US HISTORY II: FROM 1877 TO THE PRESENT

AMST 202—Fall 2005

Colin S. Cavell, Ph.D. Course Room No.: S17-229

Class SMW: 9:00-9:50 [Ramadhan—9:10-9:50] INTERNET: cscpo@arts.uob.bh

Office Hours: By appointment Office No.: S17-263

VOICE: 17438775 (W) 17729091 (H)

Survey of US history from the end of the era of Reconstruction to the present. The rise of new constitutional and political developments, America’s ascent to industrial supremacy, America’s rise as a world power, World War I, the Great Depression, World War II, the Cold War, social, political and cultural changes since the 1960s, and the rise of neo-conservatism and neo-liberalism.

Grading Policy: 20% for Attendance*; 20% for the Class Presentation; 20% for the Midterm Exam; 20% for the Research Paper; and 20% for the Final Exam. A Guidelines sheet will be distributed outlining the requirements for your Class Presentation and for your Research Paper.

Grading Scale: 93-100=A; 90-92=A-; 88-89=B+; 83-87=B; 80-82=B-; 78-79=C+; 73-77=C; 70-72=C-; 68-69=D+; 63-67=D; 60-62=D-; 0-59=F

Attendance Policy*: Attendance in class is mandatory. It is the student’s responsibility to sign the attendance sheet each day of class; failure to sign the attendance sheet—even if in attendance—will be counted as an absence. If your unexcused absences exceed 25% of the total number of lectures of the course in this semester, you will be automatically withdrawn from the course and be given a grade of (WF) which will be counted towards your GPA. As well, you are expected to follow the syllabus and accordingly be prepared for each day's class. This means that you must read the pre-assigned readings before class so that you will be prepared to discuss and debate in class the subject matter scheduled for that day and answer questions related to the issues being covered. NOTE: TURN OFF all cell phones during class.

* Absence from class may be made up by preparing a two-page, typed (i.e. using maximum 12 point font size and maximum double-spaced text with one-inch margin on all sides), summary on the missed material scheduled to be covered the day(s) of your absence. The summary must be in your own words and must not be copied material from the text(s), the internet, or any other source(s). Times New Roman font is strongly recommended; however, if you use an alternative style, make sure your font does not resemble italic or bold text. Also, Comic Sans MS font is not allowed.

Required Texts:

Nash, Gary B. & Julie Roy Jeffrey, et al. 2001. The American People: Creating A Nation and A Society. SVE. Sixth Edition. New York, NY: Longman Publishers USA.

The Longman American History Atlas. 1999. New York, NY: Longman Publishers USA.

InfoUSA: Information USA [CD-ROM]. 2002. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of State, Office of International Information Programs. [Supplied by professor.]

PART FOUR: AN INDUSTRIALIZING PEOPLE, 1865-1900

Sept. 17: The Post-Civil War Period: A New Foundation

Readings: Nash, et al., Review Chs. 1-16

Sept. 19: Rural America: The West and the New South

Readings: Nash, et al., Ch. 17 “Modernizing Agriculture,” “The West,” “Resolving the Indian Question,” “Recovering the Past: Magazines”

Sept. 21: Rural America: The West and the New South

Readings: Nash, et al., Ch. 17 “The New South,” “Farm Protest,” “Conclusion: Farming in the Industrial Age”

Sept. 24: The Rise of Smokestack America

Readings: Nash, et al., Ch. 18 “The Texture of Industrial Progress,” “Analyzing History: Steel—The Engine of Industrial Growth,” Urban Expansion in the Industrial Age,” “The Industrial City, 1880-1900,” “The Life of the Middle Class”

Sept. 26: The Rise of Smokestack America

Readings: Nash, et al., Ch. 18 “Industrial Work and the Laboring Class,” “Recovering the Past: Congressional Hearings,” “Capital Versus Labor,” “Conclusion: The Complexity of Industrial Capitalism”

