HIST 127: American History to 1865

Course Objectives

Greetings and welcome to the course.

In the past few years distance education classes such as this one have been taken by all sorts of people—those with doctorates, those with high school diplomas, stay-at-home parents, farmers, teachers, social workers, and prison inmates. Distance students have come from Illinois, Wyoming, Alaska, and Hawaii, as well as from North Carolina. Ultimately, then, you are part of a varied student body.

Given the different life experiences that you and other course members have, my challenge has been to create a course that speaks to every person in the group. I want this course to be more than a meaningless exercise, so I've asked myself the question "Why should students study history?"

Of course, there are plenty of practical reasons that bring students to the class. Some of you are completing degree requirements for your professional careers, some of you are trying to better your grades so you can eventually enter UNC on a full-time basis, and some of you are finishing a Carolina degree you previously started. Others of you are taking this class purely out of personal interest.

But on a more philosophical basis, why study history? There are many answers to this question. Certainly in elementary and secondary schools, American history courses are intended to make all of us better citizens, to help "socialize" us. That is why there is a history component to the battery of tests the federal government administers to immigrants who seek to become US citizens. If you live here, the reasoning goes, you should know a little about the place.

This list of "why's" can go on and on—teaching critical thinking skills, fostering broader thinking about people and issues, and so on. All of these are fine answers, but to me, history is best taught when it becomes personal. That is, somewhere in the course, I want you to become aware that these often-forgotten events have had a very real and significant impact on your lives. If this doesn't happen, then one of the fundamental lessons of history has been lost.

Fortunately, this is a course in US history, so seeing these vital, personal connections is not quite as difficult as, say, in a study of ancient history (although the same sort of principles apply). This course will cover the American Revolution and the Civil War, for instance, conflicts that directly shaped the course of our nation, its politics, society, and economy.

I hope that as you become more aware of these immediate connections, you can start making connections with incidents that may seem less important to you. The Early National period, the "Age of Jackson," and the conquest of Mexico all shaped the nation, the experiences of those who came before you, and, ultimately, your own life.

Throughout the course, you will be asked to comment on some of these great historical issues. At times, as a means of further personalizing these issues, you will be asked to put yourself in the place of various actors in a given period.

This process should make you a better citizen. If successful, it will also give you more of a sense of connection with the country in which you live.

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Course Materials

This course is divided into fourteen lessons. Most often, you will be required to read roughly a chapter of the text for each lesson. As a complement to this reading, you often will be asked to digest an accompanying historical article or monograph (book), as well as some suggested Web sites. These additional materials and many of the Web sites will help you to make your own decisions about historical events without relying on a historian to act as an interpreter.

As you complete these lessons, pay attention to the large themes you encounter—chapter headings and subheadings are a good place to start. Understanding each of the items listed in the Important Terms section for each lesson will also help. Normally, it is best to work from the general to the specific in mastering these themes.

You will find that all of this information does, in fact, fit together into a greater whole. By studying in this manner, you will also be well prepared for your final exam.

Required Reading

Your reading assignments will come from the following books:

• America Past and Present, Volume I, 7th edition (2005) by Robert Divine, et al.
• After the Fact: The Art of Historical Detection, Volume I, 5th edition (2005) by James Davidson and Mark Lytle

As supplements to this reading, you will be assigned three excellent books that provide a more personal look at many important historical issues. One is a best-selling account of the Lewis and Clark expedition. Another is a collection of interviews with former slaves. The final one deals with a small North Carolina community that struggles with local disturbances created by the Civil War.

• Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West (1996) by Stephen Ambrose
• Remembering Slavery: African Americans Talk About Their Personal Experiences of Slavery and Emancipation (1998) edited by Berlin and Favreau.
• Victims: A True Story of the Civil War (1981) by Phillip Paludan

You can order these materials from the Higher Grounds bookstore at the Friday Center either online or by using the book order form.

Internet Resources

Each lesson will have some suggested Web sites, and you are encouraged to find additional resources to supplement your studies.

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History and the Internet

I had a colleague who left the world of academics for a job with a Canadian Agriculture Ministry. Armed with a master's degree in history, he was not quite sure how much of his post-graduate education would translate into "real world" job skills. He was pleasantly surprised. Ultimately, he found that his training in analyzing and synthesizing information served him well as he entered an "information age" workplace.

"You know," he told me, "using the Internet and writing history require a lot of the same skills." At the time I was much more of a cyber-novice, so I did not fully appreciate his comment for a few years. But further experience and thought have helped me realize that he was right.

Like historians, focused Internet "surfers" have to find information relevant to their interests. In historical research, finding one good source often leads to several others, much like the links of any given Web site. As materials are located, they then must be assessed. What sources have been used by the site/document authors and how reliable is this information? How valid are the arguments presented? Most importantly (and perhaps obviously), just as in historical research, you can't believe everything you read on the Internet. Whether you are completing research on the Internet or in an archive, chances are that much or most of the information you find will be bad. That is to say, the material is not helpful because it is unreliable, poorly organized, and/or irrelevant to your needs.

Treating all of this information after it is gathered is perhaps the most difficult aspect for researchers and historians of all kinds. How can all this material be synthesized in a way that is understandable (essentially making order out of chaos)? What are the important issues and themes that emerge? And, of course, is it possible to present all of this analyzing and synthesizing in a way that will interest an audience?

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Written Assignments

During the course, you will normally be required to complete two essays for each of the fourteen lessons. These responses are normally two to three pages long. In some cases you will be asked to complete a single, four-page essay. As you write, please keep the following points in mind.

1. You need to place each of your responses in proper essay form. That is, you must have an introduction containing a thesis statement (which summarizes the main points of the essay), a body that follows the outline stated in the introduction, and, finally, a summarizing conclusion. You may want to consult a basic English textbook in order to find more information about the construction of a good essay.
   
   
2. The general argument(s) in each essay should be your own and thus should reflect your thoughts and words. You should, however, support these fundamental ideas with course materials. For instance, perhaps you might choose to argue that the Civil War was the result of poor decision-making on the part of US policy-makers (your idea). You might then refer to specific actions taken by those policy-makers (support from course materials).
   
   
3. When supporting your arguments with factual detail, try to explain these materials in your own words. If you do occasionally paraphrase or quote from your readings, be sure to use quotation marks and cite your references.
   

Send papers as e-mail attachments. If you are unsure what format to save an attached file in, please contact me before sending in your assignment.

Use the "Submit Assignment" button at the end of each assignment section to submit your assignments for grading. Clicking the button will open an e-mail message pre-addressed to me and Student Services. (The e-mail message containing your assignment must go to both addresses to make sure you get credit for your work.) The subject line of the e-mail is pre-addressed with the course number and the correct submission number for that particular assignment. You just need to enter your full name at the end of the subject line, and attach the file containing your assignment to that e-mail message. If two essays are assigned in one lesson, please attach them both to one e-mail.

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Grading and Exams

Grading

• Lesson Essays: 60 percent of final grade
• Final Exam: 40 percent of final grade

Final Exam

The results of your final examination will comprise 40 percent of your final grade. A passing grade on the final exam is required to pass the course.

The exam will have three parts. You will be required to answer two long essays and then complete a section of short identifications that will be drawn from the lists of Important Terms in each lesson. In this last section you will have to fully identify and then state the significance of each term. You must arrange to take the exam under appropriate supervision. Click here for details.

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Course Schedule

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