This course will introduce students to the central themes of American history, with a special emphasis on the development of concepts that continue to define the lives of Americans in the twenty-first cen-tury: race relations, colonization and international relations, and capitalism. Students who successfully complete this course are adept at analyzing primary and secondary sources, communicate clear and logical arguments to back up their opinions, and can identify the power of the individual in American history and contemporary society. There are no prerequisites for this course. The course syllabus pro-vides a general plan for the course; deviations may be necessary.
Texts for this class:
Textbook: The American Yawp (americanyawp.org)
A Storm of Witchcraft, Emerson Baker
Cherokee Rose, Tiya Miles
This class adheres to university policies on academic honesty, plagiarism, and accommodation:
Virginia Tech welcomes students with disabilities into the University’s educational programs. The University promotes efforts to provide equal access and a culture of inclusion without altering the essential elements of coursework. If you anticipate or experience academic barriers that may be due to disability, including but not limited to ADHD, chronic or temporary medical conditions, deaf or hard of hearing, learning disability, mental health, or vision impairment, please contact the Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) office (540-231-3788, ssd@vt.edu, or visit www.ssd.vt.edu). If you have an SSD accommodation letter, please meet with me privately during office hours as early in the semester as possible to deliver your letter and discuss your accommodations. You must give me reasonable notice to implement your accommodations, which is generally 5 business days and 10 business days for final exams.
The Undergraduate Honor Code pledge that each member of the university community agrees to abide by states:
“As a Hokie, I will conduct myself with honor and integrity at all times. I will not lie, cheat, or steal, nor will I accept the actions of those who do.”
Students enrolled in this course are responsible for abiding by the Honor Code. A student who has doubts about how the Honor Code applies to any assignment is responsible for obtaining specific guidance from the course instructor before submitting the assignment for evaluation. Ignorance of the rules does not exclude any member of the University community from the requirements and expectations of the Honor Code.
For additional information about the Honor Code, please visit: https://www.honorsystem.vt.edu/
Honor Code Pledge for Assignments:
The Virginia Tech honor code pledge for assignments is as follows: “I have neither given nor received unauthorized assistance on this assignment.”
The pledge is to be written out on all graded assignments at the university and signed by the student. The honor pledge represents both an expression of the student’s support of the honor code and an unambiguous acknowledgment that the student has, on the assignment in question, abided by the obligation that the Honor Code entails. In the absence of a written honor pledge, the Honor Code still applies to an assignment.
If you have questions or are unclear about what constitutes academic misconduct on an assignment, please speak with me. I take the Honor Code very seriously in this course. The normal sanction I will recommend for a violation of the Honor Code is an F* sanction as your final course grade. The F represents failure in the course. The “*” is intended to identify a student who has failed to uphold the values of academic integrity at Virginia Tech. A student who receives a sanction of F* as their final course grade shall have it documented on their transcript with the notation “FAILURE DUE TO ACADEMIC HONOR CODE VIOLATION.” You would be required to complete an education program administered by the Honor System in order to have the “*” and notation “FAILURE DUE TO ACADEMIC HONOR CODE VIOLATION” removed from your transcript. The “F” however would be permanently on your transcript.
1. Computer/Cell Phone policy: Neither are allowed, unless you need special accommodations for a computer. During class, we will take a break for phone and computer time.
2. Late/Absent Policy: Attendance is mandatory. Excessive tardiness and absence is unacceptable and will result in a lower participation grade; three unexcused absences are allowed. A late assignment cannot receive a higher grade than the lowest grade given to a paper or assignment turned in on time.
3. Course Evaluations: Your constructive assessment of this course plays an indispensable role in shaping education at Virginia Tech. Upon completing the course, please take time to fill out the online course evaluation.
Grading Scale:
Grade
A
A-
B+
B
B-
C+
C
C-
D+
Grade Points
4.0
3.67
3.33
3.0
2.67
2.33
2.0
1.67
1.33
20% Midterm (PLEASE BRING A BLUE BOOK): The midterm will be held Monday, October 14. It will consist of part essay and part short answer. A study guide will be provided a week before the exam. Make-ups for the midterm must be scheduled during office hours before the original date and time of the midterm, and the questions will differ from the original midterm.
25% Final (DECEMBER 13 AT 1:05 PM, PLEASE BRING A BLUE BOOK): The cumulative final exam is 2 hours long and will take place in our class-room. The format will be identical to the midterm. Because of the length and timing of final exams, no make-ups will be provided.
15% Class Participation: Participation from everyone is necessary for successful discus-sion periods. This grade is admittedly subjective and it is not an easy A component of your grade. Be respectful and thoughtful with your comments. Your contributions to discussion should demonstrate that you read for class and that you take the points of your colleagues into account. You are encouraged to come to office hours for further discussion or with any questions or concerns. This grade also includes attendance, such that students who come to class regularly but are quiet in class can also receive a good grade.
10% Online Participation (DUE MIDNIGHT TUESDAY): Once a week, students answer a question in the syllabus (3) or complete a quiz (7) on Canvas about the readings. You can take the quizzes an unlimited number of times, and they are not timed. I will use these to structure discussion on Wednesday, so these are due midnight Tuesday.
20% Paper: Your papers will be in response to the books we will be reading. Prompts will be handed out at least two weeks ahead of time, and we will make them in class. Your paper should be 2 to 3 pages, TNR 12-point font, double-spaced, with 1'' margins. Your name and title should be in the header. Your paper should balance fact and analysis, without resulting in either summary or op-ed. You should cite facts and ideas that are not yours. Please use Chicago-style footnotes (http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org). I will always read drafts before the deadline. Talk to me about any questions.
