HISTORY OF WYOMING
History 1251, Spring Term, 2006
Dr. Phil Roberts History Bldg., Rm. 57
Office: 356 History Bldg., 766-5311 or 766-5101 M, W, F 9-9:50 a.m.
Office Hours: Mon., Wed., 10-11:30; and by appointment E-mail: philr@uwyo.edu
Drew Folk Office: 59 History Bldg., 766-4333. Office Hours: M, W, F, 10-11:30 a.m., and by appointment
E-mail: drewfolk@uwyo.edu
Mark Chollak Office: 59 History Bldg., 766-4333 Office Hours: M, W, 10-11:30, and by appointment
E-mail: mchollak@uwyo.edu
Please note that Prof. Roberts will NOT be available on Thursdays due to research commitments.
If your last name begins with the letters A-G, Drew will be your "grader."
If your last name begins with the letters H-O, Phil will be your "grader."
If your last name begins with the letters P-Z, Mark will be your "grader."
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. The course will be taught topically and not strictly chronologically. Consequently, it will be important for the student keep up with the reading assignments and to have a clear understanding of the chronology of Wyoming events, particularly those since 1890. This course satisfies the University Studies V1 requirement and, consequently, study of the Wyoming and United States Constitutions are an important component of the class. Also, the class will include an opportunity for you to work with primary documents in the American Heritage Center, providing training on how historians work with one-of-a-kind original documents.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS: The readings for this class are neither difficult nor extensive. The main “text” actually is a book of readings. The other assigned books were written for the popular audience and, consequently, are neither extensively footnoted nor difficult to read. The lectures will provide context and continuity, but they will NOT duplicate the readings. Consequently, relentless attendance will be required in order to succeed in this class. A short research paper, based on primary sources, will be required along with exams and quizzes.
REQUIRED BOOKS: Copies of all books (and the State Constitution) are on reserve in Coe Library.
John McPhee. Rising from the Plains. (New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1986).
Geoffrey O’Gara. What You See in Clear Water: Indians, Whites, and A Battle Over Water in the American West. (New York: Random House, 2000).
Phil Roberts, editor. Readings in Wyoming History. (4th edition, published in 2004). The fourth edition contains a number of essays not included in earlier editions. Page numbers on the syllabus refer to this edition and articles on the web.
Elinore Pruitt Stewart. Letters of a Woman Homesteader. (Lincoln: Bison Books, 1989). Other editions also OK.
Samuel Western. Pushed Off the Mountain, Sold Down the River: Wyoming’s Search for Its Soul. (Moose: Homestead Pub., 2002).
Stephen Breyer. Active Liberty: Interpreting Our Democratic Constitution. (New York: Knopf, 2005). This book will help guide our discussions about the United States Constitution, required to satisfy the V-1 university studies requirement.
The Wyoming Constitution. (Available for purchase, but also on reserve at Coe Library circulation and on the web).
The United States Constitution. (On reserve at Coe Library circulation and on the web).
From time to time, we will be viewing extracts of an extremely well-done "video history" of Wyoming titled "Wyoming Voices." This extract will be shown in class.
RECOMMENDED BUT NOT REQUIRED:
Annals of Wyoming: The Wyoming History Journal. The quarterly journal of the Wyoming State Historical Society contains important articles about Wyoming and Western history. The journal is sent to all society members. Membership is open to all. Students may join for just $15 annually. For additional information about membership, ask your professor or consult his website.
T. A. Larson. History of Wyoming. (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2d rev. ed., 1990). Dr. Larson was the foremost authority on Wyoming history. A copy of this book is on reserve in Coe Library.
Mike Mackey. Remembering Heart Mountain: Essays on Japanese American Internment in Wyoming. (Powell: Western History Publications, 1998). ISBN 0-9661556-1-0
Phil Roberts, David L. Roberts, and Steven L. Roberts. Wyoming Almanac. (Laramie: Skyline West Press, 2004).
Helena Huntington Smith. War on Powder River: The History of an Insurrection. (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1966). A reliable and lively account of the Johnson County Invasion.
Writers' Program. Wyoming: A Guide to Its History, Highways and People. (Lincoln: Univ. of Nebraska Press, 1981, reprint of 1941 ed.) First published more than 50 years ago, it has interesting stories about Wyoming.
