Click here for a printable Syllabus or scroll down below

 

 

History 101:

United States History through Reconstruction

Class Number 75937, Section 18

Fall 2019

 

 

Instructor Information

• Ramón Cornejo Veloso, Ph.D.
• rveloso@palomar.edu
• Office Hours:
  • Tuesdays & Thursdays, 3:45pm to 4:00pm in MD=306
  • Tuesdays, 5:45pm to 6:00pm, ESC-105
  • If you cannot make it during these times, feel free to make an appointment for a time that will work for both of us.

Course Description

This course will survey some of the significant issues in the history of the United States from the Pre-Columbian period to approximately 1865, with emphasis on the years between 1640 and 1860. The plethora of historical events, circumstances, and developments during this constantly changing epoch make it impossible to offer a general survey that encompasses all this history; as a result, this class will concentrate on the histoire des mentalités of early Americans. Histoire des mentalités, as defined by historians, is the study of people’s values; the study of how they imagined, understood, and constructed their world; and how this in turn influenced their actions and decisions. All lectures will explore early America through this analytical lens.

As students become familiar with the histoire des mentalités of early Americans, they will appreciate that throughout the course of the seventeenth through middle of the nineteenth centuries, Americans increasingly valued—as well as continually debated, defined, and redefined—the ideals of freedom and republicanism, and utilized them to understand their world. Students will grasp how these ideals shaped early Americans’ constructions of gender, class, and race; as well as how these constructions of gender, class, and race shaped the concepts of freedom and republicanism; and how these cultural interactions influenced political, social, religious, and economic developments.

This course is also an introduction to the study of history: the ways historians look at the past, construct and develop interpretations about the past, and think about how to marshal evidence in order to support these interpretations. Class discussions, exercises, and writing assignments are specifically designed to introduce students to the craft of history. I hope that as this semester progresses you will begin thinking like historians and enjoy being historians.

Student Learning Objectives & Assessment

• Accurately interpret American history through the use of primary and secondary sources
  • Assessed through class discussions, papers, and exams
• Accurately recall knowledge of major events and figures in American history through Reconstruction
  • Assessed through class discussions and exams
• Demonstrate college level writing in assessing and interpreting American history
  • Assessed through papers and exams
• Identify the historical and theoretical foundations of the U.S. Constitution, the structure and function of the three Branches of government, the Checks and Balances system, and the nature as well as the continuing impact of the Bill of Rights
  • Assessed through class discussions, papers, and exams
• Identify, use, and cite reliable primary and secondary sources in American history
  • Assessed through class discussions and papers

Class Policies

Attendance is mandatory in this class; you must attend class in order to pass the course. Leaving class early, such as after roll is taken, or arriving late for class is the equivalent of being absent. You are allowed to miss two class meetings during the semester, and missing more than two meetings is grounds for failure in the course. Active participation in discussions and during lectures will benefit your overall course grade.

********No late papers or assignments will be accepted in this course. **********

There are four exceptions to the late paper and assignment policy:

1. If you are a Palomar student athlete, and you have a game scheduled on the due date of a paper, test, or exam.
2. If you are a member of a recognized Palomar College club or organization, and you are required to be absent on the due date of a paper, test, or exam.
3. If you are in the military, active duty or the reserves, and you have orders that require you to be absent on the due date of a paper, test, or exam.
4. If you are ill and your physician requires you to be absent on the due date of a paper, test, or exam.

If you fall under any of the above four categories, you are excused from the scheduled due dates for papers and exams if you provide written documentation from your head coach, club/organization’s faculty moderator, commanding officer, or physician.

Students are responsible to avoid both dishonest practices and the appearance of dishonesty. Plagiarism and cheating are grounds for failure in the course. Students should make the necessary effort to ensure that other students do not use their work.  For more information on what constitutes plagiarism, see the Palomar College Library’s definition of plagiarism http://www.palomar.edu/library/infocomp/handouts/plagiarism.pdf, and watch the video titled “Lesson 1: Plagiarism” located on the top right of your monitor’s screen at http://www.palomar.edu/dashboard/.