Sept. 28: Politics and Reform

Readings: Nash, et al., Ch. 19 “Politics in the Gilded Age,” “Middle-Class Reform”

Oct. 1: Politics and Reform

Readings: Nash, et al., Ch. 19 “Politics in the Pivotal 1890s,” “Recovering the Past: Political Campaign Artifacts—Buttons and Posters,” “Conclusion: Looking Forward”

Oct. 3: Becoming a World Power

Readings: Nash, et al., Ch. 20 “Steps Toward Empire,” “Expansionism in the 1890s,” “War in Cuba and the Philippines”

Oct. 4: First Day of Ramadhan 1426

Oct. 5: Becoming a World Power [Ramadhan—9:10-9:50]

Readings: Nash, et al., Ch. 20 “Recovering the Past: Political Cartoons,” “Theodore Roosevelt’s Energetic Diplomacy,” “Conclusion: The Responsibilities of Power”

PART FIVE: A MODERNIZING PEOPLE, 1900-1945

Oct. 8: The Progressives Confront Industrial Capitalism [Ramadhan—9:10-9:50]

Readings: Nash, et al., Ch. 21 “The Social Justice Movement,” “Recovering the Past: Documentary Photographs,” “The Worker in the Progressive Era”

Oct. 8-Nov. 23: Withdrawal Period with (W)

Oct. 10: The Progressives Confront Industrial Capitalism [Ramadhan—9:10-9:50]

Readings: Nash, et al., Ch. 21 “Reform in the Cities and States,” “Theodore Roosevelt and the Square Deal,” “Woodrow Wilson and the New Freedom, “Conclusion: The Limits of Progressivism”

Oct. 12: The Great War [Ramadhan—9:10-9:50]

Readings: Nash, et al., Ch. 22 “The Early War Years,” “The United States Enters the War,” “The Military Experience,” “Recovering the Past: Government Propaganda”

Oct. 15: The Great War [Ramadhan—9:10-9:50]

Readings: Nash, et al., Ch. 22 “Domestic Impact of the War,” “Planning for Peace,” “Conclusion: The Divided Legacy of the Great War”

Oct. 17: Affluence and Anxiety [Ramadhan—9:10-9:50]

Readings: Nash, et al., Ch. 23 “Postwar Problems,” “A Prospering Economy,” “Recovering the Past: Advertising,” “Analyzing History: The Impact of the Automobile”

Oct. 19: Affluence and Anxiety [Ramadhan—9:10-9:50]

Readings: Nash, et al., Ch. 23 “Hopes Raised, Promises Deferred,” “The Business of Politics,” “Conclusion: A New Era of Prosperity and Problems”

Oct. 22: The Great Depression and the New Deal [Ramadhan—9:10-9:50]

Readings: Nash, et al., Ch. 24 “The Great Depression,” “Economic Decline,” “Roosevelt and the First New Deal,” “One Hundred Days”

Oct. 24: The Great Depression and the New Deal [Ramadhan—9:10-9:50]

Readings: Nash, et al., Ch. 24 “The Second New Deal,” “The Last Years of the New Deal,” “The Other Side of the 1930s,” “Recovering the Past: The Movies,” “Conclusion: The Mixed Legacy of the Great Depression and the New Deal”

Oct. 26: World War II [Ramadhan—9:10-9:50]

Readings: Nash, et al., Ch. 25 “The Twisting Road to War,” “The Home Front,” “Social Impact of the War”

Oct. 29: World War II [Ramadhan—9:10-9:50]

Readings: Nash, et al., Ch. 25 “A War of Diplomats and Generals,” “Recovering the Past: History, Memory, and Monuments,” “Conclusion: Peace, Prosperity, and International Responsibilities”

Oct. 31: Midterm Exam [Ramadhan—9:10-9:50]

Nov. 2: In-Class Presentation Day [Ramadhan—9:10-9:50]

Nov. 3-5: Eid Al-Fitr Holiday 1426 [No classes]

