History A348/H511 Jack McKivigan Fall 2006 Cavanaugh 531 MW 1:30-2:45PM Off. Hrs. MW 3-4PM Cavanaugh 221 Off. Ph.# 274-5860 jmckivig@iupui.edu THE CIVIL WAR AND RECONSTRUCTION ERA, 1830-1880 A. Course Description: This course will survey the major social, political, economic, and intellectual trends in the history of the United States from 1830 to 1880. Among the main topics to be considered are the institution of slavery, the development of southern nationalism, the rise of an organized abolitionist movement, the role of politics in causing the Civil War, the revolutionary impact of that conflict on both the South and the North, the political and constitutional controversies over Reconstruction policies, and the adjustments of planters and former slaves to freedom. Special consideration will be placed upon the Afro-American community and its evolving social, economic, and political status within a white-dominated and generally hostile nation. B. Nature and Amount of Student Responsibility: The success of this course depends upon the completion of the reading assignments and participation in class discussion by the students. If a student falls behind in his/her readings she/he will soon
find it difficult to follow the subject matter of class discussion or join in it. Students should feel free to ask questions about unclear material at any time during the class. Students also should feel free to talk to the instructor about any course-related problems especially in cases when a student believes that his/her assignment grades do not accurately reflect her/his performance in the course. There will be three major graded assignments for this course. Students are required to take a mid-term examination tentatively scheduled for October 16 th and a final examination scheduled for December 18th. On both examinations, students will prepare answers for their choice of two out of four essay questions presented by the instructor. The general content of these questions will be drawn from the topics dealt with in course reading and class discussion. Each question will be framed to encourage students to exercise their own judgment and interpretative skills in dealing with an important subject of historical debate. The subject matter covered on each of the two examinations will not be cumulative. Students also will prepare a research paper on an aspect of the history of the Civil War and Reconstruction Era. Expected minimum length of these papers is 12-15 typed pages for undergraduate students and 20-25 typed pages for graduate students. The completed paper is due on November 28th. The student can elect to explore her/his topic either through the investigation of primary sources or through a critical analysis of the existing historical literature. The topics of these papers should be determined in coordination with the instructor. A one page prospectus briefly describing the topic of the paper and the major sources for research is due on September 11th. Students are required to meet at least once with the instructor before submitting this prospectus. This assignment is intended to permit students to strengthen skills in selecting a feasible topic, finding and exploiting available sources, and presenting the results of their research. Grades on each of the three major assignments will count approximately one-third toward computation of a final grade. In addition, elements such as effort, interest, improvement, attendance, and participation in class discussion will be weighed by the instructor in determining the final course grade. Failure to take an examination or turn in a written assignment by the announced deadline, without prior permission from the instructor, will automatically result in a penalty in grading. C. Nature and Amount of Instructor's Responsibilities: The instructor's goal is to have each class be a mixture of lecture and discussion. The atmosphere of the class will be kept informal to encourage general participation and a full variety of viewpoints. The instructor will make himself available after class and during office hours to offer students additional advice on preparing course assignments. Students are encouraged to take advantage of such assistance. The instructor also will prepare detailed guidelines for selecting term paper topics, researching historical issues, and reporting effectively the product of that research. Grading is a necessary evil of the present academic system but the instructor has an obligation to explain the reason for giving a grade to a student and to suggest possible ways for improving performance on
later assignments. D. Attendance Policies: The instructor regards deadlines and attendance as extremely important. Students who miss more than ten classes without evidence of medical or personal emergencies will be assessed a one letter grade penalty in final grading. E. IUPUI Principles of Undergraduate Learning: The instructor endorses the university s Principles of Undergraduate Learning and has designed this course in accordance with them: (1) Students will be given the opportunity to enhance their communication skills both orally in class room discussions and in writing on quizzes, tests, and assignments; (2) Students will be given the opportunity to enhance their critical thinking skills through exercises designed to analyze complex historical issues and make informed judgments; (3) Students will be given the opportunity to enhance their skills at integrating and applying knowledge through an interdisciplinary approach to historical analysis; (4) Students will be given the opportunity to recognize their own cultural traditions and appreciate the diversity of the human experience by frequent comparisons of the historical experiences of Americans with that of other people in our readings, lectures, and class discussions; and (5) Students will be given the opportunity to apply ethical and moral judgments to the study of the personal and public choices made by historical figures in various written assignment. F. IUPUI Adaptive Services: The Adaptive Services Office is available to any student with disabilities. They will work together with instructors to meet special needs while maintaining high academic standards. The Adaptive Services office will always maintain student confidentiality when dealing with instructors or outside agencies, and will only generate letters to instructors with permission from the student. You can contact them at 274-3241 or http://www.life.iupui.edu/aes/testing.asp. G. Student Advocate Office: Do you have a problem you don t know how to solve? Is there information you cannot find? Do you have a question that needs an answer or a problem that is affecting your class attendance? The Student Advocate Office is here to help! The Student Advocate will answer your questions, direct you to appropriate departments and people, familiarize you with university policies and procedures, and give you guidance as you look at ways to solve problems and make choices. Jennifer Thompson, MSW, LSW, Student Advocate is located in UC002 and can be contacted by phone at 278-7594 or email at stuadvoc@iupui.edu. For more information, see the Student Advocate website at: http://www/life.iupui.edu/advocate/ H. Required Readings: The following six books are paperback and are available at the IUPUI Bookstore. Occasionally during the semester, the instructor will distribute photocopies of pertinent primary sources for student reading. (1) John McCardell, The Idea of a Southern Nation: Southern Nationalists and Southern Nationalism, 1830-1860 (1979).
