Chabot College
Fall 2004
Course Outline for History 20
AFRICAN-AMERICAN HISTORY THROUGH RECONSTRUCTION
Catalog Description:
20 – African-American History Through Reconstruction
3 units
A survey of African-American history from its origins in West Africa through the end of
Reconstruction. Emphasis on (1) social, political and economic structures of West
African societies, (2) the process of enslavement and institutionalization of slavery in
America, (3) the formation of and diversity within African-American communities and
culture, (4) the social battle against slavery including slave resistance and abolitionism,
(5) the political struggle to create free territories and States, particularly in the west and
California, and its relationship both to early African-American efforts to take and shape
freedom and the continued regional dissension that leads to the Civil War, and (6) how
freedom is achieved and created during Reconstruction. 3 hours.
Prerequisite Skills:
None.
Expected Outcome for Students:
Upon completion of this course, students should be able to:
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identify the origins of African-American history as a field of academic
investigation and study;
assess the social, political and economic structures of West African societies prior
to European contact;
explain the nature and impact of Europe’s early relationship to West African
societies.
describe and analyze the transformation of slavery with the development of
European-West African trade and European colonialism;
assess the evolution of slavery in the Americas;
trace the founding of the American colonies and their different relationships to
African slavery;
compare the complex relationship between Native Americans, Euro-Americans
and African-Americans during the colonial period;
analyze the evolving role race and racism plays in the institutionalization of
slavery;
describe the development of African-American communities throughout the
British colonies;
explain the significance of African-American participation in the American
Revolution;
discuss the contradictory presence of African-Americans in the discussions
surrounding and the completion of the U.S. Constitution;
assess the implication of the rise of cotton in the expansion of slavery in the
South;
Chabot College
Course Outline for History 20, Page 2
Fall 2004
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identify and analyze the development of African-American institutions within
slavery that aid in the development of community values, families and identities
not completely bound by slavery;
trace the role of resistance and rebellion in the day-to-day lives of AfricanAmerican slaves;
describe the formation of free African-American communities in the North and
the institutions;
explain the abolitionist movement and its evolution from moral activism to
political activism;
discuss the role free African-Americans play in both the abolitionist movement
and the attempt by slaves to escape their involuntary servitude;
trace the political dissension between the North and the South which results in
secession and the beginning of the Civil War;
discuss the political and constitutional role slavery plays in California statehood;
describe African American participation in the war and the efforts by slaves to
seize their freedom;
describe efforts by African Americans during the early period of Reconstruction
to define their freedom;
compare and analyze both presidential and congressional Reconstruction and the
political, economic and social consequences of their missions;
trace the development of white, southern response to Reconstruction, including
the organization of white racial violence;
evaluate the development of the sharecropping system as both a means by
African-Americans to establish some economic independence and by southern
whites to re-establish economic servitude;
analyze both the short-term and long-term consequences of Reconstruction policy
and their impact on African-American lives.
Course Content:
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Introduction to study of African-American history as a field of study and its
evolution.
The development and diversity of West African societies and cultures.
Analysis of the sub-Saharan and trans-Saharan trade systems including the West
African slave trade.
The establishment of trade relations with European and its impact upon West
African slavery.
The establishment of the international Atlantic Slave Trade and the development
of chattel slavery.
The evolution and development of slavery in the Americas and the institution’s
role in the expansion of European imperial power.
The establishment of the British colonies of North America and the particular
formation of slavery within each distinctive region (Chesapeake, Carolina and
Georgia low country, and the northern colonies).
Analysis of the connection between regional economic development in the
colonies and the particular growth of slavery within each region.
The transformation of African laborers into communities of African Americans
and the institutionalization of slavery through the imposition of slave codes.
Chabot College
Course Outline for History 20, Page 3
Fall 2004
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The participation and role of African-Americans in the battle for and construction
of American freedom through the Revolution and Constitution periods.
Cotton and the western expansion of slavery throughout the lower South.
Analysis of the formation of African-American families and religion and their
role in resistance to slavery.
The development of free African-American communities in the North and their
relationship to abolitionism.
Western expansion, the establishment of free territories and States and their role
in the political struggle over the extension of slavery.
The particular role California, as territory and State, plays in political and
constitutional issue of slavery.
African American participation in the Civil War as free men and as slaves seizing
their freedom
African-American efforts to shape their economic, political and social freedom
under Reconstruction.
Methods of Presentation:
1.
2.
Lecture and discussion
Audio-visual aids
Assignments and Methods of Evaluating Student Progress:
1.
2.
Typical Assignments:
a. Write weekly comments and questions, based upon an analysis of the weekly
reading assignments; for example, generate questions and comments on the
rise of Jim Crow and the racial laws and etiquette it imposes based upon their
reading of a chapter discussed in the classroom
b. Write a short review and analysis of a slave narrative; for example, an analysis
of Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl , focusing on such issues as gender and
slavery, womanhood, and abolitionism
c. Write an analysis of a film presented in class; for example, interpret a
selection from the Civil War to confront such issues as emancipation, slavery
as a moral and political issue and the scope of freedom
Methods of Evaluating Student Progress
a. Essays
b. Midterm and final examinations
c. Attendance and participation in class and discussions
Textbooks (typical):
The African-American Odyssey, Darlene Clark Hine, et al., Volume I, Prentice Hall
Publishing Company, 2002, or latest edition.
From Slavery to Freedom: A History of African-Americans, John Hope Franklin, et al.,
Volume I, Knopf Publishing Company, 2000, or latest edition.
The African American Experience Joe William Trotter, Jr., Volume I, Houghton Mifflin
Publishing Company, 2001, or latest edition.
Chabot College
Course Outline for History 20, Page 4
Fall 2004
To Make Our World Anew: A History of African Americans, Robin D.G. Kelley and Earl
Lewis, eds., Oxford University Press, 2000, or latest edition.
Special Student Materials:
None.
tf:/Word/Hist. 20.doc
Revised: 11-24-03