History 120
9:50-11am, Leighton 303
Fall, 2008
Mr. C. Clark
Leighton 206
ext. 4208
e-mail:clark@carleton.edu
Office hours: Mon. and Weds. 9-9:50 and 11-12, and by appointment
The History of American Society to 1865
This course offers an interpretative overview of American social and political
history between the initial settlements and the Civil War. The course strives to place you in
a position where you can develop your own interpretation of the transformation of the
outlook and values of ordinary Americans in this period. The evidence for your
interpretation will come from three sources: the textbook, to provide general background,
assigned interpretative articles and books, and, most importantly, from our discussion of
documents written at the time.
To be a good historian, you must develop your own sense of the significant events and
shifts in outlook in the American past. You must also examine society’s basic institutions
including the family, the church, and politics and be able to offer your own interpretation of
how and why they changed.
In constructing your own overview of the American past, you must decide how and in
what ways power has been used and abused. What forms of power existed and how were
they maintained? Who was excluded? How did political “rights” come into being and
what civic responsibilities were associated with them?
What kinds of freedom and restraints existed within the American social system? What
assumptions were made about the nature of the political process and how did these
assumptions change in the nineteenth century? Finally, why did Americans go to war with
each other in 1861?
Course schedule, requirements, and expectations:
The seminar meets Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays for discussions. The weekly
readings must be completed before the class for which they’ve been assigned. The written
work for the course will consist of five short essays (15% each), one, in-class presentation
(10%) as described at the end of the syllabus, and class participation (15%). There is no
final exam.
Since this is a discussion class, I assume that you will attend all classes and will notify me
beforehand if you need to miss a class. All students must follow the Carleton policy of
Academic Honesty which includes footnoting the sources of all ideas, quotations, and
paraphrases. Please use the style sheet that is included at the end of this syllabus to
footnote your papers.
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Papers are due at the start of class on the day scheduled for them. Late papers will not be
accepted unless you contact me before the paper is due to explain the problem.
Normally, credit is deducted for papers that are handed in after the class period.
Books starred with an (*) may be purchased at the College Bookstore.
I. Colonial Settlements and Conflicts
Mon. 9/ 15: Introductory Meeting: Historical detective work. Overview of the course.
New directions in American History.
Wed., 9/ 17 Imperial Rivalries; Patterns of Settlement
Read:
*Paul Boyer, Clifford Clark, et al., The Enduring Vision, Dolphin Edition, 2006) chapts. 1,
2, & 3.
Karen Kupperman, The Jamestown Project (Cambridge, MA., Harvard University Press,
2007), Introduction . (e-Reserve)
Fri., 9/1: Discussion: why were the settlements in New England more successful than
those in Virginia in the Seventeenth Century?
Read: John Winthrop, "A Model of Christian-Charity" at
http://history.hanover.edu/texts/winthmod.htm
Karen Kupperman, "Apathy and Death in Early Jamestown," Journal of American
History, 66:1 (June 1979), 24-40 (Reserve) or at
http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=00218723%28197906%2966%3A1%3C24%3AAADIEJ%3E2.0.CO%3B2-D
Edmund S. Morgan, American Slavery, American Freedom, 45-91 (Reserve)
Mary Beth Norton, “Seeing Early American History Through Women’s Eyes” National
Council For History Education, 10:7, (March, 1998). Xerox (Reserve)
II. Conquest and Consolidation
Mon. 9/22 Politics and Society in the 17th Century
Read: *Paul Boyer, Clifford Clark, et al., The Enduring Vision, chapt 4.
John Winthrop, “A Model of Christian Charity” on the web at
http://religiousfreedom.lib.virginia.edu/sacred/charity.html
Wed., 9/24 Slavery, Trade, and the Rise of a Colonial Elite
First student presentation: Slavery
Read:
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Egerton, D. R., review of Inhuman Bondage: The Rise and Fall of Slavery in the New
World, David B. Davis (review no. 570).
http://www.history.ac.uk/reviews/paper/egerton.html
Fri. 9/26 Topic: The Great Awakening
Paper Due: Using the readings for this week, and particularly Jonathan Edwards’ letter,
write a three page, double spaced essay in which you assess Butler’s argument that
American colonists were more modern than historians have acknowledged.
Read: Jonathan Edwards to Rev. Dr. Benjamin Colman, May 30, 1735 as
published in C.C. Goen, ed., Jonathan Edward’s, The Great Awakening
(New Haven, Yale University Press, 1972), pp. 99-110. (Reserve).
Jon Butler, Becoming America: The Revolution before 1776
(Cambridge, Ma, Harvard U. Press, 2000), pp.1-7, 185-204. (Reserve).
