HISTORY 111 B (FALL, 1995)
HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES I
BILL CECIL-FRONSMAN
Office: Henderson 311c Class Hours:
Office Phone: 1317 MWF 11:00-11:50
Office Hours: MWF 10:00-10:50 Room: HC 100
and by appointment
E-Mail: zzceci
SYLLABUS PURPOSE: To acquaint students with an understanding of the basic
forces that have shaped American life up through
Reconstruction.
To introduce students to the sources of American History and
the means by which they can be interpreted.
To develop skills in writing, reading, and reasoning.
REQUIRED TEXTS: Mary Beth Norton et al., A People & A Nation (Volume
I, 4th Edition)
William Bruce Wheeler and Susan D. Becker,
Discovering the America Past: A Look at the
Evidence (Volume I, 3ed Edition)
EVALUATION: Quizzes 10
1st Exam 20
2nd Exam 20
Final Exam 30
Short Essays 20
QUIZZES: (10 Points) There will be sixteen quizzes, one per chapter in
the Norton text. Each quiz will consist of two multiple choice questions. Each correct answer is worth .38 points. If you were to take every quiz and answer every question correctly you would get a total of 12.16 points. There will be no make-up quizzes for any reason. If you know in advance that you will be missing class you may take a quiz ahead of time. If you are too sick to come to class you may take a quiz over the phone by calling my office immediately before class. This must be done before the quiz has been given.
MID-TERM EXAMS: (20 Points Each) All exams will be drawn primarily
from material discussed in class. Students will have a choice of mid-term exam formats. You may select a 50 question multiplechoice exam or you may select a one out of two essay question exam. The choice is to be made on the day of the exam.
Students may bring to the exam one 8 1/2 x 11 inch study sheet with whatever information you wish on it. These study sheets may be prepared in conjunction with other students. They will be collected and must be in your own handwriting. They may not be typewritten or word processed. They may not be photocopies. Violators will not be allowed to use the sheets on the exam.
Make-up exams are permitted and arrangements for them must be made on the first day you are back. Failure to do so will result in a loss of one letter grade on the exam. Make-up exams are always more difficult than the originals.
FINAL EXAM: (30 Points) The final exam will not be cumulative and
will use the same format as the mid-term with one exception. Everyone will have a 50 question multiple-choice section and a one out of two essay question section. Students have two hours to complete the exam. All other ground rules are the same.
SHORT ESSAYS: (20 Points) You are assigned seven chapters in the
Wheeler/Becker volume, Discovering the American Past. You are responsible for reading and analyzing the material in each. You will write a short essay (500-750 words) on the topics listed below. Your essays do not have to be typed but they do need to be neat. The essays are due in class on the day that a given chapter is assigned.
Chapter 1: What images do the written and artistic accounts
create of Native Americans?
Chapter 3: Drawing upon the tables, what were the major social
and economic trends affecting Americans in the century before
the American Revolution?
Chapter 4: Should Captain Thomas Preston have been found guilty
of murder for his actions during the Boston Massacre?
Chapter 5: Using the data on wards of Philadelphia, who voted for
the Democratic-Republicans, who voted for the Federalists? Can
you explain why each group voted as they did?
Chapter 7: What were the conventional ideals of womanhood in the
first half of the nineteenth century? Drawing upon the girls'
own statements, how did the Lowell mill girls deal with the
conflict between those ideals and their own roles?
Chapter 8: How did the slaves view slavery and slaveowners?
Chapter 10: Why did the Union ultimately use black troops and the
Confederacy ultimately not use them?
Writing a good essay requires several things. First and foremost,
it requires that you carefully read through the relevant material. Your essay is to be drawn primarily from the "Evidence" section in the book. You need to make explicit references to the evidence in your essay. Second, a good essay must be more than a re-hash or summary of the evidence. Your task is to interpret the evidence and to incorporate it into an essay that addresses the question. That means that you must make general statements -- but that you must support them with evidence. You must draw conclusions from your evidence and present your interpretation in a clear manner.
Your essays will be graded as follows.
5 = excellent
4 = satisfactory
3 = marginal
2 = weak
1 = poor
0 = no submission
I will multiply your best five scores by 4 to get the total number
of points out of 100 for this part of the course. Your three lowest scores will be dropped. You may re-write papers or submit late papers up to the final exam. Late papers or re-submitted papers will lose one point of credit.
