US HISTORY II: FROM 1877 TO THE PRESENT
AMST 202—Spring 2009
Colin S. Cavell, Ph.D. Course Room No.: S17-229
Class UTH: 11:00-11:50 INTERNET: cscpo@arts.uob.bh
Office Hours: By appointment Office No.: S17-263
VOICE: 17438775 (W) 39631156 (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 (or Soliya Connect Program alternative); 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withdrawn from the course and be given a grade of (WF) which will be counted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.
* 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). All
summaries must be turned in to me by the last day of classes if you want
credit for your absences.
Cell
Phone Policy: TURN OFF all cell phones during
class. Any student whose cell phone
rings, sounds alarm, or makes any noise whatsoever during class must immediately
leave the classroom for that day. This
policy applies to any electronic device students carry with them.
Required Texts:
Nash, Gary B. & Julie Roy Jeffrey, et al. 2006. The
American People: Creating A Nation and A
Society. Seventh Edition. New York, NY: Pearson
Education, Inc. (ISBN: 0-321-46334-X)
InfoUSA: Information USA [CD-ROM].
2007-2008. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of State, Bureau of International
Information Programs. [Supplied by
professor.]
PART FOUR: AN INDUSTRIALIZING PEOPLE, 1865-1900
Feb. 22: The Post-Civil War Period: A New Foundation
Readings: Nash, et al., Review Chs. 1-16
Feb. 24: Rural America: The West and
the New South
Readings: Nash, et al., Ch. 17 “Realizing
Dreams: Life on the Great Plains,” “Modernizing
Agriculture,” “How Others See Us: A.
Egmont Hake and O.E. Wesslau, ‘The American Tariff War’,” “The West,”
“Resolving the Native American Question,” “Recovering the Past: Magazines”
Feb. 26: Rural America: The West and
the New South
Readings: Nash, et al., Ch. 17 “American
Voices: Sister Blandina Segale, From Her
Diary, November 1882,” “The New South,” “Farm Protest,” “Conclusion: Farming in the Industrial Age”
Mar. 1: The Rise of
Smokestack America
Readings: Nash, et al., Ch. 18 “Telling
His Story: O’Donnell and the Senators,” “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”
Mar. 3: The Rise of
Smokestack America
Readings: Nash, et al., Ch. 18 “How Others
See Us: Herbert Spencer, ‘The
Americans’,” “Industrial Work and the Laboring Class,” “Recovering the
Past: Congressional Hearings,” “American
Voices: Helen Campbell, Interview with a
Domestic Servant,” “Capital Versus Labor,” “American Voices: Lee Chew Protests the Treatment of the
Chinese in the United States,” “Conclusion:
The Complexity of Industrial Capitalism”
Mar. 5: [Last day for dropping courses]
Mar. 5: Politics and Reform
Readings: Nash, et al.,
Ch. 19 “A Utopian Novelist Warns of Two
Americas,” “Politics in the Gilded Age,” “Middle-Class Reform,” “American
Voices: Elizabeth Cady Stanton Speaks
Out for a ‘Woman’s Bible’”
Mar. 8-Apr. 30: [Withdrawal period with a “W”]
Mar. 8: Politics and Reform
Readings: Nash, et al., Ch. 19 “Politics
in the Pivotal 1890s,” “American Voices:
Ignatius Donnelly, A Minnesota Farmer Issues and Angry Call for Reform,” “Recovering
the Past: Political Campaign
Artifacts—Buttons and Posters,” “Conclusion:
Looking Forward”
Mar. 9: Prophet’s Birthday—Holiday
Mar. 10: Becoming a World Power
Readings: Nash, et al., Ch. 20 “Private
Grayson Kills a Soldier in the Philippines,” “Steps Toward Empire,” “Expansionism in the 1890s,”
“War in Cuba and the Philippines”
Mar. 12: Becoming a World Power
Readings: Nash, et al.,
Ch. 20 “American Voices: Jane Addams Speaks Out Against Imperialism,
War, and Violence,” “Recovering the Past:
Political Cartoons,” “Theodore Roosevelt’s Energetic Diplomacy,”
“Conclusion: The Responsibilities of
Power”
PART FIVE: A MODERNIZING PEOPLE, 1900-1945
Mar. 15: The Progressives Confront Industrial
Capitalism
Readings: Nash, et al., Ch. 21 “A Professional
