Prof. Mark Grimsley
Spring Quarter 2003
Office: 363 Dulles Hall
292-1855
E-mail: grimsley.1@osu.edu

This course describes and analyzes the history of America's greatest crisis, from its origins in the early nineteenth century through the abandonment of Reconstruction in 1877, with some attention to sectional reconciliation and the various ways in which the crisis is remembered. It interweaves the political, military, social, economic, and cultural dimensions of this experience in roughly equal proportions, with emphasis on the linkages between them.

Students will achieve an understanding of the main developments of the Civil War and Reconstruction era, the ways in which these developments reflected or shaped developments in general American history, and the main interpretations advanced by scholars who have studied this subject. They will also hone their skills at critical writing and analysis, and will gain greater insight into the way historians explore the human condition.

First Midterm Exam 25%
Second Midterm Exam 30%
Class Participation 10%
Final Exam 35%

Required

Textbook

Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era, by James M. McPherson

Reader

Major Problems in Civil War & Reconstruction, by Michael Perman

Monograph

For Cause and Comrades, by James M. McPherson (click link for study guide)

Edited Volume

The War Was You and Me: Civilians in the American Civil War
Edited by Joan E. Cashin

Novel

A Fool's Errand, by Albion Tourgee

All students must be officially enrolled in the course by the end of the second full week of the quarter. No requests to add the course will be approved by the department chair after that time. Enrolling officially and on time is solely the responsibility of each student.

If for any family or medical reason you find it absolutely necessary to miss an examination, you must provide written documentation to substantiate the request in order to take a make-up. Whenever possible, notify me in advance. Make-up exams are administered by the department at certain scheduled times during the quarter. If you take a make-up, it will be at one of these times.

Please Note: An on-going family, personal, or medical problem will not be considered a valid reason to miss more than one examination. If you are unfortunate enough to be experiencing such a problem, you are advised to drop the course instead. If you remain in class, I will assume that you have made a well-considered decision to remain despite the problem, and that you accept the consequences of your decision. I will not make exceptions to this policy, so be forewarned.

Please do not come to class late. If you do, please enter as unobtrusively as possible. Similarly, if you know you will need to leave early, please seat yourself close to an exit so that you can leave without distracting other students.

Mondays and Thursdays,  11:30-12:30; and by appointment.

 McPherson, For Cause and Comrades, 30-178; skim Perman, 124-155.

Wednesday
First Midterm Examination.  First Midterm Examination Study Guide

Week 5.

Monday
11. The North at War
12. The South at War

McPherson, 428-453, 591-625; Perman, 186-245, Cashin, 1-8, 85-111, 183-208, 262-285

Wednesday
15. The Campaigns of 1863
16. Bitter Jubilee: The Moment of Emancipation

McPherson, 568-590, 626-688; Perman, 98-101, 124-155; McPherson, For Cause and Comrades, 30-178, Cashin, 60-84

Week 6.

Monday
17. The Civil War as an Interracial War
18. Wartime Reconstruction

McPherson, 689-743; Perman, 101-103, 277-310, Cashin, 209-236

Wednesday
19. The Campaigns of 1864
20. Hard War

McPherson, 718-852; Perman, 112-123.

Week 7.

Monday
23. The Collapse of the Confederacy
24. Why the Confederacy Lost

McPherson, 718-852; Perman, 112-123.

Wednesday
Second Midterm Examination; Second Midterm Study Guide

Week 8.

Monday
25. Gender and the Civil War Era
26. Presidential Reconstruction, 1865-1866

Perman, 246-265; Cashin, 35-59, 159-182; Begin reading Tourgee

Wednesday

27. The Making of Radical Reconstruction - I
28. The Making of Radical Reconstruction - II

Tourgee; Perman, 311-341.

Week 9.

Monday
Memorial Day - No Class

Wednesday
29. Southern Republicans in Power
30. The Evolution of Free Labor in the South

Tourgee; Perman, 345-400.

Week 10.

Monday

Changing Agendas in the North
31. "Ballot and Bullet": The White Conservative Counterrevolution
32. The End of Reconstruction

Tourgee; Perman, 401-430.

Wednesday
33. The Civil War Era Assessed
34. The Civil War and Public Memory

McPherson, 853-862; Perman, 431-459

FINAL EXAMINATION STUDY GUIDE

Introduction

History 557.03 is an upper division course taught at an advanced level. It is also an elective. I therefore assume that students have chosen to take it because they are interested and motivated to learn the material. I also assume that students have an appropriate background in American history, which is why I strongly encourage you to have at least taken History 151 (American Civilization to 1877) before attempting this course.