Evaluating the essays is necessarily subjective, but these are the rough guidelines I use. An excellent essay should both address the key questions in a comprehensive way and should build its answer on the basis of the source material presented in the book. A satisfactory essay often does one of the above well, but generally does not make sufficient use of the source material or does not address the question in a comprehensive way. A marginal essay generally addresses the question in a haphazard way or misses key points which should have been obvious if the material were read with care. It may also only make limited use of the source material or else miss the question completely.
ATTENDANCE POLICY: Students are expected to attend every class.
Attendance will be taken in every class. I recognize that legitimate reasons may force students to miss an occasional class. The first six classes missed will not negatively affect your final average. The seventh, eighth, and ninth classes missed will cost 1 point each. The tenth, eleventh, and twelfth classes will cost 2 points each. The thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth classes missed will cost 3 points each, and so on. There are no exceptions; there are no excused absences. Absences are counted from the first day of class, not when the student began attending. Students are advised not to miss classes in the beginning of the semester to avoid losing credit because of emergencies towards the end. I reserve the right to drop students from the course who miss nine consecutive classes without discussing their situation.
Students who have missed too many classes may "make up" a class they have missed by doing some extra reading and writing a report which will cover the material missed. See me for these assignments, should they become necessary.
A WORD TO THE WISE: Students who wish to win favor with professors
are urged to learn their names and to use them correctly. This is particularly true with those of us who have unusual last names. Mine is Cecil-Fronsman. It is not Cecil; it is not Fronsman.
A FINAL NOTE: I reserve the right to raise final averages by as much
as two points on the basis of interest shown in the course. Interest will be judged by attendance, participation in discussions, and in questions asked.
A FINAL FINAL NOTE: Part of my job is to help you learn. I am happy
to stop class and answer questions. I am happy to have you come in and see me in my office to help you in any way I can. I am genuinely interested in helping you understand as much as possible. But I cannot help you if you do not take the initiative. It is your responsibility to do this.
READING ASSIGNMENTS
DATE TOPIC ASSIGNMENT
Wed Jan 18 The First North Americans ---
Fri Jan 20 Origins of European Conquest Norton 1
Mon Jan 23 The Spanish Empire W/B 1
Wed Jan 25 Planting Colonies in Virginia Norton 2
Fri Jan 27 Establishing the Puritan Colonies ---
Mon Jan 30 Slavery Comes to Virginia Norton 3
Wed Feb 1 Growth and Conflict in New England ---
Fri Feb 3 Growth of Colonial America Norton 4
Mon Feb 6 Economic Trends in Colonial America W/B 4
Wed Feb 8 Conflict in Colonial America ---
Fri Feb 10 Origins of the American Revolution Norton 5
Mon Feb 13 The Conflict Explodes W/B 4
Wed Feb 15 Towards Independence Dec of Independ
Fri Feb 17 First Exam Good Luck
Mon Feb 20 The Revolutionary War Norton 6
Wed Feb 22 The American People and the Revolution ---
Fri Feb 24 The New Republic Norton 7
Mon Feb 27 Constitution of 1787 Read Const.
Wed March 1 Establishing a New Government Norton 8
Fri March 3 The First Party System W/B 5
Mon March 6 Jeffersonians in Command Norton 9
Wed March 8 War of 1812 ---
Fri March 10 The West and Economic Expansion Norton 10
(SRPING BREAK)
Mon March 20 The Limits of a Democratic Society W/B 7
Wed March 22 Antebellum Reform ---
Fri March 24 Origins of Jacksonian Politics Norton 13
Mon March 27 Second Party System ---
Wed March 29 Second Exam Better Luck
Fri March 31 No Class ---
Mon April 3 Southern Economy Norton 11
Wed April 5 Defense of Slavery ---
Fri April 7 Slavery W/B 8
Mon April 10 Northern Society & Economy Norton 12
Wed April 12 Abolitionism/Women's Rights ---
Fri April 14 Mexican War ---
Mon April 17 Collapse of the Party System Norton 14
Wed April 19 Birth of a New Party System ---
Fri April 21 Secession ---
Mon April 24 The Nature of the Civil War Norton 15
Wed April 26 Why Did the Union Win? W/B 10
Fri April 28 Ordeal By Fire ---
Mon May 1 Presidential Reconstruction Norton 16
Wed May 3 Radical Reconstruction ---
Fri May 5 Black Reconstruction ---
Wed May 10 (1:30 PM) Final Exam Best Luck
HISTORY 112 (SPRING, 1995)
HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES II
DR. BILL CECIL-FRONSMAN
Office: Henderson 311c Class Hours:
Office Phone: 1317 M,W 1:00-2:15
Office Hours: MWF 10:00-10:50 Room: HC 207
and by appointment
E-Mail: zzceci
SYLLABUS
PURPOSE: To acquaint students with an understanding of the basic
forces that have shaped American life since the end
of Reconstruction.
