UNITED STATES HISTORY since 1877
Instructor: Dr. Cheryll Cody
Hours: MTWThF 10:00 – 11:45 a.m.
Office Hours: after 12:00 noon by appointment in C256
HIST 1302 12323
Summer l 2014 West Loop Room C252
e-mail cheryll.cody@hccs.edu
COURSE DESCRIPTION This course surveys the history of the United States from 1877 to 1975. It will deal with aspects of the
nation’s political, economic, social and cultural past. We will cover matters ranging from foreign policy to feminism, from the fate of
Native Americans in the West to the Civil Rights movement, to the conditions of industrial workers in America’s cities. The purpose
of this course is to introduce students to the basic issues of recent American history and to examine the events, themes, and trends,
which over the past 130 years have shaped our society.
Hist 1302 is a 5 week course which is the equivalent of the regular 16 week, 48 contact hour course. This course fulfills three hours
of the state-mandated six-hour history requirement. Completion of this class will also improve performance in reading, writing,
critical thinking and computer skills.
COURSE PREREQUISITE Students must have passed ENGL 1301 (Composition l) or be co-enrolled in ENGL 1301
PROGRAM LEARNING OUTCOMES
1. Students will be able to create an argument through the use of historical evidence.
2. Students will be able to analyze and interpret primary and secondary sources.
3. Students will be able to analyze the effects of historical, social, political, economic, cultural and global forces on this period of
U.S. history.
4. Students will be able to understand the importance of chronology and how earlier ideas and events shaped later events.
STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES HIST 1302
1. Students will be able to explain the features of the Gilded Age and the era’s social, cultural and political issues
2. Students will be able to summarize the effects of Industrialization and Urbanization
3. Students will be able to analyze the New South and Jim Crow
4. Students will be able to explain Populism and Progressivism
5. Students will be able to identify the Causes and Effects of World War I on the US
6. Students will be able to discuss America between the World Wars
7. Students will be able to identify the causes of World War II and the Cold War
8. Students will be able to discuss Post-War America at Home
9. Students will be able to discuss Post-modern America
READING ASSIGNMENTS: Available at HCCS Bookstores and at online sources.
Required Textbooks:
James L. Roark, et al, The American Promise: A History of the United States Value edition, Fifth edition, (Bedford St. Martin’s,
2012 )Required. This book is also available as an e-book. See http://bedfordstmartins.com/ebooks
AND
David Oshinsky, Polio: An American Story, (Oxford University Press, 2005) Required. You are going to need an actual hardback or
paperback copy of this book because of the way we are testing this in class.
HIST 1302 In Class handouts
HIST 1302 Class materials found under Lectures and Assignments available on my home page
“Towards a Fuller Study of the Struggle for Citizenship and Civil Rights”
This semester I have narrowed the assignment to a single issue, “Defining the Rights of the Accused: Mexican Americans and
Texas’s All White Juries”
This assignment will make use of these open access web sites: “Hernandez v. Texas: Legacies of Justice and Injustice”
http://www.law.uh.edu/hernandez50/KevinJohnson.pdf and for a quick intro to the case from the Texas Handbook:
http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/jrh01
COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND CALENDAR
MAP QUIZ
10 % in class June 6, 2014
MIDTERM
25 % in class June 17
Polio: An American Story
In Class Exam
20 % in class June 23
CIVIL RIGHTS PAPER
15 % due in class June 30
FINAL EXAM
30 % as scheduled Thursday July 3 in class
MAP ASSIGNMENT
Because knowledge of world events plays an important role in American history over the last hundred years, students will be
expected to master a basic knowledge of World geography. This material will be tested in a map quiz, which will include five
regional maps. World Maps and World atlases are available in the West Loop library. Several web sites are also useful in preparing
for this quiz, especially the CIA World Factbook.
EXAMINATIONS
First In Class and Second In Class Exams (consider these as the Midterm and non-cumulative Final)
The two in class exams will be identical in format. The first in class exam (aka Midterm) will count for 25 % of your grade. The
Second In Class Exam (aka Final) will count for 30 % of your grade. Each will include three types of questions.
The first portion of the exam will include twenty (20) short answer questions drawn from course lectures and readings. Each
question will be work one point for a total of 20 % of the exam. All of the answers to Part I are key terms.
The second part will ask students to write a paragraph describing who, what, when, where, and explain the historical significance of
six terms, events, individuals, concepts, etc. Each of the six identifications will be worth five points and the whole will constitute 30
% of the exam. Students will have some choice in selecting the six identifications. Examples will be discussed in class before each
exam.
The third portion of each exam valued at 50 % will be an essay. The essay question will be selected from a list of potential exam
questions, which will be handed out in class about one week prior to the exam. The students will have some choice on the essay
question. This will be discussed further in class.
POLIO: AN AMERICAN STORY in class exam
An in class exam on this book will be given on June 23, 2014, which will test your close reading of this monograph. On my homepage
I will have a list of reading questions for you which you should look to answer as you closely read this book. Mark the answers to
each question in the book, so you will be able to easily locate it. On the day of the exam, I will select 15 questions from that list for
you to answer. The test will be open book, so mark the answers to the questions in your book. Each of these 15 questions will be
worth 5 points for 75 % of the exam grade. In addition you will write a short essay question about a major theme in the book. The
essay will be worth 25 % of the exam grade and will need to be three paragraphs in length. You will not be allowed to use any
material other than the book during the exam. These tests will be timed. You will be allowed two hours, so you will need to be very
well prepared to finish the exam in that allotted time.
TOWARDS A FULLER STUDY OF THE STRUGGLE FOR CITIZENSHIP AND CIVIL RIGHTS PAPER
Students will be assigned a topic related to the 20th century struggle for Civil Rights in the U.S. and required to research the topic
from selected internet based primary and/or secondary sources. This research will be presented in a structured 1000 word paper.
This semester the topic is “Defining the Rights of the Accused: Mexican Americans and Texas’s All White Juries.” The assignment will
be discussed during the first week of the semester and will be due in class Monday, June 30, 2014.
GRADING
All written work will be graded on the factual content, the analytical skill and the ability of the student to present an argument which