EXAMS: Two exams, 100 points each (40%); the final exam, 100 points (20%); Constitution exam, 100 points (20%); research exercises, AHC research paper, 50 points (10%); one “book/article review,” 25 points (5%); map exercise and four unannounced quizzes, 25 points, (5%).. 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. When the American Heritage Center assignments are made, students are expected to attend on the date they are assigned. Unless PRIOR approval of the instructor is given, missing the date will result in losing all credit for the AHC assignment. Students are expected to be familiar with the university rules governing plagiarism and academic dishonesty which will be enforced in this class. Up to 25 additional “extra-credit” points may be earned by attending history-related lectures outside regularly scheduled classes. These opportunities will be announced in advance and will require proof of attendance at the event and a brief statement about the lecture program.
American Heritage Center visits are scheduled for the following dates: Feb. 15, 17, 22, 24, and March 1. Each student will be assigned one of these days to go during the regularly scheduled class period. The names/dates will be noted on this site.
GRADING PROCEDURE: The final grade will be calculated on the total "points" earned during the semester, tentatively based on the following scale: A: 450-500 points B: 400-449 points C: 350-399 points D: 300-349 points F: 299 or fewer
Outlines of lectures will be posted periodically to the web. Because of the possibility of technical problems, however, students should not expect to rely on these. Instead, students will be expected to attend and take notes
OUTLINE OF TOPICS, MEETINGS AND ASSIGNMENTS
Topics are subject to minor change. Visits to AHC are noted. Please click on link to find out when you are assigned to go.
Mon., Jan. 9: Introduction. .
Wed., Jan. 11: Organizing Concepts in Wyoming History
Reading: Readings in Wyoming History, "Introduction," pp. 1-4
Fri., Jan. 13: First Residents and Explorers: John Colter, The Astorians, Reverse Astorians and Blazing
the Trail East and West
Mon., Jan. 16: NO CLASS. Martin Luther King, Jr./Wyoming Equality Day
Wed., Jan. 18: Wyoming’s First “Boom”: The Fur Trade.
Fri., Jan. 20: Fur Trade (continued)
Mon., Jan. 23: “Trail to Somewhere Else” I: West to Oregon, California, Utah
Reading: John McPhee, Rising from the Plains (all).
Wed., Jan. 25: Conflict on the Plains: The Civil War in the West, the “Indian Wars,” and the Bozeman Trail
Fri., Jan. 27: “Trail to Somewhere Else” II: The Transcontinental Railroad.
Mon., Jan. 30: Transcontinental Railroad (continued). Showing of portion of PBS documentary titled "The
Transcontinental Railroad"
Wed., Feb. 1: Establishing the Territory: Women Suffrage and the Origins of the "Equality State"
Fri., Feb. 3: Wyoming’s Third Boom and Bust: Cattle Ranching, 1867-87.
Reading: Readings in Wyoming History, “Cowboys Form a Health Coop,” pp. 4-11
Mon., Feb. 6: Homesteading and Land Grants: Getting Free (or nearly free) Land from the Federal Government.
Reading: Stewart, Letters of a Woman Homesteader (entire book).
REVIEW QUESTIONS FOR EXAM #1.
Wed. Feb. 8: Diversity: “Internationalizing” Wyoming and the Rock Springs Massacre.
Reading: Readings in Wyoming History, “Ethnicity in Wyoming”;
"Lovell's Mexican Colony,” “My One Hobby,” pp.132-156.
Fri., Feb. 10: Exam #1
Mon., Feb. 13: Statehood and the End of the 19th Century: End of the Frontier?
Wed., Feb. 15: The Johnson County War/Invasion.
First American Heritage Center visit.
Fri., Feb. 17: Portion of CD #2, "Wyoming Voices"
Second American Heritage Center visit.
Mon., Feb. 20: Water Ownership Issues and Irrigation and Reclamation.
Reading: O’Gara, What You See in Clear Water, (entire book)
Wed., Feb. 22: Water (continued)
Third American Heritage Center visit.
Fri., Feb. 24: Introduction to Wyoming Oil
Fourth American Heritage Center visit.
Mon., Feb. 27: Wyoming Oil (conclusion)
Wed., March 1: Yellowstone: The World’s First National Park.
Reading: Readings in Wyoming History, “Preserving the Beasts of Waste and Desolation,”
“Commodification of Wildlife,” “Harvard Cook in the Wyoming Badlands,” pp. 13-40.
Last American Heritage Center visit.
Fri., March 3: Populism, Progressivism and the “Grand Old Men.”; “Trail to Somewhere Else” IV: Wyoming’s
Highways.
Reading: Readings in Wyoming History, “The Contest for the Capital,” pp. 41-52;
"Evolution of Roads," pp. 96-105; “Wyoming’s Estelle Reel,” pp. 78-95;
“Give Them What They Want,” pp. 110-124 ; “Be Our Guest: Wyoming Dude Ranching,” p. 242..
