TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY

HIST 105H.200 \ TTH 3:55-5:10 p.m. \ Glasscock Building 008
History of the United States to 1877
Spring Semester 2011
Dr. Baum

 

Required Reading:

The above books are for sale in the University Bookstore.

 

Lecture Topics and Reading Assignments:

Jan. 18 - 20: The New World Encounters the Old World
[Spain in America / Native American Peoples at the Time of Columbus / Points of Contrast between Spanish and English Colonization / Jamestown]
Reading: Give Me Liberty!, pp. xxiii-xxx; Chapter 1 [entire] & Chapter 2, pp. 43-62. 

Jan. 25 -27: English America, 1607-1700
[Puritans in Massachusetts Bay / Creation of a Slaveholding Society in Virginia]
Reading: Give Me Liberty!, Chapter 2, pp. 62-84, & Chapter 3 [entire]; and begin reading Salem Possessed.

Feb. 1 - 3: Life in American Colonial Society
[How Old World Life and Culture Changed in the Wilderness]
Reading: Give Me Liberty!, Chapter 4 [entire]; and finish reading Salem Possessed.

Feb. 8 - 10: The Struggle for Empire to 1763
[The Great Awakening / Widespread Freehold Tenure / Boisterous Colonial Politics / Problems in the Substratum of Anglo-American Life / The Seven Years' War]
Reading: Give Me Liberty!, begin reading Chapter 5.

Feb. 15 - 17: The American Revolution, 1763-1783
[Why the Colonists Revolted and How the Revolution Changed America]
Reading: Give Me Liberty!, finish reading Chapter 5 and read Chapter 6 [entire].

 February 22 (Tuesday): FIRST EXAM
[Give Me Liberty!, Chapters 1-6]

Feb. 24: Founding a Nation:  The Origins of the Constitution
[Achievements and Problems of the Confederation Government / Debates that Shaped the Constitution / Ratification /Fate of Indians & Blacks]
Reading: Give Me Liberty!, Chapter 7 [entire].

Mar. 1 - 3: Jeffersonian Democratic-Republicans versus Hamiltonian Federalists
[Issues that Divided Federalists and Jeffersonians / How Ascendancy to Power Affected Jeffersonian Principles and Ideas]
Reading: Give Me Liberty!, Chapter 8 [entire].


Feb. 8 - 10: The Market Revolution
[Explaining the American "Economic Miracle" / Importance of Cotton as an Export Crop / Social Impact of Economic Growth]
Reading: Give Me Liberty!, Chapter 9 [entire]; and begin reading Soul By Soul.

Feb. 15 – 17:  No Class [Spring break]

 Feb. 22 - 24:  Democracy in America, 1815-1840
["Era of Good Feelings" / Andrew Jackson's Rise to Power / "King Andrew" / Issues that Divided the Democrats and Whigs / The Second Party System / The 1840 Election]
Reading: Give Me Liberty!, Chapter 10 [entire].

Feb. 29 - 31:  The Old South, the Abolitionist Response, American Expansionism, and the Mexican War
[Social Structure of the White South / Life Under Slavery / Quieting the Opposition / The Texas Question / “A Dose of Arsenic”]
Reading: Give Me Liberty, Chapters 11 & 12 and Chapter 13, pp. 441-453; and finish reading Soul By Soul.

  April 5 (Tuesday): SECOND EXAM
[Give Me Liberty!, Chapters 7 - 12, and Chapter 13, pp. 441-453.

Apr. 7 - 12: The Coming of the Civil War
[The Road to Disunion:  The Causes of the Civil War]
Reading: Give Me Liberty!, Chapter 13, pp. 453-479, and begin reading The Killer Angels.

Apr. 14 - 19: The Civil War
[How the Civil War Changed the American Nation / Why the South Lost]
Reading: Give Me Liberty!, Chapter 14 [entire]; and finish reading The Killer Angels.

Apr. 21 – 28:  Presidential and Congressional Reconstruction
[Assessing What Went "Wrong" and What Went "Right" during Reconstruction]
Reading: These United States, Chapter 15 [entire]; and Matthew Gaines article.

   May 10 (Tuesday) 1 - 3 p.m.: FINAL COMPREHENSIVE EXAM
[Give Me Liberty!, Chapters 1-15; Salem Possessed; Soul By Soul; The Killer Angels; and Matthew Gaines article.]


