YOU MUST BRING A NEW BLUE BOOK TO THIS EXAM.
EXAM DATE: 2/5, next friday
I. TERMS: 6 Terms—you choose and write about five. EACH TERM SHOULD INCLUDE A FULL PARAGRAPH EXPLAINING WHAT THE TERM IS AND WHEN IT HAPPENED. YOUR ANSWER MUST ALSO INCLUDE A SECTION SAYING WHY THE TERM IS IMPORTANT, WHY IT IS SIGNIFICANT!
Wade-Davis Bill
Johnson’s Restoration
Tenure of Office Act
14th Amendment
Freedmen’s Bureau
Social Darwinism
Jane Addams
Sherman Anti-Trust Act
Pure Food and Drug Act
Yellow Journalism
USS Maine
Triangle Shirtwaist Factory
Zimmerman Telegram
Edward Bernays
Sheppard-Towner Act
Carrie Nation
18th Amendment
Volstead Act
19th Amendment
II. ESSAY: Two essay questions—you choose and write one. I WILL WRITE THE QUESTIONS FROM THESE LARGER CATEGORIES. YOU WILL HAVE TWO TO CHOOSE FROM AND WILL WRITE ONE.
The essay questions will come from one or two of the following themes:
1. Reconstruction: Think about the challenges of reconstructing the war-torn nation, how various groups tried to solve those problems, and which plan eventually went into effect.
2. Progressivism: Think about the many movements involved and how successful they each were in improving the world.
3. The 1920s: Think about the “progress” or “decline” model that we discussed in class.
4. Foreign Policy: Think about how the U.S. uses its power around the world.
HOW TO SUCCEED ON THIS TEST: Start early. We know that cramming can work, but it’s never as good as actual disciplined study. Make outlines for each theme. Make sure that your outlines have far more information than you could ever remember. Avoid the big general statements. Instead, add detail to your outline. Then, use those outlines to study; try to rewrite the outline without looking; say the outline out loud in front of a mirror; use the outline to impress your friends at work or at parties; come to office hours and let me see the outline.
The one comment I write more than any other on midterms is “add more detail.” So, learn some details to back up your understanding of the periods we have studied. I want you to do well!
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Monday, January 25, 2010
Prohibition and the Crazy 1920s
I. Prohibition Law:
A. 18th Amendment
(prohibiting manufacture, sale, transport)
B. Volstead Act
(making the 18th a “bone dry” amendment)
C. "Five and Ten Law"
(1929, 5 year, $10,000 penalty)
III. Prohibition Failure:
Why Not More of a Success?
A. Minimal Enforcement:
B. Unrealistic Expectations:
C. Corruption:
D. Policy without Authority:
III. Repeal:
A. 21st Amendment (Dec. 5, 1933)
B. The Constitution and Federal Intervention
IV. Progress and Decline in the 1920s:
A. 20s as Decade of Cultural/Economic Flowering:
1. Consumerism:
Lowest 40%=$725
190-housing
110-clothing
290-food
=135 left
Edward Bernays=father of modern pr
2. Movies:
3. Harlem Renaissance
4. “Lost Generation” =Great Literature
5. The “New Woman”
B. 1920s as a Decade of Ignorance, Cultural Decay
1. Influenza
2. Urban Racial Unrest: Chicago, 1919
…48 recorded lynchings in 1917
…78 recorded lynchings in 1919
3. Nativism:
a. National Origins Act of 1924
b. Sacco and Vanzetti
4. The KKK
5. Scopes Monkey Trial
VII. Significance:
A. 18th Amendment
(prohibiting manufacture, sale, transport)
B. Volstead Act
(making the 18th a “bone dry” amendment)
C. "Five and Ten Law"
(1929, 5 year, $10,000 penalty)
III. Prohibition Failure:
Why Not More of a Success?
A. Minimal Enforcement:
B. Unrealistic Expectations:
C. Corruption:
D. Policy without Authority:
III. Repeal:
A. 21st Amendment (Dec. 5, 1933)
B. The Constitution and Federal Intervention
IV. Progress and Decline in the 1920s:
A. 20s as Decade of Cultural/Economic Flowering:
1. Consumerism:
Lowest 40%=$725
190-housing
110-clothing
290-food
=135 left
Edward Bernays=father of modern pr
2. Movies:
3. Harlem Renaissance
4. “Lost Generation” =Great Literature
5. The “New Woman”
B. 1920s as a Decade of Ignorance, Cultural Decay
1. Influenza
2. Urban Racial Unrest: Chicago, 1919
…48 recorded lynchings in 1917
…78 recorded lynchings in 1919
3. Nativism:
a. National Origins Act of 1924
b. Sacco and Vanzetti
4. The KKK
5. Scopes Monkey Trial
VII. Significance:
Friday, January 22, 2010
Studs Terkel Reading Guide
History 232 Studs Terkel Reading Guide: THE BOOK IS DUE TO BE READ ON FEB. 17
The Good War is an incredible book. You are going to love it! You may become so entranced by the stories herein that you feel compelled to read every page. Here’s how to read it for this class:
1. Read the Introduction;
2. Read the whole section called "A Sunday Morning;"
3. For every chapter/section thereafter, Read one story
A Chance Encounter ____________
Tales of the Pacific ____________
The Good Reuben James ____________
Rosie ____________
Neighborhood Boys ____________
Reflections on Machismo ____________
High Rank ____________
The Bombers and the Bombed ____________
Growing Up: Here and There ____________
D-Day and All That ____________
Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy ____________
Sudden Money ____________
The Big Panjandrum ____________
Flying High ____________
Up Front with Pen, Camera, and Mike __________
Crime and Punishment ____________
A Turning Point ____________
Chilly Winds ____________
Is You Is or Is you Aint my Baby ____________
Remembrance of Things Past ____________
4. Read the Epilogue
The Good War is an incredible book. You are going to love it! You may become so entranced by the stories herein that you feel compelled to read every page. Here’s how to read it for this class:
1. Read the Introduction;
2. Read the whole section called "A Sunday Morning;"
3. For every chapter/section thereafter, Read one story
A Chance Encounter ____________
Tales of the Pacific ____________
The Good Reuben James ____________
Rosie ____________
Neighborhood Boys ____________
Reflections on Machismo ____________
High Rank ____________
The Bombers and the Bombed ____________
Growing Up: Here and There ____________
D-Day and All That ____________
Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy ____________
Sudden Money ____________
The Big Panjandrum ____________
Flying High ____________
Up Front with Pen, Camera, and Mike __________
Crime and Punishment ____________
A Turning Point ____________
Chilly Winds ____________
Is You Is or Is you Aint my Baby ____________
Remembrance of Things Past ____________
4. Read the Epilogue
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
More on Hyphenated Americanism
The caption says, "Why should I let these freaks cast whole ballots when they are only half Americans?"