Ned Landsman, From Colonials to Provincials: American Thought and
Culture, 1680-1760 (Ithaca, Cornell U Press, 1997), pp. 92-118.
(Reserve)
III. The Experience of Revolution
Mon., 9/29 The French and Indian War in Comparative Perspective
Read:
*Boyer and Clark, The Enduring Vision, chapts.,5.
George Washington’s journal during the French and Indian War, at
http://www.earlyamerica.com/earlyamerica/milestones/journal/journaltext.html
Wed., 10/1 Was it a Revolution?
Second student presentation: the American Revolution.
Read:
Brief excerpt from Bernard Bailyn’s The Ideological Origins of the American
Revolution at http://www.u-cergy.fr/brobert/BAILYN.pdf
Fri., 10/3 Discussion: The Declaration of Independence.
Questions: How should we evaluate Edmund Morgan’s argument about whether
Thomas Jefferson was a hypocrite in terms of his ownership of slaves and his
statements in the Declaration of Independence about all men being created equal?
What alternative explanations might you present for why the Declaration of
Independence was written?
Read: “The Declaration of Independence" in *Boyer and Clark, The Enduring Vision,
Appendix, iii-iv.
Edmund S. Morgan, "Slavery and Freedom, The American Paradox," Journal of
American History, 59 (June 1972), 5-29 (Reserve) or
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http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=00218723%28197206%2959%3A1%3C5%3ASAFTAP%3E2.0.CO%3B2-K
David McCullough, John Adams (2001), pp.125-139. (Reserve)
Joseph Ellis, American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson (1997), pp. 46-59
(Reserve).
IV. The Search for Control: The New Republic
Mon., 10/6 Revolution and its Aftermath
Read:
*Boyer and Clark, The Enduring Vision, chapt. 6.
“The Articles of Confederation” at http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/artconf.htm
Wed., 10/8
The Constitution: A Framework for Government
Third Student Presentation
See http://www.usconstitution.net/const.html
Fri., 10/10 Discussion: Paper Due:
(Aproximately, two pages, double spaced, with separate title page.)
Compare and contrast the conceptions of social control implicit in the arguments of
Franklin, Rush, and Madison? How did they conceive of how unruly Americans should
be controlled? How would you identify their particular conceptions of what ‘liberty’?
Which argument is most realistic?
Read: James Madison, Federalist No. 10 pp.27-30 in *Sean Wilenz, ed., Major Problems
in the Early Republic, 1787-1848.
Benjamin Rush, "Thoughts Upon the Mode of Education Proper in a Republic" in
Frederick Rudolph ed, (Reserve) or at http://www.schoolchoices.org/roo/rush.htm
Benjamin Franklin, Autobiography (Signet edition), 93-105 (Reserve).
Isaac Kramnick, "The Discourse of Politics in 1787" pp. 40-48 in *Sean Wilenz, ed., Major
Problems in the Early Republic, 1787-1848.
Mon., 10/13
George Washington: Symbol and Myth (slides)
Read:
*Boyer and Clark, The Enduring Vision, ch. 7.
Mason Weems, The Life of George Washington, at
http://gwpapers.virginia.edu/articles/weems.html
Philip D. Morgan (Johns Hopkins University), “To Get Quit of Negroes”: George
Washington and Slavery, on the web at
http://www.ucd.ie/amerstud/archives/Morgan.htm
Wed., 10/15
National Politics and Foreign Policy
Fourth Student Presentation: The Jay Treaty
Read:
Review a few of the documents on the treaty at this site:
http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/diplomacy/britain/jaymenu.htm
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Fri., 10/17 Discussion: The Political Crisis of the 1790s.
Questions to keep in mind for the reading: Why were the Alien and Sedition Acts passed?
What was John Adams’ attitude toward them? What was Jefferson’s position? Who
provides the more convincing explanation of the larger significance of this debate,
Joyce Appleby or John Ashworth?
Read:
David McCullough, John Adams (2001), pp.464-514. (Reserve)
*Sean Wilenz, ed., Major Problems in the Early Republic, 1787-1848, 62-89, 130-133,
138-150.
V. The Economic Revolution
Mon., 10/20
Mid-term Break
Wed., 10/22
Jefferson as President
Fifth Student Presentation: Jefferson
Read:
Alan A. Stone, Review of American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson By
Joseph J. Ellis. New York, Alfred A. Knopf, 1997, 365 pp., $29.95; $15.00 (paper,
published 1998 by Vintage). American Journal of Psychiatry, at
http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/full/159/12/2123
Fri., 10/24
Discussion: The historical use of literature
Paper Due: Using “Rip Van Winkle” and “The Legend of Sleepy
Hollow,” write a three page, double spaced essay in which you assess Irving’s purposes
for writing these stories.
Read:
*Washington Irving, Sketchbook, 37-55, 272-282, 329-360
*Sean Wilenz, ed., Major Problems in the Early Republic, 1787-1848, 133-137,
191-195, 213-237.
VI. The Age of the Common Man
Mon., 10/27
Dynamics of Social Change
Read:*Boyer and Clark, The Enduring Vision, ch. 9.
*Sean Wilenz, ed,. Major Problems in the Early Republic, 1787-1848, pp. 372376, 394-422.
Wed., 10/29
Jackson and the Bank;
Sixth Student Presentation:
Read:
