Class:  Mondays, 5:30-10:30 p.m.  Office:  Mondays, 4:45-5:30pm and by appointment  Classroom: PEL North Pinellas Center My Office: 321 Poynter Library, USF St. Petersburg

 

Course Description:

This survey course introduces students to the history of the United States and gives attention to relevant developments in the Western Hemisphere from the pre-colonial period to the present day. Class lectures provide a sweeping overview of events and reveal trends that have shaped life in North America since the early 1500s.  Course readings and film excerpts reinforce the topics covered in the lectures. This course satisfies the Humanities Area requirement.

In this reading-intensive course, Eckerd PEL students will travel through fast-paced sessions that follow major themes and chronological developments in American history.  The first class meeting introduces class members to the practice and study of history.  Subsequent lectures and class readings provide a framework that will prepare students for other history and humanities courses.

One required textbook and two optional workbooks will guide our understanding and analysis of American history.  In their comprehensive America: A Narrative History (brief, fifth edition), George Brown Tindall and David E. Shi provide a general survey of the period, packed with great detail and information.  We will also examine the practice of historical scholarship.  Students have the option of purchasing the two-workbook set, Reading and Writing American History: An Introduction to the Historian’s Craft (second edition), if they wish to examine approaches to crafting essays and evaluating documents. We will, as a matter of practice, cover these techniques during lectures and class discussions. 
 
 

Learning Objectives:

After successfully completing the course, students will be able to:

 Understand the development of American political, social, and 
  economic institutions since the colonial period.
 Comprehend the settlement patterns and activities of colonial
  societies.
 Describe differences between English, French, and Spanish
  colonial systems.
 Examine the colonial and European intellectual traditions that
  shaped the Revolutionary era.
 Discuss the issues facing framers of the Constitution and the
  early leaders of the Republic.
 Recount the events that defined the Age of Jefferson and the 
  Age of Jackson, including the growth of slavery and
  Sectionalism during the early nineteenth century. 
 Understand how the tragedy of the Civil War and the legacies of
  Reconstruction redefined the American social order.
 Assess the impact of industrialization, immigration, 
  and urbanization.
 Evaluate the effects of Populism, Progressivism, and labor
   reform during the industrial age.
 Trace the emergence of America as an empire and world power.
 Compare the social and economic aspects of corporate expansion
  with the re-evaluation of corporate and government roles
  after the Great Depression.
 Articulate the causes and consequences of America’s entry into
  the Second World War.
 Determine the short and long-term foreign and domestic policies
  that shaped the Cold War, the civil rights movement, and
  American military and diplomatic initiatives since World
   War II.
 Examine how present-day social, political, economic, and
  cultural events have evolved from actions taken in the past.
 

1. Completion of two examinations that cover many of the themes, concepts, and events discussed in both the class and assigned readings.  These non-cumulative examinations will take place on February 24 and March 17. The instructor will provide a study guide before each examination.  (20% each, for 40% of the final course grade)

2. Completion of three exercises related to research, writing, and interpretation in history.  The instructor will provide additional information about these exercises at the first class meeting.  The research exercise will gauge students’ abilities to locate and evaluate primary and secondary sources, examine various approaches to crafting history (including the use of cliometrics and the art of biography), and understand library and electronic research practices. Students will submit this assignment on February 17 (15%). The interpretation exercise, which the instructor will collect on March 3, allows class members to assess the use of maps, audio/visual materials, and multimedia resources in the craft of history, as well as examine the debate over subjectivity versus objectivity and the importance of attributing causality to historical events (15%).  The writing exercise, submitted to the instructor on March 10, provides an opportunity for students to learn outlining techniques, organizational processes, and essential elements of crafting narratives (15%). 

3. Completion of assigned readings prior to class and two unannounced quizzes, as well as participation in classroom discussions. (15%)

Students who actively participate in class and provide written assignments that demonstrate a strong understanding of the themes covered in the class will earn grades that represent their superior effort.
 

