A&S 300 Syllabus Instructor: Randolph Hollingsworth, M.A.T., Ph.D. COURSE DESCRIPTION AND OBJECTIVES: An introduction to nineteenth century Kentucky history, this course explores how power and politics relate to issues of race, gender and class. Upon completion of this course, you should be able to: read and evaluate historical resources critically; identify concepts of class, race, and gender as constructions by societies and interrelated throughout the lives of nineteenth century Kentuckians; demonstrate an understanding of the economic disparities, political partisanship, literary and other artistic expressions, and social values related to the culture of Kentucky in the nineteenth century; and show how you have gained analytical skills in observing, writing, listening to, and speaking about politically charged issues (like civil rights or temperance) in order to demonstrate an enhanced understanding of your own views - as well as those of others.

Required Texts to Purchase:

·        William W. Brown, Clotel, or, The President's Daughter (1853; reprint 1988)

·        Paul E. Fuller, Laura Clay and the Woman's Rights Movement (Lexington: Univ. Press of Kentucky, 1975; reprint 1992)

·        Francis D. Peter, Window on the War: Frances Dallam Peter's Lexington Civil War Diary, John D. Smith and William Cooper, Jr., eds. (Lexington-Fayette Co. Historic Comm., 1976)

·        George C. Wright, Racial Violence in Kentucky, 1865-1940: Lynchings, Mob Rule, and "Legal Lynchings" (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1990)

Recommended Text to Purchase:

·        Lowell Harrison & James Klotter, A New History of Kentucky (Univ. Press of Ky, 1997) - also available in Young Library Reference Room

Other required readings (on course website):

·        James Lane Allen, "Two Gentlemen of Kentucky," pp. 7-132 in James Lane Allen, Flute and Violin and other Kentucky Tales and Romances (New York: Harper & Bros., 1899) - also on Reserve

·        Letters on the Condition of Kentucky in 1825; Reprinted From The Richmond Enquirer, Earl Gregg Swem, ed. (New York: C. F. Heartman, 1916) - also in Rare Book Room, Special Collections

Other supplies:

·        An email address for the class listserv. If you do not have one, you can register online at <http://www.uky.edu/userids> for a POP email account. The account does not cost anything, however it takes a few days to process your request. This allows you and me to communicate personally with each other more quickly and efficiently than by telephone. For tips on how to use your email, go to SCS Lab-Link or Desktop Training.

·        A student's guide to writing, e.g., William Strunk Jr.'s Elements of Style; and even more valuable would be a guide to research e.g., Jules Benjamin's A Student's Guide to History

Course Requirements and Grading Scale:

Your performance will be evaluated from several sources, and your grade will be calculated on a 100-point scale, where A = 90-100%, B = 80-89%, C = 70-79%, D = 60-69%, E = 59% and below. To succeed in this class you will fulfill the following requirements:

• 4 Reflection Papers (40% of your grade): At the end of each unit, you will submit a reflection paper of 3-5 pages (typed) that explores the different ways that scholars have approached that particular theme. After framing a particular question regarding the topic, you will use the annotated bibliography to find at least two resources besides the assigned readings and class discussions in order to develop your own thesis.
• Class Participation (30% of your grade): In class discussions should give me clues regarding your level of preparation for class; and you should participate on the class listserv (AS300@lsv.uky.edu) by posting at least two messages per week.
• Term Project (30% of your grade): You can choose any particular discipline with which to present your individual projects. For example, under "Politics, Press, and Public Oratory" you might wish to analyze the rhetorical constructions of the R. J. Breckinridge and Robert Wickliffe pamphlet wars of the 1840s -- or recreate one of the public speeches from the clues provided in the pamphlet responses and perform it in a living history portrayal. Under "Commonwealth for Common Good," you might examine the remaining artifacts of the now destroyed Joel T. Hart statue, Woman Triumphant, and describe how visitors to the Fayette County courthouse in the late 1800s might have been perceived the marble nude -- or try to duplicate it in a clay model. The traditional term paper (8-10 pages typed) is also acceptable. You must present at least one oral report on your progress during the semester (5 % pass/fail). Regular student progress reports and peer reviews will help keep your work pertinent to the course content and help maintain quality. This project is due no later than April 21^st at 4:30 p.m.

Class Participation: Participation in class discussions both in class and on the Internet will be assessed; you should meet with me personally before midterm to determine how your class participation is being graded. All students are expected to attend all classes due to the discus­sion nature of the course; and you are expected to post to the listserv at least two messages per week that will add to our understanding of the assigned readings. More than 3 unexcused absences from class will lower your final grade 10 points. An excused absence is one in which you have contacted me beforehand and made alternative arrangements for what you have missed. You are responsible for officially withdraw­ing by midterm if attendance becomes problematic.

Policy On Attendance, Withdrawals, And Incompletes: Regular class attendance is expected, and roll will be taken each day. Mere physical attendance is important, but your prepared attendance is the most valuable part of this course. You may withdraw from this class on your own at any time before midterm, but after that date you will not be allowed to withdraw (except for non-academic related emergencies) because we will be relying on you. Incompletes are given only in emergencies and only when there is a minor amount of the course left to complete. For you to receive an "I" grade, you must submit a written contract on how you plan to make up the work, and this contract must be signed by me before the last day of classes.