integrates materials presented in the lecture and in the required readings. I will post a grading rubric for the in class exams and the
Civil Rights paper on my homepage.
The standard college policy is followed for all grades:
A (90 – 100 %) B (80 – 89 %) C (70 – 79 %) D (60 – 69 %) F (below 60 %)
NUTS AND BOLTS
Attendance and Withdrawals College policy states that after missing six hours from a course your professor may administratively
withdraw you from the course. It is not my policy to automatically withdraw students for reasons of nonattendance. Attendance
will be taken each class meeting, but 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 an “Fx” for the course. It is your responsibility to
complete the necessary paper work before the official drop date which is June 23, 2014 by 4:30 p.m.
Due to legislation from the State of Texas regarding financial aid, college students in all Texas public colleges and universities will be
limited to 6 withdrawals during their undergraduate academic careers. There does appear to be some leeway for students with
personal and family emergencies, but you need to be aware of this rule. The State of Texas is trying to encourage students to
complete college in four years and without having to repeat failed classes. If you are considering course withdrawal because you are
not earning passing grades, confer with your instructor as early as possible about your study habits, reading and writing skills, test
taking strategies, opportunities for tutoring, etc. as you make this decision. This really is your responsibility. HCCS has declared that
“Faculty members will no longer be able to assign a W on the final grade entry screen.” Students need to consider their options
carefully when withdrawing from a course.
Students, who must complete 12 hours per semester to maintain their status; international students, veterans, financial aid
recipients, etc., should make special note of their requirements in pondering course withdrawal.
It is imperative that you attend class. Material is presented in such a way that frequent absences will ensure failure. Students who
miss a class meeting are responsible for getting copies of handouts and lecture notes from their fellow students and consulting with
the instructor.
“Three-peater” Notification: Students who repeat a course three or more times now face significant tuition/fee increases at HCC
and other Texas public colleges and universities. Please ask your instructor and counselor about opportunities for tutoring and other
assistance prior to considering course withdrawal, or if you are not receiving passing grades.
Academic Dishonesty. Plagiarism, cheating and other forms of academic dishonesty are prohibited by HCCS 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 amounts to the theft of another person’s work and its appropriation as one’s own. Just changing a couple of words
around does not relieve students from the obligation to properly credit their sources. 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 including electronics not authorized by the instructor; collaborating with another student during a
test; knowingly using, buying, selling etc. whole or part of an administered test. Any questions about academic dishonesty should be
referred to the Student Conduct section of the College System catalogue. Please note that ALL FORMS OF CHEATING WILL RESULT
IN A FAILING GRADE OF ZERO ON THAT ASSIGNMENT. STUDENTS WILL NOT BE GIVEN AN OPPORTUNITY TO CORRECT THE
PROBLEM, NOR WILL THEY BE PERMITTED EXTRA CREDIT OF ANY TYPE ON FUTURE ASSIGNMENTS. Cases involving academic
dishonesty will be referred to the Dean and severe or repeated violations could result in suspension or expulsion from HCC.
Makeup Exams. Because the problem with students missing exams when they are not prepared or they have other less than worthy
excuses has grown so severe, I have now been forced to adopt a very strict policy on makeup exams. Students who miss an exam
and wish to take a makeup must present a written petition in which they explain why the exam was missed and also provide
supporting documentation (including the phone numbers of officials who may be contacted) which demonstrates that an emergency
situation occurred. Based on the information provided in the petition, I will determine if a makeup exam is merited. If the petition
is deemed inadequate, no makeup exam will be given and a grade of “0” will be given for that assignment.
Disability Notification. Any student with a documented disability (e.g. physical, learning, psychiatric, vision, hearing, etc.) who
needs to arrange reasonable accommodations must contact the appropriate HCC Ability Services Office at the beginning of each
semester. Faculty members are authorized to provide only the accommodations requested by the Ability Services Office. Our
Disability Services Lead Counselor at Southwest is Dr. Becky Hauri (713.718.7909)
Disability/Ability Support Services Offices:
System:
713.718.5165
Central:
713.718.6164 –also for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services and Students Outside the HCC District services areas
Southwest: 713.718.7909
Northwest: 713.718.5422
Northeast: 713.718.8420
Southeast 713.718.7218
Transfer Courses. Students anticipating transferring their course work to another institution should check with that institution
about specific policies. Most often a grade of “C” is required for the transfer of credit for this course which is part of the State of
Texas Common Core. Grades generally do not transfer to your GPA at another institution. However, students should be aware that
highly competitive degree programs such as business, engineering and computer science, as well as, graduate and professional
schools will look at all of your transcripts and compute GPAs in making their admission decisions. Just because the grade doesn’t
transfer into your GPA at another school, doesn’t mean that your transcript grades somehow disappear.
E-mail correspondence. Students should think of e-mail correspondence with a faculty member as professional correspondence.
This means 1) address the faculty member by title and greeting, (i.e. Dear Dr. Cody) 2) state your name and the class you are in, (ie.
This is Dexter in your 3:30 Hist 1302 class) 3) state your request. Also ”magic words” help. Be polite and professional in all of your
correspondence.
Learning Web and My Home Page I have a home page on the HCCS Learning Web site and place class assignments on that site.
HCC is fooling around with the platform for this at the moment, so more detail will be presented in class.
Free Online Tutoring HCCS offers online tutoring for students in many disciplines including Help with writing papers. They will
review your papers for you and make suggestions about revisions including grammar, style and presentation. The web address is
http://www.hccs.askonline.net. You will need to enter your email address, choose a username and password and know your HCC
student ID number (the one which starts with a W) Develop the habit of using this free service to enhance your skills.
SCHEDULE OF LECTURES, EXAMS AND READINGS
June 2
Introduction
June 3 - 6
I. Changing America: Ethnicity and Class in the late 19th Century
Reconstruction and the Post-War South
Westward Expansion and the Native Americans
Rise of the Robber Barons—Consumers and Workers Respond
Urbanization and the New Immigrants

