State University of New York
School of Education
FALL 2008
HIST 530A/EDUC 507: Issues in American History Before 1877
Professor: Adam Laats
Class Times:
Weds. 4:40-7:40 PM
Office:
AB 231
Meeting Place: AB-125
Phone:
777-3329
Office Hours: M/W 3-4 and by appt.
E-Mail:
alaats@binghamton.edu
This graduate seminar is intended to assist students pursuing a Certificate in the Teaching of American
History by providing a strong foundation of key historical and historiographical issues in American
history. It is built upon the idea that good historical teaching and thinking requires structured analysis
of primary documents. We will discuss the philosophy of history, the competing arguments about the
nature and meaning of American history, and the challenges of teaching that history.
CLASS MEETINGS
The class meets on Wednesday nights from 4:40-7:40 pm in AB 125. This is a discussion-based course.
The assigned readings are the basis for the discussions, and students are expected to carry the bulk of
our conversations. Students should come to class prepared to critique the readings assigned for that
night's meeting. A high level of participation is expected. For most class meetings we will spend half of
our time discussing the reading. The other half of the class will be devoted to developing teaching
strategies and lessons with primary documents through the internet.
COURSE DETAILS
Readings/Discussions: The goal of assigned readings (indicated in schedule of class meetings) is for
students to engage one another with regard to the material at hand and unpack the ways in which
historians practice their craft through the use of evidence, argument, theoretical paradigm, and
methodology. Students must commit to open and respectful discussions. See Student Handbook for
details: http://studenthandbook.binghamton.edu/studenthandbook06-07.pdf.
Assignments: All student work must be original. Plagiarism and cheating will not be tolerated. See
Student Handbook for details: http://studenthandbook.binghamton.edu/studenthandbook06-07.pdf, pp.
106-110.
STUDENT REQUIREMENTS AND GRADING
Students will complete a range of written assignments. These include a book review, a medium-length
paper, a documents-based question or similar teaching tool, and an annotated compendium of internet
resources.
Class participation: 15% of the course grade:
Students will come to each class prepared to discuss the reading assigned for that day. Discussion
formats will vary; at times I will lead the class in the discussion, at other times I will divide the class
into smaller discussion groups which will have their own discussions. Students will also lead
discussions for the books they choose to review. See appendix for details.
Book Review: 15% of the course grade
Students will be assigned one of the required readings to review. The book review is limited to five
pages. Students will email their book review to me no later than the Monday before class; I will then
forward the review to the rest of the class so that all will have read it by the time we meet. When class
meets, the reviews and reviewers will help direct our discussion. See appendix for more guidelines and
details.
Paper: 25% of the course grade
Students have two options for this paper.
Option 1: Primary source analysis paper. Students will select one well-known primary source document
to read and analyze.
Option 2: Teaching with primary sources paper. Students will choose one topic and discuss how it
could be successfully taught as a unit using a rich collection of specific primary sources.
Each type of paper will be between ten and fifteen pages in length, and should use Chicago format. See
appendix for details.
Documents-Based Question: 25% of the course grade
Students will create a DBQ, based on any topic from this course that consists of two parts: a shortanswer section where the scaffolding questions come directly from primary documents and an essay
section where students must answer a capstone question using the same documents. The primary
documents should come from the semester-long compendium project.
If a student has already had a great deal of experience crafting DBQs, he or she may choose another
document-based teaching tool to practice, such as a RAFT.
See appendix for details.
Annotated Compendium: 20% of the course grade
The purpose of the annotated compendium is to introduce students to using the internet for scholarly
and pedagogical purposes, to critically consider methods for using it as a teaching resource, and to help
students produce a reference of web-based materials for use in their own classrooms. Students will
assemble, organize, and critically comment on websites that track the topics of this course.
READINGS AND SEMINAR TOPICS
August 27:
Introduction to the course and to each other. Issues in history and
historical thinking. Why use documents?
September 3: Required reading: John Lewis Gaddis, The Landscape of History
Seminar topics: Historical thinking and teaching in an environment of
high-stakes testing; a look at the NY state tests; sample DBQs
September 10: Required reading: William Cronon, Changes in the Land
Seminar topics: DBQ analysis
September 17: Required reading: Gordon Wood, The Radicalism of the American
Revolution
Seminar topics: DBQ analysis; literacy in the history classroom—the “Word Wall”
September 24: Required reading: Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, A Midwife’s Tale
Seminar topics: DBQ analysis; Circle discussions
October 1:
No Class—Rosh Hashanah
October 8:
Required reading: Linda Kerber, Women of the Republic
Seminar topics: DBQ analysis; guiding student inquiry: using the Alien &
Sedition Acts exhibit from American Memory
October 15:
Required reading: Roy Rosenzweig, “Can History Be Open Source?”
