Dr. Jim Williams
Peck Hall 261
Office hours: T and R, 1-3 p.m.; other days and times are possible with prior arrangement
Office phone with voicemail: 898-2633
E-mail: jhwillia AT mtsu DOT edu
Web page: www.mtsu.edu/~jhwillia

COURSE DESCRIPTION

• What role did Indians play in American history?
• Why did Europeans expand into the Americas?
• Why did Europeans bring Africans to the Americas to be used as slaves?
• How and why did racism develop in America?
• What role did religion play in American history?
• What role did women play in American history?
• What was the American Revolution for?
• What consequences did the American Revolution have for Americans of all sorts?
• Why did the United States continue to expand during the 1800s?
• Why did the Civil War occur?
• Why did Americans fight in the Civil War?
• What did the Civil War accomplish?
• Was Reconstruction a success or failure?
• And this semester's course theme: What makes some people great, and how do our ideas of greatness change over time?

The academic master plan for MTSU states that the university "will create and nurture a student-centered learning environment responsive to the needs of a diverse student body" (p. 6). With this goal in mind, we will not proceed as if this is a preparatory course for "Jeopardy" or "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire." Rather, the instructor will guide students through the large historical questions from this era of the American past and will help them create informed answers to those questions.

HOW THIS COURSE FURTHERS THE GOALS OF THE GENERAL EDUCATION PROGRAM

As a general eduction requirement, this course furthers the purpose of the MTSU general education curriculum. According to the general education statement of purpose, "General Education professors teach critical and logical thinking; communications skills of writing, speaking, and listening, including skills in locating and gathering information; teach a basis for understanding the mathematical and scientific world perspective; teach an appreciation of aesthetic and cultural productions; teach a broad understanding of the history of human experience; teach an understanding and appreciation of various cultures and their interrelationships; teach a basis for making sound ethical and moral judgments, and judgments on maintaining physical and mental health; and finally they teach the skills to participate responsibly in one's natural, social and political environments." Since the study of history contributes to the acquisition of nearly all of these skills, students should judge the course according to how well the professor does, in fact, teach the relevant skills listed above.

More specifically, the Tennessee Board of Regents includes this course in the history requirement of the general education core curriculum within the TBR system of colleges and universities. According to the TBR, "The goal of the history requirement is to develop in students an understanding of the present that is informed by an awareness of past heritages, including the complex and interdependent relationships between cultures and societies." Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to demonstrate their ability to perform the following learning outcomes:

• analyze historical facts and interpretations, which will result from students reading, analyzing, and discussing primary documents and secondary writings from the period covered by the course;
• analyze and compare political, geographic, economic, social, cultural, religious, and intellectual institutions, structures, and processes across a range of historical periods and cultures, which will result from students participating in class discussions of the course texts, primary documents, web sites, and films, and from students preparing critical essays of varying lengths throughout the course;
• recognize and articulate the diversity of human experience throughout history and the complexities of a global culture and society, which will result from students critically viewing and discussing films and historical images and participating in class discussions and writing critical essays throughout the course;
• draw on historical perspectives to evaluate contemporary problems and issues, which will result from students viewing and discussing films and web sites, discussing course readings in class, and completing a variety of writing assignments throughout the course, including the final course essay;
• analyze the contributions of past cultures and societies to the contemporary world, which will result from students viewing and discussing films and web sites, discussing course readings in class, and completing a variety of writing assignments throughout the course, including the final course essay.

COURSE ASSUMPTIONS

Furthermore, as an honors section, this course will seek a more in-depth analysis of American history than a regular section, and students will be asked to perform more complex historical tasks than regular students.

CLASS MEETING EXPECTATIONS AND MEMBERS' RESPONSIBILITIES

Academic dishonesty will not be tolerated in any form in this course. Whether you intend to break the rules is irrelevant. The most likely way that you can behave dishonestly is to commit plagiarism. There are several types of plagiarism, and you are responsible for understanding all of them. Be particularly careful in this class not to copy word-for-word from one of the books (or any other source) without putting those quoted words in quotation marks. Also, we will notice if two or more people cheat by turning in identical work. If you are found to have committed plagiarism, or any other form of academic dishonesty, you will receive a zero on that assignment, and your penalty may increase to failure in the course, depending on the circumstances. Dr. Williams will also notify the dean of judicial affairs, who may apply additional sanctions (probation, expulsion, etc.) according to university policy. If you have questions about academic dishonesty and university policy, please consult your student handbook, the student affairs web site, or Dr. Williams.

