Instructor: Phil Roberts
E-mail: philr@uwyo.edu
Place: 133 Classroom Building
Time: T, Th., 9:35-10:50 a.m. (no discussion sections)
Office: 356 History Bldg.
Phil’s Office Hours: Mon., 2-3 p.m., Tues., 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m., and by appointment
Phil will be grading papers for students who have last names beginning with the letters So-Z.
E-mail: philr@uwyo.edu
Teaching Assistants:
Henry Busby
Henry will be working with students who have last names beginning with the letters A-Ha.
E-mail: hbusby@uwyo.edu
Krist Jessup
Krist will be working with students who have last names beginning with the letters He-Si.
E-mail: kjessup@uwyo.edu
OBJECTIVE: This course will study Wyoming history, how it relates to the history of the West and the rest of America, and how it influences the present. Students will be expected to understand the main themes in the state’s history as well as to recognize the context in the wider national/international perspective. The lectures and readings will encourage further reading in Wyoming and Western history. This course satisfies the University Studies V1 requirement. Study of the Wyoming and United States Constitutions is an important part of the class.
This course will not be set up as a comprehensive, chronologically-based series of readings and lectures. The chronological context is important because, in history, past actions influence later events and students need to be aware of general chronology, provided through reading the assignments in New History of Wyoming. Nonetheless, the class will be organized by specific topics and the lectures will NOT duplicate the readings. Consequently, it is essential for the student to keep up with the reading assignments (both printed and on the web) and participate in the various scheduled activities. There are NO discussion sections for this class, but teaching assistants will meet with you in small groups from time to time throughout the semester. (Your group and assigned TA will be announced during the second week of the semester). It is ESSENTIAL for students to attend the Tuesday and Thursday lectures and, during those days when the class meets as discussion sections, those classes. Failure to attend will result in a failing grade for the class.
EXAMS, QUIZZES AND GRADED EXERCISES:
Total of 400 points is possible, calculated in the following way: One mid-term exam, 100 points; the final exam, 100 points; Constitution exam, 100 points; brief unannounced quizzes, research exercises and American Heritage Center research paper research project (requiring attendance, during class time, and at orientation sessions at the AHC), total of 100 points. Make-up mid-term and final exams will be given ONLY IF the student informs the professor before the exam is to be administered with a valid reason for missing the scheduled time. There will be no make-ups possible for any of the unannounced quizzes. Students are expected to be familiar with the university rules governing plagiarism and academic dishonesty which will be enforced in this class. This applies to the AHC assignments as well as to the exams. The final exam is scheduled for Tues., Dec. 15, 10:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m.
American Heritage Center and UW Art Museum visits will be scheduled throughout the semester and handled by discussion leaders. When preparing the essays for completion of each of the assignments, students will be given specific instructions during the visits to the AHC and the Art Museum. When these assignments are made, students are expected to attend on the dates they are assigned. Unless PRIOR approval of the instructor is given, missing the date will result in losing all credit for the assignment.
AHC Visits:
Group 1: Oct. 6 (due Oct 20): Sn-Z
Group 2: Oct. 13 (due Oct 27): A-C
Group 3: Nov. 3 (due Nov. 17): D-He
Group 4: Nov. 5 (due Nov 19): Hi-M
Group 5: Nov. 19 (due Dec. 3): N-Sm
Extra Credit: Additional “extra-credit” points may be earned, from time to time, 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. Points given will be determined by the event. Up to a maximum of 25 points may be earned in this fashion. Maximum points in the class will be 400, but those gaining full credit for all exams/exercises and all extra-credit points could earn up to 425 points. There will be NO opportunities provided at the end of the semester to “make-up” points through extra work. Thus, careful attention to scheduled exams and exercises as well as prudent attendance at designated extra-credit lectures must be taken throughout the semester. (Click here for the exact rules for the paper contents and the due date).
GRADING PROCEDURE: The final grade will be calculated on the 400 total “points” earned during the semester, tentatively based on the following scale: A: 360-400 points (90%-100%) B: 320-359 points (80%-89%) C: 280-319 points (70%-79%) D: 240-279 points (60%-69%) F: 239 or fewer. The grades in this course will not be “curved.” You will earn your own grade regardless of what others in the class may do. Everyone could earn the grade of “A,” but also the grade of “F.”
PLAGIARISM AND ACADEMIC DISHONESTY: Students are expected to know and understand the university’s policies on plagiarism and academic dishonesty. The university rules will be strictly enforced in this class. Academic honesty policy
WYOCAST: Outlines of lectures will NOT be posted. All students will be expected to attend and take notes, using WyoCast for general review or to check on items missed during the lecture. The student will be required to use WyoCast for the lecture on any day on which she/he has a university-sanctioned excuse. For access to Wyocast, go to WyoCast, go to the upper right of the page and Log in (using your university e-mail name and password) and then go to “Arts and Sciences” and click. Below you will find the link to “HISTORY” and below that, the link to “HIST 125 Fall 2015.”