Taking Notes

All the Power Point slides are up on Canvas, so it is unnecessary to copy what is on the slides during the lecture; in fact, focusing on copying the information on the slides is probably counterproductive. Instead, you should take notes on what I’m saying in class, and use the PowerPoint slides as mnemonic visual aids that will help you understand and remember what I’m asserting during the lecture.  Check Canvas under the Note-Taking Module for other note-taking and study aides.

Assignments, Quizzes, Exams, & Extra Credit

Remember to go to Canvas and read the prompts for each assignment and the directions for each quiz and exam. This is only a cursory summary, so be sure to read the prompts and directions on Canvas for each writing assignment and exam.

• Midterm: This is a take-home exam. You will have the option of choosing an essay exam, or an objective exam on Canvas. The exam will cover all readings, lectures, and discussions from June 17 to July 10.
• Final: This is a take-home exam. You will have the option of choosing an essay exam, or an objective exam on Canvas. The exam will cover all readings, lectures, and discussions from July 15 to August 7.
• Short Paper: This assignment entails analyzing a primary source and writing a two page double-spaced paper on that source. See Canvas for the assignment prompt, and the Schedule of Assignments below for the due date.
• Long Paper: This assignment will require you to do what professional academic historians do: assert, support, and develop an original interpretation on a historical subject of your choice based on a textual analysis of primary sources on your chosen subject. This paper should be five to eight double-spaced typed pages. See Canvas for the assignment prompt, and the Schedule of Assignments below for the due date.
• Optional Extra-Credit Essay: See Canvas for the assignment prompt, and the Schedule of Assignments below for the due date.
• Optional Participation Journal Extra Credit: You are required to actively participate in class; this includes asking as well as answering questions. If you are shy, or just do not like speaking in class, you have another option. You may keep a short journal composed of five entries on five lecture-discussion topics that interest you. Each journal entry must be at least one paragraph long, and should address how the subject matter of a lecture, or a component topic of a lecture, is relevant to the contemporary United States. See Canvas for more information on the journal option.

Nota Bene:  Each extra-credit assignment will be evaluated according to the standards that all other writing assignments are assessed in this class. Submitting the extra-credit assignments will not lower your grade; however, merely submitting each assignment does not guarantee that you will receive full extra-credit points for each assignment.

Grading

Below is the grade distribution on how your grade for the course will be determined. There will be a total of 100 points available, excluding the optional extra-credit opportunities. 90 points will earn an A, 80 points a B, 70 points a C, 60 points a D, and 59 points and below an F.

• Attendance & Participation, 10 points
• Midterm Exam, 15 points
• Final Exam, 15 points
• Short Paper, 20 points
• Long Paper, 40 points

When course grades are assigned at the end of the semester, the grade point range above may be curved to your advantage. For example, the low end of an A grade may go down to 88 points, B grade to 78 points, etc. This all depends on the overall class average.

Palomar College Services Offered to Students

• Writing Services, H-102, X2778
• Reading Services, H-114, X2568
• Tutoring/STAR Center, LL-105 (first floor of San Marcos Campus Library), X2448
• ESL, H-202L, X2273
• Behavioral Health Counseling, https://www.palomar.edu/bhcs/
  • As a student, you may experience a range of issues that can cause barriers to learning, such as strained relationships, increased anxiety, alcohol/drug problems, feeling down or depressed, experience difficulty concentrating and/or lack of motivation. These mental health concerns or stressful events may lead to diminished academic performance or reduce your ability to participate in daily activities. Palomar College services are available to assist you with addressing these and other concerns that you may be experiencing. You can learn more about the broad range of confidential mental health services available on campus via the Behavioral Health Counseling Services.
• Food & Housing Insecurity
  • The Office of Student Affairs 760-744-1150, Extension 2594 can connect you to resources assisting with food, housing, and more, including the Anita and Stan Maag Nutrition Center and other free food events. Visit the website (https://www.palomar.edu/studentlifeandleadership/) for a full list of available community resources. If you feel comfortable doing so, contact me regarding any food or housing insecurity you may be facing that may impact your performance in class.
• Other services linked on https://www.palomar.edu/studentresources/

Schedule of Assignments

The schedule below is subject to changes as the course progresses. If changes take place, the assignments, readings, and lectures will be postponed to a later date. You will never be given more work than what is listed below, and you will never be told to submit any assignment or take any exam earlier than the dates noted below. All readings are due on the date each reading is listed under the schedule below. Note that the reading assignments are marked as mandatory or optional; you are required to read those labeled “mandatory.”