Journal of American History 93 (June 2006): 117-146.On
electronic reserve
Seminar topics: Teaching research skills in a Google era; Workshop,
Framing the Constitution and the Bill of Rights
October 22:
Required reading: Edmund Morgan, American Slavery, American
Freedom
Seminar topics: DBQ analysis; enriching classroom discussions: “royal
rumbles” and other gimmicks
October 29:
Required reading: Nathan O. Hatch, The Democratization of American
Christianity
Seminar topics: DBQ analysis; using pre-made lesson plans
November 5: Required reading: Stephanie McCurry, Masters of Small Worlds
Seminar topics: DBQ analysis: using historical fiction as a teaching tool
November 12: Required reading: book-length primary source on slavery. See appendix
below for reading assignments. Specific assignments will be made
November 5.
Seminar topics: Jigsaw and the slave experience; generalizations with
evidence about life as a slave in the united States.
November 19: Required reading: Eric Foner, Free Soil, Free Labor, Free Men
Seminar topics: DBQ analysis;
November 26: No Class--Thanksgiving
December 3: Required reading: James K. Hogue, Uncivil War
Seminar topics: DBQ analysis; catch-up for missed topics
December 10: Required reading: Thomas Bender, A Nation among Nations
Seminar topics: Papers due; paper presentations.
on
Appendix one: Book Review
The Assignment:
Write a critical, analytical review of your assigned book. The book review is limited to five doublespaced pages. Students will email their book review to me no later than the Monday before class; I will
then forward the review to the rest of the class so that all will have read it by the time we meet. When
class meets, the reviewers will help lead the discussion.
Guide:
Start with a sample. Consult with a well-known model, such as the reviews in the Journal of American
History (http://www.journalofamericanhistory.org) or the American Historical Review
(http://www.indiana.edu/~ahr/).
A good book review will contain these fundamental features:


I. Essential facts about the book:
o Identify the main thesis
o What are the major questions/historical problems being addressed?
o How does the author develop the argument?
o What primary sources were used?
II. Your original analysis:
o What the author proposes that is new
o Where the book fits into historical literature on the subject
o Theoretical and methodological approaches used by the author
o Strengths and weaknesses of the author's use of sources - is this a convincing argument?
Format:
You should use the standard format preferred by historians, Chicago style. For a style guide, consult the
Chicago Manual of Style online: http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/home.html
In short, though, you can copy the style of professional reviews in the journals listed above.
Due date:
Varies according to assigned reading.
Appendix Two: Primary source teaching unit essay
--N.b., this is ONE option for your essay. You may choose to do a primary-source analysis instead. See
appendix three for details.-The Assignment:
Write a description of a teaching unit about one theme or event in early American history. How would
you teach this using a rich collection of readily available primary sources? Your paper should include a
few key parts:
Rationale:
Why is this an important theme or event? How can the use of primary
documents help enrich its teaching? How is it presented in a standard textbook?
Document set: What documents would you use to teach this unit? For each document, you need to
explain its context, theme, and main points.
Teaching approach: How will you use these documents? What methods will you incorporate into
your unit? How will you assess learning?
Purpose:
The goal of this assignment is to push you to combine an analysis of early documents with a thoughtful
presentation of how they can be used in a classroom.
Sources:
For this assignment, you will need to access a set of relevant documents. You will also need to refer to
secondary sources to explain the background of the topic. You may use our required readings as these
sources if you wish. Finally, you should include at least one history textbook to compare your
document-based approach to that of a standard curriculum.
Format:
You should use the standard format preferred by historians, Chicago style. For a style guide, consult the
Chicago Manual of Style online: http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/home.html
In short, though, you can copy the style of professional articles in journals such as the Journal of
American History (http://www.indiana.edu/~jah/) or American Historical Review
(http://www.indiana.edu/~ahr/).
Your essay is limited to 10-15 double-spaced word-processed pages.
Due date:
December 10, 2008. This is a firm deadline.
Appendix Three: Primary source analysis paper
--N.b., this is ONE option for your essay. You may choose to do a historiographical analysis instead.
