H105: Survey of American History I
Instructor: Elizabeth Cafer du Plessis
E-mail: ecafer@indiana.edu
Office: Cavanaugh Hall 503P
Office phone: 317-274-8160
Office Hours: Monday & Wednesday,
10:30-11:30 and 1:30-2:30.
Also available by appointment.
Course Description:
This course provides an introduction to American history from the Age of Exploration in
the 15th century through the Civil War in the 1860s. As our guiding theme we will focus
on encounters among Native Americans, European Americans, and African Americans.
We will explore the diverse experiences of ordinary people, as well as key political
leaders and military contests, in the making of the American nation. The course also
advances a historical understanding of human interaction with the natural environment.
The instructor takes a holistic approach to history by emphasizing connections among
social, cultural, political, economic, and environmental changes.
This course meets twice a week for 75 minutes. About 50 minutes of each class will be
devoted to lecture, and the remaining time to discussion and interactive exercises.
Students will complete readings and short assignments before each class meeting and
take two in-class exams. Lessons will stress analytical thinking beyond memorization by
asking not just what happened in the past, but also how we form questions and make
interpretations and arguments about that past.
Objectives:
- To introduce students to central themes in American history, 1450-1865
- To sharpen reading and writing skills
- To actively discuss American history in an academic setting
- To foster historical thinking by analyzing secondary sources and placing primary
source materials in historical context
- To construct historical arguments about the past
Required Readings:
Victoria Bissell Brown and Timothy J. Shannon, Going to the Source: The Bedford
Reader in American History, Volume 1: To 1877. Second edition. (Bedford/St.Martin’s,
2008). ISBN: 9780312448226
Ira Berlin, Generations of Captivity: A History of African-American Slaves. (Belknap
Press, 2004). ISBN: 9780674016248
Terry D. Bilhartz and Alan C. Elliott, Currents in American History: A Brief History of
the United States (M.E. Sharpe, 2007). ISBN: 9780765618177
Assignments and Grading Policy:
- Multiple choice assignments: 20% of final grade.
Multiple choice assignments are to be completed online before class. They are
meant to guide your reading and to ensure that you complete the readings. The
instructor may also give pop quizzes based on reading assignments. (Special
arrangements can be made for students without access to the internet.)
- In-class participation: 20% of final grade.
Attendance is obviously required to receive credit for in-class exercises and
assignments. Most frequently, you will be asked to analyze primary sources in
Going to the Source and actively participate in discussions based on those
sources.
- Two exams: 60% of final grade.
Each exam is worth 30% of final grade. Exams will include short answer
questions, multiple choice, and essays. The final exam will include an additional
comprehensive essay question. Exams will be written in class without notes.
Grading scale: (including the standard plus/minus scale)
A (90-100): Thorough knowledge of the material; polished and thoughtful essays;
critical analysis of readings in discussions.
B (80-89): Thorough knowledge of the material; well-written essays; regular
participation in discussion.
C (70-79): Basic knowledge and understanding of the material; occasional participation.
D (60-69): Limited or mistaken knowledge of the material; unorganized essays; little
participation.
F (59 or below): Lacking knowledge of the material; assignments incomplete; no
participation.
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Note on Plagiarism and Cheating
Faculty members must report all cases of academic misconduct, including plagiarism and
cheating, to the dean of students. According to the IUPUI Student Code of Conduct,
“Plagiarism is defined as presenting someone else’s work, including the work of other
students, as one’s own. Any ideas or materials taken from another source for either
written or oral use must be fully acknowledged, unless the information is common
knowledge. What is considered “common knowledge” may differ from course to course.
1. A student must not adopt or reproduce ideas, opinions, theories, formulas,
graphics, or pictures of another person without acknowledgment.
2. A student must give credit to the originality of others and acknowledge
indebtedness whenever:
1. Directly quoting another person’s actual words, whether oral or written;
2. Using another person’s ideas, opinions, or theories;
3. Paraphrasing the words, ideas, opinions, or theories of others, whether oral
or written;
4. Borrowing facts, statistics, or illustrative material; or
5. Offering materials assembled or collected by others in the form of projects
or collections without acknowledgment.”
See http://www.iupui.edu/code/
Readings and assignments (last updated 8/05/08; changes TBA in class)
Date
Mon.
8/25
Wed.
8/27
Mon.
9/1
Wed.
9/3
Mon.
9/8
Wed.
9/10
Mon.
9/15
Wed.
9/17
Read
Going to the Source, Ch. 1, Monsters and
Marvels,
pp. 1-14.
Going to the Source, Ch. 1, Monsters and
Marvels,
pp. 15-24.
No class
Assignment
Fill out chart #1-5 on p. 8.
Bring to class.
Generations of Captivity, Prologue, pp. 1-14.
Multiple choice
Going to the Source, Ch. 2, Tales of Captivity,
pp. 25-42.
Generations of Captivity, Ch. 1, Charter
Generations,
pp. 23-49
Going to the Source, Ch. 3, Colonial America's
Most Wanted, pp. 44-62
Generations of Captivity, Ch. 2, Plantation
Generations: The Chesapeake, pp. 53-67.
Fill out the chart on p. 31
and bring to class.
Multiple choice
Fill out chart #6-10 on p. 9.
