History 1301, Section 9 U.S.

History to 1877 Lamar University, Spring 2010 Last Updated: May 2, 2010

General Course Information

Instructor: Dr. Michael E. Dobe, Sr. http://dept.lamar.edu/history/dobe.htm Class Meetings: MWF, 11:15--12:05 (Archer 206) Office Hours By Arrangement (Room 101A, Carl Parker Building) Please Call X8489 for an Appointment E-Mail Professor Dobe Via Blackboard Note: If you have Blackboard problems from 8 AM to 5 PM, please call the University Service Desk at (409) 880-2222. After hours, and on weekends and holidays, please call the Blackboard Help Desk at (409) 880-7849.

Course Textbooks
These Texts Can Be Purchased At the University Bookstore or Online at: http://lamar.bncollege.com/ Note: Supplemental Online Readings Will Be Assigned in Weekly Blog Assignments Brier et al. Who Built America?: Working People and the Nation's History. Vol I. 3rd Edition. Boston, New York: Bedford/St. Martins, 2008. Earle, J. John Browns Raid on Harpers Ferry: A Brief History with Documents. Boston, New York: Bedford/St. Martins, 2008.

Course Overview
This course is designed to provide you with an overview of United States history from the first European encounters with North America to the Civil War and Reconstruction. We will go over major themes in United States history through lectures augmented by multimedia resources and amplified through class discussions. Thematically and chronologically, the class is divided into three parts:

Colonization and Revolution, 1492-1815 Free Labor and Slavery, 1790-1850 War, Reconstruction and Labor, 1848-1877

During the semester, I will offer a social and cultural interpretation of American history, one which attempts to integrate the stories of average people into the grand narrative of national politics. Through this historical lens, we will examine the role of race, gender and class in the formation of the modern American nation.

Learning Objectives

Demonstrate an Understanding of Diversity in the American Experience (Theme 1: Diversity) Demonstrate an Understanding of Fundamental Social and Economic Conflicts That Have Shaped America (Theme 2: Conflict) Demonstrate an Understanding of How Working People Have Changed the Nation (Theme 3: Agency) Demonstrate an Understanding of the Relevance on Historical Understanding to Present and Future (Theme 4: Relevance) Improve Communication Skills Develop a Basic Appreciation of Historical Process Prepare for Upper Division Courses in History Department

Grading and Assignments

Your Grade for the course will be based on the following:

Weekly Blogs (Online With In Class Discussion) 40% of Final Grade

Weekly Quizes (Online) 20% of Final Grade Exam #1: Chapters 1-5 (Online) 10% of Final Grade Exam #2: Chapters 1-9 (Online) 10% of Final Grade Note: Higher Exam Grade (Exam 1 or Exam 2) Will Count Twice (20% of Final Grade) Final Exam: Chapters 1-13 20% (Online)

Active and Collaborative Learning: Course Discussion Blogs

There will be eight blog topics posted in Blackboard, each are worth 5 points on your final grade (for a total point value of 40 points on your final grade). Instructions for the blog topics will be available in Blackboard. Blog topics are made available for posting at the end of Monday class sessions and will be discussed in Friday class sessions. To get the blog points, you need to make your posting by 10 AM on Friday (at which time the blog will close for posting). You also need to be in class on Friday to claim your points during our in-class discussion. Excellent postings, which address the entire question asked, will receive the full 5 points. If only part of the question is addressed, the response will earn only 3 points. The professor will consider input from the class in assigning these point values during class discussion. For anyone who misses a blog posting, extra credit can be obtained by leading the blog discussions in class. Students who volunteer to lead blog discussions will get 5 points added to their final grade (making up for a missed blog posting) after successful leadership of class discussion on a blog topic. Leading the blog discussion also includes rating the postings on a scale of 1-5 before class within Blackboard before class discussion.

Weekly Quizes
Weekly quizes in Blackboard are worth 2 points on your final grade. There are 10 quizes in this course (for a total point value of 20 points on your final grade). Quizes are made available in Blackboard after the Friday class session. You must complete the weekly quiz before the following Wednesday session. Access to the weekly quiz is shut off at 10 AM before Wednesday class. Between Friday after class and the following Wednesday at 10 AM, you will be expected to take the the onine quiz. The quizes are "open book," but you can only take each quiz one time. If you get more 5 or more correct out of 10, you will get 2 points on your final grade. If you get fewer than 5 of 10 correct, you will get 1 point on your final grade. You must be in class on Monday when we discuss the quiz and go over the answers in order to get your quiz point(s).