10% Pop quizzes (4): Pop quizzes will either be multiple choice, short answer, or a com-bination. Questions will be drawn from the lectures, textbook, or primary source read-ings, or I will give out a primary source for you to analyze. There is no make-up for pop quizzes, but there will be five and I will drop your quiz with the lowest grade.
Schedule:
All readings are due the Wednesday of the week for which they are listed.
August 26
Week 1: The Continent before Europeans, and the Age of Exploration
How are Native American societies different from European societies? How does Indian history change throughout the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries? How do Indian peoples alter their lives in order to survive?
American Yawp, ch. 1, The New World
September 2
Week 2: Early Settlement Patterns and Ways of Thinking
Some of the early English settlers and settlement promoters saw "the New World" as a blank canvas. Why did land and labor exploitation unfold the way it did? Are Anglo-American societies unique, or a transplant of their European counterpart?
American Yawp, ch. 2, Colliding Cultures
A Storm of Witchcraft, 3-97
First Reading Quiz on Canvas
September 9
Week 3: Anglo-American Life, and Under It
To what extent can political turmoil all around the Atlantic (in the colonies, Indian nations, African nations, and in Europe) explain events like the Salem witch trials and Bacon’s Rebellion? How did geography and social environment determine the fate of many of the people we learn about?
American Yawp, ch. 3, British North America
A Storm of Witchcraft, 98-193
Second Reading Quiz on Canvas
September 16
Week 4: Revolutions before the Revolution
Eighteenth-century merchants and thinkers quickened the exchange of goods, ideas, and people across the Atlantic. Who benefits from the relationship between England and her colonies? Many of the same people who consumed goods also facilitated the rise of slavery. Simply documenting changes in law and language shows that racism and slavery developed over time. How did they benefit some and oppress others?
American Yawp, ch. 4, Colonial Society
A Storm of Witchcraft, 194-end
Third Reading Quiz on Canvas
September 23
Week 5: American Revolution
The English colonists required English goods and British protection from foreign and domestic enemies. Why did 13 provincial governments choose to break away? Why did some choose to break away, and not others?
American Yawp, ch. 5: The American Revolution
Primary source: Pick a Revolutionary War pension applicant from revwarapps.org. Be prepared to discuss: how old was he when he joined? How far did he travel from home? Did he see combat? What is his economic status at the time of application? How does he portray himself?
September 30
PAPER DUE SEPTEMBER 30
Week 6: The Revolutions after the Revolution
The planters, merchants, and lawyers at the Constitutional Conventions were handed the opportunity to create a government. Why did they choose the Articles of Confed-eration? Why didn't it work?
The Revolution is over and the Constitution is signed, but there were still many differ-ent hopes for the future of the "United States." Do they come into alignment? What is sacrificed in order to keep the country from breaking apart?
American Yawp, ch. 6: A New Nation
October 7
Week 7: The Last of the Tri-corn Hats
This period is all about Virginians and their policies. How do the Commonwealth’s presidents govern, and who resists their leadership?
American Yawp, ch. 7: The Early Republic
“The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” (Online)
Fourth Reading Quiz on Canvas
October 14
MIDTERM Monday, October 14
No class the rest of the week!
Skim American Yawp, Chapter 8: The Market Revolution
Write down 5-7 key words with definitions and bring to class Monday, 10/21
October 21
Week 9: New “Democracy”
Politics became rowdier and brutal in the early nineteenth century, personified by President Andrew Jackson. How did these administrations deal with difficult problems like slavery and Native American land ownership? How much power was vested in the idealized "yeoman?”
American Yawp, ch. 9: Democracy in America
Cherokee Rose, 3-76
Fifth Reading Quiz on Canvas
October 28
Week 10: Nineteenth-Century Activism!
The dizzying number of Congressional compromises and debates over the meaning of slavery represent the scramble to patch up a deep sectional divide. How did slavery become so legally, morally, economically, religiously, and culturally divisive?
American Yawp, ch. 10: Religion and Reform
Cherokee Rose, 77-167
Sixth Reading Quiz on Canvas
November 4
Week 11: Slavery Transforms Again
Cherokee Rose, 168-end
Seventh Reading Quiz
November 11
Week 12: Creating Room to Expand
The contests over Native American territory in the West were tied to industrialization in the East. How did the West transform American identity and change our ideas about race and land use? What is the relationship between the expansion west and wage laborers in the east?
American Yawp, ch. 12: Manifest Destiny
For class Wednesday, post about a specific trend—about a certain year, county, and/or crop—you noticed in “The Forced Migration of Enslaved People” exhibit at dsl.richmond.edu/panorama. Use one of the provided narratives to explain your trend.
November 18
PAPER DUE NOVEMBER 18
Week 13: The 1850s
Could the Civil War have been prevented? Could the South have avoided the emancipation of enslaved African-Americans, or the collapse of their economy? Could slavery and freedom ultimately coexist in the same country?
The American Yawp, ch. 13: The Sectional Crisis
November 25
No class Wednesday or Friday
The Civil War
Although it ended 150 years ago, the Civil War remains one of the most divisive historical events for modern Americans. The Civil War was fought over slavery and resulted in a decisive victory leading to the emancipation of enslaved people; why would modern Americans still care?
American Yawp, ch. 14: The Civil War
For discussion on Wednesday, pick a photograph from the Library of Congress Civil War collection and explain why you chose it (http://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/cwp/). The Civil War was one of the first extensively photographed wars in history. How do you think your image, or this collection in general, changed how Americans saw war?
December 2
Week 15: Reconstruction
Why do we end this class with Reconstruction? Was it a success or a failure? In what way does the end of the Civil War and Reconstruction represent the beginning of modern America?
American Yawp, ch. 15: Reconstruction
December 9
Create exam and review for exam
Final Exam: December 13, 1:05