MONTGOMERY COLLEGE

HISTORY 201.411: U.S. HISTORY, COLONIAL – 1865 (CRN 33446)

Tuesday and Thursday, 7:30-9:25, Science West 114C

Spring 2009

Instructor: Professor Mark Santangelo, Department of History

Office Hours: before and after class, or by appointment

E‑mail: mark.santangelo@montgomerycollege.edu /// Department Phone: 240-567-5178

 

GENERAL COURSE INFORMATION:

 

History 201 surveys the major personalities and events that have shaped the United States from the earliest colonial settlement through the Civil War.  The course examines the political, economic, social and intellectual forces that made American society during the early years of the nation’s life.

 

In order for students to gain a better understanding of the nation’s past, considerable attention is focused on the origins and experiences of the American people from diverse ethnic groups and cultural backgrounds.  The course will also examine conditions and trends associated with the nation’s early national development, which paved the way for both the problems and achievements of the United States in contemporary times.

 

COURSE OBJECTIVES: 

 

A student who successfully completes the course will be able to:

 

  1. Compare and contrast the reasons for settlement and the development of the English, Spanish and other European colonies of the 17th and 18th centuries.
  2. Analyze the underlying causes of the conflicts between European colonizers and the native peoples of North America, and the results of that cross-cultural interaction through the mid-1800s.
  3. Identify and explain how colonial political, economic and social development led to the American Revolution and the U.S. Constitution.
  4. Compare and contrast the political parties’ positions on constitutional issues in the first half of the 19th century.
  5. Identify and explain the events that defined American continental expansion in the first half of the 19th century.
  6. Discuss the causes and consequences of the North American slave system.
  7. Identify and evaluate the economic, social and political institutions that eventually divided the nation and led to the Civil War.

 

 

READINGS will primarily come from the assigned textbook for the course, Tindall and Shi, America: A Narrative History (7th edition), and the reader, Marcus & Burner, America Firsthand (7th edition), which are both available at the bookstore.  Make sure you have the correct editions of each.  In the enclosed listing of class meetings, please note that you will be held responsible for the assigned readings on the date noted.  I will also hand out some additional primary source readings, which will not be overly extensive.  Note that the reading is fairly light at first and picks up in the weeks before the midterm; use the intervening weeks to get ahead or fall behind at your peril, especially considering the shorter-than-normal time frame of our meetings.  Also, please note that the textbook assignments do not follow exactly as the authors organized the material.  When the last page number of an assignment is not the end of a chapter, break at whatever heading or sub-heading is on that page.

 

GRADES will be based on your performance in three areas.  The first will be a MIDTERM in class on March 10, worth 30% of your grade.  The midterm will combine essays and identifications drawing on lectures and readings.  As we near the midterm I will hand out a more detailed explanation of what you should expect on the midterm and how best to answer its questions.  There will be a short (4-6 pp) PAPER, due in class on April 9 and worth 30%.  I will hand out the paper assignment tonight so you can begin to think about it.  The FINAL, in class on April 16, worth 40%, will be cumulative, with the same format as the midterm but since it will cover more material it holds greater weight in your overall grade.  Please note, as well, that I do not give any extra credit, so do as well as you can on the three items listed above.  If, when I am assigning final grades, I find that you are on the border between two grades, I will decide based on whether or not I saw you regularly in class, alert and even actively participating in the occasional discussion of the material that we will have.  I use the standard grading scale for the college (90%-100% = A, 80%-89% = B, etc.).

 

OTHER RULES AND COMMENTS:  I will take attendance during the semester, although attendance will not be graded.  I do expect you to attend every class session, however.  Because the exams will draw most heavily on lectures, I strongly encourage your presence in class each day, on time for the beginning of lecture.  If you do arrive late or know in advance that something pressing will force you to leave class early, please sit near the door to avoid unnecessarily distracting your fellow scholars.  If you miss a class session, it is your responsibility to find out what you have missed.  Feel free to bring something to eat or drink in class but please be considerate of others and find something of the less-crinkly, less-odiferous variety, and please clean up after yourselves.  I will expect you to show respect to your fellow classmates and to me by treating the classroom environment with all the courtesy you can, including remembering to turn off cell phones and pagers (or setting them on vibrate) before class begins.  The College seeks to provide an environment where discussion and expression of all views relevant to the subject matter of the class are recognized as necessary to the educational process. However, students do not have the right to interfere with the freedom of the faculty to teach or the rights of other students to learn.

The most important other rules relate to missed or late work.  If a family emergency or personal illness or injury will not allow you to attend the midterm or final, or to turn in the paper on time, you MUST let me know AS SOON AS YOU KNOW ABOUT IT ‑ that is, in advance of the date of the exam or paper due date ‑ because otherwise I reserve the right to deny what seems to be a ”the dog ate my homework”‑type excuse.  Travel plans are NOT valid excuses for missing an exam or handing in the paper late.  Neither are computer problems acceptable explanations for late papers.  The latter is especially true for printers ‑ in the worst case scenario (your printer blows up or is abducted by aliens), take your back‑up disk over to a friend’s computer or somewhere on campus where you can print.  It is entirely at my discretion if I choose to accept late work or not; if I do, expect to be penalized no less than one letter grade.  The same is true of making up missed exams.  Also, I will never allow any student to take an exam early, so don’t ask.

ACADEMIC HONESTY:  Common examples of academic dishonesty and misconduct can be found below and in the Student Code of Conduct, Section IV. These examples are not an all-inclusive list of all prohibited behavior. If you are in doubt about what constitutes academic dishonesty, consult the Student Code of Conduct or ask me personally.

