READINGS AND CLASS DISCUSSION



 September 9:        Introduction and computer lab

September 16:        The early 1850s and the Kansas-Nebraska Act
                                   New York Tribune :           January 6, 1854
                                                                              January 11, 1854
                                                                              January 26, 1854
                              South Carolina Mercury:       January 23, 1854
                              Daily Courant :                       May 24, 1854
 

September 23:        The South and Slavery

 
 

The Fugitive Slave Act (1850)

Slave Mortality and Survival Table (1856)

The Autobiography of Frederick Douglass
                                     Introduction
                                     A General Survey of the Slave Plantation

The Dred Scott Case
                                    Brief Overview
                                    Trial Syllabus
                                      "A Hard Shove..." :  The Impact of Dred Scott"

Frederick Law Olmstead, A Journey in the Seaboard States (1856)
                                       Introduction
                                      A Tobacco Plantation in Virginia
                                    Free-Labor Farm in Virginia
                                       How They  Are Fed

Dred Scott: the media reaction
                        Albany Evening Journal            March 9, 1857
                        Richmond Enquirer                  March 10, 1857
                        Richmond Enquirer                  March 13, 1857
                        South Carolina Mercury           March 17, 1857
                        Southern Enterprise                  March 26, 1857
 

September 30:        The Politics of the 1850s and Harper's Ferry

                     South Carolina Mercury       October 19
                     Albany Evening Journal       October 19
                     Penn. Public Ledger             October 19
                     Albany Evening Journal       October 20
                     Nashville Union                    October 21
                                Boston Daily Evening            October 24
                        Yorkville Enquirer                         October 27
                                Natchez Daily Courier          October 28
                                Raleigh Register                    November 2
                                Albany Evening Journal        December 1
                        Mobile Register                             December 2

                        John Brown's Last Speech to the Court

 

Discussion Questions for September 30

 

October 7:         The Election of 1860
                                Davis' Inaugural Speech
                                Lincoln's New Haven Speech
                               1860 Democratic Party platform
                               1860 Republican Party platform
                               Georgia's Declaration of Secession
                               South Carolina's Declaration of Secession
                                Lincoln's Inaugural Speech

                                Discussion Questions for October 7
 

October 14:        The Nature of Battle
                       Johnson Family Papers:    Letter of December 18,1862
                                                              Letter of December 25, 1862
                                                              Letter of March 10, 1863

                            Letters of David Humphrey Blair:      Letter of February 19, 1864
                                                                                  Letter of February 23, 1864
                                                                                   Letter of April 4, 1864
                                                                                   Letter of June 5, 1864
                                                                                    Letter of September 20, 1864

                            Letters of Major General George Meade to his wife
                                                                                      June 29 to July 21, 1863
 
 

                      "My Dear Josie" letters:    April 1863

                        Discussion Questions for October 14
 
 

October 21:        The Soldiers' War

                            Movie: "Simply Murder"

                            "The Shady Side of the Family Tree:  Civil War Union Court-Martial Files"
                          "Christmas in the Civil War
                           Letters of Edmond Jones
                            Letter of Tally Simpson

                            Discussion Questions for October 21
 

                   *FIRST ASSIGNMENT DUE*

October 28:        Class discussion of   Crane's The Red Badge of Courage

                            For the Crane discussion you should read the text itself and

                            as many of the following articles as  possible: Crews,

                            Wyndham, Stallman, Henderson, and Kaplan
                           Experiences of a Confederate Soldier in Camp and Prison
                            Eyewitness to War

                            Questions for October 28

November 4:        Women and War
                            Women Soldiers of the Civil War
                          Reminiscences of Catherine Hunsecker
                            Reminiscences of Ida Baker
                           Reminiscences of Mary Anne Lipscomb
                             Simpson, America's Civil War, chapter 6

                            Questions for November 4

November 11        Rememberance Day - NO CLASS

November 18:        The Homefront
                               Emancipation Proclamation
                               Alice Williamson Diary
                               Drew Faust, "Alters of Sacrifice"
                                                    Journal of American History (76)1990

                                Questions for November 18

IMPORTANT REMINDER:   Students who are scheduled to give presentations on the 25th must distribute their handouts to the class by this class.   Please see the presentation information.


November 25:        Student presentations.  Students presenting on December 2 must distribute their handouts by this class.

December 2:        Student presentations
                          *FINAL ESSAY DUE*
 


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