COURSE TEXTS (listed in the order in which they appear on the course schedule)

• Eve LaPlante, American Jezebel: The Uncommon Life of Anne Hutchinson, the Woman Who Defied the Puritans (ISBN 9780060750565)
• Gordon Wood, Revolutionary Characters: What Made the Founders Different (ISBN 9781594200939)
• Sojourner Truth, Narrative of Sojourner Truth (ISBN 9780486298993)
• Philip Sheldon Foner, ed., Frederick Douglass on Slavery and the Civil War: Selections from His Writings (ISBN 9780486431710)
• Lauren Cook Burgess, ed., An Uncommon Soldier: The Civil War Letters of Sarah Rosetta Wakeman, Alias Pvt. Lyons Wakeman, 153rd Regiment, New York State Volunteers (ISBN 9780195102437)

These texts are available for purchase in the MTSU bookstore and should be readily available at Blue Raider Bookstore as well as the wide variety of online booksellers (perhaps with substantial savings).

WRITING CENTER

STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES

REMINDER FROM THE HONORS COLLEGE

KEYS TO SUCCESS IN THIS COURSE

• Attend class regularly. Studies galore demonstrate that students with good attendance perform better than students with irregular attendance. In this class, as a practical matter, there is some material that is only available during class activities. Without this information, your graded work will suffer.
• Keep up with the work.
• Ask questions if you do not understand something.
• If you stop attending class, or wish to drop the class, make sure you take the necessary steps to withdraw by the deadline. Otherwise, you will receive an F.

EVALUATION OF HOW WELL YOU REACH THE COURSE GOAL

I. Class participation (200 points): The instructor will take attendance each day. For each class, the instructor will assign each student either one, two, or three participation points, as follows: one point for silent attendance; two points for some participation; three points for outstanding participation. At the end of the course, the instructor will add each student's points and translate those points into a numerical grade on a scale of 200 using the top students as a guide. Please note: The top student(s) may or may not fall into the A range. This determination is left to the judgment of the instructor.

II. Short essays on four of the five assigned books (500 points each): The instructor will assign an essay topic for each book at the appropriate time in the course. Each student should complete four or five of these essays. For those who choose to write four essays, each essay will count 125 points. For those who choose to write five essays, each essay will count 100 points. This is not the best four out of five! All grades will be recorded and will contribute the appropriate portion to your final grade.

III. Final course essay (300 points): In lieu of examinations, every student will write an essay on a topic that spans the period of this course. This essay will address the following question: "In American history before 1877, what made some people great? How did Americans define individual greatness then, and how do your ideas of greatness compare to theirs?"

Essays must be typed and double spaced with 12-point font and at least one-inch margins. Do not use paper or plastic covers, please. No title page or bibliography (works cited page) is necessary. Use only materials from the course: films, readings, lectures, discussions, etc. If you refer to a piece of information directly, simply cite the source as you write. EXAMPLE: "As seen in the film, Anne Hutchinson was a courageous woman who refused to surrender her conscience to the needs of her community." Or, if you quote something, give a brief citation in parentheses. EXAMPLE: "A Tunica Indian called Hernando de Soto 'the personification of evil' ('Clash of Cultures' film)," or, "Gordon S. Wood asserts that 'John Adams always believed he was the most underrated and neglected of the revolutionary leaders'" (Wood, 175).

The best essays will use a wide variety of course materials, will cover the span of time (rather than make big leaps over periods of time), will use ample examples and evidence, and will be clearly organized. All essays MUST have an argument (thesis) that addresses the assigned question. Dr. Williams is happy to read drafts of your essay or discuss your ideas before you turn in the final version. Or you may visit the university writing center for advice on organizing your thoughts and presenting them clearly with strong evidence.

STUDY AIDS

• How to Read a Book
• Basic Problems to Overcome When Writing
• The Differences between A, B, C, D, and F Papers. This is the rubrick that Dr. Williams uses while grading your essays.

COURSE SCHEDULE

Note: In the schedule below, the topics for class are listed on the line after the date. Below that line are the reading assignments and other work that is due for class on that day. The instructor may, from time to time, supplement the readings below with handouts and other short reading assignments.

