American Thought and Culture I

Professor Bill Issel

This course explores topics in the history of thought and culture in colonial North America and the United States, from the Sixteenth Century to 1865. Particular emphasis is placed on political ideas and ideologies, especially consequences of the persistence of religious belief systems alongside scientific progress, and consequences of the continued belief in natural inequalities alongside growing acceptance of ideas of social, economic, and political equality for men and women regardless of race, creed, or color, age, sexual orientation, or disability.

Course Requirements

1. Reading Assignments and Class Participation: (30%)

Required Reading: Primary sources written by politicians, activists, and intellectuals. The required readings accessible via the links below are intended to provide you with first hand testimony related to the themes that will be explored in the weekly class meetings.

Recommended Reading: Materials listed as the online textbook created for students and scholars by Mintz, S. (2007). Digital History. Retrieved May 8, 2008 http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu

Read and be prepared to discuss the sources listed below. Students are expected to read the assigned materials before the class meeting indicated in order to prepare for discussions.

The textbook chapters are highly recommended for students who would like a more extensive context for the primary sources. The primary sources are required readings.

For an excellent discussion of using primary sources, see the Wisconsin Historical Society page and the links provided:
http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/primarysources.asp

The Wisconsin Historical Society Document Analysis Worksheet can be accessed at:
http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/pdfs/documentanalysisworksheet.pdf

Regular class attendance is a requirement in this course. Grades will be seriously affected if you miss more than two classes during the term. The quality of your class participation is obviously important, and the ideal would be frequent, high-quality, participation. Your class participation grade will be based on my evaluation of your work in class in relation to the following criteria.

1. Are the points you make substantive and relevant to the topic under consideration? Are your comments linked to the comments of others?

2. Do your comments indicate that you have been listening carefully to the lecture/discussion?

3. Do your comments clarify and highlight the important aspects of earlier comments and do they lead to a clearer statement of the concepts and data being covered?

4. Do your comments show that you are willing to interact in a positive and supportive manner with other class members and the instructor?

5. Do your comments show evidence of analysis beyond a simple reaction based on emotions, values, and ideologies?

6. Do your comments show your ability to distinguish among different types of analytical approaches (i.e., economic, political, social, cultural, psychological, ideological, ethical, moral, etc.)?

7. Do your comments indicate your desire to advance our understanding of the subject matter by developing an appreciation of the complexity of human behavior?

8. Do your comments indicate your willingness to examine and entertain possible new ideas and approaches while at the same time adopting a skeptical and critical spirit?

2. Class Presentations: (15%)

Prepare and present a report on one of the authors whose works are listed below.

This assignment is designed to afford students an opportunity to learn and practice the skills used in presentations. Please follow the following guidelines in preparing and delivering your report. Prepare a one page outline of your report for the class, and submit a three to four page summary to the instructor, at the beginning of class the day of your presentation.

             Address the Following Questions Explicitly

            A. Who is the author of this primary source and why was it produced?
            B. What are the main points developed in this primary source?
            (Points A and B should be covered in no more than five minutes)
            C. What can we learn about American Identities from this particular source?
            D. How does this primary source relate to the primary and secondary sources for
            this section of the course, and how does the source contribute to an understanding of this week’s topic?

Spend a minimum of 10 and a maximum of 15 minutes on this section

3. Quizzes: (15 %, 3 % each)

There will be five, unannounced, quizzes in class. Each quiz will consist of three “identification” items taken from the primary source readings assigned for that week. The purpose of the quizzes is to encourage you to keep up with the course reading, to provide you with credit for completing the reading, and to allow me an opportunity to give you feedback on your work as you progress through the course.

4. Take Home Essays (40 %, 20% each)

You will write two essays on specific texts of your choice listed in the primary source readings below. The first should be from the readings assigned for weeks 1 through 6; the second should be from the readings assigned for weeks 7 through 12. The first essay is due during class in week 6, and the second is due during class in week 12. You may use the same author and document analyzed in your class presentation for one of the essays. Please see me if you would like assistance in choosing your two sources.

The purpose of this assignment is to analyze a primary source document pertaining to the connection between personal troubles and political issues in the context of the life and times of its author or authors. Your essay should also include a discussion of how the work contributes to our knowledge and understanding of American thought and culture more generally. These are to be analytical essays based on the assigned course reading, not research essays using library or internet sources. Your essay should begin with a thesis statement and you should develop that thesis, using extensive quotations from the primary source work, as well as references to other relevant information in the secondary course readings (you may also consult other sources, but the course readings should be consulted and used first and foremost). Essays should be at least three pages but not more than five pages in length.

