Community College of
Rhode Island
History 1210-600 ONLINE: United
States 1600-1877
Dr. Suzanne K. McCormack
smccormack@ccri.edu
Office: FL 1244
(401) 333-7294
Faculty web page:
http://faculty.ccri.edu/smccormack/
This course will survey American history
from the arrival of Europeans in eastern North America in the late sixteenth century to
the end of post-Civil War Reconstruction in 1877. We will take a social history approach,
which means that our discussion will center on family, economy, daily life and work, in
addition to major political events of the period.
Distance Learning
Although we do not meet in a traditional classroom environment, the expectations and
workload for this class are equal to those expected in a similarly-leveled on-campus
course. Students should expect to do a great deal of independent work and learning,
and will be expected to keep up with pace and assignments for the course.
Required Reading
This online module for this course is called History Class. Students purchase a sixmonth subscription to this module. The textbook is already loaded into the module to be
read online.
Should you wish to purchase a hard copy of the text, the title is: America: A Concise
History, Volume I to 1877 (4th edition). The text is available through the Flanagan
Campus bookstore.
In addition to the textbook, the following readings are required:


Harriet Wilson, Our Nig (any edition)
Harriet Jacobs, Incident in the Life of a Slave Girl (any edition)
And CHOOSE ONE:
 Mary Rowlandson, Captivity of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson (any edition)
 Thomas Paine, Common Sense (any edition)
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Assessment & Evaluation
Essays
30% (2 @ 15% each)
Exams
45% (3 @15% each)
Discussion Board & Quizzes
25%
Essays (30%= 2 @15% each)
1.
Each student must complete an essay based on the reading of Harriet Wilson’s
work Our Nig and Harriet Jacobs’s Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl.
2.
Each student must complete an essay on either Mary Rowlandson’s Narrative or
Thomas Paine’s Common Sense.

Papers are due on the date specified. E-mail papers as a Word compatible
attachment or a RTF to my e-mail address: smccormack@ccri.edu Please note: I
am not able to open WordPerfect files. Students are also welcome to leave papers
at my office FL 1244.

Late papers will be penalized by 1/3 for each day not submitted.

Taking information from an internet site and inserting it into a paper without citation is
considered plagiarism or “cheating.” It is not advisable to use the internet while
completing this assignment. Inappropriate use of the internet will result in failure of
the writing assignment and/or the course. Cases of plagiarism and/or cheating may
be reported to the Dean of Students for further disciplinary action.
Exams (45% = 3 @ 15% each)
Exams are taken through History Class. Students will be given a time block of 3-5 days
in which the exam will be “open.” It is the individual student’s responsibility to take the
exam during that time period.
Exams are timed. Students have one opportunity to complete each exam. If, therefore,
a student begins an exam but is unable to finish, the exam score will be based on the
completed portion of the exam.
Exams are multiple choice and/or short answer. It is suggested that students utilize the
practice materials available through History Class
Discussion Board & Practice Quizzes (25%)
Talking (in this case, typing!) about historical issues is one of the best ways to deepen
our understanding of their significance. Most weeks, therefore, students will be asked to
participate in the course Discussion Board.

A question will be posed related to the readings for the week.
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
Each student is expected to respond to two (2) of their fellow students’ postings
during the course of the week.

Each topic’s discussion thread will run from Monday to Sunday. When the new
topic is posted, the previous week will be locked and closed.
At times during the semester we will use quizzes and other materials included with your
textbook. These assignments are meant to help students be prepared for exams and to
facilitate the process of independent learning. I will be keeping track of whether or not
students complete the quizzes but your overall grade will not be impacted by specific
quiz grades. While these quizzes are required, they are intended for practice.
Outcomes
Students will analyze historical events and people through the use of primary and
secondary sources. Their overall understanding of the history of the period will be
enhanced through the readings, as well as analysis of visual sources. In addition to inclass discussion of such sources, students will improve their analytical and expressive
skills through written assignments.
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Outline of Topics
(Specific assignments will be posted weekly)
Week One
Introductions
The Atlantic World
Week Eight
Expansion
Indian Removal
Week Two:
Community
Colonial Encounters
Week Nine
Exam #2
Week Three:
Britain in North America
Slaves & Servants
Week Ten
Slave Labor vs. Wage Labor
Week Four:
18th-century Thought
French & Indian War
Week Eleven
Race relations in the North
Week Five
Exam #1
Week Twelve
Civil War
Essay #2 Due (Wilson & Jacobs
readings)
Week Six
Patriots & Loyalists at War
Essay #1 Due (Paine or Rowlandson)
Week Thirteen
Reconstruction
Week Seven
Building a Nation
& Government
Week Fourteen
Exam #3
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