Regular and punctual attendance is essential in this comprehensive course, so please make every effort to attend all class sessions. Any absence will place the student at a disadvantage due to the depth and breadth of material we must cover. Students who miss the first class meeting and fail to notify the instructor shall be dropped from the class. If you know in advance that you cannot attend a class due to illness, religious observance, or extenuating circumstances, contact the instructor (553-1094 or by email) at your earliest convenience.  The instructor may, at his discretion, provide make-up assignments that cover the materials missed by the student.  The instructor reserves the right to reduce the final course grade due to excessive absences.

Grading Policy:

The instructor will determine your course grade by evaluating the examinations, quizzes, and papers you have submitted, using the plus/minus grading system at Eckerd College.

Note Taking Policy:

While you may share notes with other students enrolled in this section of the class, I prohibit the sale or redistribution of lecture notes or tape recordings to outside parties, such as note-taking services.

Tindall, George Brown, and David E. Shi.  America: A Narrative History. Brief Fifth
       Edition.  New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2000.

Optional Reading Material:

Hoffer, Peter Charles, and William W. Stueck.  Reading and Writing American History:
     An Introduction to the Historian’s Craft. Second Edition, vols. 1-2. Boston: 
     Houghton Mifflin, 1998. 
 
 

Monday, 27 January 2003 
FIRST CONTACTS AND LIFE IN COLONIAL ERA
  Introduction and course requirements
  Lecture: Overview of how to study history
  Lecture: The historiography of the United States
  Lecture and Discussion: Life before Columbus in Europe, Africa, and the Americas
  Lecture and Discussion: Sailing the ocean blue, and a cultural collision, too
  Lecture and Discussion: More than thirteen: the many colonies of North America
  Lecture and Discussion: Salutary neglect and the development of British colonies

  Before class, read: (Pre-assignment:)
   Tindall and Shi, America: A Narrative History, chaps. 1-3. (Required)
   Hoffer and Stueck, Reading and Writing, vol. 1, chaps. 1-3. (Optional)
 

Monday, 3 February 2003 
REVOLUTIONS AND CONSTITUTIONS, FEDERALISTS AND ANTI-FEDERALISTS
  Lecture and Discussion: Revolutionary impulses
  Lecture and Discussion: An uncertain union: States United
  Lecture and Discussion: Federalism and Anti-Federalism
  Lecture and Discussion: The Age of Jefferson, and the Virginia Dynasty
  Lecture and Discussion: Primary and secondary sources: putting together the puzzle
  Lecture and Discussion: Seeing history: maps and audio/visual approaches to the past
  Lecture and Discussion: Sensing history: digitization projects and electronic archives

  Before class, read:
   Tindall and Shi, America: A Narrative History, chaps. 4-8. (Required)
   Hoffer and Stueck, Reading and Writing, vol. 1, chaps. 4-6. (Optional)
 

Monday, 10 February 2003 
AGE OF JACKSON, SECTIONAL RIFTS, AND MANIFEST DESTINY
  Lecture and Discussion: Continental aspirations, Manifest Destiny, and Monroe’s Doctrine
  Lecture and Discussion: The culture of slavery, and the growth of sectionalism
  Lecture and Discussion: The Age of Jackson
  Lecture and Discussion: “Dredding” the Scott decision: crisis in the Union
  Lecture and Discussion: Libraries: virtual and traditional
  Lecture and Discussion: Organizing research, creating bibliographies

  Before class, read:
   Tindall and Shi, America: A Narrative History, chaps. 9-13. (Required)
   Hoffer and Stueck, Reading and Writing, vol. 1, chaps.7-9. (Optional)

  Assignment to do for next week:
   Finish Research Exercise
 

Monday, 17 February 2003 
 THE CIVIL WAR AND RECONSTRUCTION
  Submit Research Exercise
  Lecture and Discussion: A Civil War and a fragmented America
  Lecture and Discussion: Deconstructing Reconstruction
  Lecture and Discussion: A nation reborn and ever expanding
  Lecture and Discussion: How did it happen? Because of causality!
  Lecture and Discussion: Is seeing believing? Subjectivity and objectivity
  Discussion: Review for Mid-term Examination (covers events through 1865)

