H105- American History to 1877

HIST1301- American History to 1877

Instructor: Kimberley Weathers

Web: www.uh.edu/~web04

Email: bwkw@ev1.net

Office: Classroom Medical 217

Phone: 481-6898

Office Hours: T/Th 12:30-1:20 or by appointment

Class Description

HIST1301 is an introductory survey of the history of America from European contact in the 16^th century to the end of Reconstruction in 1877. While some attention will be paid to the major political events which have shaped this nation, we will also focus what life was like for different kinds of people in the emerging nation; to wit, black and white Americans, men and women, Native and European alike. In the process, we will learn how different groups have contributed to the American story.

Grades:

4 quizzes @ 100 points each (400 total)

3 short position papers: (300 total)

Unit I paper = 50 points

Unit II paper = 100 points

Unit III paper = 150 points

Total points possible for class: = 700

On any assignment or exam, grades are awarded on the standard percentage scale:

90-100% = A range (student demonstrates outstanding grasp of material)

80-89% = B range (indicates above average familiarity with concepts of class)

70-79% = C range (student has achieved minimum acceptable performance)

60-69% = D range (indicates student has made some effort)

59% or below = F (performance is below minimum passing standard)

Papers are due on the dates listed in the syllabus. Late assignments will be accepted with the following penalty: 2 letter grades (or 20%) every 24 hours past the due date. [E.G., if the paper is due on Tuesday, dock 2 letters (20%) from the grade until Wednesday at 1:30 pm, then 4 letter grades (40%) until Thursday at 1:30 pm. Papers will NOT be assigned a failing grade for lateness alone.] All unit papers and exams must be completed in order to pass the course.

Incompletes are not given.

Required Texts:

Murrin, Johnson, et al., Liberty, Equality, Power: A History of the American People vol. 1 (Harcourt College Publishers, 2002) - available for purchase at the campus book store.
www.uh.edu/~web04
Here you will find links to the primary source material that is required reading in this class (listed in the readings schedule each week). These readings are available online in lieu of a second textbook purchase. Please note that they are still REQUIRED readings that will be the basis of position papers, lecture material, in-class discussion, and quiz questions. In addition, the syllabus, study guides, and other materials are posted here.

Cell phone policy

As a courtesy to other students, please turn off your cell phone ringer before class. If you forget to do so, please do not answer your phone during class. Answering your phone and engaging in a phone conversation during lecture or class discussion will automatically result in the reduction of your final course grade by one full letter.

Lecture & Readings Schedule

LEP = Liberty, Equality, Power

WEB = www.uh.edu/~web04

Web readings for each week appear as links on the website. Links do not appear in the printed syllabus; however YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR CHECKING THE WEBSITE EACH WEEK to retrieve web-based readings.

Part I: Encounter & Colonization

Week 1: Introduction to the Course, First Contacts and the short-lived Middle Ground

Readings:

· LEP Chapter 1 (Skim pp. 1-31, read p. 31-43, starting with section titled “Contact and Cultural Misunderstanding”)

· LEP Chapter 2 (“New France” pp. 47-54)

· WEB: Bartolome de Las Casas, A Brief Account of the Devastation of the Indies (http://www.lasculturas.com/lib/mktxlascasasindies.php)

· WEB:Franco de los Cobos, Instructions to the Conquered (http://smith2.sewanee.edu/gsmith/courses/Religion391/DocsEarlySouth/1517-FrancodelosCobos.html)

Week 2: Cavaliers & Puritans, or Patterns of Settlement in Virginia and Massachusetts

Readings:

· LEP Chapter 2 & 3 (pp. 54-87, pp. 90-125)

· WEB: The Mayflower Compact (http://www.nationalcenter.org/MayflowerCompact.html)

Week 3: Patterns of Settlement cont’d, The Great Awakening

Readings:

· LEP Chapter 3 &4 (pp. 90-125, pp. 126-171 )

· WEB Benjamin Franklin describes hearing George Whitefield preach