MIAMI-DADE COLLEGE-KENDALL CAMPUS

SOCIAL SCIENCE DEPARTMENT

AMH 2010: HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES TO 1877
FALL 2014
Course instructor:
Dr. David M. Shaheen, Professor of History, MDC-Kendall Campus
Class meeting place and time:
MDC-Kendall Campus, Room 9120, Reference #808933. This course meets Mondays,
Wednesdays, and Fridays during Fall term, 8:00 a.m. to 8:50 a.m., starting on Monday
August 25, 2014.
Course readings:
James Henretta et al. America: A Concise History, Volume I: To 1877, 6th ed. (Boston:
Bedford St. Martins, 2015).
Further readings may be placed on reserve in the MDC library and internet sites of
interest will be suggested by the professor.
Office hours and professor contact information:
My office hours are posted on my faculty websites and available with the Social
Sciences Department by the end of the drop/add period in the beginning of the semester.
The websites are listed in bold near the bottom of this page. During office hours, I will be
available to students in building six at the Kendall Campus (room 6206, office #20) during
the semester.
Typically, I can be reached by phone at (305) 237-2289 during these hours, or
messages can be left for me at (305) 237-2215 before 4:30 pm on weekdays. I will return
your call if requested. I can be reached via e-mail at: dshaheen@mdc.edu

Regularly check your Miami Dade College e-mail account! You may be
contacted specifically, or as a class announcement, by e-mail during the term.
Course websites:
You will be able to find course essay questions, exam review guides (when
applicable), syllabi, office hours, book review guidelines, course links, and other materials
relating to your course at the following addresses:
http://www.teacherweb.com/FL/miami-dadecollege/drdavidshaheen/
http://faculty.mdc.edu/dshaheen/
Course description:
Students will learn of the history of the United States to 1877 by examining the
founding, growth, and development of the United States from the colonial era through
Reconstruction. (3 credits)
Course objectives and General Education Outcomes at Miami Dade College:
This course surveys the history of the United States from its colonial origins through
the end of the Civil War period and Reconstruction.
The course attempts to help students understand the significant trends and major
changes that have affected the American nation in its short history.
This course is part of the MDC general education offerings of the Social Science
Department at the Kendall Campus. As such, student success in this class contributes to the
Colleges goal that each student graduating from MDC has accomplished certain educational
outcomes when they leave the College. The actual General Education Outcomes at MDC are
based on the following assumptions:

Purpose: Through the academic disciplines and co-curricular activities, General Education
provides multiple, varied, and intentional learning experiences to facilitate the acquisition of
fundamental knowledge and skills and the development of attitudes that foster effective
citizenship and life-long learning.
As graduates of Miami Dade College, students will be able to:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Communicate effectively using listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills.

Use quantitative analytical skills to evaluate and process numerical data.
Solve problems using critical and creative thinking and scientific reasoning.
Formulate strategies to locate, evaluate, and apply information.
Demonstrate knowledge of diverse cultures, including global and historical
perspectives
6. Create strategies that can be used to fulfill personal, civic, and social responsibilities.
7. Demonstrate knowledge of ethical thinking and its application to issues in society.
8. Use computer and emerging technologies effectively.
9. Demonstrate an appreciation for aesthetics and creative activities.
10. Describe how natural systems function and recognize the impact of humans on the
environment.
Course Competencies: In an effort to control printing costs and reduce paper consumption
at MDC, specific course competencies and expected learning outcomes are not printed in
this syllabus. The competencies are available in the MDC Kendall Campus Social Sciences
Department and with the professor by request.
Course requirements and grading procedures:
There will be six grades given to assess student learning in this class:
A) Examinations: There will be three examinations given during the semester. Each
examination result will count as one letter grade (A,B,C,D,F) toward a students final course
grade.
Exams can be essay and/or multiple-choice in format with review questions or notes
given to help students prepare for the tests. Exams must be started within 20 minutes of the
exam start time. The professor reserves the right to reseat students during exams.
There are no make-up exams permitted in this course except in documented and
verified medical emergencies of the individual student. Written documentation with
doctors contact information must be provided to show that a severe health condition has
incapacitated a student or immediate dependent relative. In such an extreme case, the type
of make-up exam will be determined by the professor.
Students with documented disabilities must take exams on the exam date or in the
three to five days prior to the exam date.
Students with documented disabilities should contact ACCESS Disability Services in
advance for information and for obtaining assistance. No retroactive accommodations can
be provided. The ACCESS department is located in Room 2121 at the Kendall Campus. They
may be reached at (305) 237-2767.
For documented ACCESS students, exams are to be taken in the Social Sciences
Department officeif accommodations are not suitable for your specific condition in our
classroom. For exams, the professor will ensure that all recommended ACCESS
accommodations will be available for students within the Social Sciences Department.

