Norfolk State University

                                                      Department of History

                                HIS 102--UNITED STATES HISTORY TO 1877

                                                            Course Outline

 

 

Class Time:  1:30-3:00 p.m. (TR)

 

Dr. Charles H. Ford                                                 Office Hours:   11:00 a.m. – 12 :00 noon (TR)

Office C154, Brown Hall                                                                    10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a..m.  (MWF)

(757) 823-8865                                                                                   2:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. (MWF)

E-Mail – chford7@mail.com                     Fax: (757) 823-2512

 

TITLE AND DESCRIPTION

United States History 1607-1877 - A study of the political, economic and social development of the United States from the Colonial period to 1877 with an emphasis on the racial and ethnic diversity that created a unique American culture (3 semester hours).  No prerequisites.

 

TEXT

Faragher, John, et. al., Out of Many: A History of the American People.  Vol. I, 3rd Edition, 2000.

 

Required Readings:  On-Line

Chiles, James.  "Congress Couldn’t Have Been This Bad, or Could It?." Annual Editions:  American History.

Volume 1:  Pre-Colonial through Reconstruction, 1997.

Demos, John. "Entertaining Satan." Annual Editions: American History.  Volume 1:  Pre-Colonial through

Reconstruction, 1997.

Ellis, Joseph.  "Editing the Declaration." Annual Editions:  American History.  Volume 1: Pre-Colonial through

Reconstruction, 1997.

Foote, Timothy.  "The Way We Were--and the Way We Went." Annual Editions:  American History.  Volume 1:

Pre-Colonial through Reconstruction, 1997.

Milanich, Jerald.  "Laboring in the Fields of the Lord."  Annual Editions:  American History.  Volume 1:  Pre-

Colonial through Reconstruction, 1997.

 

Course Learning Objectives:

1.         The student will formulate basic historical concepts of the political, economic, social and intellectual

forces which laid the foundations for the American nation.

2.         The student will examine and be able to explain the evolution of American slavery and its effects on

the unique regional development of the South, African Americans and on the nation's broader

population.

3.         The student will analyze the major historical interpretations of the causes and effects of the American

Revolution.

4.         The student will analyze and formulate basic concepts of the following movements and which shaped

the American nation in the early national period:  a) the movement for Constitutional Reform; b) the

Federalist/Jeffersonian Era; c) Nationalism and Sectionalism;  d) the Jacksonian movement; e) Westward

Expansion; f) the institution of slavery and the Antebellum South; g) the rise of Industrialism; and h)


the mid-19th century Reform Movements.

5.         The student will examine the sectional crises of the 1840's and 1850's, and the impact of this era on the

causes of the Civil War, and develop from these readings defensible historical syntheses and/or concepts.

 

COURSE EXPECTATIONS AND REQUIREMENTS:

1.         ORIENTATION SESSION - Students must attend an orientation session (first day of class) in order to

verify their enrollment in the course.  Also at that time students will be given a general overview and the

requirements for completing this course.  If orientation is missed, students are required to contact the

professor during his office hours to review the instructions for the class.

 

2.         ATTENDANCE - Since class attendance and participation are important in the learning process, after 3

unexcused absences, a deduction of 5 points per absence from the class participation grade will result.

Determination of absences will be based on regular class meetings as scheduled by the Registrar and Vice

President for Academic Affairs.  Also, attendance for the entire class period is expected unless prior

arrangements have been made with the instructor.  Students are responsible for becoming familiar with the

rules of attendance and the standards of  academic and personal conduct as set forth in the University

Catalog and Student Handbook.

a.         Each student is expected to attend all class meetings and can only have three (3) unexcused

absences without penalty to the class participation grade each semester.  Five points per

unexcused absence will be removed from the class participation grade after the third unexcused

absence.

 

3.         LECTURE ATTENDANCE - Class attendance and keeping up with the assigned readings is mandatory.

Lectures and discussions are merely an enhancement of a part of the readings and not a substitute for the

assignments.  Students cannot pass the class without completing the assigned readings. Dependence upon

the discussion sessions and the lectures without completing the reading assignments will probably result in failure.

 

4.         ACADEMIC HONESTY - The History and Geography faculty will adhere to the University Catalog

guidelines as quoted below.  Violations of these standards will result in grade reduction or a failing grade

plus a recommendation for University discipline.

 

“‘Academic or academically related misconduct’” includes, but is not limited to,

unauthorized collaboration or use of external information during examinations;

plagiarizing or representing another’s ideas as one’s own; furnishing false academic

information to the University; falsely obtaining, distributing, using or receiving test

materials; obtaining or gaining unauthorized access to examinations or academic

materials; improperly altering or inducing another to improperly alter any academic

record; or engaging in any conduct which is intended to reasonably likely to confer

upon one’s self or another an unfair advantage or unfair benefit respecting an

academic or academic matter.”

 

5.         MAKE-UP WORK - Students are responsible for making up any work missed if not beyond instructor


designated deadlines.

a.         Instructors are not responsible if the student misses the lectures, films, or discussion sessions.

b.         Each student is responsible for getting handouts distributed during the discussion sessions (especially

if the student is absent when handout was initially distributed).

 

6.         DISCUSSION SESSIONS - Students must understand that the discussion sessions are not designed to be

lectures.  Instead, they are opportunities for the student and instructor to engage in a question and answer

exchange.

a.         The questions discussed in these sessions should be generated primarily by the students and will be

based on the reading assignments, lectures and films.

 

7.         CLASS CONDUCT - Students are expected to follow the rules of attendance and the standards of academic

and personal conduct as set forth in the University Catalog and Student Handbook.

a.         DISRUPTIONS - Noise and other disruptions are unacceptable and may result in a student’s

removal from class.

b.         CHILDREN AND BABIES - As long as there is no disruption, children and babies are allowed in

class.  However, in general underaged and unregistered individuals should not be present during

exams.

