HIST 4317 101: Am Rev/Early Nat Era 1763-1815

I.Course Description

            The Democratic Republic that we have in contemporary America was in no way a foregone conclusion in 1760s and 1770s.  Colonists did then just as we do today, they made logical choices according to the circumstances that they were in and hoped for the best.  In fact, the majority of Americans were not pushing for independence even after open fighting had broken out.  This class will follow the odyssey of the American Revolution from the Seven Years War through the formation of the new Republic.  We will examine the seminal events and people that shaped the Revolution.  (Yes we will get into some of the battles and tell some cool stories).  However, we will also do more than that.  We will examine colonial society in the 1760s including economy, politics, gender, slavery, and race.   Then we will examine the evolution of that society and how all of these factors contributed and morphed during this cataclysm.  The class has four essential eras: 1763-1775, 1775-1783, 1783-1800, and 1800-1815.

            In examining the first era, we will be looking at the physical, intellectual and social development of the colonies. As part of this, we will examine the roots of separation between England and her colonies. We will examine the byproducts of the French and Indian War, the interpretation of the war, as well as British policy change after the war.  Because of the exigencies of the era, Britain moved away from a policy of salutary neglect towards a more active involvement in colonial rule. Americans opposed these changes in increasingly belligerent terms while continuing to believe themselves loyal servants of the king and country.

            After hostilities erupted on the road from Boston to Concord, a grand sifting of the American populace occurred. A small minority were either rabid Patriots or Loyalists with a large majority somewhere in the middle. As the fighting continued, more and more people leaned towards independence.  The course of the war started small until gradually expanding to include most of the Western world.  In reality, a war that began with Americans fighting for increased voice, evolved into an independence struggle, and ended in a war where the American theater of fighting became secondary.

            With the Treaty of Paris, Americans were given the opportunity to see if their hastily created government under the Articles of Confederation would function in the practical world as well as it did theoretically.  Americans found that the weak central government that they had created did not fulfill the obligations that they wanted out of the government.  While still wary of a strong central government, and extremely cautious about too much power being vested in one office or governing body, Americans scrapped their original government and created a new government with sufficient provisions to allow the government to grow and evolve through time as needed. Under the guidance of George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, and John Adams, the Federal government expanded its power.

            The function of this new government allowed for multiple interpretations of the proper size and how the government should be run.  With the election of the Democratic Republicans in the 1800s, Jefferson felt called to retrench the American government in many aspects while grudgingly accepting the fact that several Federalist initiatives were bearing abundant fruit.  With Jefferson and his good friend James Madison at the helm, America placed itself squarely back on the path toward confrontation with England leading to America’s second revolutionary war, or the War of 1812.

            I hope that students will take several things out of this class.  Students will come to understand that America at the onset of the Revolution was a deeply divided society.  Not only were the British Colonies divided geographically, they were divided ideologically.  As the revolution progressed, even revolutionaries disagreed on the best course of action.  Should the colonies declare independence, or should they defy parliament while trying to stay loyal to the king?  Who should be able to enjoy these new rights?  What should be done about slavery?  What form of government would be best?  How does one best protect these liberties? These questions had to be answered and some of our best known revolutionaries did not agree with the way that the revolution eventually went.  I also hope to mortalize revolutionary figures to enable us to understand why they did what they did, and how we can learn to be better because of them.

Expectations

            For most students beginning this class I expect that their only experience with the topic will have come from HIST 1301.  I also expect them to know what it takes to succeed in an upper division college class.  Critical analysis is a vital component of this course and as such I expect students to come to class having critically read the weekly reading assignment and formulated questions for class discussion.  Analytic writing also makes up a vital part of the course.   This class is for serious students of history.  I have designed the course to be particularly useful to history and history teaching majors; however, upperclassmen with a keen interest in the topic should also find the class interesting and fun. The assignments and discussions will teach students both about history and the work of historians including delving into historiographical arguments. In this class you will learn what it is like to become part of the historical community and as such I will expect you to be respectful and professional in class.

