HIST 370: CIVIL WAR AND RECONSTRUCTION, Spring 2017, TR 2:20-3:35 MILS 110; Prof. Walter
Kamphoefner; Office: GLAS 301, Hours: 3:45-5:00 TWR, or by arrangement; Phone 2-1314; email: [email protected].
[IMPORTANT!: Any e-mail I send to the class will be sent to your e-mail address listed on
Howdy; check it regularly or have it forwarded to the account you normally use.]
COURSE DESCRIPTION: COURSE DESCRIPTION: The course will consist of three roughly equal
segments: 1) an analysis of the coming and the causes of the American Civil War; 2) the course
of the Civil War, the initial prospects of each side, major battles and turning points in the war,
and changing Northern war aims from a restoration of the Union to a transformation through
emancipation; 3) an analysis of Reconstruction: its goals, its accomplishments, its failures, and
the potential for greater achievements. Throughout the course, attention will also be given to
international aspects of the conflict and the political and military role immigrants played.
Through readings, discussions, and lectures, students will explore the commonalities and
contrasts in American society North and South; the increasing political alienation between the
sections that ultimately led to secession and war; the motivations of soldiers and leaders and
the relative resources of both sides and their odds for success; the process by which
emancipation was added to the Northern war aim of reunion; the role that black selfemancipation played in the war; and the goals, achievements, and limitations of Reconstruction
as well as its long-term legacy and the impact of the Civil War era on the character of American
society and government down to the present; the ways in which historians and the public at
large have interpreted and commemorated the Civil War and the Reconstruction era over time.
COURSE PREREQUISITES: NONE
CORE OBJECTIVES for American History Foundational Component Area:
1. Critical Thinking (to include creative thinking, innovation, inquiry, analysis, evaluation, and
synthesis of information).
2. Communication (to include effective development, interpretation and expression of ideas
through written, oral, and visual communication).
3. Social Responsibility (to include intercultural competence, knowledge of civic responsibility,
and the ability to engage effectively in regional, national, and global communities).
4. Personal Responsibility (to include the ability to connect choices, actions, and consequences
to ethical decision-making).
STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES: During the semester, students will:
1. enhance their ability to ask questions of, accurately evaluate, and effectively synthesize
primary and secondary historical writings.
2. develop the ability to effectively express their own ideas in written and oral form.
3. expand their knowledge of the historical and social contexts that created diversity in past
and present human cultures.
4. apply knowledge about the human condition—in the past and present—to their personal
lives and studies.
REQUIRED READINGS (due by class time first day of assigned topic):
(1) James McPherson and James Hogue, Ordeal by Fire: The Civil War and Reconstruction, 4th
ed. (2009)
(2) Don E. Fehrenbacher, Slavery, Law, and Politics: The Dred Scott Case in Historical Perspective
(1981)
(3) James Oakes. The Radical and the Republican: Frederick Douglass, Abraham Lincoln and the
Triumph of Antislavery (2007)
(4) Charles B. Dew, Apostles of Disunion: Southern Secession Commissioners and the Causes of
the Civil War (2002)
(5) James McPherson, What They Fought For 1861-1865 (1995)
(6) Eric Foner, A Short History of Reconstruction, 1863-1877 (1989)
Plus: Iclicker2
SCHEDULE OF TOPICS AND READINGS
1/17-19
A House Divided? The Dynamics of Sectionalism to 1848
(1) chap. 1; (2) pp. 1-101
1/24-26
Slavery and Anti-Slavery
(1) chap.2-3; (3) chap. 1
1/31
Texas, the Mexican War and Compromise of 1850
(1) chap. 4
2/2-7
Kansas-Nebraska and Escalating Sectional Tensions
(1) chap. 5-7; (2) pp. 102-243: (3) chap. 2
2/9-14
The Road to Secession and War
(1) chap. 8-9; (2) pp. 243-end; (3) chap. 3-4; (4) whole book
2/16
FIRST HOURLY EXAM
2/21-23
Men and Materials: the Odds of Success
(1) chap. 11-12, 20-21; (5) 1-46
2/28
The Potential of European Intervention
(1) pp. 237-41, 325-6, 369-72
3/2-9
The War up to Emancipation
(1) chap. 10, 13-15, 17
3/14-16
SPRING BREAK
3/21-23
Slavery and Changing War Aims
(1) chap. 16, 22; (3) chap. 5-6; (5) pp. 47-end
3/28-4/2
The War from Emancipation to Appomattox
(1) chap. 18-19, 23-25
4/4
SECOND HOURLY EXAM
4/6
Views Inside a Dying Confederacy
4/11-13
4/18-20
4/25-27
5/9
Presidential Reconstruction
(1) chap. 26-28; (3) chap. 7; (6) chap. 1-5
Congressional Reconstruction and its Impact
(1) chap. 29-31; (6) chap. 6-8
Retreat from Reconstruction
(1) chap. 32-33; (6) chap. 9-12
(Tuesday) FINAL 1-3.00 p.m. in normal classroom
BASIS OF GRADING:
50 % Two Hourly Exams, 25% each [bring blue book and ballpoint]
30 % (Semi-Comprehensive) Final Essay Exam [bring blue book and ballpoint]
10 % Daily Clicker Quizzes on Readings and Lectures, also verifying Attendance.