Take home essays will be evaluated according to the following criteria (for more details see pages five and six below):

1. How well you organize your material and the effectiveness of your essay’s structure.

2. How effective your writing style is in communicating your information and ideas.

3. How well informed, sophisticated, and original your essay is in its analysis of the work in the context of the author’s life and times.

4. How effective you are in using the primary and secondary sources in the assigned readings.

Essays must be typewritten, and double-spaced. Use a type font no smaller than 12. Staple the pages in the upper left-hand corner and do not use a cover page or a folder. Essays will be assigned letter grades. Grading will not be based on a grading curve. Essays will be graded on composition as well as substance. Guidelines for writing analytical history essays are available at: http://bss.sfsu.edu/issel/reviews.htm

PART I: COLONIAL ENCOUNTERS

Week 1: Conquistadors and Puritans

Digital History Textbook Chapters:
The First Americans
Exploration and Discovery
Colonization

Primary Sources:

John Winthrop, “Reasons for Puritan Migration” (1629)
http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/documents/documents_p2.cfm?doc=200
John Winthrop, “The Idea of the Covenant” (1630)
http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/documents/documents_p2.cfm?doc=201
Edward Randolph’s “King Philip’s War” (1675)
http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/documents/documents_p2.cfm?doc=206

Week 2: Critics and Dissenters

Digital History Textbook Chapters:

The First Americans
Exploration and Discovery
Colonization

Primary Sources:
The Journey of Alvar Núñez Cabeza De Vaca (1536)
http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/mexican_voices/voices_display.cfm?id=22
Bartolomé de las Casas, “The Black Legend” (1542)
http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/documents/documents_p2.cfm?doc=197
Anne Hutchinson (1591-1643) A Biography
http://www.annehutchinson.com/anne_hutchinson_biography_001.htm
Anne Hutchinson’s Creed
http://www.annehutchinson.com/creed.htm
The Trial of Anne Hutchinson (1637)
http://www.annehutchinson.com/anne_hutchinson_trial_001.htm
William Penn, “The Quaker Ideal of Religious Tolerance” (1675)
http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/documents/documents_p2.cfm?doc=221

PART 2: NEW WORLD REVOLUTIONARIES

Week 3: Republican Enlightenment

Digital History Textbook Chapters:
The American Revolution

Primary Sources:
“Jonathan Edwards: Philosopher,” by Mark Noll
http://edwards.yale.edu/about-edwards/philosopher/
John Adams, “A Dissertation on the Canon and Feudal Law” (1765)
http://www.teachingamericanhistory.org/library/index.asp?document=43
Thomas Paine, “Common Sense” (1776)
http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/documents/documents_p2.cfm?doc=267
Declaration of Independence (1776)
http://usinfo.org/docs/democracy/1.htm
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin (1791) chapters 1-8
http://www.earlyamerica.com/lives/franklin/

Week 4: American Revolutionaries

Digital History Textbook Chapters:
The Founders
The Critical Period: America in the 1780s

Primary Sources:
Virginia Declaration of Rights (1776)
http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/virginia.htm
Edmund Pendleton, Letter on the Articles of Confederation (1780)
http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/documents/documents_p2.cfm?doc=290
Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom (1786)
http://usinfo.org/docs/democracy/42.htm
Judith Sargent Murray, “On the Equality of the Sexes” (1790)
http://www.pinn.net/~sunshine/whm2000/murray2.html
Lemuel Haynes – brief biography
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part2/2p29.html

PART 3: NATION BUILDERS

Week 5: Federalists and Anti-Federalists

Digital History Textbook Chapters:
The First New Nation
The US Constitution and the Bill of Rights

Primary Sources:
James Bowdoin, On Shays’ Rebellion (1786)
http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/documents/documents_p2.cfm?doc=297
James Madison, The Federalist Number Ten (1787)
http://usinfo.org/docs/democracy/7.htm
The Constitution of the United States (1787)
http://usinfo.org/docs/democracy/6.htm
George Washington’s Farewell Address (1796)
http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/documents/documents_p2.cfm?doc=336
Thomas Jefferson’s First Inaugural Address (1801)
http://usinfo.org/docs/democracy/11.htm

Week 6: Nationalists and Entrepreneurs

Digital History Textbook Chapters:

Jeffersonian Republicanism
The Era of Good Feelings
The Roots of American Economic Growth

Primary Sources:
Alexander Hamilton, “Report on Manufactures” (1791)
http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/documents/documents_p2.cfm?doc=326
Marbury v. Madison (1803)
http://usinfo.org/docs/democracy/9.htm
William Shaler, “Open Mexico” (1812)
http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/documents/documents_p2.cfm?doc=367
McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)
http://usinfo.org/docs/democracy/10.htm
Charles River Bridge v. Warren Bridge (1837)
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/supremecourt/antebellum/landmark.html