COURSE REQUIREMENTS.
Careful reading of FOUR books will be required for this course as well as chapters and articles from two internet-based texts. One internet-only text actually contains a series of articles on main themes in Wyoming history. Titled Readings in Wyoming History, the work is a compilation of scholarly articles and, in most cases, containing footnote citations and well-developed historical arguments. Each article will require careful reading. These readings will be important to understand the various events in the state’s history and provide the thematic framework. The second internet-only text, A New History of Wyoming, will provide the chronological context and various primary documents important to the general topic. Therefore, together with the lectures, the internet readings will provide context and continuity. Each set of readings do NOT duplicate the other, nor will either of them duplicate materials discussed in the lectures. Successful completion of the class requires careful reading of the assigned books, the internet texts and good note-taking during lectures.
All four of the printed books were written for the popular audience and, consequently, are not difficult to read and are not excessively analytical. Nonetheless, reading of all four will require more than mere accumulation of bits of information. Students are expected to be able to identify the main themes in each book and follow the authors’ arguments along with understanding how the events under consideration fit into the broader history of Wyoming.
Readings will be assigned from two other internet-only sites. One such site is Buffalo Bones: Stories from Wyoming’s Past, a compilation of newspaper-length feature stories published over the past several decades. The second is the Online Encyclopedia of Wyoming History. Articles assigned from these sites will be linked directly from the lecture modules to be appended to this site on a regular basis. One chapter from Building Up Wyoming will be read, too.
Written outlines will NOT be provided for lectures. Most lectures will be accessible through WyoCast, but students are expected to develop better note-taking skills to satisfy the requirements for the course. (More information will be provided on how to access WyoCast). In the course of the lectures, photographic images and maps will be emphasized. Consequently, relentless attendance will be required in order to succeed in this class.
REQUIRED BOOKS:
John W. Davis, Wyoming Range War: The Infamous Invasion of Johnson County. (U of Oklahoma Press. 2010). The book is available in hard cover, paperback and Kindle. Any edition is OK.
Geoff O’Gara,What You See in Clear Water: Indians, Whites and a Battle Over Water in the American West. (Vintage, 2002). Paper. ISBN: 978-0-679735-82-8
Robert Righter, Crucible for Conservation: The Struggle for Grand Teton National Park. (Grand Teton Natural History Association, 2008). Paper. ISBN: 978-0-931895-54-8
Laura Gibson Smith, Almost Pioneers: One Couple’s Homesteading Adventures in the West. Ed. by John J. Fry. (Guilford, Conn.: Globe Pequot Press, 2013). Paper. ISBN: 978-0-76278439-4
REQUIRED WEB-BASED READINGS:
Michael Cassity, Building Up Wyoming. (SHPO, Cheyenne), Chap. 3
Phil Roberts, A New History of Wyoming, chaps. 1-6 (revised, 2015)
Phil Roberts, A New History of Wyoming, chaps. 7-16 (currently available only on the web)
Phil Roberts, editor. Readings in Wyoming History. (web edition), available entirely on the web.
Other editions in print are still available, but this online fifth edition contains a number of essays not included in earlier editions.
Phil Roberts, Buffalo Bones: Stories from Wyoming’s Past (available only on the web)
Online Encyclopedia of Wyoming History is a website containing a number of significant articles about Wyoming history. Sponsored by the Wyoming State Historical Society, the site is edited by Casper historian Tom Rae.
OTHER REQUIRED READINGS:
Wyoming Constitution. (Available for purchase, but also on reserve at Coe Library circulation and on the web).
United States Constitution. (On reserve at Coe Library circulation and on the web).
Schedule of Lectures, Readings and Assignments
Tues., Sept. 1: Introduction, Description of Course Requirements and Syllabus.
Thurs., Sept. 3: Wyoming’s Native People.
Lecture Topic: Native People
Readings in Wyoming History, Introduction
New History of Wyoming, Chapter 1, Original Residents and Early Explorers and Primary Document (Robert Stuart’s Journal extract)
Tues., Sept. 8:The Fur Trade.
Lecture Topic: Introduction to Wyoming’s Boom and Bust Economy
New History of Wyoming, Chap. 2. The Fur Trade and the Rendezvous System.
Thurs., Sept. 10: Trails to Oregon, California, Utah and Montana.
Lecture Topic: Wyoming as Trail
New History, Chap. 3: Wyoming as a Trail to Somewhere Else
(Be sure also to read the Primary Documents 1-5–Stansbury report; Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851; Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868;Transcontinental Telegraph Authorized (1860);Treaty With the Eastern Shoshoni, 1863)
“Made in Wyoming” profile of Chief Washakie
Week of Sept. 15, 17: Coming of Rails: The Union Pacific Trains and Mines.
