History
216, Spring 1013: History of the
American West
Lectures: Mon/Fri 9:05-9:55, Axinn 109
Discussions: X: Wed 12:30-1:20, Atwater Seminar
Room (off dining hall)
Discussion Y: Wed. 1:45-2:35, Atwater
Seminar Room
Discussion Z: Wed: 2:50-3:40, Atwater Seminar Room
Prof.
Kathryn Morse, x2436; kmorse@middlebury.edu
Two offices: Starr-Axinn
240/Hillcrest 119
Office Hours, Spring 2013: Mondays
10am-12pm and 2-4 pm, Starr Axinn 240;
Fridays: 10:15am-12pm, Hillcrest 119 (except
Apr 5 and 19); and by appointment.
Office hours, syllabus, and other info on web page:
http://community.middlebury.edu/~kmorse
Course Description: In this course we will focus on the history
of that part of North America usually defined as the trans-Mississippi American
West (with some consideration of the other side of that river as well). Though we will touch on earlier patterns and
conflicts, the bulk of the course will cover the period from the mid-1840s to
the mid-1990s (roughly the Alamo to the Rodney King riots). The central themes of the course include
violence, conquest, inter-racial and inter-ethnic conflict over who gets to
claim an identity as American and as western, and the role of western mythology
in both western history and American popular culture more broadly.
Learning Goals:
1) To introduce students to central themes and questions of the history of
American West from the 1840s to the 1990s.
2) To develop skills in reading and analyzing primary historical
documents and using them to make historical arguments in discussion and in formal
writing. 3) To develop skills in reading
current scholarly work on American history, and thus to see historians
practicing their craft as an example of how historians form arguments and draw
evidence from primary documents to tell compelling stories about the past. 4) To increase understanding of how mythology
and history—as distinct but related forms of storytelling—have shaped and
continue to shape historians’ understandings of the past and of the
present. 5) To increase understanding of
history as a set of multiple, contested stories rather than a timeless
narrative of truth. 6) Overall, to increase students’ understandings
of how the West developed into the complex and fascinating place it is today.
Assigned Readings: The following books will be available at the
college store. The books are also
available at various on-line booksellers.
All are on reserve at the Davis Library, and may be available to take
out from other college libraries through NExpress or
Interlibrary Loan. There will be many
additional readings provided electronically as well, either on the web through
Middlebury’s library subscriptions, on the general web (outside Middlebury’s
system), or in our class share folder through the classes server. See weekly assignments for details.Please familiarize yourself with our
class folders on the server. All
registered students will have access to the class folder.
Books for purchase or loan:
Karl Jacoby, Shadows at Dawn: An
Apache Massacre and the Violence of History
Marilynn S. Johnson, Violence in the West:
A Brief History with Documents
John Steinbeck, Harvest Gypsies: On the Road to the Grapes of Wrath
Sherman Alexie, The Lone Ranger and Tonto
Fistfight in Heaven
Films: Because a major
theme of the course is the role of the West in American popular culture,
students are required to view five western films during the course of the
semester (and can see more if they want to): These films constitute basic research for the final
paper, and are quite entertaining in their own way, as well. The films are: Stagecoach (1939); Shane (1952);
The Searchers (1956); The Man
Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962); and Lone Star (1996). All DVDs will be on 4-hour reserve at Davis
Library. We will not hold formal class screenings, to allow students maximum
flexibility in organizing their viewing time.
However, students should see the films by the deadlines indicated in the
syllabus.
YouTube access:
Stagecoach : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAy0LAFA_CY
Key scenes from My Darling Clementine (not required by helpful for
discussion): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WXwO7Hqluo
Lone Star: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uh1kspc0uM
Netflix Streaming:
Shane
Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
Requirements:
Students must turn in all required assignments to pass the course.
1. Attendance is required at all classes.
See attendance policy below under course policies for specifics and
exceptions.
2. Reading and discussion: Students are
required to complete assigned readings and come to discussion sections on
Wednesdays (and occasionally other days) prepared to discuss those with other
students.
3. Films: As above, students will view
five western films as listed by the deadlines indicated.
4. Five formal graded assignments: a) one closed-book in-class hour exam, Fri
Mar 8; b) one 3-hour closed-book final exam, Fri May 17 at 9am; c) one 3-4 pp. film
essay due Fri Mar 22; d) one 3-4 pp. primary documents essay due Fri Apr 12; e)
one 10 pp. myth & history paper due Fri May 3. Further details on all assignments TBA.
