Plessy v. Ferguson

Monday, February 11, 2013

Plessy v. Ferguson

Note: This week is complicated. Section 022 (M/Th) only meets once this week (on Monday) and Section 020 (Tu/F) meets twice on Thursday and Friday. The material we cover in class may vary between sections because of this. Don't panic. Use your textbook and we'll collect ourselves after next week (which is also complicated).

ETA: Because of the schedule changes this week and next week, this post will be available to comment on until approximately 8:30 am on Wednesday, February 20. You will be able to comment on the Massacre at Rock Springs until approximately 8:30 am on Thursday, February 14. I realize this is confusing, but we'll be back to our regular schedule soon.

Also, please remember to use your full name (no pseudonyms or anonymous posts) when you comment so that your classmates know to whom they are speaking and so you can receive credit for participating.

A cafe near the tobacco market, Durham, NC, Library of Congress

The decision in Plessy v. Ferguson established legal segregation of races in the United States. Despite being overturned in 1954 by the decision in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, the Plessy decision remains one of the most important cases in the history of the Supreme Court. Look here for a synopsis of the case and read the excerpts from Justice John Marshall Harlan's dissenting opinion. Identify Justice Harlan's main argument, and one example that he uses to support that argument. Why is his dissent significant?

Course Objectives

This is a broad survey course designed to introduce students to basic themes and events in American History, as well as college-level research and study skills. As this is a writing intensive course, students will develop critical writing skills through online discussion, essay writing and document analysis. We will cover material beginning with the Civil War and Reconstruction and extending through the Presidential election of 2000.

By the end of this course students will have experience evaluating historical materials, constructing and supporting an argument, and performing basic research. Students will also work collaboratively in-class and online to discuss material, analyze primary documents and develop note-taking and study skills.

Accessibility

Hunter College complies with the standards set forth in Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act to include all policies, procedures, and practices that impact the treatment of students with disabilities. The Office of AccessABILITY helps to ensure a comprehensively accessible college experience for all students with disabilities and helps to promote access and awareness as a resource to all members of the Hunter College community.

“In compliance with the American Disability Act of 1990 (ADA) and with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Hunter College is committed to ensuring educational parity and accommodations for all students with documented disabilities and/or medical conditions. It is recommended that all students with documented disabilities (Emotional, Medical, Physical and/or Learning) consult the Office of AccessABILITY located in Room E1124 to secure necessary academic accommodations. For further information and assistance please call (212-772-4857)/TTY (212-650-3230).” You can also locate them at:

http://www.hunter.cuny.edu/studentservices/access/welcome

Course Learning Outcomes

During this course, students will:

• identify and apply the key historical concepts of change-over-time, cause-and-effect, agency, historical empathy, and continuity and discontinuity, and recognize how these concepts are employed in the historical method

• analyze and interpret primary sources with attention to audience, authorship and context

• recognize some of the ways in which historians have conflicting interpretations of the past

• produce a paper with a clear thesis and appropriate citations based on strong evidence drawn from historical sources

• identify and discuss the importance of contact and conquest, colonial foundations, revolution and Constitution, immigration, geographic expansion, experiences of native peoples, role of women, slavery and African American experiences and the sectional crisis leading to the Civil War