History 201
U.S. History to 1877
Allen Dieterich-Ward
Fall 2008
Office: DHC 217
Section 01 MWF 9-9:50
Section 02 MWF 12-12:50
ajdieterichward@ship.edu
DHC 204
DHC 206
Phone: 477-1192
Office Hours: MW 10:00-12:00 or by appointment
________________________________________________________________________
This class explores the major political, economic, and cultural events as well as the demographic
trends that shaped U.S. history from the time of first contacts between European colonizers, Indians,
and Africans through the era of the American Civil War and Reconstruction. We will situate the
development of the nation in broad North American and Atlantic contexts with particular attention
to cross-cultural relations, environmental transformations, and the development of new social
institutions. Students will also develop a variety of skills necessary for the study and practice of
historical writing, including how to read primary and secondary sources, how to develop and write
historical essays, and how to construct and deconstruct the narratives at the heart of this thing called
“history.”
Requirements
You are expected to be present and prepared for every class meeting and to participate actively in
the discussion. Class discussion and group work projects are major components of this course, and
thus multiple absences for any reason will significantly lower your final grade. You should
complete all reading and writing assignments in advance of their respective classes. Students
should also consult Blackboard routinely for graded assignments, readings, class updates, research
links and general course information.
Required Texts
Paul Boyer and Stephan Nissenbaum, Salem Possessed: The Social Origins of Witchcraft
(Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1974).
Mary Beth Norton, et.al., A People and a Nation: A History of the United States, Volume1: To
1877, Dolphin Edition (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2007).
Bernard A. Weisberger, America Afire: Jefferson, Adams, and the First Contested Election (New
York: Harper Collins, 2000).
Virtual Coursepack
Assigned articles, chapters from books, and other documents will be available through the Web
Documents section of Blackboard. These web documents (WD) will serve as the basis for class
discussion on the day they are assigned. I strongly suggest downloading and printing the entire
coursepack at the beginning of the semester so that you will have the texts available when you need
them. You are required to bring to class any reading assignment listed on the syllabus except for
the Norton textbook. Failure to do so will result in a grade of “0” for class participation for the day.
Grading:
Active Class Participation
Online Journal
Papers (2)
Midterm Exam
10%
10%
30%
20%
Final Project
Final Exam
10%
20%
Active Class Participation
Class meetings will be divided between lectures, full-class interactions, and small group discussions
of the readings. During the first week, you will divide into groups of approximately six members.
Each time the class has a group work discussion of the assigned readings, students are responsible
for taking notes on the discussion and subsequently reporting their findings to the rest of the class. I
will periodically collect and evaluate these group work notes. At the end of the term, group
members will evaluate the contributions of each other. The quality of the group reports, student
evaluations, and my observations will determine individual class discussion grades.
Online Journal
Each week you will have a number of primary sources assigned in addition to the required books
and articles. Choose one or more of the sources that you find interesting and submit a short essay to
the “Online Journal” section of Blackboard linking the source/s to course themes. Each submission
should be at least 150-200 words, contain proper spelling, grammar and punctuation, and
demonstrate a deep engagement with the course themes and specific readings. I will evaluate your
online journals periodically throughout the semester and they will also help prepare you for the
midterm and final exam. Online Journals are due each week on Thursday at 8:00 p.m. unless
otherwise noted.
Papers
The purpose of these longer written assignments will be to further develop your analytical skills by
focusing on historical monographs that provide a more in-depth analysis of particular events and
themes in U.S. history. We will devote several class discussions to the process of writing,
critiquing and rewriting historical essays. You should complete papers using double-spaced,
twelve-point Times font with Chicago style footnotes. Failure to meet minimum page length
requirement using the proper font and margins will result in a minimum ½ letter grade deduction.
Consult the History 201 Style Guide (available on Blackboard) for additional instructions on
formatting.
Midterm and Final Exams
The midterm exam will include short answer essays based on the terms and primary sources
covered in class discussion and readings. The final exam will also include at least one longer essay
that will challenge you to synthesize multiple readings/lectures into a coherent historical argument.
