The History of the United States to 1877
A Dual Credit Course Offered in Conjunction with Texas Woman’s University
Instructor: Thomas L. Vanderburg
Phone: (817) 547-6000 X6269
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.birdvilleschools.net/Domain/1013
Tutorial/Office Hours: Mondays and Tuesdays from 7:00-7:25 and 2:45-3:15 in A244
Course Description:
History 1013 (or dual credit U.S. History part 1) is a survey course designed to familiarize
students with major developments in United States history through Reconstruction while creating
informed consumers of information who can apply critical thinking skills. This course will,
among other things, cover Native Cultures, Early Colonization, Empire Building, Colonial
Development, The French and Indian War, The Revolutionary War, From Republic to
Democracy, Jacksonian Democracy, Manifest Destiny, Prelude to War, Secession, the Civil War
and Reconstruction. After Thanksgiving, we should be starting the Gilded Age followed by the
Progressive Era. Technically, these two periods occur after Reconstruction but are important for
your STAAR exam.
Course Objectives:
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Analyze the effects of historical, social, political, economic, cultural, and global forces on
the United States.
Comprehend the origins and evolution of U.S. political systems, with a focus on the
growth of political institutions, the Constitution of the U.S., federalism, civil liberties,
and civil and human rights.
Identify and understand differences and commonalities within diverse cultures.
Analyze the development of the American national identity.
Evaluate the evolution of rights and freedoms throughout various periods in U.S. History.
Interpret and analyze primary and secondary source materials.
Prepare students for success on the state-mandated STAAR end-of-course assessment.
Required Texts:
Tindall, G. B., & Shi, D. E. (2013). America: A Narrative History, 9e. New York: W.W. Norton.
Supplementary Sources:
Axtell, J. (1987). “Colonial America Without the Indians: Counterfactual reflections.” The Journal of
American History, 73(4), 981-996.
Bohnstedt, J. (1971). “Why Study History?” The History Teacher, 4(4), 63-65.
Gorn, E., Roberts, R., & Bilhartz, T. (2002). Constructing the American Past: A Source Book of a
People’s History, Vol. 1. (4/e). New York: Longman.
Greene, J. (2000). “The American Revolution.” The American Historical Review, 105(1), 93-102.
Sheets, K. (2014). Sources for America’s History, Vol. 1. (8/e). New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s Inc.
Selected visual and audible media as assigned
Reading Assignments:
This will be a reading-intensive course. Expect several hours of reading per week (usually due
on Fridays unless otherwise indicated by the instructor). Please note: It will be extremely
difficult to succeed in this course without completing the reading assignments by the due dates.
Grades:
Assignment
Points
Point Range
Test 1
Test 2
Test 3
Final Exam
Chapter Outlines
Primary Document Analysis
Class Discussion
Daily Participation
100
100
100
200
100
100
100
100
810-900
720-809
630-719
540-629
<539
Letter
Grade
A
B
C
D
F
Tests:
There will be four tests along with a final exam. I will count your highest three test grades. The
final exam is required and will not be dropped.
Class Discussions:
Discussions will be judged based on your preparedness, your ability to reference the reading
materials, your ability to address the question(s) posed, and your ability to be respectful of your
classmates as they speak.
Daily Participation:
This portion of the grade includes assignments that would normally be considered “daily work”
in a classroom environment, such as quick reflection writing, timelines, simulation activities,
video quizzes, etc.
Retests & Extra Credit:
This is a college course, and extra credit will be very limited. There will be no retests.
Attendance Policy:
In order to succeed in this course, you must be present, be prepared, and be engaged. As such,
attendance will be taken and reported in accordance with BISD and TWU mandates. Excessive
absences will not only reduce your ability to learn, but it could result in a “No-Credit” situation
in which your credit for the course is withheld until make-up hours are completed.
TWU Semester Ends:
December 15. All assignments are due by this time.
Semester Break:
TWU’s fall semester ends approximately 2 weeks prior to the end of BISD’s fall semester. You
will be expected to attend class for BISD even though TWU is not in session again until January.
EOC Understanding:
Even though you are taking a college course through TWU, you are still required by the State of
Texas to pass your U.S. History STAAR exam in May in order to graduate. This course is
designed to help you achieve success both in developing crucial higher-level thinking skills
necessary for college and to succeed on your EOC exam.
Tentative Course Calendar:
Week
1
Topic
Introduction/Pre-colonization
(8/22)
2
European Exploration
(8/29)
3
Colonization
(9/5)
4
Colonization
(9/12)
5
The American Revolution
(9/19)
6
The American
Revolution/Revolutionary War
(9/26)
7
(10/3)
The Constitutional Convention
Discussion Question(s)
Why study history?
How do we gather information about the past?
How do we know what a “quality” source is?
Where did Native Americans come from?
How did Native Americans adapt to regional geography
and climate?
What major innovations did Native Americans develop?
What political, economic and social institutions existed
in Native American societies?
What was the “Columbian Exchange”?
What political, social, technological and economic
developments set the stage for European exploration?
What effects did migration, disease, and warfare have on
the American Indian population after contact with
Europeans?
Reading Assignments
Bohnstedt, “Why Study
History?”
Deliverables
Chapter 1
Chapter 1 Outline
What push/pull factors drove the need to establish
colonies?