See appendix two for details.-The Assignment:
Write an analysis of one of the long primary sources listed below. Your analysis should identify and
consider three or four themes of your document. How does the document illustrate those themes? Also,
how do the central themes of the document confirm or upset stereotypical understandings about the
period? Finally, you must consider the ways your document illuminates wider historical experience.
To do so, you need to refer to at least one secondary source. You may use our required readings as
these sources if you wish.
For example, how did Joseph Plumb Martin’s experience confirm the traditional story of the
Continental Army? What did he do that surprised you? How was his perspective different from yours?
Did this perspective typify the ideas of the period, or was Martin unique? In what ways? Why did he
bother to write down his story? How did it survive as a source?
These and similar questions should guide your analysis. In short, your goal should be to understand
your source from the inside, and analyze the ways this person’s experience and narrative illuminate the
period in which she or he lived.
Purpose:
The goal of this assignment is to give you a thorough knowledge of a widely available primary source.
Each of these sources addresses key themes and ideas of American history, and all can be incorporated
into a secondary-school or college classroom to enrich and deepen students’ understanding of American
history.
Sources:
For this assignment, you will need to read one of the primary sources listed below. N.b., you may not
use the same source you used during our primary readings in slavery.
1. The Sovereignty and Goodness of God, by Mary Rowlandson
2. Autobiography of Ben Franklin, by Ben Franklin
 Available full-text at: http://www.earlyamerica.com/lives/franklin/
3. New York Conspiracy Trials of 1741, by Daniel Horsmanden
4. A Narrative of a Revolutionary Soldier, by Joseph Plumb Martin
5. Lewis and Clark Expedition, edited by Gunther Barth
6. Autobiography of Peter Cartwright, by Peter Cartwright
 Available full-text at: http://lincoln.lib.niu.edu/cgibin/philologic/navigate.pl?lincoln.1905
7. Voices from the Trail of Tears, edited by Vicki Rozema
8. Twelve Years a Slave, by Solomon Northup
 Available full-text at: http://docsouth.unc.edu/fpn/northup/northup.html
9. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, by Harriet Jacobs
 Available full-text at: http://docsouth.unc.edu/fpn/jacobs/jacobs.html
10. A Diary from Dixie, by Mary Chestnut
 Available full-text at: http://docsouth.unc.edu/southlit/chesnut/menu.html
11. Cannibals All!, by George Fitzhugh
 Available full-text at: http://docsouth.unc.edu/southlit/fitzhughcan/menu.html
12. The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African, by
Olaudah Equiano
 Available full-text at: http://history.hanover.edu/texts/equiano/equiano_contents.html
13. A Fools Errand, by Albion Tourgee
a. Available full-text at: http://docsouth.unc.edu/church/tourgee/menu.html
Format:
You should use the standard format preferred by historians, Chicago style. For a style guide, consult the
Chicago Manual of Style online: http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/home.html
In short, though, you can copy the style of professional articles in journals such as the Journal of
American History (http://www.indiana.edu/~jah/) or American Historical Review
(http://www.indiana.edu/~ahr/).
Your essay is limited to 10-15 double-spaced word-processed pages.
Due date:
December 10, 2008. This is a firm deadline.
Appendix Four: Document-Based Question
The Assignment:
Create a Documents-Based Question (DBQ) based on any topic from this course such as the Revolution,
the debate over the Constitution, the Civil War, etc. Your primary documents (maximum of 8) should
come from the compendium that you have been working on all along.
The DBQ should consist of two parts: a short-answer section where the scaffolding questions
(maximum of 10) come directly from these documents and an essay section where students must answer
a capstone question using the same documents. Unless you have a strong preference for teaching
middle-school or college, assume this is an assignment for high-school students (i.e., grade 11).
In addition, you need to write three things:
1. A cover sheet for the DBQ that clearly and succinctly lays out the directions, the brief historical
background for the questions, and an explanation of the task.
2. An explanation of the documents you've chosen -- what they are, what their purpose is, why you have
selected them.
3. An explanation of how this will be graded, i.e., identify what will constitute a good response to your
questions.
Purpose:
Document-based questions are a leading method of grading on secondary-school social-studies
standardized tests. Your mastery of the format will allow you to help students prepare to master these
challenges.
Some Guidelines: What is this supposed to look like?
There are many places you can look to see examples of a DBQ in its component parts. Here are three:
http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/ciai/dbq/ssindex.html
New York State Department of Education, Social Studies DBQ homepage.
http://www.edteck.com/dbq/dbquest/quest11.htm
Peter Pappas, "teaching with Documents" > Grade 11 > Civil War
http://womhist.binghamton.edu/teacher/dbqs.htm
This site is located at the Center for the Historical Study of Women and Gender in the "Teacher's
Corner."
