Virginia State University Department of History
GEHI 122 UNITED STATES HISTORY TO 1877 Spring 2007



Instructor: Dr. Christina Proenza-Coles Email: cproenza@vsu.edu Office: 101-H Colson Hall Hours: MWF 1-2, 3-4 and by appointment

COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course provides a general introduction to American History from the pre-Columbian period to the American Civil War.

COURSE MATERIAL:
--The course website site has requred readings, study guides, and the latest assignments. RELY ON IT. Read the website regularly.
--Jones, Created Equal VOLUME I. Available in bookstore. textbook companion website

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:

1) Students should not make or receive phone calls or text messages during class. Students who are unable to meet this requirement should drop the class.

2) Students are required to do the assigned reading before class and to discuss or raise questions about the material in class. All written assignments should be typed.

3) The midterm and final test are each 25% of the course grade. The remaining 50% is determined by 4 quizzes, written assignments, and class participation. There are NO MAKE-UP quizzes or exams. The dates of quizzes and exams are listed below. If you are unable to attend on any of these dates (note the midterm is March 9 and the final test April 30 ) you should not take this course.

4) Attendance is mandatory. Missing class (including arriving late or leaving early) will lower your course grade. Students who exhibit poor attendance will fail the course.

5) Students who exhibit plagiarism or cheating in any form will fail the course.

WEEK 1:
Jan 17: Introduction

Jan 19: Foner, Eric. “Selective Memory,”New York Times. homework questions due

WEEK 2: Chapter 1 STUDY QUESTIONS
Jan 22: Jones, Created Equal Chap 1 “First Founders”pp. 5-17 ANCIENT AMERICA

Jan 24: Jones, pp. 17-25. Van Sertima, Ivan. They Came Before Columbus. BBC News “Africa's Greatest Explorer”

Jan 26: Jones, pp. 25-41 PRECOLUMBIAN ARRIVALS & SPANISH CONQUEST

WEEK 3: Chapter 2 STUDY QUESTIONS
Jan 29: Jones, Created Equal Chap 2 “European Footholds 1600-1660” pp. 44-64. NORTH AMERICAN SETTLEMENT
--Owens, Mitchell. “Surprises in the Family Tree,” New York Times.
--Bennett, Lerone. Before the Mayflower.

Jan 31: Jones, pp. 64-74. Fort Mose . The Indians New World. (PDF FILE)

Feb 2: Jones, Created Equal Chap 3 “Controlling the Edges of the Continent 1660-1715" pp. 78- 92. NATIVE AMERICAN RESISTANCE & ASSISTANCE

WEEK 4:
Feb 5: Jones, pp. 92-110. Salem Witch Trials flim (in class).

Feb 7: Jones, pp. 2 & 3. Morgan, Edmund. “The American Paradox.”(PDF FILE) Bacon's Rebellion

Feb 9: QUIZ I (Study Questions: Chapters 1-3) CHAPTERS 1-3 REVIEW

WEEK 5: Chapters 4, 5, 6 OVERVIEW
Feb 12: Jones, Created Equal Chap 4 “African Enslavement” pp. 114-145. 17th CENTURY LABOR: From Servitude to Slavery

Feb 14:Jones, Created Equal Chap 5 “An American Babel 1713-1763.” p. 148- 169. Chapter 5 questions Stono Rebellion

Feb 16:Jones, pp. 169-181. Seven Years War First Great Awakening

WEEK 6:
Feb 19: Jones, Created Equal Chap 6 “Limits of Imperial Control 1763-1775”pp. 184-199 Pontiac's Rebellion

Feb 21: Jones, pp. 199- 213, 112-113. Boston Massacre, Sons of Liberty, Boston Tea Party

Feb 23:

WEEK 7:
Feb 26: review chaps 5 & 6 and related web readings

Feb 28: QUIZ II (Study Questions: Chapters 4-6)

Mar 2: Jones, Created Equal Chap 7 “Revolutionaries at War, 1775-1783.” pp. 218-236. The American Revolutionary War Revolution: Key Points American Revolutionary War Overview

WEEK 8:
Mar 5: Jones, pp. 236-251. Grant, John. “Black Immigrants into Nova Scotia, 1776-1815.” (PDF FILE) African Nova Scotians Black Loyalists

Mar 7: review Midterm Study Guide: Chapters 1-7

Mar 9: MIDTERM EXAM

Spring Break Mar 12, 14, 16

WEEK 9:
Mar 19: Jones, Created Equal Chap 8 “New Beginnings: The 1780s” pp. 254-270.

Mar 21: Jones, pp. 270-285. Ulrich, Laura Thatcher, A Midwife's Tale, excerpt TBA.

Mar 23: Equiano, Olaudah. The Interesting Narraive of Olaudah Equiano.(in class film). Slavery After the American Revolution

WEEK 10:
Mar 26: Jones, Created Equal Chap 9 “Revolutionary Legacies, 1789-1803”pp. 288-300.

Mar 28: Jones, pp. 300-323. Gabriel's Rebellion

Mar 30: Jefferson, Thomas. “Notes on the State of Virginia.”

WEEK 11:
Apr 2: QUIZ III (Study Guide: Chapters 7-9) STUDY QUESTIONS

Apr 4: Jones, Created Equal Ch 10 “Defending & Expanding the New Nation 1803-1818” pp. 326-341.

Apr 6: Jones, pp. 341-355. Tippecanoe War of 1812

WEEK 12:
Apr 9: Jones, Created Equal Chap 11 “Expanding Westward 1819-1832”pp. 358-370. Age of the Common Man

Apr 11: Jones, pp. 370-388. Indian Removal, Westward Expansion, Immigration, Abolitionism

Apr 13: Jones, Created Equal Chap 12 “Peoples in Motion 1832-1848” pp. 390-413.

WEEK 13:
Apr 16: Jones, pp. 413-425 and 326-327. Bring in 10 study questions for Chapters 10, 11, & 12.

Apr 18: AMISTAD

Apr 20: QUIZ IV (Study Guide: Chapters 10-13)

WEEK 14:
Apr 23: Jones, Created Equal, Chap 13 “Crisis over Slavery 1848-1860”pp. 428-444. The Civil War and Emancipation

Apr 25: Jones, pp. 444-458. Review of Michael F. Holt, The Fate of Their Country: Politicians, Slavery Extension, and the Coming of the Civil War.

Apr 27: Review of Anne Arah Rubin, A Shattered Nation: The Rise and Fall of the Confederacy. Documents from Freedom: A Documentary History of Emancipation 1861-1867.

WEEK 15:
Apr 30: FINAL TEST (STUDY GUIDE)(Study Questions)