Course Policies:
1)
Honor Code: The honor code is in effect for all work in
this class, and should be stated and signed on all formal written work (papers
and final exam). The honor code applies to both exam-related
academic integrity (cheating), and also to issues of plagiarism. Plagiarism includes the taking of others’
work (language or ideas) intentionally
or mistakenly, without direct attribution to the source. It also includes the taking of others’
language as and ideas paraphrase, with direct citation, when that language and
ideas so closely approximate the source material as to require quotation
marks. Any paraphrased material—EVEN
WITH A CORRECT CITATION—which TOO CLOSELY approximates the source without
quotation marks, constitute plagiarized material. Take notes with great care and check all of
your material carefully before turning in any formal written work.
2) Grades: As
the semester progresses, I will provide handouts and further information on
specific criteria for grading on specific assignments. Final grades will be determined by the
following percentages, though there is always room for adjustment: Attendance:
10% Discussion
Participation: 10% Hour exam: 15% ; Final
exam: 20%; Film essay: 10%; Primary
Documents Essay: 15% Myth & History
Paper: 20%.
Note on numerical (1-100)
vs. letter grades (A, A-, B+ etc.):
Grades on exams and some papers may take numerical form, as this allows
for a more fine-grained approach to evaluating student work (a B may range from
82-86, for instance). However, numerical
grades do not represent a specific point value for any given student answer or
response to a given question.
Example: There is no specific
point awarded for a correct date in an essay answer, so missing a date (or a
name, or a place, or an idea) does not automatically result in a specific loss
of points. Nor do grammatical or
proof-reading errors correlate to a specific loss of points on a paper. Grades in this class take in a wide range of
factors for any given answer and thus are not always directly correlated with
math. If you have any questions about
the general standards for “A” work, “B” work, etc., please feel free to ask.
3)
Pass/D/Fail option: Students choosing the pass/d/fail option should note the following: To pass the course (grade of C-/70 or above)
students must hand in all the assigned work, take all exams, and attend at
least 80% of all scheduled classes.
4) Attendance: Students are required to attend all classes, but given the realities of
illness and other demands, students may miss three
total scheduled classes
during the semester without any penalty.
5)
Late Papers and Extensions: Paper due
dates are specified in the schedule below.
With regard to these deadlines, each student has two (2) “extension days” to
use or spend to extend paper deadlines without penalty. As a result a student may turn in one paper
two days late without penalty, or two papers one day late (each) without grade
penalty. However, the student is
responsible for NOTIFYING the professor when turning the paper in that a
free “extension days” is in effect. A
day is considered 24 hours, and Friday-Monday will count as one (1) 24-hour
period. Students may consider a 12-hour extension a one-half (1/2) day
extension.
Beyond those allowed “extension days” any paper
turned in after the deadline will be penalized two points (i.e. grade of 80 to
grade of 78) for every 24 hours late.
Friday to Monday will count as one (1) 24-hour period.
6)
Intercollegiate Athletics and Other Activities:
If you are a member of a team or engaged in other
campus activities, on or off campus, you may, at various times during the
semester, have athletic or other events scheduled during our class times. Although no other activity can require
that you miss class or other academic events, you may need to choose which
activity (class or non-class) you would prefer, or have a responsibility, to
attend. Those choices are entirely your
own, and I will respect them as valid choices.
However, be aware that according to college policy such absences are
explained rather than excused. It is your responsibility to inform me of
your schedule, what work you will miss, and how and when you intend to make up
that work. I do not regularly check
sports schedules or know team departure times, so it is your job to present me
with that information, well in advance of the absence itself.
7) Email Policy. Students are welcome to
email (or call my office phone) with questions at any point. Please be advised that I do not read and
answer email constantly or immediately, and that I usually take an “email sabbath” from college-related email from Friday around 5pm
until Sunday around 2pm. Outside of
those exceptions, I will attempt to return your email or call within 24 hours,
if possible.
I do assume that you read your
Middlebury college email on a regular basis, several times a week. If you do not read your email with any
regularity, please remember to ask me in class whether I have sent out any
information or updates.
BEFORE emailing, ANY professor, ask yourself this
important question: Is there ANY other
way to gain this information or answer this question without asking a
professor? If so, use that other method! NOTE:
The above does not apply to true emergencies, such as those involving
serious illness or loss. In the event of
such an event, emailing your professors and your dean, with an urgent alert in
the email, is always a good choice. I
will respond as quickly as possible.
8) Classroom etiquette and technology policy: Cell phones, smart phones, and
other small mobile devices must be OFF or silenced and put away in ALL
classes. Laptop computers may be used in
class lectures and discussions, though when discussing digital readings, it is
better to bring printed versions to class, rather than electronic versions, if
at all possible.