I will post study guides to Blackboard several weeks in advance of each exam.
Final Project
A major objective of this course is to understand how scholars construct meaningful and balanced
narratives of change over time by integrating a wide variety of historical evidence and artifacts.
Consequently, each discussion group will create a museum exhibit focused on a particular time
period that addresses a specific course theme. Each exhibit will include a written introduction and
description (handout) as well as audio-visual and interactive components. Specific assignments are
available on Blackboard and we will discuss further instructions for your final project throughout
the semester.
Note on Plagiarism
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In this course you will work together both in and out of class as you complete group work projects,
study for exams, and work on your museum exhibits. However, plagiarism or the “unacknowledged
use of another writer’s own words or specific facts or propositions or materials in your own
writing” and other forms of academic dishonesty will not be tolerated and will result in the failure
of the course and/or other sanctions as outlined in the Shippensburg University “Student
Handbook,” pp. 18-21. To help prevent and identify plagiarism, students will submit papers to
Turnitin.com.
Attendance and Late Assignment Policies
Please do not miss class. If you do miss class, you are required to email me with a short
explanation and to complete all assignments in a timely fashion. Any absences above four will
result in a significantly lower class participation grade and may result in the failure of the course. I
will deduct ½ letter grade per day for points for late papers and I will only allow make-up exams at
my discretion.
Students with Disabilities
If you need additional assistance with any aspect of the class, please see me as soon as possible. I
will be more than happy to accommodate any reasonable request made well in advance of due dates.
Worlds Apart, Worlds In Collision
Aug. 25
Course Introduction
Class Reading: “The Paxton Boys: Benjamin Franklin’s Narrative of the Massacres, 1763.”
Aug. 27
Read:
The Columbian Exchange
Norton, Ch. 1: “Three Old Worlds Create a New”
WD Ian Carr, “Plagues and Peoples: The Columbian Exchange”
Aug. 29
Read:
Empire and Colonization: The Spanish in North and South America
Norton, Ch. 2 “Europeans Colonize North America, 1600-1640” (begin)
WD Letter by Cortés to King Charles V of Spain
Sep. 1
Labor Day – No Class
Sep. 3
Read:
Life and Labor in Spanish America
WD Encomienda Records from Nestalpa, 1547-1565
WD Complaint of the Indians of Tocama against Juan Ponce de León
Sep. 5
Read:
Colonization and Empire: France and England in the New World
Norton, Ch. 2 “Europeans Colonize North America, 1600-1640” (finish)
WD Richard Hakluyt, “A Discourse on Western Planting”
Adaptations and Transformations
Sep. 8
Village People and Empires: Transformations of Indian Worlds
Read:
Norton, Ch. 3: “North America in the Atlantic World, 1640-1720”(begin)
WD Willian Wood, New England’s Prospect, 1634.
Sep. 10
Read:
Environment, Life, and Work in British North America
Norton, Ch. 3: “North America in the Atlantic World, 1640-1720”(finish)
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WD Virginian William Fitzhugh Describes His Tobacco Plantation, 1686
WD A Hudson's Bay Factor Orders Merchandise for His Indian Customers, 1739
WD Boston Merchant Thomas Hancock’s Covert Voyage to Amsterdam, 1742
Sep. 12
Read:
Models of Colonial Development I: New England and Middle Colonies
Norton, Ch. 4: “American Society Transformed, 1720-1770” (begin)
Boyer and Nissenbaum, Salem Possessed, Preface and 1-21
WD Paul Edwards, “How to Read a Book”
Sep. 15
Read:
Witchcraft and Social Transformation in Colonial New England
Boyer and Nissenbaum, Salem Possessed, 22-109
Sep. 17
Read:
Witchcraft and Social Transformation in Colonial New England (cont.)
Boyer and Nissenbaum, Salem Possessed, 110-222
Sep. 19
Read:
Models of Colonial Development II: Chesapeake Colonies
Norton, Ch. 4: “American Society Transformed, 1720-1770” (continue)
WD Virginia Slave Codes, 1660-1705
Sep. 22
Read:
Writing Workshop I: “I Wrote my Paper, So Now What?”
