History 244

Prof. Fitzgerald

Fall, 2002

Note: The syllabus is on-line with links to the appropriate short readings for the day specified.

Phone: 3162 (or dept. at 3167) I'm on campus every day this semester, so I shouldn't be hard to locate.

E-Mail: fitz (I check my e-mail just about every weekday, and often on weekends too. I especially try to check the night before major assignments from home. Also, if you want to reach the whole class, just send it to "history-244").

Office: Holland 532 (My office is a bit tricky to find, but try going through the History Department office back to the windows, my office is the first door on the right in the window corridor. Or ask somebody).

Office Hours: M 2-3, Tu 12-1, Th 12-1, and by appointment. (Also, I generally can talk to interested students after class, as I have nothing scheduled then.)

TEXTBOOKS:

RECOMMENDED READING: I couldn't find a good short overview of the political events leading up to the war--the one I've previously used is not in print. We'll discuss the major events in lecture, obviously, but for those of you who could use some background on this, I recommend finding a used copy of any good college level U.S. History textbook with a chapter on this topic and read it for the details. (I have a stack of them to loan students, if needed). In other words, you need to familiarize yourself with the basic political events, and our textbooks don't really do it.

Also, for the strongly motivated, try the recommended reading, McPherson, Battle Cry of Freedom. The first three hundred or so pages of the McPherson book are great on pre-war political and social trends. Also, for the Civil War buffs, the wartime portions of Battle Cry of Freedom, are a great read.

Rationale: This course offers a broad examination of America society in the Civil War era, roughly from 1840 to the 1880s. Beyond the obvious political developments and the Civil War and Reconstruction itself, we will also examine the changes in race relations growing out of emancipation. The impact of industrialization, immigration and urbanization on workers, women, and Native Americans in the west are also major topics.

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An asterisk (*) means online reading (which I'll try to remember also to e-mail you before the day it is due)

Introduction--Broad Themes

America in the 1840s

(Read handout, "The North and South Compared")

Black Life Under Slavery

(Douglass, first half)

Black Life Under Slavery

(Douglass, second half--CLASS DISCUSSION)

Religion, Reform, and Abolitionism

American women at Midcentury: Victorian America

FIRST PAPER DUE

The Mexican War and the Expansion of Slavery

The North: Industrialization, Immigration, and Nativism

The Kansas-Nebraska Disaster and its Aftermath: The Birth of the Republican Party

Oct. 8

Free blacks, North and South, and the Crisis of the 1850s

(SHORT WEBSITE ASSIGNMENT DUE)

The Election of Lincoln and the Secession Crisis

(Read Dew, Apostles of Disunion)

Oct. 22

FALL BREAK--NO CLASS

Class Discussion--McPherson, What They Fought For

Lincoln, Emancipation, and the Black Experience during the War

Nov. 5

The Second American Revolution, North and South

(Start Faust, Mothers of Invention)

Nov. 7

Why Did the South Lose? (Continue Reading Faust)

Nov. 12

CLASS DISCUSSION—Women and the Southern Home Front

(Faust, all)

Nov. 14

Native Americans in the Civil War Era

Nov. 19

The Labor Issue in the Civil War Era-—Industrial America takes Shape

SECOND PAPER DUE

First Freedom

Nov. 26

Andrew Johnson and Presidential Reconstruction

(Start Reading Tourgee, A Fool's Errand)

Nov. 28

THANKSGIVING BREAK

Dec. 3

Military Reconstruction and Black Suffrage

(Read Tourgee, A Fool's Errand)

Dec. 5

U. S. Grant, National Politics, and Political Corruption

(Finish Tourgee, A Fool's Errand)

Toward Industrial America: Labor Strife and the Agrarian Revolt

FINAL EXAM

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CLASS ASSIGNMENTS

The written assignments for the course will consist of two papers of five or so pages in length, one brief web assignment, a mid-term and final, plus a class participation grade. While it is possible for an utterly shy student to get a good grade in this class, intelligent participation in class discussion is generally expected and will very much help your grade. Besides, it makes the class more pleasant.

We have no term paper, but you will be expected to do the readings when due, especially on days when a class discussion is scheduled. (If you are one of those totally shy people who can't speak up in class, or are terrified when called upon--as I tend to do--you'll have to take it upon yourself to demonstrate command of the material periodically to me, by e-mail or occasionally meeting with me to discuss the material.)

 GRADES: The course work will be roughly graded as follows:

One last thing: I pride myself on not grading people down for disagreeing with me. Go ahead and speak your mind, I won't be offended. Controversy means students are paying attention, so it is okay with me. Also, feel free to ask questions via e-mail, or even to communicate with the class that way through "history-244"