Examples of academic dishonesty include, but are not limited to using "cheat notes" during an exam, copying answers from another student, allowing another student to copy your work, either inside or outside of class; using work from previous semesters; and copying from a book, magazine, Internet site, or brochure when writing a paper without giving credit to the source.

Faculty members may impose grade sanctions for violations of academic ethics, normally ranging from a minimum of F on the assignment in which the dishonesty occurred to a maximum of an F in the course. Faculty members may choose to impose different sanctions. Faculty members also have the prerogative of referring a case to the campus Dean of Student Development with a specific request that the dean consider imposing additional sanctions.

SUPPORT SERVICES:  A student who may need an accommodation due to a disability should make an appointment to see me during office hours. All such discussions will be kept completely confidential.  A letter from Disability Support Services (DSS) authorizing your accommodations will be needed. The DSS office is located in CB 122 and may be called at 240-567-5058 or TTY 301-294-9672. Any student who may need assistance in the event of an emergency evacuation must identify to the Disability Support Services Office; guidelines for emergency evacuations for individuals with disabilities are found at: www.montgomerycollege.edu/dss/evacprocedures.htm.    

VETERANS:  If you are a veteran or on active or reserve status and you are interested in information regarding opportunities, programs and/or services, please visit the Combat2College website at www.montgomerycollege.edu/combat2college or contact the Veterans Club faculty sponsor on campus:

Sean Fay/240-567-7479/sean.fay@montgomerycollege.edu
CANCELLATION OF CLASSES:  If inclement weather forces the College or any campus or College facility to suspend classes or close, public service announcements will be provided to local radio and television stations as early as possible. If you have checked several stations and have not heard an announcement, you may go to the College Web site or call the number listed below for closing information.

You will be able to determine the College's operational status during inclement weather or other emergencies through the following means:

  • Tune in to area radio or television stations. Dozens of stations are notified. Among those with most frequent updates are:

Television -- NBC Channel 4/WRC; Fox Channel 5/WTTG; Channel 7/WJLA; Channel 9/WUSA; and cable News Channel 8. In the Baltimore area, check Channel 2/WMAR.

 

Radio -- WTOP (1500 AM and 107.7 FM), WMAL (630 AM), WAMU (88.5 FM). In the Frederick area, check WFMD/WFRE.

  • Check the College’s Web site at http://www.montgomerycollege.edu
  • Call the College’s main phone number, 240-567-5000, to hear an updated message in the event of closures or delays.

If the campus or College closes, class will be cancelled. It is your responsibility to find out whether class is cancelled. The content of subsequent class sessions or other course requirements may be changed to accommodate the loss of one or more class sessions. Your instructor will notify the class of any changes to the course.

 

EMERGENCY EVACUATION:  Each student should study the emergency evacuation procedures for the campus buildings.  These procedures can be found on the front page of MY MC.

 

CLASS SCHEDULE AND READINGS

“T & S” (in bold) = the textbook (Tindall and Shi, America: A Narrative History)

(listed by page number)

“M & B” = the reader (Marcus and Burner, America Firsthand)

(listed by reading number)

 

February 3:  INTRODUCTION; AMERICA BEFORE COLONIZATION

 

February 5: NO CLASS !!!  (So don’t come…)

 

February 10: THE SPANISH IN THE NEW WORLD

            T&S pp. 1-35; M&B #s 2,3 and 5

 

February 12:  ENGLISH SETTLEMENTS IN THE CHESAPEAKE REGION; SLAVERY IN THE NEW WORLD

            T&S pp. 35-60 & 107-116; M&B # 9

 

February 17:  THE PURITANS

            T&S pp. 61-76; M&B #s 7 and 8; Winthrop handout

 

February 19:  THE COLONIES MATURE

            T&S pp. 76-107 & 116-138; M&B #s 6, 10 & 12

 

February 24:  BACKGROUND OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION

            T&S pp. 138-195; M&B #s 13 & 14

 

February 26  FROM REVOLUTION TO CONSTITUTION

            T&S pp. 195-278 & A45-A79; M&B #s 16, 17, 18 and 19; Federalist Papers handout

 

March 3:  FEDERALISTS AND JEFFERSONIANS

            T&S pp. 279-338

 

March 5: CATCH-UP/REVIEW DAY

 

March 10:  MIDTERM

 

March 12: PAPER PREP – MEET IN LIBRARY – NO LECTURE

 

March 17 & March 19: NO CLASS – ENJOY SPRING BREAK

 

March 24:  ERA OF GOOD FEELINGS AND AGE OF JACKSON

            T&S pp. 339-396 & 400-406

 

March 26:  AGE OF VAN BUREN AND INTERLOCKING ECONOMIC REVOLUTIONS

            T&S pp. 396-400 & 406-439 & 449-457; M&B #25, 26 & 32

 

March 31:  THE COTTON SOUTH AND SLAVERY

            T&S pp. 531-556; M&B #s 30, 31, 33 and 34; Fitzhugh handout

 

April 2:  RELIGION AND REFORM; WOMEN IN ANTEBELLUM AMERICA

            T&S pp. 458-488 & 556-564; M&B #s 22 and 35

                        ROUGH DRAFTS DUE (OPTIONAL)

 

April 7:  MANIFEST DESTINY

            T&S pp. 489-525 & 565-577; M&B #27

 

April 9:  IMMIGRATION AND THE CITIES; SECTIONAL CRISIS

            T&S pp 443-449 & 565-577; M&B #36

                        PAPERS DUE!!!

 

April 14: CIVIL WAR

            T&S pp. 606-658; M&B #37, 38, 39 & 40; Lincoln handout.

 

April 16:  FINAL EXAM

 

Like all things, the above is subject to change at the whim of the instructor.

He promises to give you advance notice of these whims, however.