USIH 1 Syllabus, Spring 2003

Dr. Neil Jumonville
Florida State University
AMH-4331/AMH-5336
Spring 2003

US INTELLECTUAL HISTORY I:
BEGINNING TO 1880

READING LIST

Edmund Morgan, The Puritan Dilemma. (NY: Addison-Wesley, 1999). ISBN:0321043693

Benjamin Franklin, The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. (NY: Oxford, 1999). ISBN:0192836692. ETEXT AVAILABLE: LINKS IN ONLINE SYLLABUS.

Alexander Hamilton and James Madison, Federalist Papers. ETEXT AVAILABLE: LINKS IN ONLINE SYLLABUS.

Thomas Jefferson, The Portable Jefferson, Merrill Peterson, ed. (NY: Viking, 1977). ISBN:0140150803. ETEXT AVAILABLE: LINKS IN ONLINE SYLLABUS.

Ralph Waldo Emerson, The Portable Emerson, Malcolm Cowley, ed. (NY: Viking, 1987). ISBN:0140150943. ETEXT AVAILABLE: LINKS IN ONLINE SYLLABUS.

Alexis Tocqueville, Democracy in America, J.P. Mayer, ed. (NY: Harper, 2000). ISBN:0060956666. ETEXT AVAILABLE: LINKS IN ONLINE SYLLABUS.

Walt Whitman, The Portable Walt Whitman, Mark Van Doren, ed. (NY: Viking, 1977). ISBN:0140150781. ETEXT AVAILABLE: LINKS IN ONLINE SYLLABUS.

Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, John Blassingame, ed. (New Haven: Yale, 2001). ISBN:0300088310. ETEXT AVAILABLE: LINKS IN ONLINE SYLLABUS.

Ann Douglas, The Feminization of American Culture. (NY: Farrar, Straus, 1998.) ISBN:0374525587.

Abraham Lincoln. LINKS IN ONLINE SYLLABUS.

* There is a photocopy packet available at Target Copy on Tennessee St containing the lecture outlines.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

Read these requirements closely, because they tell you all you need to know about the operation of the class and the requirements for your paper. Don't read these once and then forget them, because you'll be judged on the basis of them.

ATTENDANCE: I only take attendance on Fridays, partly to get to know students' names, and partly to make sure people give sufficient importance to this part of the course. Part of your discussion grade is also a grade for attendance -which means showing up for lecture on time. If you happen to be late for lecture once during the semester, I'll overlook it. If you're someone who makes a habit of walking in after I begin lecturing then you'll feel the impact quite significantly in your semester grade.

READING: All students must complete the reading for the course. (Note that several of the books are heavily abridged and are much shorter than they appear). Weekly assignments are indicated in the syllabus. It is very important for you to complete the reading in time for the Friday discussion.

DISCUSSIONS: On Fridays, class will be devoted to a discussion of the issues raised in lectures and in the reading. You will not be able to do well in the discussions if you haven't kept up with your reading. It is expected that you will have finished the week's reading assignment by the time of the Friday discussion. As much as possible, the discussions will be a friendly exchange of ideas and opinions. The discussions are intended to be fun and enriching, not threatening. Don't feel intimidated by a lack of background in history; often there is no one "right" answer to the questions being discussed, and undergraduates always do as well as graduate students in these sessions. Part of your grade for the semester will be based on your active participation (talking) in the discussions, so it is important to show up and take part. Their purpose is to give you practice speaking about and challenging ideas, instead of just memorizing them.

PAPERS: For undergraduates, there will be one paper, 8 pages long, DUE IN CLASS ON MONDAY APR 14. All papers must be double-spaced, and type-written or printed by computer. Handwritten papers will not be accepted. Papers should be stapled together; please do not use paper or plastic folders to bind them. Papers should be submitted with a separate title page on the front, with a title, the student's name, and the name of the course. Do not put your name inside the paper, as each will be read with the title page turned back in order to assure an objective, neutral reading of the essay. This way your performance in class discussion should not influence your paper grade. No paper extensions, even in the event of a nuclear war. For every day the paper is late, it will drop a full grade (for example, from a B+ to a C+). These papers are to be "think papers" instead of research papers. I want to know your perceptions and ideas. The papers will be graded on the strength of their ideas, their ability to advance a thesis or interpretation, and on how well they are written (their use of language, spelling, punctuation, and syntax). Naturally, any plagiarism (having someone write the paper for you, or copying it from another source) will result in an immediate failure of the entire course. Use endnotes to indicate page numbers for any quotes you use, or to tell the reader when you have borrowed ideas from another author.

The paper should be written on the following topic: Discuss the ideas of one of the other authors in relation to Emersonianism. Choose one writer or figure (for example, use Winthrop, Franklin, Tocqueville, Whitman, Douglass, or Lincoln) and indicate the way in which their ideas either agree with or contradict Emerson's outlook. Is there a way in which they partake somewhat in Emersonianism? Or, conversely, do they provide a challenge to Emersonianism? What is Emersonianism, anyway?

STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES: Students with disabilities covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act should follow these steps: 1) Provide documentation of your disability to the Office of Disabled Student Services (08 Kellum Hall, 644-9566). 2) Bring a statement from the Office of Disabled Student Services indicating that you have registered with them to your instructor the first week of class. The statement should indicate the special accommodations you require.

EXAMS: There will be two exams during the course of the semester -a midterm and a final. Both of the tests will be a combination of ten short identifications and one essay question. As in the papers, the exams will be judged on the strength of their ideas, their ability to advance a thesis or interpretation, and their use of language, spelling, punctuation, and syntax. Make sure to write legibly enough to be understood. Bring blue books for the exam. Put your name on the front, but not inside--to insure a neutral reading.

GRADES (FOR UNDERGRADUATES): Each of the four components of the class will count 25% toward the final grade: the two exams, the paper, and class discussion.

COURSE WEB SITE: This course has its own page, linked through my web site at: http://mailer.fsu.edu/~njumonvi (And you're here!)

OFFICE HOURS: Wednesday mornings, 10-11.

CLASS SCHEDULE

RELIGION AND MISSION IN COLONIAL AMERICA

Week 1
Mon, Jan 6: Opening. The Puritan sense of mission, 1628-1680.
Wed, Jan 8: The Puritan intellectual outlook.
Fri, Jan 10: Discussion
Reading: Edmund Morgan, The Puritan Dilemma, chapters 1-6.

Week 2
Mon, Jan 13: Puritan political and social ideas.
Wed, Jan 15: Early thought in the Southern and Middle Colonies, 1620-1750.
Fri, Jan 17: Discussion.
Reading: Edmund Morgan, The Puritan Dilemma, chapters 6-12.

Week 3
Mon, Jan 20: MARTIN LUTHER KING HOLIDAY
Wed, Jan 22: Benjamin Franklin, 1706-1790.
Fri, Jan 24: Discussion.
Reading: Benjamin Franklin, The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, chapters 1-8.
Etext: http://www.earlyamerica.com/lives/franklin/index.html

POLITICS AND RATIONALITY IN AMERICAN CULTURE

Week 4
Mon, Jan 27: Jonathan Edwards and the First Great Awakening, 1730-1760.
Wed, Jan 29: The Ideological Background of the Revolution, 1700-1770.
Fri, Jan 31: Discussion.
Reading: Read essays from Cato's Letters.
http://myweb.fsu.edu/njumonville/Cato15 .html
http://myweb.fsu.edu/njumonville/Cato31 .html
http://myweb.fsu.edu/njumonville/Cato62.html

Week 5
Mon, Feb 3: The tracts and pamphlets of the Revolution, 1761-1776.
Wed, Feb 5: The Federalists, 1780s.
Fri, Feb 7: Discussion.
Reading: Alexander Hamilton and James Madison, Federalist Papers . Read numbers 10, 15, 23, 48, and 51.
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/const/fed/fedpapers.html

Week 6
Mon, Feb 10: The Antifederalists, 1780s.
Wed, Feb 12: Jeffersonianism, 1770s-1808.
Fri, Feb 14: Discussion.
Reading: Thomas Jefferson, The Portable Jefferson. Read the Declaration of Independence," "Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom," "The Kentucky Resolutions," "Report of the Commissioners for the Univ of Virginia," "Notes on the State of Virginia" (only pages 122-50, 177-199, and 208-217 of this essay), and letters on pages 415-18, 428-33, 438-40, 444-51, 544-47, and 567-69.
http://myweb.fsu.edu/njumonville/TJ-Declaration.html
http://myweb.fsu.edu/njumonville/TJ-Kentucky.html
http://myweb.fsu.edu/njumonville/TJ-Religion.html
http://myweb.fsu.edu/njumonville/TJ-Notes.html
http://myweb.fsu.edu/njumonville/TJ-Letters.html

Week 7
Mon, Feb 17: The Enlightenment in America, 1750-1820.
Wed, Feb 19: Women and ideas in the young nation, 1770-1830.
Fri, Feb 21: Discussion
Reading: Crevecoeur, Letters from an American Farmer, "What is an American?"
http://myweb.fsu.edu/njumonville/Crevecoeur.html

THE ROMANTIC REVOLUTION

Week 8
Mon, Feb 24: MIDTERM EXAM.
Wed, Feb 26: Transcendentalism: Emerson and the Romantic revolution, 1830-1860.
Fri, Feb 28: Discussion
Reading: Ralph Waldo Emerson, The Portable Emerson. Read "Nature: and "The Divinity School Address."
Nature
The Divinity School Address

