history 101 section 3008 csn spring 201

College of Southern Nevada,

West Charleston Campus Richard D. Lester, Part-Time

History 101, Section 3008 Instructor

Call # 30351 Instructor Mail Box:

Spring Semester 2012 C-269

TuTh 6:00 – 7:20 P.M. Office Hours: Before and after class,

Classroom: I-214 and by appointment

E-Mail: [email protected]

UNITED STATES HISTORY TO 1877

COURSE THEMES

This course is an introductory United States history survey course, which examines early

American history from the pre-Columbian era through Reconstruction. The course meets the

college’s U.S. Constitution requirement. English 101 is a prerequisite. The course will examine

how a group of English colonies with very different economies and social structures became a

unified nation, the United States, only to fall apart in a civil war over the issue of slavery and to

be reconstituted as very different nation. The main themes of the course will include European

colonial expansion in North America and the resulting cultural interactions and conflicts between

Europeans, Native Americans, and Africans; the struggle to create an independent nation from a

group of very different colonies; the early nineteenth century “Market Revolution” and its impact

on American society; and the causes and consequences of the sectional conflict over the

expansion of slavery. A larger theme will be the striking contradiction between the new nation’s

democratic ideals and the realities of early American society, particularly its racial and gender

hierarchies. For many people, the United States provided much greater freedom and economic

opportunity than other societies at the time. Nevertheless, the United States also denied this

freedom and opportunity to many others, basing much of its economy on slavery, dispossessing

Native Americans of their lands, and denying women full political participation and legal rights.

REQUIRED TEXTS (available for purchase at the CSN Bookstore)

Eric Foner, Give Me Liberty! Third Seagull Edition, Volume One (To 1877)

Eric Foner, editor. Voices of Freedom. Third Edition, Volume One

Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass

mailto:[email protected]

There is a Study Space website, which provides supplementary online materials to accompany

Eric Foner, Give Me Liberty! These materials include online videos of Eric Foner answering

questions about United States history, study outlines for each chapter, Map worksheets, iMaps,

interactive Flash Cards and an interactive Chrono-Sequencer. Although I have not assigned any

of the materials on the Study Space website, students are encouraged to make use of any of the

online materials which they find useful for their own study. The Study Space website may be

accessed at www.wwnorton.com/foner.

STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES

(1)Students will gain greater knowledge of United States history from the pre - Columbian era

through 1877.

(2)Students will better understand the European colonization of the western hemisphere and the

resulting cultural interactions and conflicts between Europeans, Africans and Native Americans.

(3)Students will better understand the development of slavery in North America and its impact

on early American society.

(4)Students will better understand the causes and consequences of the American struggle for

independence.

(5)Students will better understand the United States constitution and the development of

American political institutions.

(6)Students will better understand the impact of the “Market Revolution” on American society.

(7)Students will better understand the sectional controversy over slavery and the causes of the

Civil War.

(8)Students will enhance their critical thinking and writing skills.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND GRADING

There will be two midterms, a paper, a final examination and three quizzes. There will also be a

grade for student attendance and participation. Final course grades will be based on the following

point assignments and percentages:

First Midterm 200 Points or 20%

Second Midterm 200 Points or 20%

Final Examination 200 Points or 20%

Paper 200 Points or 20%

Attendance/Participation/

Quizzes 200 Points or 20%

If you do not complete all of the required course work but do not formally withdraw from the

course or seek and receive an “Incomplete,” you will receive a grade based on the total points

you have received for the assignments you have completed. Typically, if you have missed

assignments worth a significant number of points, this grade is unlikely to be a passing grade.

