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 History of the American Empire 1607-1877 

Monday & Wednesday
9:05am - 9:55am
Department of History
University of Minnesota
Fall 1999
Willey Hall 175

The American People Textbook Cover

 
This page is divided into the following sections:
Instructor Information Discussion Sections
Course Objective Required Readings
Grading Criteria Important Dates

 
Instructor Information
Professor: Steven Ruggles
Office: 652 Social Sciences
Office Phone: 624-4081
Office Hours: TBA 
E-mail: ruggles@hist.umn.edu
 

Discussion Sections
Section Locations and Times
Teaching Assistants
Class Web Student Profiles and Online Discussions
 

Course Overview
This course covers American History from the first contact between Europeans and Native Americans to the end of Reconstruction in 1878. Topics include Indian conquest, the American Revolution, the industrial revolution, slavery, women's suffrage, the Civil War, and Victorian sexuality. Students will use original historical sources and artifacts as well as conventional readings. There will be three illustrated lectures and two small discussion sections weekly.
 

Required Readings

Gary B. Nash et al., The American People Volume One, (Fourth Edition, 1998)

William Cronon, Changes in the Land: Indians, Colonists and the Ecology of New England (1983) 

William Bruce Wheeler and Susan D. Becker, Discovering the American Past: A Look at the Evidence (1998)

Harriet Jacobs, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. (1987) [1861]

Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (1995) 

All books should be available in the West Bank Bookstore and the Student Book Store on the East bank.  In addition to the books, we will assign a number of primary documents, most of which will be on the world wide web. 
 

Grading Criteria
Class time: 50% lecture, 50% discussion
Work load: 80 pages of reading per week, 
10-15 pages of writing per quarter, 2 exams, 3 papers
Exam Format: short answer, identification

  • 10% mid-quarter exam(s)
  • 10% final exam
  • 50% written reports/papers
  • 30% class participation


Important Dates
Sep 27 ASSIGNMENT 1
Oct 13 ASSIGNMENT 2
Oct 27 MIDTERM EXAM
Nov 24 ASSIGNMENT 3-DRAFT VERSION
Dec 15 ASSIGNMENT 3-FINAL VERSION
Dec 21 FINAL EXAM


 

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