NOTICE: This is an older course recorded with Adobe Connect and/or Vimeo recordings. We are currently working to replace the recordings with new Zoom recordings. Please don't hesitate to email us at homeschoolconnections@gmail.
Dear Student,
This course is scheduled to be retired on Nov 30, 2024. You may continue using this course; however, we highly suggest moving to the new, updated course.
https://moodle.homeschoolconnectionsonline.com/course/view.php?id=4172#section-0
Please check out the Live courses here: https://caravel.homeschoolconnections.com/catalog/
Instructor Access (Optional grading support) is available for this course! See the sidebar to the right for signup information.
How to get the most out of The American South: "To Live and Die in Dixie"
with Christopher Martin:
- Do the assigned reading before the class meeting for that week. (High School students only!!)
- Discuss the reading with your parent, or, in subscribed to instructor access, submit your thoughts on the reading to the instructor
- Have a notebook ready and available for class notes each recorded session
- Watch that week’s recording session
- Do the assignments, quizzes, and any extra work assigned for that week.
- Once the course is completed to the parent's and professor’s satisfaction, there is a Certificate of Completion at the end to be filled in for your records.
Total Classes: 14
Prerequisite: None
Suggested Grade Level: High School (Adjustments can be made to assignments in order to accommodate Middle School students.)
Suggested Credit: One full semester American History
Instructor: Christopher Martin, PhD
Instructor Email: chrisgooverthere@yahoo.com
Course Description:
The South has largely represented a peculiar and independent spirit within the American heritage, and its history and influence are often misunderstood. This course examines the South in literature, politics, economics, and military, while also analyzing the efforts made to influence its historical legacy. With respect to Literature, students will be introduced to some of the pro-slavery texts of the South such as John C. Calhoun's Disquisition on Government, George Fitzhugh's Cannibal's All!, and John P. Kennedy's Swallow Barn. Politically, the series of events leading to secession, war, Reconstruction, and redemption will be carefully discussed, as well as the social pressures upon which these movements relied. Militarily, the factors and battles crucial to the Confederacy's demise will be carefully scrutinized. Finally, keen attention will be given to the rise of the Lost Cause and its efforts to shape the Confederate legacy.
Course Outline:
- Classes 1-2: The founding of Southern traditions in the Colonial and Revolutionary Era
- Classes 3-4: Silver Age politicians and "the river of dark dreams"
- Classes 5-7: The Crisis of Southern apologists
- Classes 8-10: The Rise and fall of the Confederacy
- Classes 11-12: The Reconstruction and the Lost Cause
- Classes 13-14: Redemption, monuments, and Jim Crow
Course Materials: The Confederate Experience Reader, John D. Fowler, ISBN-10: 0415978793 or ISBN-13: 978-0415978798 (https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0415978793/chrisgooverth-20 or bookfinder.com)
A note about the readings in this class: Many of the selections are primary source materials, written by the Confederates themselves. Students should read these materials with a critical eye, identifying where they might agree and/or disagree with the historical authors, and why.
Homework: Expect to generally have a maximum of 20 pages of reading from the textbook. Two to three hours of homework a week in reading and studying is expected. HOWEVER, homework will generally be lighter than this.
NOTE: Middle School students taking this class are not required to do the reading.
Also, students will have access to ungraded review quizzes based on classroom lectures and discussions. Bonus points are possible.
Answer Key: An answer key booklet is not included with this course.
- Teacher: Christopher Martin