History 203
United States History To 1865
Professor Wilfred M. McClay
Office: 311B Holt Hall
Office Phone: 755-5202
Office Hours: Tuesday 4:00-5:30, Wednesday 1:00-2:00, or by appointment
E-Mail: mcclay@mindspring.com
Course Description
This course is designed to introduce students to the characteristic themes and principal events of the American past, with particular attention to the first three centuries of that past, ranging back to the nation's European and pre-Columbian origins, through the . It presumes some prior general knowledge of American history, although no more than what a student would have acquired in a reasonably good high-school course in the subject. As a survey course, it cannot pretend to be comprehensive. But it aims to acquaint the student with texts, events, people, and ideas about which educated American citizens ought to be knowledgeable, and to kindle in students the desire to explore the subject further, both in the classroom and in their own lives.
Required Texts
- Boorstin, ed., An American Primer (AP).
- Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (NAR).
- Garraty, ed., Historical Viewpoints, Volume 1 (HV).
- Hamilton, Jay, and Madison, The Federalist (FED).
- McClay, The Student's Guide to U.S. History (SG)
- Tindall and Shi, America: A Narrative History, Volume 1 (ANH).
Examinations and Paper
There will be three essay-type examinations, each of which will count as roughly a third of your grade. The examination dates will be February 14 and March 28, with the final examination on April 25. The questions posed in each of these examinations will be based upon material covered in assigned readings and in lectures. Please note that the final examination is not weighted any more heavily than the other two examinations, although the questions asked will be partly cumulative in nature.
Attendance
Class attendance is required, and more than one unexcused absence will result in a lowering of a letter grade. Each absence after the second will lower the grade an additional grade, so that a student with five unexcused absences automatically fails the course. This policy takes full effect after the second class meeting.
Lecture, Reading, and Examination Schedule
| Jan 10 | Introduction |
| Jan 17 | European and Non-European Antecedents Readings: "The Collision of Cultures" and "England and Its Colonies," Chapters 1 and 2 in ANH, 5-104; Cronon and White, "The Clash of Cultures," in HV, 24-34. |
| Jan 24 | Colonial Life in British North America Readings: "Colonial Ways of Life" and "The Imperial Perspective," in ANH, 105-197; Linscott, "Daily Life in Colonial Massachusetts," and Demos, "Witchcraft in Colonial New England," in HV, 42-48, 57-66; John Winthrop, "A Modell of Christian Charity," and Benjamin Franklin, "Father Abraham's Speech," in AP, 26-43, 66-77. |
| Jan 31 | The American Revolution Readings: "From Empire to Independence" and "The American Revolution," in ANH, 198-290; Bailyn, "The Ordeal of Thomas Hutchinson," and Kristol, "The Most Successful Revolution," in HV, 91-102, 111-120; "The Declaration of Independence" and Adam, "What Do We Mean By the American Revolution?" in AP, 83-93, 246-57. |
| Feb 7 | Making a New Government Readings: "Shaping a Federal Union," in ANH 291-326; Commager, "The Constitution," in HV, 134-144; Hamilton et al., The Federalist, Numbers 1,2, 6, 10, 14, 15, 23, 51; "The Constitution," in AP, 101-179 (reference only). |
| Feb 14 | EXAMINATION #1 |
| Feb 21 | The Early Republic Readings: "The Federalists," "Republicanism," and "Natonalism and Sectionalism," in ANH, 327-446; Gordon, "Alexander Hamilton," in HV, 153-62; Hamilton, "Report on Manufactures" and Washington "Farewell Address," in AP, 196-229. |
| Feb 28 | The Jacksonian Moment Readings: "The Jacksonian Impulse," and "The Dynamics of Growth," in ANH, 447-534; Billington, "The Frontier and the American Character," Garraty, "Marbury v. Madison," and Remini, "Andrew Jackson and the Annexation of Texas," in HV, 164-74, 175-185, 197-204. |
| Mar 7 | Antebellum Society: Reform, Religion, Renaissance Readings: "An American Renaissance" and "Manifest Destiny," in ANH, 536-626; Weisberger, "Religion on the Frontier," Kendall, "The Education of Women," and Larkin, "Everyday Life Before the Civil War," in HV, 206-239; Emerson, "The American Scholar," and "The Seneca Falls Declaration," in AP, 301-320, 376-84. |
| Mar 14 | NO CLASS MEETING&150;SPRING BREAK |
| Mar 21 | Slavery, the Old South, and the Growing Sectional Conflict Readings: "The Old South," in ANH, 627-672; Mannix and Cowley, "The Middle Passage," in HV, 67-80; Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, 19-124. |
| Mar 28 | EXAMINATION #2 |
| April 4 | NO CLASS MEETING |
| April 11 | The Crisis of the Union Readings: "The Crisis of Union," in ANH, 673-722. |
| April 18 | The War and Its Aftermath Readings: "The War of the Union," in ANH, 723-786; McPherson, "A War That Never Goes Away," Krick, "Stonewall Jackson," and Foner, "The South's Inner Civil War," in HV, 266-290; Howe, "The Battle Hymn of the Republic," and Lincoln, "The Gettysburg Address" and "Second Inaugural Address," in AP, 399-404, 435-445. |
| April 25 | FINAL EXAMINATION (5:30-7:30 PM) |
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The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga is an EEO/AA/Title VI/Title IX/Section 504/ADA/ADEA institution.
Please send your questions, comments, and suggestions to: Dr. Wilfred M. McClay
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