HSTAA 201

Survey of the History of the United States

Autumn 1998

Lectures	Friday Sections and T.A.’s
MTWTh, 9:30-10:20 in Gowen 301	AA–8:30, LOW 222, Matthew Klingle
Professor John Findlay	AB–8:30, SMI 115, Helen Schneider
Office: 302 Smith Hall	AC–9:30, MLR 302B, Connie Chiang
543-2573 or 543-5790	AD–9:30, BLM 209, Elizabeth Escobedo
jfindlay@u.washington.edu	AE–9:30, MEB 249, Helen Schneider
Hours: Mon. 10:30-12:00,	AF–10:30, SAV 216, Elizabeth Escobedo
Wed. 1:00-2:30, and by appointment	AG–10:30, LOW 114, Connie Chiang
	AH–9:30, MEB 248, Matthew Klingle

FORMAT: This course surveys American history from the colonial period through the late 20^th century. It consists of lectures every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, and discussion sections every Friday. The class will also watch one film. The lectures address selected topics in American history, designed both to provide overall coverage and to focus on a few special themes. The sections are for discussion of weekly reading assignments. The Teaching Assistants who run the sections will also evaluate all student work, under the supervision of Professor Findlay.

EXPECTATIONS: The overall aims of the course are to improve students’ ability to think and write historically and conceptually, and to broaden their understanding of the history of the United States. In support of those aims, students in HSTAA 201 are expected to: attend and listen to lectures; read and think about the assigned readings; attend sections prepared and willing to discuss the readings thoughtfully; view the required film; and complete all four written assignments–a short paper during weeks 2-4; a midterm essay exam on November 2; a research paper of 8-12 pages, due on December 7; and a final essay exam on December 15.

READINGS AND FILM: Required readings for HSTAA 201 include six items. Five are available for purchase at the University Book Store: Colin Calloway (ed.), Our Hearts Fell to the Ground; Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, A Midwife’s Tale; Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass; Monica Sone, Nisei Daughter; and a customized collection of primary-source documents, hereafter called Primis History Reader. The sixth assigned book, Margaret Byington’s Homestead: The Households of a Mill Town, is available for purchase at the Suzzallo Copy Center, 5^th floor, Suzzallo Library. Some paperback copies of Homestead are available at the Book Store, too, but at $20 apiece are more expensive than the xeroxed version. Some texts may be available on the internet (see http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/Literature/Douglass/Autobiography/, for instance, for Douglass’s Narrative) but these versions may not include all the supplementary material available in published texts. The assigned books (but not the Primis History Reader) have been placed on reserve in Odegaard Undergraduate Library.

The required readings revolve mainly around primary-source materials, i.e. the documents, stories, and illustrations created by the people who lived through the times being studied. One of the goals of HSTAA 201 is to improve students’ abilities to understand and think critically about this sort of information about the past. The readings also tend to explore–from different angles–issues surrounding family history, something students will be doing in their own research papers.

No survey textbook is required for the course. However, some copies of one text–John Mack Faragher et al., Out of Many: A History of the American People–have been ordered for optional purchase at the University Book Store. This work, or any other recent college textbook on U.S. history, may assist those who want a thorough, factual narrative to complement lectures.

All students are required to view the film Lone Star during the quarter, and discuss it during sections on Dec. 4. The film will be shown, with commentary, on Monday evening, Nov. 30, from 7:00 to 9:45 or so in Gowen 301. Students are welcome to see it in other venues, too.

GRADING: The majority of each student’s grade in HSTAA 201 will be based on written work, i.e. on essays prepared for the short paper (10%), the longer research paper (25%), and the midterm (15%) and final (30%) exams. Effective writing, then, plays an important part in the course. Students’ writing, furthermore, ought to demonstrate effective historical and conceptual thinking about what is heard and read in the course. A portion (20%) of each student’s grade will be based on performance in sections, where students are expected to discuss the assigned readings.

MAIN THEMES: HSTAA 201 is meant to introduce college students to American history from 1492 to 1998. Given the time constraints, it cannot be a comprehensive look at the American past. The History Department offers another sequence of courses–HSTAA 301, 302, and 303–to provide a more thorough chronological overview of U.S. history.