B) Writing Assignments: There will be two writing assignments in this course. One
letter grade (A,B,C,D,F) will be given for each assignment. The writing assignments in this
course and the due dates of each assignment will be announced in class. If you are not in
class on the date that the paper copy is due, you must put leave your papers in my campus
mailbox in room 6206 by the end of class on the due date. No late written assignments will
be accepted beyond that point. Writing assignments should not be e-mailed and your format
should look like the sample page given out in class by your professor in the early part of the
semester. All assignments must correspond to the following guidelines:
-Written work must be typed and double-spaced
-Students must use un-bolded 12-point standard (Times New Roman or Courier) font.
-One-inch margins are to be used on all four sides of the page.
-No outlines, pictures, photographs, maps, or diagrams.
- Students can use any of the academically accepted writing guides (including MLA,
Chicago Manual of Style, or APA) as guidelines for writing. Be consistent with one
method throughout your paper.
-Forgo the use of quotations beyond a single sentence and no more than one quote
per typed page.
-Do not use cover pages, sleeves, and jackets.
-Students should use spell and grammar checks available on your computer
programs prior to submitting papers. Proofread your papers visually to check for
further errors prior to submitting your writing assignment.
-Wikipedia.org or associated web pages and content are not acceptable as
academic sources in your papers. Wikipedia is an open source encyclopedia
that can usually be edited and revised by anyone. As such, students need to be
wary of using this source because there is no guarantee that what you are reading is
true.
Please note: Writing papers in this class is a course requirement. Students
that do not submit papers in this course are not fulfilling that requirement
and may be dropped from the course at the discretion of the professor.
Written assignments will be graded on the following criteria:
1.
Content. Students should answer the question directly in your writing and use
examples to demonstrate understanding of the topic.
2.
Following of writing guidelines. This is based upon the guidelines presented in
the section above and the sample page handed out in class.
3.
Clarity of organization. Your writing should follow a logical order with
introduction, development of topic, and conclusion.
4.
Grammar. One must edited and proofread their work. They should be free of
grammatical and spelling errors.
5.
Sources used (if required). You must use multiple documented and verifiable
academic sources in your writing to present enough academic evidence to
support your arguments and assumptions. Your writing must include more
than your textbooks interpretations and avoid the use of commercial

(.com) websites. If the internet is used for sources, they should generally
be .edu and .gov pages with full web addresses provided in within your
writing.
Submitting assignments to Turnitin.com
All course writing assignments must be submitted to the website, turnitin.com. This
site scans the web and has a database of previously submitted papers to determine
plagiarism content of the written assignments you turn in.
Your writing assignments must be uploaded onto the website by class time, when
your paper copy is due in class.
You must submit to turnitin.com by the in class due date or your writing assignment
will not be accepted.
Note that you still must submit a paper copy of your written assignment in class after
submitting to Turnitin.com. Your writing assignment submitted in class must be in the exact
same wording as the one you submitted online.
If you do not have computer access at home, the computer labs at MDC Kendall
Campus are available to you and there is staff available to assist you in learning how to
submit your writing assignments to turnitin.com.

To submit your writing assignments through Turnitin.com, you must use these steps for your
first submission:
1. Go to the website, http://turnitin.com On the right hand corner, you must click "create a
user profile"
2. Identify yourself as a student (new user profile).
3. Enter your class ID: 8274501 Then enter your password: 808933
4. Enter your name and e-mail address.
5. Enter a password (something you will remember)
6. Choose and answer a security question.
7. Read the legal terms for writing submissions
8. (Click on I Agree)
9. Now you can upload your assignment.
I will receive a report regarding your writing assignment once it has been submitted. I will
review it to determine plagiarism content. If your written assignment is not plagiarized, I will
grade the paper copy you submitted in class.
The turnitin.com report will indicate if there has been plagiarized work and where that work
came from. It will tell me if the paragraphs and phrases have been submitted by someone

else and where it was submitted. Turnitin.com will tell me if material from websites were
copied and if your assignment was submitted for another instructor. If any of these things
are true for your assignment, you will receive no grade (NG) for your written
assignment, which is the equivalent of an F. There are no opportunities to
resubmit.
It is advised that a student obtain a digital receipt from turnitin.com showing that an
assignment has been submitted. This option is available with turnitin.com when submitting
your written assignments and provides proof that your assignment was submitted in the
course by the due date. It is not required to turn in this receipt with your written assignment
in class. Keep it for your records.
C) Attendance grade and policies: There is a strong relationship between class
attendance and student academic success. Information presented in class and issues
covered in course discussions are in some instances not covered thoroughly in the text or
supplemental readings. Therefore, regular attendance is a course requirement.
There is an attendance grade in this course that counts as one letter grade
(A,B,C,D,F) toward a students final grade. The grade is combined with a students other
course grades described above. All students begin the course with an A as their attendance
grade, and that grade slides downward depending on the number of course sessions missed.
The attendance scale is listed below:
Classes missed: 0-2 = A, 3= B, 4 = C, 5= D, more than 5 = F
Important attendance considerations:

Absences do not count against a student's attendance record if there is

documentation that a severe health condition has hospitalized the individual student
or one of their immediate dependent relatives in their household. Medical
documentation (hospital admission papers) is required to excuse such an absence.
This involves obtaining a hospital admission with physician letterhead and physician
contact information to verify you being seen as a patient.