Friday, January 15, 2010
The Progressive Era
ARE THESE 2 QUOTES CONTRADICTORY?
Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore, Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me: I lift my lamp beside the golden door.
Emma Lazarus, "The New Colossus"
There is no room in this country for hyphenated Americanism...The one absolutely certain way of bringing the nation to ruin, of preventing all possibility of its continuing to be a nation at all, would be to permit it to become a tangle of squabbling nationalities.
Theodore Roosevelt, 1915
The Progressive Era:
I. Origins
Hull House—1889
Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Starr
http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/10870.html
II. A New Mindset:
Progressivism Defined:
Progressivism was a series of movements designed to combat the ills of industrialism. Some progressives also wanted to control the behavior of the working classes.
Stanley Schultz, Univ. of Wisconsin:
· Government should be more active
· Social problems are susceptible to government legislation and action
· Throw money at the problem
· The world is “perfectible”
III. Progressive Movements:
A. Anti-Trust
Sherman Anti-Trust Act of 1890
“Every contract, combination in the form of trust or otherwise, or conspiracy, in restraint of trade or commerce among the several States, or with foreign nations, is declared to be illegal.”
B. Anti-Lynching (Ida B. Wells-Barnett)
C. Good Government Movement
--17th Amendment=direct election of senators
--referendums and recalls
D. Consumer Protection: The Jungle
Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906
IV. Progressivism in Practice:
TRIANGLE SHIRTWAIST FIRE OF 1911
A. The ILGWU Strike:
B. Fire on the Factory Floor
C. Reporters and the Visibility of Triangle
1. "Love Affair in Mid-Air"
2. Mortillalo and Zito
D. The Public Response
V. Progressivism in Practice Elsewhere:
As a Progressive, you believe that you have the correct way to live and that through the proper use of government you can help other live that way. What are the boundaries, the frontiers of your belief? In other words, how far are you willing to go with this belief?
Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore, Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me: I lift my lamp beside the golden door.
Emma Lazarus, "The New Colossus"
There is no room in this country for hyphenated Americanism...The one absolutely certain way of bringing the nation to ruin, of preventing all possibility of its continuing to be a nation at all, would be to permit it to become a tangle of squabbling nationalities.
Theodore Roosevelt, 1915
The Progressive Era:
I. Origins
Hull House—1889
Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Starr
http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/10870.html
II. A New Mindset:
Progressivism Defined:
Progressivism was a series of movements designed to combat the ills of industrialism. Some progressives also wanted to control the behavior of the working classes.
Stanley Schultz, Univ. of Wisconsin:
· Government should be more active
· Social problems are susceptible to government legislation and action
· Throw money at the problem
· The world is “perfectible”
III. Progressive Movements:
A. Anti-Trust
Sherman Anti-Trust Act of 1890
“Every contract, combination in the form of trust or otherwise, or conspiracy, in restraint of trade or commerce among the several States, or with foreign nations, is declared to be illegal.”
B. Anti-Lynching (Ida B. Wells-Barnett)
C. Good Government Movement
--17th Amendment=direct election of senators
--referendums and recalls
D. Consumer Protection: The Jungle
Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906
IV. Progressivism in Practice:
TRIANGLE SHIRTWAIST FIRE OF 1911
A. The ILGWU Strike:
B. Fire on the Factory Floor
C. Reporters and the Visibility of Triangle
1. "Love Affair in Mid-Air"
2. Mortillalo and Zito
D. The Public Response
V. Progressivism in Practice Elsewhere:
As a Progressive, you believe that you have the correct way to live and that through the proper use of government you can help other live that way. What are the boundaries, the frontiers of your belief? In other words, how far are you willing to go with this belief?
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Progressivism Abroad
Progressivism Abroad
I. Why the Outward Look?
A. Peer Pressure
B. Foreign Policy Community
C. Capitalism
D. "Yellow" Journalism
E. Racism
II. Anti-Imperialists:
III. Hawaii (Liliuokalani)
IV. Spanish-American War:
A. Cuban Revolution
B. The Maine
C. The War with Spain
D. The Outcome
V. The Great War:
“He Kept us Out of War”
“The War to End All Wars”
I. Why the Outward Look?
A. Peer Pressure
B. Foreign Policy Community
C. Capitalism
D. "Yellow" Journalism
E. Racism
II. Anti-Imperialists:
III. Hawaii (Liliuokalani)
IV. Spanish-American War:
A. Cuban Revolution
B. The Maine
C. The War with Spain
D. The Outcome
V. The Great War:
“He Kept us Out of War”
“The War to End All Wars”
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Industrialism
I. Why was there such vast growth so rapidly in the U.S.?
1. War: Why would war encourage industrial growth?
Example #1: Morrill Act (1862)
Example #2: Railroads:
1860: 30,000 miles of r.r.
1864: Congress grants 131 million acres
1910: 240,000 miles of railway
2. Resources: land, raw materials, people,
ideas=booooooom!
1864: 872,000 tons of iron and steel
1919: more than 24 million tons
1860: 20 million tons of coal
1910: 500 million tons of coal
1860: 500,000 barrels of petroleum
1910: 209 million barrels of petroleum
3. Integration:
a. Horizontal Integration:
--monopolize one part of the productive process
Example: meatpacking plants
b. Vertical Integration:
--monopolize all elements of productive process
Example: Andrew Carnegie: mining iron ore, own blast furnaces (factories), own shops, own ships, own railroad and rail lines
4. Mindset:
a. Small Government is Best:
Laissez faire: “let it do”
Adam Smith, Wealth of Nations (1776)
b. Aggressive Business Mentality:
The Robber Barons
Andrew Carnegie—FRIDAY
J.P. Morgan
Jay Gould: “Mephistopheles of Wall Street”
Cornelius Van Derbilt:
Gentlemen:
You have undertaken to cheat me. I will not sue you, for law takes too long. I will ruin you.
Sincerely,
CVD
c. Justifying the New World:
How do you justify the world when fabulous wealth and wretched poverty exist so closely together?
1. War: Why would war encourage industrial growth?
Example #1: Morrill Act (1862)
Example #2: Railroads:
1860: 30,000 miles of r.r.
1864: Congress grants 131 million acres
1910: 240,000 miles of railway
2. Resources: land, raw materials, people,
ideas=booooooom!