This course surveys U.S. history through exploration of four interwoven themes. Three of these themes are developed in lectures as well as readings: 1) immigration and migration–the movement of diverse peoples to and around the lands that became the United States, and their interactions with indigenous groups; 2) the expansion of U.S. power, first as a new nation within North America and then around the globe; and 3) the evolution of citizenship, i.e. how different groups within the American population–Indians, immigrants, women, and enslaved and free blacks, for example–gained "full membership" in the United States. The fourth topic, explored largely through readings and the research paper, is the shaping of family units in American history.

PART ONE: COLONIZATION TO CIVIL WAR

1. European Encounters with Native America, Sept. 28 - Oct. 2

Oct. 2: Colin G. Calloway (ed.), Our Hearts Fell to the Ground: Plains Indian Views of How the West Was Lost (Boston, 1996), 1-8, 31-88; [Hector St. Jean de Crevecoeur], "What Is an American?" from Michel Guillame Jean de Crevecoeur, Letters from an American Farmer (1782), excerpted in Primis History Reader for HSTAA 201 (n.p., 1998), 1-18.

Due at the start of section, Oct. 9 or 16 or 23: papers of no more than one page, concerning one of our primary-source readings.Worth 10% of final grade Students may submit this assignment up to three times, keeping only the best grade.

2. English Colonization North and South, 1607-1776, Oct. 5-9

Oct. 9: Robert Cushman, "Reasons and Considerations Touching the Lawfulness of Removing out of England into the Parts of America" (1622), excerpted as "The Puritan Logic of Migration" in Primis History Reader, 19-20; Richard Frethorne’s letter to his parents (1623), excerpted as "A Letter from an Indentured Servant in Virginia" in Primis History Reader, 21-22; "The Black Code of Georgia, 1479 and 1770," excerpted in Primis History Reader, 23-28; Venture Smith, A Narrative of the Life & Adventures of Venture, a Native of Africa (1835), excerpted in Primis History Reader, 29-45; Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, A Midwife’s Tale: The Life of Martha Ballard, Based on Her Diary, 1785-1812 (New York, 1990), 1-133. PBS produced a show based on A Midwife’s Tale and created a web site with more information about the book–http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/amex/midwife/. The video, A Midwife’s Tale (1998), is available at the Odegaard Library Media Center.

3. Creation and Expansion of the United States, 1776-1840, Oct. 12-16

Oct. 16: Ulrich, A Midwife’s Tale, 134-285; Chancellor Kent, "Speech in New York Constitutional Convention on the Question of Expanding the Suffrage" (1821), excerpted in Primis History Reader, 46-47; Thomas Dorr, "Speech before the Rhode Island Constitutional Assembly" (1842), excerpted in Primis History Reader, 48.

4. Antebellum North and South, 1820-1850, Oct. 19-23

Oct. 23: Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, Written by Himself, ed. David W. Blight (Boston, 1993), entire. A number of institutions have reproduced some of Douglass’s writings on the internet (see http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/Literature/Douglass/Autobiography/ for a copy of the Narrative), as well as other features concerning Douglass.

5. The Civil War and Reconstruction, 1850-1900, Oct. 26-30

Oct. 30: "The Mississippi Black Code" (1865), Primis History Reader, 49; Booker T. Washington, speech delivered at the Atlanta Cotton States and International Exposition (1895), excerpted in Primis History Reader, 50-52; W.E.B. DuBois, Souls of Black Folk (1903), excerpted in Primis History Reader, 53-55. There are many web sites concerning the Civil War. One of the most acclaimed is: http://jefferson.village.virginia.edu/vshadow/vshadow.html, from a project called "The Valley of the Shadow: Living the Civil War in Pennsylvania and Virginia."

PART TWO: THE MODERN UNITED STATES

6. An Expansive Nation, 1850-1890, Nov. 3-6

Nov. 6: Calloway (ed.), Our Hearts Fell to the Ground, 8-30, 89-208.

