The Westward Movement in American History

History 328

Fall 2002

Kernighan 3124

Dr. Linda Pitelka

Office: ABAC 3210

Office Hours: MW 2:00-4:00; TTh 8:30-10:30 and by appt.

Telephone: (o)529-9621; (h)454-1489 (you are welcome to call me at home between 9AM and 9PM)

Fax: 529-9965

E-mail: Pitelka@maryville.edu

Home Page: http://accweb.itr.maryville.edu/pitelka/

Overview and Course Objectives:

The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the broad contours of the history of the trans-Mississippi, U.S. West, largely from 1850 to the present and to place it within the national, even international context. We will pay particular attention to peoples not usually considered part of the West's "real" history. We will also strive to strengthen students' analytical skills through readings, writings, and discussions.

Readings

John G. Neihardt, Black Elk Speaks (1932)

Mollie Sanford, Mollie

Clyde Milner, III, ed., Major Problems in the History of the American West.

Linda Gordon, The Great Arizona Orphan Abduction.

Worster, Donald. Dust Bowl: The Southern Great Plains in the 1930s.

Mary Lynn Rampolla, A Pocket Guide to Writing in History, Third Edition ISBN 0-312-24766-4

The following required readings can be downloaded from the worldwide web:

The Journals of Lewis and Clark: http://xroads.virginia.edu/~HYPER/JOURNALS/journals.html

Grading:

History 128:

In-Class Participation 10%

Midterm Examination 25%

Final Examination 30%

Writing assignments 15%

Book Review of either Dust Bowl or The Great Arizona Orphan Abduction 20%

History 328:

In-Class Participation 20%

Midterm Examination 20%

Final Examination 20%

Research Project/Paper to be presented to class 40%

You will be required to present your research to the class. Presentations should be no more than 10 minutes long, should introduce students to the interpretive points and to the primary and secondary evidence used to support your interpretation. You will also be graded on the timely submission of topic proposals, bibliographies, and papers

Participation

The class will be divided into reading groups. Reading assignments will be divided among the groups, which will discuss common readings and present them to the rest of the class on designated dates. Upper division students will have special responsibilities for facilitating small group discussions.

Paper/Project (Upper Division 328 Students)

Select a topic on some aspect of the course that interests you (you may wish to read ahead in the course materials to get or sharpen your ideas) and then develop a paper of approximately 12-15 pages of text. We will discuss in class possibilities for other kinds of projects (web pages, for example) that might substitute for the paper. Paper topics must be submitted on time in writing and must be approved by the instructor. The paper/project will be due during the last week of class.

Class Schedule

Tues, Thurs: Aug 27 & 29. Frontier and the Meaning of the West

Read: Major Problems in the History of the American West, chapter 1

Begin reading: Mollie

Tues-Thurs Sept 3 & 5. Spanish Borderlands and Native Homelands

For Discussion – Chapter 2 Documents and Essays.

Continue: Mollie

Tues-Thurs Sept 10-12. Cultural Contacts and Contracts

For discussion read: Major Problems, chapter 3 “Documents” and:

Groups read:

1. Van Kirk, “Native Women in Canadian Fur Trade Society;

2. Flores, “Bison Ecology and Bison Diplomacy on the Southern Plains”

Continue: Mollie

Tues-Thurs Sept 17-19 Federal Support of Explorers and Emigrants

For discussion, read: Major Problems, chapter 4 “Documents.”

Finish and discuss Mollie

All – Read selections from Lewis and Clark Journals - http://xroads.virginia.edu/~HYPER/JOURNALS/journals.html

RESEARCH PAPER TOPICS DUE SEPT. 19 (UPPER DIVISION STUDENTS). Describe paper topic in general terms in one or two paragraphs. This must be word-processed to be turned in. 5% of paper grade – awarded only to those who turn in topics on time.

Tues-Thurs Sept 24-26. The Legacy of Acquisition

For discussion read: Major Problems Chapter 5 “Documents” and Hietala, “The Myths of Manifest Destiny”

Begin reading: Black Elk Speaks

Tues-Thurs Oct 1-3. Cowboys, Outlaws, and Violence

For discussion read: Major Problems Chapter 6 “Documents” and groups read:

1. Dykstra, “The Cattle Towns Adjust to Violence”

2. White, “Outlaw Gangs and Social Bandits”

Continue Black Elk Speaks

Tues-Thurs Oct 8-10. Children, Marriage, and Families

Tuesday, Oct 8 – Midterm Examination

For Discussion Wed, Read: Major Problems chapter 7 “Documents” and West, “Children and the Frontier”

Begin Reading: The Great Arizona Orphan Abduction

Tues-Thurs Oct 15-17. Contested Reforms

For Discussion Wed, Read Major Problems chapter 8 “Documents” and Madsen, “Utah Law and the Plural Wives”

Continue: Black Elk Speaks and The Great Arizona Orphan Abduction

Tues-Thurs Oct 22-24. Railroad and Mining Labor

For Discussion Wed, read Major Problems chapter 9 “Documents” and White, Race, Ethnicity, and Gender in the Northwest Railroad Work Force”

Finish and Discuss Black Elk Speaks

PRELIMINARY BIBLIOGRAPHY DUE OCT 22 (UPPER DIVISION STUDENTS) Bibliographies should include at least ten sources. No more than three should be from the Internet. 10% of paper grade awarded only to those who turn in bibliography on time.

Tues-Thurs Oct 29 & 31. Living on the Land, Leaving the Land

For Discussion Wed, read Major Problems chapter 10 “Documents” and Fite, “A Farm Family Chronicle”

Finish and Discuss The Great Arizona Orphan Abduction

Begin reading: Dust Bowl: The Southern Great Plains in the 1930s.