1864: 872,000 tons of iron and steel
1919: more than 24 million tons
1860: 20 million tons of coal
1910: 500 million tons of coal
1860: 500,000 barrels of petroleum
1910: 209 million barrels of petroleum
3. Integration:
a. Horizontal Integration:
--monopolize one part of the productive process
Example: meatpacking plants
b. Vertical Integration:
--monopolize all elements of productive process
Example: Andrew Carnegie: mining iron ore, own blast furnaces (factories), own shops, own ships, own railroad and rail lines
4. Mindset:
a. Small Government is Best:
Laissez faire: “let it do”
Adam Smith, Wealth of Nations (1776)
b. Aggressive Business Mentality:
The Robber Barons
Andrew Carnegie—FRIDAY
J.P. Morgan
Jay Gould: “Mephistopheles of Wall Street”
Cornelius Van Derbilt:
Gentlemen:
You have undertaken to cheat me. I will not sue you, for law takes too long. I will ruin you.
Sincerely,
CVD
c. Justifying the New World:
How do you justify the world when fabulous wealth and wretched poverty exist so closely together?
Monday, January 11, 2010
Strenuous Life
http://www.bartleby.com/58/1.html
This is our first reading. The reading guide is very simple: what does TR mean by living the strenuopus life? Why does he consider this vital? How is the idea applicable to today's world?
This is our first reading. The reading guide is very simple: what does TR mean by living the strenuopus life? Why does he consider this vital? How is the idea applicable to today's world?
Race Relations before 1900
1. "How can we ask more of the States formerly in rebellion than that they should be abreast of New England in granting rights and privileges to the colored race?"
2. "The humblest black rides with the proudest white on terms of perfect equality, and without the smallest symptom of malice or dislike on either side. I was, I confess, surprised to see how completely this is the case; even an English radical is a little taken aback at first."
3. "The Negroes are freely admitted to the theatre in Columbia and to other exhibitions, lectures, etc, though the whites avoided sitting with them if the hall be not crowded."
4. "In Columbia they are served at the bars, soda water fountains, and ice-cream saloons, though they were not accepted at hotels and other accommodations."
5. Charleston editor, "We care nothing whatever about Northern or outside opinion in this matter. Our opinion is that we have no more need for a Jim Crow system this year than we had last year, and a great deal less than we had twenty and thirty years ago."
6. "Jim Crow laws would be a needless affront to our respectable and well behaved colored people."
7. VA, 1886, "Nobody here objects to sitting in political conventions with Negroes. Nobody here objects to serving on juries with Negroes. No lawyer objects to practicing law in court where Negro lawyers practice…Colored men are allowed to introduce bills into the Virginia legislature, and in both branches of this body Negroes are allowed to sit, as they have a right to sit."
8. "Occasionally the Negro met no segregation when he entered restaurants, bars, waiting rooms, theatres, and other public places of amusement."
9. 1885, "In Virginia they may ride exactly as white people do and in the same cars"
10. 1885, traveled from Boston to South Carolina, once there, "I put a chip on my shoulder, and inwardly dares any man to knock it off…bold as a lion I took a seat at a table with white people, and I was courteously served. The whites at the table appeared not to note my presence. Thus far I had found travelling more pleasant than in some parts of New England."
11. Same guy, "Negroes dine with whites in a railroad saloon
Taken from C. Vann Woodward's The Strange Career of Jim Crow (1955)
2. "The humblest black rides with the proudest white on terms of perfect equality, and without the smallest symptom of malice or dislike on either side. I was, I confess, surprised to see how completely this is the case; even an English radical is a little taken aback at first."
3. "The Negroes are freely admitted to the theatre in Columbia and to other exhibitions, lectures, etc, though the whites avoided sitting with them if the hall be not crowded."
4. "In Columbia they are served at the bars, soda water fountains, and ice-cream saloons, though they were not accepted at hotels and other accommodations."
5. Charleston editor, "We care nothing whatever about Northern or outside opinion in this matter. Our opinion is that we have no more need for a Jim Crow system this year than we had last year, and a great deal less than we had twenty and thirty years ago."
6. "Jim Crow laws would be a needless affront to our respectable and well behaved colored people."
7. VA, 1886, "Nobody here objects to sitting in political conventions with Negroes. Nobody here objects to serving on juries with Negroes. No lawyer objects to practicing law in court where Negro lawyers practice…Colored men are allowed to introduce bills into the Virginia legislature, and in both branches of this body Negroes are allowed to sit, as they have a right to sit."
8. "Occasionally the Negro met no segregation when he entered restaurants, bars, waiting rooms, theatres, and other public places of amusement."
9. 1885, "In Virginia they may ride exactly as white people do and in the same cars"
10. 1885, traveled from Boston to South Carolina, once there, "I put a chip on my shoulder, and inwardly dares any man to knock it off…bold as a lion I took a seat at a table with white people, and I was courteously served. The whites at the table appeared not to note my presence. Thus far I had found travelling more pleasant than in some parts of New England."
11. Same guy, "Negroes dine with whites in a railroad saloon
Taken from C. Vann Woodward's The Strange Career of Jim Crow (1955)
Friday, January 8, 2010
Dr. Dhada's Visit
Write a note regarding Dr. Dhada's enlightening visit to discuss Jourdan Anderson.
Dr. S
Dr. S
RECONSTRUCTION OUTLINE
"RECONSTRUCTING A BROKEN UNION"
I. Reconstruction
A. PRESIDENTIAL RECONSTRUCTION
--Lincoln
--Johnson
B. CONGRESSIONAL RECONSTRUCTION
--Thaddeus Stevens & Charles Sumner
--Wade-Davis Bill (ironclad oath)
--Freedmen's Bureau
C. JOHNSON'S “RESTORATION”
--Black Codes
D. RADICALS STRIKE BACK
1. First Civil Rights Bill
2. First Reconstruction Acts
3. 14th Amendment
4. Tenure of Office Act
5. Fifteenth Amendment
E. The Compromise of 1877
The Souls of Black Folk (1901) W.E.B. DuBois:
"For this much all men know: despite compromise, war, and struggle, the Negro is not free. In the backwoods...he may not leave the plantation of his birth...in the whole rural South the black farmers are...bound by law and custom to an economic slavery, from which the only escape is death or the penitentiary. In the most cultured sections and cities of the South the Negroes are a segregated and servile caste, with restricted rights and privileges. Before the courts, both in law and custom, they stand on a different and peculiar basis...The problem of the twentieth century is the problem of the color-line."
I. Reconstruction
A. PRESIDENTIAL RECONSTRUCTION
--Lincoln
--Johnson
B. CONGRESSIONAL RECONSTRUCTION
--Thaddeus Stevens & Charles Sumner
--Wade-Davis Bill (ironclad oath)
--Freedmen's Bureau
C. JOHNSON'S “RESTORATION”
--Black Codes
D. RADICALS STRIKE BACK
1. First Civil Rights Bill
2. First Reconstruction Acts
3. 14th Amendment
4. Tenure of Office Act
5. Fifteenth Amendment
E. The Compromise of 1877
The Souls of Black Folk (1901) W.E.B. DuBois:
"For this much all men know: despite compromise, war, and struggle, the Negro is not free. In the backwoods...he may not leave the plantation of his birth...in the whole rural South the black farmers are...bound by law and custom to an economic slavery, from which the only escape is death or the penitentiary. In the most cultured sections and cities of the South the Negroes are a segregated and servile caste, with restricted rights and privileges. Before the courts, both in law and custom, they stand on a different and peculiar basis...The problem of the twentieth century is the problem of the color-line."