Final course grades will be determined based on a thousand point scale. The grading scale will

be as follows: A = 925-1000, A- = 895-924, B+ = 865-894, B = 825-864, B- = 795-824, C+

=765-794, C = 725-764, C- = 695-724, D+ = 665-694, D = 625-664, D- = 595-624, F = Below

595. Grades will be based on an absolute scale and will not be “curved.”

Examinations:

The first midterm will be given on February 28, 2012. The second midterm will be given on

April 10, 2012. The final examination will be given in the final examination period for this class

on May 17, 2012. Both midterms and the final exam will consist of essay and identification

questions. Identification questions will require you to write a short paragraph identifying and

evaluating the historical significance of important persons, places, events or ideas discussed in

the course. On the examinations, you will be responsible for all lecture material and class

discussions as well as for the assigned readings.

Paper:

There will be a 5-6 page paper, due on May 1, 2012. Paper topics will be distributed in class on

April 3, 2012. The paper will be a critical paper analyzing the assigned readings in the course,

particularly the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. Your paper should be an analysis of

the readings, not simply a summary or description of the readings. No outside research will be

necessary. The paper must be turned in to me in class on the due date. If a student has a genuine

reason why he or she cannot possibly turn in the paper in class or on time, he or she must contact

me before the due date to make an alternative arrangement for submitting the paper. Papers

submitted one day late will not be penalized. After that, late papers will be penalized by a third

of a grade for each additional day late. In order to receive credit for the paper, the paper must be

turned in no later than Tuesday of finals week, May 15, 2012.

Quizzes:

There will be three multiple choice quizzes given in class during the term. Two of the quizzes

will be fifteen minute quizzes and will focus primarily on whether you are keeping up with the

readings. The other quiz will be thirty minutes and will focus on the United States Constitution

and its historical context. If you are coming to class and keeping up with the reading, the quizzes

should be relatively easy. Dates for quizzes will typically be announced in class a week in

advance. If you miss a quiz, you must arrange for a makeup quiz immediately. Makeup quizzes

will only be given if a student has a valid reason for missing the quiz given in class and will

typically be significantly different than the quiz given in class.

Attendance/In Class Participation:

This course requires your active participation. In addition, new material will be introduced in

class. As a result, attendance is REQUIRED at all class meetings. Attendance will be taken and

a large number of unexcused absences will adversely affect your attendance/participation grade.

If you have a genuine reason for missing a class meeting, you should let me know as soon as

possible so that the absence is counted as excused.

PLEASE NOTE: If you have a genuine reason for missing class, such as illness, your absence

will be excused and will not adversely affect your attendance/participation grade. Students who

miss class due to illness should arrange to get the notes for any missed classes from one of their

classmates.

In addition to attending all class meetings (except for excused absences), you should come to

class prepared to participate actively. You should do the assigned reading before each class

meeting. Excellent class participation will be taken into account in determining the

attendance/participation portion of the course grade.

Online Discussion Forums:

In addition to class attendance and in class participation, the attendance/participation grade will

also be based on participation in discussions on the online discussion forums for History 101,

Section 3008 on Angel. Students will be required to submit a total of three postings of their own

on three separate discussion forums. Students also will be required to submit two comments on

other students’ postings on separate discussion forums. (Students may submit a comment on the

same discussion forum as a posting) Comments should genuinely add to the discussion rather

than simply agreeing with or restating other students’ postings or comments. Postings will

receive a letter grade while comments will be marked “satisfactory” or “unsatisfactory.” After a

discussion forum is created, students will have two weeks to submit postings and/or comments.

(PLEASE NOTE THAT THERE WILL BE ONE IMPORTANT EXCEPTION TO THIS

POLICY: IT DOES NOT APPLY TO THE DISCUSSION FORUMS CREATED IN THE

LAST TWO WEEKS OF THE TERM.) Postings and comments should be submitted as

independent posts on the discussion forums rather than as replies to the discussion questions or

to other students’ postings. In postings, you should clearly indicate in the subject line which

discussion question you are responding to. For comments, you should clearly indicate on the

subject line or in the text that it is a comment on another student’s posting and should also

indicate which posting the comment refers to. If a student posts a posting or comment in error

(either double posting or posting on the incorrect discussion forum), the student is responsible

for deleting the posting or comment before the discussion forum closes. At the instructor’s

discretion, the instructor may require that, in order to receive credit for postings and comments,

they must be submitted by May 15, 2012, Tuesday of finals week.