Andrew Jackson and the Bank War at http://www.neh.gov/news/humanities/200801/KingAndrewandtheBank.html
Fri.,
11/1
Discussion: Removal of the Cherokee Indians
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Questions to keep in mind for the reading: What was Jackson’s argument for removing the
Cherokee Indians? Was his explanation simply window-dressing for aggression? What
was the Indian response? How would you define “Jacksonian Democracy?”
Read: Andrew Jackson, “The Condition and Ulterior Destiny of the Indian Tribes” (1829)
and “Indian Removal and the General Good” (1830) in Allen Guttmann, ed., The
Removal of the Cherokee Nation, pp.14-17, 42-52, (Reserve)
VII. The Peculiar Institution
Mon., 11/3
Revivalism and Reform
Read:
*Boyer and Clark, The Enduring Vision, chapts. 10 & 12.
Lyman Beecher, “A Plea for the West” (1835) at
http://www.artsci.wustl.edu/~acsp/courses/hist366/beecher.html
Wed., 11/5
Slavery and Abolition
Seventh Student presentation: abolitionism
Read:
*Sean Wilenz, ed., Major Problems in the Early Republic, 1787-1848, 240-246, 250-254,
264-273, 461-469, 503-509..
Fri.,
11/7
Discussion Paper Due
Paper Due: Eugene Genovese, in the selection in Wilenz, argues that the position of the
overseer on the large plantation provides a crucial insight into the way in which the
institution of slavery actually worked, Using the Hammond accounts and Douglass'
Narrative, write an essay in which you agree or disagree with Genovese's
interpretation. Use specific examples to support your argument. Questions to keep in
mind for the reading: In what ways does the debate over slavery provide an insight into
the competing values of Americans in the 1830's and 1840's? What were the
connections between abolitionism and the women's rights movement? Should
Frederick Douglass' Narrative be interpreted primarily as a propaganda document for a
noble cause?
Read:
*Frederick Douglass, Narrative (entire)
VIII. Victorian America in Politics and Private Life
Mon., 11/10
The Social Functions of Politics
Eighth Student Presentation: Free Soil
Read:
*Boyer and Clark, The Enduring Vision, chapts. 11, 13.
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Wed., 11/12
An abbreviated version of the movie, “Amistad,” will be shown in
Class today.
Fri., 11/14
Discussion; Hollywood and History
Questions to keep in mind for the reading: How accurate is Amistad’s depiction of
John Quincy Adams and the abolitionist crusade? How might it be made more
accurate?
Read: John Q. Adams, “Argument in the case of United States vs. Cinque,” (1841) pp.113, 132-135, (Reserve)
IX. The Road to War
Mon., 11/17
The Road to War
Fri., 11/19
Discussion:
Final Paper Due In not more than two pages, using H.W. Beecher’s speech, write an
essay in which you argue for whether Robert Abzug’s arguments about religion and
reform should or should not be used to explain the coming of the Civil War. If you
decide that his arguments are not useful for understanding the outbreak of war, suggest
a different line of argument and explain why it is more plausible.
Questions to keep in mind for the reading: To what extent can the outbreak of civil war
be considered the logical extension of the social values of the 1850's? To what extent
was it provoked by the political events of the 1850's?
Read: Robert H. Abzug, Cosmos Crumbling: American Reform and the Religious
Imagination , Preface and Prologue (Reserve)
Henry Ward Beecher, “The Nation’s Duty to Slavery” (Reserve)
David Donald, Lincoln Reconsidered (2nd edition), ch. XI, (Reserve)
William G. Thomas III and Edward L. Ayers, “The Differences that Slavery Made”
American Historical Review, 108:5(Dec. 2003), 1299—1308 as found at:
http://www.vcdh.virginia.edu/AHR/
*Boyer and Clark, The Enduring Vision, chapts. 14,15.
In-Class Topical Presentation
To be a good historian, you need to be able to locate the relevant debates on a particular
issue and present an overview of the central questions, the different schools of
interpretation, and the most recent scholarship. The syllabus is divided into nine sections.
You need to choose one section and identify a topic to talk about. For example, in section
two, Conquest and Consolidation, you might look at slavery in the eighteenth century, the
First Great Awakening, or Imperial rivalries.
You can start by going to the database section of the library and searching American
History History and Life, Academic Search Premier, and JSTOR. An alternate approach is
the search journals: Reviews in American History, The William and Mary Quarterly, The
Journal of American History, and The American Historical Review.
The search the library catalog (the Bridge). Finally, search the internet but be careful to
identify the credibility of your sources.
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Your presentation should present the central question being debated in the literature,
identify some of the recent interpretations, and then end with your own evaluation. Finally,
present several of what you consider to be the important questions we should be trying to
answer about this material.
Style Sheet for Writing History Papers
Useful Writing Suggestions