Preliminary assignment related to longer research paper, due in sections Fri. Nov. 6

7. Urbanization and Immigration, 1880-1920, Nov. 9-13 (Veterans Day Holiday on Nov. 11)

Nov. 13: Margaret F. Byington, Homestead: Households of a Mill Town (New York, 1910), v-184, 222-36, 249-54. Several appendices have been omitted from the photocopied version. Because they have been xeroxed, the copies of Homestead purchased at Suzzallo Copy Center will not have good illustrations. Fortunately, two web sites exist (http://www.history.ohio-state.edu/projects/PittsburghSurvey/Homestead/ and http://www.clpgh.org/exhibit/stell.html) offering good-quality photos and drawings from the book. Two other sites linked to the larger project, the Pittsburgh Survey (an early 20^th-century community study by progressive reformers), add further data. http://www.history.ohio-state.edu/projects/PittsburghSurvey/SteelWorkers/ and http://tribune-review.com/features/surv0316.html

8. Reforms, Reactions, and Immigrants, 1890-1940, Nov. 16-20

Nov. 20: U.S. Chinese Exclusion Act (1882), excerpted in Primis History Reader, 56-57; message from President Cleveland to Congress (1897), excerpted as "Grover Cleveland Vetoes Immigration Restriction" in Primis History Reader, 58; President Tveitmoe of the Asiatic Exclusion League, "Immigration and Naturalization" (1907), excerpted in Primis History Reader, 59-61; U.S. Immigration Restriction Act of 1924, Primis History Reader, 62-63; "The 1892 Populist Party Platform," Primis History Reader, 64-67; Monica Sone, Nisei Daughter (orig. pub. 1953; Seattle, 1979), entire. The University of Washington possesses extensive resources pertaining to the experiences of Asian immigrants and Asian Americans in the Pacific Northwest, and the internment of people of Japanese descent in the U.S. during World War Two. Some have been posted on the web at the following sites: http://weber.u.washington.edu/%7Emudrock/ALLEN/; http://www.washington.edu/uwired/outreach/cspn/curaaw/main.html; and http://www.washington.edu/uwired/outreach/cspn/html/98winter/article2.html. For information relating more generally to the history of the Pacific Northwest, see: http://www.washington.edu/uwired/outreach/cspn/.

9. World War, Cold War, Superpower, 1940-1990, Nov. 23 - Dec. 30

No sections; Happy Thanksgiving

John Glenn's Mercury 7 space capsule, on display at 1962 Seattle World's Fair

Nov. 30: The film Lone Star (1996) will be shown at 7:00-9:45 p.m. in Gowen 301.

10. American Society, 1945-1998

Dec. 4: George Kennan, telegram to U.S. Secretary of State (1946), excerpted as "George Kennan’s Long Telegram, 1946," in Primis History Reader, 68-76; Andrew Greeley, "The Ethnic Miracle" (1976), Primis History Reader, 77-86; William Julius Wilson, "The Black Underclass" (1984), Primis History Reader, 87-92; the movie Lone Star (1996).

One major goal of HSTAA 201 is to have students become familiar with the course content as presented in the different venues and be able to write effectively about it in a mixture of assignments. This entails learning a variety of facts about and perspectives on American history –one kind of thinking. Some memorization is involved, as is close and careful reading. It is also important to link past events and trends with present-day conditions. Mastery of historical information–names, dates, events, and so on–is expected in all written work.

Another goal is to improve students’ abilities to think historically–about America from the late 15^th to the late 20^th century as well as about other places and times. Historical thinking entails: the recognition of complexity, ambiguity, and uncertainty in human affairs; the development of a critical–and often skeptical–attitude toward sources of information; and the understanding that events occur sequentially and that the sequence matters. Historical thinking also requires that one try to understand past events and trends from the different points of view that people living at the time had, and to recognize that those points of view from the past are generally substantially different from our own today.

To encourage better historical thinking, HSTAA 201 relies on a good deal of reading of primary sources, i.e. documents created by people who were eyewitnesses to the events and developments of past times. Students are required to read and think critically about these primary sources, to try to appreciate where their authors "were coming from" and why they arrived at the conclusions they expressed. Discussion sections are opportunities to demonstrate the results of critical thinking about the readings and to carry that thinking further. On at least one occasion during the first half of the course, moreover, students must write a short paper about the primary-source documents they are reading. This will be a critique of the reading, not a review or summary of it. Students are also asked to read and think about some secondary works, i.e. the writings of historians (Ulrich, Blight) who have themselves used primary sources to construct arguments about the past. Finally, the course requires that students write their own longer research papers, based at least in part on primary sources, to demonstrate their own abilities to use sources critically and to think and write historically. These papers will normally concern members of each student’s family and their place in American history.