To introduce students to the sources of American History and
the means by which they can be interpreted.
To develop skills in writing, reading, and reasoning.
REQUIRED TEXTS: Mary Beth Norton et al., A People & A Nation (Volume
II, 4th Edition)
William Bruce Wheeler and Susan D. Becker,
Discovering the America Past: A Look at the
Evidence (Volume II, 3ed Edition)
EVALUATION: Quizzes 10
Short Essays 20
1st Exam 20
2nd Exam 20
Final Exam 30
QUIZZES: (10 Points) There will be eighteen quizzes, one per chapter
in the Norton text. Each quiz will consist of two multiple choice questions. Each correct answer is worth .34 points. If you were to take every quiz and answer every question correctly you would get a total of 12.24 points. Because of these possibilities there will be no make-up quizzes for any reason. If you know in advance that you will be missing class you may take a quiz ahead of time. If you are too sick to come to class you may take a quiz over the phone by calling during office hours. This must be done before the quiz has been given.
SHORT ESSAYS: (20 Points) You are assigned eight chapters in the
Wheeler/Becker volume, Discovering the American Past. You are responsible for reading and analyzing the material and writing a short essay (500-750 words) on the topics listed below. Your essays do not have to be typed but they do need to be neat. They are due in class on the day that a given chapter is assigned.
Chapter 3: Based on the advertisements, what were middle-class
Americans' hopes and fears around the turn of the century?
Chapter 2: What were the strategies proposed by Booker T.
Washington and W.E.B. DuBois? Which was more appropriate for
African-Americans in the late 19th and early 20th centuries?
Chapter 4: How do the exhibits at the 1904 St. Louis Exposition
attempt to justify America's rise as an imperialist power?
Chapter 5: How did the United State mobilize public opinion in
support of the nation's participation in World War I? What were
the consequences of this mobilization?
Chapter 6: What was the image of the "new woman" and how did that
image fit with reality?
Chapter 9: Did the members of the House Committee on Un-American
Activities act responsibly in their investigations of communist
infiltration of the film industry?
Chapter 10: How and Why did public opinion become so divided
about the Vietnam War?
Chapter 11: What is the connection between the ways that writers
have discussed the American Revolution and the times in which
they wrote?
Writing a good essay requires several things. First and foremost,
it requires that you carefully read through the relevant material. Your essay is to be drawn primarily from the "Evidence" section in the book. You need to make explicit references to the evidence in your essay. Second, a good essay must be more than a re-hash or summary of the evidence. Your task is to interpret the evidence and to incorporate it into an essay that addresses the question. That means that you must make general statements -- but that you must support them with evidence. You must draw conclusions from your evidence and present your interpretation in a clear manner.
Your essays will be graded as follows.
5 = excellent
4 = satisfactory
3 = marginal
2 = weak
1 = poor
0 = no submission
I will multiply your best five scores by 4 to get the total number
of points out of 100 for this part of the course. Your three lowest scores will be dropped. You may re-write papers or submit late papers up to the final exam. Late papers or re-submitted papers will lose one point of credit.
Evaluating the essays is necessarily subjective, but these are the rough guidelines I use. An excellent essay should both address the key questions in a comprehensive way and should build its answer on the basis of the source material presented in the book. A satisfactory essay often does one of the above well, but generally does not make sufficient use of the source material or does not address the question in a comprehensive way. A marginal essay generally addresses the question in a haphazard way or misses key points which should have been obvious if the material were read with care. It may also only make limited use of the source material or else miss the question completely.
