Fall 2009

Trinity Valley Community College

History 1301 Section 0463

(History of the United States to 1877)

Instructor

Larry Wade = ; &n= bsp; = ; &nb= sp;

&n= bsp; = ; &n= bsp; = ; &n= bsp;

Course Description

This course is a general survey = of the history of the U= nited States to 1877. A survey is made of the American colonies, their struggle for independence, the development of a political structure and the formative years, the westward movement, the gro= wth of sectionalism, and the Civil War. The social, economic, and political tre= nds are shown.

Required Text

Give Me Liberty! An American History= by Eric Foner, Second Editi= on, ISBN: 978-0-393-92944-7 (hardcover)

Course Objective

The objective of this course is = to introduce you to the history of United States to

1877. Upon completing this course, you will be able to:

1. = use technolog= y to gather and interpret historical information.

2. = identify the geographic characteristics of major U.S. regions.

3. = relate the ba= ckground and discovery of the New World to

&n= bsp; the English colonization of Amer= ica.

4. = illustrate th= e causes and effects of the American Revolution.

5. = compare and c= ontrast the government of the United States under

&n= bsp; the Articles = of Confederation and the current constitution.

6. = relate the im= pact of European Wars on the new nation leading

&n= bsp; to the War of= 1812, and show the importance of nationalism,

&n= bsp; the phenomeno= n of Jacksonian democracy, and the movement

&n= bsp; West.

7. = analyze the s= ocial, economic, and political forces (with particular

&n= bsp; emphasis upon= the institution of slavery) that ended in civil war.

8. = explain the i= ssues and events of Reconstruction and appraise their

&n= bsp; impact upon t= he next one hundred years of United States history.

Course Requirements<= /span>

This course is based= on a series of readings, exams, reading quizzes and Internet activities. = To be successful in the course, it will be necessary for you to complete the Internet activities, quizzes and exams before the posted deadlines and keep= up with assigned readings. It is extremely important that you have const= ant access to a reliable (primary and backup) computer with Internet access. Ha= ving technical problems, especially last-minute technical problems, is no excuse= for submitting assignments after the posted deadlines. Review sheets for each e= xam will be posted on the course homepage. Please keep the review sheets; they are for your convenience. The exams and quizzes consist of multiple choice, true/false, matching and/or essay questions. If you have questions about the exam or quiz format, please feel free to ask. You will have a 90-minute<= /b> time limit on each exam. Each quiz has a one hour time limit. ALL EXAMS MUST BE TAKEN IN A TESTING CENTER. The quizzes can be taken from home; they DO NOT have to be taken in a testing center.

Students are prohibited from usi= ng notes, textbooks, or any other form of assistance on the exams. Additionall= y, students are prohibited from accessing or attempting to access other Web si= tes while taking an exam. Students caught using prohibited forms of assistance,= or accessing or attempting to access other Web sites during an exam, will rece= ive a zero on the exam being taken.

It your responsibili= ty to contact your testing center to make exam arrangements. Please make arrangements with your testing center at least one week before you t= ake your exam. Each exam and quiz has a deadline. Please refer to the Exam a= nd Quiz Deadlines section below for specific dates. If you have technical = problems (power outage, computer malfunction, etc.) in one of the approved testing centers that prevent you from completing an exam, please have a proctor e-m= ail me (larry.wadejr@tvcc.edu) immediately. Otherwise, once an exam has been opened,= it MUST be completed and it WILL NOT be reset.

Please DO NOT wait until the last minute to complete Internet activities, exams, or quizzes.However, if you choose to wait until the last minut= e, please understand that unexpected events which arise at the last minute = WILL NOT be accepted as excuses for completing exams or submitting assignmen= ts after the posted deadlines. Exams and/or assignments submitted after the po= sted deadlines WILL NOT be accepted. After you complete each exam, you should able to immediately access your exam score. = But please understand that the exam answers WILL NOT be released. If you are u= nable to see your exam score as soon as you have completed the exam, please conta= ct me immediately. In addition to the exams, there will be four Inte= rnet activities. <= /p>

The first two Internet assignments (Internet Activities #1 and #2) are voluntary and you wi= ll NOT receive a grade on them. Instead, you will receive credit at the end of the semester if you have a borderline semester grade. The remaining two are mandatory. Internet Activities #3 and #4 are worth 50 points e= ach, and they count collectively as an exam grade. At least ten points will be deducted each day Internet Activity #3= or #4 is late. If one of them (Internet Activity #3 or #4) is submitted five days after the deadline, it WILL NOT be accepted. Even though Inte= rnet Activities #1 and #2 are voluntary assignments, your participation will be heavily considered when borderline semester grades are determined. Grades for the Internet assignments will be posted according to the course calenda= r. If your grade is unavailable by the date indicated on the course calendar, = or if you have a question about a grade, please contact me immediately. If you have not contacted me within five days after the grades have been posted, I will assume that your grade is correct and no (grade) changes will be made. Completing exams and assignments before the posted deadlines will also be heavily considered when borderline grades are determined. In other words, if you need an additional point (aside from the voluntary assignment= s) at the end of the semester, another factor will be whether or not you compl= eted ALL exams and assignments on time. Please understand that if you have <= b>NOT completed ALL exams and assignments before the posted deadlines, = NO extra points will be awarded at the end of the semester.<= /p>