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
FIRST BOOK: A STRENUOUS LIFE, THEODORE ROOSEVELT
http://www.bartleby.com/58/1.html
...OR HERE...
http://books.google.com/books?id=z7XcUl35-iMC&dq=theodore+roosevelt+a+strenuous+life&printsec=frontcover&source=bn&hl=en&ei=Q9dES9TOBIqYMbnWxPEB&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CCAQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=&f=false
...OR HERE...
http://books.google.com/books?id=z7XcUl35-iMC&dq=theodore+roosevelt+a+strenuous+life&printsec=frontcover&source=bn&hl=en&ei=Q9dES9TOBIqYMbnWxPEB&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CCAQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=&f=false
SYLLABUS SIGN IN SHEET
For Friday, either handwrite this note or print it out and bring it with you.
I have read and understand all of the policies of the syllabus for History 232.
Signed ___________________________ 1/8/10
I have read and understand all of the policies of the syllabus for History 232.
Signed ___________________________ 1/8/10
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
COURSE SYLLABUS
History 232: 10:55-12:15
Winter 2010
Section 3
DDH 107G
Office: Faculty Towers 201A
Instructor: Dr. Schmoll
Office Hours: MWF 9:30-10:30
…OR MAKE AN APPOINTMENT!!!
Email: bschmoll@csub.edu
Office Phone: 654-6549
Course Description: We will examine the political, social, and cultural foundations of American history from 1870 to the Present. We will cover Reconstruction, the problems of an increasingly urban and industrialized society, and the United States in World Affairs.
Course Reading: Course Reading: 1. Paul Johnson, History of the American People
2. Theodore Roosevelt, The Strenuous Life
3. Studs Terkel, The Good War
4. Moody, Coming of Age in Mississippi
5. Weekly Readings on the course blog
Grading Scale:
5% Debate on Dropping of the Bomb
10% Participation
25% Book Assignment/Essay
30% Midterm Exam
30% Final Examination
The Blog: If you have questions or comments about this class, or if you want to see the course reader or the syllabus online, just go to http://schmollhistory232winter2010.blogspot.com/.
You will also have short readings on the blog. I will announce these in class.
Attendance:
Just to be clear, to succeed on tests and papers you really should be in class. That’s just common sense, right? To pass this class, you may not miss more than two classes. If you miss that third class meeting, you are missing 10% of the quarter. You cannot do that and pass. So, here’s what we do. Do your best to not miss any class unnecessarily. Let’s say your boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, or wife calls and wants to take you to Tahiti this weekend, but you won’t be back until late Tuesday night. Here’s what you say: “Honey, I love you, but Dr. Schmoll seems to value my education more than you do, so we are breaking up.” Ok, that may be harsh, so don’t do that, but just make sure that you do not miss any class until the 8th week. What I’ve found is that it seems inevitable that those who miss two classes early for pathetic reasons like doctor’s appointments that should have been more carefully scheduled get to the 8th week and then have to miss for a legitimate reason (like a surprise meeting at work, a sick child to take care of, or a flat tire). If you get to that 8th week and then have to miss your third class, it’ll be bad. By that point, I’ll be kind, compassionate, a real shoulder to cry on, if you want, when telling you that you’ve now failed the course. Now, if you make it to the 8th or 9th week and you have not missed those two classes, then you have some wiggle room, so that if, heaven forbid, your cat Poopsie gets pneumonia and you have to sit up all night bottle-feeding her liquid antibiotics, you and I don’t have to have that ugly conversation where I tell you that Poopsie gets blamed for you failing the course. Let’s put this another way; do you like movies? No way, me too! When you go to the movies do you usually get up and walk around the theatre for 15% of the movie? Let’s say you do decide to do that, out of a love of popcorn and movie posters, perhaps. If you did that, would you expect to understand the whole story? Okay, maybe if you are watching Harold and Kumar, but for anything else, you’ll be lost. So, please, get to class.
Being Prompt:
Get to class on time. Why does that matter? First, it sends the wrong message to your principal grader(that’s me). As much as we in the humanities would like you to believe that these courses are objective (at what time of day did the Battle of the Marne begin?), that is not entirely the case. If you send your principal grader the message that you don’t mind missing the first few minutes and disturbing others in the class, don’t expect to be given the benefit of the doubt when the tests and papers roll around. Does that sound mean? It’s not meant to, but just remember, your actions send signals. Being late also means that someone who already has everything out and is ready and is involved in the discussion has to stop, move everything over, get out of the chair to let you by, pick up the pencil you drop, let you borrow paper, run to the bathroom because you spilled the coffee, and so on. It’s rude. There’s an old saying: better two hours early than two minutes late. Old sayings are good.
So, what are the consequences of persistent tardiness? What do you think they should be? Remember that 10% participation? You are eligible for that grade if you are on time. Get here on time. It is especially important in a class that begins at 7:55!!! And no, I’m not the jackass who watches for you to be late that one time and stands at the door and points in your face. If you are late a few (that means three) times, you will lose the entire 10% participation grade. One time tardiness is not a problem precisely because it is not persistent. It’s an accident. But if you are late several times, you will not be able to receive a participation grade above 50%.
The Unforgivable Curse:
Speaking of one time issues, there is something that is so severe, so awful, that if it happens one time, just one time, no warning, no “oh hey I noticed this and if you could stop it that’d be super,” you will automatically lose all 10 percent of the Participation grade. Any guesses? C’mon, you must have some idea. No, it’s not your telephone ringing. If that happens, it’ll just be slightly funny and we’ll move on. It’s a mistake and not intentional, and the increased heart rate and extra sweat on your brow from you diving headfirst into an overstuffed book bag to find a buried phone that is now playing that new Cristina Aguilera ringtone is punishment enough for you. So, what is it, this unforgivable crime? Texting. If you take out your phone one time to send or receive messages you will automatically lose 10% of your course grade. That means, if you receive a final grade of 85%, it will drop to 75%. If you receive a final grade of 75%, it will become a 65%. Why is that? The phone ringing is an accident. Texting is on purpose and is rude. It, in fact, is beyond rude. It wreaks of the worst of our current society. It bespeaks the absolutely vile desire we all have to never separate from our technological tether for even a moment. It sends your fellow classmates and your teacher the signal that you have better things to do. Checking your phone during class is like listening to a friend’s story and right in the middle turning away and talking to someone else. Plus, the way our brains work, you need to fully immerse yourself, to tune your brain into an optimal, flowing machine (see Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s incredible book Flow) that can grasp and can let itself go. Students now tend to see school as a stopover on their way to a career. Brothers and sisters, that’s deadly! I wish that I could pay for you all to quit your jobs and just focus on the mind. I can’t yet do that, but if I could I would, because it’d be worth every penny. Devoting time to the mind and to thinking deeply about your world will change who you are and how you approach your future, your family, your job, and your everything. Is that overstated? I believe it to be true. So, until my stock choices really take off so that I can pay all of your bills, promise me one thing. When you are in class or preparing for class, you have to be fully here. Oh crap, now it’s going to sound like a hippy professor from the 1960s: “I mean, like, be here man, just be here.” Maybe the hippies were on to something. Devote yourself fully to your classes by unplugging from the outside world for awhile.