MID-TERM EXAMS: (20 Points Each) Students will have a choice of midterm
exam formats. You may select a 50 question multiple-choice exam or you may select a one out of two essay question exam. The choice is to be made on the day of the exam. Students may bring to the exam one 8 1/2 x 11 inch study sheet with whatever information you wish on it. These study sheets may be prepared in conjunction with other students. They will be collected and must be in your own handwriting. They may not be typewritten or word processed. They may not be photocopies. Violators will not be allowed to use the sheets on the exam. Make-up exams are permitted and arrangements for them must be made on the first day you are back. Failure to do so will result in a loss of one letter grade on the exam. Make-up exams are always more difficult than the originals. Failure to take an exam will result in a grade of 0.
FINAL EXAM: (30 Points) The final exam will use the same format as
the mid-term with one exception. Everyone will have a 50 question multiple-choice section and a one out of two essay question section. The final exam will not be cumulative. Students will have two hours to complete the exam. All other ground rules will remain the same.
ATTENDANCE POLICY: Students are expected to attend every class.
Attendance will be taken in every class. I recognize that legitimate reasons may force students to miss an occasional class. The first four classes missed will not negatively affect your final average. The fifth and sixth classes missed will cost 1.5 points each. The seventh and eighth classes missed will cost 3.0 points each. The ninth and tenth classes missed will cost 4.5 points each, and so on. There are no exceptions; there are no excused absences. Absences are counted from the first day of class, not the first day a student began to attend the class. Students are advised not to miss classes in the beginning of the semester to avoid losing credit because of emergencies towards the end. Students who have missed too many classes may "make up" a class they have missed by doing some extra reading and writing a report which will cover the material missed. You must discuss this with me. You may attend either section of the class, but it is your responsibility to keep your attendance sheet up to date.
A WORD TO THE WISE: Students who wish to win favor with professors
are urged to learn their names and to use them correctly. This is particularly true with those of us who have unusual last names. Mine is Cecil-Fronsman. It is not Cecil; it is not Fronsman.
A FINAL NOTE: I reserve the right to raise final averages by as much
as two points on the basis of interest shown in the course. Interest will be judged by attendance, participation in discussions, and in questions asked.
A FINAL FINAL NOTE: Part of my job is to help you learn. I am happy
to stop class and answer questions. I am happy to have you come in and see me in my office to help you in any way I can. I am genuinely interested in helping you understand as much as possible. But I cannot help you if you do not take the initiative. It is your responsibility to do this.
READING ASSIGNMENTS
Wed Jan 18 Industrial America ---
Mon Jan 23 The New Industrial Order Norton 18
Wed Jan 25 Urban America Norton 19
Mon Jan 30 Middle-Class America W/B 3
Wed Feb 1 The New West Norton 17
Mon Feb 6 The New South W/B 2
Wed Feb 8 Gilded Age Politics Norton 20
Mon Feb 13 Progressivism Norton 21
Wed Feb 15 First Exam Good Luck
Mon Feb 20 Quest For Empire Norton 22; W/B 4
Wed Feb 22 World War I Norton 23
Mon Feb 27 World War I at Home W/B 5
Wed March 1 The 1920s Norton 24
Mon March 6 The Great Depression W/B 6
Wed March 8 The New Deal Norton 25
SPRING BREAK
Mon March 20 Coming of World War II Norton 26
Wed March 22 World War II Norton 27
Mon March 27 Second Exam Better Luck
Wed March 29 Post-War Politics Norton 28; W/B 9
Mon April 3 The World of Leave it to Beaver Norton 30
Wed April 5 The Cold War Norton 29
Mon April 10 Peaceful Coexistence? ---
Wed April 12 Vietnam Norton 31
Mon April 14 A Great Society? Norton 32
Wed April 19 1960s Youth Rebellion W/B 10
Mon April 24 1970s Fiasco Norton 33
Wed April 26 1970s Culture ---
Mon May 1 Reagan Years W/B 11
Wed May 3 Bush/Clinton Years Norton 34
Mon May 8 Final Exam (1:30 PM) Best Luck
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