History 1302.75834
Scarcella W111
United States History to 1877
Spring, 2011
A. Cangelosi
acange@yahoo.com
COURSE PURPOSE AND DESCRIPTION
This survey of American history from 1877 to the present! will focus on the evolution of
economic and social institutions, which influenced families, communities and the nation.
Students will acquire a working knowledge of events, historical persons, and dates in the history
of this nation.
.
STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES
 Analyze historical material and think critically.
 Communicate effectively by writing college-level papers, and/or essays.
 Participate by actively sharing within a group situation and making brief presentations
to the class
 Evaluate means by which the United States became a World Power
 Draw comparisons between current events and events from the past
 Appreciate America’s role in the world in the twenty-first century—
 A beacon of democracy in a world dominated by totalitarian dictators and
extremists
 A model of the prosperity that a capitalistic economic system can bring
 A nation that cares for all its citizens, the wealthy& powerful as well as the poor and
weak in the society
REQUIRED READING
Textbook: American Destiny Narrative of a Nation Vol III by Carnes & Garraty
Students are required to read two books related to the period covered. Each one will be used
to write a paper on a specific topic which will be assigned a few periods prior to the due date. The
titles and assignments will be given out in class within the first two weeks of the course.
In addition other articles will be recommended as well as internet sites for your reading
and sharing with the class. The text we are using does not go into detail in a lot of areas and
these articles will prove helpful.
GRADING SYSTEM
Major exams and Final
Two projects based upon outside reading
Quizzes (average of best four)
Participation/ oral presentations
(2 @ 50 points each)
400 points
200 points
100 points
100 points
Grading scale: A=800-716.5
B=716-636.5
C=636-557
D=556.5-477
Below 475-failing
Grades below “C” do not transfer to most major universities; some accept only “As” or “Bs”.
EXAMS AND QUIZZES
Exam format: multiple choice and essay questions
Minor quizzes will be given at instructor’s discretion
Although this is a lecture course, each student is expected to be prepared to contribute to
class discussion and make at least two presentations to the class. These presentations will be
taken from the text book and other research. The presentations will vary in length depending
upon the topic and the number of students in the class.
Extra Credit:
None offered! There is too much to do to make time for extra work .
ATTENDANCE
 You must sign in at the beginning of each class period to be counted present. Class will
begin promptly, so students should make a special effort to be on time. Arriving late is very
disruptive and inconsiderate of both the instructor and the class. Leaving class early is
totally unacceptable.

Should tardiness or leaving class early become a problem for the class, there will be
consequences to the offending student’s final grade. If you can’t meet the class on a
regular basis in a timely fashion, then maybe taking the class is inappropriate for you

Students are responsible for any and everything missed due to absence from class

Students will be expected to treat members of the class as they, themselves, would wish to
be treated. Please turn off all pagers and cell phones upon entering the classroom.

Make up work. Students are encouraged to make every effort to take exams and submit
papers at the scheduled times. Anyone missing an exam is expected to come prepared to
make up at the next class. Absence is not an excuse for turning papers in late. If you can
not attend class, plan to e-mail the assignment to the instructor on the due date. Late
work will not be accepted unless there is some very significant reason why the student was
unable to submit the work at he designated time.

H.C.C.’s stated attendance policy is after missing six hours from a course you can be
administratively withdrawn. This means after missing three (3) classes you may be
dropped.

It is the student’s responsibility to withdraw from the course. If you stop attending and do
not complete the proper withdrawal forms, you will receive a grade based upon the marks
you earned while attending.

____________is the deadline for dropping the course with a W. All students who must
complete 12 hours per semester to maintain their status should assess their grade at this
point
STUDENT CODE OF CONDUCT
Plagiarism, cheating and other forms of academic dishonesty are prohibited by College System
policy and the rules of this class. Plagiarism is the use of the ideas or words of another person
(either in whole or in part) without crediting the source. Plagiarism is the theft of another
person’s work and its appropriation as one’s own. Cheating involves fraud and deception for
the purpose of violating legitimate testing rules. Cheating includes, but is not limited to,
copying from another student’s test paper; using, during a test materials not authorized by the
person giving the test; collaborating with another student during a test; knowingly using,
buying, selling, etc. whole or part of an unadministered test. Any questions about academic
dishonesty should be referred to the Student Conduct section of the College System catalog.
Please note that Cheating in any form will result in a failing grade for the course. This policy
will be enforced for all examinations and written assignments.
Disability Statement;
Any student with a documented disability (e.g. physical, learning, psychiatric, vision, hearing,
etc.) who needs to arrange reasonable accommodations must contact Disability Services
Office (Dr. Becky Hauri) at the beginning of each semester. Faculty is authorized to provide
only the accommodations requested by the Disability Services Office
COURSE OUTLINE
Unit I the Gilded Age 1877-1890
Class I
Industrialization (chapter 17)
Class 2 Urbanization & Immigration (18)
Omit Chapter 19
Class 3 Politics in the Gilded Age (20) Quiz I
Class 4
Currencies, Tariffs/1896 Election
Unit II Reform & Expansion
Class 5 American Expansion (22)
Class 6 Progressive Reform (21) Quiz 2
TR, Taft & Wilson’s reforms
Unit III The United States in The Great War
Class 7
the Great War and Woodrow Wilson (Chapter 23)
Class 8
Wilson Negotiates a Peace –His greatest failure
Versailles Treaty Wilson wins the Nobel Prize
Senate rejection of the Treaty
Class 9 TEST I CHAPTERS 17-23
Unit IV the Twenties and Thirties
Class 10 American Society in the Twenties (Chapter 24)
Cultural conflicts
Revolution in Manners and Morals
Class 11 Restoration of Political Conservatism
Conservative Presidential Administration in the Twenties
Chapter 25/26
Class 12 Hoover Vs FDR on the Great Depression (26) Quiz 3
Class 13
New Deal & Political Realignment
Unit V World War II
Class 14 Road to World War II (chapter 27)
U.S Response to aggression
Pearl Harbor and U.S. response
Class 15
Pearl Harbor compared to 9-11
Class 16
Home Front
Wartime Diplomacy and Cooperation
Class 17 the U.S.A. in World War II Chapter 27 Quiz 4
Military Strategy
Class 18
Test II chapters 23-27
Unit VI the Cold War at Home and Abroad
Class 19 Post war Domestic issues
28
Truman & Eisenhower
Class 20
Class 21
The Cold War Chapter 28
Creation of New Foreign Policy
Quiz 5
Liberalism’s Last Hurrah! (29)
New Frontier Idealism
Great Society Activism
American Society since World War II
Class 22 The Cold War’s last gasp: Vietnam Quiz 6
and the Chaos of 1968 (29)
Unit VII the 1970s to A New Century
Class 23
Nixon Foreign Policy
Class 24
Class 25
Watergate & its aftermath (29)
Post Watergate: Ford, unelected Vice President or President
Carter—the honest outsider Quiz 7
Class 26
the Reagan Revolution (31)
Return of Conservative Policies
“Government not the solution, Government is the problem
The “Evil Empire” “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down that wall”
A mounting national debt, budget cuts of social programs
Class 27 Post Cold War: Bush 41 & Clinton administrations (32)
Domestic policies compared
Foreign policies compared Quiz 8
Class 28
George W. Bush and The “War on Terror”