Instructor:
Elton W. Weintz
Macomb Community College
Center Campus - N-119
44575 Garfield Road
Clinton Township, MI 48038E-Mail: weintze@macomb.edu
Phone: 586.226.4968
586.286.2288 - Fax
Joseph Conlin, The American Past, Volume I.
Course Syllabus
The
primary objective of the course is to provide students with a basic
understanding of how the United States has evolved from colonial times
to the close of Reconstruction. Major themes will
include the emergence of the United States as an independent nation,
the advent and tribulations of American democracy, slavery, and the
American Civil War.
| 1. | To convey a general knowledge and comprehension of American history to the end of the Reconstruction period. |
| 2. | To convey an in-depth grasp of certain major topics germane to the period. |
| 3. | To analyze the themes derivative from diverse world cultural traditions which have found common expression in the unique American Civilization. |
| 4. | To examine the American experience within the global context. |
| 5. | To convey an understanding of the paramount interpretive debates in the written history covering this era. |
To assist in the essay component of the exams, students may elect to use a handwritten, 3 x 5 inch "crib sheet" for each of the semester exams. It is the student's responsibility to create their own crib sheet and bring it to class for the examination. Under NO circumstances can crib sheets be shared. If you forget to create one, if you forget to bring yours--quite simply, too bad! Crib sheets will be collected with your completed exam and returned with the graded copy.
The examinations will cover the following dates and topics:
|
Examination #1:
|
Colonial America (c.
1601-1775)
|
|
Examination #2:
|
The American
Revolution, the Federalist Period, the War of 1812, and the Missouri
Compromise (1775-1820)
|
|
Examination #3:
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The Era of Good
Feelings, the Jacksonian Period, Westward Expansion, the Mexican War,
and the Antebellum Period (1815-1861)
|
|
Examination #4:
|
The American Civil
War and Reconstruction (1861-1877)
|
Make-up
examinations are discouraged. If a student has evidence to
affirm that an absence on examination dates be excused (i.e., doctor's
excuse, death in the family), or has made arrangements with me
beforehand, make-up examinations can be provided. Vacations
during the academic term are NOT
legitimate excuses for missing an examination.
It is the student's
responsibility to schedule a time to take the make-up exam.
Make-up exams MUST be
scheduled within ONE week of
the missed exam. Failure to make-up the exam within this time
frame will result in a "ZERO"
being assigned for the test in the course gradebook.
| Occasionally,
reaction/opinion papers will be assigned to provoke student thought and
insight concerning the various films or materials discussed in
class. These one-page assignments are meant to encourage students
to interpret or relay their impressions of the events introduced to
them through various media. Since these papers will be assigned
in class, dealing with items and questions discussed or viewed therein,
make-ups of the reaction papers are highly discouraged and alternative
assignments may be substituted
in their place. |
Quizzes will be unannounced and under no circumstances will make-ups be allowed.
| In addition to the four
examinations, a short writing assignment (five or more pages) can be
completed by students to help with their course average.
The assignment is NOT required and can only improve a student's average
in the class (up to three percentage points). Specifications
for this assignment are included in
the link below. Students electing to complete the optional
assignment MUST submit a rough
draft prior to the completion of the project. Specifications for the Optional Writing Assignment |
The following study guides contain descriptions
of the examination format, sample essay questions, and the list of
terms that will be used for the short identification section of the
examinations:
To assist students in preparing for the examinations, the following examination review notes are available:
The final grade in this class will be determined as follows:
| Semester Exam #1: | 20% |
| Semester Exam #2: | 20% |
| Semester Exam #3: | 20% |
| Semester Exam #4: | 20% |
| Reaction Papers: | 10% |
| Quizzes: | 10% |
| Total: | 100% |
| A | 100-92% |
| A- | 91-90% |
| B+ | 89-88% |
| B | 87-82% |
| B- | 81-80% |
| C+ | 79-78% |
| C | 77-72% |
| C- | 71-70% |
| D+ | 69-68% |
| D | 67-62% |
| D- | 61-60% |
| E | 59-0% |
The very nature of higher education requires
that students adhere to accepted standards of academic integrity and
conduct. Therefore, Macomb Community College has
adopted policies and procedures to ensure academic integrity and a code
of conduct. These may be found in the Macomb
Community College Catalog as well as in the Student Handbook.
The violations of academic integrity listed and defined
are cheating and plagiarism among others. It is the
student’s
responsibility to be aware of behaviors that constitute academic
dishonesty or would be contrary to good conduct.
Students are expected to be familiar with the textbook material for each of the four examinations. Students should use the textbook to supplement the lectures and materials discussed in class as well as provide examples for the writing assignment. Reading assignments will NOT be given on a week-to-week basis, however, the chapters covered by each of the examinations are prepared below:
| Examination #1: | Chapters 2-8 |
| Examination #2: | Chapters 9-12 |
| Examination #3: | Chapters 13-16; 20-22 |
| Examination #4: | Chapters 23-25 |
|
To assist students with the lectures and
discussions, the following outline is provided: |