IF AT ANY POINT the use of laptop computers or
tablet computers becomes distracting to myself or others, I will ask you to
change how you are using them or shut them off until we can find a good
compromise.
Please respect your classmates. Our goal is to critically engage and discuss
historical events and ideas, but not to criticize or intimidate each other as
human beings. Be kind, be thoughtful,
and engage each other as colleagues with respect. If at any time
you feel limited by me or others in your ability to express your ideas openly,
please let me know in person or by email.
Disruptive Classroom Exits: Please do not leave the classroom during
class time unless in the event of a physical or personal emergency.
9)
Accessibility, Accommodations, Abilities:
We all have varying abilities; we all carry various
strengths and weaknesses. Some of these might even be “documented” with a place
like the ADA Office. If so, please just let me know. With or
without documentation, it is my intent to make our learning experience as
accessible as possible. With documentation, I am especially interested in
providing any student accommodations that have probably been best determined by
the student and the ADA Coordinator (Jodi Litchfield) in advance. Please
let me know NOW what we can do to maximize your learning potential,
participation, and general access in this course. I am available to meet
with you in person or to discuss such things on email.
The ADA Office is located at Meeker House 003. [46 Porter Field Road]
Jodi Litchfield, coordinator: 802.443.5936; litchfie@middlebury.edu
http://www.middlebury.edu/studentlife/doc/ada/about
__________________________________________________________________
Weekly Schedule of Topics and
Assignments (Subject to changes announced in class and by email well ahead of
time):
Week 1:
Mon. Feb 11: Introductions and Themes: Myth and History: Remember the Alamo!
Wed. Feb 13: Discussion Sections: Read primary documents: Background info:
In
1830s in the United States, a new two-party political system emerged: Democrats vs. Whigs.
Democrats:
Andrew Jackson, John C. Calhoun; the common man; westerners and
southerners, expansion, weaker federal government stronger local control;
tended to be pro-slavery, but not all
Whigs: Henry
Clay, New England, stronger federal government; support for industrial growth
and trade; tended to be anti-slavery; opposed expansion
John Calhoun (1782-1850): A Democrat from South Carolina (once Andrew Jackson’s
Democratic party emerged into being) Calhoun served various Presidents as
Secretary of War and Secretary of State and as Vice President; he also served
South Carolina in both the House the Senate, and was one of the most powerful
politicians of the pre-Civil War era. In
a speech in January 1848, excerpted here in your reading on its own and then quoted
also at length in the American Whig Review, he argued vehemently against
the incorporation of all of Mexico into the United States for a range of
reasons, all explained in his speech.
Mostly, he knew northerners would not accept slavery in the expanding
western territories. He feared, rightly,
the growing North vs. South conflict over slavery when it came to incorporating
western territory into the United States, but died in 1850 before that conflict
reached the crisis that began the Civil War. “The day of retribution will
come,” Calhoun declared in this 1848 speech, “awful will be the reckoning.” He
was right.
1) John L. O’Sullivan, “The Great Nation of
Futurity,” United States Democratic Review 6:23 (November 1839), 426-30. At:
http://faculty.txwes.edu/csmeller/Human-Prospect/ProData09/01ModCulMatrix/ModWRTs/OSullivan1813/OSul1839Futurity.htm
2) John C. Calhoun and John Dix debate the
incorporation of Mexico (in share folder)
3) Reaction to Calhoun’s speech: “Calhoun’s Speech on the Conquest of Mexico,”
American Whig Review 7:3 (March 1848), 217-230; read 217 through the
first column on p.223 (you are welcome to read more—it descends into some
wild party politics. This 19th
century magazine in accessible digitally through Cornell’s Making of America
Primary Documents website. Search for
American Whig Review in Midcat under Titles (or
by title under “Journals,”) then select electronic resource: “Making of America” from Cornell, and find
the issue for March 1848 and open this article to its first page (217);
continue through (as above) the first column on 223.
4) AND scholarly
article: Brian DeLay, “Independent
Indians and the U.S.-Mexican War,” The
American Historical Review, 112:1 (February 2007): 35-68. Available through
JSTOR and in share folder sub-folder for Feb 13.
Fri Feb 15: Winter Carnival, No class. Watch Stagecoach (on reserve in
library, also on YouTube), by Monday Feb. 18’s class.
Week 2:
Mon Feb 18: Brief discussion of Stagecoach: Lecture:
The West before 1848.
