NB. This course is NOT available as an optional course / keuzevak! Students are only allowed to enroll if they are:
part of the BA-history programme of Leiden University
participating in the Leiden University minor or keuzepakket Amerikanistiek
International students (via the International Office!)
The American Civil War was the worst political crisis and most bloody military conflict in the history of the United States. Although the North crushed the Confederacy, its post-war Reconstruction policy was a costly political failure that consigned the freed slaves to second-class citizenship. This course examines the military course of the Civil War, its effects upon civilians, and the internal politics of the Union and the Confederacy. The emancipation of the slaves, and the role of Abraham Lincoln in that process, forms an important topic. We then examine the goals of Reconstruction, black political empowerment in the South, and southern white resistance to racial equality leading to the defeat of the Republican Party. The seminar also considers how the Civil War and Reconstruction have been depicted in film, literature, and popular culture, and how different generations have interpreted the meaning of these conflicts.
Class type
Seminar. (NB class attendance is mandatory, see studiereglement Instituut voor Geschiedenis, art 2)
Learning goals
To gain an understanding of the main historiographical problems of the Civil War and Reconstruction through study of secondary literature and primary sources. The development of research and writing skills through a study of relevant literature on a chosen topic. The development of presentational skills by means of an oral report.
Study load
Totale study load: 280 hours
Class attendance: 28 hours
Studying literature: 112 hours
Seminar presentation: 10 hours
Writing essay: 130 hours
Literature
*James M. McPherson, Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era (Penguin).
- Eric Foner, A Short History of Reconstruction (Penguin).
Examination
Long essay (6.000 words): 80%
Seminar presentation (referaat): 20%
Timetable
Semester II, see timetables.
Information
With the tutor: Prof. dr. A. Fairclough
Blackboard/website
Yes.
How to enroll
Via U-TWIST, see aanmeldingsprocedures.