Class Climate:
No, I don’t mean whether it’s going to rain in here or not. Sometimes I’ll lecture at you, but even then, your participation is vital. How can you participate when someone is lecturing? Any ideas? Turn to a neighbor and tell them the story of your first day at school in kindergarten. Now, if you are the one listening to the story, right in the middle look away, look at your watch, sneer at them, roll your eyes, yawn, wave to someone across the room, nudge a person next to you and tell them a joke, all while the other person is telling about his or her first day of kindergarten. If this happens in social setting we call it rude, and we call the people who listen in that way jackasses. They are not our friends precisely because we deeply value listening and do not put up with those who do not listen well. Right? So, there will be lecturing, and if you abhor what we are doing, then fake it. I used to do that sometimes too: “oh no, professor, I love hearing you talk about President Reagan’s policies of supply side economics.” If we listen to psychologists, by faking interest you’ll be learning much more than if you show your disinterest. The next time you are sad force yourself to smile and you’ll see what I mean. So, sometimes there will be lecture. At other times there will be discussion of short readings that we do in class. During these times, it’s crucial that you do the silly little exercises: turn to a neighbor; find someone you don’t know and discuss this or that; explain to your friend what we just went over in lecture; pick something from the reading to disagree with; find two people on the other side of the room; throw cash at your professor…ok, maybe not that last one. This class is a bit unique in that it violates the normally accepted activity systems of college history classrooms. What we do in discussion will help solidify the concepts of each section of this course in your brain. If you are active in class, you will have to study less, and you’ll find yourself remembering much more.
Reading:
How many of you love reading? I did not read a book until I was 18, so if you have not yet started your journey on this ever widening path, it’s never too late. In any course, there’s no substitute for reading. Theorist Jim Moffett says that “all real writing happens from plentitude,” meaning that you can only really write well about someone once you know about it. Reading is one way to know—not the only, by any means! I want you to have experiences with great texts. I can show you voluminous research proving why you nee to read more, but then if I assign a stupid, long, expensive textbook you probably will end up not reading, or only reading to have the reading done, something we have all done, right? The economy now requires much higher literacy rates (see The World is Flat), and even though reading levels have not gone down in the last 40 years, it is crucial that you start to push your own reading so that your own literacy level goes up. For these ten weeks, diving wholeheartedly into the course reading is vital. Remember to read in a particular way. As reading expert and UCSB professor Sheridan Blau has argued, “reading is as much a process of text production as writing is.” Reading involves revision? Does that sound silly? As you read, think about the different ways that you understand what you read. Most importantly, when you read, think about the words of E.D. Hirsch, who says that we look at what a text says (reading), what it means (interpretation), and why it matters (criticism). Hey, but if you are in a history course, aren’t you supposed to be reading for exactly the number of miles of trenches that were dug in World War One, how many railroad workers died from 1890 to 1917, or what the causes of the Great Depression were? Anyway, the answer is yes and no. There are two types of reading that you’ll do in college. As the literary goddess theorist Louise Rosenblatt explains, there is aesthetic reading, where you are reading to have an experience with the text, and there is efferent reading, where you are reading to take away information from the text. You do both types all the time. Think about a phone book. You have probably never heard someone say of a phone book, “don’t tell me about it, I want to read it for myself.” Reading a phone book is purely efferent. In this course you will practice both types of reading. I have chosen texts that you can enjoy (aesthetic) and that you can learn from(efferent). I want to see and appreciate the detail in our reading, but in this course I’ll give you that detail in class lectures. In the reading, it’s much more important that you read texts that will live with you forever and to inspire you to think more thoroughly about your world. As you read, you should be working hard to create meaning for yourself. As Rosenblatt asserts, “taking someone else’s interpretation as your own is like having someone else eat your dinner for you.” Please, don’t let the numbskulls as wikipedia or sparknotes eat your dinner for you.
Participation:
You do not need to be the person who speaks out the most, asks the most questions, or comes up with the most brilliant historical arguments to receive full credit in participation. If you are in class and on time, discuss the issues that we raise, avoid the temptation to nod off, to leave early, or to text people during class (the three easiest ways to lose credit), and in general act like you care, then you will receive a good participation grade! Just being here does not guarantee a 100% participation grade, since you must be regularly actively involved for that to be possible.
Academic Honesty
You are responsible for knowing all college policies about academic honesty. Any student who plagiarizes any part of his or her papers may receive an “F” in the course and a letter to the Dean.
Course Schedule:
1/6 Intro/Reading Guide to Roosevelt/Intro to Reconstruction
1/8 Jourdan Anderson/Reconstruction
HOMEWORK DUE TODAY: SIGNED STATEMENT
1/11 Political and Economic Reconstruction
1/13 Industrialism
1/15 New Imperialism/1890s
1/18 MLK Day=Campus Closed
1/20 Progressivism
1/22 Progressivism/Strenuous Life Due
1/25 Progressivism Abroad: Liliuokalani to the Kaiser/Hand Out Good War Reading Guide
1/27 Prohibition
1/29 Woman Suffrage/Midterm Review
2/1 Harlem Renaissance/Women in the 1920s/
2/3 Economic Origins of the Great Depression
2/5 Midterm Exam: You Must Bring a Blue Book
2/8 The Great Depression
2/10 The New Deal
2/12 FURLOUGH DAY=NO CLASS
2/15 From Quarantine to War
2/17 The Good War Due/Dropping the Bomb Debate Prep
2/19 Dropping the Bomb Debate
2/22 Post War Conformity/The Cold War
2/24 Civil Rights and Other Movements
2/26 FURLOUGH DAY=NO CLASS
3/1 Coming of Age in Mississippi Reading Due
3/3 Social Movements in the 1960s
3/5 FURLOUGH DAY=NO CLASS
3/8 War in Vietnam/Review for Final Exam
3/10 Student Unrest and Vietnam/Book Essay Due (Due by midnight to turnitin)
3/12 Watergate and the Turbulent 70s
3/15 The 1980s to 9/11
REMEMBER, although this syllabus is the “law” of the class, I reserve the right to change it at any time to suit the particular needs of our class. If I must do so, it will always be in your best interest, and I’ll always advise you as soon as possible.
