History of American Citizenship (HSTAA 110 A)
Spring 2025
Tuesday/Thursday, 10:30 a.m.-12:20 p.m.
Smith Hall 211
Dr. Ross Coen
E-mail: rcoen@uw.edu
Office: Smith Hall 108-B
Office hours:
In-person: Tuesday 8:30-10:20 a.m., and by appointment
Zoom: Mondays, 3:00-5:00 p.m.
Teaching Assistant: Caylee Song Larios
E-mail: cayl@uw.edu
Office: TBD
Office hours: TBD
Course Description:
This course surveys the history of American citizenship from the colonial period to the present. Lectures address the theme of citizenship in American history and are meant to provide information and context, offer arguments, invite questions and comments, and develop an overall narrative.
The course interprets the history of the United States by examining how the American definition of citizenship evolved from colonial times to the present. More specifically, it considers how different groups within the American population, such as white men (with and without property), Native Americans, specific groups of immigrants, women, and enslaved and free African Americans, at different times were denied (or gained) “full membership” (or less-than-full membership) in the United States. Another related theme, developed particularly in the readings and the research paper, is the varied experience of families in American history.
Citizenship has been defined as the membership of an individual in a nation. In 1957 U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren argued,
"Citizenship is man’s basic right for it is nothing less than the right to have rights. Remove this priceless possession and there remains a stateless person, disgraced and degraded in the eyes of his countrymen. He has no lawful claim to protection from any nation, and no nation may assert rights on his behalf. His very existence is at the sufferance of the state within whose borders he happens to be. In this country the expatriate will presumably enjoy, at most, only the limited rights and privileges of aliens, and like the alien he might even be subject to deportation and thereby deprived of the right to assert any rights."
Warren’s definition of citizenship—as well as its implications—is problematic. Yet it points to a key aspect of citizenship in the United States: the possession of legal rights guaranteed by the Constitution and other authorities. And it points out that those without citizenship—and, it should be added, those without full citizenship, for throughout history many, many Americans have technically been “citizens” but never enjoyed all the rights normally associated with complete membership in the nation—have often been at the mercy of others to watch and speak out for them. For most of American history, the majority of peoples, both in the U.S. and around the world, were ineligible for full American citizenship due to their place of birth, nationality or race or sex or religion or sexual preference or age, or other factors. In many ways American citizenship has been an exclusive category. This course explores how that category has evolved, expanded, contracted, and taken on new meanings. While recognizing that full citizenship entails a wide range of rights and responsibilities, this class often uses the right to vote and the act of voting as shorthand for complete membership in the nation.
Course goals:
The overall goals of the course are to improve students’ abilities to read critically, think historically and conceptually, write well, and broaden their understanding of the history of the United States. In support of those aims, students in HSTAA 110 are expected to attend lectures, participate in class discussions, read and think about the assigned readings and videos, and complete all assignments. Please note that although this is a 100-level lecture course, class discussions are an important component of class meetings and students will be expected to participate.
Course readings:
There is one required book in the course. An e-book version is available at no cost through UW Libraries. If students wish to obtain a hard copy of the book, it is widely available for purchase at online booksellers.
Neil Nakadate, Looking After Minidoka: An American Memoir, Indiana University Press, 2013; ISBN: 9780253011022
In addition to the required book listed above, students will be expected to read articles, sources, and other materials that will be posted on Canvas. Please see course schedule below for all readings. In order to facilitate class discussions of the readings, the professor will provide study questions in advance of all readings. These questions are intended to guide students through the readings and direct their attention to important aspects, topics, arguments, etc.
Assignments and Grading:
Students will complete three written assignments: Family History Paper, Midterm Exam, and Final Exam. Instructions for all written assignments will be provided separately. In addition, students will be graded on a fourth assignment: attendance and participation in class discussion. The grade breakdown is as follows:
Family History Paper 30%
Midterm Exam 30%
Final Exam 30%
Attendance and Participation 10%
Students must complete all assignments to receive a passing grade. Late papers will not be accepted without permission of the professor, and they may be graded down at the discretion of the professor.
Class Attendance:
Students are expected to attend class having completed readings and other assignments. Attendance will be taken each class. Students should contact the professor if they know they will be absent or unable to complete the assignments on time. Students should prioritize their physical and mental health, as well as that of their classmates. Do not attend class if you are feeling unwell.