Lecture Topic: The Railroads: The Origins of Corporate Welfare or Ordinary Fraud?
New History, Chapter 4, Coming of Rails andPrimary Documents 1-5 — Pacific Railway Act, July 1, 1862; Pacific Railway Act, July 2, 1864; Cheyenne Gun Ordinance; Selections from John Crowley’s Diary, 1868)
Readings in Wyoming History, The Wyoming Experience: Chinese in Wyoming
Week of Sept. 22, 24: Wyoming’s Tradition ofEqual Rights.
Lecture Topic: Wyoming Constitution (Articles 1, 6) and Evolution of “Equality” in Wyoming
New History of Wyoming, Chap. 5: Establishing the Territory and Granting Women Equal Rights
Buffalo Bones: Stories from Wyoming’s Past: The 1st Woman Juror
Readings in Wyoming History, Near Repeal of Women Suffrage
“Made in Wyoming” profile of Esther Morris
Readings in Wyoming History, Wyoming’s Estelle Reel
Note the extra credit opportunity on the afternoon of Sept. 24.
Week of Sept. 29, Oct. 1: Statehood, Cattle-Ranching and the Open Range: The Johnson County Invasion
Lecture Topic: “Public Lands Are Owned by Everyone”: Wyoming Constitution, Articles 18 & 21
Readings in Wyoming History, Cowboys Form a Health Cooperative
Reading: Davis, Wyoming Range War: The Infamous Invasion of Johnson County (entire book)
Reading: Rea, “Covering Cattle Kate: Newspapers and the Watson-Averell Lynching”
New History, Chap. 6: Public Lands_
Oct. 6, 8: Economics, Society and Culture at the Beginning of the 20th Century
Lecture Topic: Wyoming Reactions to the Gilded Age: Wyoming Constitution, Articles 6, 9 & 10
New History, Chap. 12: Into the 20th Century
New History, Chap. 13, Water and Irrigation
Readings in Wyoming History, School Bells and Winchesters
Online Encyclopedia of Wyoming, Tom Horn
Buffalo Bones: Stories from Wyoming’s Past: Torrey’s Roughriders
Online Encyclopedia, Dry Farming
Smith, Almost Pioneers (entire book).
Readings in Wyoming History, Evolution of Roads
Oct. 13: Conclusion of Early 20th Century Homesteading (original topic of Energy State moved to Nov. 10 and those materials will be tested on the final exam)
_Oct. 15: Mid-term Exam.
Exam to be administered in our lecture classroom, 133 Classroom Bldg., from 9:35-10:50 a.m. No extra time will be allowed because we must vacate the room for the next class promptly at 10:50 a.m. Pace yourself accordingly.
Week of Oct. 20, 22: The Constitutions
Reading: The Wyoming Constitution
The U. S. Constitution (be sure to read all amendments, too)
Reading: Online Encyclopedia: Wyoming Becomes a State: The Constitutional Convention and Statehood Debates of 1889 and 1890–and the Aftermath
Readings in Wyoming History, The Contest for the Capital
Tues., Oct. 27: Constitution Exam.
Thurs., Oct. 29: The Economic Collapse of the 1920s
Lecture Topic: “Roaring ’20s for America, Bust Times in Wyoming”: Wyoming and the Counter-cyclical Nature of the Economy
Readings in Wyoming History, Give Them What They Want
Buffalo Bones: Stories from Wyoming’s Past: The Builder of the World’s Oldest Cabin
Buffalo Bones: Stories from Wyoming’s Past: Somewhere West of Laramie
Online Encyclopedia, Nellie Tayloe Ross
“Made in Wyoming” profile of Nellie Tayloe Ross
Manning, 100 Years on the Lincoln Highway,Wyoming PBS
New History, Chap. 14: The 1920s in Wyoming
Week of Nov. 3, 5: The New Deal: Economic Development & Social Change
Lecture Topic: The Illusion of State’s Rights: Wyoming and the Federal Union
New History, Depression and New Deal
History of Wyoming’s Sales Tax_
Online Encyclopedia, REA in Wyoming
Buffalo Bones: Stories from Wyoming’s Past: Wyoming’s First License Plates
Michael Cassity, Building Up Wyoming. (SHPO, Cheyenne), Chap. 3
History of the Blackwater Fire and the CCC
Week of Nov. 10: History of Wyoming Energy (this section originally had been scheduled for Oct. 13)
Lecture Topic: Overview of Wyoming’s Booms and Busts in Minerals
New History of Wyoming, Chap. 7: Minerals in Territorial Wyoming
New History, Chap. 9: History of Wyoming Oil
Teapot Dome interview on C-SPAN, Aug. 2014
Online Encyclopedia: Teapot Dome
“Made in Wyoming” profile of John B. Kendrick