Winter 2010
Section 3
DDH 107G
Office: Faculty Towers 201A
Instructor: Dr. Schmoll
Office Hours: MWF 9:30-10:30
…OR MAKE AN APPOINTMENT!!!
Email: bschmoll@csub.edu
Office Phone: 654-6549
Course Description: We will examine the political, social, and cultural foundations of American history from 1870 to the Present. We will cover Reconstruction, the problems of an increasingly urban and industrialized society, and the United States in World Affairs.
Course Reading: Course Reading: 1. Paul Johnson, History of the American People
2. Theodore Roosevelt, The Strenuous Life
3. Studs Terkel, The Good War
4. Moody, Coming of Age in Mississippi
5. Weekly Readings on the course blog
Grading Scale:
5% Debate on Dropping of the Bomb
10% Participation
25% Book Assignment/Essay
30% Midterm Exam
30% Final Examination
The Blog: If you have questions or comments about this class, or if you want to see the course reader or the syllabus online, just go to http://schmollhistory232winter2010.blogspot.com/.
You will also have short readings on the blog. I will announce these in class.
Attendance:
Just to be clear, to succeed on tests and papers you really should be in class. That’s just common sense, right? To pass this class, you may not miss more than two classes. If you miss that third class meeting, you are missing 10% of the quarter. You cannot do that and pass. So, here’s what we do. Do your best to not miss any class unnecessarily. Let’s say your boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, or wife calls and wants to take you to Tahiti this weekend, but you won’t be back until late Tuesday night. Here’s what you say: “Honey, I love you, but Dr. Schmoll seems to value my education more than you do, so we are breaking up.” Ok, that may be harsh, so don’t do that, but just make sure that you do not miss any class until the 8th week. What I’ve found is that it seems inevitable that those who miss two classes early for pathetic reasons like doctor’s appointments that should have been more carefully scheduled get to the 8th week and then have to miss for a legitimate reason (like a surprise meeting at work, a sick child to take care of, or a flat tire). If you get to that 8th week and then have to miss your third class, it’ll be bad. By that point, I’ll be kind, compassionate, a real shoulder to cry on, if you want, when telling you that you’ve now failed the course. Now, if you make it to the 8th or 9th week and you have not missed those two classes, then you have some wiggle room, so that if, heaven forbid, your cat Poopsie gets pneumonia and you have to sit up all night bottle-feeding her liquid antibiotics, you and I don’t have to have that ugly conversation where I tell you that Poopsie gets blamed for you failing the course. Let’s put this another way; do you like movies? No way, me too! When you go to the movies do you usually get up and walk around the theatre for 15% of the movie? Let’s say you do decide to do that, out of a love of popcorn and movie posters, perhaps. If you did that, would you expect to understand the whole story? Okay, maybe if you are watching Harold and Kumar, but for anything else, you’ll be lost. So, please, get to class.
Being Prompt:
Get to class on time. Why does that matter? First, it sends the wrong message to your principal grader(that’s me). As much as we in the humanities would like you to believe that these courses are objective (at what time of day did the Battle of the Marne begin?), that is not entirely the case. If you send your principal grader the message that you don’t mind missing the first few minutes and disturbing others in the class, don’t expect to be given the benefit of the doubt when the tests and papers roll around. Does that sound mean? It’s not meant to, but just remember, your actions send signals. Being late also means that someone who already has everything out and is ready and is involved in the discussion has to stop, move everything over, get out of the chair to let you by, pick up the pencil you drop, let you borrow paper, run to the bathroom because you spilled the coffee, and so on. It’s rude. There’s an old saying: better two hours early than two minutes late. Old sayings are good.
So, what are the consequences of persistent tardiness? What do you think they should be? Remember that 10% participation? You are eligible for that grade if you are on time. Get here on time. It is especially important in a class that begins at 7:55!!! And no, I’m not the jackass who watches for you to be late that one time and stands at the door and points in your face. If you are late a few (that means three) times, you will lose the entire 10% participation grade. One time tardiness is not a problem precisely because it is not persistent. It’s an accident. But if you are late several times, you will not be able to receive a participation grade above 50%.
The Unforgivable Curse:
Speaking of one time issues, there is something that is so severe, so awful, that if it happens one time, just one time, no warning, no “oh hey I noticed this and if you could stop it that’d be super,” you will automatically lose all 10 percent of the Participation grade. Any guesses? C’mon, you must have some idea. No, it’s not your telephone ringing. If that happens, it’ll just be slightly funny and we’ll move on. It’s a mistake and not intentional, and the increased heart rate and extra sweat on your brow from you diving headfirst into an overstuffed book bag to find a buried phone that is now playing that new Cristina Aguilera ringtone is punishment enough for you. So, what is it, this unforgivable crime? Texting. If you take out your phone one time to send or receive messages you will automatically lose 10% of your course grade. That means, if you receive a final grade of 85%, it will drop to 75%. If you receive a final grade of 75%, it will become a 65%. Why is that? The phone ringing is an accident. Texting is on purpose and is rude. It, in fact, is beyond rude. It wreaks of the worst of our current society. It bespeaks the absolutely vile desire we all have to never separate from our technological tether for even a moment. It sends your fellow classmates and your teacher the signal that you have better things to do. Checking your phone during class is like listening to a friend’s story and right in the middle turning away and talking to someone else. Plus, the way our brains work, you need to fully immerse yourself, to tune your brain into an optimal, flowing machine (see Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s incredible book Flow) that can grasp and can let itself go. Students now tend to see school as a stopover on their way to a career. Brothers and sisters, that’s deadly! I wish that I could pay for you all to quit your jobs and just focus on the mind. I can’t yet do that, but if I could I would, because it’d be worth every penny. Devoting time to the mind and to thinking deeply about your world will change who you are and how you approach your future, your family, your job, and your everything. Is that overstated? I believe it to be true. So, until my stock choices really take off so that I can pay all of your bills, promise me one thing. When you are in class or preparing for class, you have to be fully here. Oh crap, now it’s going to sound like a hippy professor from the 1960s: “I mean, like, be here man, just be here.” Maybe the hippies were on to something. Devote yourself fully to your classes by unplugging from the outside world for awhile.