WD “How to Write a (Decent) Book Review” (Assignments Section)
WD Carol Karlsen, “Review”
WD Robert Kelleher, ‘Review”
Paper #1 Draft and Peer Editing Worksheet Due
Sep. 24
Read:
Models of Colonial Development II: Chesapeake Colonies (cont.)
Norton, Ch. 4: “American Society Transformed, 1720-1770” (finish)
WD Horse Racing in Virginia: Court Records & Newspaper Accounts, 1674-1739
WD "Cock Fights," Virginia Gazette, 1751
WD Dancing: The Pennsylvania Gazette, 1738-1747
Imperial Rivalries and Colonial Wars
Sep. 26
Imperial Rivalries and Colonial Wars
Read:
Norton, Ch. 5: “Severing the Bonds of Empire, 1754-1774” (begin)
WD “Voyage to Canada,” 1755
Paper #1 Final Due
Sep. 29
Read:
Imperial Rivalries and Colonial Wars (cont.)
WD Matthew C. Ward, “The “Peaceable Kingdom” Destroyed: The Seven Years
War and the Transformation of the Pennsylvania Backcountry.”
WD William Trent’s Journal, 1763
Oct. 1
Read:
Liberty, Rights, and Street Politics
Norton, Ch. 5: “Severing the Bonds of Empire, 1754-1774” (finish)
WD Celebrating the Repeal of the Stamp Act, Boston Gazette, 1766
WD Paul Revere, A View of the Obelisk…, 1766
WD Hannah Griffiths, "The Female Patriots", 1768
WD The Female Patriot, #1. Addressed to the Tea-Drinking Ladies of NY, 1770
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WD Revere, The Able Doctor, or America Swallowing the Bitter Draught, 1774
Oct. 3
Read:
Liberty, Rights, and Street Politics (cont.)
WD Morgan, “Slavery and Freedom: The American Paradox”
WD Wood, “Impatient of Oppression”
Final Project Proposal Due
Oct. 6
Fall Break – No Class
Oct. 8
Read:
The Revolutionary War
Norton, Ch. 6: “A Revolution Indeed, 1774-1783” (begin)
WD Declaration of Independence
Oct. 10
Read:
The Revolutionary War (cont.)
Norton, Ch. 6: “A Revolution Indeed, 1774-1783” (finish)
WD Martin, “The Myth of Popular Participation in the Rev. War”
WD Wulf, "Despise the Mean Distinctions [these] Times Have Made"
Oct. 13
Midterm Exam
Forging the Imperial Republic
Oct. 15
From Revolution to Republic
Read:
Norton, Ch. 7: “Forging a National Republic, 1776-1789” (begin)
WD Merrell, “Revisiting, Revising, and Reviving America's Found. Era”
Oct. 17
Read:
Federalism and National Consolidation
Norton, Ch. 7: “Forging a National Republic, 1776-1789” (finish)
Weisberger, America Afire, pp. 1-40
Oct. 20
Read:
Federalism and National Consolidation (cont.)
