History 117

INSTRUCTOR'S INTRODUCTION

Professor Jay Hargis @ La Valenciana Silver Mine, Guanajuato, Mexico, June 2008

Welcome to History P117!

This class is a survey of American history from our colonial beginnings through Reconstruction, encountering the establishment of a distinct American colonial society, its impact on the nonwhite inhabitants of the continent, the breaking of the bonds with England, the need for and construction of a constitution and bill of rights, the economic and social development of different sections of the country, the imperialistic territorial expansion of the young republic, the conflicting trends towards nationalism and sectionalism, Civil War, and finally the birth of a new America during Reconstruction. History P117 fulfills Porterville College's graduation requirement in US history and meets one of the mandatory graduation requirements set by both UC and CSUC.

Student Learning Outcomes:

Learning history is a lot more than just names and dates. These are the History skills that you will be learning and demonstrating as we apply and analyze the historical information covered in this class.

Upon successful completion of this course, students should be able to:

1. Identify cause-and-effect relationships between significant historical events, ideas, movements, and peoples;

2. Analyze historical information from primary and secondary sources in terms of significance, intent, reliability and point of view;

3. Research and write short historical essays that support each thesis with a well-organized presentation of historical facts;

4. Demonstrate understanding of historical viewpoints, analyses, and the impact of events on the peoples of America;

5. Apply an understanding of early American historical developments up to 1877 to contemporary issues and events.

1. Discuss the causes and effects in the following:

a. The European reconnaissance and settlement of North America

b. The 18th century era of the Great Awakening, Enlightenment, and Revolution

c. The establishment of American republican institutions

d. The expansion of the idea and practice of democracy

e. The tension between nationalism and sectionalism

f. The increasing impact of the idea of equality

2. Evaluate the impact of the meeting of indigenous, European, and African peoples and cultures in early American history

3. Analyze the revolutionary character of the American Revolution

4. Assess the changes brought about by the industrial, democratic, and market revolutions in early 19th century America

5. Explain the political, economic, and social roots & the effects of the Civil War & Reconstruction

6. Appraise the role of religion in shaping the American character and the events of early American history

Texts:

Text: Henretta, Brody, and Dumenil, America: A Concise History, Volume 1: to 1877, Fourth Edition (2010) You cannot substitute previous editions of this book - You must get the 2010 edition.	AACH or "the text"
Primary Source Readings: Brown & Shannon, Going to the Source, Volume One to 1877 Second Edition (2008) only	Source
Historical Focus Book: Finkelman, Defending Slavery: Proslavery Thought in the Old South (2003)	Finkelman

Please note: Textbooks are not an option. Students are responsible to have the books when they begin the class. You must also have only the editions listed above. Although you can find used previous editions on the internet, they do not have all the same content. Not having the texts and not having the correct editions are not acceptable excuses for late or less-than-acceptable grades on assignments.

Attendance is a matter of individual student responsibility. Those who cannot meet this responsibility should reconsider taking this course. You should know that attendance continues to be one of the best indicators of student success in classes like this. On a practical level, it is simply imperative that students attend every class. There is a great deal of information to read, cover, and discuss over the course of the semester. Missing a class will put you far behind. Those who miss classes miss out on lectures, discussions and interpretations of the material covered that aid in your understanding of it. To be prepared to understand lecture topics, group discussions, answering the instructor’s questions and the exams, you will need to be in every class besides keeping up with the reading. Let’s be honest, this is not an easy class and this is a very fast semester!

As LATE WORK IS UNACCEPTABLE, you should let me know if you need to miss a class IN ADVANCE. If it seems reasonable, arrangements for alternatives will be discussed.

Skipping a class to finish an assignment due that day is also UNACCEPTABLE. This will impact that assignment's ultimate grade. Plan ahead.

I believe in giving students a variety of ways to earn points, instead of just relying on a good test performance on one particular day. This also makes it possible for a student to do poorly on one task and still have the chance for a good grade in the class. Your semester grade is based on the successful completion of all of the following:

Map Test: Successfully pass a very basic United States map test (up to 25 points).

