H105: American History I

INSTRUCTOR: JAMIE WARREN

OFFICE HOURS: Monday 1:45-2:45, or by Appt.

Cavanaugh Hall 503T

Course Description:

This course begins in the early 17th Century, with British settlement in America and ends with the American Civil War in 1865. The course is designed to introduce students to major themes in United States history, with a focus on the idea of American freedom. By exploring the perspectives of different groups of peoples living in early America--Native Americans, Africans, and Europeans--we will discover that the meaning of "freedom" was never absolute, but rather meant different things to different people. In fact, we will discover that the meaning of freedom in early America was always entangled with the reality of slavery. This class will also explore other major themes such as slavery, nation-building, national identity, geographic and economic expansion, and sectional conflict in the history of the United States from its founding to its ultimate failure in the Civil War.

Objectives:

  • To introduce students to central themes in American history, 1600-1865
  • To analyze secondary sources and place primary source materials in historical context.
  • To actively discuss American history in an academic setting.
  • To make connections between economic, social, cultural, and political changes.
  • These objectives are consistent with several of the goals enunciated in IUPUI's

"Principles of Undergraduate Learning," especially those principles concerning

"understanding society and culture" and "core communication and quantitative

skills.

How This Course Will Help You Learn These Things

  • Through reading, class lectures, and class discussion, we will survey American history.
  • We will examine primary sources in class and work on building critical reading skills and how to use sources to interpret events and the past.
  • In homework assignments you will practice reading and analyzing documents—at first with questions that guide you through a step-by-step process and later on your own.

Assignments/ Grade Break-down:

  • Exams: You will take two in-class exams. Each exam is worth 25% of your overall all grade. Exams will include short answer and longer essay questions. These exams will be based on readings and lectures.
  • On-line Quizzes: You will take six quizzes via Oncourse. The quizzes will be based on assigned readings. These six grades will be averaged and will count for 20% of your overall grade. Deadlines for quizzes will be announced in class.
  • In-class Writing Assignments: You will have a number of in-class writing assignments, which will be averaged together for 30% of your overall grade. These assignments will focus on class readings, primary documents, in-class films, and lecture material. You cannot make up a missed assignment. However, I will drop your lowest score, so if you miss one assignment, it will not hurt your grade.

A Note on Attendance and Participation: Regular attendance and participation in class discussion is expected and required for success in this class. We will cover topics in lecture and discussion that are not covered by your texts. Please make every effort to attend each class. If for some reason you have to miss class, it is your responsibility to get notes from another classmate.

Grading scale: (including the standard plus/minus scale)

  • A (90-100): Thorough knowledge of the material; polished and creative essays; critical analysis of readings in discussions.
  • B (80-89): Thorough knowledge of the material; well-written essays; regular participation in discussion.
  • C (70-79): Basic knowledge and understanding of the material; occasional participation.
  • D (60-69): Limited or mistaken knowledge of the material; unorganized essays; little participation.
  • F (59 or below): Lacking knowledge of the material; assignments incomplete; no

participation.

Note on Plagiarism:

According to the IU Code of Student Rights, Responsibilities, and Conduct, Part III, Student Misconduct, Academic Misconduct:

“A student must not adopt or reproduce ideas, words, or statements of another person without appropriate acknowledgment. A student must give credit to the originality of others and acknowledge an indebtedness whenever he or she does any of the following:

▪ Quotes another person's actual words, either oral or written;

▪ Paraphrases another person's words, either oral or written;

▪ Uses another person's idea, opinion, or theory; or

▪ Borrow facts, statistics, or other illustrative material, unless the information is common knowledge.”

Readings:

The following books need to be purchased for this class:

1)Eric Foner
Give Me Liberty! An American History. Volume 1 (paperback)
Second Edition, WW Norton & Company

2)Gary Nash

Race and Revolution, Madison House Publishers, 1990.

3) Frederick Douglass

Autobiography

In addition to these texts you will be given some primary sources, which will be handed out in class or made available on Oncourse.

Please note: You are responsible for completing the assigned reading, along with completing any accompanying handouts, before coming to class.

Classroom Etiquette:

This should go without saying, but just in case…

Please make sure you are in class on time ready to start. Do not pack up to go early while class is in session. And above all, DO NOT engage in discussion with classmates during class. This is very distracting to those around you, and to the instructor as well.

Make sure all cell phones are off. And do not use laptops in class—even for note taking. This is a History Department policy. These are all just matters of politeness and respect.

Daily Schedule

Aug. 26th: Introduction to Class

Aug. 31st: “Facing East from Indian Country”

Reading due: Foner 8-23

Sept. 2nd: Spanish and French Imperial Projects

Sept. 7th: No Class

Sept. 9th: The First Permanent English Settlement in America

Reading Due: Foner 53-73

Primary Source: Richard Frethorne “An Indentured Servant’s Letter Home” (1623)

Sept. 14th: Comparing Early Settlement in Chesapeake and New England

Sept. 16th: The Search for Religious “Freedom”

Reading Due: Foner 74-87

Primary Source: “The Massachusetts’s Bay Colony Case against Anne

Hutchinson” (1637)

Sept 21st: The Growth of American Slavery

Reading Due: Foner 134-144

Sept 23rd: The “Middle” Ground

Sept 28th: Disintergrating Imperial Relations

Primary Source: John Dickinson “Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania” (1767-68)

Sept. 30th: The Ideas of the American Revolution

Reading Due: Nash, Chapter 1 + Documents

Oct. 5th: Early Nation Building

Oct. 7th: The Problem of Slavery in the Early Republic

Reading Due: Nash Chapter 2 + Documents

Oct. 12: Securing the Republic

Primary Source: Thomas Jefferson “Notes on the State of Virginia”(1785)

Oct 14th: The 2nd War for Independence

Reading Due: Foner 279-307

Oct. 19th: The Market Revolution and the “Free” Citizen

Reading Due: Foner 313-329

Oct 21st: The Jacksonian Impulse and Indian Removal

Reading Due: 353-376

Oct 26th: EXAM 1

Oct. 28th: Film Slavery and the Making of America

Begin Reading the excerpt from Douglass’s Autobiography

Nov. 2nd: Antebellum Slavery

Continue Douglass Reading

Nov. 4th: Antebellum Slavery Cont.

Finish Douglass

Nov. 9th: Age of Reform

Nov. 11th: The Origins of the Woman’s Rights Movement

Reading Due: Foner 448-457, and PDs from Grimke and Seneca Falls

Nov. 16th: Territorial Expansion

Reading Due: Foner 463-474

Nov. 18th: Race and Expansion

Nov. 23rd: Rising Sectional Conflict

Reading Due: Foner 474-487

THANKSGIVING BREAK

Nov. 30th: Slavery and National Disunion

Reading Due: Foner 487-499, and PD: Judge Taney’s decision

Dec. 2nd: Civil War

Reading Due: Foner 504-514

Dec. 7th: Emancipation

Reading Due: Foner 514-543

Dec. 9th: Reinventing American Freedom

In-class activity: The meaning of American Freedom in the modern world

Evaluations

Dec. 14th: FINAL EXAM