 

Examinations and Term Paper:

EXAMS:  The exams will consist of essay and identification questions directly related to material presented in class lectures, assignments in the Foner textbook, Boyer and Nissenbaum, Johnson, and Shaara books, and the Matthew Gaines article.  For a list of essay and identification questions that have appeared on previous exams, go to "Dale Baum's Homepage" at http://www.tamu.edu/baum/ and navigate to http://www.tamu.edu/baum/us105Hquestions.html. Students will be furnished with a bluebook for writing each of the two semester exams and with two bluebooks for the final exam. One of the following three essay questions will appear on the final exam:

1.  According to Boyer and Nissenbaum, why did witchcraft possess Salem, Massachusetts?  Your answer must include the following elements:  [1] why two factions based on geographical, religious, family, and economic divisions arose in a particular area of Salem known as “Salem Village”; [2] why downtown Salem (or “Salem Town”) loomed so large in the minds of all the Salem Villagers; [3] why Samuel Parris made the situation worse by his sermons about the existence of “a conspiracy” against the Village; [4] why the pro-Parris faction subsequently did the accusing and why the accused were comprised of the anti-Parris faction; and [5] why the authors single out the commonplace workings of “commercial capitalism” as an underlying, although not understood or blamed at the time, source of the witchcraft hysteria and thus express sympathy for the accusers who instigated the deaths of  innocent people.

2.  Based on your reading of Johnson's Soul By Soul, discuss what occurred in the slave market when black Africans were packaged, priced and sold by answering the following questions:  [1] describe what it meant to the slaves themselves to be seen as a mere commodity and how they dealt emotionally with the prospect of their sale; [2] describe how the slave market held out the possibility of transforming the world of a buyer; [3] delineate the traders' strategies for selling a slave, such as their having a "story" for every slave and their special verbal skills for closing a sale; [4] discuss how slaves tried to manipulate a sale to benefit themselves; [5] mention how information provided by the slaves on the auction blocs could be important in post-sale disputes under Louisiana's "redhibition" (implied warranty) laws; and [6] state what was arguably the worst or most unnerving or chilling feature of the slaveholders' attitudes and assumptions within the slave market.

3.  Based on your reading of Shaara's prizewinning Civil War novel, describe what happened at the Battle of Gettysburg through the perspectives of James Longstreet and Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain.  In other words, compare and contrast the motivations, emotions, judgments, decisions and actions of Longstreet and Chamberlain during this crucial battle.   

Term Paper Instructions: 

Assuming that a common theme running through Salem Possessed, Soul By Soul, and The Killer Angels is the issue of good versus evil in human behavior, describe how Boyer and Nissenbaum, Johnson, and Shaara evaluate or handle this issue in their portrayal of, respectively, the Salem witchcraft hysteria, the transactions inside the New Orleans slave market, and the killing of thousands of soldiers on the Gettysburg battlefield.  In the case of Boyer and Nissenbaum, explain how the authors uncover unanticipated and unrecognized socio-economic factors as having laid the foundation for the accusations.   In the case of Johnson, put aside the behavior of the cruelest or most sadistic slaveholders and discuss why his discussions of the market’s transactions reflect what has been often referred to by scholars as “the banality of evil” or “normalizing the unthinkable.”  In the case of Shaara, who locates the source of malevolence in the misery and death of war itself, how in such terrible circumstances did the combatants, especially Lee, Longstreet and Chamberlain, deal with the many resulting confusions in their minds about what was right and what was wrong? 

The term paper (both a printed-out or hard copy and a copy sent to me as an attached email file to enable me to submit it to Turnitin.com) will be due any time before the close of my office hours at 3:55 p.m. on May 5rd and will be based on no sources other than your reading of Salem Possessed, Soul By Soul, and The Killer Angels.  It will be written entirely in your own words limited to no more than 3,000.  Your paper will be devoid of quotations to passages in the three books (although special phrases such as “chattel principle” should be placed in quotation marks) and the term paper will be typed, double-spaced with standard margins and a Times New Roman font with a size of twelve ("12").  Failure to follow these instructions will result in a deduction of one full letter grade from the paper's grade.  In addition, you must avoid common mistakes in writing standard English, such as misspelled words, comma faults, misplaced modifying or dangling clauses, unclear antecedents of pronouns, awkward expressions, and use of wrong words. Never use slang words, trite phases, and jargon-ridden prose. Because errors in grammar, punctuation, and spelling can severely damage the clarity of an essay, they are listed below first by the symbol used to distinguish them followed by the actual error symbolized, and finally by the chapter and section reference numbers in Hefferman, Lincoln, and Atwill, Writing:  A College Handbook (5th edition) where the explanation for each error is located.

       Vb         – verb form 22.11

       Tense     – verb tense 22

       Agr        – agreement:  subject/verb agreement 21; pronoun/antecedent agreement 20.6-8

       Ref         – pronoun reference 20.4

       Case       – pronoun case 20.9-12

       Shift       – shift in tense 23.4-6       [It is best to use consistently the present tense for what Shaara, for example, “states,” “claims,” or “shows,”  and preferable to stick constantly with the past tense when talking about what happened or occurred on the Gettysburg battlefield.  Avoid  shifting the tense within these two situations.] 