Another goal in HSTAA 201 is the ability to think conceptually. Coming to terms with the past requires that one impose some intellectual order on the numerous, diverse, sometimes chaotic set of facts from previous times, to make connections between different trends and events, historical eras and persons. This is done by working carefully with concepts that help to clarify the past by explaining patterns in historical development. Conceptual thinking links various events together. For example, conceptual thinking has produced the major themes of this course (migration and immigration; expansion of U.S. power; evolution of citizenship; and family units) and it also has enabled us to divide the course chronologically into two cogent periods, before and after Reconstruction. Conceptual thinking also links different kinds of developments, such as those between revisions to U.S. domestic immigration policy and America’s changing role in the world.

Conceptual thinking permits us to pull together selectively a variety of issues, sources, and events into explanations of the past. Students will be asked to develop such explanations in essays composed for a midterm and a final examination. Exams require the integration of material from all parts of the course–lectures, readings, discussion sections, the film–into essays that argue a thesis in response to an exam question, and demonstrate historical and conceptual thinking. The lectures are intended to "model" what essays might look like–but they are not always successful.

Short paper, due at the start of section on Oct. 9 or 16 or 23, worth 10% of the final grade.

During the third, fourth, or fifth units of the course (on Oct. 9, 16, or 23), students must submit one short paper about the primary-source reading for that week’s section. These typed or word-processed papers must not be longer than one side of one sheet of paper; however, they may be single-spaced with narrow margins and small (not microscopic!) fonts. The short papers are not meant to be book reviews or summaries; that is, they are not supposed to describe the reading. Rather, they ask students to reflect on the significance of the readings. The simplest way to find a topic for this paper is to answer one of the study questions that will be handed out for each assignment to help guide students through the readings. But students are invited to take up any topic, related to the readings, that interests them. The papers are meant to stimulate discussion by requiring that students think and write about the readings before sections; therefore, they are due at the start of sections, and no late short papers will be accepted. Students may want to (or be asked to) summarize the paper as part of the day’s discussion. Students are welcome to submit a short paper two or three times, with only the best grade counted in the overall course grade. They may not revise a previous short paper, however.

Midterm exam, Monday Nov. 2, in class, worth 15% of final grade.

Final exam, Tuesday Dec. 15, 8:30-10:20, in class, worth 30% of final grade.

Students will take two in-class, blue-book, essay exams, a midterm and a final. These exams will entail writing integrative essays. That is, both exams require that students integrate factual information and ideas–from lectures, readings, discussions, and the film–into cogent essays with theses or arguments that respond to the exam questions. In the exam essays, students are expected to make explicit reference to as many of the course readings as are pertinent to the exam questions. Students can expect to have a choice of questions to answer. The midterm exam covers the first half of the course. The final exam will require answering questions on the second half of the course and the entire course.

For most students, the essay exams will be by far the most challenging part of HSTAA 201. We will hand out study sheets and do some reviewing before the exams. Nonetheless, the task of preparing adequately for an essay exam, requiring historical and conceptual thinking, is daunting. If one can write the exam successfully, however, then one can truly be said to have mastered the material.

Longer research paper, due at the start of class on Mon. Dec. 7, worth 25% of final grade.

This assignment asks each student to connect the history of his or her family to the broader currents of U.S. history in some way. Essays of about 8-12 pages should place family histories into the context of the changing conditions of American life as described in lectures and readings. A student might choose to explore many family members over several generations, or select one or two ancestors to study during a fairly narrow time period. Students are expected to write as historians, i.e. to put the particular aspects of their family history into historical context; to treat sources of information critically, even skeptically; and to think and write with a degree of distance or "objectivity" about their topics. It may be preferable to write about a relative at some distance from yourself, e.g. a grandparent or an aunt rather than a parent. It is important to keep in mind that our ancestors–even (or especially) our parents–are not people just like us; they need to be understood in the context of their own times, and seen as having values and ambitions different from our own.

