History 370

Prof. Michael Fitzgerald

Fall 2009

"Lincoln and American Society"

 

Note: The syllabus is online at http://www.stolaf.edu/people/fitz/history370.html

Phone: 3162 (or department secretary at 3167).  I'm on campus every day this semester, and you can call me at home if it is important, given all the expectations for the flu this semester.  My home number is 663-6041, cell (507) 321-2036, but use with discretion, especially in the evening. 

THIS SEMESTER WE NEED TO ANTICIPATE THE FLU.  MY SUGGESTION IS THAT IF YOU ARE SICK, STAY HOME AND TO CALL ME ON MY CELL PHONE, ESPECIALLY TUESDAY AND THURSDAY MORNINGS.  I SHOULD BE ABLE TO TALK AT LENGTH AT THAT TIME.  AND BECAUSE OF THE CLASS FORMAT, IT SHOULD BE EASY TO MAKE UP MISSED MATERIAL IN SUPPLEMENTAL CLASS MEETINGS.

E-Mail: fitz (I check my e-mail fairly frequently, specially before major assignments. Also, if you want to reach the whole class, just send it to "history-288.”).

Office: Holland 532

Office Hours: Monday 12-1, Tuesday 3-4, Thursday 12:30-1:30, and by appointment. I’ll also be in my office most Thursdays at Community Time; that might be a good time for overbooked students to see me.  Also, I generally can talk to interested students after class. 

Course rationale: According to various polls, Abraham Lincoln is regarded by both historians and the general public as America’s greatest president, in this the two hundredth anniversary of his birth.  Lincoln remains a powerful figure in the national memory, primarily because his life centrally intersects America’s great national wrong, slavery, and what may be our greatest continuing challenge, race relations.  Lincoln’s contemporary relevance has been reinforced by the symbolic appropriation of his legacy for the inauguration of Barack Obama, America’s first black president.    

The readings for this course will focus on Lincoln, race and slavery, and what his career has to say about American society in this contested era.  But there are a number of other issues raised by Lincoln’s career, on civil liberties in wartime, on free enterprise as an engine of human progress, and on the role of religion in American society.  Historians have also delved into his private life too, to examine his marriage, his parenting, even his sexuality, for insights into the Nineteenth Century.  We will range broadly through the issues raised in the literature on Lincoln, and the course will culminate in a major primary research project on any relevant topic of the student’s choice involving Lincoln, his life, or his contested public memory.

 

Textbooks:

Richard Carwardine, Lincoln, A Life of Purpose and Power

Michael P. Johnson, ed., Abraham Lincoln, Slavery, and the Civil War

Allen C. Guelzo, Lincoln and Douglas

Paul Escott, “What Shall We Do With the Negro?”

 

Approximate Schedule—(this can be changed as necessary, it isn’t a contract)

Sept. 9--Introduction

Sept. 11—Class lecture by Professor Santurri, on Lincoln and Religion (joint meeting with Religion seminar)

Read Carwardine, 1-70

Sept 14—Class  Discussion

Read Carwardine, 70-134

Read Sept 16—Class lecture by Professor Fitzgerald, on  Lincoln and the historians (joint meeting with Religion seminar)

Carwardine, 134-190

Thursday--Sept 17—Evening Class Session—Lecture by Justice Frank Williams on civil liberties during the Lincoln Administration

            (Read for lecture in Carwardine up to page 260)          

Sept. 18—Class Cancelled

Sept. 21—Finish Carwardine

Sept. 23—Read Wilentz review of Lincoln in the age of Obama, and also read the responses of the historians he critiqued.

In The New Republic, July 25^th, 2009, http://www.tnr.com/article/books-and-arts/who-lincoln-was

Sept. 25—NO READING—BOOK REVIEW ESSAY DUE

Sept. 28—Read xerox of first chapters of David Donald, Lincoln

Sept. 30, Oct. 2, 5, 7—Johnson

Oct. 9—NO READING—FIRST ANALYSIS PAPER DUE

Oct. 12, 14, 16, 19--Guelzo,

Oct. 21—Read Xerox of Fitzgerald, Chapter 2 of Splendid Failure

Oct. 23—NO READING--Primary Research Assignment on the Lincoln-Douglas Debates Due

Oct. 26—FALL BREAK

Oct 28, 30, Nov. 2, 4—Read Escott

Nov. 6—“FINAL” EXAM

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AFTER THE MAJOR EXAM, CLASS DATES BECOME MORE APPROXIMATE, TO ACCOMMODATE CONFERENCE TIME ON STUDENT PRIMARY RESEARCH PROJECTS. 

Nov. 9—CLASS CANCELLED, INDIVIDUAL MEETINGS WITH STUDENTS

Nov. 11—CLASS MEETS—DISCUSSION OF PAPER PROPOSALS—LIBRARY PRESENTATION

Nov. 13—CLASS CANCELLED, INDIVIDUAL MEETINGS WITH STUDENTS

Nov. 16—ADDITIONAL BOOK REPORT AND PAPER PROSPECTUS DUE—CLASS MEETS

Nov. 18—APPROXIMATE DATE—FILM SHOWING AT MY HOME

Nov. 20—CLASS MEETS—PROGRESS REPORT AND SOURCE DISCUSSION

Nov. 23—CLASS MEETS—PROGRESS REPORT AND SOURCE DISCUSSION

Nov. 25, 27—THANKSGIVING BREAK

Nov. 30—CLASS MEETS—PROGRESS REPORT

Dec. 2—CLASS CANCELLED, INDIVIDUAL MEETINGS WITH STUDENTS

Dec. 4, 7, 9, 11, 14—STUDENT CLASSROOM PRESENTATIONS OF RESEARCH FINDINGS

Dec. 19--Paper Due during Exam Period

Grading:

Book Review Essay, 5%

Analysis Paper, 10%

Primary Research Assignment, 10%

Final Exam, 20%

Term Paper (and lead up assignments), 30%

Class Participation, 25%

 

Policies:

As should be evident, class participation represents much of the grade.  That means consistent attendance, having done the reading assigned, and having insightful things to say about the reading.  Most Professors suspect themselves of some virtue, here’s mine: I tend not to mind people disagreeing with my interpretation or politics.  It just means students are paying attention, are engaging with the subject matter.  So speak up, it makes the class more productive.

The smaller written assignments are to help me evaluate your understanding of the material, your writing skills, and your mastery of the various online resources that will enable you to conduct your research.

The course concludes with a major research project, based on original sources, on a Lincoln-related topic of the student’s choice.  Given the current campus emphasis on the ills of plagiarism, the student is responsible for mastering the relevant guidelines.  See the  campus  website: 

http://www.stolaf.edu/stulife/thebook/academic/integrity.html