Discussion forum postings and comments should be based on the course material covered in

class and assigned readings. They should not simply restate the course material but expand upon

it, as student comments in a class discussion would. It is unnecessary to use any outside sources.

If outside sources are used, however, citations to these sources must be provided. Depending

upon the circumstances, failure to provide citations to outside sources could be considered to be

a violation of CSN’s Academic Integrity policy (described later in this syllabus). Because the

discussion forum postings and comments are intended as discussion rather than a formal written

assignment, citations are unnecessary if the only sources used are readings assigned in this

course.

Beyond the three required postings, postings may be submitted for extra credit, up to a maximum

of 50 points extra credit. Postings for extra credit must be submitted on different discussion

forums than the required postings. You may only receive extra credit for one posting per

discussion forum. (Please note that you will not receive extra credit for submitting more than the

two required comments.) At the instructor’s discretion, the instructor may require that, in order

to receive extra credit for postings, they must be submitted by May 15, 2012, Tuesday of finals

week.

At the instructor’s discretion, repeated infractions of the policies governing discussion forums

(including those policies discussed in the Course Policies section of this syllabus) may lead to

students not receiving credit for postings and comments which fail to comply with these policies.

COURSE POLICIES

Makeup examinations will only be permitted for a valid reason, typically either a religious

holiday, participation in a college sanctioned extracurricular activity, or a genuinely dire

medical, personal or family emergency which makes it virtually impossible for a student to take

the scheduled examination. In order to arrange for a makeup examination, the student must

contact the instructor before the scheduled examination is given (at least a week in advance if the

reason for missing the scheduled examination is a college sanctioned extracurricular activity or is

known well in advance ). If, due to the nature of the emergency, it is absolutely impossible for

the student to contact the instructor before the scheduled examination, the student must contact

the instructor immediately afterwards. The student may be required to produce adequate

documentation of the reason for missing the scheduled examination.

Grades of “Incomplete” will only be given if a student has completed most of the semester and

the required coursework. In addition, an “Incomplete” will only be given if circumstances

outside a student’s control, typically a genuinely dire medical, personal, or family emergency,

make it impossible for the student to complete the remainder of the term. Adequate

documentation of a student’s reason for seeking an “Incomplete” may be required.

Students are expected to observe proper classroom decorum and to be considerate of their fellow

students at all times. Students should arrive to class on time and should not walk in late. They

should not engage in private conversations during class and should keep cellular telephones

silent at all times while class is in session. In both in class and online discussions, students

should observe appropriate standards of civility at all times (including appropriate online

“netiquette”) and should treat their fellow students with respect.

If the instructor does not show up at the regularly scheduled class time and there is no note on

the door indicating that the class has been canceled, students should wait for at least twenty

minutes before leaving.

All information contained in this syllabus, other than the grading, late assignments, makeup work

and attendance policies, may be subject to change with advance notice, as deemed appropriate by

the instructor.

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

You are expected to complete your own work in this class. Cheating on exams or plagiarism on

papers is not fair to students who are honestly studying. Cheating and plagiarism also mean that

you do not acquire the writing and critical thinking skills you should acquire as a result of taking

this course. Cheating and plagiarism are also subject to penalties listed in the CSN Student

Academic Integrity Policy. Please make yourself familiar with the college’s Student Academic

Integrity Policy (http://www.csn.edu/studentacademicintegrity). The minimum penalty for

violating the Academic Integrity Policy is to fail the assignment. Failing the course will also be

considered as a penalty, depending upon the seriousness of the infraction. Repeated infractions

may lead to suspensions, expulsion, transcript notations, and other sanctions.

One common form of academic dishonesty is plagiarism, taking someone else’s words or ideas

and misrepresenting them as your own without adequately acknowledging their source.

