History 110
American History Since the Civil War
Spring 2013
Lecture: MW 12:00-12:50
Arts and Letters 201
“Life must be lived forward, but understood backward”
Søren Kierkegaard
Your Professor:
Edward J. Blum, PhD
Office Location: Arts and Letters 525
Office Hours: Monday: 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Your Teaching Associate and Section:
Section 7, Wednesday, 1-1:50pm, MCN 111
Matthew Vasilakis
Arts and Letters 562
Office Hours: Friday: 1:00pm – 2:30pm
vasilaki@rohan.sdsu.edu
Required Texts and Reading:
 Kevin Schultz, Hist3: Volume 2 (2013)
 Elizabeth Cobbs Hoffman, Edward J. Blum, and Jon Gjerde, eds., Major Problems in
American History, Volume II (2011)
 NOTE: Hist and Major Problems are sold together at the bookstore
 Kevin M. Schultz, Tri-Faith America: How Catholics and Jews Held Postwar America to
Its Protestant Promise
 Matthew Avery Sutton, Jerry Falwell and the Rise of the Religious Right: A Brief History
with Documents
What is this course about?
This course begins in 1865 when the titanic American Civil War ended, and it ends with the
beginning of this semester. We will romp through economic depressions and world wars,
suburban growth and urban riots, political rises and cultural falls. We will wind and twist
through Reconstruction, the Gilded Age, the Progressive Era, the Roaring ’20s, the Great
Depression, the Cold War, the 1960s struggles, the 1970s malaise, the Reagan Revolution, and
the rise of the Digital Age. We will examine how American society rebuilt itself after the Civil
War, how it became an industrial giant, how it helped win two World Wars, how it battled
Communism, how it struggled with cultural, social, and political diversity, and how the child of
an African immigrant, who was married to the great-great granddaughter of slaves, won the
presidency in the same election that featured a woman as the vice presidential candidate for the
opposing political party.
History is not just in books; it is alive, as pertinent and relevant today as it was in the past. It
comes to us in countless ways, through music, movies, novels, comics, speeches, laws, and
conversations with others. This class, therefore, will attempt to engage history through a variety
of methods. Examining everything from poetry to personal letters, films to fashion magazines,
politicians to professional actors, we will delve into the world of myth, reality, and the American
past. By the end of the course, you will not only observe history working all around you, but you
will also have a better understanding of how to make decisions now and in the future. This
course will be much like the history we study: an adventure.
Learning Outcomes:
 We will be able to identify and discuss main historical themes and time periods,
including Reconstruction, the Gilded Age, the Progressive Era, the 1920s, the Great
Depression, the Cold War, the Civil Rights Movement, the New Conservatism, and the
Digital Age.
 We will learn to differentiate between and analyze the content of primary and secondary
sources.
 We will analyze historical relationships between politics and social justice, war and
society, freedom and government, and culture and social change.
 We will interact with historical content and contexts with a variety of media.
 We will debate through writing and speaking as professional historians do.
 We will learn to write and present material as professional historians do.
 We will recognize diversity of cultures and groups in shaping the American past.
Grade Breakdown:
Your grade will be based upon four areas: exams, essays, quizzes, and participation. You are
required to write two papers and take two exams for this course. Failing to turn in one of the
papers or take one of the exams will result in an automatic failure.
 Your essays will consist of double-spaced, three-to-four-page thesis papers. In them, you
will be asked to analyze primary documents from class in the context of the material
presented in the textbook, lectures, and discussions.
 The exams will consist of two sections. The first will be multiple choice and true-or-false
section. The second section will contain a historical causation evaluation.
 Quizzes will be given in large lecture and during section.
 Participation will be determined within your section.
Paper #1: 25%
Paper #2: 25%
Exam #1: 15%
Exam #2: 15%
Quizzes: 10%
Participation: 10%
Some Large Lecture Rules:
 All material presented during class can be used in assignments or be tested on.
Professor Blum will discuss superheroes like Spiderman. That is testable material.
 During lectures, save questions for times when Professor Blum asks if there are any
questions or note down your questions and email them to him. Professor Blum cares
deeply about your questions, but there is not enough time to discuss and address them
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all in the class. Also, sometimes questions interrupt the flow of a lecture or the main
point and thus detract from the overall classroom experience.
Turn your cell phones off and do not text during class. It doesn’t bother me, but it’s
distracting to other people. (Susie can wait to know the guy next to you is really cute,
but really smells)
Do not ask Professor Blum to explain assignments or the syllabus until you have
thoroughly read the assignment or the syllabus. Professor Blum refuses to address
questions that are clearly answered in the material he has prepared for the class. He
will simply delete your email with no response.
Learn to figure things out for yourself. If you do not know the meaning of a word or a
phrase, look it up. If you need help at the library, go to the library. If you missed a
class, get notes from a colleague.
If you are late to class, be quiet and respectful when you enter. Do not make a
production of it or draw any more attention to yourself.
Professor Blum is a fun and happy guy; he’ll tell you if he’s upset with the class; he’ll
tell you if you’re doing well. Enjoy him because he will definitely enjoy your
presence in the class and what you uniquely offer to it! Keep a tally of how many
times he says “Hooray!” and you’ll find that he’s got a good heart inside somewhere.