The course requires about 200 pages of reading per week—sometimes more, seldom less. If you accept this reality at the outset you will be all right. If you assume you can pick up everything from lecture or from a light skimming of the texts you will not do well. It's as simple as that. But don't assume that you can blow off the lectures, either. For one thing, paying attention to the lectures will help keep you on track, so that you don't overemphasize some issues while ignoring others. For another, good attendance helps generate a certain good will between instructor and student, because it more or less demonstrates that the student is trying. That good will can come in handy if you fall down on the mid-term and need a little extra help. Finally, there is almost always a strong positive correlation between good attendance and good course performance. So while lecture attendance is not required, it is strongly encouraged. Similarly, I encourage you to take full advantage of my office hours and those of the teaching associates. As a practical matter, you may wish to visit them in preference to myself, since they will be grading your examinations.

A NOTE REGARDING BATTLE CRY OF FREEDOM: I selected Battle Cry of Freedom as the main text for the course because it is currently the standard one-volume work on the Civil War. Don't be daunted by its length. For one thing, the book is a pleasure to read. For another, much of it is composed of extended accounts of military operations. In most cases, these can be skimmed.

However, if you feel yourself absolutely unable to handle a book of this length, you may substitute Brooks D. Simpson, America's Civil War (Harlan Davidson, 1996). This book contains only 219 pages of text and covers most of the same ground as Battle Cry of Freedom. It can be ordered from any book store, though I recommend that you order it from SBX, which always handles these matters promptly and professionally. When ordering a book, it is helpful to have the ISBN. In the case of America's Civil War, it is 0-88295-929-8.

A NOTE REGARDING THE WAR WAS YOU AND ME: I selected this book in order to give students some exposure to the significance of the Civil War for the civilian population. The second midterm exam will be based extensively on The War Was You and Me, so be sure to read it carefully.

A NOTE REGARDING A FOOL'S ERRAND: This is the thinly-disguised autobiography of a Northerner who attempted to make a new life for himself in the postwar South. It contains some of the most vivid illustrations of the nature and ultimate failure of Reconstruction. I have assigned it in preference to a regular textbook because from past experience I have learned that students find textbooks on Reconstruction more confusing than helpful. Be sure to read it with care. Questions based on A Fool's Errand will figure prominently on the final exam.

Examinations

Examinations

The mid-terms and final are divided into two main parts: "identifications" and essays.

1. Identifications

Identification questions call upon the student to identify and give the significance of a given term. The identification portion of the answer should define the term and/or discuss its important features. The significance portion should link the term to one or more of the larger conceptual issues raised in the course. Example:

Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation - Issued in September 1862, it did not free any slaves but simply announced that if the rebellious states did not return to the Union by January 1, 1863, the slaves living in the rebellious states would then be freed. But its issuance signaled the end of the Union conciliatory policy and implicitly announced that the North would prosecute the war by any means necessary. Significance: The issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation marked the war's true turning point, because it transformed a conflict to quell rebellion into an all-out, revolutionary war designed to change the South's fundamental social, economic and (to some extent) political structure.

Notice that this ID was answered in just three sentences. Try to be as succinct when you write your own. Too often students will include a great deal of extraneous information in their ID responses that improves their grade not a whit. Just as often they will fail to address the ID's significance; i.e., to place it in a larger context. Avoid making either mistake.

2. Essay

The identification portion of the test is concerned primarily with the student's understanding of the facts.   An essay is mainly concerned with the student's grasp of the overarching concepts of the course and how these concepts organize and give meaning to the historical facts. Students sometimes assume that the essay is merely another way to demonstrate their factual knowledge about material that has been presented in class. On the contrary, an essay principally tests your ability to think analytically and to explain your analysis on paper. This involves, in turn:

a. an ability to write clearly, so that the reader is not baffled by misspellings, grammatical faults, run-on sentences, etc.;

b. an ability to articulate a thesis; in other words, to assert a point of view concerning the question being discussed;

c. an ability to prioritize. What issues are most important in answering the question? What is the most logical order in which to present them? What examples most clearly illustrate these critical issues?

d. an ability to avoid the irrelevant: everything you write should relate directly and explicitly to the question posed;

e. an ability to write an essay that is proportional to the length allowed. If asked to write a 5-page essay, you must tailor your depth of coverage so that you cover the whole question in 5 pages, without omitting important points or overemphasizing one point to the detriment of another.

For additional information about how to write a college essay exam, please see the following:

Writing the Essay Type Examination

"Essay Exam" handouts from the OSU Center for the Study and Teaching of Writing

Links

The U.S Civil War Center Comprehensive attempt to catalog all Civil War-related resources on the Web.

Freedmen and Southern Society Project The homepage of an ambitious project to document the emancipation moment.

Selected Civil War Photographs Home Page Over a thousand Civil War images.

Historical United States Census Browser Census Data for the antebellum and Civil War eras can be highly revealing.

The Civil War still resonates in the minds of many, not just historically but also politically. Check out this ring of Southern nationalist and Neo-Confederate websites.

HarpWeek This site, available through Ohiolink, contains all issues of Harper's Weekly published during the Civil War.

Valley of the Shadow recreates the Civil War as it was experienced and understood in two American communities, one in Pennsylvania, the other in Virginia.

JSTOR provides access to hundreds of scholarly articles and book reviews.

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