1
U.S. History and Geography, 1865 – Present
E23.1073 – Spring 2011
Wednesdays, 2:00 – 5:20
Professor Joan Malczewski
Pless Hall, 7th Floor
jm186@nyu.edu; 212-998-9017
Office Hours: Tuesdays 11:00 – 12:00, Wednesday 12 - 1
Course objectives:
This course examines select topics and problems in U.S. history and geography, post-Civil War.
It focuses on the development of content knowledge, methodological skills, and appreciation for
changing interpretation of history. It is designed to prepare you for your future work teaching
U.S. history.
The first steps in preparing to teach U.S. history involve developing an understanding of the
nature of history as a critical discipline, clarifying your own philosophy of history and your goals
as well as society’s in teaching history to the next generation. It is essential that you devote time
and energy to learning and/or reviewing U.S. history so that you understand its central themes,
figures, events and controversies and are in a position to bring that history to life in the
classroom. We will explore some pivotal events in American history since 1865 and think about
how to interpret these events and teach them to your students. The course will explore a variety
of sources to illuminate the American past. We will keep in mind the question of how historians
– authors and teachers – gather evidence, analyze and sort documents, and synthesize data into
coherent narratives. We will explore practical and exciting ways to introduce students to the
study of history, with the idea that only by helping them own history will they truly come to love
and appreciate its nuances.
This course does not attempt to cover all events and trends that occurred in America during the
past 150 years. Instead it isolates a particular set of topics and explores these in depth, using a
variety of methodological approaches and seeking to understand the different ways historians
have interpreted the events surrounding these occurrences. We will look at primary source
documents, material culture, ethnography, art, and music as avenues to historical understanding.
We will also use websites, maps, and other approaches to complicate our understanding and
enrich our appreciation of the United States’ past.
COURSE MATERIALS
Required reading consists of articles available on Blackboard, and the following texts:
Foner, Eric, Nothing But Freedom: Emancipation and its Legacy (Atlanta: 2007).
Gaddis, John Lewis, The Cold War: A New History (New York: 2005).
Teaching U.S. History: Dialogues among Social Studies Teachers and Historians, ed.
Diana Turk, Rachel Mattson, Terrie Epstein, Robert Cohen (Routledge, New
York: 2010)
Rauchway, Eric, The Great Depression and the New Deal: A Very Short Introduction
(Oxford: 2008).
6/28/2016
2
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
1. Weekly Assignments Related to Readings: There will be a written assignment each week
related to the readings as noted on Blackboard. For two weeks of the semester you will
be expected to submit a primary source analysis (up to 5 pages, excluding documents).
For some weeks, you will be asked specifically to respond to a question about the
readings in the form of a short essay (about 2 pages). Weekly assignments should be
submitted in class each week.
2. Final Project: There will be a final project that focuses on a particular topic chosen by
each student. The project will include: 1) a narrative that discusses the topic in detail,
including historiography; 2) a timeline that provides relevant context; 3) a set of essential
questions that would guide your teaching of the topic, including at least one unit question
and one lesson question; 4) a collection of primary source materials useful for studying
and teaching the topic; and 5) a primary source analysis. Due May 9.
3. Class Participation: Students are expected to attend class each week and read the
materials that have been assigned for that week. It is essential that students participate in
class discussions, contribute to group projects in class, and come prepared each week to
discuss the topics. Any student who will miss a class or be late for class should notify me
by e-mail in advance.
GRADING
Weekly projects/papers: 40%
Class participation: 20%
Final Project: 40%
COURSE SCHEDULE
1. January 26: Course Introduction
2. February 2: Reconstruction and the Politics of the South
 Eric Foner, Nothing But Freedom: Emancipation and its Legacy (Atlanta: 2007).
 “Slavery,” in Teaching U.S. History: Dialogues among Social Studies Teachers and
Historians, ed. Diana Turk, Rachel Mattson, Terrie Epstein, Robert Cohen (Routledge,
New York: 2010)
3. February 9 American Power and “The Quest for Empire”
 “U.S. Imperialism,” in Teaching U.S. History: Dialogues among Social Studies Teachers
and Historians, ed. Diana Turk, Rachel Mattson, Terrie Epstein, Robert Cohen
(Routledge, New York: 2010)
 Robert D. Schulzinger, American Diplomacy in the Twentieth Century (Oxford, 1984),
chapters 2 and 3.
 Walter LeFeber, “Liberty and Power: U.S. Diplomatic History” in The New American
History, ed. Eric Foner (Philadelphia: 1997).
6/28/2016
3
 Walter L. Williams, "United States Indian Policy and the Debate over Philippine
Annexation: Implications for the Origins of American Imperialism," The Journal of
American History, Vol. 66, No. 4 (March 1980), pp. 810-831
 Primary Documents available on Blackboard:
- John Winthrop’s City upon a Hill, 1630
- Message of President James Monroe at the commencement of the first session of the
18th Congress
- Cherokee Nation v. the State of Georgia, 1831
- Manifest Destiny, 1839
- Rudyard Kipling, “The White Man’s Burden”
- McKinley’s Benevolent Assimilation Proclamation
- Treaty with the Creeks: 1790
4. February 16: The Gilded Age in Industrial America: the Many Facets of Progressivism
 “The Progressive Era” in Teaching U.S. History: Dialogues among Social Studies
Teachers and Historians, ed. Diana Turk, Rachel Mattson, Terrie Epstein, Robert Cohen
(Routledge, New York: 2010)
 McCormick, Richard. “Public Life in Industrial America,” in The New American
History, ed. Thomas Bender
 Hofstadter, Richard. “Theodore Roosevelt: The Conservative as Progressive.”