TAMIU Honor Code:  Plagiarism and Cheating

The university is committed to strict enforcement of the Honor Code. Students should conduct themselves ethically in all activities, in and out of the classroom. Ethical behavior also includes reporting violations of the Honor Code to the appropriate office. Please read the Student Handbook to review the university’s Honor Code.

There are several violations of the Honor Code that involve plagiarism and cheating.

1. Plagiarism: The act of passing off some other person’s ideas, words, or works as one’s own. It includes, but is not limited to, the appropriating, buying, receiving as a “gift,” or obtaining, by any other means, another’s work for submission as one’s own academic work. Examples include, but are not limited to:
   1. Failing to credit sources used in a work product in an attempt to present the work as one’s own.
   2. Intentionally, knowingly, or carelessly presenting the work of another as one’s own (i.e., without crediting the author or creator).
   3. Copying test answers or the words or phrases of another without crediting the author or claim credit for the ideas of another.
   4. Borrowing or lending a term paper, handing in as your own work a paper purchased from an individual or off the Internet, or submitting, as one's own any papers or work product from the files of any group, club, or organization.
   5. Submitting the same paper in more than one class without the permission of the instructor.

Students must provide citations for facts, ideas, and opinions that are not their own. If students are unsure about providing proper documentation, they are encouraged to seek advice from professors or the Academic Center of Excellence (ACE). It is the professor’s prerogative to ask students to submit work to one of TAMIU’s Plagiarism detection tools: Turnitin or Blackboard’s SafeAssign.

Professors must report incidents of plagiarism to the Honor Council. It is the professor’s prerogative and/or discretion, to issue an “F” in the course should he/she discover that a student has committed plagiarism. The professor, however, may elect to give students, particularly freshmen and sophomore students, a “zero” for the assignment if he/she believes that the student plagiarized out of carelessness and not out of an attempt to deceive the professor to earn an unmerited grade. Serious cases of plagiarism, especially those that involve flagrant incidents of plagiarism by graduate or doctoral students, may lead to suspension or expulsion from the university.

1. Cheating: An act of deception in which a student misrepresents that he/she has mastered information related to an academic exercise. Examples include, but are not limited to:
   1. Copying from another student’s test, lab report, computer file, data listing, logs, or any other type of report or academic exercise.
   2. Using unauthorized materials during a test. Consulting a cell phone, text messages, PDAs, programmable calculators with materials that give an advantage over other students during an exam.
   3. Using crib sheets or other hidden notes in an examination or looking at another student's test paper to copy strategies or answers.
   4. Having another person supply questions or answers from an examination to be given or in progress.
   5. Having a person other than oneself (registered for the class) attempt to take or take an examination or any other graded activity. In these cases, all consenting parties to the attempt to gain unfair advantage may be charged with an Honor Pledge violation.
   6. Deliberately falsifying laboratory results, or submission of samples or findings not legitimately derived in the situation and by the procedures prescribed or allowable.
   7. Revising and resubmitting a quiz or exam for regrading, without the instructor's knowledge and consent.
   8. Giving or receiving unauthorized aid on a take-home examination.
   9. Facilitating academic violation: intentionally or knowingly helping or attempting to help another to violate the Honor Pledge.
   10. Signing in another student's name on attendance sheets, rosters, Scantrons.
   11. Submitting in a paper, thesis, lab report, or other academic exercise falsified, invented, or fictitious data or evidence, or deliberate or knowingly concealing or distorting the true nature, origin, or function of such data or evidence.
   12. Procuring and/or altering without permission from appropriate authority of examinations, papers, lab reports, or other academic exercises, whether discarded or used, and either before or after such materials have been handed in to the appropriate recipient.
   13. Using, buying, selling, stealing, transporting, soliciting, copying or possessing, the contents of an un-administered test, a required assignment or a past test which has, by the professor, not been allowed to be kept by their students.
   14. Using generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools such as ChatGPT. Unless allowed by each professor, students are expected to complete each assignment without assistance from others, including automated writing tools.

