Survey of American History: Interpreting Primary Documents

1. HST 202DWinter 2008Dr. Max G. Geiergeierm@wou.eduhttp//www.wou.edu/~geierm/Office: Maaske 221Office Hrs: M 12-1, W 12-2, R 1-2 or by appointment

2. On-line Syllabus and contacts • See syllabus to access my webpage at http://www.wou.edu/~geierm/ • On-line version of Syllabus is on my webpage under “Current Courses” link to HST 202D • Includes hyperlinks to publisher’s website: http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/henrettaconcise/ • Weekly readings include hyperlinks to Critical Thinking Modules (e.g. “Voices from Slavery” ) • Includes hyperlinks to on-line versions of the student code of conduct and campus/division policies on academic honesty

3. Course Objectives • This is a survey course that introduces students to professional standards of history as an academic discipline involving critical analysis and written interpretation of primary documents. • It links these primary materials with recent scholarship in the field of American history for the period before 1830. • Class meetings are designed to encourage general discussion of assigned readings, with supplemental lectures that develop contrasting interpretations and expand on relevant interpretive themes. • Student-led roundtables focus on particular primary sources and interpretive themes. • Students will learn and gain experience with the various tools historians use to advance our understanding of the past. • By the end of the course, students will develop and demonstrate an ability to synthesize and express, in writing and in oral argument, their own understanding of evidence and ideas, following the accepted, professional standards of scholars in this field.

4. REQUIRED TEXTS • There are 5 required texts, which we will refer to in class discussions by using the last name of the leading author or editor: • 1. Henretta • 2. Rampolla • 3. Calloway • 4. Chávez • 5. Marten

5. www.bedfordstmartins.com/henrettaconcise A free web site accompanies the Henretta text. Some required assignments will draw on this site, which also includes much unassigned material that may help you better understand this course.

6. Required Texts James Henretta, et al., America: A Concise History, Third Edition. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2006. See also the website for this text at http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/henrettaconcise/ (log-in as “student” and note the various resources available for students--then click on “critical thinking modules”—these will be the focus of a number of in-class discussions, as indicated in the schedule, below. Contact the instructor immediately if you have difficulty accessing these on-line materials) Mary Lynn Rampolla, Pocket Guide for Writing in History, Fifth Edition. Boston, MA: Bedford/St Martin's, 2007. Collin G. Calloway, ed. Our Hearts Fell to the Ground: Plains Indian Views of How the West was Lost. Boston, MA: Bedford Books, 1996. Ernesto Chávez, ed. The U.S. War with Mexico: A Brief History with Documents. Boston, MA: Bedford/St Martin's, 2008. James Marten, ed. Childhood and Child Welfare in the Progressive Era: A Brief History with Documents. Boston, MA: Bedford/St Martin's, 2005.

7. Class Format: • Weekly units of readings in primary and secondary sources • Discussion questions for each week are designed to suggest how the readings for that week relate to each other and to broader themes • Lectures supplemental to readings and discussions • Six Student-led Roundtables during the term based on Bedford texts

8. Required Products: • Analysis Papers: 35% of total for the course • combined total for 2 papers • each is due one week after roundtable(s) on which it is based • Each is a formal essay responding to a question that will be provided in the week prior to the due date • Class Participation: a combined total of 20% of total for the course, broken down as follows: • 50% based on participation on a Roundtable panel • 30% based on participation in other class discussions • 20% based on regular attendance and engaged listening • Midterm exam: 20% of total for the course—a unit exam covering material from the first 5 weeks • Final Exam: 25% of total for the course—a unit exam covering material from the final 5 weeks

9. Roundtables • Each student will serve on one of the six scheduled Roundtable panels, as shown in the syllabus (about 4-6 students per panel) • Each roundtable focuses on a specific group of primary-source “voices” as shown on the syllabus (readings from on-line sources & Bedford texts) • Panel participants will lead a class discussion of those readings, focusing on the central question(s) posed for that Roundtable (see syllabus) • In-class time will be provided at the end of several class meetings to help panel members coordinate their work for each Roundtable • A passing grade in this course requires satisfactory service on at least one Roundtable panel • During the first week of classes, students may volunteer to serve on a particular Roundtable panel, as space permits. • Students who have not volunteered by Monday of week two will be placed on a panel chosen by the instructor.

10. Analysis Papers • a formal essay that critically analyzes a Roundtable question (see syllabus), drawing effectively on evidence from assigned readings, discussions, lectures, and primary-source documents • grading criteria are explained on the syllabus • length is flexible, but a well-crafted paper will run about 750-1000 words (3-4 pages, double-spaced), not including endnotes. • All papers submitted for a grade must fully and completely cite sources, following the endnote/footnote format explained in the Rampolla pocket guide. As historians, we follow the Chicago Manual of Style, which is the basis for this pocket guide.

11. Exam Format • Identification/matching section of terms and their broader significance to central themes • Essay section • Two questions on midterm (one focusing especially on material covered in Roundtables #2 and #3, the other more broadly based on material from the first 5 weeks of the course, including Roundtable #1) • Two questions on final exam (one focusing especially on material covered in Roundtable #6, the other more broadly based on the final 5 weeks of the course, including Roundtables #4 & #5)

12. Academic Honesty Policy • Analysis papers must fully cite any and all sources referenced, quoted, or otherwise consulted in the course of generating or developing ideas for these assignments. (i.e. Use Footnotes!) • Students are expected to familiarize themselves with, and adhere to the WOU student code of conduct and the Social Science Division policy on academic dishonesty in all matters pertaining to this class. Student code of conduct (see course syllabus for hyperlink): http://www.wou.edu/student/csr.php • Penalties for violating academic honesty guidelines include failure in this course Policy on Academic Dishonesty (see syllabus for hyperlink): http://www.wou.edu/las/socsci • Violations are subject to review at the campus level, as detailed in the student code of conduct.