Course Exams
There will be three exams in this course. The first two exams are entirely online. The final exam has an online and an in class component. Each of the is comprehensive and is graded on the following scale: A: 90-100 B: 80-89 C: 70-79 3

D: 60-79 F: 0-59

Weekly Course Calendar

The Lamar University Academic Calendar for Spring 2010 is Available Online. Students are responsible for adhering to all deadlines in the University Academic Calendar. http://www.lamar.edu/newsevents/acadcal.php Week 01: A Meeting of Three Worlds (1492-1680) First Session: Overview of Course January 11 Lectures: January 13, 15 Reading Assignment: Who Built America, Chapter 1 No Quiz and No Blog Week 02: Servitude, Slavery and Growth of S. Colonies (1620-1760) Lectures: January 20, 22 (January 18 MLK Holiday) Reading Assignment: Who Built America, Chapter 2 Quiz 1: Chapters 1 and 2 No Blog Week 03: Family Labor and the Growth of N. Colonies (1640-1760) Lectures: January 25, 27 Reading Assignment: Who Built America, Chapter 3 Quiz 2: Chapter 3 Class Discussion Blog 1: Jonathan Edwards' Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God (Blog Posting Due on Blackboard 10 AM Jan 29, In Class Discussion Jan 29) Week 04: Toward Revolution (1750-1776) Lectures: February 1, 3 Reading Assignment: Who Built America, Chapter 4 Quiz 3: Chapter 4 Class Discussion Blog 2: Benjamin Franklin's Poor Richard's Almanack (Blog Posting Due on Blackboard 10 AM Feb 5, In Class Discussion Feb 5) Week 05: Revolution, Constitution, and the People (1776-1815) Lectures: February 8, 10 Reading Assignment: Who Built America, Chapter 5 Quiz 4: Chapter 5 Class Discussion Blog 3: The Declaration of Independence (Blog Posting Due on Blackboard 10 AM Feb 12, In Class Discussion Feb 12)

Week 06: The Consolidation of Slavery in the South (1790-1836) Lectures: February 15, 17 Reading Assignment: Who Built America, Chapter 6 Class Discussion Blog 4: The Autobiography of Frederick Douglass (Blog Posting Due on Blackboard 10 AM Feb 19 , In Class Discussion Feb 19) Week 07: Northern Society and the Growth of Wage Labor (1790-1837) Lectures: February 22, 24, 26 Reading Assignment: Who Built America, Chapters 7 Exam 1: Chapters 1-5 (Available Online 1 PM on Monday, February 22 until 10 AM on Friday, February 26) Quiz 5: Chapter 6 No Blog Week 08: Immigration, Urban Life, Social Reform in the Free Labor North (1838-1860) Lectures: March 1, 3, 5 Reading Assignment: Who Built America, Chapter 8 Quiz 6: Chapters 7 & 8 No Blog SPRING BREAK: NO CLASS MARCH 8, 10, 12 Week 09: Gangs of New York Movie Movie Clips and Commentary: March 15, 17 Class Discussion Blog 5: Gangs of New York Movie (Blog Posting Due on Blackboard 10 AM Mar 19, In Class Discussion Mar 19) Week 10: The Spread of Slavery and the Crisis of Southern Society (1838-1848) Lectures: March 22, 24, 26 Reading Assignment: Who Built America, Chapter 9 Quiz 7: Chapter 9 No Blog Week 11: The Settlement of the West and the Conflict over Slave Labor (1848-1860) Lectures: March 29, 31 Reading Assignment: Who Built America, Chapter 10 Quiz 8: Chapter 10 Class Discussion Blog 6: John Brown's Raid on Harper's Ferry 5

(Blog Posting Due on Blackboard 10 AM Apr 2, In Class Discussion Apr 2) Week 12: The Civil War: Americas Second Revolution (1861-1865) Lectures: April 5, 7, 9 Reading Assignment: Who Built America, Chapter 11 Quiz 9: Chapters 11 Week 13: Glory Movie Movie Clips and Commentary: April 12, 14 Class Discussion Blog 7: Glory Movie (Blog Posting Due on Blackboard 10 AM Apr 16, In Class Discussion Apr 16) Week 14: Reconstructing the Nation (1865-1877) Lectures: April 19, 21, 23 Reading Assignment: Who Built America, Chapter 12 Exam 2: Chapters 1-9 In-Class Standardized Departmental Test (April 23) Week 15: New Frontiers: Westward Expansion and Industrial Growth Lectures: April 26, 28, 30 Reading Assignment: Who Built America, Chapter 13 Quiz 10: Chapter 12-13 Class Discussion Blog 8: Interpreting The Rise and Fall of Radical Reconstruction Blog Posting Due on Blackboard 10 AM Apr 30, In Class Discussion Apr 30) Week 16: Final Exam Review on May 3 & 5 Week 17: Final Exam Week
THE IN-CLASS DEPARTMENTAL STANDARDIZED EXAM IS NOT YOUR FINAL EXAM FOR THE COURSE THE FINAL EXAM WILL AVAILABLE ONLINE IN BLACKBOARD MONDAYWEDNESDAY, MAY 10 (8 AM) -MAY 12 (1200 NOON)

Final Exam Covers the Entire Text (WBA), Supplemental Readings, Multimedia and Blog Assignments.