Civil War 2012
AMH 4571
The American Civil War and Reconstruction
Fall 2012
Matt Gallman
Office: 203 Keene-Flint Hall
Office hours Wednesdays 2:00-4:00
(352) 273-3368
gallmanm@ufl.edu
Teaching Assistant:
Clay Cooper
hours: Thursdays 2-3. Keene-Flint 09
tcooper@ufl.edu
Course Summary
This course is a broad survey of the events and issues surrounding
the Civil War. In the first four weeks or so we will consider the
chain of events leading up to the Civil War. We will then turn to a
close analysis of the war years themselves, considering events and
issues on the battlefield and on the home front. The final two
weeks will consider some aspects of the war’s impact. Nearly all of
the readings will be primary sources (a diary, a novel, soldier’s
letters, speeches etc). We will be particularly interested in how the
participants experienced the Civil War era and how they interpreted
the events around them.
Course Requirements
Readings
The following books should be available at Gator Textbooks and in the
University bookstore.
• Louis P. Masur, The Civil War: A Concise History. This book is listed as
recommended because there will not be specific written
assignments based on this book. But it is strongly recommended.
It is an excellent, very short, overview of the Civil War years.
• William Craft, Running a Thousand Miles for Freedom: The Escape of
William and Ellen Craft from Slavery. This is an incredible first
person narrative of how a husband and wife who were enslaved in
Georgia escaped to Massachusetts.
• Abraham Lincoln: Great Speeches. This little volume collects some of
Lincoln’s great speeches (as well as a few great letters). We’ll be
reading much of this book throughout the course of the semester.
• Brokenburn: The Journal of Kate Stone, 1861-1868. Kate Stone was a
well-educated twenty-year old white woman living on a large
Louisiana plantation when the Civil War began. This marvelous
journal is her story of her war years.
• Robert E. Bonner, The Soldier’s Pen. During the Civil War ordinary men
went off to war, and for the first time these men wrote letters
home in huge numbers. They provide a marvelous window into life
during the Civil War and also into the lives of ordinary Americans
who happened to be at war.
• Michael Shaara, The Killer Angels. The Pulitzer prize winning novel
about the Battle of Gettysburg.
• Louisa May Alcott, Hospital Sketches (Dover edition). The first
published writings by the author of Little Women and other
classics.
Quick note: Twenty years ago, University bookstores pretty much
had a monopoly on course books. They ordered enough for all
students and you paid their price. Today, there is a healthy
competition between various local bookstores and amazon.com.
That means that bookstores try to guess how many students will buy
each book from them and they order accordingly, and sometimes
they run out. It is your job to acquire the books well in advance of
the assignments. Given all the options, “I couldn’t find the book” or
“my book hasn’t arrived yet” are not reasonable excuses for being
unprepared.
Lectures
Although this is a fairly large class, please keep in mind
that you are neither invisible nor anonymous. I find that my
ability to do my best job is undermined when people in the room
are not paying attention. So when class begins please put aside
your newspapers and other reading materials and stop all
texting. Similarly, I expect you to do your best to be on timefor
each class meeting.
After many years of wrestling with the issue, I have decided that
computers will not be allowed in lecture. I recognize that
some people feel that they take better notes on computer, but
the sad truth is that the personal computer presents
overwhelming temptations that it appears no one can resist. As
far as I can tell, everyone who brings a computer to class ends up
“multitasking” in ways that undermine their learning while
distracting those around them. And me.
Lecture attendance is required; we will take attendance
periodically. Students who miss more than one lecture (or who
are persistently late) will see a reduction in their grades.
Students who miss more than one discussion section will see
similar grade reductions. Students who ignore the above
requests about newspapers, texts, computers, etc. will be
treated as absent on those days for the purpose of final grades.
In short, the way to get a good grade is to show up and be
engaged in class.
Discussion Sections / Weekly Papers / Reading Quizzes
You should attend each discussion section with notes on
the assigned readings and with issues in mind that you would like
to raise in discussion. As a way of ensuring good preparation,
you will write a short (250 word) analytic summary of the
readings for each week. On occasion, Mr. Cooper will give you
specific directions on what to emphasize in these essays. These
are due on the Tuesday before class. Mr. Cooper will also give
periodic open note quizzes on the assigned readings. On at least
one week Mr. Cooper will give you a short research assignment to
present in discussion section.
Long Essay
In addition to the weekly essays on the readings, you will
write one 2000-2500 word essay (about 8-10 pages). This essay
will be based upon evidence that you draw from either Kate
Stone’s diary or from Bonner’s edited collection of soldiers’
letters (or both). This assignment will be handed out and
discussed well in advance of the due date. Extensions will only
be approved under unusual circumstances and only by prior
arrangement.
