UNDER CONSTRUCTION History 258 Readings Spring 1999

Week One (Jan. 12-14) -- Introduction

Lebergott, pp. 7-59.

Week Two (Jan. 19-21)

Daniel Usner, Jr., "The Frontier Exchange Economy in the Lower Mississippi Valley in the Eighteenth Century."

Rudolph C. Blitz, "Mercantilist Policies and the Pattern of World Trade, 1500-1750."

e-mail assignment: Write a one-paragraph reaction to one of these two articles and post it on the listserv.

Week Three (Jan. 26-28)

Lebergott, 59-85; Egnal and Ernst, "An Economic Interpretation of the American Revolution;" Joyce Appleby, "Commercial Farming and the 'Agrarian Myth' in the Early Republic."

e-mail assignment: Write a one-paragraph reaction to either Egnal and Ernst or Appleby and post it on the listserv.

Week Four (Feb. 2-4)

Lebergott, 85-226. E-mail assignment: Write a on-paragraph analysis of the importance of protective tariffs. Take either a northern or a southern perspective.

Week Five (Feb. 9-11) Time on the Cross due. First Short Paper Due February 9. Choose a topic from Time on the Cross and write a 500-750 word analysis.

February 15-17 -- Mardi Gras Holidays

Week Six (Feb. 18)

Lebergott, 233-277.

Week Seven (Feb. 23-25)

Lebergott, 277-345. Second Short Paper due February 23. Choose a topic from Porter's The Rise of Big Business and write a brilliant 500-700 word analysis.

Week Eight (March 2-4)

Lebergott, 345-403.

Week Nine (March 9-11) March 11: Mid-term exam.

Week Ten (March 16-18)

Lebergott, 403-477.

Week Eleven (March 23-25)

Gordon, New Deals. Third Short Paper due March 25. Choose a topic from Gordon's New Deals and write a brilliant 500-700 analysis.

March 29-April 5 Easter Break

Week Twelve (April 6-8)

Lebergott, 489-502. E-mail assignment: review the following links on the Tennessee Valley Authority and write a paragraph on the benefits and costs of the New Deal. Origins of the TVA, Opposition to the TVA, Norris Basin, Displacement, and public photography.

Week Thirteen (April 13-15)

Lebergott, 502-527.

Week Fourteen (April 20-23)

Dertouzos, What Will Be. Fourth Short Paper due April 23. Write a fictional account of how advances in technology will change the American economy in the twenty-first century. 500-1000 words.

Week Fifteen (April 27-29)
Final Exam--May 10, 1999 9-11:00 a. m.