HISTORY 17A: AMERICAN HISTORY TO 1877

COURSE: History 17A United States of America to 1865

SECTION ID: 1996

ROOM: 5001

PARTICULARS: 5 weekly lecture hours, 4 units

MEETING: Mondays & Wednesdays 10:00 am-11:50 am, Fridays 10:00 am—10:50 am

CLASS DATES: begin Monday, January 8th, end Friday, March 24th

INSTRUCTOR: Dr. Marder

EMAIL : guerre1859@yahoo.com

Instructor Website: www.debellum.org

OFFICE: 5012

OFFICE HOURS: Fridays 11:00-12:00

Mid Term: Friday, November, 3rd

REQUIRED TEXT: None: most US History college survey texts to 1877 are acceptable--please check with me if you have qestions

Suggested text: The American Experiment, 2nd ed. 0-618-42950-6

FORMAT: : Lecture/discussion/participation. All students are expected to be prepared to discuss the text material and topics presented in lectures.

GRADING POLICY: there will be weekly quizzes (usually Fridays, around ten quizzes in all). Tests & quizzes will have essays and/or multiple choice questions. Questions come from the texts or the lectures. Missed quizzes may not be made up. There will also be a midterm exam and a final exam. The exams are NOT comprehensive (the midterm exam will cover the first half of the course, the final exam will cover the second half). Exams will cover readings, and lectures. Your final grade will be based on your quizzes (20%), your class participation (10%), your midterm (30%) and your final (40%). On the midterm and final, students have the option of taking: 1) multiple choice only, 2) multiple choice + essay, or, 3) essay only.

NOTES You’ll be expected to read, write, and, oh yes, think. The amount and complexity of information you will need to absorb and understand is considerable while time is limited. There is a lot of information in a History class. And because History is not math or science, because it involves people, not numbers or non-living things, that information is usually changing, complex, confusing, or even contradictory. You may want to take notes during lectures and it's probably a good idea to thoroughly read the chapter(s) before the lecture--this will help your understanding of the material. Because extra content will be presented during the lecture, regular attendance is important. Attendance is your responsibility and your choice: attendance is not a part of your grade (I do not confound physical presence in class with mental presence; there is little point in merely planting your posterior on a seat if you are not consciously involved). Therefore, those who are absent will not be penalized but, those who are actively present shall certainly benefit.

date & chapter description of content Week 1, Jan 8-12, Introduction: History, this course, the physical setting, Zeitgeist Chapters 1,2 A ‘New World’ ? Pre-Columbian America 40,000 BC-1550 AD Worlds Collide: the Columbian Exchange Week 2, Jan 15-19, The Sincerest Form of Flattery: North American Colonies Chapters 2,3 Canada, Virginia, New England, Native Encounters 1550-1650 Our Little Allies Week 3, Jan 23-26, A Precocious Childhood Chapter 3,4 The Restoration, Mercantilism, the Atlantic Economy 1650-1720 All that Sugar, the economics of people peddling Week 4, Jan 29-Feb 2, Colonial Adolescence Chapters 5,6 The French and Indian War, Social Ferment 1720-1783 Land and Wealth, the Shot Heard ‘Round the World Week 5, Feb 5-9, A Fledgling Nation, A Revolutionary Full Circle Chapter 7 Shay’s Rebellion, the Constitution 1783-1800 Federalists and Republicans, the Whiskey Rebellion Week 6, Feb 12-14, Anithesis,Thesis, and Synthesis: Jefferson’s United States, (No class 2-16 and 2-19) or the Sullied Utopia; Peace, Land, and War (1812) Chapter 8 1800-1824 MID-TERM EXAM FRIDAY FEBRUARY … Week 7, Feb 26-Mar 2, A ‘People’s Democracy, Popular Politics, Chapters 9, 10 Indian Removal, Land, Bank, Mr. $20 1824-1840 Week 8, Mar 5-9, King Cotton is Crowned, the American Slave Economy, Chapters 11, 12 Immigration, Industrialism: A Distant Rumbling 1820-1850 Abolitionism, Northern and Southern Racism Week 9, Mar 12-16, The Empire Goes West (and North, and South), Regional Tensions Chapters 13, 14 Manifest Destiny, Texas, the Mexican War,‘Free Soil’ 1840-1860 the Gold Rush Week 10, Mar -19- 23, The Civil War and Reconstruction, Morality or Money? Chapters 15, 16 Union and/or Slavery? Whose Victory? 1860-1877 Week 11, FINAL 22. The Ordeal of Reconstruction