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Zbc fSirxivcveit^ of Cblcago 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY EXTENSION C3^^ 
 
 THE LECTURE-STUDY DEPARTMENT • S( ^ 
 
 No. 170.— Price, 10 Cents. 
 
 PLAIN TALKS 
 
 ON AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 SYLLABUS OF A 
 COURSE OF SIX 
 LECTURE-STUDIES 
 
 By EDWIN ERLE SPARKS, PH.D., 
 ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 CHICAGO 
 
 Cbc 'ClnivetaitB of Cblcago Pceaa 
 
 1904 
 
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 EXERCISES 
 
 Topics for exercises are given at the end of the outline of each lecture. Answers 
 in writing, to not more than two questions each week, are invited from all persons 
 attending the lecture. These should be written on one side of the paper only, a 
 broad margin being reserved on the left. The name of the center, with some 
 signature of the writer, should stand at the top of the first page. The exercises 
 should be sent to Edwin Erle Sparks, Ph.D., The University of Chicago, Chicago, 
 so as to arrive at least two days before the following lecture. They will be re- 
 turned at the Review, the following week, with such marginal and oral comments as 
 they seem to require. If application is made to the lecturer, there will be an Exam- 
 ination at the end of the course for students who are qualified and desire to take it. 
 
 Any of the books referred to in these lectures may be obtained at special rates 
 from The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 111. Prices will be quoted on 
 application. 
 
 Readings in connection with each lecture are designated in the 
 syllabus. The syllabus is provided with a perforated leaf which 
 each student desiring University credit or recognition in any form 
 should fill out immediately after the opening of the course, and 
 mail to the Secretary of the Lecture-Study Department, Uni- 
 versity Extension Division, University of Chicago. 
 
 The conditions on which University credit can be secured are 
 given on the second page of the leaf. 
 
 Gift 
 The University 
 S2705 
 
XLbc Tflniver0(ts of Cbicaso STUDENT'S APPLICATION 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY EXTENSION DIVISION rr^n RpfiKTRAT|ON 
 
 THE LECTURE-STUDY DEPARTMENT 
 
 University Extension Center at. 
 Date of writing this application^ 
 
 Full name_ 
 
 {e. g.y Henry Smith Jones] 
 
 Address 
 
 Date of Birth Place of Birth. 
 
 Occupation 
 
 Do you wish University credit?. 
 Title of Lecture Course 
 
 Date of delivery of Course. 
 
 Lecturer. 
 
 If previously registered in the University of Chicago give . 
 /. Matriculation number 
 
 2. College or Schools 
 Degree sought 
 
 High Schools, Academies, etc., with periods and dates of attendance. 
 
 College or Colleges attended, with periods and dates, degrees, etc. 
 
 State definitely what work has been done in the Department in which the subject to be 
 taken occurs .^ — — 
 
 Remarks^ 
 
 Instructor notified — ^90- 
 
 (over) 
 
UNIVERSITY RECOGNITION OF LECTURE-STUDY WORK. 
 
 1. Examinations are permitted on all courses of six lecture-studies and 
 upwards. Students are qualified for the examination who (a) have attended not 
 less than two-thirds of the total number of lectures and classes included in the 
 course of instruction ; {d) have written, to the satisfaction of the lecturer, exercises 
 upon topics assigned in connection with not less than two-thirds of the lectures of 
 the course. • 
 
 2. Credit for work done on University Extension Lecture-Study courses is 
 given on the books of the University on the following conditions : 
 
 a) No application for credit will be considered unless the applicant shall have 
 submitted to the lecturer before the examination a minimum of eight written exer- 
 cises, or the equivalent thereof in theses of greater length. 
 
 d) Applicants for credit 7nust consult the lecturer at the opening of the course, 
 when he will designate subjects and topics upon which the work must be based. 
 Formal registration must be made with the University before the second lecture, using 
 the reverse page of this leaf. 
 
 c) The applicant shall pass an examination on the course at such time as is 
 most convenient to himself and his instructor either at the University or, if else- 
 where, under supervision which has been approved by his Dean. 
 
 d) No examination or other special fee is charged applicants for credit. 
 
 e) To students satisfying these requirements credit for a Minor will be given 
 by the University. 
 