Plagiarism essentially is stealing someone else’s words or ideas. Buying a term paper and

submitting it as your own work, submitting someone else’s paper as your own work, or copying

words or ideas from an Internet website and submitting them as your own work are all forms of

plagiarism. Although word for word use of a source without quotation marks or citations is the

most obvious form of plagiarism, plagiarism also includes summarizing evidence, factual

information or ideas from a source without acknowledging your source.

http://www.csn.edu/studentacademicintegrity

In this course, word for word language taken from other sources – books, papers, websites –

must be placed in quotation marks and the source must be identified. Papers which draw factual

information or ideas from other sources must acknowledge these sources. Work on tests and

examinations must also be your own work. Students must comply with all rules set by the

instructor regarding the unauthorized use of books and notes during examinations.

Students are strongly encouraged to consult the additional information on plagiarism and proper

citation of sources available on the website for the CSN libraries

at http://libguides.csn.edu/plagiarism.

CSN RESOURCES

Students are encouraged to take full advantage of the resources CSN provides to promote student

success. These resources include CSN’s tutorial services, which provide four hours of free

tutoring per credit hour in a variety of subjects. Tutorial services provides up to twelve hours of

free tutoring for a three credit hour course. CSN tutorial services are located in Building D –

Room 203 on the Charleston campus (651-5732), in Room 2100 of the library on the Cheyenne

campus (651-4232), and in Building C – Computer Lab on the Henderson campus (651-3125).

For additional information about CSN tutorial services, please visit http://www.csn.edu/tutoring/.

In addition to tutoring services, there are CSN Writing Centers which provide free assistance on

writing papers. No appointment is necessary. CSN Writing Centers are located in

Building C – Room 112 on the Charleston campus (651-7402), in Building C – Computer Lab

(651-3187) on the Henderson campus, and in the Telecom Building – Room 1707 on the

Cheyenne campus (651-4101). CSN students may also receive free online assistance on writing

papers through Smarthinking at www.smarthinking.com. In addition, first generation college

students, financial aid eligible students, and students with disabilities may receive tutoring,

academic advising, career exploration and additional services through TRIO Student Support

Services, located in Room 1120 on the Cheyenne campus (651-4441).

CSN Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) offers a variety of free and confidential

services which are aimed at helping CSN students to achieve their personal and academic goals.

CAPS can help with depression, managing stress, dealing with traumatic experiences, coping

with learning disabilities, managing anxiety (test taking, public speaking, etc.) , coping with grief

or loss, increasing self-confidence and assertiveness, clarifying values and priorities,

understanding and improving relationships, and diversity issues. There are CAPS offices at the

West Charleston, Cheyenne and Henderson campuses. The telephone number for the West

Charleston and Henderson offices of CAPS is 651-5518 (appointments with the Henderson

office are made through the West Charleston office). The telephone number for the Cheyenne

office of CAPS is 651-4099.

STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES

If you have a documented disability that may require assistance, you will need to contact the

Disability Resource Center (DRC) for coordination of your academic accommodations. The

http://libguides.csn.edu/plagiarism

DRC is located in Student Services on each campus. For West Charleston the number is 651-

5644, for Cheyenne the number is 651-4045, and for Henderson the number is 651-3795. Every

reasonable effort will be made to accommodate your disability. Nevertheless, in order for

academic accommodations to be provided, you must contact the DRC and I must have official

notification from the DRC indicating which academic accommodations you are entitled to.

For those students who would like to perform community service or earn extra money, stop by

the DRC to fill out a job interest card. This office hires students as note takers, proctors, scribes

and research assistants as needed.

PRINT WISE SYSTEM

Printing in CSN classrooms, computer labs and libraries falls under the new Print Wise initiative,

designed to help save natural and fiscal resources. Print Wise provides CSN students with a $10

credit toward printing at the start of each semester, which will provide up to 200 black and white

copies at 5 cents a page or 40 color copies at 25 cents a page. After that, a student may put

money into his or her account online or at a CSN Cashier’s Office to purchase additional prints

at the same rate. It is the responsibility of each student to maintain his or her printing accounts to

cover printing expenses during each semester. More information about the Print Wise system

may be found at www.csn.edu/printwise.

