"THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR AND RECONSTRUCTION" -as of 1/6/04
HISTORY 3211-001
PROFESSOR: Dr. James K. Hogue
Department of History Tel: 704-687-4823 (Work)
137 Garinger Hall email: jhogue@uncc.edu
Office Hours: Tuesday and Thursday, 11:00 PM- 12:30 PM
COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course examines the historic transformation of America between the Compromise of 1850 and the Compromise of 1877. In those few 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 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: In lieu of a mid-term examination, students will write weekly in-class essays to ensure that they have kept abreast of the readings and are improving their reading, analytical and writing skills. There will be only one examination, the final, which will be a take home, open note, and open book examination based upon a choice of essay questions assigned by the professor. Students will also be evaluated on the quality and quantity of their participation during in-class discussions and exercises.
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. In the instructor's experience, meeting these expectations almost invariably results in a better grade.
CLASS RULES:
• Attendance is expected. Students are requested to sit in the same seat after the first week to facilitate the professor's association of names and faces.
• Because in-class essays will be administered when class begins, all students must be in their seats and prepared to begin at that time.
• Eating or drinking anything is not permitted in class.
• Disruptions, besides being rude and inconsiderate of other students and the professor, will not be tolerated under any circumstances. If you are unsure of whether some behavior is disruptive, you probably should not be doing it.
The following are the prescribed texts for this course:
Eric Foner, Free Soil, Free Labor, Free Men
Eric Foner, Nothing But Freedom
James M. McPherson, Ordeal By Fire ( 3 rd . ed.)
Solomon Northup, Twelve Years A Slave
Michael Shaara, The Killer Angels
Hans L. Trefousse, ed., The Causes of the Civil War
Michael Perman, ed., Major Problems in the Civil War and Reconstruction (2 nd ed.)
COURSE OUTLINE:
Week 1: Jan. 13 and 15. Introduction: The Watershed of American History
Perman, Ch 1.
Week 2: Jan. 20 and 22. The Transformation of America, 1815-1860
McPherson, Ordeal By Fire, 5-41 (Ch 1-2).
Solomon Northup, Twelve Years A Slave , ix-121 (Intro-Ch XI).
Week 3: Jan 27 and 29. The South and Slavery, 1815-1860
McPherson, Ordeal By Fire, 42-56 (Ch 3).
Northup, Twelve Years A Slave, 123-266 (Ch XII through all appendices).
Week 4: Feb. 3 and 5. Reform Movements, Antislavery, and the Origins of the Republican Party
McPherson, Ordeal By Fire, 57-101 (Ch 4-6).
Foner, Free Soil, Free Labor, Free Men, 1-72, 103-148 (Ch 1-2, Ch 4-5).
Perman, Ch 2.
Week 5: Feb. 10 and 12. The Making of the Revolution of 1860
McPherson, Ordeal By Fire, 102-116 (Ch 7).
Foner, Free Soil, Free Labor, Free Men, 226-300 (Ch 7-8).
Trefousse, ed., The Causes of the Civil War, 1-90.
Week 6: Feb. 17 and 19. READING PERIOD: NO LECTURES
McPherson, Ordeal By Fire, 117-149 (Ch 8-9).
Foner, Free Soil, Free Labor, Free Men, 301-318 (Ch 9).
Trefousse, ed., The Causes of the Civil War, 91-125.
Prepare for Ft. Sumter Exercise
Week 7: Feb. 24 and 26. The Counterrevolution of 1860-1861
Ft. Sumter Exercise
Week 8: Mar. 2 and 4. The Civil War as Limited War, 1861-1862
McPherson, Ordeal By Fire, 153-259 (Ch 10-15).
Perman, Ch 4.
Week 9: SPRING BREAK: NO CLASSES
Week 10: Mar. 16 and 18. The Turning Point: Emancipation as Strategy and War Aim
McPherson, Ordeal By Fire, 260-342 (Ch 16-19).
Foner, Nothing But Freedom , Introduction.
Perman, Ch 10.
Week 11: Mar. 23 and 25. Gettysburg and the Universe of Combat in the Civil War
Shaara, The Killer Angels (entire book).
Perman, Ch 5.
Week 12: Mar. 30 and Apr. 1. Domestic Fronts, North and South
McPherson, Ordeal By Fire, 343-392 (Ch 20-21).
Perman, Ch 7-9.
Week 13: Apr. 6 and 8. The Meaning of Victory; The Meaning of Defeat
McPherson, Ordeal By Fire, 393-488 (Ch 22-25).
Week 14: Apr. 13 and 15. READING PERIOD: NO LECTURE
Start Week 14 readings.
Week 15: Apr. 20 and 22. The Struggle Over Reconstruction Policy, 1865-1868
McPherson, Ordeal By Fire, 491-534 (Ch 26-28).
Foner, Nothing But Freedom , Ch. I.
Perman, Ch 11-12.
Week 16: Apr. 27 and 29. The Counterrevolution Against Reconstruction
McPherson, Ordeal By Fire, 535-594 (Ch 29-32).
Perman, Ch 13-14.
Week 17: May 4. Reconstruction in Historical Perspective
McPherson, Ordeal By Fire, 595-609 (Ch 33 and Epilogue).
Foner, Nothing But Freedom , Ch. II-III.
-Hand out course take home final.
Final Exam Period: Thursday May 13, 12:00 -3:00 PM.
-Review course notes and course readings.
-Hand in final exam.
Course Evaluation Overview:
Essay Grade 25%
Class Participation 25%
Final Exam 50%
Total 100%
Grade Scale:
A 90-100%
B 80-90%
C 70-80%
D 60-70%
F Below 60 %
Final:
The take home final is due at the final exam period, Thursday, May 13 at 12:00 PM. The final exam must be delivered by hand. It cannot be faxed, mailed, or e-mailed. Submission of the final is mandatory to pass the course. Additional instructions will appear on the final exam sheet. All exceptions must be approved by the course instructor.