Course: History 4879 / 6879
Semester: Fall 2007
Professor: Dr. Arwin D. Smallwood
Office: 121 Mitchell Hall, Phone: 678-3869
Office Hours: MW, 10 AM to 12 AM and by appointment
Class Meets: Mitchell Hall, Room 309; T, Th., 1 PM – 2:25 PM
History 4879 / 6879
From Africa to America: Blacks in America to 1820
Course Description:
History 4879 / 6879 is designed to study the history of African Americans from
their departure from Africa to their arrival in the Caribbean, South America and
North America during the 16th century. It also examines their lives in the
Americas during colonial and antebellum slavery. The course examines the African
Diaspora, colonial slavery, the impact of slavery on the formation of the United
States of America, and its expansion and institutionalization during the rise of
the “Cotton Kingdom” in the early 1800s. This course focuses on the experience
of both free and enslaved African-Americans and explores the relationships
between, Europeans, Africans and Native Americans during both the colonial and
the early antebellum periods. These issues will be discussed in the context of
American history. To take this course students must first have complete History
3881 or African-American Studies 2100.
Objectives:
The purpose of this course is to help students better understand the
African-American experience and how that experience was shaped and impacted in
America during the colonial and antebellum period. Additionally, this course
will give students a detailed and thorough history of both colonial and
antebellum slavery in America. Students will be taught to think and write
critically and to verbalize historical viewpoints. Students will be expected to
critically analyze both events and personalities that have impacted the lives of
African Americans during before 1820.
Required Books:
Core Text:
Holt Thomas C. and Elsa Barkley-Brown. Major Problems in African-American
History Vol. 1
Additional Required books:
Aptheker, Herbert. American Negro Slave Revolts
Countryman, Edward. How Did American Slavery Begin
Filler, Louis. Crusade against Slavery
Inikori, Joseph and Stanley Engerman ed. The Atlantic Slave Trade
Klein, Herbert. African Slavery in Latin America and the Caribbean
Kulikoff, Allan. Tobacco and Slaves
Littlefield, Daniel. Rice and Slaves in Colonial South Carolina
Manning Patrick, Slavery and African Life
Quarles, Benjamin. The Negro in the American Revolution
Sobel, Mechal. The World They Made Together
Stampp, Kenneth. The Peculiar Institution
Wood, Peter. Black Majority
Alan Watson, Slave Law in the Americas
Richard S. Dunn, Sugar and Slaves: The Rise of the Planter Class in the English
West Indies, 1624-1713
Benjamin Quarles, The Negro in the American Revolution, 3rd ed,
Ira Berlin, and Ronald Hoffman, eds. Slavery and Freedom in the Age of the
American Revolution.
William E. Dodd, The Cotton Kingdom” A Chronicle of the Old South
Frederic Bancroft, Slave Trading in the Old South
Suggested Readings:
Blassingame, John W. The Slave Community.
Conniff, Michael and Thomas Davis. Africans in the Americas
Franklin, John Hope. From Slavery to Freedom. 8th edition.
Smallwood, Arwin D. The Atlas of African-American History and Politics.
All students will be required to:
1. Attend all classes on time;
2. Complete all reading assignments before class;
3. Take two exams, a final, and turn in one 12-15 page paper.
Assignment Schedule:
1st Exam Thursday, September 28
2nd Exam Thursday, November 1
Paper Due Tuesday, November 20
Final Exam (See University Exam Schedule)
Grading Policy:
Course grade will be computed as follows:
1st Exam 20%
2nd Exam 20%
Paper 25%
Final Exam 35%
No make up exams (without valid university excuse)
You will be graded on a ten point scale:
A = 90-100
B = 80-89
C = 70-79
D = 60-69
F = 0-59
History 4879/6879 Paper Assignment
Paper topics will be selected during the first week of class in consultation
with the professor. Students must chose a topic related to one of the three
Broad themes around which the class is organized. Students may use books from
the list of books attached for Further Reading. Papers should be 12 to 15 pages
in length
Paper Requirements
Paper Format
Papers should 12 to 15 pages in length with a clear thesis, introduction, body,
conclusion, footnotes or endnotes, and a bibliography. Papers are to be typed,
double-spaced, and written in clear concise prose.
Plagiarism
The use of another individual’s ideas or words without proper citation
constitutes Plagiarism. Plagiarism is the worst form of academic misconduct. You
can avoid plagiarism by citing your sources using Kate Turabian’s Manual for
Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, 5th edition. If you are
unsure about what Plagiarism is, please speak with me.
Schedule of Assignments:
Theme I: Africa, the Caribbean, Latin America and the African Slave Trades
Week 1: August 28-30
-Major Problems in African-American History Vol.1 Chapter 1 “Carter G. Woodson,
Mary McLeod Bethune, John Hope Franklin, Vincent Harding, and Lucille Clifton on
Interpreting African-American History” p 1-36
Lecture: “What is African-American History?”
Week 2: September 4-6
-Major Problems in African-American History Vol.1 Chapter 2 “Africans and the
Slave Trade: Causes and Consequences” p36-42
-Slavery and African Life Occidental, Oriental, and African Slave Trades. p 1-85
-Lecture: “The Three Slave Trades”
Week 3: September 11-13
-Slavery and African Life Occidental, Oriental, and African Slave Trades. “The
economics and morality of slave supply and patterns of slavery and society from
1650 to 1900.” p 86-177
-The Atlantic Slave Trade. Part 1: “The Social Cost in Africa of Forced
Migration”
“Gainers and Losers” p. 1-144
Week 4: September 18-20
-The Atlantic Slave Trade. Part 2: “Atlantic Slavery and the early Rise of the
Western World”
-African Slavery in Latin America and the Caribbean. “The Origins of the Spanish
and Portuguese American Slave System.” P 1-139.
