Brian Robertson
Office: Founder’s Hall, 217 O
Brian.robertson@tamuct.edu
Phone: (254) 519-5441
Office Hours: by Appointment
History 316
Military History of the United States
Course Description:
The purpose of this course is to introduce undergraduate students to the study of
American military affairs and history. Through the reading of monographs, attendance of
lectures, and participation in class discussions, this course will acquaint students with the
political, economic, social, cultural, and intellectual forces which have shaped American
military history, military doctrine, military theory, civil-military relations, and American
domestic and foreign policy. Lectures and homework assignments will focus on
particularly important themes or events; no attempt will be made by the instructor to
cover every aspect of American military history; the textbook will provide coverage for
the entire range of the course.
Academic Integrity:
Students must conform to the highest standards of academic integrity in their coursework;
infractions of TAMUCT academic integrity policies will be unstintingly punished.
Students should familiarize themselves with TAMUCT’s policies regarding academic
integrity. http://www.tamuct.edu/departments/library/plagiarism.php
Americans with Disabilities Act:
Any student who, because of a disabling condition, may require special arrangements in
order to meet course requirements should contact me as soon as possible so that
necessary accommodations can be made. Students should present appropriate
verification of need for assistance to the Office of Disability Support and Access, Warrior
Hall, Room 212F. See also:
http://www.tamuct.edu/departments/disabilitysupport/index.php
Course Requirements:
There will be two essay exams—a midterm and a final—based on the two monographs
assigned for the course (opened book). A weekly quiz based on the previous lecture will
be given on every Wednesday. Discussion sessions will focus on the assigned readings.
Other than the course text book, Students are required to write books review on the two
books assigned.
Regular attendance. Material from the lectures is designed to provide the preponderance of
tested and quizzed material and not reproduce the readings. It is therefore necessary to
attend lectures to pass this class. In the unlikely event of severe illness or extraordinary
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circumstances, a student MUST provide written documentation to receive an excused
absence.
Grade Breakdown
Your final grade will be based on a mid-term examination (20%), quizzes (20%), two
book-reviews (30%), class participation (10%) and a final examination (20%). Grades
will be determined by the following scale: (F) 0-59%; (D) 60-69%; (C) 70-79%; (B) 8089%; and (A) 90-100%.
Required Readings
McPherson, James. For Cause and Comrades: Why Men Fought in the Civil War. Oxford: Oxford University Press,
1998.
Millett, Allan. For the Common Defense: A Military History of the United States from 1607 to 2012. New York: The
Free Press, 2012.
Sorley, Lewis. A Better War: The Unexamined Victories and the Final Tragedy of America’s Last Years in Vietnam.
New York: Harvest, 2007.
Journal/Newspaper Articles:
Vincent Cirillo, "More Fatal Than Powder and Shot: dysentery in the U.S. Army during the Mexican War, 1846-48,”
Perspectives in Biology and Medicine, Vol. 52:3 (Summer 2009): 400-13.
Bruce Cuming, “On the Strategy and Morality of American Nuclear Policy in Korea,
1950 to the Present,” Social Science Japan Journal, Vol. 1, No. 1 (Apr., 1998):
57-70.
Gregory A. Daddis, "Out of Balance: Evaluating American Strategy in Vietnam, 1968-72," War & Society 32:3
(October 2013), pp.252-70.
James Drake, “Restraining Atrocity: The Conduct of King Philip's War,” The New
England Quarterly, Vol. 70, No. 1 (Mar., 1997), pp. 33-56.
Gregory Foster, “Civil-Military Relations: The Postmodern Democratic Challenge,” World Affairs, Vol. 167:3 (Winter
2005): 91-100.
James R. Holmes, “Theodore Roosevelt and Elihu Root: International Lawmen,” World Affairs, Vol. 169:4 (Spring
2007): 189-198.
Robert Kerby, “The Militia System and the State Militias in the War of 1812,” Indiana Magazine of History, Vol. 73,
No. 2 (June 1977): 102-124.
Walter LaFeber, “A Note on the Mercantilistic Imperialism of Alfred Thayer Mahan,” The Mississippi Valley
Historical Review, Vol. 48:4 (Mar., 1962): 674-685.