For this course you will not be allowed to use AI in writing your assignments. Also please avoid using Grammarly Go that It is important to note that professors may ask students to work in groups. However, if someone in a group commits academic misconduct, the entire group could be held responsible for it as well. Members of groups must clearly document who contributes what parts of the joint project and to know what group members are doing and how they are getting the material they provide. Ignorance is no excuse.

It is also important to be aware of group texts or chats. If another student is attempting to violate the Honor Code, it is your ethical responsibility to report him/her to the Honor Council. Again, membership in a group that attempts or engages in cheating may lead to all members of the group being subject to disciplinary action including suspension or expulsion.

Should professors discover that a student has cheated on an exam or quiz or other class project, the student should receive a “zero” for the assignment and not be allowed to make the assignment up. The incident should be reported to the Honor Council. If the cheating is extensive, however, or if the assignment constitutes a major grade for the course (e.g., a final exam), or if the student has cheated in the past, the student should receive an “F” in the course, and the matter should be referred to the Honor Council. Additional penalties, including suspension or expulsion from the university may be imposed. Under no circumstances should a student who deserves an “F” in the course be allowed to withdraw from the course with a “W.”

Student Right of Appeal:  Students have the right to appeal a faculty member’s charge of academic dishonesty by notifying the TAMIU Honor Council of their intent to appeal as long as the notification of appeal comes within 10 business days of the faculty member’s e-mail message to the student and/or the Office of Student Conduct and Community Engagement. The Student Handbook provides more details.

AI Statement for Dr. Weight’s History Courses

Using generative AI in this course is strictly prohibited and will be referred to the Honor Council as cheating.  This includes ChatGPT.  It also includes grammar checkers that give sentence and paragraph restructuring suggestions (like Grammarly Go, etc.)  This DOES NOT include spelling and grammar checkers on word processing apps or the original versions of Grammarly.  In the writing in this course, I want to see YOUR thoughts, words, ideas, and structure not a computer.

Course Structure

It is critical that you become very familiar with Blackboard, VoiceThread, and Top Hat in order to be successful in this class.  More about navigating through the course will be found in Blackboard.

Minimum Technical Skills Expected

When participating in any course that has essential online components, it is vital to consider the technology involved in order to have a successful course. Students in distance education should have knowledge of basic computer and Internet skills, as mentioned on the Instructional Technology and Distance Education Services’ webpage.

Accommodations/Accessibility Policy

Texas A&M International University seeks to provide reasonable accommodations for all qualified persons with disabilities. This University will adhere to all applicable federal, state, and local laws, regulations and guidelines with respect to providing reasonable accommodations as required to afford equal education opportunity. It is the student's responsibility to register with the Director of Student Counseling and to contact the faculty member in a timely fashion to arrange for suitable accommodations. For more information, contact the online at Office of Disability Services for Students (DSS), or via phone at 956.326.2230, or by visiting the staff at the Senator Judith Zaffirini Student Success Center, room 138. A link to the Disabilities Services for Students site has also been included under the "Resources" tab inside the course.

Student Support Resources

The University wishes to have all students succeed in their courses. To provide support to our students, an array of services in the areas of technology support, academic support, student support, and accessibility support may be found at the University. For more information, visit Instructional Technology and Distance Education Services’ page on University Resources and Support Services.

Student-Instructor Communication Policy and Response Time

Announcements

I will announce in class and post in blackboard using Announcements any communications that need to go to the whole class. 

You will need to make sure that you are staying up with the changes and the additional information that you will be getting going on throughout the semester.  I commit to keep communication lines open, but you need to be attending class in person or online AND you need to keep abreast of the announcements.  I will enable the feature that sends important announcements directly to your email, but please DO NOT rely on this.

Course Messages/Emails

I will try to answer all emails or course messages within two business days.  I prefer that you use Blackboard Course Messages so that I automatically know who you are and what course you are in. If you email me, please make sure that you introduce yourself and put your course number and section.

Assignments and Assessments

In grading your assignments, I try and get them back to you as soon as possible.  Multiple Choice quizzes will be graded right away.  The exams with writing components will be graded within two weeks. The larger writing assignments will be graded within a month of the due date. 