10 % Class Participation, Contributions to Discussion.
On exams, you will be given a letter grade on each essay, to be averaged at the end along with
your discussion grade. On Clicker Quizzes, you will receive one point for participating, and one
point for answering correctly. These will be tallied at the end and graded on percentage, 90% +
= A, 80% + =B, etc. With regard to grading, please see: http://student-rules.tamu.edu/rule10
ATTENDANCE: is expected at all class meetings. Clicker quizzes, either over assigned readings at
beginning of class, or lecture content at end of class, will be used to verify presence and
preparation, and as a springboard to discussions. Please bring iclicker2 to class each day.
Unless otherwise specified, reading assignments are due at the beginning of the first class
meeting for which they are assigned, and are fair game for quizzes. There will be no makeup
quizzes for excused absences; rather, your overall average will be applied as a score for such
days. Makeup exams will be given only in cases of University-excused absences; instructor must
be informed via e-mail before test time, and makeup must be taken within one week of
scheduled exam time. For additional information see: http://student-rules.tamu.edu/rule07.
AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT (ADA) POLICY STATEMENT: The “Americans with Disabilities
Act” (ADA) is a federal anti-discrimination law that provides civil rights protection for persons
with disabilities. Among other things, this law requires that all students with disabilities be
guaranteed a learning environment that provides for reasonable accommodation of their
disabilities. If you believe you have a disability requiring an accommodation, please contact
Disability Services, currently located in the Disability Services building at the Student Services at
White Creek complex on west campus or call 979-845-1637. For additional information, visit
http://disability.tamu.edu. Please inform the instructor if you will be using this service.
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY STATEMENT AND POLICY: “An aggie does not lie, cheat, or steal, or
tolerate those who do.” For additional information, please visit: http://aggiehonor.tamu.edu.
You should be particularly aware of the information regarding plagiarism. Plagiarism is a form
of cheating. See http://aggiehonor.tamu.edu/Rules-and-Procedures/Rules/Honor-SystemRules#Plagiarism for a definition and examples. Any incident of plagiarism will result in
receiving an ‘F’ on the assignment, possibly an ‘F’ in the course, and may lead to expulsion from
the University. There will be no makeup quizzes for excused absences; rather, your overall
average will be applied as a score for such days.
DIVERSITY AND RESPECT: The Department of History at Texas A&M University is committed to
establishing a community of mutual respect and support for all its members – students, staff,
and faculty. This course will involve a considerable amount of discussion. As is evident from
watching the news, even 150 years after Appomattox, the Civil War is a subject that can arouse
heated emotions. The classroom is a forum of intellectual engagement which has as its goal the
enhancement of knowledge. Students are expected to engage in respectful dialogue, and to
conduct themselves in a manner that promotes active participation in a learning community,
and to direct their remarks to the issues under discussion, not at other participants in the
discussions. Physical or verbal abuse, sexual misconduct or harassment will not be tolerated.