Tues., Jan. 16: Introduction; Kennewick Man

Thur., Jan. 18: What were encounters like between Indians and the Spanish from Columbus into the 1500s?
-->Read "How to Read a Book" handout (see link on web site, above)

Tues., Jan. 23: Introducing Anne Hutchinson
-->Read American Jezebel through p. 49

Thur., Jan. 25: Trying Anne Hutchinson
-->Read American Jezebel through p. 113

Mon., Jan. 29: Last day to drop without a grade

Tues., Jan. 30: Convicting Anne Hutchinson
-->Read American Jezebel through p. 207

Thur., Feb. 1: Banishing and remembering Anne Hutchinson
-->Read American Jezebel through p. 256

Tues., Feb. 6: An American Indian saint--Kateri Tekakwitha
-->Read K. I. Koppedrayer, "The Making of the First Iroquois Virgin: Early Jesuit Biographies of the Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha," Ethnohistory 40 (Spring 1993): 277-306 , through this link.

Thur., Feb. 8: Why did slavery and racism develop as they did in early America?
-->Read Thomas N. Ingersoll, "Releese us out of this Cruell Bondegg": An Appeal from Virginia in 1723," William and Mary Quarterly 51 (Oct. 1994): 777-82, through this link.

Tues., Feb. 13: What impact did the Great Awakening and the Enlightenment have in the Americas?
-->Read Revolutionary Characters through p. 28

Thur., Feb. 15: What was the American Revolution about?
-->Read the Declaration of Independence
Essays on American Jezebel due at the beginning of class

Tues., Feb. 20: The greatness of George Washington and Benjamin Franklin
-->Read Revolutionary Characters through p. 90

Thur., Feb. 22 (George Washington's birthday): The greatness of Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton
-->Read Revolutionary Characters through p. 140

Tues., Feb. 27: The greatness of James Madison and John Adams
-->Read Revolutionary Characters through p. 202

Thur., Mar. 1: The greatness of Thomas Paine and Aaron Burr (?); remembering the founders
-->Read Revolutionary Characters to the end

Mon., Mar. 5: Last day to drop with a grade of W

SPRING BREAK--no classes

Tues., Mar. 13: The shoemaker at the tea party--common greatness in the American Revolution
-->Read Alfred F. Young, "George Robert Twelves Hewes (1742-1840): A Boston Shoemaker and the Memory of the American Revolution," William and Mary Quarterly 38 (Oct. 1981): 561-623 , through this link.

Thur., Mar. 15: How can historians reconstruct the lives of women in the early U.S.?
Essays on Revolutionary Characters due at the beginning of class

Tues., Mar. 20: Why was the U.S. Constitution necessary and what does it do?
-->Read the U.S. Constitution from the preamble through the Bill of Rights (first ten amendments)

Thur., Mar. 22: Slavery and Sojourner Truth
-->Read Narrative of Sojourner Truth through p. 40

Tues., Mar. 27: Sojourner Truth--Ain't I a Woman?
-->Read Narrative of Sojourner Truth through the end

Thur., Mar. 29: Cleansing America of moral evils in the 1800s

Tues., Apr. 3: What did women's rights mean in the mid-1800s?
Essays on Narrative of Sojourner Truth due at the beginning of class

Thur., Apr. 5: Frederick Douglass and slavery
-->Read Frederick Douglass on Slavery and the Civil War through p. 42

Tues., Apr. 10: Frederick Douglass and the Civil War
-->Read Frederick Douglass on Slavery and the Civil War through the end

Thur., Apr. 12: A woman soldier in the Civil War
-->Read An Uncommon Soldier from beginning to end

Tues., Apr. 17: Were Americans who went west heroic pioneers or foolish adventurers?
Essays on Frederick Douglass on Slavery and the Civil War due at the beginning of class

Thur., Apr. 19: Lessons of the Civil War

Tues., Apr. 24 (last class day): The failure of Reconstruction
Essays on An Uncommon Soldier due at the beginning of class

Final essays for section H01 due no later than noon, Tues., May 1; for section H02 due no later than 12:30 p.m., Thur., May 3. Bring your essays directly to Dr. Williams's office, Peck Hall 261. You may turn in essays early to my mailbox in the History Department office (Peck Hall 223) or to the box on the wall next to my office door. Please do not slide papers under my office door! Under no circumstances will papers be accepted via email.