Course Communication Guidelines (Netiquette)

1. I treat my students with common courtesy and ask that they do the same to me and their peers. 
2. Swearing, racial and ethnic epithets, and sexist remarks create a hostile learning environment and will not be tolerated.
3. I do not expect everybody to have the same opinion and we will strive together to create an atmosphere where everyone will feel comfortable expressing varied scholarly opinions without fear of reprisal.
4. Prior to class all students will SILENCE all superfluous external electronic apparatuses (I am talking about iPods and cell phones, not pacemakers!).
5. I will allow you to take notes on laptops or IPads, but not on cell phones, DON’T ABUSE THIS PRIVILEGE!!!!! I don’t want to have to penalize the whole class because some idiot wants to look at porn, Twitter, or Facebook. If you are using your cell phone, laptop, IPad or any other electronic device in an unauthorized way, you will be asked to leave and not come back until the next class period. 
6. Please be in your seats ready to participate on time and stay for the full class period (we are all big boys and girls and should be able to go for a full class period without having to go to the bathroom or get a drink). If you leave the class, don’t expect to come back in during that class period.  I have to have this as a policy because the class is so large. Please do the same at home. We all know that we think, oh I can see what I missed on the recording later so I can leave the room for just a couple of minutes THEN WE NEVER GO BACK AND LOOK AT IT.
7. If you need to have a guest come with you to class, please let me know before class.  (Be warned that if the class is full, I might not be able to allow additional people in because of fire restrictions, and also we will be discussing many different sensitive topics.)
8. If you have an unavoidable conflict that you know will require you to leave class early, please notify me beforehand and sit towards the back of the room.

There are course expectations concerning etiquette or how we should treat each other online. It is vital that we consider these values as we communicate with one another. Visit Instructional Technology and Distance Education Services’ web page on Netiquette for further instruction.

I.Technology Requirements

Computer/Technology Requirements

It is recommended that you meet the technical requirements listed on the Instructional Technology and Distance Education Services’ webpage when using the learning management system (LMS) of the University.

Additional Software. You will need the following additional software: a pdf viewer, MS Word processor, and an internet browser. TAMIU Students may access online versions of this software through their Dusty Office 365 account at https://dusty.tamiu.edu/. This site also provides students access to download the Microsoft suite for educational use. See instructions for downloading the Microsoft Office suite.

TopHat:  Students can get TopHat through Follett Discover with the other class materials.

Note: Students, if you do not own the required hardware, software or do not have access to internet, it will be highly challenging for you to make any progress in this class. However, my goal is to assist you to find solutions and guide you appropriately most of the required materials can either be found free of charge at TAMIU’s library, computer labs, and classrooms.  In addition, you may also purchase any of these items at any electronic store.

Learning Management System (Blackboard)

Students are provided with guides on how to use the Blackboard LMS. Guides may be available at Instructional Technology and Distance Education Services' Student eLearning Tutorial Videos page or by contacting the eLearning team at elearning@tamiu.edu.

Technical Support Services

This webpage covers contact information for Distance Education Services (Blackboard Support), the OIT Help Desk, and E-mail support: Technical Support Services.

• CONTACT CHAIN YOU SHOULD FOLLOW FOR TECHNOLOGY PROBLEMS.
  • Problems with Blackboard—OIT, me.
  • Problems with TopHat—TopHat Support, OIT, me.
  • Problems with Echo360—OIT, me.
  • Problems with access to specific items in the course Blackboard site—me.

Late Work Policy and Extra Credit

If you know that you are going to miss a class, it is imperative that you contact me BEFORE the due date to see what can be done. I will work with you to see if you can get the assignment done before the due date if at all possible. I significantly downgrade unexcused late work. I usually dock one letter grade for every two days that an assignment is late.

If you have to unavoidably miss a test due to illness, injury, or some other catastrophe, you need to let me know BEFORE THE EXAM if possible.  Only those with my express permission will be able to make up the midterm. THERE IS NO MAKEUP FOR THE FINAL.