Group Presentation: An approximate 10-15 minute collaborative (group) presentation either orally or via PowerPoint or video on assigned chapters in Finkelman's Defending Slavery: Proslavery Thought in the Old South (worth up to 50 points).

Book Summary: Submission of a 3-page reading summary of Finkelman's Defending Slavery: Proslavery Thought in the Old South due the same day the group presentations are due (also worth up to 50 points).

Going to the Source Reading/Assignments: There are 15 chapter readings and assignments in this book. You only have to complete 8 of them -- and it's your choice. You still read all the assigned chapters and complete only assignments from those chapters you have chosen. Remember, you can eliminate 7 for the whole course. Each assignment where you learn a different process in evaluating historical source material is worth up to 30 points. Every chapter that you choose to complete should be completed the week its topic is covered in the lecture schedule. For example, Chapter 7, which covers looking closely at various speeches in New York in 1787 whether or not to ratify the new US Constitution, goes with the lecture topic "A More Perfect Union" covered on 2/23. Therefore, reading chapter 7 in the Source book and completing its assignments ("working with the source" and "analyzing the source") are due the week of 2/23. Completion of 8 of the 15 chapters will be worth up to 240 points.

History Research Questions: Utilizing both the texts and other sources, students will select and assess source materials, and draw conclusions on two assigned research questions/topics from early American history. Each assigned question is worth up to 50 points.

Participation: Class participation is necessary to real learning and will be evaluated by the instructor on a subjective basis (up to 35 points) taking into account each student’s amount of discussion participation in class, and currency in the readings by being able to formulate and field questions from the assigned readings or lecture topics.

Final: The final exam on 5/13 evaluates overall student mastery of the topics, issues, and events of early American history, especially how all the political, social, and economic tensions and changes in the first 80 years of the Republic came together in the Civil War & Reconstruction. Its essay questions will be comprehensive and be worth up to a possible 100 points. You will have the choice of two out of three essay questions.

Course grades are based on standard percentages of the total number of points possible on the following scale:

PLEASE NOTE: Student grades less than a C are not acceptable for graduation nor transfer.

Do you want a good grade? The formula for student success in this course is very simple and straightforward:

Do the assigned readings & tasks. A basic “given” is that you are keeping current with the assigned readings and assignments. You will find out the hard way that the semester is much too short to procrastinate and unexcused late work/make ups will not be permitted.

Take notes. You need to be able to remember the details of what we have studied/covered in class previously and put it all together for assignments, tasks, and exams.

Ask questions in class if you don't understand. This is a normal learning process and you will be building participation points when you do so. Your question helps others who also may have had questions about readings, lectures, or assignments and are not confident enough to ask.

Think about what you are learning. Being successful in history requires that you “do something” with the information you receive through lecture, reading, video, or discussion. Simple (short-term) memorization of dates, facts, and figures may not be enough to get you through an exam or this course and, in reality, is a poor substitute for learning. The “something” you need to do is think about the information. This means organizing it, analyzing it, and coming to some conclusion about it. This is what historians (and beginning history students need to) do. From this process comes questions and comments in class, which are very welcome. So open your mind and learn.

Additionally, consult your syllabus or this website at least once a week to check/confirm reading assignments and due dates for class tasks (be organized).

And always (at least) try to do any extra-credit questions or assignments. Extra credit is only applied when completed to those students who have completed every assigned regular class task. It will not substitute for any missing work.

Use all available class resources. Check out Mr. Hargis's History Writing page. It gives you approaches to successfully reading, writing, and understanding what it is we're doing here. Our class project/essay rubric is on the instructor's college webpage. And, your main text has online chapter and mp3 audio summaries, practice tests, etc. that you should use to help you understand what it is you are learning and why it is important. You are really wasting much of your time in this class if you don't utilize these resources available to you.

Finally, if you feel that you are having problems being successful, please seek out the instructor for help as soon as possible for help. My office hours are posted on the instructor's college webpage. You also may contact me with questions or for setting up a face-to-face conference via email at hargishistory@hotmail.com or by the phone numbers given above. Don't wait until it is too late.

Please note that this is only a tentative schedule, and there may be circumstances that require changes. Students will be informed if there are any changes in due dates in class and via this online syllabus.