August 20

• Class Introductions
• Lecture: “What is History?”

August 22

• Reading (Mandatory):
  • Ramón Veloso, “Historical Causality” in the HCC Module on Canvas
  • Richard Laws, “Analyzing Primary Sources” in the HCC Module on Canvas

August 27

• Lecture: “The Age of Exploration”

August 29

• Lecture: “The Age of Exploration”

September 3

• Reading (Optional):
  • Ava Arndt, “What is Analysis” in the HCC Module on Canvas (This optional reading will greatly aid you with regard to writing the assigned papers.)
• Lecture: “The British Colonization of North America and the Seventeenth-Century Chesapeake”

September 5

• Lecture: “The British Colonization of North America and the Seventeenth-Century Chesapeake”

September 10

• Reading (Mandatory):
  • Liz Losh, “Thesis Statements” in the HCC Module on Canvas
• Lecture: “The Puritan Mentalité”

September 12

• Lecture: “The Puritan Mentalité”

September 17

• Lecture: “The Puritan Mentalité”

September 19

• Reading (Mandatory)
  • Founding of VA and MA Colonies in the Primary Source Module of Canvas
    • We will have a class discussion on these primary sources.

September 24

• Reading (Optional):
  • Patricia Hartz, “Paragraphing” in the HCC Module on Canvas (This optional reading will greatly aid you with regard to writing the assigned papers.)
  • Elizabeth Losh, “Topic Sentences” in the HCC Module on Canvas (This optional reading will greatly aid you with regard to writing the assigned papers.)
• Lecture: “The Anglicization of America”

September 26

• Lecture: “The Anglicization of America”

October 1

• Lecture: “The Anglicization of America”

October 3

• Reading (Mandatory)
  • Eighteenth-Century Voices in the Primary Source Module of Canvas
    • We will have a class discussion on these primary sources.

October 8

• Reading (Optional):
  • Elizabeth Losh, “Integrating Quotes Logically” in the HCC Module on Canvas (This optional reading will greatly aid you with regard to writing the assigned papers.)
• Lecture: “The Colonial Crisis”

October 10

• Lecture: “The Colonial Crisis”

October 15

• Reading (Optional):
  • Eva Wessell, “Stylistically Integrating Quotes” in the HCC Module on Canvas (This optional reading will greatly aid you with regard to writing the assigned papers.)
• Lecture: “The American War for Independence”

October 17

• Lecture: “The American War for Independence”

October 22

• Short Paper due
• Lecture: “Confederation to Constitution”

October 24

• Lecture: “Confederation to Constitution”

October 25

• Take-Home Midterm due by 11:59pm

October 29

• Lecture: “The New Nation Takes Form”

October 31

• Lecture: “The New Nation Takes Form”

November 5

• Lecture: “Republicans in Power”

November 7

• Lecture: “Republicans in Power”

November 12

• Lecture: “The Market Revolution”

November 14

• Lecture: “The Market Revolution”

November 19

• Lecture: “Anxiety and Social Reform”

November 21

• Lecture: “Anxiety and Social Reform”

November 25 to 29

• Thanksgiving Recess

December 3

• Term Paper due
• Lecture: “The Peculiar Institution”

December 5

• Lecture: “The Peculiar Institution”

December 10

• Lecture: “The House Divided”

December 12

• Lecture: “The House Divided”

December 13

• Take-Home Final Exam due by 11:59pm

 

Return to About Me (Front Page)