 /) If the lecturer or any other leader approved by the University conducts a 
 supplementary class in connection with a course of twelve lecture-studies, a student 
 doing satisfactory work therein in addition to the work above mentioned may upon 
 recommendation of the lecturer become a candidate for credit for a Major. 
 
 3. A minimum of one year's residence is required of an applicant for a degree. 
 Non-resident work is accepted for only one-third of the work required for a degree. 
 
w* REQUIRED READINGS. 
 
 The following selections are required to be read for University credit 
 as noted on the blank certificate inserted in this syllabus: 
 
 LECTURE I. 
 
 Bancroft, History of the Ufiitsd States (revised edition), Vol. IV, pp. 
 
 359-73; Vol. V, pp. 244-60. 
 Morse, Life of Franklin, pp. 217-75. 
 
 LECTURE II. 
 
 Bancroft, History of the United States, Vol. IV, pp. 121-26; Vol. VI, pp. 
 
 154-66. 
 Whittier, "The Pastoral Letter," stanzas III-VI. 
 
 LECTURE III. 
 
 Bancroft, History of the United States, Vol. VI, pp. 125-53, 167-94. 
 Lowell, "Biglow Letters," first letter. 
 
 LECTURE IV. 
 
 Bancroft, History of the United States, Vol. Ill, pp. 392-402; Vol. V, 
 
 pp. 300-16. 
 Whitman, "Pioneers! O Pioneers!" 
 Whittier, "On Receiving an Eagle's Quill from Lake Superior." 
 
 LECTURE V. 
 
 Bancroft, History of the United States, Vol. VI, pp. 5-23. 
 Lowell, "Commemoration Ode, July, 1865," stanza VI to close. 
 
 LECTURE VI. 
 
 Bancroft, History of the United States, Vol. VI, pp. 441-51. 
 Longfellow, "The Building of the Ship." 
 Whitman, "By Blue Ontario's Shore," 2, 5, 12, and 15. 
 
LECTURE I. 
 
 THE BIRTH OF AMERICAN DIPLOMACY. 
 
 " Our detached and distant situation invites and enables us to pursue a different 
 course. If we remain one people, under an efficient government, the period is 
 not far off when we may defy material injury from external annoyance ; when 
 we may take such an attitude as will cause the neutrality we may at any time 
 resolve upon to be scrupulously respected ; when belligerent nations, under the 
 impossibility of making acquisitions upon us, will not lightly hazard the giving us 
 provocation; when we may choose peace or war, as our interest, guided by justice, 
 shall counsel." — Washington'' s Farewell Address, 1796. 
 
 I. The Necessities of War. 
 
 Unexpected outbreak of the Revolutionary War. The financial 
 condition of the colonies. Lack of money, drill-masters, and 
 engineers. 
 II. The Chances of Securing Foreign Aid. 
 
 General condition of European affairs. Probable policy of 
 Russia, Prussia, the Dutch republic, France, and Spain. Eng- 
 land as a dangerous rival on the sea. 
 
 III. Silas Deane, the Commercial Agent. 
 
 Hope of foreign succor based on France. The Bourbon family 
 compact. Choice of Deane as agent. The firm of Hortalez 
 & Co. 
 
 IV. The American Commissioners. 
 
 Mission of Bonvouloir. Franklin, Deane, and Lee. The recep- 
 tion and influence of Franklin. Jay in Spain. 
 
 V. The First American Treaty. 
 
 Effect of the capitulation of Burgoyne. Precedents in the 
 first treaty. What gratitude do we owe to France? What 
 gratitude to Spain ? 
 
 References: 
 
 Bancroft, History of the United States (revised). Vol. V, pp. 17, 50-254. 
 
 Parton, Franklin, Vol. II, pp. 151-300. 
 
 Morse, Franklin, pp. 217-75. 
 
 Wharton, Diplomatic Correspondence of the American Revolution (index). 
 
 5 
 
6 PLAIN TALKS ON AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 EXERCISES. 
 
 1. Qualities which made Franklin an ideal diplomat. 
 
 2. What did Frederick the Great do to aid the Americans? 
 
 3. Were Jay's suspicions of Spain well founded ? 
 
 4. Causes of the dissensions among the American commissioners. 
 
 5. Contributions of the United States to world-diplomacy. 
 
 LECTURE 11. 
 