READINGS: Roark, The American Promise, pp. 459 – 488 (Reconstruction); 489 – 520 (West); 521 – 597 (Big Business
and Labor, Immigration and the Cities)
Begin reading Oshinsky, Polio: An American Story
MAP QUIZ
in Class June 6
June 9 – 11 II. Politics and Reform
Populism and Agrarian Protest
The Progressives (1900 – 1918)

READINGS: Roark, The American Promise, Review pp. 597 – 650 (Populism and Progressivism)
Continue reading Oshinsky, Polio: An American Story
June 11 16
III. The United States and the Imperialist Impulse
U.S. Imperialism in the late 19th Century, Goals and Actions
U.S. Involvement in World War I

READINGS: Roark, The American Promise, pp. Review pages 605 – 616 and read pp. 651 - 673 (Imperialism and WW I)
Continue Reading Oshinsky, Polio: An American Story
FIRST INCLASS EXAM (aka Midterm) Tuesday, June 17 (Lecture Topics 1 through 9), Roarke, pp. 459 – 673)
June 18 19

IV. Roaring Twenties and the Great Depression
1920s Changing America and Threats to the old Order
The Great Depression and the New Deal
READINGS: Roark, The American Promise, pp. 673 - 748 (1920s and the Great Depression)
Finish Reading Oshinsky, Polio: An American Story
POLIO: AN AMERICAN STORY In Class Exam Monday June 23
June 20 25

V. America’s Involvement in Global War
World War II
Origins of the Cold War
Cold War at Home and Abroad
READING: Roark, The American Promise, pp. 749 – 808
Kevin Johnson, “Hernandez v. Texas: Legacies of Justice and Injustice”
June 26 - VI. Reform and Political Crisis at MidCentury
July 1
1950s Post-War America The Civil Rights Movement
LBJ and The Great Society U.S. Involvement in Vietnam
Nixon  Reagan the US takes a Right Turn

READING: Roark, The American Promise, pp. 809 – 938
CIVIL RIGHTS WEB PAPER due in Class Monday, June 30, 2014
SECOND EXAM (aka as Final) as scheduled in class July 3
THIS SYLLABUS IS NOT A CONTRACT. THE INSTRUCTOR MAY ALTER IT AS NEEDED. ANY CHANGES IN DUE DATES OR EXAM DATES
WILL BE ANNOUNCED WELL IN ADVANCE.