Elizabeth Payne
Fall Semester, 2012
Bishop 320
epayne@olemiss.edu
extension 7629
Monday, 2:00-5:00
The United States, 1877 to World War I: The Nation Defined
(History 304)
This course introduces students to the main themes and significant contours of
American history from the end of reconstruction through World War I. As such, it
emphasizes national legislation and politics, but it also focuses on social and cultural
history. Students should be prepared to switch perspectives between a chronological and a
topical approach, realizing that both readings and lectures have been designed for
breadth. At the end of the course, earnest students should have a working knowledge of
the essential themes and major historical landmarks in American history from 1877 to
1919.
Grades are straightforward and will be based on a point system of 100. Final grades
will be assigned on the plus and minor grading system. Each reading quiz will count five
points for a total of thirty points. There will be three exams totaling forty-five points. All
quizzes and exams—except for the essay questions--will be taken from students’ submitted
sample questions. Finally, there will be a paper counting twenty-five points.
The reading quizzes will be given each day prior to the discussion of the reading
material assigned with an asterisk. Students must submit to the instructor’s email address
a set of five sample questions by 1:00 p.m. the day before the assignments. Failure to
submit the sample questions will result in a deduction of one point for each quiz for which
the questions are not submitted. The questions should be straightforward and not “yes” or
“no” questions, multiple choices, or true and false assertions.
The exams will be based on the class lectures and discussions as well as films shown
during class. Each exam will be given in two segments, the first part consisting of 22
questions, 20 of which must be answered. Students must submit a sample exam of five
questions from each lecture and/or film presented during the past five weeks by 1:00 the
day before the exam. Failure to send the sample questions will result in a deduction of up
to three points for each exam for which questions are not submitted
Finally, students will submit a twelve page, typewritten paper in twelve point font
and unjustified right margins. The student will choose a topic related to this course and
use material available in the Department of Archives and Special Collections of the
J.D.Williams Library. Students must use census data from the population schedules from
the University of Virginia’s site at http://mapserver.lib.virginia.edu/ as well as individual
schedules at Ancestry.com. Students must have access to Ancestry.com, whether through a
trial membership or access through a library. The Lafayette Country library offers access
to university students upon attaining a library card. There is abundant primary material
in the library on the second floor of the county library.
The paper should be documented with endnotes or footnotes and bibliography in
the format of the Chicago Manual of Style. The University of Wisconsin’s online guide to
writing and documentation is especially helpful. Go
to http://www.wisc.edu/writing/Handbook/, click to “Citing References in Your Paper” and
then to the “Chicago/Turabian” style of documentation for the required format of this
paper. Other forms of documentation will not be accepted, as they are designed for other
disciplines. Papers not following this method of documentation will be returned to the
student without a grade. Furthermore, all plagiarized papers will be rejected and assigned
zero credit and, in certain cases, may be reported to the academic council. If you feel
unclear as to what constitutes plagiarism, go to the J.D. Williams library site and watch
http://www.olemiss.edu/depts/general_library/instruction/resources/plagiarism_ac_honest/
plagiarism_academic_honesty_text.html
For the paper, students should use secondary sources that are refereed by historians
such as articles in academic journals and books written by historians. Primary sources
include the census, newspapers, and novels written at the time as well as letters and
government documents. Sites like Wikipedia and ask.com cannot be used, as they are not
refereed. Material in databases held by the library, however, is appropriate. Students
must receive the professor’s permission to use material other than that found in Archives
and Special Collections and in Ryan Johnson’s website designed specifically for this class:
http://www.library.olemiss.edu/guides/course-guide/history-304-us-1877-1919-payne
Students concerned to improve their writing can benefit by using this interactive writing
program: http://writersdiet.com/WT.php
Please note that it is the policy of the Department of History that students must earn
at least the grade of C in order to have a history course count toward completion of the
history major.
Inasmuch as discussion is important for the success of this course, the student’s
grade will be deducted five points for each absence after three missed classes. Please
reserve these three classes for the eventualities of illness or family emergencies. Although
serious, documented illness will be accommodated, the professor will not otherwise be
responsible for covering missed material with the student. Nor will she encourage other
students to share material, as conscientious students have complained in the past that they
feel exploited by students who do not take attendance seriously and see no reason why they
should spend their time helping classmates whom they regard as irresponsible. All makeup quizzes and exams must be taken immediately and before the quizzes and exams are
returned to the class. Only students who represent the campus in an official university
function or present documented evidence of illness or family emergency will be able to take
make-ups. Attendance will be taken through the student’s signing the daily attendance
chart provided by the professor.
Classroom deportment is important to the functioning of an effective class. This
specific course is not required of anyone. Therefore, it is assumed that all students who
take this course do so because of interest. In order to protect the majority of students who
are respectful to each other as well as to the professor, certain behavior will not be
tolerated. A list of expected behavior is included after the schedule of lectures and
assignments.
http://www.historycooperative.org/jgaindex.html--Link to Online
resourceshttp://members.aol.com/TeacherNet/WWI.html--World War I Web List
READING LIST
Janet Sharp Hermann, The Pursuit of a Dream
Booker T. Washington, Up From Slavery
Andrew Carnegie, The Gospel of Wealth
Margaret Bolsterli, ed., Vinegar Pie and Chicken Bread
Thomas Andrews, Killing for Coal: America’s Deadliest Labor War
John Milton Cooper, The Warrior and the Priest: Woodrow Wilson and Theodore
Roosevelt
August
20---Introduction
22—Reconstruction
24—Native American Tribal Life
27—Industrializing America
29*--The Pursuit of a Dream
September
31—Urbanizing America
5— Meet with Leigh McWhite in Archives and Special Collections
7—Immigration and the American Dream
10—Sharecropping and Tenancy in the American South
12*—Up From Slavery
14—The Rise of Jim Crow
17—Meet with Ryan Johnson in Library, first floor
19---Exam
21— Social Darwinism
24—Laborers Strike Back
26*--The Gospel of Wealth
28—Bessemer Steel and Architectural Innovations
October
1—Culture and the Revolution of Shopping
Due: One page Description of Topic for research paper and Sources
3—Transforming Rural American
5—The Revolt of the Populists
8—Disease
10— Film: “The Great Fever”
12*— Vinegar Pie and Chicken Bread
15—Never Done—Women’s Domestic Work
17*--Exam
19-- The Spanish American War and Civil War Memory
22— Reproduction and Children
24—Women’s Suffrage
29—Film: American Experience—“One Woman, One Vote”
31*--The Warrior and the Priest
November
2—Film: American Experience: “Triangle Fire”
5— The Election of 1912
7—The History of Mass Production
9*--Killing for Coal
12—Progressivism and the Social Gospel
14—The Nation Goes to War
16---Discussion of Papers
26—A World at War
28—Film “1918: Influenza”
Papers Due
30—The Treaty of Versailles
December
5—Exam—12:00
Sleeping in class is not acceptable nor is repeated lateness.
Cell phones must be turned off, and students must not check nor send text messages after
class begins.
If a student leaves the room during class without an excuse, s/he may not return to class.
Reading newspapers or material for other classes after the class begins is not acceptable.
Writing assignments for other classes or copying History 304 notes from previous lectures
is not acceptable.
Carrying on independent conversations with one’s neighbor during lectures or discussions
is disruptive.
If you have a medical problem that necessitates frequent exits from the classroom, advise
your instructor at the beginning of class. She will arrange seating for you close to the door.
Students may not leave the room after receiving an exam until the exam is completed.
Students with documented disabilities should inform the instructor at the beginning of
semester. Accommodations will be made.