The Era of the Civil War and Reconstruction
WILLIAM D. CARRIGAN
SUMMER 2009
Building: EDUC 2096
Time: M-TH, 8:30am -12:15pm plus all-day Field
Trip on Friday, 22 May 2009
Office: Robinson History Department (2nd Floor)
Phone Number: 856-256-4500 ext. 3986
Hours: Monday through Thursday, 1:45-2:30pm
Email: carrigan@rowan.edu
Overview: This course is a reading and discussion-based exploration of the era of the Civil
War and Reconstruction. After a brief discussion of the causes of the sectional conflict, we
will move on to an investigation of the war years themselves, before concluding with an indepth discussion of the period of Reconstruction and an assessment of the era's influence on
American history to the present.
Objectives: First, students will become intimately familiar with the narrative of the era of
the Civil War and Reconstruction through lecture and reading. Second, they will gain
critical insight into the construction of history by exploring the multiple ways that historical
meaning is conveyed. For example, we will read scholarly articles, view historical
documentaries, and discuss historical fiction. Third, they will develop their writing and
analytical skills through completing a historiographical essay and essay-oriented exams.
Fourth, they will build upon their public speaking skills by participating in informed
discussion of the readings and the lectures.
Grading: Attendance (10%); Class participation and miscellaneous assignments (10%);
Reading quizzes (20%), Historiographical essay (30%), and Final exam (30%).
Final Exam: The exam will contain an objective section (identifications, short answers,
fill-in-the-blanks) and an essay section.
Paper: All students must write an 8-10 page (2000-2500 word) historiographical essay.
Historiography, in this class, means the history of what historians have said about a
particular topic. From a list of topics provided by the instructor, you will choose a subject
and then read a number of scholarly works (usually three books) on the subject. You will
then write an essay both summarizing and analyzing the essays that you have read. More
details on the paper will be given in class.
Attendance and Participation: Your attendance is mandatory. Forty percent of your final
grade for the course will reflect your participation in class, your attendance record, and your
performance on any miscellaneous assignments and reading quizzes.
Readings: A large portion of class time will be spent in discussion of the readings for the
course. Therefore, a thorough understanding of the assigned readings is paramount for our
success. Although weekly reading loads will vary, students should expected to read, take
notes on, and comprehend over 300 pages of text per week for this summer course. Two
books — Robert Cook’s Civil War America and Michael Shaara’s The Killer Angels — are
required reading for the class. Students will also read an essay on Shaara’s novel as well as
essays from two edited volumes — David Herbert Donald’s Why the North Won the Civil
War and Gabor Boritt’s Why the Confederacy Lost. Furthermore, the class will be reading
several key primary sources throughout the semester. Time spent preparing for class will
vary from student to student depending upon prior instruction in history, year in college,
and natural aptitude. Nevertheless, I have found that the more time students put into the
class the more they get out of it and the higher grades they get in it. This intensified
summer course will require long hours of preparation each and every day.
Late Papers and Missed Exams: If unavoidable circumstances (sickness, death in the
family, etc.) prevent a student from turning in their paper, the student will either be
withdrawn from the course or allowed to obtain a grade of "Incomplete" for the semester.
Papers turned in late for other reasons shall be penalized one letter grade per day. If a
student cannot appear for the examination, they may complete a take-home exam of 2000
words.
Day-by-Day Schedule
DAY
May
18
TOPIC
Introduction to
Course
DOCUMENTS
May
19
The Coming of the
War
The Civil War
Begins
Civil War Map
May
20
May
21
May
22
May
25
May
26
May
27
May
28
Grant, McLellan,
and the Peninsula
Campaign
Bus Departs at
7am
Antietam and the
Decision for
Emancipation
The Summer of
1863
The Long, Slow
Conclusion
June 1
Why the North
Won
June 2
Reconstruction,
Part One
June 3
Reconstruction,
Part Two/
Course Summary
June 4
US and CSA
Constitutions; Davis and
Lincoln Inaugural
Addresses; Alexander
Stephens’ Speech.
ASSIGNMENT
ASSIGNMENT OF
HISTORIOGRAPHICAL
TOPICS.
Cook, Prologue, Chapters 1-3
Cook, Chapter 4
Cook, Chapters 5.
Bus Returns at 10pm
Field Trip to Gettysburg
NO CLASS
Memorial Day
The Emancipation
Proclamation.
Cook, Chapter 6.
The Gettysburg
Address.
Lincoln’s Second
Inaugural Address.
Sharra, entire; Hartwig, pp. 128.
Read Robert Brent Toplin, Ken
Burns’s The Civil War:
Historians Respond, Chapter 6.
Read David Donald, Why the
North Won, Chapters 2, 5, and
6; Read Boritt, Why the
Confederacy Lost, Chapters 3
and 5.
Cook, Chapter 7.
The Thirteenth,
Fourteenth and Fifteenth
Amendments.
HISTORIOGRAPHICAL ESSAYS
DUE.
FINAL EXAM.
Cook, Chapters 8-9,
Conclusion
FINAL NOTE: PLAGIARISM AND ACADEMIC DISHONESTY
You must read, sign and return the sheet on plagiarism posted on the History Department’s web page. This
indicates that you both understand what constitutes plagiarism and that you will not plagiarize on any of your
work in this class. I reserve the right to assign a grade of "Incomplete" if you do not sign this form.