Class Climate:
No, I don’t mean whether it’s going to rain in here or not. Sometimes I’ll lecture at you, but even then, your participation is vital. How can you participate when someone is lecturing? Any ideas? Turn to a neighbor and tell them the story of your first day at school in kindergarten. Now, if you are the one listening to the story, right in the middle look away, look at your watch, sneer at them, roll your eyes, yawn, wave to someone across the room, nudge a person next to you and tell them a joke, all while the other person is telling about his or her first day of kindergarten. If this happens in social setting we call it rude, and we call the people who listen in that way jackasses. They are not our friends precisely because we deeply value listening and do not put up with those who do not listen well. Right? So, there will be lecturing, and if you abhor what we are doing, then fake it. I used to do that sometimes too: “oh no, professor, I love hearing you talk about President Reagan’s policies of supply side economics.” If we listen to psychologists, by faking interest you’ll be learning much more than if you show your disinterest. The next time you are sad force yourself to smile and you’ll see what I mean. So, sometimes there will be lecture. At other times there will be discussion of short readings that we do in class. During these times, it’s crucial that you do the silly little exercises: turn to a neighbor; find someone you don’t know and discuss this or that; explain to your friend what we just went over in lecture; pick something from the reading to disagree with; find two people on the other side of the room; throw cash at your professor…ok, maybe not that last one. This class is a bit unique in that it violates the normally accepted activity systems of college history classrooms. What we do in discussion will help solidify the concepts of each section of this course in your brain. If you are active in class, you will have to study less, and you’ll find yourself remembering much more.
Reading:
How many of you love reading? I did not read a book until I was 18, so if you have not yet started your journey on this ever widening path, it’s never too late. In any course, there’s no substitute for reading. Theorist Jim Moffett says that “all real writing happens from plentitude,” meaning that you can only really write well about someone once you know about it. Reading is one way to know—not the only, by any means! I want you to have experiences with great texts. I can show you voluminous research proving why you nee to read more, but then if I assign a stupid, long, expensive textbook you probably will end up not reading, or only reading to have the reading done, something we have all done, right? The economy now requires much higher literacy rates (see The World is Flat), and even though reading levels have not gone down in the last 40 years, it is crucial that you start to push your own reading so that your own literacy level goes up. For these ten weeks, diving wholeheartedly into the course reading is vital. Remember to read in a particular way. As reading expert and UCSB professor Sheridan Blau has argued, “reading is as much a process of text production as writing is.” Reading involves revision? Does that sound silly? As you read, think about the different ways that you understand what you read. Most importantly, when you read, think about the words of E.D. Hirsch, who says that we look at what a text says (reading), what it means (interpretation), and why it matters (criticism). Hey, but if you are in a history course, aren’t you supposed to be reading for exactly the number of miles of trenches that were dug in World War One, how many railroad workers died from 1890 to 1917, or what the causes of the Great Depression were? Anyway, the answer is yes and no. There are two types of reading that you’ll do in college. As the literary goddess theorist Louise Rosenblatt explains, there is aesthetic reading, where you are reading to have an experience with the text, and there is efferent reading, where you are reading to take away information from the text. You do both types all the time. Think about a phone book. You have probably never heard someone say of a phone book, “don’t tell me about it, I want to read it for myself.” Reading a phone book is purely efferent. In this course you will practice both types of reading. I have chosen texts that you can enjoy (aesthetic) and that you can learn from(efferent). I want to see and appreciate the detail in our reading, but in this course I’ll give you that detail in class lectures. In the reading, it’s much more important that you read texts that will live with you forever and to inspire you to think more thoroughly about your world. As you read, you should be working hard to create meaning for yourself. As Rosenblatt asserts, “taking someone else’s interpretation as your own is like having someone else eat your dinner for you.” Please, don’t let the numbskulls as wikipedia or sparknotes eat your dinner for you.
Participation:
You do not need to be the person who speaks out the most, asks the most questions, or comes up with the most brilliant historical arguments to receive full credit in participation. If you are in class and on time, discuss the issues that we raise, avoid the temptation to nod off, to leave early, or to text people during class (the three easiest ways to lose credit), and in general act like you care, then you will receive a good participation grade! Just being here does not guarantee a 100% participation grade, since you must be regularly actively involved for that to be possible.
Academic Honesty
You are responsible for knowing all college policies about academic honesty. Any student who plagiarizes any part of his or her papers may receive an “F” in the course and a letter to the Dean.
Course Schedule:
1/6 Intro/Reading Guide to Roosevelt/Intro to Reconstruction
1/8 Jourdan Anderson/Reconstruction
HOMEWORK DUE TODAY: SIGNED STATEMENT
1/11 Political and Economic Reconstruction
1/13 Industrialism
1/15 New Imperialism/1890s
1/18 MLK Day=Campus Closed
1/20 Progressivism
1/22 Progressivism/Strenuous Life Due
1/25 Progressivism Abroad: Liliuokalani to the Kaiser/Hand Out Good War Reading Guide
1/27 Prohibition
1/29 Woman Suffrage/Midterm Review
2/1 Harlem Renaissance/Women in the 1920s/
2/3 Economic Origins of the Great Depression
2/5 Midterm Exam: You Must Bring a Blue Book
2/8 The Great Depression
2/10 The New Deal
2/12 FURLOUGH DAY=NO CLASS
2/15 From Quarantine to War
2/17 The Good War Due/Dropping the Bomb Debate Prep
2/19 Dropping the Bomb Debate
2/22 Post War Conformity/The Cold War
2/24 Civil Rights and Other Movements
2/26 FURLOUGH DAY=NO CLASS
3/1 Coming of Age in Mississippi Reading Due
3/3 Social Movements in the 1960s
3/5 FURLOUGH DAY=NO CLASS
3/8 War in Vietnam/Review for Final Exam
3/10 Student Unrest and Vietnam/Book Essay Due (Due by midnight to turnitin)
3/12 Watergate and the Turbulent 70s
3/15 The 1980s to 9/11
REMEMBER, although this syllabus is the “law” of the class, I reserve the right to change it at any time to suit the particular needs of our class. If I must do so, it will always be in your best interest, and I’ll always advise you as soon as possible.
HISTORY 232 READING #1: Jourdon Anderson Letter
HOW WOULD YOU RESPOND IF YOUR FORMER SLAVE MASTER INVITED YOU TO COME AND WORK ON THE PLANTATION AFTER YOU HAD BEEN FREED FROM SLAVERY?
WHAT ONE LINE IS MOST STRIKING TO YOU IN THIS LETTER?