COURSE SCHEDULE (subject to change with notice)

1/24 INTRODUCTION TO COURSE

1/26 WHAT IS HISTORY?

READING:

Foner, Give Me Liberty!, pp. xix-xxiv

1/31 and 2/2 EUROPEAN COLONIAL EXPANSION AND

THE FIRST ENCOUNTERS BETWEEN

EUROPEANS AND NATIVE AMERICANS

READING:

Foner, Give Me Liberty!, Ch. 1

Foner, Voices of Freedom, pp. 1-3, 7-20

http://www.csn.edu/printwise

2/7 and 2/9 CONTRASTING ENGLISH COLONIAL

SOCIETIES: VIRGINIA AND

MASSACHUSETTS BAY

READING:



2/14 and 2/16 THE ORIGINS OF SLAVERY IN NORTH

AMERICA

READING:

Foner, Give Me Liberty!, Ch. 3 (pp. 88-104 ONLY)

and Ch. 4 (pp. 130-145 ONLY)


2/21 and 2/23 EIGHTEENTH CENTURY COLONIAL

AMERICA

READING:

Foner, Give Me Liberty!, Ch. 3 (pp. 105-129 ONLY)

and Ch. 4 (pp. 145-175 ONLY)

Foner, Voices of Freedom, pp. 45-47, 52-60, 68-81

2/28 FIRST MIDTERM

3/1 and 3/6 RISING TENSIONS BETWEEN THE

COLONIES AND GREAT BRITAIN

READING:


Foner, Voices of Freedom, pp. 82-92

3/8 THE DEBATE OVER INDEPENDENCE

READING:


The Declaration of Independence in Foner, Give

Me Liberty!, pp. A-18 – A-20

3/13 and 3/15 THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION: ITS

POLITICAL AND SOCIAL CONSEQUENCES

READING:



3/19-3/25 SPRING BREAK (NO CLASS; HAVE A GOOD

BREAK!)

3/27 and 3/29 CREATING A NEW NATION

READING:


The Constitution of the United States in Foner,

Give Me Liberty!, pp. A-21 – A-29 (the

Constitution and the first ten amendments)

Foner, Voices of Freedom, pp. 101-104, 116-126,

130-133

4/3 and 4/5 JEFFERSONIAN AMERICA

PAPER TOPICS DISTRIBUTED IN CLASS, 4/3

READING:



Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life of

Frederick Douglass, pp. v-xiv, 1-46

4/10 SECOND MIDTERM

4/12 and 4/17 THE “MARKET REVOLUTION” AND

THE SOCIAL TRANSFORMATION OF THE

NORTH

READING:

Foner, Give Me Liberty!, Chs. 9 and 10


Douglass, Narrative, pp. 47-105

4/19 and 4/24 THE SOUTHERN COTTON ECONOMY AND

THE EXPANSION OF SLAVERY

READING: Foner, Give Me Liberty!, Ch. 11


Douglass, Narrative, pp. 106-140

4/26 ABOLITIONISM AND OTHER REFORM

MOVEMENTS



5/1 and 5/3 WESTWARD EXPANSION, GROWING

SECTIONAL TENSIONS OVER SLAVERY,

AND THE SECTIONAL CRISIS OF THE 1850S

PAPERS DUE IN CLASS, 5/1.



5/8 and 5/10 SECESSION AND CIVIL WAR;

EMANCIPATION, R ECONSTRUCTION AND

“A NEW BIRTH OF FREEDOM”

READING: Foner, Give Me Liberty!, Chs. 14 and

15

Foner, Voices of Freedom,pp. 269-277, 279-303,

306-320

5/15 REVIEW SESSION

FINAL EXAMINATION THURSDAY, MAY 17, 2012, 6:00 – 7:20 P.M.

history 101 section 3008 csn spring 201

Documents