Examinations
There will be no midterm examination. The final exam
will be in two parts. The first part will be an hour exam taken
during the exam period. The second part will be a take-home
essay based on the writings of Abraham Lincoln. This
assignment will be handed out before Thanksgiving.
Academic Integrity
I assume that anything you do in this class is your own
work unless I am told otherwise. You also may not rely on
someone else's notes in taking the reading quizzes. Please
review the section on Academic Integrity in the Student
Handbook. In your papers all direct quotes should be identified
with quotation marks and cited properly. Anyinstance of
intentional dishonesty on any assignment -- no matter how small
-- will result in an automatic F for the entire course.Please
review the University’s Honor Code at
http://www.dso.ufl.edu/sccr/honorcodes/honorcode.php
Special accommodations
Feel free to contact me if you have any individual concerns or
issues that need to be discussed. Students requesting classroom
accommodation must first register with the Dean of Students
Office (http://www.dso.ufl.edu/drp/). The Dean of Students
Office will provide documentation to the student who must then
provide this documentation to the instructor when requesting
accommodation.
Grading
Final Exam
33%
Hour Final
Take Home Final Essay
Class Discussion and Preparation
33%
The short response papers will be considered in this
grade.
Long Essay
33%
** Missed classes and lateness will result in extra reductions.
Class Meetings and Assignments
·
August 28th
·Readings:
An expanding nation
§
·
September 4th
Masur, The Civil War, Chapter 1.
Political tensions (1820-1854)
·Readings:
§
William Lloyd Garrison, “To The Public,” The
Liberator, January 1, 1831
http://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/index.as
p?document=576
§
William H. Seward’s “Higher Law” speech,
1850.
http://eweb.furman.edu/~benson/docs/seward.htm
·
September 11th
Bleeding Kansas, Bleeding Sumner
·Readings:
§
William and Ellen Craft, Running a Thousand
Miles for Freedom
·
September 18th
1860 and the Road to Secession
·Readings:
§
The Charleston (S.C.) Mercury reports on the
Brooks-Sumner Affair Mercury, 28 May 1856
§
John Brown’s Final Speech, December 2, 1859
http://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-byera/failure-compromise/resources/johnbrown%E2%80%99s-final-speech-1859
§
Henry David Thoreau, “A Plea for Captain John
Brown,” October 30, 1859.
http://www.victorianweb.org/courses/nonfiction/th
oreau/plea.html
§
Alexander H. Stephens, Cornerstone Speech,
March 21, 1861.
·
September 25th
To Arms!
·Readings:
·
§
Lincoln, “First Inaugural Address”
§
Brokenburn, pp. 1-76.
October 2nd
The First Year of War (1861-1862)
· Reading:
§
Masur, The Civil War, Chapters 2-3.
·Assignment for Discussion Section: Bring in a newspaper
story about a military event during the first year of the war.
To be discussed in class.
·
October 9th
Emancipation
·Reading:
§
Masur, The Civil War, Chapter 4.
§
Brokenburn, pp. 77-166.
§
Lincoln, “The Emancipation Proclamation”
§
Frederick Douglass, “Why Should the Colored
Man Enlist?” Douglass’s Monthly, April 1863.
http://www.teachingamericanhistory.org/library/i
ndex.asp?document=1135
·
October 16th
The Road to Gettysburg
·Readings: .
·
§
Michael Shaara, The Killer Angels.
§
Lincoln, “The Gettysburg Address”
October 23rd
The War at Home
·Readings:
·
§
Lincoln, “Letter to Mrs. Bixby”
§
Brokenburn, pp. 167-367.
October 30th
The Soldier’s Life
·Reading:. Robert E. Bonner, The Soldier’s Pen.
·
November 6th
Women and Voluntarism
·Reading: Louisa May Alcott, Hospital Sketches.
·
November 13th
The Road to Total War? (1864-1865)
·Reading:
§
Masur, The Civil War, Chapter 5.
§
Lincoln’s Speeches
·
“Thanksgiving Address”
·
“Second Inaugural Address”
·LONG ESSAY DUE IN DISCUSSION SECTION.
November 20th
THANKSGIVING
·
November 27th
Reconstruction
·Readings:
§
Masur, The Civil War, Chapter 6 and Epilogue.
§
Brokenburn, pp. 368-378.
§
3 Short Stories by Ambrose Bierce. Linked
under "Resources"
NO SHORT ESSAY DUE ON TUESDAY. READ FOR
THURSDAY
§
December 4th
Conclusions