Doctor appointments that are not emergencies should not be scheduled during class
times and are not excused absences. You have agreed to take this course and know
the times in which we meet, so schedule any appointments outside of class times.

Sign-in roster sheets will be utilized in this course for attendance purposes.

Student names must be printed, legible, and in the students own

handwriting each class for attendance credit. In other words, you must sign in
the same manner during each class session. Students that do not do so will be
considered absent that day.

No person enrolled in the class is to print the name of another student on the sign in
sheet.

Students will not receive attendance credit for only partial class attendance.

Students that leave class early will have their names removed from the attendance
roster(s).

Students arriving after the roster has been collected will be counted as absent for
that course session.

At the discretion of the professor, a student will be dropped from the

course if their attendance patterns reveal three or more full or partial
course sessions missed (two in summer terms). Attendance is crucial in this
course. If you cannot attend the course regularly, plan to take the course in
a different semester when you can attend regularly!
All students attending class must be officially registered for the course and will not be
allowed to attend classes if unregistered after the official MDC add/drop date. Without
exception, students not registered for the courseand attending the course without
my knowledge in a large class settingwill not receive a grade at the end of the
term.

D) Optional Final Exam: Students have the option of taking a final exam during the
last week of the semester that can make-up a missed exam or replace a poor result on an
earlier course exam or paper assignment. Unlike the regular course exams, which test a
students knowledge on sections of the course, the final exam is a cumulative test that will
cover the broad span of the course. The format of the final exam will be announced during
the term. Consult the MDC final exam schedule posted in the student section at
www.mdc.com or my course website for final exam dates and times.
If the final exam is taken, the exam grade is worth one letter grade (A,B,C,D,F) and, as
mentioned above, takes the place of a missed exam OR replaces the worst result of a
students three course exams. For example, if a student had a D on an exam and that is their
worst exam grade of the three course examsand then takes the optional final exam and
gets a B on itthe B on the final exam replaces the D grade received on that earlier exam.
In the event that a students final exam grade is worse than the three course exam grades,
the result is ignored and not used in calculating a students final course grade.
Please note that a final exam grade does not replace an attendance grade.
Grading system:
Each of a student's six course letter grades will be averaged together (which includes
factoring in the book review assignment, if completed) to determine a student's final grade.
The following point scale will be used to assign points for grades:
A=4 points

B=3 points

C=2 points

D=1 point

F=No points

For numerical grades, such scores translate into whole letter grades based on the following
formula:
90-100
80-89
70-79
60-69
Below 59

=
=
=
=
=

A
B
C
D
F

Total points from a student's six semester grades are combined together and the final
grade will be computed using the following scale:
A=21-24 total grade points

B=15-20 total grade points

C=9-14 total grade points
D=6-8 total grade points
F=below 6 total grade points

Tentative course structure-textbook readings:

I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
VI.
VII.
VIII.
IX.
X.
XI.

Exploration and colonization of the New World (Chapters 1-2)

Colonial societies and their development (Chapter 3)
The movement toward American independence (Chapter 4-5)
The American Revolution (Chapter 6)
EXAM #1
The Critical Period, the 1787 Constitution, and Early National Period
(Chapters 6-7)
The Age of Jefferson, the War of 1812, and western expansion (Chapters 7-9)
EXAM #2
The Jacksonian reform era and economic development (Chapters 9-11)
Slavery and growing sectional conflict (Chapter 12)
The road to Civil War (Chapter 13)
The Union divided, 1861-1865 (Chapter 14)
Reconstructing the Union, 1865-1877 (Chapter 15)
EXAM #3

Important dates and holidays:

The last day to withdraw from the course without financial penalty or having a W
appear on your transcript is Friday August 29, 2014.
The last day to withdraw from this course with a grade of W is Tuesday November 4,
2014.
There will be no class held on Monday September 1, 2014 (Labor Day) and Friday
November 28, 2014 (Thanksgiving recess).
Classroom cell phone policy and student behavior:
Students must turn cell phones off during class as to not disturb the discussions
going on during class sessions.
The professor may have students removed from the classroom by campus security if
necessary for behavior that is disruptive to the learning environment.
The professor may reseat students during an exam and/or class sessions.