Norton, Ch. 8: “Early Rep.: Conflicts at Home and Abroad, 1789-1800” (begin)
Weisberger, America Afire, 40-159
Oct. 22
Read:
Straining the Bonds of Nationhood
Norton, Ch. 8: “Early Rep.: Conflicts at Home and Abroad, 1789-1800” (finish)
Weisberger, America Afire, 160-277
Oct. 24
Read:
Jefferson’s Agrarian Republic
Norton, Ch. 9 “Partisan Politics and War: The D-R’s in Power” (begin)
Weisberger, America Afire, 278-310
WD Thomas Jefferson, Notes on the State of Virginia, 1785
Oct. 27
Read:
Westward Expansion and the War of 1812
Norton, Ch. 9 “Partisan Politics and War: The D-R’s in Power” (finish)
WD Tecumseh, “Speech to William Harrison, governor of Indian Territory,” 1810
Society and Politics in Antebellum America
Oct. 29
Technology, Transportation and Transformation
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Read:
Norton, Ch. 10: “Nationalism, Expansion, and the Market Economy, 1816-1845”
WD John Marshall, McCulloch v. Maryland, 1819 and Gibbons v. Ogden, 1824
WD John Quincy Adams, Annual Message to Congress, 1825
WD Charles Dickens, American Notes for General Circulation, 1842
Oct. 31
Writing Workshop II: Critical Editing and Peer Review
Paper #2 Draft and Peer Editing Worksheet Due
Nov. 3
Read:
From the Big City to the Lonesome Prairie
Norton, Ch. 12: “People and Communities in the North and West, 1830-1860”
WD Rebecca and Edward Brulend, A True Picture of Emigration, 1831
WD Harriet Hanson Robinson, Loom and Spindle, or Life Among the Early Mills
Girls, 1831
WD George T. Strong, The Diary of George Templeton Strong, 1838-1857
Paper #2 Final Due
Nov. 5
Read:
Antebellum Social Movements I: Revivalism and Reform
Norton, Ch. 11: “Reform and Politics in the Age of Jackson, 1824-1845” (begin)
WD Peter Cartwright, Autobiography of Peter Cartwright, 1801
WD Frances Trollope, Domestic Manners of the Americans, 1829
WD Ralph Waldo Emerson, Man the Reformer, 1841
WD Dorothea Dix, “Petition of the Massachusetts Legislature,”1843
Nov. 7
Read:
Everyday Life in Andrew Jackson’s America
Norton, Ch. 11: “Reform and Politics in the Age of Jackson, 1824-1845” (finish)
WD Larkin, “The Secret Life of a Developing Country (Ours)”
Meet at the Library
Nov. 10
Read:
Living with the “Peculiar Institution”
Norton, Ch. 13: “People and Communities in a Slave Society: The South” (begin)
WD Ford, “Reconfiguring the Old South: "Solving" the Problem of Slavery.”
Final Project Abstract Due
Nov. 12
Read:
Living with the “Peculiar Institution” (cont.)
Norton, Ch. 13: “People and Communities in a Slave Society: The South” (finish)
WD Reminiscences and Narratives from Former Slaves
WD Slave Songs
WD Excerpts from autobiographies of Frederick Douglass and Linda Brent
Civil War and Reconstruction
Nov. 14
Antebellum Social Movements II: Abolition and Suffrage
Read:
Norton, Ch. 11: “Reform and Politics in the Age of Jackson, 1824-1845” (review)
WD David Walker Castigates the United States for Its Slave System, 1829
WD William Lloyd Garrison Calls for Immediate Abolition, 1831
WD Seneca Falls Convention Declares Women's Rights, 1848
WD Sojourner Truth Links Women's Rights to Antislavery, 1851
Nov. 17
Sectionalism and the Problem of the West
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Read:
Norton, Ch. 14: “Slavery and America’s Future: The Road to War” (begin)
WD Senator John C. Calhoun Proposes Ways to Preserve the Union, 1850
WD Senator Charles Sumner Addresses the "Crime Against Kansas," 1856
WD Chief Justice Roger Taney Determines the Legal Status of Slaves, 1857
Nov. 19
Read:
The Road to War
Norton, Ch. 14: “Slavery and America’s Future: The Road to War” (finish)
WD James McPherson, “Modernization and Sectionalism”
WD Michael F. Holt, “The Politicians’ War”
WD Kenneth Stampp, “Slavery and Sectionalism”
Nov. 21
Read:
Disunion
Norton, Ch. 15: “Transforming Fire: The Civil War, 1861-1865” (begin)
WD Sen. Robert Toombs Compares Secession with American Revolution, 1860
WD Frederick Douglass Calls for the Abolition of Slavery, 1862
WD Confederate Soldier Tally Simpson Recounts the Battle of Gettysburg, 1863
WD Mary A. Livermore Recalls Her Role in the Sanitary Commission, 1863
Nov. 24
Read:
A Stillness at Appomattox
Norton, Ch. 15: “Transforming Fire: The Civil War, 1861-1865” (finish)
WD Allan Nevins, The Glorious and the Terrible
Final Project Draft Due
