HISTORY OF WYOMING
History 1251, Autumn Term, 2006
Dr. Phil Roberts Education Auditorium
Office: 356 History Bldg., 766-5311 or 766-5101 T, Th 9:35-10:50 a.m.
Office Hours: Tues., Wed.., 11-12:30;, and by appointment E-mail: philr@uwyo.edu
TEACHING ASSISTANTS:
Brandi Hilton-Hagemann
E-mail: bhiltonh@uwyo.edu
Office Hours: Wed., 10-12:30; Thurs., 11-12:30 p.m., and by appointment
Brandi will be grading the papers of individuals who have last names beginning with the letters A-E.
Jacob Amend
E-mail address: jlamend@uwyo.edu
Office Hours: W, 10-Noon, Thurs., 11-12:30, and by appointment
Jake will be grading the papers of individuals who have last names beginning with the letters F-K.
Xiao Yan Zhou
E-mail address: xzhou1@uwyo.edu
Office Hours: M, F, 10-Noon, and by appointment
Xiaoyan will be grading the papers of individuals who have last names beginning with the letters S-Z.
Those with last names beginning with the letters L-R will be graded by Phil.
OBJECTIVE: The course is a survey which will encourage an understanding of Wyoming history, how it relates to the history of the West and the rest of America, and how it has influenced the present. The lectures and readings are designed to encourage further reading in Wyoming and Western history. Unlike recent past semesters, the course will NOT be taught chronologically. Instead, the course will follow certain "organizing themes." Consequently, it will be important to keep up with the reading assignments and to have a clear understanding of the chronology of Wyoming events, particularly those since 1890. The course will consider the U. S. Constitution and the Wyoming Constitution and place each in historical context. Consequently, this course satisfies the University Studies V1 requirement.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS: The readings for this class are not extensive or difficult. There will be no main text assigned. Rather, readings will be drawn from several key books. The lectures will NOT duplicate the readings and not all lecture outlines will be posted on the website. Consequently, relentless attendance will be required in order to succeed in this class. A short research exercise, based on primary sources, will be required along with exams and quizzes (see below).
REQUIRED BOOKS: Copies of all books (and the State Constitution) are on reserve in Coe Library.
Elinore Pruitt Stewart. Letters of a Woman Homesteader. (Lincoln: Bison Books, 1989). Other editions OK.
Robert W. Righter. Crucible for Conservation: The Struggle for Grand Teton National Park. (Moose: Grand Teton Natural History Assoc., 1982, 2000).
Phil Roberts, editor. Readings in Wyoming History. (4th edition, published in 2004).
Helena Huntington Smith. War on Powder River: The History of an Insurrection. (Lincoln: Univ. of Neb. Press, 1966).
Sam Western. Pushed Off the Mountain, Sold Down the River: Wyoming's Search for Its Soul. (Moose: Homestead Pub., 2002).
The Wyoming Constitution. (Available for purchase, but also on reserve at Coe circulation and on the web).
The United States Constitution. (On reserve at Coe Library circulation and on the web).
EXAMS: Constitution exam, 100 points (25%); a mid-term exam, 100 points (25%); the final exam, 100 points (25%); AHC research exercise, 75 points (19%); five unannounced quizzes, 25 points total (6%). Absolutely no make-up quizzes will be given. Make-up exams will be given ONLY IF the student informs the professor or TA before the exam is to be administered with a valid reason for missing the scheduled time. Students are expected to be familiar with the university rules governing plagiarism and academic dishonesty which will be enforced in this class. Also, please note that no electronic devices will be allowed in the room during exams. Also, all cellphones must remain off.
AMERICAN HERITAGE CENTER RESEARCH EXERCISE: Each student will have the opportunity to examine a primary collection held in the American Heritage Center. The orientation to the collections will be held for small group of students over the course of several weeks in October and November. The schedule for these visits, to be made during regularly-scheduled class periods, will be posted early in the semester. Assigned dates will be announced in advance and students will be expected to go on the assigned date, unless he/she notifies the professor of a necessary absence. Class attendance is NOT taken for the regular class meetings, but class attendance WILL be taken for the AHC visits and students not attending on the assigned date will not gain credit for the research assignment.