Keir A. Lieber, “The New History of World War I and What It Means for International Relations Theory,”
International Security, Vol. 32: 2 (Fall, 2007): 155-191.
Brian McAllister Linn, “The American Way of War,” OAH Magazine of History, Vol. 22:4 (Oct., 2008): 19-23
Jenny Hale Pulsipher, “Our Sages are Sageles: A Letter on Massachusetts Indian Policy
after King Philip's War,” The William and Mary Quarterly, Third Series, Vol. 58,
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No. 2 (Apr., 2001), pp. 431.
Richard H. Kohn, "The Inside History of the Newburgh Conspiracy: American and the Coup d’Etat," The William and
Mary Quarterly, Third Series 27, no. 2, (1970): 187-220.
Matthew M. Oyos, “Theodore Roosevelt, Congress, and the Military: U.S. Civil-Military Relations in the Early
Twentieth Century,” Presidential Studies Quarterly, Vol. 30:2 (Jun., 2000): 312-330.
David Rosenberg, “Atomic Strategy and the Hydrogen Bomb Decision,” The Journal of
American History, Vol. 66, No. 1 (Jun., 1979): 62-87.
Peter Spiegel and Jonathan Weisman, “Behind Afghan War Debate, A Battle of Two Books Rages,” The Wall Street
Journal (October 7, 2009), A1.
Russell Stewart, Ed., “The Army of The Cold War From The “New Look” to Flexible
Response,” in Military History Volume II: The United States Army in a Global Era (Washington, DC: Center
of Military History, 2010), 251-284.
Samuel R. Williamson, “The Origins of World War I,” The Journal of Interdisciplinary
History, Vol. 18, No. 4, (Spring, 1988), pp. 795-818
Expected Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, students should be able to:
1. Identify and understand the role of the military in the development of the United
States.
2. Demonstrate knowledge of the origins and development of modern military theory and
doctrine.
3. Identify the relationship between the strategic, operational, and tactical levels of war.
4. Develop analytical arguments in written and/or oral forms.
5. Identify methodologies of historical, literary, philosophical, and/or aesthetic research
and recognize their applicability to everyday life.
6. Comprehend the interrelationship between air, sea, and land warfare and the
importance of combined arms.
7. Comprehend the changes in Western warfare and the importance of certain themes –
technology, leadership, logistics, discipline, doctrine, geography.
8. Understand the nine principles of warfare as they are revealed in historical events.
9. Comprehend the civic-military relationship in American history.
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Course Schedule
Week 1:
Wednesday Jan 21: Course Introduction
Week 2:
Monday January 26: Early Settlers and Colonial Militias; Millett, Chapter One;
Wednesday January 28: Library/Library Quiz
Week 3:
Monday February 2: Colonial Wars and Warfare; Millet, Chapter Two.
Wednesday February 4: Quiz; Discussion; read and bring to class:
James Drake, “Restraining Atrocity: The Conduct of King Philip's War,” The New
England Quarterly, Vol. 70, No. 1 (Mar., 1997), pp. 33-56.
Jenny Hale Pulsipher, “Our Sages are Sageles: A Letter on Massachusetts Indian Policy
after King Philip's War,” The William and Mary Quarterly, Third Series, Vol. 58,
No. 2 (Apr., 2001), pp. 431.
Week 4:
Monday February 9: Read: the American Revolution; Millet, Chapter Three;
Wednesday February 11: Quiz; discussion; read and bring to class:
John Adams to Henry Knox on Military Preparedness (blackboard)
John Adams to Joseph Hawley (blackboard)
General George Washington to John Hancock (blackboard)
Week 5:
Monday February 16: Lecture: Civic-Military Relations and Democracy; Millet, Chapter
Four.
Wednesday February 18: Quiz and Discussion, read:
Richard H. Kohn, "The Inside History of the Newburgh Conspiracy: American and the
Coup d’Etat," The William and Mary Quarterly, Third Series 27, no. 2, (1970): 187-220.
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And
Gregory Foster, “Civil-Military Relations: The Postmodern Democratic Challenge,”
World Affairs, Vol. 167:3 (Winter 2005): 91-100.
Week 6:
Monday February 23: The Armed Forces and National Expansion; Millet, Chapter Five;
Wednesday February 25: Quiz and Discussion:
Vincent Cirillo, "More Fatal Than Powder and Shot: dysentery in the U.S. Army during
the Mexican War, 1846-48,” Perspectives in Biology and Medicine, Vol. 52:3 (Summer
2009): 400-13.