Avoid opening with a “global statement.” Be precise about your time period. Focus
on specific features of your topic.

Answer the question asked in the prompt for the essay. If you are unsure of the
meaning of the question, ask for clarification.

Remember that your essay is your argument and your interpretation of a historical
question. Since it is your interpretation, it needs to be supported by concrete examples and
specific evidence. If the readings from earlier weeks in the course support your argument,
cite them as well as the ones read for the current week but make sure that you use the
current week’s readings in your essay.

Use the active voice wherever possible.

Use a dictionary actively to check the meaning of the words that you use.

At the start, explain your question, and suggest how you will answer it or state you
thesis.

Recognize and acknowledge the complexities of your subject. Strive for a balanced
assessment. Consider and speak to the obvious opposing positions.

In your conclusion do not simply restate your argument. Use your conclusion to
extend your argument and develop its implications.
Documentation and Format

Number your pages. Double space sentences. Use a 10 or 12 point font and
adequate margins.

Use a cover sheet with your name and title. Print back to back. Staple the pages
together.

Use Arabic numerals for your footnote numbers.

Footnote all sources of your information as well as all direct quotations. Use the
following format. For a book.
1 Clifford E. Clark, Jr., The American Family Home, 1800-1960 (Chapel Hill: University
of North Carolina Press, 1986), 261.
If the book is cited a second time, use an abbreviated form.
2 Clark, American Family Home, 206-08.
If the article is contained in an edited book use this form:
3 Jamie Monson, "Canoe-Building under Colonialism: Forestry Policy in the Inner
Kilombero Valley of Tanzania, 1920-1940," in Ecological Change and History in
Nineteenth and Twentieth Century Tanzania, ed. James Giblin and Gregory Maddox
(Athens, Ohio: Ohio University Press, 1994), 35-56.
If two or more references are used in a single footnote, the various items should be
connected by semicolons:
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7 Clifford E. Clark, Jr., "Ranch House Suburbia: Dreams and Realities," in Recasting
America: Culture and Politics in the Age of the Cold War, ed. Lary May (Chicago:
University of Chicago Press, 1989), 84-100; Susannah Ottaway and Samantha Williams,
"Reconstructing the Life-Cycle Experience of Poverty in the Time of the Old Poor Law," in
Archives: The Journal of The British Records Association, Vol. XXIII, No. 98, (April
1998): 19-29.
If you cite a website, give the complete URL and indicate the date you accessed it. If
you are referencing a specific part of a website, make sure that you give the complete URL
for that section so that the reader can find it as well.
Remember that the purpose to a footnote is two-fold: to acknowledge and give credit to the
ideas and writing of someone else, and to enable the reader to find and read your source.
Failure to acknowledge your sources accurately, or to paraphrase and present material as
your own is plagiarism.
Use of Quotations
Quote sparingly but use them when you wish to capture the author’s exact language,
metaphors, or images. Be very careful in quoting not to take the comments out of context.
Distorting the meaning through carelessness is a serious breach of academic honesty.
Although quotations can be used to illustrate a point that you are making, it is even more
effective to follow the quotation with a comment that indicates what you think is important
about what this quotation reveals.
You are allowed to make two kinds of ‘changes’ to a quotation silently (i.e. without noting
what you have done): 1) You may change the capitalization of the first letter to fit your
sentence; 2) you should begin a quotation at whatever point you find appropriate without
using initial ellipses (three dots). Other changes must be indicated by the insertion of them
within square brackets, [ ].
Single space block quotations and set them off by indenting from both the left and right
margins.