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History 105: United States History to 1877
Dr. Susan Ditto
The University of Mississippi
Fall Semester 2004
Elizabeth Clarke Freake and Baby Mary, Unidentified artist, ca. 1671-74 (Worcester Art Museum, Worcester, Mass.)
Syllabus
Lecture
Outlines and Other Study Aids
five generations of a family born into slavery on a
South Carolina plantation
Course
Summary:
This course is a survey of United States history from its earliest human habitation (ca. 10,000 years ago) through the post-Civil War Reconstruction period, with an emphasis on the 250 years between the first permanent English settlement (Jamestown, Virginia) in North America and the onset of the Civil War. Although this course will introduce many important people and events (the dreaded "names and dates" common to all history courses), Dr. Ditto prefers to concentrate on the lives of ordinary Americans, their communities, and their ideas. Therefore, families and households, cultural trends, and the law will figure more prominently in this class than less socially-oriented topics like politics, foreign policy, or economics.
The arrival, in 1619, of the first Africans to British-controlled North America, and the subsequent development of New World slavery, made an indellible mark on the course of broader American history. Slavery also was the single most important issue that divided the country North and South and lead to the sorrow-filled and destructive conflict known as the Civil War. Hence, this course will pay significant attention to the social, regional, political, legal/constitutional, religious, economic, and emotional impact of slavery during the colonial and antebellum periods.
This course is a survey of United States history from its earliest human habitation (ca. 10,000 years ago) through the post-Civil War Reconstruction period, with an emphasis on the 250 years between the first permanent English settlement (Jamestown, Virginia) in North America and the onset of the Civil War. Although this course will introduce many important people and events (the dreaded "names and dates" common to all history courses), Dr. Ditto prefers to concentrate on the lives of ordinary Americans, their communities, and their ideas. Therefore, families and households, cultural trends, and the law will figure more prominently in this class than less socially-oriented topics like politics, foreign policy, or economics.
The arrival, in 1619, of the first Africans to British-controlled North America, and the subsequent development of New World slavery, made an indellible mark on the course of broader American history. Slavery also was the single most important issue that divided the country North and South and lead to the sorrow-filled and destructive conflict known as the Civil War. Hence, this course will pay significant attention to the social, regional, political, legal/constitutional, religious, economic, and emotional impact of slavery during the colonial and antebellum periods.
More information about
Dr. Ditto is located on the Contact Info
page
of this site.
If you have a question about this class, please consult Dr. Ditto's list of Frequently Asked Questions.
If you have a question about this class, please consult Dr. Ditto's list of Frequently Asked Questions.
Please report any bad links or other
problems with this site to scditto@olemiss.edu.
Announcements!
THE FINAL EXAM FOR
THIS CLASS will consist of an objective (multiple choice, matching,
fill-in-the-blanks) test on material since the last test.- Students who were counting on having the opportunity to
take a comprehensive essay exam in order to increase their chances of
bettering their grade in the course will still have the option to do
so. Click
here to view or download a study guide containing more information
about the comprehensive essay component of the final exam.
- Lecture slides
pertaining to Test #4 (Final Exam) are now available on the "Lectures"
page of this site.
Lectures:
During an average class period, students will listen to a 50-minute lecture, during which they will be expected to take several pages of notes. Lectures will be supplemented with key terms, images, and some video, which will be displayed on an overhead screen through the wonders of Power Point projection. Prior to each test, copies of the PowerPoint slides shown during lectures pertaining to that test will be posted in the "Lectures" area of this site. Slides will contain only key terms, however. It is up to the student to take detailed notes and to supplement those notes with information contained in the textbook and other readings.
Readings:
Students will be responsible for approximately 300 pages of reading (see the "Texts & Other Readings" section of this site) over the course of the semester. Students will demonstrate their understanding of these readings through tests and papers. See the course syllabus and the "Assignments" area of this site for further details.
Assignments and Grades:
Grades in this course will derive from four tests, one formal paper, and a comprehensive final exam essay. For details on specific assignments and their requirements, see the Assignments area of this site.
Grades for each assignment and for the course as a whole will be posted in the "Tools" area of the Blackboard site for this course. There, students will be able to view their grades and keep track of their overall progress in the course.
Final course grades will be based not on averages, but on the total number of points acquired during the semester. The number of points possible over the course of the semester is 1000. (See your syllabus.) Therefore, the final grading scale will be as follows:
900 - 1000 = A
800 - 899 = B
700-799 = C
600 - 699 = D
< 599 = F
800 - 899 = B
700-799 = C
600 - 699 = D
< 599 = F