Nov. 26 & 28 Thanksgiving Break – No Class
Dec. 1
Read:
Emancipation and Reconstruction
Norton, Ch. 16: “Reconstruction: An Unfinished Revolution” (begin)
WD Abraham Lincoln, “The Emancipation Proclamation,” 1863
WD James Henry Gooding Pleads for Equal Treatment, 1863
WD Sidney Andrews Reports on the Devastation of South Carolina, 1866
Dec. 3
In-Class Presentation of Final Projects (library)
Dec. 5
Read:
Legacies of the Civil War and Reconstruction
Norton, Ch. 16: “Reconstruction: An Unfinished Revolution” (finish)
WD Eric Foner, “A New View of Reconstruction”
History 201 Style Guide (brief version)
1. Structure your paper with a comprehensive thesis paragraph, clear transitions, and strong
topic sentences that directly relate to your overall argument. If you are struggling to meet the
page requirements, this is a clear sign that you need to revise your paper’s structure.
The first paragraph should begin with an enticing--not formulaic--introductory sentence and then
proceed to outline your thesis with broad strokes. Tell the reader what you plan to argue in the
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paper, but save the evidence and the juicy quotations and specific details for later. Each subsequent
paragraph should feature a topic sentence, either at the beginning or immediately after the
transition. Each topic sentence should serve to advance the main thesis and to summarize the
evidence presented in the paragraph. Each sentence within a paragraph should support the topic
sentence of that paragraph. Transition sentences link thoughts and arguments to one another and
send a signal that you are moving on to the next point.
2. Use active voice verbs, and avoid passive voice.
Make each sentence tell who did what to whom. The passive voice obscures historical actors, fails
to allocate responsibility for the actions of the past, and betrays your uncertainty as a writer. Passive
voice also leads to unclear and cluttered sentences. Read through your paper and circle every
compound verb that begins with "was" or "were." These verbs usually accompany passive voice or
boring language.
3. Use proper grammar and spelling as well as a formal writing style and precise language.
Do not submit any assignment without carefully editing for spelling and grammatical errors. You
should also review your word choice to ensure balance and accuracy. Avoid making generalized
comparisons or all-encompassing statements, especially between discrete historical periods and
present-day society. For advice on formal writing, see http://www.ship.edu/~learning/Writers.htm
4. Avoid lengthy quotations; summarize and integrate the material into your own analysis.
Use direct quotations only when the quoted material provides evidence or flavor that a paraphrase
cannot convey adequately. Do not use quotations to drive the narrative forward as a substitute for
your own arguments. Use an ellipsis (. . .) whenever you omit material from a quoted passage. You
may alter capitalization and punctuation without using [brackets], and your goal should be to make
the passage read smoothly. You should not set aside quotations in a separate paragraph unless they
exceed five lines, and you should rarely (that is never) quote such a lengthy passage in a short
paper. You also should identify the source of the quotation in the text if you are using the quotation
for analytical purposes (Boyer and Nissenbaum argue “. . .” or Weisberger concludes “. . .”).
5. Use double-spaced 12-point Times font with 1-inch margins and proper citations.
Historians use Chicago style footnotes (or endnotes) rather than the parenthetical citations common
in the social sciences.1 Subsequent citations for the same source that immediately follow each other
use “Ibid.”2 You may also use footnotes to include information that, while useful to the reader are
not strictly necessary for or might interrupt the flow of your argument.3 For references that do not
follow immediately on the same page, use a shortened version of author and title.4
1
Bernard A. Weisberger, America Afire: Jefferson, Adams, and the First Contested Election (New York: Harper
Collins, 2000), 57-65.
2
Ibid., 66.
3
You should use single-spaced 10-point Times font for your footnotes.
4
Weisberger, America Afire, 23-25.
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