Week 9
Mon, Mar 3: Thought of Jacksonians and Whigs, 1825-1850.
Wed, Mar 5: Transcendentalism: Social concern and the community.
Fri, Mar 7: Discussion.
Reading: Ralph Waldo Emerson, The Portable Emerson. Read "Self-Reliance," "The American Scholar," "The Fugitive Slave Law," "Letter to President Van Buren," and "John Brown: Speech at Salem." ( NO ETEXT FOR THESE LAST THREE.)
Self-Reliance
The_American_Scholar

MARCH 10-15: SPRING BREAK

Week 10
Mon, Mar 17: The beginning of the "letters tradition" in America.
Wed, Mar 19: Manifest Destiny, the West, and frontier humor.
Fri, Mar 21: Discussion.
Reading: Tocqueville, Democracy in America. Read pages: 50-57, 231-76, and 429-75.
http://xroads.virginia.edu/~HYPER/DETOC/1_ch03.htm
http://xroads.virginia.edu/~HYPER/DETOC/1_ch14.htm
http://xroads.virginia.edu/~HYPER/DETOC/1_ch15.htm
http://xroads.virginia.edu/~HYPER/DETOC/1_ch16.htm
Also read, in http://xroads.virginia.edu/~HYPER/DETOC/toc_indx.html : VOLUME II, SECTION 1: Chap 1, "Philosophical Method of The Americans," THROUGH Chap 14, "The Trade of Literature."

Week 11
Mon, Mar 24: Romantic art and the romantic novel, 1830-1860.
Wed, Mar 26: Tocqueville, 1830s-1840s.
Fri, Mar 28: Discussion.
Reading: Tocqueville, Democracy in America. Read pages 503-67, 590-608, 667-70, and 690-705.
http://xroads.virginia.edu/~HYPER/DETOC/toc_indx.html Read:
    VOLUME II, SECTION 2: Entire.
    Chap 1, "Why Democratic Nations Show a More Ardent...." THROUGH Chap 20, "How an Aristocracy may be Created by Manufactures."
    VOLUME II, SECTION 3:
    Chap 1: "How Customs are Softened...."
    Chap 2: "How Democracy Renders the Social Intercourse...."
    Chap 9, "Education of Young Women in The United States" THROUGH Chap 14, "Some Reflections on American Manners."
    VOLUME II, SECTION 4:
    Chap 1: "Influence of Democratic Ideas and Feelings...."
    Chap 2: "That the Opinions of Democratic Nations...."
    Chap 6: "What sort of Despotism...."
    Chap 7: "Continuation of the Preceding Chapters"
    Chap 8: "General Survey of the Subject"

Week 12
Mon, Mar 31: Romantic Historians, 1840s-1880s.
Wed, Apr 2:   Whitman, 1840s-1860s.
Fri, Apr 4: Discussion.
Reading: Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass. Read "Song of Myself," "Crossing Brooklyn Ferry," and "Song of the Open Road."
http://jefferson.village.virginia.edu/whitman/works/leaves/leaves81/text.html

RACE, SECTIONALISM, AND GENDER IN AMERICAN IDEAS

Week 13
Mon, Apr 7: Calhoun, Fitzhugh, and the Southern perspective on sectionalism and slavery, 1830-1870.
Wed, Apr 9: Women and 19th century American culture, 1830-1880.
Fri, Apr 11: Discussion.
Reading: Ann Douglas, The Feminization of American Culture. Read pages 3-164. NO ETEXT AVAILABLE.

Week 14
Mon, Apr 14: Lincoln, Douglas, and other Northerners on the Civil War, 1840-1870. PAPER DUE IN CLASS TODAY.
Wed, Apr 16: Abolitionism and black intellectuals, 1820s-1860s.
Fri, Apr 18: Discussion
Reading: Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass.
http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/Literature/Douglass/Autobiography/

BEGINNING OF AN INDUSTRIAL AND MATERIAL CULTURE

Week 15
Mon, Apr 21: The advent of literary realism: Henry James, 1865-1880.
Wed, Apr 23: Ambition and the justification of industrial capitalism: Alger, Conwell, and Carnegie, 1860-1880.
Fri, Apr 25: Discussion.
Reading: Abraham Lincoln.
http://myweb.fsu.edu/njumonville/Lincoln-Lyceum.html
http://myweb.fsu.edu/njumonville/Lincoln-Missouri.html
http://myweb.fsu.edu/njumonville/Lincoln-DredScott.html
http://myweb.fsu.edu/njumonville/Douglas-Chicago.html
http://myweb.fsu.edu/njumonville/Lincoln-Douglas-1.html
http://myweb.fsu.edu/njumonville/Lincoln-Inaug1.html
http://myweb.fsu.edu/njumonville/Lincoln-Gettysburg.html
http://myweb.fsu.edu/njumonville/Lincoln-Inaug2.html

Week 16
Wed, Apr 30: FINAL EXAM from 12:30 to 1:30 pm in this room.