Due date:
DBQs will be presented to the seminar throughout the semester. Please send your DBQ to me on the
Monday of our seminar meeting. I will post your work so that the entire class can access it during your
in-class presentation.
Appendix Five: Annotated Web Compendium
The Assignment:
Create a guide to useful teaching sites on the internet. You should include at least five sites per seminar
unit, for a total of fifteen. You may include more if you wish.
Purpose:
The goal of this assignment is to create a go-to guide for web resources. It will hopefully become a
dynamic document that you can use and expand as you begin your teaching career.
Sources:
The sources for this assignment are unlimited. You are encouraged to incorporate web resources used
in seminar throughout the semester.
Format:
No specific format is required, but each compendium entry should include the same basic information.
You should include the author or editor of a website, the name of the site, its URL, and the date you
most recently accessed the site. After this identifying information, you should note in outline or bullet
format some key information about the site. This could include the following:
 In what unit would I use this site?
 What is one document that I would like to use from this site?
 What are some strengths of this site?
 How have I used this site successfully in the past?
Entries should be organized by chronology or theme. For example, you could begin by listing sites for
pre-contact America, then Spanish Colonial America, then British Colonial America, and so on. Or you
could list sites by theme, such as Imperialism, Military Conflict, Religion, Slavery, and so on.
Due date:
December 15, 2008. This is a firm deadline.
Appendix Six: Slavery document selections:
During week twelve of our semester, you will be assigned one book-length primary source about
slavery. N.b., whatever source you read may not be used as the source for your essay.
Group one: Twelve Years a Slave, by Solomon Northup
 Available full-text at: http://docsouth.unc.edu/fpn/northup/northup.html
Group two: Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, by Harriet Jacobs
 Available full-text at: http://docsouth.unc.edu/fpn/jacobs/jacobs.html
Group three: A Diary from Dixie, by Mary Chestnut
 Available full-text at: http://docsouth.unc.edu/southlit/chesnut/menu.html
Group four: Cannibals All!, by George Fitzhugh
 Available full-text at: http://docsouth.unc.edu/southlit/fitzhughcan/menu.html
Group five: The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus
Vassa, the African, by Olaudah Equiano
 Available full-text at: http://history.hanover.edu/texts/equiano/equiano_contents.html
For each source, you will be asked to “jigsaw” your thoughts about individual experiences of slavery.
That is, you will represent your reading in a small group composed of people who have read another
source. You will be expected to provide a description of the
 audience,
 author,
 argument,
 and assessment
for your source. That is, who wrote it? For what audience? What was his or her argument about the
nature of slavery? And finally, how valuable is the source as a lens into understanding the history of
American slavery?
Together, your “jigsaw” group will be expected to formulate a list of three to five generalizations about
the nature of American slavery, with specific examples from the various sources of each generalization.
CLASSROOM ENVIRONMENT
The Faculty and Staff in the School of Education are committed to serving all enrolled students. The
intention is to create an intellectually stimulating, safe, and respectful class atmosphere. In return it is
expected that each of you will honor and respect the opinions and feelings of others.
ACCOMMODATIONS
If you are a student with a disability and wish to request accommodations, please notify the instructor
by the second week of class. You are also encouraged to contact the Office of Services for Students
with Disabilities (SSD) at 777-2686. Their office is in LH-B51. The SSD office makes formal
recommendations regarding necessary and appropriate accommodations based on specifically diagnosed
disabilities. Information regarding disabilities is treated in a confidential manner.
ACADEMIC HONESTY
All members of the university community have the responsibility to maintain and foster a condition and
an atmosphere of academic integrity. Specifically, this requires that all classroom, laboratory, and
written work for which a person claims credit is in fact that person’s own work. The annual university
Student Handbook publication has detailed information on academic integrity.
Students assume responsibility for the content and integrity of the academic work they submit. Students
are in violation of academic honesty if they incorporate into their written or oral reports any
unacknowledged published or unpublished or oral material from the work of another (plagiarism); or if
they use, request, or give unauthorized assistance in any academic work (cheating). (SOE Academic
Honesty Policies)
Plagiarism and cheating will not be tolerated in this class. Incidents of either will result in a failing
grade for the assignment in question. If you have any questions about what constitutes plagiarism or
cheating, PLEASE ASK ME!
http://soe.binghamton.edu/academics/acadhonesty.html