PART 4: THOUGHT AND CULTURE IN ANTEBELLUM AMERICA

Week 7: Revivalists and Reformers

Digital History Textbook Chapters:
Jacksonian Democracy
Pre-Civil War Reform

Primary Sources:
The Burned Over District – an Overview
http://history.sandiego.edu/GEN/civilwar/01/burned.html
Angelina Grimke, “From Antislavery to Women’s Rights” (1838)
http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/documents/documents_p2.cfm?doc=89
Dorothea Dix, “Memorial to the Massachusetts State Legislature” (1843)
http://usinfo.org/docs/democracy/15.htm
Horace Mann, “Report No. 12 of the Massachusetts School Board” (1848)
http://usinfo.org/docs/democracy/15.htm
Elizabeth Cady Stanton, “Seneca Falls Declaration” (1848)
http://usinfo.org/docs/democracy/17.htm

Week 8: Romantics and Transcendentalists

Digital History Textbook Chapters:
Pre-Civil War American Culture

The Web of American Transcendentalism web site
http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/transcendentalism/index.html

Primary Sources:
Ralph Waldo Emerson, “The Divinity School Address” (1838)
http://www.textfiles.com/etext/AUTHORS/EMERSON/emerson-address-226.txt
Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Self-Reliance” (1841)
http://etext.library.adelaide.edu.au/e/emerson/ralph_waldo/e53e/part2.html
Margaret Fuller, “The Great Lawsuit, Man versus Men, Woman versus Women” (1838)
http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/transcendentalism/authors/fuller/debate.html
Henry David Thoreau, “Resistance to Civil Government” (1849)
http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/transcendentalism/authors/thoreau/civil/

Week 9: Manifest Destiny

Digital History Textbook Chapters:
Westward Expansion

Primary Sources:
Secretary of War Henry Dearborn, “Clearing the Land of Indians” (1803)
http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/documents/documents_p2.cfm?doc=377
President Jackson’s Address to Congress on Indian Removal (1835)
http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/resources/archives/two/removal.htm
Stephen F. Austin, “Gone to Texas” (1836)
http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/documents/documents_p2.cfm?doc=93
John L. O’Sullivan on America’s “Manifest Destiny” (1839)
http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/osulliva.htm
John Ross to President Martin Van Buren (1840)
http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/documents/documents_p2.cfm?doc=381
John Bidwell, “Frémont in the Conquest of California” (1891)
http://www.sfmuseum.org/hist6/fremont.html

PART VI: SPLITTING THE NATION

Week 10: Abolitionists and Pro-Slavery Ideologists

Digital History Textbook Chapters:
The Origins and Nature of New World Slavery
Antislavery
The Pre-Civil War South

Primary Sources:
Samuel Sewall, “The Sin of Slaveholding” (1700)
http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/documents/documents_p2.cfm?doc=211
American Antislavery Society “Declaration of Sentiments” (1833)
http://usinfo.org/docs/democracy/18.htm
Theodore Dwight Weld, “Slavery as It Is” (1839)
http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/documents/documents_p2.cfm?doc=82
George Fitzhugh, “Sociology for the South” chapter V, “Negro Slavery” (1854)
http://www.yale.edu/glc/archive/1057.htm
Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)
http://usinfo.org/docs/democracy/21.htm

Week 11: Union Men, Free Soilers, and Secessionists

Digital History Textbook Chapters:
The Impending Crisis

Primary Sources:

Abraham Lincoln, letter to Joshua Speed (1855)
http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/documents/documents_p2.cfm?doc=126
Abraham Lincoln, speech in Springfield (1858)
http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/documents/documents_p2.cfm?doc=34
John Brown, address to the Virginia Court (1859)
http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/documents/documents_p2.cfm?doc=36
E.N. Elliot, “Cotton is King” (1860)
http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/documents/documents_p2.cfm?doc=22
South Carolina Secession Proclamation (1860)
http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/documents/documents_p2.cfm?doc=48

Week 12: The Civil War and American Political Culture

Digital History Textbook Chapters:
The Civil War

Primary Sources:
Abraham Lincoln, letter to Horace Greely (1862)
http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/documents/documents_p2.cfm?doc=185
Samuel Shenk, letter to his wife (1863)
http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/documents/documents_p2.cfm?doc=156
Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address (1863)
http://usinfo.org/docs/democracy/25.htm
Union soldier, letter to his parents (1865)
http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/documents/documents_p2.cfm?doc=179
Abraham Lincoln, Second Inaugural Address (1865)
http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/presiden/inaug/lincoln2.htm