13. Statement on Disabilities Students with documented disabilities who may need accommodations, who have any emergency medical information the instructor should be aware of, or who need special arrangements in the event of evacuation, should make an appointment with the instructor as early as possible, and no later than the first week of the term. For more information on services and support available on this campus, interested students should contact the Office of Disability Services (838-8250v/tty) in the AP 405.

14. Statement on Cell Phones & Other Electronic Devices Cellphones should be turned off before class begins, and they should remain off during class. Use of electronic devices during class is prohibited unless previously authorized, in writing, by the instructor. Violations will be referred to the dean of student’s office. Recording images or voices of people without the knowledge and permission of the person being recorded is a violation of law and is prohibited in this class. Violations will be referred to the dean of students office.

15. Before Next Meeting (Wednesday) • Read the entire syllabus (all 4 pages) • Purchase required texts • Read assignment for this first week: • Rampolla, pp. 1-24, 43-68, 88-95; • Henretta, pp. 309-321, 322-341 (note especially “voices”) • Calloway, pp. 1-8, 21-30, 31-36 (see “voices” on syllabus) • Visit and bookmark my website for future reference • Sign-in to the bedfordstmartins site (see on-line syllabus for hyperlinks), and then: • complete the plagiarism tutorial • Browse through the other available resources & learning aids • Note: pop-ups must be enabled in browser to access the modules on this website

16. Outline for Week 1 (week of Weds. 7 January 2008) • Economic Revolution and the Nature of History: Remembered and Imagined Pasts • Week #1 Readings: Rampolla, pp. 1-24, 43-68, 88-95; Henretta, pp. 309-321, 322-341; Calloway, pp. 1-8, 21-30, 31-36 • Discussion Questions: • What are some inherent biases in the discipline of history as an academic pursuit? How do Historians adjust for those biases? • What is the relation between evidence and argument in professional history writing and analysis? • How does choice of evidence influence perceptions of sectional differences in 19th century U.S.? • How did the economic revolution and urbanization trends discussed in Henretta relate to Indians in the West? • c. Voices: Lone Dog’s Winter Count (1801-1877); John Gough, Black Hawk, Margaret Bayard Smith

17. 2. Defining the Limits of American History • a. What kinds of sources are available for understanding the experience of 19th century America? • b. What biases do those sources introduce into our understanding of that period? • c. How do historians adjust for those biases? • d. What kinds of questions do historians ask of those sources?

18. 3. Re-definition of the U.S. after the War of 1812

19. 3. Re-definition of the U.S. after the War of 1812 • “opening” of American society and collapse of pre-war leadership • birth of “Manifest Destiny” paradigm of Militant Nationalist Expansionism, 1815-1920

20. 3. Re-definition of the U.S. after the War of 1812 • c. America in transition • era of rapid growth and origins of a “Reform” ethic in the U.S. • roots of westward expansion in the “Reform” impulse of 19th century • problems of race and cultural conflict amid origins and aftermath of the Civil War

21. 3. Re-definition of the U.S. after the War of 1812 • d. Imperial tendencies of the United States in 19th century and origins of the Civil War

22. 3. Re-definition of the U.S. after the War of 1812 • d. Imperial tendencies of the United States in 19th century and origins of the Civil War

23. 3. Re-definition of the U.S. during the War of 1812 (theme of expansive nationalism) • e. Industrial transformation of the United States in 19th century and origins of the Civil War

24. 4. Evangelical expansiveness and mission vs underlying culture of parochialism and localism • a. Suspicion/hostility to outsiders vs outward thrust of American development/culture Charging Up San Juan Hill, 1898 (version one)

25. 4. Evangelical expansiveness and mission vs underlying culture of parochialism and localism • b. differences of race, class, culture Charging up San Juan Hill, 1898 (version two)

26. 4. Evangelical expansiveness and mission vs underlying culture of parochialism and localism • c. Rhetoric of rampant individualism vs traditions of community and continuity Colored Women’s League, ca.1890s New Orleans militiamen in January 1815

27. 4. Evangelical expansiveness and mission vs underlying culture of parochialism and localism • d. American System ideal of an integrated economy vs reality of slave/plantation economy

28. 4. Evangelical expansiveness and mission vs underlying culture of parochialism and localism • e. Era of rapid industrial development and urban growth vs rhetoric of frontier individualism Pennsylvania “breaker boys”, ca. 1880s

29. 4. Evangelical expansiveness and mission vs underlying culture of parochialism and localism • f. Era of challenges to the dominant culture Hampton University History Class, ca. 1890 Booker T. Washington

30. 4. Evangelical expansiveness and mission vs underlying culture of parochialism and localism • g. Emerging paradigm of violence vs co-existing cultures of “uncommon men” Victims of the Wounded Knee Massacre, 1890

31. Next meeting: Industrial networks and pastoral landscapes: How did the national system change the lives of rural people?

32. Before Next Meeting (Wednesday) • Read the entire syllabus (all 4 pages) • Purchase required texts • Read assignment for this first week: • Rampolla, pp. 1-24, 43-68, 88-95; • Henretta, pp. 309-321, 322-341 (note especially “voices”) • Calloway, pp. 1-8, 21-30, 31-36 (see “voices” on syllabus) • Visit and bookmark my website for future reference • Sign-in to the bedfordstmartins site (see on-line syllabus for hyperlinks), and then: • complete the plagiarism tutorial • Browse through the other available resources & learning aids • Note: pop-ups must be enabled in browser to access the modules on this website