Mon., March 6: Homesteaders and Crop Agriculture in the Early 20th Century: The Beginning of Wyoming’s
“Great Depression”
Wed., March 8: 1920s (continued)
Fri., March 10: Tom Horn, Butch Cassidy, and "Tarzan of the Tetons": Law and Order Anecdotes in "Old
Wyoming"
Reading: Readings in Wyoming History, “School Bells and Winchesters,” pp. 53-77.
DRAWING FOR DOOR PRIZES!!1
March 13, 15, 17: No class. Spring Break.
Mon., Mar. 20: The New Deal in Wyoming; The Griffenhagen Report: Coping with Depression.
Wed., Mar. 22: New Deal (continued)
Fri., Mar. 24: Exam #2.
Mon., Mar. 27: The Wyoming Constitution.
Reading: Wyoming Constitution; Readings in Wyoming History,
“Overview of the Wyoming Constitution,” pp. 250-252.
Wed., Mar. 29: The United States Constitution.
Reading: U. S. Constitution; Breyer, all.
Fri., Mar. 31: Comparing Constitutions
Mon., April 3: Bill of Rights: Contemporary Issues of Civil Liberties.
Wed., April 5: Constitution Exam.
Fri., April 7: World War II in Wyoming: The Home Front
Reading: Readings in Wyoming History, "The 100-Octane Fuel Plant," pp. 125-131.
Mon., April 10: Aftermath of World War II: Wyoming Transformed?
Wed., April 12: The 1950s: Red Scare and Yellow Stripes: Assessing the Silent Decade.
Reading: Readings in Wyoming History, “Visions Beyond an Arrow of Fire,” pp. 243-249.
Fri., April 14: NO CLASS. VACATION DAY.
Mon., April 17: The 1960s: Vietnam, the “Black 14” and Severance Taxes.
Reading: Readings in Wyoming History, “The Emerging Civil Rights Movement,”
“Fired by Conscience,” “The Black 14: Williams v. Eaton,” pp. 166-205.
Wed., April 19: The Boom Decades I: Social Dislocations.
Reading: Readings in Wyoming History,
“Project Wagon Wheel: A Nuclear Plowshare for Wyoming,"pp. 214-227
Fri., April 21: The Boom Decades II: Coping with Impact.
Reading: Readings in Wyoming History., “Home on the Range No More,,” pp. 228-235.
Mon., April 24: Wyoming and the Depression of the 1980s.
Reading: Western, Pushed Off the Mountain, Sold Down the River (entire book);
Readings in Wyoming History, “Cabinet Confirmation,” pp. 236-241.
Wed., April 26: The 21st Century Boom and the Quest for Economic Diversification:
Reading: Readings in Wyoming History, “The Virginian Meets Matt Shepard,” pp. 206-213.
Fri., April 28: “Stump the Professor” review exercise.
Mon., May 1: FINAL EXAM, 8-10 a.m., HISTORY 57.
FOR THE MAP QUIZ, KNOW THE FOLLOWING:
Counties, county seat towns: Albany (Laramie); Big Horn (Basin); Campbell (Gillette); Carbon (Rawlins); Converse (Douglas); Crook (Sundance); Fremont (Lander); Goshen (Torrington); Hot Springs (Thermopolis); Johnson (Buffalo); Laramie (Cheyenne); Lincoln (Kemmerer); Natrona (Casper); Niobrara (Lusk); Park (Cody); Platte (Wheatland); Sheridan (Sheridan); Sublette (Pinedale); Sweetwater (Green River); Teton (Jackson); Uinta (Evanston); Washakie (Worland); Weston (Newcastle).
Non-county seat towns: Riverton, Rock Springs, Powell, Greybull, Afton, Kaycee, South Pass City, Medicine Bow, Guernsey.
Major rivers: Big Horn-Wind, Green, Sweetwater, North Platte, Powder River, Yellowstone, Laramie.
Significant mountains and ranges: Big Horns, Tetons, Absarokas, Wind River Range, Laramie Range, Black Hills, Gannett Peak.
National parks/monuments: Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Devils Tower
Forts: Russell (Warren), Laramie, Bridger, Phil Kearny, Washakie, McKinney.
Lakes and reservoirs: Buffalo Bill, Pathfinder, Alcova, Glendo, Flaming Gorge, Yellowstone Lake, Jackson Lake.
Major roads and trails: I-80, I-25, I-90, Union Pacific Railroad route, Oregon-California-Mormon trails, Texas Trail, Bozeman Trail, Overland stage route.
The following "special sites": Medicine Wheel, Como Bluff, Heart Mountain Relocation Center site, Wind River Indian Reservation, South Pass, Teapot Dome, Salt Creek oil field