        Sp          – spelling  

        Fs          – fused or run-on sentence 15.7

 

        Frag       – sentence fragment 19  

 

Do not ignore this list.  If you have six of these errors in your essay, your grade will be reduced by a full letter grade.  If you have more than ten of these errors, your grade will be reduced by two letter grades.  For additional help in understanding the above instructions please make an appointment with University Writing Center.  Make an appointment online at http://writingcenter.tamu.edu/ or call the UWC at 458-1455.

 

Grading:

Grades will be given in accordance with the standard university system:

Excellent is 90-100, the letter being A;
Good is 80-89, the letter being B;
Satisfactory is 70-79, the letter being C;
Passing but not satisfactory is 60-69, the letter being D;
Failing is 0-59, the letter being F.


The calculation of the final course grade will be as follows:

First and second exams             20% each, totaling 40%
Term paper                                                                 20%
Final comprehensive exam                                        40%

 

Make-up Exams:

Make-up exams will be given to only students with authorized absences. Students must notify Dr. Baum or the Department of History by the end of the next working day after the absence in order to ensure full rights to take the make-up exam.  Students are responsible for providing satisfactory evidence to the instructor within one week of their returns from being absent to substantiate the reason for missing the exam.  Discussion of university-approved excuses is found in "Student Rules at Texas A&M University" online ( http://student-rules.tamu.edu/rule07), but includes illness, medical appointment, appearing in court, and conflict due to religious holy days listed on the official University calendar.  For any absence to be valid, it must be supported in writing, for instance with a letter from a doctor or clinic, a judge or clerk of court, or the Athletic Department if a student is on a team that represents the University at a sporting event.  Unless otherwise arranged, all make-up exams will be given on May 5th (Thursday) 3:55-5:10 p.m. in Glasscock Building 008.
  

Class Attendance:

Attendance is an individual student responsibility. Because class lectures do not merely repeat material in the reading assignments, regular attendance and note-taking in class is imperative.  For the sole purpose of helping the instructor learn names of students, monitor examinations, and pass back exams, a seating chart will be made for all students enrolled in the class. By the end of the first week of class, students should be occupying the seat of their choice.

Office Hours:

Dale Baum: 210-A Melbern G. Glasscock Building
Tuesdays and Thursdays: 11:15 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. and 2:15 - 3:45 p.m. and by appointment.
Telephone: Messages for me may be left at (979) 845-7151. 
An excellent way to reach me is by email: d-baum@tamu.edu
Homepage: http://www.tamu.edu/baum/

Academic Integrity Statement and Requirements:

“An Aggie does not lie, cheat, or steal or tolerate those who do.”  Upon accepting admission to Texas A&M University, a student immediately assumes a commitment to uphold the Honor Code, to accept responsibility for learning, and to follow the philosophy and rules of the Honor System. Students will be required to state their commitment on examinations, research papers, and other academic work.  Ignorance of the rules does not exclude any member of the TAMU community from the requirements or the processes of the Honor System.  For additional information about the Aggie Honor Code, go to the Honor Council Rules and Procedures on the web at http://www.tamu.edu/aggiehonorncil/.  By signing your name on the examination "Blue Books" passed out during examinations and at the very bottom of the last page of the ribbon copy of your term paper, you will be, in effect, pledging to the following statement: "On my honor, as an Aggie, I have neither given nor received unauthorized aid on this academic work."

Students with Disabilities:

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a federal anti-discrimination statute that provides comprehensive civil rights protection for persons with disabilities. Among other things, this legislation requires that all students with disabilities be guaranteed a learning environment that provides for reasonable accommodation of their disabilities. If you believe you have a disability requiring an accommodation, please contact the Department of Student Life, Services for Students with Disabilities in Cain Hall, or call 845-1637.

Special Requests:

Your classmates will appreciate your coming to class on time, turning off your cell phone, refraining from using tobacco products, and bringing no more food or beverages into the classroom than absolutely necessary.

Tips on Taking Essay Examinations:

Even if you have prepared properly for an essay exam, your problems are not over. You must stay calm enough to remember what you studied, you must understand the question, you must answer it directly and fully, and you must not run out of time. None of this is easy, but here are a few pointers to follow until you gain the experience to overcome these problems.

 

 

Remember: A well-written essay answer is a combination of (1) adequate knowledge of the subject (2) clear-thinking about the points to be covered (3) complete understanding of the question, and (4) well-constructed sentences.

 

Additional Helpful Tips:

For an outline of material covered in class lectures in History 105H, go to http://www.tamu.edu/baum/OutlineHIST105.htm. To see a "sample exam" for the FIRST EXAM, go to: http://www.tamu.edu/baum/SampleHIST105HFirstExam.htm; for the SECOND EXAM, http://www.tamu.edu/baum/SampleHIST105HSecondExam.htm; and for the FINAL EXAM, http://www.tamu.edu/baum/SampleHIST105HFinalExam.htm.

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