 THE SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE IN AMERICA. 
 
 "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or pro- 
 hibiting the free exercise thereof." — Constitution of the United States. 
 
 I. Union of Church and State. 
 
 The early reign of the sword. The later reign of the church. 
 The right to cast out heretics resultant. Persecution unavoid- 
 able. Religious purpose of Columbus. The early charters. 
 II. The Migration for Conscience' Sake. 
 
 America as a religious Utopia. Emigration does not work con- 
 version. Persecution by the persecuted. A state church in the 
 South and a church state in the North. Sir Henry Vane and 
 Rev. John Cotton. 
 
 III. The Beginnings of Toleration. 
 
 Broader political horizon. Pressure for citizenship in New 
 England. The ''half-way covenant." Experience of Jonathan 
 Edwards. Number of sects brings safety in middle colonies. 
 Growth of dissenters in the southern colonies. Patrick Henry 
 and "the parson's cause." 
 
 IV. Religious Aspects of the American Revolution. 
 
 The fear of an American bishop. Feeling against the state 
 church as a social distinction. Work of Jefferson and Madison 
 in Virginia. The state constitutions as framed. The Ordi- 
 nance of the Northwest Territory. The first amendment to the 
 Constitution. 
 
 V. A Non-Sectarian State Not a Godless State. 
 
 Evidences of a religious attitude in {a) the government; {b) 
 the individual; {c) the constant adjustment between the two. 
 
PLAIN TALKS ON AMERICAN HISTORY 7 
 
 Individual responsibility of religious life inseparable from 
 individual responsibility in civic life. 
 
 References: 
 
 Bancroft, Vol. II, p. 341 ; Vol. IV, p. 328; Vol. VI, pp. 154-66. 
 
 Sparks, Washington'' s Writings, Vol. XII, pp. 152-202. 
 
 M.orst, Jefferson, p. 45. 
 
 Gay, Madison, pp. 13, 17, 66, 68. 
 
 Schaff, Church and State in the United States. 
 
 Sprague, Annals of the American Pulpit. 
 
 EXERCISES. 
 
 Jonathan Edwards as a type of the unyielding pastor. 
 Toleration in Pennsylvania; in Rhode Island. 
 Religious freedom as confused with atheism. 
 Franklin and Jefferson as freethinkers. 
 Is there an absolute standard of right in religious views? 
 
 LECTURE III. 
 
 WAR AND PEACE IN AMERICAN HISTORY. 
 
 "Incidents like these .... seem trivial. But their historic lesson is none the 
 less clear. Though they lift the curtain but a little way, they show us a glimpse of 
 the untold dangers and horrors from which the adoption of our federal constitution 
 has so thoroughly freed us that we can only with some effort realize how narrowly 
 we have escaped them. It is fit that they should be borne in mind, that we may 
 duly appreciate the significance of the reign of law and order which has been 
 established on this continent during the greater part of a century. — Fiske's Critical 
 Period of American History. 
 
 I. War as an Abnormal Condition. 
 
 Civil and foreign war. The suppression of constitutional rights 
 and guarantees. The dulling of the public conscience. 
 
 II. The Revolutionary War as an Instance. 
 
 A civil as well as a foreign war. The choosing of the sides. 
 Loyalists versus Patriots. Actions. The reign of mob law. 
 Exile, confiscation, and treason. Reactionary effects. 
 
b PLAIN TALKS ON AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 III. The "Critical Period" Following the War. 
 
 Groping for the best forms of self-government. Abhorrence 
 of taxes and just debts. Low state of the public conscience. 
 Lessons from the paper money. Despair of the triumphant 
 war leaders. 
 
 IV. Reconstruction Following the Civil War. 
 
 Secession and rebellion kindred. Various theories upon the 
 condition of the seceding states. The radicals in Congress. 
 The structure almost destroyed in the effort to restore it. 
 
 V. The Severe School of Experience. 
 
 '•'Patriotism" in war and in peace. Dangers and duties of 
 peace no less urgent than those of war. 
 