  Before class, read:
   Tindall and Shi, America: A Narrative History, chaps. 14-17. (Required)
   Hoffer and Stueck, Reading and Writing, vol. 1, chap. 10. (Optional)
   Hoffer and Stueck, Reading and Writing, vol. 2, chap. 1. (Optional)

  Assignment to do for next week:
   Prepare for Mid-term Examination
 

Monday, 24 February 2003 
AMERICA IN THE LATE NINETEENTH CENTURY:
URBAN, INDUSTRIAL, GILDED, AND IMPERIAL
  Mid-term Examination (90 minutes, begins promptly at 5:35 p.m.)
  Lecture and Discussion: Big sky, big smokestacks
  Lecture and Discussion: The annexation of the West, the incorporation of America
  Lecture and Discussion: Blue collar and white collar, city and suburb
  Lecture and Discussion: Social change and the social gospel
  Lecture and Discussion: Gilded age politics and agrarian demands for reform
  Lecture and Discussion: The closing of the frontier and the opening of imperial ambitions

  Before class, read:
   Tindall and Shi, America: A Narrative History, chaps. 18-22. (Required)
   Hoffer and Stueck, Reading and Writing, vol. 2, chaps. 2-3. (Optional)

  Assignment to do for next week:
   Finish Interpreting Exercise
 

Monday, 3 March 2003 
PROGRESSIVE, REGRESSIVE, AND DEPRESSIVE
  Submit Interpreting Exercise
  Lecture and Discussion: The Progressive era: progressive and regressive reforms
  Lecture and Discussion: Entangled alliances and the horror of the Great War
  Lecture and Discussion: Roaring into the Twenties
  Lecture and Discussion: Relief, recovery, and reform and the boom turned bust
  Lecture and Discussion: Pen to paper, fingers on the keyboard: Composing history
  Lecture and Discussion: Elements of writing, elements of style

  Before class, read:
   Tindall and Shi, America: A Narrative History, chaps. 23-27. (Required)
   Hoffer and Stueck, Reading and Writing, vol. 2, chaps. 4-5. (Optional)

  Assignment to do for next week:
   Finish Writing Exercise
 

Monday, 10 March 2003 
WARS, HOT AND COLD—CONTAINMENT, CENSENSUS, AND CONFLICT
  Submit Writing Exercise
  Lecture and Discussion: The New Deal, and new war clouds on the horizon
  Lecture and Discussion: The Second World War
  Lecture and Discussion: Postwar fears as the Cold War nears
  Lecture and Discussion: Baby boomers, Tupperware parties, dying salesmen, 
     and “organization men”
  Lecture and Discussion: Liking Ike, searching for subversives
  Lecture and Discussion: Civil rights, uncivil wrongs
  Discussion: Review for Final Examination (covers events since 1865)

  Before class, read:
   Tindall and Shi, America: A Narrative History, chaps. 28-32. (Required)
   Hoffer and Stueck, Reading and Writing, vol. 2, chaps. 6-7. (Optional)

  Assignment to do for next week:
   Prepare for Final Examination
 

Monday, 17 March 2003 
COUNTERCULTURE TO MODERN CULTURE
  Lecture and Discussion: A New Frontier, a Great Society
  Lecture and Discussion: Protest, counterculture, and utopian visions
  Lecture and Discussion: That ‘70s lecture: hard hats, disco dancers, hotel break-ins,
     and empty gas tanks
  Lecture and Discussion: Living in the material ‘80s: a neo-conservative response
  Evaluation of course learning experiences
  Final Examination (90 minutes)

  Before class, read:
   Tindall and Shi, America: A Narrative History, chaps. 33-36. (Required)
   Hoffer and Stueck, Reading and Writing, vol. 2, chaps. 8-10. (Optional)