"Map courtesy of www.theodora.com/maps used with permission"
History 2700 History of the United States to
1877
K.L.
MacKay kmackay@weber.edu ext. 6782
A chronological survey of American history from European
intrusion onto native lands through the post-Civil War Reconstruction era.
This course is designed to give a general overview of U.S. history to 1877. Emphasis will be on the meaning of events:
This course will be reading and writing intensive. Readings include original source materials, scholarly essays, and scholarly internet sites. Writings will include discussion forums, short response papers, short essay quizzes, and critical analyzes.
Any student requiring accommodations or services due to a disability must contact Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) in room 181 of the Student Service Center. SSD can also arrange to provide course materials (including this syllabus) in alternative formats if necessary.
Syllabus:
Learning Goals | Texts |
Activities in Support of
Learning | Grades | Internet Resources
The value of History is, indeed, not scientific but moral: by liberalizing the mind, by deepening the sympathies, by fortifying the will, it enables us to control, not society, but ourselves. . .it prepares us to live more humanely in the present and to meet the future. --Carl L. Becker
- Zinn, A People's History of the U.S.
- Jacobs, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
- Shaara, Killer Angels
- other texts as assigned
Recommended text: Kenneth C. Davis, Don't Know Much About History
You might find helpful:
- The Outline of American History (1994) which has useful summaries and short biographies.
- The learning modules posted from the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
- American Memory Timeline
- Free University Online (CLEP Exam preparation) has modules in U.S. History.
Activities in support of learning goals:
Posts should total a minimum of 600 words per week. Your grade for the discussion forums will be based on the timeliness of your responses, their length, their quality and substance, your use of assigned readings. (20 points each forum) A record of the number of postings you have viewed is available to me.
Questions are always welcome, either via e-mail (kmackay@weber.edu)or in meetings with me. (When contacting me through email, begin the subject line with History 2700 so that I will notice your message right away.)
Grades will be a percentage of points possible-not "on the curve."
Plagiarism
Plagiarism on any of your work will result in failure of the project in question. Plagiarism may also be grounds for failing the course. If at any time, you are unsure about what might constitute plagiarism, just ask. I'll be glad to help you figure out where and when you need to document souses or credit others with ideas you wish to borrow. See also: WSU Student Code