Wed Feb 20: Discussion Sections: Readings:
Excerpts from the letters of Narcissa
Whitman from the PBS website, according to dates listed below: http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/resources/archives/two/whitman0.htm
Excerpts from Louisa A.K.S. Clappe,
The Shirley Letters: From the
California Mines, 1851-52.
Two laws: Foreign Miners Act, California:
1850
An Act to Punish Vagrants, California: 1855.
And two scholarly articles: (read these
efficiently, for argument and shared themes):
Benjamin Madley, “California’s
Yuki Indians: Defining Genocide in Native
American History,” Western Historical Quarterly 39:3 (Autumn 2008):
303-32; Albert L. Hurtado, “Empires, Frontiers, Filibusters, and Pioneers:
The Transnational World of John Sutter,”
Pacific Historical Review 77:1
(February 2008): 19-47.
Fri Feb. 22: Lecture:
Westward Ho! Migrations
Week 3: Watch Shane by NEXT Monday’s class,
Mar 4.
Mon Feb 25: Lecture: Federal Power: Land and Indian Policy
Wed.
Feb. 27:
Discussion Sections: Reading: Karl Jacoby, Shadows at Dawn,
Introduction and all of Part One (through p. 180).
Fri Mar 1: In lecture reading for group discussion: Shadows at Dawn, Part 2, “Justice,”
plus lecture: Railroad
Week 4: Watch Shane by Monday’s class (a bit
slow, but a classic).
Mon Mar. 4: Beyond Camp Grant: Sand Creek, Little Bighorn; brief discussion
of Shane.
Wed. Mar 6: Discussion Sections and review for hour exam.
Jacoby, Shadows at Dawn, Part 3, “Memory” and Epilogue.
Fri Mar 8:
In class Hour Exam, with focus on Shadows at Dawn, but covering weeks
1-4.
Week 5 (watch The Searchers by next
Monday’s class, Mar 18).
Mon Mar 11: Lecture:
Whose West?
Wed. Mar 13: Discussion Section readings: Chinese and Mormons in the West
Primary
documents related to Chinese in the West:
Spend 15 minutes exploring the Angel Island website: http://www.poeticwaves.net/
And read:
Legislation: The Page Law of
1875: links at: http://library.uwb.edu/guides/USimmigration/1875_page_law.html
Dennis Kearney,
President, and H. L. Knight, Secretary, “Appeal from California. The Chinese
Invasion. Workingmen’s Address,” Indianapolis Times, 28 February 1878: At History Matters Primary
Source website: http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5046
The Chinese Exclusion Act of
1882: at Yale Avalon Project:
http://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/chinese_exclusion_act.asp
Memorial of Chinese Laborers, Resident at Rock
Springs, Wyoming Territory, to the Chinese Consul at New York (1885). Reprinted
in Cheng-Tsu Wu, ed., Chink! (New York: The
World Publishing Company, 1972), 152–164:
At History Matters Primary Source website:
http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5043
American
Federation of Labor, Some Reasons for Chinese Exclusion. Meat vs. Rice.
American Manhood against Asiatic Coolieism .Which
Shall Survive? Senate Doc. No. 137, 57th Congress, 1st Session (Washington
D. C.: Government Printing Office, 1902):
at History Matters documents web site: http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5036
Ho Ah Kow v. Nunan, 12
F. Cas. 252 (C.C.D. Cal. 1879):
http://www.foundsf.org/index.php?title=Ho_Ah_Kow_v._Nunan
Mormons:
Annie Clark Tanner, Mormon
Mother: An Autobiography (1941; Salt
Lake City, UT, 1969), ch. 4, 6.
The Edmunds Anti-Polygamy Act of 1882; brief excerpts from 1887 Act.
The Utah Commission Report of 1883.
The 1890 Manifesto (LDS Church renounced polygamy).
Fri Mar 15: Lecture: The Mormon West (watch The Searchers by Monday’s
class).
Week 6:
Mon Mar 18:
Native Americans + brief discussion of The
Searchers
Wed.
Mar. 20: Readings: on Native Americans, Treaties,
Land, Assimilation
The Cherokee Treaty of 1866:
http://digital.library.okstate.edu/kappler/Vol2/treaties/che0942.htm
The 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie: http://digital.library.okstate.edu/kappler/Vol2/treaties/sio0998.htm
The Dawes Act of 1887, at Avalon Project: http://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/dawes.asp
Capt. Richard C. Pratt on Educating Indians, 1892: On History Matters Website:
http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/4929/
Luther Standing Bear on his
experiences at Carlisle Indian School, 1933:
At: http://faculty.whatcom.ctc.edu/mhaberma/hist209/luthsb.htm
Rules for Indian Schools, 1890:
http://faculty.whatcom.ctc.edu/mhaberma/hist209/srules.htm
Fri Mar 22: The Johnson County War on film
Due by 8 pm by email (details TBA):
Short film paper focused on or first three films. Detailed instructions will be handed out well
ahead of the deadline.
