of American
society in the nineteenth century and examine the relationship between
modernization and the sectional crisis. In all three themes we will focus,
in part at least, on issues of political democracy, social justice and
equality.
This course has two fundamental objectives. First we will study
history as a process through which our society and our country came to
be as it is today. This course is not concerned with minor facts and
memorization, but rather with seeing the big picture. Second, this
course will challenge you to develop your critical thinking, reading and
writing skills. I will introduce you to sets of complex historical problems
and ask you to order, assess, analyze, and conceptualize material in
order to gain greater understanding of the particular problem with all it
larger ramifications.
And yes, we will be covering material that will be on your Regents
examination in June, but do not even think of that test until the Spring!
How the Course Works
The schedule posted on our School Wires page will indicate daily reading
assignments and paper dates. I will try my best not to alter due dates
and assignments, and will always inform you of any changes during
class. I will always post what is due on the day it is listed. Each day
time will be spent on lectures, activities and analysis of the books we will
be reading. It is of extreme importance to keep current with ALL of the
assigned reading and stay abreast of all due dates.
Tests
You will have one essay test at the end of the First Quarter, which will be
considered your midterm and one final essay test at the end of the
Second Quarter which will be considered your final examination. In
addition you will have a series of announced quizzes throughout the
semester.
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Papers
There will be three papers for this course. All papers are due by 8:10 AM
on their respective due date.
The first paper (2-3 pages) will be a brief essay assessing and
synthesizing what you gave garnered from Horn’s book. This will give me
a chance to provide insights and feedback before too much of the term
has passed. It is Due: Friday September 11th or Wednesday
September 16th.
The second paper (5-6 pages) will be a critical analysis of a theme
introduced in Wood’s book. You will be asked to assess specific primary
documents in your paper. It is Due: Friday October 22nd.
The third paper (5-6 pages) will focus on a theme relating to the emerging
sectional conflict in the years preceding the Civil War. Again, you will be
asked to assess specific primary documents in your paper
It is Due: Friday January 15th.
* Please note that you must save all of your papers in both SUPA
101 and 102. Sometime during the fourth quarter I will be asking
you to turn in your folder with all of your old papers.*
Deadlines and Extensions
To forestall problems and misunderstandings later on, here is the policy:
Since you are receiving paper due dates and exam times at the beginning
of the term, it is assumed that you will plan accordingly, and will
consider potential conflicts with other courses and extracurricular
commitments. Therefore, extensions will be granted only in
extraordinary or emergency circumstances, and (except in dire
emergencies) only if specific circumstances are explained to me in
advance. Grades on papers that are turned in after the due date
(without prior permission) will automatically be lowered FIVE points for
everyday it is late (up to 15 points). No unexcused late papers will be
accepted more than three days after the original due date. Similarly, if
you absolutely cannot take the midterm or final on the scheduled date,
please make arrangements with me well before its date. If you have an
accident, or are suddenly ill, etc., and cannot make advance provision,
you must present written explanation, signed by either physician or a
parent. It is hoped that this covers all contingencies, and that it helps to
have things in writing.
4
Plagiarism, Cheating, Academic Integrity and Turnitin
Cheating on exams or plagiarizing on papers will result in your failing
this course and a letter to Syracuse University reporting your conduct.
Please note the following statement from Syracuse University: “Syracuse
University sets high standards for academic integrity. Those standards
are supported and enforced by your instructor, SU faculty and Project
Advance administrators. The presumptive sanction for a first offense is
course failure (SU grade of F), accompanied by the transcript notation
‘Violation of the Academic Integrity Policy.’ Students should review the
Office of Academic Integrity online resource “Twenty Questions and
Answers About the Syracuse University Academic Integrity Policy” and
confer with your instructor(s) about course-specific citation methods,
permitted collaboration (if any), and rules for examinations. The Policy
also governs the veracity of signatures on attendance sheets and other
verification of participation in class activities. Additional guidance for
students can be found in the Office of Academic Integrity resource: ‘What
does academic integrity mean?’” Hastings High School also imposes
additional penalties for any violations concerning plagiarism. Please note
pp. 50 and 51 of the Hastings High School Handbook that discusses
“Academic Integrity” and “Plagiarism.”
Here are some related SU links:
Academic Integrity Policy:
http://academicintegrity.syr.edu/academic-integrity-policy/
Twenty Questions and Answers about the Academic Integrity Policy
http://academicintegrity.syr.edu/faculty-resources/
What does academic integrity mean?
http://academicintegrity.syr.edu/what-does-academic-integrity-mean/
This class will also be periodically using Turnitin, a plagiarism
prevention system. The ease of using the Internet has made it very easy
for students to “cut and paste” material into papers that they are writing
without proper citation. I will submit all/some/ papers that you write in
this class to Turnitin, a service that identifies “matched text.” I will then
interpret the originality report, based on your writing capability and
writing style. In this class, you will also be given the opportunity to
submit your own papers to Turnitin to check that all sources you have
used are properly acknowledged and cited. Note that all submitted
papers will be included as source documents in the
Turnitin.com reference database, solely for the purpose of detecting
plagiarism of such papers.
5
Grades
The relative weight of each component of this course is as follows. In
addition, extraordinary performance (good or bad!) in one or more area
will be considered--especially in borderline cases.
First Quarter
Paper I (Introductory Essay)----------------------------------------5%
Paper II (Revolution Analysis)--------------------------------------20%
Midterm Exam--------------------------------------------- ----------25%
Class quizzes and reflection papers------------------------------ 25%
Class Activities-------------------------------------------------------25%
Total------------------------------------------------------------------- 100%
Second Quarter
Paper III (Sectionalism Essay)-------------------------------------25%
Class quizzes and reflection papers------------------------------25%
Class Activities------------------------------------------------------ 25%
Final Exam-----------------------------------------------------------25%
Total------------------------------------------------------------------ 100%
Final Average:
Your grade that will be submitted to Syracuse University will be the
average of your 1st and 2nd Quarters converted into a letter grade. All
grades throughout the semester will be numerical, but your Syracuse
grade will be a letter grade. (Please see conversion chart below.) It is
also my policy to add FIVE percent to your quarter average for your HHS
transcript to compensate for the fact that you are taking a college course
that is far more rigorous than a traditional class in the High School.
(HHS grade not to exceed 99%) Your final High School Average will be an
average of your four quarters (90%) and the Regents Examination (10%).
Grade Conversion
A (96-100)
A- (90-95)
B+ (87-89)
B (83-86)
B- (80-82)
C+ (77-79)
C (73-76)
C- (70-72)
D (65-69)
F (64 or below)