Cheating/Plagiarism: Cheating and plagiarism will not be tolerated, and any infringement of the U.K. Student Code will be dealt with swiftly and completely. The first offence will earn a failing grade on the assignment in question; and you will not be allowed to submit any further work without a conference with me during which you show me a draft of your work. The second offence will deserve a more public hearing by the Ombud. If you are not sure what plagiarism is, please read the Student Code.

Policy On Late Work: Keeping up-to-date with each requirement is your responsibility. If you miss a class or any specified deadline, you MUST contact me in advance, but if you wish to receive credit for a scheduled assignment, you must first negotiate with me to find an acceptable compromise deadline. You will not be allowed to make up for a responsibility you have in this class unless you have communicated with me and made alternative arrangements before the deadline.

COURSE THEMES AND SCHEDULE

* * Political Partisanship and Public Oratory * *

Assigned Reading

·        Harrison & Klotter, A New History of Ky (hereafter referred to as H&K), ch. 7-9, and pp. 158-59

·        Letters on the Condition of Kentucky in 1825

This unit will focus on issues of class in nineteenth century Kentucky. From the very first years of statehood, Kentuckians clearly delineated between the frontiersmen and the planters, between the farmwomen and the ladies. Did this hierarchical arrangement create a world where the rich victimized the poor? We will trace the volatile events of the Old-Court New-Court struggle that followed upon the Panic of 1819 and which created two organized political machines in Kentucky long before any other state. These political organizations by the 1830s became known as the Democrat and Whig Parties. How does Kentucky political oratory reflect assumptions about class and caste? How did prescriptive gender roles of the antebellum period contribute to the hierarchy of class? What about race?

* * Slavery and Black Rights * *

Assigned Reading

·        H&K, ch. 10-12 and 16

·        Brown, Clotel

·        Wright, Racial Violence in Kentucky, ch. 1-2, 4-5

This unit will focus on issues of race and gender as well as class. What role did Kentuckians play in the national efforts for abolition of slavery? Why does the hemp industry's reliance on the task system of enslaved labor make Kentucky different from other slaveholding states? Did women experience slavery different from men -- did color (lighter or darker) matter? How could "Squire" Coleman writing in the 1930s posit that Kentucky's version of slavery was milder than others? Would Margaret Garner have killed her daughter if it were so mild an institution (see Modern Medea)? Though Kentucky never ratified the 13^th amendment, postbellum Black Kentuckians demanded and affirmed their civil rights through much controversy. Did the racial separatism of the nineteenth century influence the present?

* * National and Regional Wars * *

Assigned Reading

·        H&K, ch. 13-15

·        Peter, Window on the War

·        Fuller, Laura Clay, ch. 1 "The Early Years, 1849-1866"

·        Allen, "Two Gentlemen of Kentucky"

This unit will survey the national wars of the nineteenth century -- all of which were magnets for exuberant Kentucky volunteers -- War of 1812, Mexican War, Civil War, and Spanish-American War. Why would white males of Kentucky feel duty-bound to serve in a national war when the majority stood politically for states rights? How did civilians experience these wars? Were they all that different in nature from the violence experienced at the local and regional levels, e.g., duels, feuds, vigilanteeism, and night riders? How did assumptions about race impact the reformers' activities?

* * Commonwealth for the Common Good * *

Assigned Reading

·        H&K, ch. 17-20

·        Fuller, Laura Clay, ch. 2-5

Public Education, Public Art, Temperance, and Universal Suffrage - all of these topics will be covered in this last unit. Women's activism stretched across the nineteenth century, but the more prominent of reformers emerged after the Civil War. Why? How did assumptions about race and class impact the reformers' activities? Post-civil war Kentucky was in many ways poorer than during the antebellum period, but in other ways served as the seedbed for modern cities, parks, schools, and transportation. Just as the nation became more unified after Lincoln, so Kentucky began her search for a unified identity. The emergence of an historical consciousness became obvious in her public art. How did Kentucky define modernity?

BOOKS ON RESERVE FOR A&S300

Allen, James Lane. "Two Gentlemen of Kentucky," pp. 7-132 in James Lane Allen, Flute and Violin and other Kentucky Tales and Romances (New York: Harper & Bros., 1899).

Brown, William W. Clotelle, or, A Tale of the Southern States (1864) - note, this is NOT the original version published in 1853 which is the required reading assignment.

Fuller, Paul E. Laura Clay and the Woman's Rights Movement (Lexington: Univ. Press of Kentucky, 1975; reprint 1992).

Harrison, Lowell. Civil War in Kentucky Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1975.

Irvin, Helen Deiss. Women in Kentucky. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1979.

Klotter, James C. The Breckinridges of Kentucky, 1760-1981. Lexington: The Univ. Press of Ky., 1986.

Lucas, Marion B. A History of Blacks in Kentucky, Vol. I: From Slavery to Segregation, 1760-1891. Frankfort: Kentucky Historical Society, 1992.

Weisenburger, Steven. Modern Medea: A Family Story of Slavery and Child-Murder from the Old South. New York: Will and Wang, 1998.

Wright, George C. Racial Violence in Kentucky, 1865-1940: Lynchings, Mob Rule, and "Legal Lynchings" (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1990).

BOOKS FOR A&S300 IN THE REFERENCE ROOM

Kentucky Women: Two Centuries of Indomitable Spirit and Vision. Edited by Eugenia K. Potter. Big Tree Press, 1997.

Lowell Harrison & James Klotter, A New History of Kentucky. Lexington: Univ. Press of Ky., 1997.

Ward, William S. A Literary History of Kentucky. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1988.