Some Section Rules:
 In class cell phone, tablet, and lap top use is prohibited. No exceptions. (P.S. texting
in class is ridiculously obvious)
 All assignments must be submitted on time. No work will be accepted passed
established deadlines.
 Format guidelines for assignments – such as font size, page lengths, etc. – will be
strictly enforced. Example: If you write 6 pages for a 5 page max essay, only the first
five pages will be graded.
 If you have any questions about the course, this syllabus, or anything relevant to
history, feel free to email me at vasilaki@rohan.sdsu.edu
Plagiarism:
ACHTUNG! WARNING!! Monstrous, Evil, Lethal Criminal Acts
If you're sick of this institution, one of the best ways OUT of it is to cheat or plagiarize in my
class. Any work you claim as your own that comes from another person or lacks what I consider
adequate acknowledgment of their contribution is cheating. Copying another person's paper -copying off their test -- is cheating, too. Crib sheets are cheating, when used during an
examination. Anyone caught will RUE THE DAY. He or she will get a zero on the work, an F in
the course, and I will do all I can to have them expelled or suspended from this university. I've
done it before. I'll do it again.
For SDSU’s policies on cheating, see <http://infotutor.sdsu.edu/plagiarism/index.cfm>
~Schedule~
Week 1: Introduction
 Monday, January 21: NO CLASS (MLK holiday)
 Wednesday, January 23: Introductions
 Sections (Wed and Fri): Introductions
Week 2: Studying History, Being a Historian
 Monday, January 28: What is history?
 Wednesday, January 30: What does it mean to be an historian?
 Sections (Wed and Fri): Primary versus secondary sources, arguments and evidence
Week 3: Reconstruction and the Gilded Age
 Monday, February 4: Reconstructing the Union
 Wednesday, February 6: Building an Industrial Power
 Sections (Wed and Fri):
o Hist, chapters 16-19
o Major Problems, chapters 1, 2 and 3
Week 4: The Progressive Era
 Monday, February 11: Oh What an Awful World
 Wednesday, February 13: Reform Us Again
 Sections (Wed and Fri): how to read a monograph, how to write a paper
o Hist, chapters 20 and 21
o Major Problems, chapters 4 and 5
o Tri-Faith America, introduction
Week 5: The 1920s to Great Depression
 Monday, February 18: The Roaring Twenties
 Wednesday, February 20: When the Affluence Ended
 Sections (Wed and Fri):
o Hist, chapter 22
o Major Problems, chapters 6 and 7
o Tri-Faith America, chapter 1
Week 6: The Great Depression and New Deal
 Monday, February 25: FDR to the Rescue
 Wednesday, February 27: It Was the Best of Worst Times
 Sections (Wed and Fri): paper #1 due
o Hist, chapter 23
o Major Problems, chapter 8
Week 7: World War II
 Monday, March 4: War Over There
 Wednesday, March 6: Captain America
 Sections (Wed and Fri): PAPER #1 DUE WEDNESDAY (3/6), 11:59PM
o Hist, chapter 24
o Major Problems, chapter 9
o Tri-Faith America, chapter 2
Week 8: Cold War
 Monday, March 11: We Won, Now We’re Terrified
 Wednesday, March 13: Capitalism Versus Communism
 Sections (Wed and Fri)
o Hist, chapter 25
o Major Problems, chapters 10 and 11
o Tri-Faith America, chapters 3-5
Week 9: Civil Rights and the 1960s
 Monday, March 18: Black Freedom Struggle
 Wednesday, March 20: A Crusade for Everyone
 Sections (Wed and Fri)
o Hist, chapter 26
o Major Problems, chapters 12 and 13
o Tri-Faith America, chapters 6-end
Week 10: Exam Week
 Monday, March 25
 Wednesday, March 27: EXAM
 No sections this week
SPRING BREAK
Week 11: Stayin’ Alive in the 1970s
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Monday, April 8: The Silent Majority Strikes Back
Wednesday, April 10: Stagflation
Sections (Wed and Fri)
o Hist, chapter 27
o Major Problems, chapter 14
o Jerry Falwell, Part One
Week 12: The 1980s and 1990s
 Monday, April 15: Ronald Reagan the “Me” Generation
 Wednesday, April 17: A Third Way?
 Sections (Wed and Fri)
o Hist, chapter 28
o Major Problems, chapter 15
o Jerry Falwell, Part Two, sections 1-3
Week 13: The Digital Age
 Monday, April 22: How the Internet Took Over the World
 Wednesday, April 24: 9/11 and a New America
 Sections (Wed and Fri)
o Hist, chapter 29
o Major Problems, chapter 16
o Jerry Falwell, Part Two, sections 4-5
Week 14: The Present
 Monday, April 29: The Rise of Barack Obama
 Wednesday, May 1: Red States, Blue States
 Sections (Wed and Fri): PAPER #2 DUE WEDNESDAY (5/1), 11:59PM
o Major Problems, chapter 30
Week 15: Wrap Up
 Monday, May 6: What does the present teach us about the past?
 Wednesday, May 8: Exam Preparation
 no sections this week
Final Exam: Friday (5/10), 1:00PM-3:00PM
*syllabus subject to change