 References: 
 
 McMaster, History of the People of the United States, Vol. I, pp. 1-350. 
 
 Bancroft, Vol. VI, pp. 59-194. 
 
 Gay, Madison, pp. 76-88. 
 
 Fiske, Critical Period of American History. 
 
 Van Tyne, Loyalists in the American Revolution. 
 
 Sparks, Men Who Made the Nation, chap. xii. 
 
 EXERCISES. 
 
 1. A summary of the state laws against the Loyalists. 
 
 2. Excesses following the French Revolution compared with those 
 following the American Revolution. 
 
 3. What is patriotism ? What are its manifestations ? 
 
 4. Lincoln's theory of reconstruction. 
 
 5. Are there permanent results from the various peace movements? 
 
 LECTURE IV. 
 
 THE WESTWARD MOVEMENT OF THE PEOPLE. 
 
 " The Americans who quit the posts of the Atlantic ocean to plunge into the 
 western wilderness are adventurers, impatient of restraint, greedy of wealth, and 
 
 frequently men expelled from the states in which they were born The 
 
 authority of the laws is feeble among them — that of morality is still weaker. 
 .... This, indeed, is only a temporary danger. I have no doubt that in time 
 
PLAIN TALKS ON AMERICAN HISTORY 9 
 
 society will assume as much stability and regularity in the West as it has already 
 done upon the coast of the Atlantic ocean." — De Tocqueville, 1835. 
 
 "There have been many other races that at one time or another had their 
 great periods of race expansion, but there has never been another vi^hose expansion 
 has been either so broad or so rapid." — Theodore Roosevelt, 1889. 
 
 I. The First Expansion. 
 
 Marco Polo in the East. The Turk blocks the way. The 
 *' finding eyes" of Columbus turned toward the West. A 
 providential place of discovery and first settlement. 
 II. The English and the French in America. 
 
 Influence of geography. Waterways and highways. The Alle- 
 ghenies as a barrier; the Great Lakes as a highway. English 
 home-makers drive out French traders and missionaries. 
 
 III. The Movement of the People. 
 
 Climatic zones cause a due west line. Position of the frontier 
 at various times. Contributions from one state to another. 
 
 IV. The Trans-Alleghenian Commonwealths. 
 
 Beginnings of Tennessee and Kentucky. The Wilderness 
 Road. The Cumberland Turnpike. Pioneers and patriots. 
 Early east and west dissensions. 
 
 V. Influence of Better Means of Transportation. 
 
 Accelerated movement of the people. Moderation of section- 
 alism. Internal commerce and unionism. 
 
 References : 
 
 Bancroft, Vol. Ill, pp. 392-402; Vol. V, pp. 300-16. 
 McMaster, Vol. II, pp. 32-35, 141-60, 572-82. 
 Hinsdale, OM Northivest. 
 Sparks, Expansion of the Ainerican People. 
 Hulbert, Historic Highways, 
 
 EXERCISES. 
 
 1. Influence of the frontier on American history. 
 
 2. Daniel Boone as a type of frontiersman. 
 
 3. American character as affected by the West. 
 
 4. The peopling of the United States compared with that of any 
 other country. 
 
 5. Influence of the Erie canal or the Cumberland national road. 
 
lO PLAIN TALKS ON AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 LECTURE V. 
 
 THE TARDY EVOLUTION OF UNIONISM. 
 
 "It is a great mistake to suppose that disunion can be effected by a single blow. 
 The chords which bind these states together in one common union are far too 
 numerous and powerful for that. Disunion must be the work of time." — Calhoun's 
 Last Speech. 
 
 "The formation of the Union has been a matter of growth; disintegration 
 can come only in the same tardy manner." — Webster. 
 
 "The Union is not a tangible thing; it cannot be forced; it exists only in the 
 affections of the people." — Lincoln. 
 
 "Any period one nation must lead, 
 
 One land must be the promise and reliance of the future." — Whittnan. 
 
 "Its restoration, indeed, could only be effected by blood and iron Yet 
 
 the restoration of a Union incomparably stronger, more majestic, and richer in 
 promise for the future." — Von Hoist. 
 