 Primary Documents:
- Jane Addams, “The Subjective Necessity of Social Settlements”
- Andrew Carnegie, “The Gospel of Wealth” and “A Workingman’s Prayer for the
Masses”
- Lochner v. New York (1905) and Miller v. Oregon (1908)
5. February 23: Populism and the American Party System
 McCormick, Richard. “Political Parties in American History,” in The Party Period and
Public Policy: American Politics from the Age of Jackson to the Progressive Era
(Oxford: 1986).
 Kazin, Michael, “The Righteous Commonwealth of the Nineteenth Century,” and
“Workers and Citizens: Labor and the Left in the Gompers Era,” and “Stand up for the
Working Man: George Wallace and the Making of a New Right,” The Populist
Persuasion: An American History (Ithaca: 1995), Chapters 2, 3 and 9.
 Primary Documents
Populist Party Platform
Progressive Party Platform
American Tea Party – Mission
6. March 2: African American Life in the Jim Crow South
 Woodward, C. Vann, The Strange Career of Jim Crow, (Oxford, 2002, orig. 1955),
Chapters 3 and 4.
 Taylor, Melodie, “Power Politics,” in Research Reporter 24.2 (Winter, 1995), 11-1
 Ida B. Wells-Barnett, “Lynch Law in Georgia” Chapters 1 – 4
6/28/2016
4
7. March 9: Immigration and Urban Life
Visit to the NYC Lower East Side Tenement Museum: meet in class to walk over at 2:00, or
in lobby of museum by 2:20.
 “Immigration,” in Teaching U.S. History: Dialogues among Social Studies Teachers and
Historians, ed. Diana Turk, Rachel Mattson, Terrie Epstein, Robert Cohen (Routledge,
New York: 2010)
 Shenton, James and Kevin Kenny, “Ethnicity and Immigration,” in The New American
History, ed. Eric Foner
March 16 – No Class, Spring Break
8. March 23: The Great Depression and the New Deal
 “The New Deal,” in Teaching U.S. History: Dialogues among Social Studies Teachers
and Historians, ed. Diana Turk, Rachel Mattson, Terrie Epstein, Robert Cohen
(Routledge, New York: 2010)
 Rauchway, Eric, The Great Depression and the New Deal: A Very Short Introduction
(Oxford: 2008).
9. March 30: The Cold War, HUAC and Joseph McCarthy
 Gaddis, John Lewis. The Cold War: A New History (New York: 2005). Chapters 1 – 3.
10. April 6: Visual Culture, Propaganda, and War
 Linenthal, Edward and Tom Engelhardt, “Introduction”; Richard Kohn, “History at Risk:
The Case of the Enola Gay” and Mike Wallace, “Culture War, History Front,” in History
Wars, edited by Edward T Linenthal and Tom Engelhardt
 Young, Marilyn, “An Incident at No Gun Rhi” in Crimes of War
 Loewen, James. “Down the Memory Hole: The Disappearance of the Recent Past,” in
Lies My Teacher Told Me.
11. April 13: The Civil Rights Movement
 “The Civil Rights Movement,” ,” in Teaching U.S. History: Dialogues among Social
Studies Teachers and Historians, ed. Diana Turk, Rachel Mattson, Terrie Epstein,
Robert Cohen (Routledge, New York: 2010)
 Weisbrot, Robert. Freedom Bound: A History of America’s Civil Rights Movement,
chapters 1, 2, and 5.
 Valelly, Richard M. The Two Reconstructions: The Struggle for Black
Enfranchisement, (Chicago: 2004). Chapters 7 and 8.
12. April 20: No class
13. April 27: Vietnam
 Gaddis, The Cold War, Chapters 4 – 5.
 Young, Marilyn. The Vietnam Wars: 1945 – 1990. Chapters 1, 2, 9, 10, 12 and Epilogue
14. May 4: America in the 1980’s
 Gaddis, The Cold War, Chapter 6 - Epilogue
6/28/2016
5



Chafe, William, “America Since 1945” in The New American History
Schaller, Michael, “The Republican Party: 1981 – 1992,” in Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr.,
ed., History of U.S. Political Parties: 1972 – 2001, The Politics of Consensus, volume V
(Philadelphia, 2002).
Shulzinger, Robert D. “The Democratic Party: 1981 - 1992,” in Arthur M. Schlesinger,
Jr., ed., History of U.S. Political Parties: 1972 – 2001, The Politics of Consensus, volume
V (Philadelphia, 2002).
15. May 9: Final Projects due.
6/28/2016