Nov. 5-11: Mid-semester Break [No classes]

PART SIX: A RESILIENT PEOPLE, 1945-2002

Nov. 12: Postwar America at Home, 1945-1960

Readings: Nash, et al., Ch. 26 “Economic Boom,” “Demographic and Technological Shifts,” “Consensus and Conformity,” “Recovering the Past: Clothing”

Nov. 14: Postwar America at Home, 1945-1960

Readings: Nash, et al., Ch. 26 “Origins of the Welfare State,” “The Other America,” “Conclusion: Qualms Amid Affluence”

Nov. 16: Chills and Fever During the Cold War, 1945-1960

Readings: Nash, et al., Ch. 27 “Origins of the Cold War,” “Containing the Soviet Union,” “Recovering the Past: Public Opinion Polls”

Nov. 19: Chills and Fever During the Cold War, 1945-1960

Readings: Nash, et al., Ch. 27 “Containment in Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America,” “Atomic Weapons and the Cold War,” “The Cold War at Home,” “Conclusion: The Cold War in Perspective”

Nov. 21: Reform and Rebellion in the Turbulent Sixties, 1960-1969

Readings: Nash, et al., Ch. 28 “John F. Kennedy: The Camelot Years,” “Recovering the Past: Television,” “Lyndon B. Johnson and the Great Society,” “Continuing Confrontations with Communists”

Nov. 23: Reform and Rebellion in the Turbulent Sixties, 1960-1969

Readings: Nash, et al., Ch. 28 “War in Vietnam and Turmoil at Home,” “Analyzing History: The Vietnam War,” “Conclusion: Political and Social Upheaval”

Nov. 26: Disorder and Discontent, 1969-1980

Readings: Nash, et al., Ch. 29 “The Decline of Liberalism,” “The Ongoing Effort in Vietnam,” “Recovering the Past: Popular Music”

Nov. 28: Disorder and Discontent, 1969-1980

Readings: Nash, et al., Ch. 29 “Constitutional Conflict and Its Consequences,” “The Continuing Quest for Social Reform,” “Conclusion: Sorting Out the Pieces”

Nov. 30: The Revival of Conservatism, 1980-1992

Readings: Nash, et al., Ch. 30 “The Conservative Transformation,” “An End to Social Reform,” “Analyzing History: The Computer”

Dec. 3: The Revival of Conservatism, 1980-1992

Readings: Nash, et al., Ch. 30 “Economic and Demographic Change”

Dec. 5: The Revival of Conservatism, 1980-1992

Readings: Nash, et al., Ch. 30 “Recovering the Past: The Internet and the World Wide Web”

Dec. 7: [Research Papers Due]

Dec. 7: The Revival of Conservatism, 1980-1992

Readings: Nash, et al., Ch. 30 “Foreign Policy and the End of the Cold War,” “Conclusion: Conservatism in Context”

Dec. 10: The Post-Cold War World, 1992-2002

Readings: Nash, et al., Ch. 31 “The Changing Face of the American People,” “Economic and Social Change,” “Recovering the Past: Autobiography”

Dec. 12: The Post-Cold War World, 1992-2002

Readings: Nash, et al., Ch. 31 “Democratic Revival”

Dec. 14: The Post-Cold War World, 1992-2002

Readings: Nash, et al., Ch. 31 “The Second Bush Presidency”

Dec. 16 & 17: National Day Holiday

Dec. 19: The Post-Cold War World, 1992-2002 [Last Day for In-Class Presentations]

Readings: Nash, et al., Ch. 31 “Foreign Policy in the Post-Cold War World,” “Conclusion: The Recent Past in Perspective”

Dec. 21: Last day of classes; Review

Readings: Nash, et al., Ch. 31

Jan. 1, 2006: New Year's Day [Holiday]

Jan. 3, 2006: Final Exam 11:30-13:30

Jan. 7: Last day for submitting grades