HIST 127

American History to 1865

Note: Several professors teach HIST 127; please scroll down to read each course description. 

Kathleen DuVal

In this course, we will examine the new world that Native Americans, West Africans, Europeans, and Asians created in North America. We will consider: Why did Africans and Europeans come to the Americas in the colonial period? What did they and Native Americans think of one another, and how did those opinions affect their relations? How and when did Europeans establish power over the other groups, and what did they do with that power? In what ways did the men and women within the groups differ? Why did British colonists separate from Britain, and how did that action affect power dynamics on the continent? What kind of nation did the rebels form? Whom did they include, and whom did they leave out? Why did the United States expand in the nineteenth century and at whose expense? Why did the nation break apart? How would choices made before 1865 affect the future? Are we still dealing with their effects today?

Most of the reading for this class will be primary documents. There will also be some secondary source readings and one novel. Most weeks, you will read several primary documents, which will not total a large number of pages, but because these documents are from early America, you will need to read them carefully and perhaps more than once to understand them. The professor will lecture twice each week, and participation in a weekly recitation section will count for a large percentage of your grade. There will be a midterm, final, one or two quizzes, one paper, and weekly writing assignments (which will be graded on writing as well as on content).

Harry Watson

THEMES.  This course is an introduction to American history from the orig­inal Indian settlement to the end of the Civil War.  We will examine a num­ber of different events and develop­ments which have shaped the Ameri­can past and which you may wish to explore fur­ther in more advanced courses.  Important themes will include the confrontation of European and Native American cultures, the growth of national identity among whites, the creation of African-American cul­ture under slavery, the expe­rience of the Ameri­can Revolution, con­flicting efforts to shape the early repub­lic, contrasts in the experi­ence of American women and men, and the eruption of the Civil War.

FORMAT.  There will be two lectures in most weeks and one dis­cussion sec­tion.  In lecturing, I will assume that you have already read the textbook chapter assigned for that week.  Other reading and writ­ing assign­ments should be completed before the discussion sec­tion. 

REQUIREMENTS.  There will be two midterm tests, two short papers (about 5 pages) based on the reading, and a compre­hensive final examination.  An assign­ment sheet for the short papers will be handed out later.  It will contain three topics, and every­one is required to write the first one.  You must write on one of the two remaining topics, but if you write on them both, we will count your two highest grades. Grad­ing will be based on a ten-point scale and all tests will con­sist of essay-type questions and a short identification section.  The papers and the midterms will each count fifteen percent of the final grade, class participation will count ten percent, and the final exam will count thirty percent.