Woman Joins the Progressive Crusade,” “The Social Justice Movement,”
“Recovering the Past: Documentary
Photographs,” “American Voices: Rosa, An
Italian Immigrant Learns English at a Settlement House in Chicago,” “The Worker in the Progressive Era”
Mar. 17: The Progressives Confront Industrial
Capitalism
Readings: Nash, et al., Ch. 21 “American
Voices: Pauline Newman, Conditions in a
Garment Factory,” “Reform in the Cities and States,” “Theodore Roosevelt and
the Square Deal,” “Woodrow Wilson and the New Freedom,” “Conclusion: The Limits of Progressivism”
Mar. 19: The Great War
Readings: Nash, et al.,
Ch. 22 “A Young Man Enlists in the Great
Adventure,” “The Early War Years,” “The United States Enters the War,” “The Military Experience,” “Recovering the
Past: Government Propaganda”
Mar. 22: The Great War
Readings: Nash, et al., Ch. 22 “American
Voices: Private John Figarovsky,
American Soldiers Get a Warm Welcome in France,” “Domestic Impact of the War,” “American
Voices: An African American Woman
Decides to Move North,” “Planning for Peace,” “Conclusion: The Divided Legacy of the Great War”
Mar. 24: Affluence and Anxiety
Readings: Nash, et al., Ch. 23 “A Black
Sharecropper and His Family Move North,” “Postwar Problems,” “A Prospering
Economy,” “How Others See Us: Luigi
Barzini, Jr., An Italian Student Falls in Love with the United States,” “American Voices:
Babe Ruth Homers in the 1927 World Series,” “Recovering the Past: Advertising”
Mar. 26: Affluence and Anxiety
Readings: Nash, et al., Ch. 23 “Hopes
Raised, Promises Deferred,” “The Business of Politics,” “Conclusion: A New Era of Prosperity and Problems”
Mar. 29: The Great Depression and the New Deal
Readings: Nash, et al., Ch. 24 “Coming of
Age and Riding the Rails During the Depression,” “The Great Depression,”
“Economic Decline,” “Roosevelt and the First New Deal,” “American Voices: Mrs. Ivan G. Martin, ‘What Is to Become of
Us?’ An Oregon Woman Writes to Eleanor and Franklin Roosevelt,” “One
Hundred Days”
Mar. 31: The Great Depression and the New Deal
Readings: Nash, et al., Ch. 24 “The Second
New Deal,” “The Last Years of the New Deal,” “The Other Side of the 1930s,” “How
Others See Us: Georges Duhamel, A French
Writer Visits the United States and Finds Nothing to Admire,” “Recovering the
Past: The Movies,” “Conclusion: The Mixed Legacy of the Great Depression and
the New Deal”
Apr. 2: World War II
Readings: Nash, et al., Ch. 25 “A Native
American Boy Plays at War,” “The Twisting Road to War,” “The Home Front,”
“Social Impact of the War,” “American Voices:
PFC Robert Kotlowitz Faces Battle”
Apr. 5: World War II
Readings: Nash, et al., Ch. 25 “A War of
Diplomats and Generals,” “Recovering the Past:
History, Memory, and Monuments,” “How Others See Us: Yamaoka Michiko, on the Ground at Hiroshima,” “Conclusion:
Peace, Prosperity, and International Responsibilities”
PART SIX: A RESILIENT PEOPLE, 1945-2005
Apr. 7: Postwar America at Home, 1945-1960—Guest lecture by Fulbright Scholar
Nova Robinson
Readings: Nash, et al., Ch. 26 “An
Entrepreneur Franchises the American Dream,” “Economic Boom,” “Demographic and
Technological Shifts,” “Consensus and Conformity,” “American Voices: Betty Friedan, From The Feminine Mystique,”
“Recovering the Past: Clothing”
Apr. 9: Postwar America at Home, 1945-1960
Readings: Nash, et al., Ch. 26 “American
Voices: Allen Ginsberg, ‘Howl’,” “Origins
of the Welfare State,” “The Other America,” “Conclusion:
Qualms Amid Affluence”
Apr. 12: Chills and Fever During the Cold War,
1945-1960
Readings: Nash, et al., Ch. 27 “A
Government Employee Confronts the Anti-Communist Crusade,” “Origins of the Cold
War,” “Containing the Soviet
Union,” “How Others See
Us: A West German Poster on the Marshall
Plan,” “Recovering the Past: Public
Opinion Polls”
Apr. 14: Chills and Fever During the Cold War,
1945-1960
Readings: Nash, et al., Ch. 27 “Containment in Asia, the Middle East, and
Latin America,” “American Voices: Speech