The purpose of the assignment is not to generate family histories, biographies, or genealogies by themselves. Rather, each essay should develop a thesis that links one family’s experiences to broader issues, currents, and events in U.S. history. To that end, students should expect to research both the experiences of their families and the broader contexts in which their families lived. This latter topic, the "broader context," will likely require additional reading in historical works. A proper form of footnotes, endnotes, or referencing is needed to document the sources of information on which papers are based.

There are many topics to choose from; students should be sure to select a topic that is manageable and that will sustain their interest. For example, one might write about how the lives of ancestors reflected changing sex roles, the impact of the Great Depression or World War Two, the effects of suburbanization or automobiles on families, the processes of immigrating and adjusting to the United States, the changing nature of work, alterations in U.S. race relations, the ebb and flow of political activism, shifting party allegiances, or participation in social or political or labor or reform movements. To get a better idea of the types of possible topics, students should talk with their family members, the professor, or the T.A.’s. They are also welcome to consult the archive of papers from past courses on file in Odegaard Undergraduate Library. (Look under the Professor’s name and course number.) Reference librarians can often be a researcher’s best friend.

Please note that on Friday Nov. 6 all students are expected to bring to section a brief written assignment illustrating the preliminary direction of their research projects. This may consist of a genealogical chart or of a statement of the research question to be answered. This assignment will count toward section grades. T.A.’s will provide further information.

It is strongly encouraged that students write rough drafts of their longer research papers (and virtually any essay in any class). The T.A.’s and professor will read and comment on rough drafts, discuss thesis statements or introductory paragraphs, go over outlines, suggest readings, and so on, provided they are given enough time to do so. Again, it would help to get an early start.

Discussion sections, weekly, worth 20% of the final grade

The basic activity in sections is discussion of the assigned readings. Students will receive a sheet of study questions for each assigned reading, offering ideas and questions to consider as they are reading the texts. These questions, and the short paper assignment, are designed to stimulate thinking about the readings and to enhance discussion during sections. The Teaching Assistants are responsible for evaluating the students their sections. They may provide a separate syllabus and additional assignments of their own making.

1. Most work will be turned in relatively late in the quarter. The midterm occurs at the start of the 6^th week. The longer paper and final exam will be graded in December. Apart from the short paper and sections, it will be hard to get a good sense of one’s grade until after midterms are graded.
2. In light of the timing of assignments, it is important that students plan ahead for their completion. In particular, it is important not to leave the longer research paper to the last minute. Figure out a topic, talk to family members and the professor and the T.A., and start doing the research before the midterm. The more research and rewriting one can do, the stronger the paper will be.
3. Students must complete all written assignments, and receive a passing grade in sections, to get a passing grade for the course.
4. Deadlines will be carefully enforced. No late short papers will be accepted. Those requiring extra time for their longer research papers will be graded more rigorously, on the assumption that the additional time devoted to the papers should make them noticeably better than those submitted by the deadline.
5. Students are expected to be familiar with University regulations regarding academic honesty, which will be followed strictly.

The University of Washington has many valuable resources for students of history. Let me mention two in particular. First, the Department of History runs the History Writing Center, in Smith 210C, which offers assistance to students in all history courses. Its phone number is 543-5692, and its e-mail address is hwc@u.washington.edu. If you want help with writing, the staff at the center can provide it. It also offers workshops every quarter on writing term papers and essay exams, and makes available handouts with guidelines and advice on such aspects of writing as developing a thesis, creating footnotes or endnotes, and using evidence with care. Moreover, its tutors will make appointments with individuals to go over papers at all stages–planning, research, outlines, and rough drafts. Because the Center gets busy toward the end of the quarter, it is best to contact it relatively early.

Second, the libraries on campus contain many resources, although not all are easy to get to. The five required books for the course, for example, along with copies of research papers from previous courses, will be put on reserve in Odegaard Undergraduate Library, but some of them can also be found in other collections on campus (especially in Suzzallo) or can be requested at a Suzzallo circulation desk from branch campus libraries in Bothell and Tacoma. Odegaard Library is becoming increasingly computerized, so if you want to surf the web, for example, to learn more about U.S. history, you may find assistance there. Professors, T.A.’s, and assigned readings can get you started on a subject, but you should look to the campus libraries for the tools needed to finish the job and do excellent work. Do not hesitate to familiarize yourself with the University Libraries; they can make a student’s life much easier and more rewarding. And, your tuition is helping to pay for them anyway.