Tues-Thurs Nov 5 & 7. Dam Water, Damn Dust

For Discussion Wed, read Major Problems chapter 11 “Documents” and Stegner, “Striking the Rock—Water and the Arid West”

Continue reading: Dust Bowl

Tues-Thurs Nov 12 & 14. The Other Western Homefront

For Discussion Wed, read Major Problems chapter 12 “Documents” and Gamboa, “Mexican Laborers in the Pacific Northwest”

Continue reading: Dust Bowl

Tues-Thurs Nov 19 & 21. New Cities, New Lives

For Discussion Wed, read Major Problems chapter 13 “Documents” and Abbott, “The Urban West and the Twenty-First Century”

Discuss: Dust Bowl

FIRST DRAFT OF RESEARCH PAPER IS DUE NOV 19 (UPPER DIVISION STUDENTS) 10% of paper -- grade awarded only to those turning in draft on time.

Tues-Thurs Nov 26 & 28 – Thanksgiving Break

Tues-Thurs Dec. 3 & 5. Owning the West

For Discussion Wed, read Major Problems chapter 14 “Documents” and Cawley, “The Sagebrush Rebellion and Environmental Politics”

Book Reviews due

Tues-Dec 10 Imagining the West

Class presentations of research papers.

Read Major Problems chapter 15 “Documents” and Butler, “Selling the Popular Myth”

Thurs Dec 12: Final Examination.

This syllabus is subject to change at the discretion of the instructor to accommodate instructional and/or student needs

Honesty in the writing of papers

The composition of any paper must be entirely the student's own work. If the exact words of another are used, even to a limited degree, quotation marks must be used and a documentary reference (a note) given. If information or ideas are taken from another work, although not a direct quotation, a student must give credit in the notes as to the source of the information. (I will distribute complete instructions for all this before papers are assigned.) Failure to give such credit is plagiarism, and is equivalent to cheating on an examination. Submission of a paper that is copied from another work or written by someone other than the student, or which contains fictitious notes, will be cause for failure in the course.

PAPERS WITHOUT BIBLIOGRAPHIES AND SOURCE CITATIONS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.

IMPORTANT: STUDENTS MUST KEEP THEIR NOTES AND SUBSEQUENT DRAFTS OF PAPERS UNTIL THE PAPER HAS BEEN RETURNED WITH A FINAL GRADE. I MAY ASK TO SEE YOUR NOTES AND OTHER WORK IF I HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT YOUR SOURCES.

Websites:

Buffalo Soldiers: http://www.buffalosoldiers.net/

The Evolution of the Conservation Movement, 1850-1920. A stunning archive of information from the Library of Congress.

http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/amrvhtml/conshome.html

The Great American Gold Rush. Background information and resources on the California gold rush. http://pwa.acusd.edu/~jross/goldrush.html

Lewis and Clark on the Information Superhighway.

A comprehensive guide to internet resources on the two explorers

www.vpds.wsu.edu/WAHistCult/Journals/index.html

Mormon History Resource Page. Background information and internet resources. www.indirect.com/www/crockett/history.html

Mountain Men and the Fur Trade. An online library and research center.

www.xmission.com/~drudy/amm.html

The Multicultural West; Background and resources.

http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~amerstu/mw/

The Oregon Trail; Web site developed for the PBS mini-series.

www.isu.edu/~trinmich/Oregontrail.html

Sod Houses: http://websteader.com/wbstdsd1.htm

NATIVE AMERICANS OF THE WEST

The History of the Cherokee

http://www.dickshovel.com/Cherokee1.html

http://www.dickshovel.com/Cherokee2.html

Indians of North America

An internet resource catalog.

www.csulb.edu/gc/libarts/am-indian/index.html#north

NativeWeb: www.nativeweb.org/

Native American Home Pages

A resource catalog to tribes on the internet.

http://www.pitt.edu/%7Elmitten/indians.html#nations

WESTERN STATES AND REGIONS

The Kansas Collection -- An online library and research center.

http://www.ukans.edu/carrie/kancoll/

Kansas Territory: Crucible of American Experience

Background and resources on the many facets of Kansas history.

http://xroads.virginia.edu/~HYPER/HNS/Kansas/Kansas.html

The Oregon Trail: http://www.isu.edu/~trinmich/Oregontrail.html

Southwestern Studies - An internet resource catalog.

www.smu.edu/~cul/southwest_all.html

Center for Studies in Texas History -- Background information and resources from the Texas State Historical Association

www.dla.utexas.edu/texhist/index.html

California History: http://www.calhist.org/Support_Info/history.html

GENERAL RESOURCES

American Studies Web: Comprehensive guide to resources available online.

www.georgetown.edu/crossroads/asw/

The American West: Background and resources.

www.AmericanWest.com/

Catherine Lavender’s WestWeb: http://www.library.csi.cuny.edu/westweb/

The American West: New Western History: http://www.academicinfo.net/westnew.html

Academic Info: The American West: http://www.academicinfo.net/amwest.html

History of the American West: http://www.hist.umn.edu/~erikalee/westhist.html

ARCHIVAL IMAGES OF THE WEST

California Views: http://www.caviews.com/

California Heritage Collection from the Bancroft Library: http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/calheritage/

The Illustrating Traveler: Adventure and Illustration in North America and the Caribbean, 1760-1895 -- An online exhibit of artistic encounters with Native cultures from the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University.

www.library.yale.edu:80/beinecke/illus.htm

Photographs of the American West, 1861-1912 - A breathtaking collection from the National Archives.

http://www.nara.gov/nara/nn/nns/amwest.html

The Photography Collection – Denver Public Library: http://www.hist.umn.edu/~erikalee/westhist.html