Untitled Document

week 1
welcome and introductions
August 31 & September 2

reading/viewing:
After the Fact: "Prologue"
Class handouts from Methods And Skills of History

discussion questions:
Introduce yourself to the class on the course blog

week 2
worlds apart, worlds together
August 24-28

reading/viewing:
Give Me Liberty!, chps. 1-2
After the Fact, chp. 6
Black Robe (on reserve)
The New World (on reserve)

discussion questions:
In what ways to the films Black Robe and The New World illustrate the concept of the "middle ground"?

week 3
the terrible transformation
September 14 & 16

reading/viewing:
Give Me Liberty!, chps. 3 & 4
After the Fact, chp. 1: "Serving Time in Virginia"

discussion question:
Why did African slavery become so important to the early American economy?

week 4
whence the witches?
September 21 & 23

reading/viewing:
After the Fact, chp. 2: "The Visible and Invisible Worlds of Salem"

discussion question:
What caused the Salem witch hysteria?

week 5
Washington on the Monongahala
September 28 & 30

reading/viewing:
Give Me Liberty!, chps. 4-5

discussion questions:
How did the French and Indian War affect relations among Native Americans, the British government, and the American colonists?

week 6
revolution
October 5 & 7

reading/viewing:
Give Me Liberty!, chps. 5 & 6
After the Fact, chp. 3: "Declaring Independence"

discussion question:
How revolutionary was the American Revolution?

week 7
behind closed doors
October 12 & 14

reading/viewing:
Give Me Liberty!, chp. 7
Liberty! (shown in class)

discussion question:
How democratic was the U.S. Constitution?

week 8
making democracy I
October 19 & 21

reading/viewing:
Give Me Liberty!, chps. 8 & 10
What Hath God Wrought, (on reserve)

discussion question:
No discussion

MIDTERM EXAM DUE: October 25

week 9
making democracy II
October 26 & 28

reading/viewing:
Give Me Liberty!, chps. 9 & 12
What Hath God Wrought (on reserve)

discussion question:
Did market capitalism expand or undermine democracy in antebellum America?

week 10
gotham
November 2 & 4

reading/viewing:
After the Fact, chp. 4: "Material Witness"
New York, (shown in class)
The Lost Museum

discussion question:
What was distinctive about urban life in antebellum America?

week 11
down Dixie way
November 9 & 11

reading/viewing:
Give Me Liberty!, chp. 11
The Africans, (shown in class)

discussion:
How did the institution of slavery affect whites and blacks in the South?

week 12
the house divided
November 16 & 18

reading/viewing:
Give Me Liberty!, chp. 13
"What Caused the Civil War", (on reserve)

discussion question:
What caused the Civil War?

week 13
John Brown's body
November 23

reading:
After the Fact, chp. 7: "The Madness of John Brown"
John Brown's Holy War, DVD, Episodes three-six
The Civil War, (shown in class)

discussion question:
No discussion

week 14
war, bloody, war
November 30 & December 2

reading/viewing:
Give Me Liberty!, chp. 14
The Civil War, (shown in class)

discussion question:
Beyond resolving the issue of slavery, in what ways did the Civil War transform American society?

week 15
a new birth of freedom
December 7 & 9

reading/viewing:
Give Me Liberty!, chp. 15
Reconstruction: The Second Civil War, (shown in class)

discussion question:
Why was Reconstruction a failure?

week 16
finals week
December 13-17

BOOK REVIEW DUE: December 9

FINAL EXAM DUE: December 15