Week 5: September 25-28
-The Atlantic Slave Trade. Part 3: Atlantic Slavery, the World of the Slaves and
their
enduring legacies p. 283-397
-African Slavery in Latin America and the Caribbean. “Afro-American Slave
Society in Latin America and the Caribbean.” P. 139-273
-Exam #1, Thursday, September 28
Theme II: English Colonial Slavery and the Merging of Three Cultures
Week 6: October 2-4
-Major Problems in African-American History Vol.1 Chapter 3 “The Origins of
North American Slavery and Racism”
- Lecture “Slavery in the Southern and Caribbean Colonies”
-How Did American Slavery Begin? “The social and legal beginnings of slavery”
Week 7: October 9-11
-Major Problems in African-American History Vol.1 Chapter 4 “The First 200
Years: The Origins of African America and the Continuity of African Culture””
-Tobacco and Slaves “The rise of the tobacco culture of the Chesapeake”
-The World They Made Together. Part 1: Black, White and Indian Views toward time
and work p 1-71
Week 8: October 18
-Major Problems in African-American History Vol.1 Chapter 5 “The Development of
a Slave Society in Colonial North America”
-Rice and Slaves in Colonial South Carolina
-The World They Made Together. Part 2: and 4 Black White and Indian Attitudes
towards Space and the Natural World”
Week 9: October 23-25
-Lecture “Slavery in the New England and Middle Colonies”
-The Negro in the American Revolution
Week 10: October 30 – November 1
-Lecture “Slaves, Free Blacks and the American Revolution”
-The Negro in the American Revolution
-Exam #1, Thursday, November 1
Theme III: Ante-bellum Slavery and Resistance to Slavery
Week 11: November 6-8
-Major Problems in African-American History Vol.1 Chapter 6 “Subordination and
Autonomy: the Dialectics of Master-Slave Relations”
-The Peculiar Institution. “Slave Life during the Antebellum period” p 1-192
Week 12: November 13-15
-Major Problems in African-American History Vol.1 Chapter 7 “The Roots of
Resistance: Slave Cultures and Communities”
-Lecture “The Cotton Kingdom and the Domestic Slave Trade”
-The Peculiar Institution. ” p 192 -250
-American Negro Slave Revolts. “Fear, Control, Resistance and Rebellion p. 1-162
-Crusade against Slavery. “Slavery, Abolition and Reformers”p1-135
Week 13: November 20-22
-Major Problems in African-American History Vol.1 Chapter 8 “Free Blacks
confront the “Slave Power”: The Meaning of Freedom in a slave society”
-American Negro Slave Revolts. “Fear, Control, Resistance and Rebellion p.
162-260
-Crusade against Slavery. “Slavery, Abolition and Reformers”p135-330
Week 14: November 27-29
-Major Problems in African-American History Vol.1 Chapter 9 & 10 “The Civil War,
Emancipation and Reconstruction”
Week 15: December 4
DECEMBER 4 – LAST DAY OF CLASS (Review for Final Exam)
Further Reading:
Africa, the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade and Spanish and Portuguese Slavery
Ajayi. j.F.A. and Michael Crowder eds. A Thousand Years of West African History.
Bernal, Martin. Archaeological and Documentary Evidence.
Bennett, Lerone Jr. Before The Mayflower: A History of Black America.
Bitterli, Urs. Cultures in Conflict: Encounters Between European and Non
European
Cultures. 1492-1800.
Chittick, H.N. and R.I. Rotberg. East Africa and the Orient: Cultural Syntheses
in Pre¬
Colonial Times.
Harris, Joseph E. Africans and Their History.
Hiernaux, Jean. The People of Africa.
Mannix, Daniel. Black Cargos: A History of the Atlantic Slave Trade. 1518-1865.
Oliver, R. and G. Mathew, eds. History of East Africa.
Oliver, R. and C. Oliver eds. Africa in the Days of Exploration.
Oxnard, C.E. Fossils. Teeth and Sex: New Perspectives on Human Evolution.
Price, Richard. Maroon Societies: Rebel Slave Communities in the Americas.
Pritchard, jJM. Africa: The Geography of a Changing! Continent.
Rout, L.B. The African Experience in Spanish America.
Stamp, Dudley L. and W. T. W. Morgan. Africa: A Study in Tropical Development.
Scammell, Geoffrey Vaughn. The World: The First European Maritime Empires
800-1650.
Van Sertina, Ivan. They Came Before Columbus.
Vogt, Jon. Portuguese Rule on the Gold Coast. 1469-1682.
Colonial Slavery in the Caribbean and the Americas
Alderman, Clifford Lindsey. Rum. Slaves and Molasses: The Story of New England’s
Triangular Trade.
Beckles. Hilary M. White Servitude and Black Slavery in Barbados. 1627-1715.
Boles, john B. Black Southerners. 1619-1869.
Boyer, Paul and Stephen Nissenbaum. Salem-Village Witchcraft: A Documentary
Record of Local Conflicts in Colonial New England.
Bridenbaugh, Carl, and Raberta Bridenbaugh. No Peace Beyond the Line: The
English in the Caribbean. 1624-1690.
Carr. Lois Green. Colonial Chesapeake Society.