GRADING PROCEDURE: The final grade will be calculated on the total "points" earned during the semester, based on the following scale: A: 360-400 points B: 320-359 points C: 280-319 points D: 240-279 points F: 239 or fewer
Topics are subject to minor change.
Outlines of lectures will be posted periodically to the web. Because of the possibility of technical problems as well as brevity of the outline format that will be utilized, students should not expect to rely on these. Instead, students will be expected to attend and take notes, relying on the web outlines for reference, refreshing memory, or augmenting notes.
Week of Aug. 29-31:
Introduction; Discussion of syllabi; Organizing Concepts.
Reading: Roberts, introduction, pp. 1-4.
Week of Sept. 5-7: Wyoming’s Boom and Bust Economy: Early Exploration and the Fur Trade.
Fur Trade overview.
Week of Sept. 12-14: Wyoming as a Trail to Somewhere Else: Wagon Trails and Railroads.
Reading: Roberts, "Evolution of Roads," pp. 96-109.
Sept. 19: “Hell-on-Wheels” Towns and Other Indications of Boom Times in Territorial Wyoming
Sept. 21: Coal-mining in Wyoming: 19th Century Highlights.
Sept. 26: Women Suffrage and the First Territorial Legislature. Reading: Roberts, pp. 53-124—“School Bells and Winchesters," “Wyoming’s Estelle Reel”; Stewart, Letters of a Woman Homesteader (all).
Sept. 28: American Experience: The Transcontinental Railroad (documentary film).
Oct. 3: Wyoming as Cattle Country: Open Range to Johnson County Invasion
Oct. 5: Cattle/Johnson County War (continued) Group 2 goes to the American Heritage Center
Oct. 12: Mid-term Exam. (Note: Exam will cover all lectures and readings to this point). Again, a reminder that electronic devices will not be allowed in the room during the exam. Cellphones must remain off.
Oct. 19: Who Owns Wyoming?: Water Issues. Group 5 goes to the American Heritage Center.
Oct. 24: Issues of Wilderness. Group 6 goes to the American Heritage Center.
Reading: Roberts, “Give Them What They Want," "Preserving the Beasts of Waste and Desolation,” “Commodification of Wildlife,” “Harvard Cook in the Wyoming Badlands,”; Righter, Crucible for Conservation, (all)
Oct. 26: Issues of Wilderness. Group 7 goes to the American Heritage Center.
Oct. 31: Developments in Transportation, Business, Politics, 1890-1915. Group 8 goes to the American Heritage Center.
Nov. 2: Wyoming: Equality State? Group 9 goes to the American Heritage Center.
Reading: Roberts, pp. 132-213: p “Ethnicity in Wyoming”; "Lovell's Mexican Colony," "My One Hobby," “The Emerging Civil Rights Movement,”; “Fired by Conscience,” “Black 14: Williams v. Eaton,” “The Virginian Meets Matt Shepard"
Week of Nov. 7-9: The Wyoming Constitution
Reading: Roberts, “The Contest for the Capital,” pp. 41-52; “Brief Overview,” pp. 250-252; Wyoming Constitution (all); U. S. Constitution (all).
Nov. 14: Constitution Exam.
Nov. 16: Wyoming in Depression Group 10 goes to the American Heritage Center.
Nov. 21: Wyoming in World War II; "Photographic History of the University of Wyoming."
Reading: Roberts, pp. 125-131, 214-241: "Cheyenne's 100-Octane Fuel Plant,"“Project Wagon Wheel: A Nuclear Plowshare for Wyoming," “Home on the Range No More”, “Cabinet Confirmation.” . Group 11 goes to the American Heritage Center.
Nov. 23: Thanksgiving. NO CLASS.
Nov. 28: World War II and Post-war Wyoming: Wyoming Transformed?
Nov. 30: "Red Scare, Yellow Stripes and the Black 14"
Week of Dec. 5-7: Boom and Bust in the Late 20th Century; Recent Issues in the State’s History
Reading: Roberts, “Visions Beyond an Arrow of Fire, pp. 243-249; Western, Pushed Off the Mountain (all).
If time allows, the Annual "Stump the Professor" exercise along with a general review for the final exam will held during the final class session.
FINALS WEEK: Final Exam, Exact date, time and place: TBA.