Joseph Brant by Gilbert Stuart, London, 1786
Welcome! I hope you all had an enjoyable winter break. I wanted to let you know about a few items before we meet on Tuesday, January 31, at 8:00 am in Whitehead 517.
1) Please download a PDF of the course syllabus here and review it before the first class. We will go over it together, but it would be good to look it over beforehand.
2) There are three books required for this class, which will be available at the Brooklyn College bookstore shortly (you can also click on each title to be taken to the Amazon page for each):
- Brinkley, Alan. The Unfinished Nation: A Concise History of the American People, Volume I: To 1877, Sixth Edition. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2010.
- Douglass, Frederick and David W. Blight, ed. Narrative of the Life Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, Written by Himself, with Related Documents, Second Edition. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2003.
- Wallace, Anthony F.C. The Long, Bitter Trail. New York: Hill & Wang, 1993.
3) Lastly, you also have a very brief assignment for the first class. (No worries–it doesn’t require any reading!) Using the “Leave a Comment” function above, name one issue, theme, or event in American history (up through the Civil War) that you hope to learn more about in this course. Explain why you find this issue/theme/event important, troublesome, or hard to understand. Everyone in the course is required to provide an answer of at least a paragraph. Ideally, you should follow the guidelines for posting on the course website which you find here, or on pages three and four of the syllabus.
AMERICA TO 1877 
It seems that decades ago, during my elementary and secondary education, all American history was boiled down to a handful of essential points: the Revolutionary War, The Industrial Revolution, The Civil War, WWI, WWII, Civil Rights, and The Vietnam War. The precarious position of the United States presently has brought two big issues to the forefront of political discourse: The Federal Reserve, the detention of Americans deemed “threats by the government, and Corporate Personhood.
I would be pleased if we had some in-depth study on the creation of the Bank of North America, and the First, and Second Banks of the United States. The Whiskey Rebellion was a significant reaction from the people of Pennsylvania, but what was the response elsewhere? What were the arguments for and against? Why was Andrew Jackson, who campaigned on a platform that opposed renewing the charter, so wildly popular?
Given current controversies that have erupted over the passing of the NDAA, I would be interested in better understanding the Alien and Sedition Act and who, if anyone, was actually jailed. It along with the put down of the Whiskey Rebellion seem to be antithetical to the promises of the new nation.
It would be of great interest to me to understand the court cases that led to the affirmation of corporate personhood. Was there ever a reasonable use for it that actually served the general population or was it a giveaway to big business? I support the abolishment of corporate personhood and anything I can learn about it will make my arguments stronger.
Finally, I’d love to hear your opinion on why Washington and Jefferson were worthy of monuments on the National Mall, but not Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, or James Madison. Perhaps we can touch on Aaron Burr and his plan to lead a new country west of the Appalachians.
Clearly, I’m excited about this class. My expectations are high. I’m on board for anything that widens and deepens my understanding of this period of American History.
I look forward to meeting you.
Best,
Robert Cammiso
I am most interested in the presidential decisions of Andrew Jackson, and other factors as well, that led to the financial crisis of 1837. Another point of interest for me is westward expansion, and American-Native American relations.
I would like to learn more about the interactions between the Native American and the colonists. I find this important because the relationship between the Native Americans and colonists set the foundations of the colonies and the growth of the colonies. The Native Americans were the ones that helped colonists learn how to survive in this new world for the colonists. I would like to learn in what ways did they help the colonists and if the colonists ever appreciated the help of the Native Americans, besides the event of Thanksgiving.
I would like learn more about the Civil War but from the Southern perspective in the sense how it affected them specifically instead of the nation as a whole.
In this course I would like to discover that the American nation was not founded by bigots and rooted in conquest. The current state of this nation assures me that terrible mistakes were made when the “story” first began and those mistakes have yet to be identified and or rectified. I am almost hoping that this course will help me along a path of self acceptance. One in which I will no longer claim the birth land of my parents because I’ll be so proud to claim my own.
I would like to know more about the real reasons why the Native Americans were killed. It sounds immoral to just kill off a population and it doesn’t make sense that the Europeans brought diseases that killed the Native Americans yet they remained alive. This tragedy and other tragedies alike have repeated themselves throughout many cultures and I would like to know your perspective on the future of contemporary America. I know this is not a class that deals with modern society but it would be nice to know about events from the civil war time period that are currently repeating themselves and why.
I would like to learn more about how America was formed. I want to know what kind of influence men like Benjamin Franklin had on the foundation of America, and why some refer to America as a “Christian nation”, when it is not. I would also like to learn about Native American society. For a people that have been on this land before and opposed no threat, why were they considered an enemy and killed? One of the reasons why I feel these issues are important is because I think certain beliefs based in honesty and reason that represent what America is have been lost or completely changed at some point by the bigotry of society; by prominent members in society who have lots of power.