Course Schedule:
The course consists of units that will be covered on the dates below. Please pay close attention to readings and assignments. All readings should be completed by the first class in the given unit, and due dates for all assignments are listed below. The course schedule is subject to change. All changes will be announced in class and posted to Canvas.
Part 1: American Citizenship from Colonization to Civil War
Week 1: April 1-3
Introduction to Course
European Colonizers of North America, 1492-1763
Native Americans’ Encounters with European Colonizers, 1492-1874
Readings:
William T. Youngs, “The British American: William Byrd in Two Worlds,” in American Realities, Historical Episodes, vol. I, From the First Settlements to the Civil War, 5th ed. (New York: Longman, 2001), 55-73.
Paige Raibmon, “Naturalizing Power: Land and Sexual Violence along William Byrd’s Dividing Line,” in Virginia J. Scharff, ed., Seeing Nature through Gender (Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2003), 20-39.
Week 2: April 8-10
Colonization and Citizens in British North America
English Colonization in the 17th and 18th Centuries
Readings: None. Please use time to begin working on your Family History Paper.
Week 3: April 15-17
Enslaved Persons, Citizens, and In Between: Revolutionary America, 1750-1850
American Slavery in the 17th and 18th Centuries
Slaves, Citizens, and Republican Government, 1775-1789
Party Politics in the New Republic, 1790s-1850s
Readings: Andrew C. Lannen, “Liberty and Slavery in Colonial America: The Case of Georgia, 1732-1770,” The Historian 79, no. 1 (2017), 32-55.
Assignment: Family History Paper, 1-page paper on topic, due at the start of class on Tuesday, April 15
Week 4: April 22-24
Citizens, Immigrants, and The Market Economy: North and South, 1790-1860
Growth of the Market Economy, 1790-1860
The Expansive North and the Rise of Reformers
The Slave South
Immigrants in the Antebellum Republic
Readings: John F. Quinn, “Expecting the Impossible? Abolitionist Appeals to the Irish in Antebellum America,” New England Quarterly 82, no. 4 (December 2009), 667-710.
Week 5: April 29-May 1
Disunion, Civil War, Emancipation, Reconstruction, 1820-1896
America Grows Apart over Issues of Slavery and Citizenship, 1820-1857
Civil War and the Emancipation of Slaves
Reconstruction and African American Citizenship
The Rise of Jim Crow and the Demise of African Americans’ Rights
Readings: None. Please use the time to study for the Midterm Exam.
Assignment: Midterm Exam will be given in class on Thursday, May 1.
Part 2: Citizenship during the U.S. Rise to Global Power
Week 6: May 6-8
Indigenous Americans and the “Promise” of Citizenship
Indians and Indian Policy in the 19th Century
Readings: Chief Seattle Speech (2 versions)
Week 7: May 13-15
Westward Expansion, Racial Minorities, and American Empire, 1840-1914
The American West in the 19th Century
Mexicans and 19th-century Americans
The Industrializing West and Chinese Immigrants
Foreign Policy and Empire: U.S. Acquisition of Overseas Territory, 1890-1941
Readings: Daniel Immerwahr, How to Hide an Empire, Chapter 5: Empire State of Mind
Assignment: Family History Project, Bibliography due at the start of class on Tuesday, May 13
Week 8: May 20-22
Industry, Immigration, and Reform, 1877-1930
Industrialization and Immigration
Radicals, Progressives, and Modernizing America
Redefining Who Can Vote and Who Can Immigrate, 1882-1934
Race, Migration, and Cultural Change, 1920-1960
Readings: Neil Nakadate, Looking After Minidoka, pages 1-155
Assignment: Family History Project, submit at least one page of your rough draft, due at the start of class on Tuesday, May 20
Week 9: May 27-29
American Citizenship from Depression to Cold War and Beyond, 1930-2000
Depression, New Deal, and Economic Citizenship
World War Two and Immigrants in the U.S.
Cold War and Containment Policy
African Americans and the Civil Rights Movement
The Courts and “Rights-Based” Citizenship in Postwar America
Citizenship Amid Economic and Political Change, 1970-2000
Readings: Neil Nakadate, Looking After Minidoka, pages 156-206
Week 10: June 3-5
Review and Catch-Up
Readings: None.
Assignment: Family History Project, FINAL PAPER due at the start of class on Tuesday, June 3
Week 11 (Finals Week)
The Final Exam will be given on Monday, June 9, from 10:30 a.m. to 12:20 p.m.