I also do not assign extra credit assignments as I have found that usually the only ones that do the extra credit assignments are the ones that were doing well in the class anyway. The key to all of this is for you as a student to keep an open line of communication with me. EMAIL OR CALL ME RIGHT AWAY IF THERE IS ANY SORT OF ISSUE THAT PREVENTS YOU FROM ATTENDING CLASS OR SUBMITTING ASSIGNMENTS (ESPECIALLY IF IT IS A TECHNICAL ISSUE) ON TIME.

Syllabus Subject to Change

While information and assurances are provided in this course syllabus, it should be understood that content may change in keeping with new research and literature and that events beyond the control of the instructor could occur. Students will be informed of any substantive occurrences that will produce syllabus changes.

Turnitin Policy

Stuff submitted to Turnitin will be graded and feedback will be given using either the large comment field the audio feedback option in Turnitin or both.

Accessibility and Privacy Statements on Course Technologies

At Texas A&M International University, we believe that all students should have equal technology opportunities in the classroom. These technologies/sites may also require user data, such as the creation of a username and password. In this class, we will utilize Blackboard, Echo360, SoftChalk, VoiceThread, and Turnitin. You may find the accessibility and privacy policies of these technologies on the following pages: Accessibility Statements and Privacy Statements.

Top Hat's privacy statement on our website can be found here: https://tophat.com/legal/privacy/

Top Hat is dedicated to continuously improving our websites, applications and features to create an accessible and inclusive learning environment for as many students as possible. Our products and services are designed based on the internationally recognized Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA and Section 508 standards in the United States.

Top Hat's Accessibility and Inclusion webpage can be found here: https://tophat.com/company/legal/accessibility-top-hat/

Upon successful completion of this course, each student will:

• CO1: Students will understand and articulate the provenance of the growing disagreements between the American Colonies and Great Britain
• CO2: Students will explain the fundamental role of the Seven Years War (French and Indian War) in the development of hostilities between the Americans and British
• CO3: Students will create a written analysis of the role and influence of women and Native Americans during the Revolutionary Era.
• CO5: Demonstrate their analytic skills by reviewing and critiquing other historians.
• CO6: Students will develop their ability to synthesize and analyze the arguments of multiple authors through the creation of a historiographical essay.
• CO7: Students will provide examples showing they understand aspects of American daily life in the Revolutionary Era.

To go to the bookstore, click here.

• Kierner, Cynthia A. Revolutionary America: 1750-1815 Sources and Interpretation. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2003. 9780130898678
  • Revolutionary America is the primary text for the class and I expect all students to read it.  Some exam questions will come directly from the text even if we haven’t discussed them in class.
• The articles also will supplement the things that we do in class.
• Subscription to TopHat (you can get it at the bookstore but it is substantially cheaper if you buy it directly from their website)
  • YOUR TOPHAT COURSE CODE FOR THIS CLASS IS 547531.
  • You will need access to TopHat to answer questions and interact with others.
  • TopHat will also take attendance and record whether you are attending at home or on campus.
• Recordings of the lectures on Blackboard Collaborate, Echo360.
  • These will allow you to review the lectures and take further notes. 
• Additional videos, documents, and resources as assigned specifically by the instructor.
  • These will be used for Document Quizzes, and other assignments in the course. 

