"THE CIVIL WAR AND RECONSTRUCTION"- revised 1/12/00
HISTORY 6000-A90
Garringer 107, Wednesdays, 6:00- 9:00 PM
PROFESSOR: Dr. James K. Hogue
Department of History Tel: 704-547-4823 (Work)
139 Garinger Hall 704-335-1071 (Home)
UNC-Charlotte Fax: 704-547-3218 (Work)
Charlotte, NC 28223-0001 email: jhogue@uncc.edu
Office Hours: Tuesdays 4:00-6:00 PM and Wednesdays 4:00-6:00
COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course examines the dramatic transformation in America between the Compromise of 1850 and the Compromise of 1877. In those intervening years, American society and politics underwent a revolution in which an old society was destroyed and the outlines of a new one emerged. Americans mobilized and fought one another in their deadliest war, which ended in the destruction of plantation slavery and, with it, a centuries-old way of organizing society. The aftermath of emancipation was far-reaching turmoil and the transformation of the forms of struggle within the New South, but also the dawn of a new era for the emancipated. The end of Reconstruction represented an end to federal involvement in the affairs of Southern states and the contested return to "home rule."
COURSE OBJECTIVES: Only students with graduate standing will be permitted to enroll in this course. The first half of this course will involve a significant reading load, supplemented by additional monographs that will illuminate current historiographical trends in the study of the era. Students will be responsible for organizing class around discussion of the major issues and strategies for teaching undergraduates. In the second half of the course, students will write a prospectus and a major research paper on a subject involving the era. Drafts of both the prospectus and research paper will be circulated in order to sharpen argumentation and polish presentation. The result should be preparation to teach an undergraduate upper level course in the history of the era and production of a work suitable for publication in an academic journal or presentation at another suitable scholarly venue.
COURSE EXPECTATIONS: In addition to adhering to the provisions of the University honor code, all students in this class are expected to 1) attend class, 2) perform the assigned readings, 3) strive to improve their writing and, 4) strive to improve their critical reasoning skills. Meeting these expectations almost invariably results in a better grade.
COURSE TEXTS:
The following are the prescribed texts for this course:
Main Texts:
James M. McPherson, Battle Cry of Freedom
Eric Foner Reconstruction: America's Unfinished Revolution
Michael Perman, ed., Major Problems in the Civil War and Reconstruction
Additional monographs:
Gary Gallagher, The Confederate War
Emory Thomas, The Confederacy As A Revolutionary Experience
Gabor Boritt, ed., Why The Confederacy Lost
Eric Foner, Nothing But Freedom
Gavin Wright, Old South, New South
Paul Escott, Many Excellent People
James M. McPherson, Abraham Lincoln and the Second American Revolution
COURSE OUTLINE:
• WEEK 1. JAN. 12. INTRODUCTION
Introductions, Discussion of Course Outline, and Procedures
• WEEK 2. JAN. 19. BACKGROUND AND CAUSES
WHY THE POLITICAL CRISIS OF THE 1850s?
McPherson, Battle Cry of Freedom , Ch. 1-5
Perman, ed., Major Problems , Ch. 1-2.
• WEEK 3. JAN 26. POLITICAL CRISIS OF 1860-1861
WHY SECESSION? WHY WAR?
McPherson, Battle Cry of Freedom , Ch. 6-8
Perman, ed., Major Problems , Ch. 3.
• WEEK 4. FEB. 2. EARLY WAR
WHY A LIMITED WAR FOR THE UNION, 1861-1862?
McPherson, Battle Cry of Freedom , Ch. 9-15
Gary Gallagher, The Confederate War
• WEEK 5. FEB 9. HOMEFRONTS AND BATTLE FRONTS
HOW DID SOCIETY, NORTH AND SOUTH, RESPOND TO WAR?
McPherson, Battle Cry of Freedom , Ch. 20
Perman, ed., Major Problems , Ch. 7-9.
Emory Thomas, The Confederacy As A Revolutionary Experience
• WEEK 6. FEB 16. LATE WAR
WHY TOTAL WAR, 1863-1865?
McPherson, Battle Cry of Freedom , Ch. 21-28 & Epilogue
Gabor Boritt, ed., Why The Confederacy Lost
• WEEK 7. FEB 23. UNDERSTANDING EMANCIPATION
WHO FREED THE SLAVES? WHAT DID FREEDOM MEAN?
McPherson, Battle Cry of Freedom , Ch. 16
Foner Reconstruction, Ch 1-2
Perman, ed., Major Problems , Ch. 10-11.
Eric Foner, Nothing But Freedom
• WEEK 8. MARCH 1. ECONOMIC HISTORY OF THE NEW SOUTH
HOW DID THE ECONOMIC STRUCTURE OF THE SOUTH CHANGE?
Foner Reconstruction, Ch 3-4
Gavin Wright, Old South, New South (esp. Ch. 1-5)
Perman, ed., Major Problems , Ch. 12.
• WEEK 9. MARCH 15. SOCIAL HISTORY OF THE NEW SOUTH
HOW DID THE SOCIAL STRUCTURE OF THE SOUTH CHANGE?
Paul Escott, Many Excellent People (esp. Ch. 5-10)
Foner Reconstruction, Ch 5-9
• WEEK 10. MARCH 22. WHY DID RECONSTRUCTION FAIL? WHAT DID IT ACCOMPLISH?
James M. McPherson, Abraham Lincoln and the Second American Revolution
Foner Reconstruction, Ch 10-12 & Epilogue
Perman, ed., Major Problems , Ch. 13-15.
• WEEK 11. MARCH 29. WRITING PERIOD
• WEEK 12. APRIL 5. PAPER PROSPECTUS DUE
In-class discussion of prospectuses
• WEEK 13. APRIL 12. WRITING PERIOD
• WEEK 14. APRIL 19. WRITING PERIOD
• WEEK 15. APRIL 26. ROUND TABLE: PRESENTATION OF PAPERS/COMMENTS
• WEEK 16. MAY 3. ROUND TABLE: PRESENTATION OF PAPERS/COMMENTS
Evaluation. Students will be evaluated in three areas.
• Class leadership reviewing the weekly readings and proposed lesson plans.
• Oral participation throughout the course.
• Research paper presented in complete form on completion of the course.
Oral Presentations/Participation 50%
Prospectus/Research Paper 50%
Total 100%
POSSIBLE GRADUATE STUDENT PROJECTS (as of 1/12/00):
1.Frederick A. Clinton Papers.
Tom Hanchett of the Museum of the New South has contact with the Clinton family. Clinton was a black South Carolina state legislator during Reconstruction for Lancaster County, South Carolina.
2. Diaries of a Union soldier from New York.
Wife of Robert Tryon, Physics professor at UNC-C has a diary of her Civil War ancestor that needs to be transcribed and contextualized.
• The Rise of Sharecropping in North Carolina after the Civil War.
Tom Hanchett of the Museum of the New South wants to put together a display showing the transition from plantation slavery to a system of sharecropping for the museum.