Messiah College
HIS 324: Civil War America
Fall 2005
MWF 11:00-11:50
Boyer Hall 331

Instructor: John Fea, Ph.D
Office: Boyer 258
Phone: x2253
Office Hours: MWF 10:00-10:50, 2:00-3:45, and by appointment.
Personal Home Page: http://home.messiah.edu/%7Ejfea/

Course Description
The Civil War Era was the most brutal period in American history.  The complexity of the Civil War is obvious when one notes how many different interpretations there are of its causes and results.  What caused the Civil War? Was it a war over slavery?  Could it have been avoided?   Who won?  Who lost?  Who was Abraham Lincoln and what was his role in the struggle?  What was the role of Blacks during the Civil War and Reconstruction?  Did Reconstruction succeed or fail?  How has the legacy of the war impacted American culture today?  Together, through lecture, discussion, reading (primary and secondary sources), personal research, museums, public lectures, video, and encounters with actual battlefields we will attempt to think responsibly about these questions.

Texts (Available in the Messiah College Bookstore Annex)
Eric Foner, A Short History of Reconstruction
Allen Guelzo, Abraham Lincoln: Redeemer President
Tony Horwitz, Confederates in the Attic: Dispatches from the Unfinished Civil War
James M. McPherson, Battle Cry of Freedom
Outside Reading (See Below)

A Word on Outside Reading
Readings listed as “on-line” will be linked to the internet site where they may be found. To access these articles, go to the on-line version of the syllabus (which you should probably bookmark) and click on the link to the primary document you want to read.  You should print these documents so that you can bring them to class with you.  A few outside articles are available in an database called JSTOR.  In order to access these articles you will need to point your Internet browser toward www.jstor.org.  Click on “search,” type the author’s name in the search engine and then scroll down and select “history” as the type of journal that you want to search.  When the article appears, you can either read it on the screen or print it.  I strongly suggest printing these articles, but in order to do so you may have to download some software onto your computer.  The JSTOR web site will provide you with instructions (it is fairly easy) on how to do this.  All of the JSTOR articles will also be available on reserve in Murray library.

Assignments
You will be required to write 3 five page papers analyzing primary documents related to the Civil War.  We will have a take-home midterm exam and a comprehensive in-class final exam.  Your class participation grade will be made up of your contribution to class discussion, general preparedness for class and attendance.  We will begin most classes with a short quiz on the day's reading.

As part of this course, you will be asked to attend a full day field trip to Gettysburg Battlefield in early November (Date will be announced). Transportation will be provided but students will be asked to contribute a small fee to cover costs.  You will also be asked to write a short paper (2-3 pages) reflecting on your experience.  More details on these events will be forthcoming.

Grading
Papers  30%
Mid-Term 15%
Final  20%
Class Participation  15%
Quizzes  15%
Gettysburg Reflection Paper  5%

Notes

• Students who do not take all the exams, attend the field trip, or hand-in all of the papers (no matter how late) will fail the course.
• Attendance is crucial to both your class participation grade and your overall ability to perform well in this course
• Late papers will be penalized half a letter grade for each class period it is late.  Papers handed-in more than 5 class periods late will receive a failing grade, but must still be handed-in before the end of the semester in order to receive a passing grade for the course.
• Make-up exams will be administered only in extreme emergencies.
• AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT:   Any student whose disability falls within ADA guidelines should inform the instructor at the beginning of the semester of any special accommodations or equipment needs necessary to complete the requirements for this course. Students must register documentation with the Office of Disability Services (OM 342).  If you have questions, call extension 5358.
• Plagiarism will be penalized according to college policies.  According to the Student Handbook, plagiarism is “submitting as one’s own work part or all of any assignment (oral or written) which is copied, paraphrased, or purchased from another source, including on-line sources without the proper acknowledgment of that source. Examples include:  failing to cite a reference, failing to use quotation marks where appropriate, misrepresenting another's work as your own.”  The penalty for plagiarizing all or most of a paper is the assignment of an ‘F’ for the course.

Tentative Class Schedule
  

• "One Vote Less," August  8, 1868"
• "The Democratic Hell-Broth," Oct. 31, 1868
• "Democratic Majority," Nov. 21, 1868
• "The Ku Klux Klan Down South," May 6, 1871
• "Republican Principles-Democratic Principles," May 6, 1871
• "U.S. Colored Troops," May 27, 1871