Dayton, Ohio, August 7, 1865
To My Old Master, Colonel P.H. Anderson, Big Spring, Tennessee
Sir: I got your letter and was glad to find you had not forgotten Jourdon, and that you wanted me to come back and live with you again, promising to do better for me than anybody else can. I have often felt uneasy about you. I thought the Yankees would have hung you long before this for harboring Rebs they found at your house. I suppose they never heard about your going to Col. Martin’s to kill the Union soldier that was left by his company in their stable. Although you shot at me twice before I left you, I did not want to hear of your being hurt, and am glad you are still living. It would do me good to go back to the dear old home again and see Miss mary and Miss Martha and Allen, Esther, Green, and Lee. Give my love to them all, and tell them I hope we will meet in the better world, if not in this. I would have gone back to see you all when I was working in the Nashville hospital, but one of the neighbors told me Henry intended to shoot me if he ever got a chance.
I want to know particularly what the good chance is you propose to give me. I am doing tolerably well here; I get $25 a month, with victuals and clothing; have a comfortable home for Mandy (the folks here call her Mrs. Anderson), and the children, Milly, Jane and Grundy, go to school and are learning well; the teacher says Grundy has a head for a preacher. They go to Sunday- School, and Mandy and me attend church regularly. We are kindly treated; sometimes we overhear others saying, “The colored people were slaves” down in Tennessee. The children feel hurt when they hear such remarks, but I tell them it was no disgrace in Tennessee to belong to Col. Anderson. Many darkies would have been proud, as I used to was, to call you master. Now, if you will write and say what wages you will give me, I will be better able to decide whether it would be to my advantage to move back again. As to my freedom, which you say I can have, there is nothing to be gained on that score, as I got my free-papers in 1864 from the Provost- Marshal- General of the Department of Nashville. Mandy says she would be afraid to go back without some proof that you are sincerely disposed to treat us justly and kindly- - and we have concluded to test your sincerity by asking you to send us our wages for the time we served you. This will make us forget and forgive old scores, and rely on your justice and friendship in the future. I served you faithfully for thirty- two years and Mandy twenty years. At $25 a month for me, and $2 a week for Mandy, our earnings would amount to $11,680. Add to this the interest for the time our wages has been kept back and deduct what you paid for our clothing and three doctor’s visits to me, and pulling a tooth for Mandy, and the balance will show what we are in justice entitled to. Please send the money by Adams Express, in care of V. Winters, esq, Dayton, Ohio. If you fail to pay us for faithful labors in the past we can have little faith in your promises in the future.
We trust the good Maker has opened your eyes to the wrongs which you and your fathers have done to me and my fathers, in making us toil for you for generations without recompense. Here I draw my wages every Saturday night, but in Tennessee there was never any pay day for the Negroes any more than for the horses and cows. Surely there will be a day of reckoning for those who defraud the laborer of his hire. In answering this letter please state if there would be any safety for my Milly and Jane, who are now grown up and both good- looking girls. You know how it was with Matilda and Catherine. I would rather stay here and starve and die if it comes to that than have my girls brought to shame by the violence and wickedness of their young masters.
You will also please state if there has been any schools opened for the colored children in your neighborhood, the great desire of my life now is to give my children an education, and have them form virtuous habits.
P.S. — Say howdy to George Carter, and thank him for taking the pistol from you when you were shooting at me.
From your old servant, Jourdon Anderson
Source: Cincinnati Commercial, reprinted in New York Tribune, August 22, 1865.
WHAT ONE LINE IS MOST STRIKING TO YOU IN THIS LETTER?
Dayton, Ohio, August 7, 1865
To My Old Master, Colonel P.H. Anderson, Big Spring, Tennessee
Sir: I got your letter and was glad to find you had not forgotten Jourdon, and that you wanted me to come back and live with you again, promising to do better for me than anybody else can. I have often felt uneasy about you. I thought the Yankees would have hung you long before this for harboring Rebs they found at your house. I suppose they never heard about your going to Col. Martin’s to kill the Union soldier that was left by his company in their stable. Although you shot at me twice before I left you, I did not want to hear of your being hurt, and am glad you are still living. It would do me good to go back to the dear old home again and see Miss mary and Miss Martha and Allen, Esther, Green, and Lee. Give my love to them all, and tell them I hope we will meet in the better world, if not in this. I would have gone back to see you all when I was working in the Nashville hospital, but one of the neighbors told me Henry intended to shoot me if he ever got a chance.
I want to know particularly what the good chance is you propose to give me. I am doing tolerably well here; I get $25 a month, with victuals and clothing; have a comfortable home for Mandy (the folks here call her Mrs. Anderson), and the children, Milly, Jane and Grundy, go to school and are learning well; the teacher says Grundy has a head for a preacher. They go to Sunday- School, and Mandy and me attend church regularly. We are kindly treated; sometimes we overhear others saying, “The colored people were slaves” down in Tennessee. The children feel hurt when they hear such remarks, but I tell them it was no disgrace in Tennessee to belong to Col. Anderson. Many darkies would have been proud, as I used to was, to call you master. Now, if you will write and say what wages you will give me, I will be better able to decide whether it would be to my advantage to move back again. As to my freedom, which you say I can have, there is nothing to be gained on that score, as I got my free-papers in 1864 from the Provost- Marshal- General of the Department of Nashville. Mandy says she would be afraid to go back without some proof that you are sincerely disposed to treat us justly and kindly- - and we have concluded to test your sincerity by asking you to send us our wages for the time we served you. This will make us forget and forgive old scores, and rely on your justice and friendship in the future. I served you faithfully for thirty- two years and Mandy twenty years. At $25 a month for me, and $2 a week for Mandy, our earnings would amount to $11,680. Add to this the interest for the time our wages has been kept back and deduct what you paid for our clothing and three doctor’s visits to me, and pulling a tooth for Mandy, and the balance will show what we are in justice entitled to. Please send the money by Adams Express, in care of V. Winters, esq, Dayton, Ohio. If you fail to pay us for faithful labors in the past we can have little faith in your promises in the future.
We trust the good Maker has opened your eyes to the wrongs which you and your fathers have done to me and my fathers, in making us toil for you for generations without recompense. Here I draw my wages every Saturday night, but in Tennessee there was never any pay day for the Negroes any more than for the horses and cows. Surely there will be a day of reckoning for those who defraud the laborer of his hire. In answering this letter please state if there would be any safety for my Milly and Jane, who are now grown up and both good- looking girls. You know how it was with Matilda and Catherine. I would rather stay here and starve and die if it comes to that than have my girls brought to shame by the violence and wickedness of their young masters.
You will also please state if there has been any schools opened for the colored children in your neighborhood, the great desire of my life now is to give my children an education, and have them form virtuous habits.
P.S. — Say howdy to George Carter, and thank him for taking the pistol from you when you were shooting at me.
From your old servant, Jourdon Anderson
Source: Cincinnati Commercial, reprinted in New York Tribune, August 22, 1865.
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