__________Spring Break___________________
Week 7:
Mon Apr 1: Lecture: The Progressive West
Wed Apr 3: Discussion Sections: Readings: 1) Frederick Jackson Turner, “The
Significance of the Frontier in American History” (1893). On-line: http://xroads.virginia.edu/~HYPER/TURNER/
Click on chapter I, which is the essay in question.
2)
John Muir, “The Wild Parks and Forest Reservations of the West,” in Our
National Parks.
3)
Selection from Theodore Roosevelt, Outdoor Pastimes of an American
Hunter (1908), 315-317.
4)
“The Yellowstone National Park Protection Act” and “The National Park
Protective Act,” in Theodore Roosevelt and George Bird Grinnell, Hunting
in Many Lands: The Book of the Boone and Crockett Club (1895).
5)
Brief other conservation documents (location TBA).
Two
scholarly pieces, both in Share Folder:
Richard White, “Frederick Jackson Turner and Buffalo Bill,”
In James Grossman ed., The Frontier in American Culture ( Berkeley: Univ of California
Press, 1994), 7-65.
Friday April 5: No class :
Watch The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance by next Monday, April 8.
-------------
Week 8: Mon Apr 8: :
Lecture: Farmers and Cowboys + Brief
discussion of Liberty Valance
Wed. Apr 10:
Reading: 1) Marilynn Johnson, Violence
in the West, Documents on Johnson
County War (don’t read any intro or prefatory material: focus on the primary documents);
2) Nat Love, The Life and Adventures of Nat
Love, Better Known in the Cattle Country as ‘Deadwood Dick’ (1907; Lincoln, NE, 1995), ch. 9, 13, 18, 19.
3) one other
cattle industry reading TBA.
Friday Apr 12: Lecture:
Extracting the West: Labor and
Nature
Due by 8pm by email: Short essay on primary documents for final
myth and history paper, (details TBA).
----------------
Week 9:
Watch Lone Star by NEXT Monday’s class, April 22.
Mon
Apr 15: Lecture:
Labor and the Corporate West
Wed. Apr 17: Discussion Sections: Reading:
From Marilynn Johnson, Violence in the West: Ludlow Massacre documents; ALSO: Special
media assignment (1 hour): listen to
episode 479 of the radio show “This American Life,” entitled “Little War on the
Prairie.” Available on the show website
at: http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/479/little-war-on-the-prairie
The website provides various ways to listen, including iTunes (for 99 cents).
Fri Apr 19: No class or office hours: Spring Symposium! Watch Lone Star for Monday.
Week 10: Watch Lone Star for
Monday!
Mon Apr 22: Lecture:
The Great Depression and War/discussion of Lone Star.
Wed. Apr. 24: Discussion Sections: Read John Steinbeck, Harvest Gypsies: On the Road to the Grapes of Wrath; also spend 20 minutes or so at:http://braceroarchive.org/
(specific instructions to follow); and scholarly chapter (in share folder): George J. Sanchez, “Chapter 10: Where Is Home?: The Dilemma of Repatriation,” in Becoming Mexican American: Ethnicity, Culture and Identity in Chicano Los Angeles, 1900-1945 (NY: Oxford Univ Press, 1995).Fri April 26: Japanese Internment
Week 11:
Mon Apr 29: Blazing Saddles and the Post-war Urban
West
Wed May 1
Discussion Section: Readings all in
share folder or through announced links: Tourism documents TBA; Joan Didion, “Trouble in Lakewood,” New Yorker 69 (July 26, 1993): 46-65; excerpt
from Anna Deavere Smith, Twilight:
Los Angeles 1992; William Kittredge,
“Owning It All,” from Owning It All (1988).
Fri May 3: Lecture: New West/Old West
Due by email by 8 pm: Final Myth & History Paper, Details TBA.
Week 12:
Mon May 6: In class: Lecture:
Legacy of Conquest/Discussion of Lone Star
Wed May 8: Discussion Sections: Read, Sherman Alexie, The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven
Fri May 10: Conclusions
Exam: Closed book
3-hour exam during exam period: Friday
May 17, 9am-12pm.