Freidman Syllabus Atlantic History Seminar

North America And The United States
From The Columbian Encounter
Through The American Civil War
Hal M. Friedman
Fall 1998

Course Themes:

HIST 151 is an introductory survey course in the history of Colonial North America and the Early United States. The course will explore various aspects of North American history, culture, and society from the encounter between Indians and Europeans around 1500 to the end of the U.S. Civil War in 1865. It is
designed to teach students how and why early U.S. political, social, cultural, and economic institutions developed, and how early America was then and still is a multi-racial, multi-cultural, and multi-ethnic society.

The course will revolve around the study of various cultures which mixed and clashed on the North American continent during a nearly 400 year period. It will focus on the study of various Indian, European, and African peoples who found themselves "sharing" the continent after 1500 and having to adjust to cohabitation in North America. Much of the course will, of necessity, center on the study of international relations, imperialism, and culture clash, and there will be a special focus on the development of Anglo-American society in the British North American colonies since that ethnic group came to dominate the Thirteen Colonies and the United States throughout the period under study.

Covering the entire sweep of this North American cultural history, the assignments will emphasize exploring the role of the frontier in American thought, the continuing American search for a mission in the modern world, and the role which conceptions of race, ethnicity, and gender have played in U.S. society. As broad a coverage of interaction between peoples and cultures as possible will be the focus of the course and the student will receive a significant exposure to comparing and contrasting the various Indian, European, and African societies which coexisted in North America. In effect, the instructor will paint portraits of these past societies for the students by describing their different forms of politics, economics, material culture, sexual division of labor, and conduct of war and diplomacy. We will then employ these societal portraits to explore how people in the past lived, clashed, and, at times, coexisted.

Prerequisites: There are no prerequisites for this course.

Reading Assignments:
Reading assignments should be completed before the designated lecture. Prompt completion of the readings will improve the student's understanding of the lectures and stimulate questions about the material and the assignments. All texts are available at the College Store (313-845-9603). The required texts are:

Gary B. Nash, Red, White & Black: The Peoples of Early North America, 3rd Edition (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1992).

William Earl Weeks, Building the Continental Empire: American Expansion from the Revolution to the Civil War (Chicago, Illinois: Ivan R. Dee, 1996).

Audrey Smedley, Race in North America: Origin and Evolution of a World View (Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press, 1993).

Assignments:
1. There will be 4 examinations throughout the semester, each an exam of either multiple choice questions or essay questions, depending upon the choice of the student. The first two exams will each count for 20% of the final grade. The final two exams will each count for 25% of the final grade.
2. There will also be points assigned for attendance. The attendance grade will count for 10% of the final grade. Up to three days can be missed by a student during the semester. After that, points will be begin to be deducted from the 10% possible grade.

Daily Class Schedule
August 28th: "Introduction to Course Policies, Procedures, and the Study of History"; and "Introduction to History: Note-Taking Techniques."

Aug ust 31st: "North American Indian Society to 1492."
Reading Assignment: Nash, ix-5.

September 2nd: "The Norse Frontier: Iceland, Greenland, and the Viking Settlements in North America, 1000-1500."
Reading Assignment: Nash, 6-27.

September 4th: "The European Atlantic Frontier, 1400s-1600s."
Reading Assignment: Nash, 28-41. l

September 7th: Labor Day Holiday! No Classes! Classes Resume on September 9th!

September 9th:"The Tropical Frontier: The Caribbean and North American History, ~ 1600-1800."
Reading Assignment: Nash, 42-65.

September 11th:"The Spanish Frontier in North America, 1513-1821."
Reading Assignment: Nash, 66-86.

September 14th: "The French Frontier in North America, 1534-1803."
Reading Assignment: Nash, 87-116. 1

September 16th: "The Dutch and Swedish Frontiers in North America, 1609-1664."
Reading Assignments. Nash,117-143.

September 18th: Begin Viewing Black Robe.
Reading Assignment: Nash,144-171.

September 21st: Conclude Viewing Black Robe.

September 23rd: Review of Black Robe.
Reading Assignment: Nash, 172-200.

September 25th: Review for st Examination.

September 28th: 1st Examination Conducted Today!
Reading Assignment: Nash, 201-225.

September 30th: Post-Review of 1 st Examination.

October 2nd: "African Society and the Atlantic Slave Trade, 1450-1850."
Reading Assignment: Nash, 226-250.

October 5th: "The Atlantic Slave Trade and the Creation of African-American Society, 1450-1800."
Reading Assignment: Nash, 251-277.

October 7th: "The British Frontier in North America, 1607-1776."

October 9th: "The Russian Frontier in North America, 1720s-1860s."
Reading Assignment: Nash, 278-304.

October 12th: "North American International and Intercultural Relations, 1492-1789."
Reading Assignment: Weeks, ix-29.

October 14th: "Indian America By 1800."
Reading Assignment: Weeks, 30-58.

October 16th:
"The Development of Colonial English and United States Society, 1750s-1790s."

October 19th: ..
Begin Viewing Mary Silliman's War.
Reading Assignment: Weeks, 59-85.

October 21st: Conclude viewing Mary Silliman's War.

October 23rd: Review of Mary Silliman's War.
Reading Assignment. Weeks, 86-112.

October 26th: Review for 2nd Examination.
Reading Assignment: Weeks,113-139.

October 28th: 2nd Examination Conducted Today!

October 30th: Post-Review of 2nd Examination.
Reading Assignment: Weeks, 140-166.

November 2nd: Begin Viewing A Mid-Wife's Tale.
Reading Assignment: Smedley, 1-12.

November 4th: Conclude and Review A Mid-Wife's Tale.
Reading Assignment: Smedley, 13-40.

November 6th: Begin Viewing Amistad.
Reading Assignment: Smedley,41-71.

November 9th: Continue Viewing Amistad. 1 Reading Assignment: Smedley, 72-91.

November 11th: Conclude Viewing Amistad.
Reading Assignment: Smedley, 92-112.

November 13th: Review of Amistad.

November 16th: "Ideas Governing United States Expansion and the Issue of American Imperialism, 1780s-1840s."
Reading Assignment: Smedley, 113-131.

November 18th:
"United States Regionalism and the Coming of the American Civil War, 1789-1861."
Reading Assignment: Smedley, 132-151.

November 20th:
Review for 3rd Examination.
Reading Assignment: Smedley, 152-170.

November 23rd: 3rd Examination Conducted Today!
Reading Assignment: Smedley, 171-204.

November 25th: Post-Review of 3rd Examination.
Reading Assignment: Smedley, 205-230.

November 26th-November 29th: Thanksgiving Holiday! No classes! Classes resume on November 30th!
Reading Assignment: Smedley, 231-254.

November 30th: "The American Civil War, 1861-1865."
Reading Assignment: Smedley, 255-272.

December 2nd: Begin Viewing Film Glory.
Reading Assignment: Smedley, 273-310.

December 4th: Continue Viewing Glory.

December 7th: Conclude and Review Glory.

December 9th: Review for Final Examinations.

December 11th: Final Examinations Conducted Today!

December 14th: Post-Review of Final Examinations.

December 16th-19th: Finals Week - Examinations Handed Back and Course Evaluations Conducted.