 

8.         INCOMPLETE GRADE POLICY - Incomplete grades are not automatic!  They will be given only at the

instructor's discretion and because of critical circumstances.  It is expected that all work will be completed

as assigned.

 

9.         EXAMS - There will be 5 essay exams comprising material covered in lectures, readings and discussions.

a.         The lowest exam will be dropped for the final grade.

b.         Exams will draw from the readings, lectures and discussions; however, at least 50% of the exams

will be based on the assigned readings.

 

10.       MAKE-UP EXAMS - Makeup exams must be taken within 2-3 office hour days after the designated exam

date unless otherwise stated by the instructor.  After that period, makeup exams will be given only at the

instructor’s discretion.  Any situation clearly beyond a student’s control which causes or will cause him/her

to miss an exam or other assignment should be reported to the instructor at the earliest possible time.

Students who take the make-up within 2-3 days after the test date do not need to contact the instructor.

Please consult office hours and inform the instructor at the time that you wish to take the make-up. Failure

to comply with this policy will result in a "O" for that exam.

 

11.       WRITING ASSIGNMENT GRADE:

a.         There is one (1) article each student is expected to read (in addition to reading assignments from

the text) and to write a critical review.  These critical article reviews will accompany each of those

reading assignments from the text.  The due date is listed in the "Lecture Topics and Reading

Assignments" portion of the syllabus.  Students will receive a handout on this assignment which

will accompany the question guide sheet.

 


12.       Students will have two (2) assignments from the "Mapping America" book.  These will be

individually assigned by the instructor and provided to the student along with their due dates.  Since class

attendance is mandatory, each student is expected to be in class when these assignments are given.

 

13.       FINAL EXAM - The final exam will be held at the schedule book’s time and will be

comprehensive.

 

Grading System:                                                                                                         Grading Scale:           

A = Exceptional (95-100)                     C-= Below Average (70-73)                            Exams                          - 50%

A-= Excellent (90-94)              D+= Needs Improvement                                            Writing Assignment        - 20%

B+= Superior (87-89)                                         (67-69)                                            Final Exam                   -10%

B = Very Good (84-86)                       D = Passing (64-66)                                         Class Participation        - 20%

B-= Good (80-83)                               D-= Barely Passing (60-63)

C+= Above Average (77-79)               F = Failure (59 and below)

C = Average (74-76)              

 

LECTURE TOPICS AND READING ASSIGNMENTS

I.          Introduction     (August 24, 2000)

II.         The Origins of America

A.        First Contact (Text, 1-24)   (August 24, 29, 2000)

B.         The Triumph and Tragedy of Colonization (Text, 25-48)

 

III.       English Patterns of Settlement (Text, 49-72)

A.        The Settlement of Jamestown and Massachusetts Bay   (September 5, 7, 2000)

                                                EXAM – 7 September

 

Assignment:  complete Topic 3:  England's North American Colonies in 1700 (Mapping America, 6-7)

                                                                         DUE SEPT. 12, 2000

 

IV.       Conflict and Consensus in Colonial America

A.        Origins of African-American Slavery (Text, 73-102)    (September 12, 2000)

B.         Early Colonial Cultures (Text, 103-131)    (September 14, 19, 2000)

                                                                                - EXAM -

                                                                             (Sept. 21, 2000)

 

V.        Social, Economic, and Political Complexities in a Maturing Colonial America

A.        The Struggle for Dominance and Independence in North America (Text, 132-153)

     (September 21, 26, 2000)

 

 

 

 

 

VI.       The American Revolution and Its Aftermath

A.        The American Revolution (Text, 154-175)   (September 28, October 3, 2000)

C.        Legacies of the American Revolution (Text, 175-191)   (October 5, 2000)

                                                                                - EXAM -

                                                                              (Oct. 10, 2000)


VII.      Creating A Nation

A.        The Establishment of a National Government (Text, 193-200)    (October 10, 12, 2000)

B.         The Early National Period:  The Federalist Era (Text, 200-2)   (October 17, 19, 2000)

C.        The New American Communities (Text, 222-234)     (October 24, 2000)

 

VIII.     The Age of the Jeffersonians (Jefferson, Madison, Monroe)

A.        Jeffersonian Domestic Programs and National Expansion (Text, 235-246)    (October 26, 2000)

B.         Jeffersonian Foreign Policy (Text, 247-260)     (October 31, 2000)

- EXAM -

(Nov. 2, 2000)

 

IX.       National Development and the Age of Jackson

A.        The Age of Jackson (Text, 261-293)       (Nov. 2, 7, 2000)

B.         The Industrializing North (Text, 324-350)    (November 9, 2000)

 

Assignment:  complete Topic 7:  Land Acquisitions, 1782-1830, 14-15

DUE NOV. 9, 2000

 

X.        The Antebellum Slavery and the Reform Movement  

A.        The Peculiar Institution (Text, 294-324)       (November 14, 2000)

 

                                               - WRITING ASSIGNMENT DUE (Nov. 14, 2000) -

 

B.         Abolitionism and America's Reform Movements (Text, 351-379)   (November 16, 2000)

 

                                                                    - EXAM -

                                                                             (Nov. 21, 2000)

 

- THANKSGIVING BREAK -

 

XI.       The Critical Decades:  The 1850's and 60's

A.        Moving West:  Manifest Destiny (Text, 386-416)   (November 28, 2000)

B.         The Road to Secession (Text, 417-446)    (November 30, 2000)

C.        Lincoln and the Civil War (Text, 504-537)      (December 5, 2000)

 

                               - Review and Discussion for FINAL EXAM (Dec. 7, 2000) -

                                                                        - FINAL EXAM -