to Troops by Colonel Lewis ‘Chesty’ Puller, Commanding Officer of the 1st
Regiment of the Marine Corps in Korea in 1950,” “Atomic Weapons and the Cold
War,” “The Cold War at Home,” “American Voices:
Interrogation of Writer Ring Lardner, Jr., by the House Un-American
Activities Committee (HUAC) in 1947,” “Conclusion: The Cold War in Perspective”
Apr. 16: Midterm Exam
Apr. 19-23: Mid-semester Break [No classes]
Apr. 26: Bahrain Grand Prix/Formula One [Holiday—No classes]
Apr. 28: Reform and Rebellion in the Turbulent
Sixties, 1960-1969
Readings: Nash, et al., Ch. 28 “A Young
Liberal Questions the Welfare State,” “John F. Kennedy: The Camelot Years,” “Recovering the
Past: Television,” “Lyndon B. Johnson
and the Great Society,” “American Voices:
Anne Moody, From Coming of Age in Mississippi,” “Continuing Confrontations with Communists”
Apr. 30: 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,” “American Voices: Tom Hayden and Other Members of Students for
a Democratic Society, Port Huron Statement,”
“Conclusion: Political and Social
Upheaval”
May 1: International
Labor Day [Holiday—No Classes]
May 3: International Labor Day [Holiday—No Classes, because of Friday holiday policy]
May 5: Disorder and Discontent, 1969-1980
Readings: Nash, et al., Ch. 29 “An Older
Woman Returns to School,” “The Decline of Liberalism,” “The Ongoing Effort in Vietnam,” “Recovering the Past: Popular Music”
May 7: Disorder and Discontent, 1969-1980
Readings: Nash, et al., Ch. 29 “American
Voices: Interview with Paul Meadlo on
the My Lai Massacre,” “How Others See Us: French and German Posters on the American War
in Vietnam”
May 10: Disorder and Discontent, 1969-1980
Readings: Nash, et al., Ch. 29
“Constitutional Conflict and Its Consequences,” “The Continuing Quest
for Social Reform”
May 12: Disorder and Discontent, 1969-1980
Readings: Nash, et al.,
Ch. 29 “American Voices: Helen Chávez, Reflection on the Family’s Struggle,”
“Conclusion: Sorting Out the Pieces”
May 14: The Revival of
Conservatism, 1980-1992
Readings: Nash, et al., Ch. 30 “A Young
Woman Embraces Republican Values,” “The Conservative Transformation”
May 17: The Revival of Conservatism, 1980-1992
Readings: Nash, et al., Ch. 30 “An End to
Social Reform,” “American Voices: Jesse
Jackson, Address to the 1984 Democratic National Convention,” “American
Voices: Sherman Alexie, Four Related Poems”
May 19: The Revival of Conservatism, 1980-1992
Readings: Nash, et al., Ch. 30 “Economic
and Demographic Change,” “Recovering the Past:
The Internet and the World Wide Web,” “Analyzing History: The Computer”
May 21: The Revival of Conservatism, 1980-1992 [Research
Papers Due]
Readings: Nash, et al., Ch. 30 “Foreign
Policy and the End of the Cold War”
May 24: The Revival of Conservatism, 1980-1992
Readings: Nash, et al., Ch. 30
“Conclusion: Conservatism in
Context”
May 26: The Post-Cold War World, 1992-2005 [Last
Day for In-Class Presentations]
Readings: Nash, et al., Ch. 31 “An
Immigrant Family Struggles as the Economy Improves,” “The Changing Face of the
American People,” “Economic and Social Change”
May 28: The
Post-Cold War World, 1992-2005
Readings: Nash, et al., Ch. 31 “American
Voices: Michelle Kennedy, ‘Mothering
Without a Net’,” “American Voices:
Marilyn Chin, ‘How I Got That Name’”
May 31: The Post-Cold
War World, 1992-2005
Readings: Nash, et al., Ch. 31 “Democratic
Revival,” “Recovering the Past:
Autobiography”
June 2: The Post-Cold
War World, 1992-2005—Guest lecture by Fulbright Scholar Ivan Rosales-Montes
Readings: Nash, et al., Ch. 31 “The Second
Bush Presidency”
June 4: The Post-Cold
War World, 1992-2005—Guest lecture by Fulbright Scholar Ivan Rosales-Montes
Readings: Nash, et al., Ch. 31 “Foreign
Policy in the Post-Cold War World,” “How Others See Us: Elfriede Jelinek, ‘No New Wars’,”
“Conclusion: The Recent Past in Perspective”
June 7: Review
June 9: Last day of
classes; Review
June 20: Final Exam
8:30-10:30
June 27: Last day for
submitting grades