Bring to class.
Fill out the chart on pp. 5152 and bring to class.
Multiple choice
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Mon.
9/22
Wed.
9/24
Mon.
9/29
Wed.
10/1
Mon.
10/6
Wed.
10/8
Mon.
10/13
Wed.
10/15
Mon.
10/20
Wed.
10/22
Mon.
10/27
Wed.
10/29
Mon.
11/03
Wed.
11/05
Mon.
11/10
Wed.
11/12
Mon.
11/17
Wed.
11/19
Generations of Captivity, Ch. 2, Plantation
Generations: The Lowcountry, pp. 67-81.
Generations of Captivity, Ch. 2, Plantation
Generations: The North and Lower Mississippi
Valley, pp. 81-96.
Going to the Source, Ch. 4, Germ Warfare on
the Colonial Frontier, pp. 64-88.
Currents in American History, Ch. 1-2, pp. 5-27.
Multiple choice
Going to the Source, Ch. 6, Debating the
Constitution, pp. 113-134.
Fill out the chart on p. 121
and bring to class.
Generations of Captivity, Ch. 3, Revolutionary
Generations: The North & Chesapeake, pp. 99123.
Generations of Captivity, Ch. 3, Revolutionary
Generations: Lowcountry, pp. 123-140.
AND
Currents in American History, Ch. 3, pp. 30-43.
MIDTERM EXAM
Multiple choice
ALSO DUE: practice exam
essays & outlines
Multiple choice
Going to the Source, Ch. 8, Family Values, pp.
156-176.
Generations of Captivity, Migration
Generations, pp. 161-167
AND
excerpt from “Twelve Years a Slave” (on
Oncourse).
Going to the Source, Ch. 9, King Cotton, pp. 178200.
Currents in American History, ch. 4, pp. 46-59.
Fill out the chart on p. 164
and bring to class.
Multiple choice
Going to the Source, Ch. 10, The West in
Jacksonian Arts, pp. 202-224.
Currents in American History, ch. 5-6, pp. 61-96.
Fill out the chart on pp.
209-210 and bring to class.
Multiple choice
Going to the Source, Ch. 11, Diplomatic
Correspondence, pp. 226-252.
Going to the Source, Ch. 12, Martyr or
Madman?, pp. 254-272.
Currents in American History, ch. 7, pp. 98-114.
Fill out the chart on pp.
235-236 and bring to class.
Fill out the chart on pp. 262
and bring to class.
Multiple choice
Generations of Captivity, Epilogue, pp. 246-266.
Multiple choice
Multiple choice
Fill out the chart on p. 72
and bring to class.
Multiple choice
Fill out the chart on p. 186187 and bring to class.
Multiple choice
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Mon.
11/24
Wed.
11/26
Mon.
12/01
Wed.
12/03
Finals
12/08
12/10
Going to the Source, Ch. 13, The Illustrated Civil
War, pp. 273-302.
No class
Fill out the chart on pp.
282-283 and bring to class.
MP3 audio lecture by Allen Guelzo, “Lincoln’s
Emancipation Proclamation.” Running Time:
39:46. (Gilder Lehrman website)
Going to the Source, Ch. 14., Political Terrorism
during Reconstruction, pp. 303-329.
My noon class has its final exam Friday,
December 12, 10:30am to 12:30pm.
My 3:00 class has its final exam Wednesday,
December 10, 1:00pm to 3:00pm
Short-answer paper
assignment
Fill out the chart on pp.
310-311 and bring to class.
Lecture topics
Date
Mon.
8/25
Wed.
8/27
Mon.
9/1
Wed.
9/3
Mon.
9/8
Wed.
9/10
Mon.
9/15
Wed.
9/17
Mon.
9/22
Wed.
9/24
Mon.
9/29
Wed.
10/1
Mon.
10/6
Wed.
Lecture topics
Introduction
Peoples of the Atlantic World
Worlds Collide
Early Encounters in North America
The English Come to North America (to 1600)
The Chesapeake Colonies
New England Colonies
Into the 18th-Century World
18th Century Economy and Society
18th Century Economy and Society, cont.
18th Century Beliefs, Identities, and Ideas
18th Century Politics
Making a Revolution
Making a Nation
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10/8
Mon.
10/13
Wed.
10/15
Mon.
10/20
Wed.
10/22
Mon.
10/27
Wed.
10/29
Mon.
11/03
Wed.
11/05
Mon.
11/10
Wed.
11/12
Mon.
11/17
Wed.
11/19
Mon.
11/24
Wed.
11/26
Mon.
12/01
Wed.
12/03
Finals
12/08
12/10
Review
MIDTERM EXAM
The Market Revolution in the Northeast
Expansion & the Market Revolution (1800-1820)
Race and the Southern Economy (1790s-1800s)
A Hybrid System in the South
Expansion and Politics (1820s)
“Jacksonian Democracy” (1820-30s)
Religion and reform (1820-30s)
Sectional politics (1850s)
Civil War (1861-1865)
Civil War (1861-1865)
War’s end
No class
Results of Union victory
Review
My noon class has its final exam Friday, December
12, 10:30am to 12:30pm.
My 3:00 class has its final exam Wednesday,
December 10, 1:00pm to 3:00pm
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