 I. The Natural Law of Individualism. 
 
 The individual and the tribe. Trading and defense. Influ- 
 ence of topography. Unification of European countries. 
 
 II. Inherited Prejudices among the Colonists. 
 
 Sectarianism and persecution. Inherited race antipathies. 
 Qualification for self-government. ''Freedom" a relative term. 
 Confusion of liberty and license. 
 
 III. Obstacles Inherent in the Soil. 
 
 Climatic variations of one thousand miles north and south. 
 Influence of the glacial epoch. Commerce and manufacture 
 vs. agriculture. A commercial agent or workingman vs. a 
 landed gentleman. A provident North vs. a hospitable South. 
 
 IV. The Irrepressible Conflict between Slavery and Freedom. 
 
 The dominating question of the middle period. Unfortunate 
 coincidence with other sectional issues. Sectionalism and the 
 federal judiciary. 
 
 V. War as a Union-Making Factor. 
 
 The appeal to the sword — can it be justified? The treatment 
 of the vanquished. Time alone can heal. The lesson of re- 
 construction. Force or kindness. Is the Union finally made? 
 
PLAIN TALKS ON AMERICAN HISTORY II 
 
 References: 
 
 Bancroft, Vol. VI, pp. 5-23. 
 
 Scott, Reconstruction During the Civil War, to chap. xi. 
 
 Sparks, Men Who Made the Nation, chap. vii. 
 
 EXERCISES. 
 
 1. The Union of today compared with the views of our forefathers. 
 
 2. Have the plans of Jefferson or those of Hamilton prevailed 
 most largely ? 
 
 3. Changes wrought by the Civil War on constitutional questions. 
 
 4. Various race elements entering into the American type. 
 
 5. Did the appeal to the sword destroy the rights of the states? 
 
 LECTURE VI. 
 
 "AMERICA FOR AMERICANS." 
 
 "How far it may be proper to grant appointments of this sort to any but 
 citizens of America is a question whose importance will not, I am persuaded, 
 escape the notice of Congress." — John Jay, 1780. 
 
 "The name of American, which belongs to you in your national capacity, 
 must always exert the pride of patriotism more than any appellation derived from 
 local discrimination." — President Washington, 1796. 
 
 " We should consider any attempt on their part to extend their system to any 
 portion of this hemisphere as dangerous to our peace and safety." — President 
 Monroe, 1823. 
 
 "The policy of this country is a canal under American control. The United 
 States cannot consent to the surrender of this control to any European power or to 
 any combination of European powers." — President Hayes, 1880. 
 
 I. Possibilities of a New World. 
 
 Race radiation from the primeval home. Early types and ideals. 
 Africa and America. Persistent influence of temperature. 
 
 II. Period of Isolation and Sensitiveness. 
 
 Lack of a type in cglonial times. First consciousness of 
 nationality brings boasting. Results of the second war with 
 England. 
 
 III. The Monroe Doctrine as an Illustration. 
 
 A result of existing conditions. The right of self-preservation. 
 Extension in later times. Vagueness is its salvation. The 
 doctrine of paramount interests. 
 
12 PLAIN TALKS ON AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 IV. An American Isthmian Canal. 
 
 Early thought of canal neutrality. Clayton-Bulwer treaty 
 partnership. Growth of the exclusive idea. The later policy. 
 
 V. *' The Policeman of America." 
 
 Preparation for self-government. " Happiness" a relative term. 
 World-comity and toleration. Jingoism and patriotism. What 
 constitutes devotion to one's country ? 
 
 References : 
 
 McMaster, Vol. V, pp. 29-54. 
 
 Rhodes, History of the United States, Vol. I, pp. 199-202 ; Vol. II, p. 120. 
 
 J. B. Henderson, American Diplomatic Questions. 
 
 A. B. Hart, Fou7idations of American Foreign Policy. 
 
 EXERCISES. 
 
 1. What purpose did the Clayton-Bulwer treaty serve? 
 
 2. Is the Monroe Doctrine a part of international law? 
 
 3. Arguments for an armed-peace policy and an unarmed com- 
 mercial supremacy policy. 
 
 4. Jingoism as a result of war history. 
 
 5. Characteristics of the American type of people. 
 
 H 19 89 ^ 
 

 
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