What political social and economic issues dictated life in
each colony?
How and why did representative institutions develop
during the colonial period?
What happened to European and Native American
cultures as a result of colonization?
Why did slavery spread throughout the New World
(particularly in the British colonies)?
To what extent what there a unique “American” identity
developing among the thirteen colonies?
How did the French and Indian War alter the sociopolitical landscape in the British colonies and in Europe?
What role did Native Americans play in the war?
Were the British colonists loyal subjects?
What caused the division between the colonies and
England?
How did British colonists respond to the tightening of
the Navigation System?
Chapter 2
Chapter 2 Outline
Chapter 3
Test #1
Chapter 4
Chapter 4 Outline
How did Enlightenment thinking contribute to the
independence movement and the “Declaration of
Independence”?
Were the colonies justified in their grievances and
eventual rebellion?
How did the Continental Congress arrive at the decision
to endorse the “Declaration of Independence”?
Could the British have won the war?
How did geography influence the Revolutionary War?
How did diplomacy influence the war?
What factors led to the replacement of the Articles of
Confederation?
How do the Constitution and the Bill of Rights reflect
colonial experiences?
What rights are guaranteed by the Constitution and Bill
Chapter 5
Chapter 5 Outline
Chapter 6
Test #2
8
The Early National Republic
(10/10)
9
of Rights?
Why is the Constitution described as a living document?
How did the Constitution promote and/or restrict rights?
What compromises led to the final draft of the
Constitution?
What were the chief arguments for and against
ratification of the Constitution?
What were the major issues facing the newly formed
United States during the early national period?
How did the American free enterprise system begin to
develop during the early years of the republic?
What technological innovations began to drive
industrialization?
How did the debate over the banking system reflect the
division over federal power?
How did the Marshall Court enhance the judiciary power
in the U.S.?
What factors encouraged and/or inhibited equality and
democracy in the early 1800s?
What were American social, economic and political
values during the early national republic era?
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 8 Outline
The Early National
Republic/The War of 1812
Why was the “Era of Good Feelings” short-lived?
What were the causes and effects of the War of 1812?
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 10 Outline
Manifest Destiny
What drove territorial acquisition?
How did the acquisition of new territories alter
American national identity?
How did Manifest destiny create tensions between the
states?
How did technology influence Manifest Destiny?
How did Manifest Destiny affect Native Americans
living along the eastern seaboard as well as on the Great
Plains?
What is Andrew Jackson’s legacy?
How did Jackson’s actions alter American identity?
How did Jackson’s political style, beliefs, background
and actions differ from previous administrations?
Did Indian policy really change under the Jackson
Administration?
What were the sectional identities in Antebellum
America?
What issues exacerbated these tensions?
What was the role of industrialization and urbanization?
How did Texas annexation reflect the growing sectional
divide?
How did Congress attempt to maintain the balance
between slave states and free states as new territories
joined the Union?
What caused the Civil War?
Was a peaceful split between the USA and CSA even
possible?
What factors drove the rise of the abolitionist
movement?
How did the newly formed Republican Party rise to
power so quickly and how did southern states react?
What were the northern and southern strategies during
the war?
What were the costs of the war?
How did the Civil War alter national identity and civil
rights?
What were the phases and issues of Reconstruction?
How did civil rights and national identity change during
Reconstruction?
What brought about the end of Reconstruction?
What were the major push/pull factors for westward
movement?
Did “the Frontier” really cease to exist?
How did westward movement create conflict and/or alter
Chapter 14
Test #3
Chapter 11
Chapter 11 Outline
Chapter 15
Chapter 15 Outline
Chapter 16
Test #4
Chapter 17
Chapter 17 Outline Due
Chapter 19
Chapter 19 Outline Due
TWU Final Exam
(10/17)
10
(10/24)
11
Jacksonian America
(10/31)
12
The Civil War
(11/7)
13
The Civil War
(11/14)
14
Reconstruction
(11/28)
15
(12/5)
The Gilded Age: Westward
Expansion & Indian Policy
16
(12/12)
17
The Gilded Age:
Industrialization &
Urbanization
The Gilded Age: The Rise of
Big Business
(1/2)
18
(1/9)
Progressive Era
life on the Great Plains?
How did the U.S. government attempt to address the
“Indian Problem” during the late 1800s?
What caused the rapid industrialization and urbanization
in the late 1800s?
What problems arose because of urbanization and
industrialization?
How did reformers attempt to address the problems of
urbanization and industrialization?
How did new technology influence U.S. economic
growth?
What new opportunities and risks did industrialization
bring, and how did it reshape American society?
What immigration patterns existed during the late
1800s?
How did American society change during the Gilded
Age?
How and why did American sports and leisure evolve,
and how did it soften or sharpen social divisions?
What gave rise to big business in the late 1800s?
How did economic development contribute to the
evolution of the free enterprise system in the United
States?
What issues faced farmers in the late 1800s?
What gave rise to the Populist movement?
What prompted the rise of the progressive movement?
How successful were the progressives?
How did Progressive-Era reforms influence the social,
economic and political climate in the U.S.?
What changes in American society precipitated the rise
of national parks and the conservation movement?
How did the role of women change?
Chapter 18
Chapter 18 Outline
Chapter 20
Chapter 20 Outline
Chapter 23
Chapter 23 Outline