To determine your semes= ter grade, add your four exam grades, four quiz grades, and the total number of points you received from the Internet activities, and divide by six. Rememb= er, the Internet activities count collectively as ONE exam grade. Please do not wait until the last minute to complete Internet activities, exams, or quizzes. If you have problems accessing Blackboard, please contact me early in the week at my personal e-mail addre= ss (larry.wadejr@tvcc.edu). Please DO NOT send assignments to my person= al e-mail address. My personal e-mail address should be used ONLY when = you have difficulty accessing WebCT. Internet assig= nments and other course-related e-mail should be sent through Blackboard.

If you have= a question, please type the word “question” in the subject box. Questions will always receive priority over other e-mail. If you are submit= ting an assignment, type the title of the assignment in the subject box. If you send a message that indicates an assignment is included, and you neglect to include the ac= tual assignment before the deadline, it WILL NOT be accepted. It is your responsibility to make sure all assignments are sent correctly. It is also your responsibil= ity to log in daily to check for e-mail and discussion messages, assignment= s, and calendar updates. Please DO NOT send<= /span> assignments as attachments. Assignments sent as attachments WILL NOT= be accepted. If your name has changed (as a result of marital status, for example), please notify me immediately. If you feel that you WILL NOT be able to abide by the course requirements, you should reconsider taking the course.

Scholastic Dishonesty=

Scholastic dishonesty shall include, but is not limited to, cheating on a test, plagiarism, and collusi= on.
“Cheating on a test” shall include
(a) Copying from another student’s test paper,
(b) Using test materials not authorized by the person administering the tes= t. (In this course, cheating also includes accessing or attempting to access o= ther Web sites while taking an exam.)
(c) Collaborating with or seeking aid from another student during a test without
permission from the test administrator,
(d) Knowingly using, buying, selling, stealing, or soliciting, in whole or = in part, the
contents of an un-administered test,
(e) The unauthorized transporting or removal, in whole or in part, of the contents of
the un-administered test,
(f) Substituting for another student, or permitting another student to substitute for
oneself, to take a test, and
(g) Bringing another person to obtain an un-administered test or information about
an un-administered test.
“Plagiarism” shall be defined as the appropriating, buyi= ng, receiving as a gift, or
obtaining by any means another’s work and the unacknowledged submissi= on or
incorporation of it in one’s own written work.
“Collusion” shall be defined as the unauthorized collaboration with another person in
preparing written work for fulfillment of course requirements.

In this course, the student who engages in cheating, plagiarism, or collusi= on may receive a failing
grade on the assignment or a failing grade in the course. If the accused student disputes
the facts upon which the charges are based, the student may appeal to the v= ice president
for student services.

Grading System

Remember, to determine your semester grade, add your four exam gra= des, plus the total number of points you received from the Internet activities, = and divide by five. The Internet activities count collectively as ONE exam grad= e.

100-90  &n= bsp;          A

89-80  &nb= sp;            B

79-70  &nb= sp;            C

69-60  &nb= sp;            D

below 60    &= nbsp;     F

Course Outline

EXAM #1 will cover (Chapters 1-3)

I.   =        A New World (Chapter 1)

II.   = ;      Beginnings of English America, 1607-1660 (Ch.2)

III.  &nbs= p;    Creating Anglo-America, 1660-1750 (Ch. 3)

EXAM #2 (Chapters 4-= 7)

IV.   = ;    Slavery, Freedom, and the struggle for Empire to 1763 (Ch. 4)

V.   =      The American Revolution, 1763-1783 (Ch. 5)

VI.   = ;    The Revolution Within (Ch. 6)

VII.  &nbs= p;   Founding a Nation, 1783-1789 (Ch. 7)

EXAM #3 (Chapters 8-= 11)

VIII.  &nb= sp; Securing the Republic, 1790-1815 (Ch.8)

IX.   = ;    The Market Revolution, 1800-1840 (Ch. 9)

X.   =      Democracy in America= , 1815-1840 (Ch. 10)

XI.   = ;    The Peculiar Institution (Ch. 11)

FINAL EXAM (Chapters 12-15)

XII.  &nbs= p;   In Age of Reform, 1820-1840 (Ch. 12)=

XIII.  &nb= sp; A House Divided, 1840-1861 (Ch. 13)

XIV.  &nbs= p; A New Birth of Freedom: The Civil War, 1861-1865 (Ch. 14)

XV.   = ;   “What is Freedom?”: Reconstruction, 1865-1877 (Ch. 15)