Grading Policies

Grade	Value
GRADE	PERCENTAGE
A	90-100
B	80-89.9
C	70-79.9
D	60-69.9
F	Below 60

Participation: I think that busywork is generally for high school, but I will not refrain from assigning it if class members refuse to participate in class discussion.  Class participation will make up 20% of your final grade.  These points will be awarded for participation in class discussion, in class writing assignments, short reaction papers, reading text beforehand, participating in class debates (there will be two or three of these depending on how they go), in class quizzes, the syllabus quiz, and overall readiness for class. In this class, we will be utilizing a program called Top Hat. At the beginning of every class there will be a question posted to get your brains flowing. The question will shut off three minutes after class starts. During class time, I will have questions that will require you to input feedback.  There is a small fee associated with Top Hat that you will have to pay, but it will be good for the rest of your time here at TAMIU.  It will be your responsibility to make sure that you have subscribed to Top Hat and enrolled in my course by the first part of Week 2. There are instructions at the end of the syllabus for enrolling in Top Hat.  Make sure that you get enrolled by the first of week 2. Failure to do so will dramatically affect your PARTICIPATION GRADE. IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO CHECK AND MAKE SURE THAT TOP HAT IS RECORDING YOUR ANSWERS. If there is an issue you need to be proactive in getting it fixed.

Material Culture Assignment:  For this assignment, you will be able to create or bring to the class something of common use during the revolutionary era.  You will present this to the class through random assignment, and we will do these presentations on Friday.  I will give you more information in the paper prompt for the class. It will be 5% of your final grade.

Journal: Starting in Week 2, and going to the last week before finals you will be submitting weekly journal entries.  You will write these entries in the voice of a character of your choosing.  This character will have to be historically accurate and will need to cover at least one topic from the list that I have provided although you are free to choose more than one.  The events that you cover with your character will have to be in chronological order.  In this class the time period that we cover is about sixty years and so you can decide if your entries are going to span that entire time or be much more closely grouped together. You will not need to site your entries, but they HAVE TO BE HISTORICALLY ACCURATE.  I expect each entry to be substantial and to reasonably demonstrate how your character would have thought, felt, and acted.  Do not simply transport yourself back in time, this is not A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court. This will be worth 10% of your final grade.

Book Review: For the review you will be required to choose your own Revolutionary War Topic from the list provided on Blackboard, choose a scholarly book on the subject and get my approval by showing me the book in class before the due date indicated on the course schedule.  I would highly recommend that you choose the same topic as your Historiographical Essay and perhaps something that you cover in your journal in order to economize.   Book reviews will be approximately 1000 words and will comprise 10% of the final grade and will be done in proper CMS format.  The reviews will be due as indicated on the schedule portion of the syllabus.  There is more info about the writing a book review provided at the end of this syllabus.

Historical Website Review: We live in a digital age and as budding historians this provides you with great opportunities, as well as serious pitfalls.  For this assignment you will be doing an academic review of a historical website of your choosing. In many ways this assignment will be similar to the Book Review in that you will be examining content, format, etc.  However, this will add in elements of user interface. This will be due as indicated on the syllabus and will be worth 10% of your final grade. On Blackboard there is a rubric that will help guide you through what is required for this review.  There is also additional information about writing the website review at the end of this syllabus.

Historiographical Essay: Students will write a historiographical essay on a topic taken from the list that I provide OR another topic of the student’s choosing PROVIDED THAT they get the professor’s approval first. Students will write the essay using proper CMS format for footnotes and a reference list.  It will be 7-8 pages minimum, (excluding any front matter (i.e. title page) or reference list) and have proper academic specifications (i.e. 1 in margins, 12-point professional font). I will provide additional info on the Historiographical Essay later in the course but please make sure that you ask me if you have any questions.

Exams: There will be two tests. The midterm will be 15% of the final grade.  It will be divided into three parts, a multiple-choice section, an ID section, and an essay section.  The multiple choice and IDs will be over the stuff that we have discussed in class. The essay will be a question on Linda Kerber’s Women of the Republic. The final will have a comprehensive multiple-choice section, an ID section, and an essay.  For this essay you will be answering an essay question from Anthony Johnson’s Death and Rebirth of the Seneca. The final will be 15% of your final grade.

To understand grades better, become familiar with the following chart.

The final breakdown of your grade will be the accumulation of all earned points and will break down as follows:

To understand grades better, become familiar with the following chart.

Grading Policies

Grade	Value
ASSESSMENT	VALUE
Participation	20%
Material Culture Presentation	5%
Journal	10%
Book Review	10%
Historical Website Review	10%
Historiographical Essay	15%
Midterm Exam	15%
Final Exam	15%
Total	100%