And
Robert Kerby, “The Militia System and the State Militias in the War of 1812,” Indiana
Magazine of History, Vol. 73, No. 2 (June 1977): 102-124.
Week 7:
Monday March 2: The Civil War, 1861 to 1862, Millet, Chapter Six and Seven
Wednesday March 5: Quiz and class Discussion on For Cause and Comrades: Why Men
Fought in the Civil War (book review due).
Week 8:
Monday March 9: The Armed Forces and Postwar Mobilization; Millet Chapter 8;
Wednesday March 11: Midterm Examination
Spring Break: March 16-March 20;.
Week 9
Monday March 23: The Armed Forces and American Imperial Ambitions; Millet Chapter
9.
Wednesday March 26: Quiz and Discussion, read:
Brian McAllister Linn, “The American Way of War,” OAH Magazine of History, Vol.
22:4 (Oct., 2008): 19-23
and
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Walter LaFeber, “A Note on the Mercantilistic Imperialism of Alfred Thayer Mahan,”
The Mississippi Valley Historical Review, Vol. 48:4 (Mar., 1962): 674-685.
Week 10:
Monday March 30: Military Expansion; Millet Chapter 10.
Wednesday April 1: Quiz and discussion, read:
James R. Holmes, “Theodore Roosevelt and Elihu Root: International Lawmen,” World
Affairs, Vol. 169:4 (Spring 2007): 189-198.
And
Matthew M. Oyos, “Theodore Roosevelt, Congress, and the Military: U.S. Civil-Military
Relations in the Early Twentieth Century,” Presidential Studies Quarterly, Vol. 30:2
(Jun., 2000): 312-330.
Week 11:
Monday April 5: World War I; Millet Chapter 11,
Wednesday April 7: Quiz and discussion, read:
Keir A. Lieber, “The New History of World War I and What It Means for International
Relations Theory,” International Security, Vol. 32: 2 (Fall, 2007): 155-191.
And
Samuel R. Williamson, “The Origins of World War I,” The Journal of Interdisciplinary
History, Vol. 18, No. 4, (Spring, 1988), pp. 795-818
Week 12:
Monday April 12: World War II; Millett Chapter 12 and 13
Wednesday April 15: Quiz 7 and film, “Why We Fight.”
Week 13:
Monday April 19: Nuclear Deterrence and Collective Security, Millet Chapter 16.
Wednesday April 21: Quiz and discussion, read:
David Rosenberg, “Atomic Strategy and the Hydrogen Bomb Decision,” The Journal of
American History, Vol. 66, No. 1 (Jun., 1979): 62-87.
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And
Bruce Cuming, “On the Strategy and Morality of American Nuclear Policy in Korea,
1950 to the Present,” Social Science Japan Journal, Vol. 1, No. 1 (Apr., 1998):
57-70.
Week 14
Monday April 26: American Defense Policy for Extended Deterrence and Containment
Millet Chapter 15
Wednesday April 28: Quiz and discussion, read:
Herman S. Wolk, "The 'New Look'," Air Force Magazine, v. 65, no. 8, (August 2003):
80-83.
And
Russell Stewart, Ed., “The Army of The Cold War From The ‘New Look’ to Flexible
Response,” in Military History Volume II: The United States Army in a Global
Era (Washington, DC: Center of Military History, 2010), 251-284.
Week 15:
Monday May 4: The Vietnam War and American Military Policy; Millet Chapter 17.
Wednesday May 6: class discussion on Quiz and A Better War: The Unexamined
Victories and the Final Tragedy of America’s Last Years in Vietnam (book review due).
Read also:
Gregory A. Daddis, "Out of Balance: Evaluating American Strategy in Vietnam, 196872," War & Society 32:3 (October 2013), pp.252-70.
Peter Spiegel and Jonathan Weisman, “Behind Afghan War Debate, A Battle of Two
Books Rages,” The Wall Street Journal (October 7, 2009), A1
Week 16:
Monday May 11: The End of the Cold War and American Military Policy; Millet Chapter
18.
Wednesday May 13: Final
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Instructor reserves the right to amend this syllabus at any time.
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