I enrolled in this course to gauge my interest in pursuing a career in the historical field. I’m currently a political science major, but this being my second college experience, I thought it necessary to explore all avenues before setting my professional course.
America’s history and its effect on today’s realities have long interested me, and the more I learn about our country’s past, the greater understanding I have for its present. Via this course, I seek a better understanding of the woes which currently plague our country; namely, racial prejudice, income inequality, and the American superiority complex. By studying the origins of these problems, I hope to draw out some insightful solutions to aid our somewhat beleaguered society.
Specifically, I am interested in the broken treaties between the colonists and Native Americans; the hypocrisy of the founding fathers regarding liberty and slavery; the controversial character of Andrew Jackson and his “defeat” of the federal banking system; the political and social evolution leading to the Civil War; and reconstruction without Lincoln. Specific historical figures which interest me are Benjamin Franklin, Marquis de Lafayette, Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson, Jefferson Davis, Fredrick Douglass, and William Tecumseh Sherman.
I would like to learn more about the history of American Corporations.
How the Corporations gained their power through personhood and how
this has affected the American financial and political structure in the
years following. Also I would like to look into the American expansion to
the west especially territories that originally belonged to Mexico;The
southwest. The topic of immigration had been at front of politics for a
while now. I just want to see how these lands were transferred over to
this nation, was it stolen or purchased?
I am looking foward to learning more about the slavery trade which led to a greater conflict in the U.S history. Many times slavery is briefly mentioned when discussing the formation of the U.S. and it did make a huge impact on the nation that it is today. Certain themes that are interesting to cover upon is the life experienced by slaves, the force of the Union state to legalize the abolition of slavery, and struggle of slaves to become citizens. Slavery is a major topic in the American history, therefore it would benefit all if we looked at it in greater perspective.
During this course, I would like to learn more about the relations between the Native Americans and the desire of the Americans to expand West. The most intriguing factor that I would like to understand in that period is the difference between Andrew Jackson the general and his authority as a president. Another factor worth discussing are the conflicts between different states that caused many alterations to the view of slavery and thus expanded to the Civil War.
I am looking forward to learning more about the “founding fathers” and their ideas about how the United States should be run. I’d like to know more about the building of our nation from the view of its founders and it’s affected the Native Americans.The tensions that build in between the north and south that lead to the civil war are things that also interest me.
Often History is learned simply by regurgitating important figures and important dates. I fine this to one of many reason why people are often turned away from the idea of History. American History has always been an interest to me because our history as a country is dense compared to countries such as France and Great Britain but our story of our country through individuals sharing accurate accounts is deep. I always find it more interesting to be able to explore a primary and secondary source and juxtapose these sources with the known facts of that time. In this course I want to learn to sharpen and fully develop my critical analysis of history through primary and secondary sources. As far as topics that I am interested in pertaining to the course would be Reconstruction and how policies implemented during this era have a tremendous effect still today with rural communities in the South.
I would like to learn ore about the overlooked tensions and conflicts that helped to shap our nation. Things like the whisky rebellion and shays rebellion these played a role in our history but are often over looked
The topic that I would like to learn about in this course is early American inventors like Eli. Whitney. I feel that these people were a huge part in early American society.
I would like to learn more about Andrew Jackson’s policies with the Western Expansion.
I would like to learn about the politics during the era of Andrew Jackson and what made it acceptable for the American government to exterminate a whole group of people and think its an alright thing to do. I would also like to learn more about the era during slavery and what made the citizens of America think its ok to have slavery as a matter of fact its beneficial to the country and to the slaves themselves. I also am very interested in the American corporation and the greed it started in this country to make money the power of everything.
*I was actually hoping to possibly learn about some uplifting topics, like, say, Doc Holliday. Personally, I find history itself dry. However, I find individuals endlessly fascinating. Going to a website for a quick bio on Doc, I clicked through 15 pages of notes on his dealings, including Tomb Stone and how he related to people at the time. I think learning a bit more about the founding fathers could be interesting as well.
Some topics though, (slavery, the trail of tears mainly) aren’t so high on my list of things to learn. I’m always up for a spirited back and forth, but I imagine tempers flaring and feelings being hurt. Not my own, of course. Still. And it’s like discussing religion or politics, but most wouldn’t change what they think about you based on who you back for president. An out of context comment can, however, change minds. I warn that any one sentence from me will be misconstrued. Allow at least 3 sentences before passing judgment.
I would like to learn more about the Confederacy and the events leading up to the Civil War from a Southern perspective. Lincoln was a strongly emphasized during the war but Jefferson Davis and his policies during the war seems to be neglected in comparison.
I would like to learn about Americas racial nationalism, where it originated from and why it persisted and was practiced more than the civic nationalism. Having learned about Teddy Roosevelt and his ideology, I’m curious to know where his ideas stemmed from as well as why a whole nation followed him. I also want to know more about how Americans used religion for power and what religion was dominant.