Online Encyclopedia: Mineral Leasing Act of 1920 Encyclopedia of Wyoming, Oil Pipelines Across Wyoming_
Nov. 12: The War Years and Aftermath
Lecture Topic: Wyoming and the World
Readings in Wyoming History, The 100-Octane Fuel Plant
Readings in Wyoming History, O’Mahoney and Japanese Relocation
Readings in Wyoming History, The Textbook Controversy at the University of Wyoming
Buffalo Bones: Stories from Wyoming’s Past, Sleeping with the Nuclear Genie
Readings in Wyoming History, Quest for Public Television
Readings in Wyoming History, Visions Beyond an Arrow of Fire
Online Encyclopedia: Wyoming’s Nuclear Might: Warren AFB in the Cold War
Readings in Wyoming History, ‘Mrs. Barriers’ and the Crusade to Make Wyoming Public Buildings Accessible
“Made in Wyoming” profile of Helen Bardo
Tues., Nov.17: Conservation, Preservation, Development
Lecture Topic: Wyoming and Wilderness: Contradictions and Consistencies
Reading: Righter, Crucible for Conservation (entire book)
New History of Wyoming, Chap. 11: Conservation and National Parks
Readings in Wyoming History, Progressivism Comes to Yellowstone: Theodore Roosevelt and Professional Land Management Agencies in the Yellowstone Ecosystem
Readings in Wyoming History, Harvard Cook in the Wyoming Badlands
“Made in Wyoming” profile of Olaus and Mardie Murie
Online Encyclopedia: The Muries and Wilderness
Thurs., Nov. 19: The Severance Tax, Energy Booms and Busts, 1969-2014
Lecture Topic: Modern Booms and Busts
New History, Chap. 19: Boom and Bust Again: The 1970s
Readings in Wyoming History, Project Wagon Wheel: A Nuclear Plowshare for Wyoming
Online Encyclopedia: “Coal Slurry: An Idea that Came and Went”
Readings in Wyoming History, Home on the Range No More
“Made in Wyoming” profile of Stan Hathaway
“Made in Wyoming” profile of Tom Stroock
“Made in Wyoming” profile of Mike Sullivan
Online Encyclopedia: Oral History of Ed Herschler:
Tues., Nov. 24: Legends and Self-Image
Lecture Topic: Wyoming: Equality State? Cowboy State? Energy State?
Buffalo Bones: Stories from Wyoming’s Past: Edison, the Light Bulb and the Eclipse
Buffalo Bones: Stories from Wyoming’s Past: Equality State? Cowboy State?
New History, Chap. 10: Wyoming’s Self-Image
Online Encyclopedia, Kenny Sailors
Online Encyclopedia, Rulon Gardner
Thurs., Nov. 26: NO CLASS. THANKSGIVING VACATION.
Note that Prof. Roberts will be teaching a course in the spring titled: Topics: History of Wyoming Law HIST 4990-1. Registration for the class (CRN 27004) is now open.
Week of Dec. 1, 3: Diversity: Race and Ethnicity
Lecture Topic: From the Mayflower to Mexico: Wyomingites Started as Immigrants
Readings in Wyoming History, Reflecting Community: Case Studies of Three Wyoming Museums and the Impact of Each on the Community
Readings in Wyoming History, Ethnicity in Wyoming
Readings in Wyoming History, My One Hobby
Readings in Wyoming History, Lovell’s Mexican Colony
Online Encyclopedia, Interview of Felix Mercado
Readings in Wyoming History, The Emerging Civil Rights Movement
New History of Wyoming, Chap. 18: The 1960s
Online Encyclopedia: Mel Hamilton on the Black 14 Incident
Online Encyclopedia: Black 14
Online Encyclopedia, Biography of Teno Roncalio
Online Encyclopedia, _Biography of James Reeb
_”Made in Wyoming” profile of Liz Byrd
Readings in Wyoming History, The Virginian Meets Matt Shepard
Online Encyclopedia: Matt Shepard legacy
Tuesday, Dec. 8: Wyoming in the 21st Century
Lecture Topic: Wyoming’s Quest for Diversification of the Economy
O’Gara, Geoff. What You See in Clear Water: Indians, Whites and a Battle Over Water in the American West. (entire book)
WyoFile: Two Elk Saga: How One Man’s Dream Became State, Federal Nightmare.
Nickerson, Wyoming Cities, Counties Finance,WyoFile
Wyoming Women’s Foundation, 2011 Economic Status of Women Report
Online Encyclopedia: Harnessing Wyoming’s Wind.
Readings in Wyoming History: Same Decision, Different Result?
“Made in Wyoming” profile of Marilyn Kite
Thursday, Dec. 10: WYOMING DAY! Conclusion of Wyoming in the 21st Century; brief review for the Final Exam; if time permits, Stump the Professor exercise