McCardell presents a clearly-written synthesis of current historical thought concerning the distinctiveness of antebellum southern culture and its role in the movement for southern independence. (2) Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (2001 ed.) This autobiography by the best-known African American of the 19 th century provides keen insights not only into the slave experience but also into antebellum southern culture and American race relations. (3) Stanley Harrold, American Abolitionists (2001) A concise account of the movement to abolish American slavery from colonial times to the Civil War. This book looks carefully at debates within the movement over issues of race, gender, politics, and violence. (4) Gabor Borit, Why the Confederacy Lost (1992) This collection of essays by five leading historians offers a variety of analyses of the factors that explain the military outcome of the United States Civil War. (5) James M. McPherson, Abraham Lincoln and the Second Reconstruction (1991) Written by one of the leading scholars on the Civil War era, this book attempts to assess the reputation of Abraham Lincoln as a political as well as military leader. The book offers a controversial thesis on why Emancipation became the Union's war goal. (6) Michael Perman, Emancipation and Reconstruction, 1862-1879 (1987) A short synthesis of modern historical interpretations about the controversial era of Reconstruction. Perman proves himself an expert not only on federal Reconstruction policies but on their implementation in the Southern states. I. Course Schedule: The following is a prospective schedule of class topics, reading assignments, and examinations: 23 August - Introduction 28 August - In the Beginning: U.S. History to 1840
30 August The Peculiar Institution I - Douglass, pp. vii-70 04 September - Labor Day Class Holiday 06 September - The Peculiar Institution II 11 September - The Stratified Society - McCardell, pp. 91-140; - Term Paper prospectus due 13 September - The South as a Conscious Minority - McCardell, pp. 3-90, 141-226; 18 September - North of Slavery - Douglass, pp. 71-137 20 September - Slavery and Morality - Harrold, pp. 3-60 25 September - The Abolition Controversy - Harrold, pp. 61-146 27 September - Manifest Destiny and Sectional Conflict - McCardell, pp. 227-76 02 October - Slavery and Mass Politics 04 October - The Sectional Showdown 09 October - Repressible or Irrepressible Conflict? 11 October - Catch-up & Review 16 October - MID-TERM EXAMINATION 18 October - Battles and Leaders - McPherson, pp. 65-130; Borit, 43-108 23 October - Diplomats and Industrialists - Borit, 109-62 25 October Lee v. Grant 30 October - The Confederate Revolution
02 November - Why Did the Confederacy Lose? - Borit, 15-42 07 November - The North's Evolving War Goals - McPherson, pp. 3-64; Perman, pp. 1-38 09 November - Presidential Reconstruction - McPherson, pp. 131-52; Perman, 39-61 14 November - AJohnson v. the "Radicals" 16 November - Congressional ("Radical") Reconstruction 21 November - Southern Dislocation: Political - Perman, pp. 61-91 23 November - Thanksgiving Recess 28 November - Southern Dislocation: Social and Economic - Term paper due 30 November - Stalwarts, Liberals, and Capitalists 04 December - White Terror - Perman, pp. 92-130 06 December - The Compromise of 1877 and the Origins of the New South 11 December - Catch Up & Review 18 December - FINAL EXAMINATION - Note the time for the exam is 1-3 PM