Hist 478D: Managing and Resisting Incorporation
Instructor: Max Geier (geierm@wou.edu)
Winter 2013
http://www.wou.edu/~geierm/ Office: HSS 213 Hours: TR 10:30-12:30, by appt
Ph: 838-8369
Course Objectives: This is a readings-and-discussion-based course that may be applied toward completion of the North
American area requirements for the History Major or Minor. It is a U.S. History course that focuses on the emerging values
and priorities of American society in the late 19th century. HST 478 is the third of a three-term sequence in 19th-century United
States history (HST 476, HST 477, and HST 478). There are no prerequisites for the course, which is open to any interested
student.
The first quarter of this 3-term sequence explored the social and political implications of the market transformation from the era of the
Jeffersonian republicanism through the militant phase of nationalist expansion in the late 1840s. The second quarter considered the
continuing erosion of republicanism and the consolidation of capitalist and corporate structures from 1850 through 1880 with an
emphasis on the displacement of democratic principles with an emerging ideal of managerial authority in family, political, and
economic arenas during and after the Civil War. This third quarter (HST 477) focuses on the last third of the 19th century and the early
decades of the 20th century. It explores American efforts to reconcile the scattered remnants of Jeffersonian ideals with the emergent
authority of corporate capital, and it examines the dominant managerial ethos amidst the industrial transformation of the late 19th
century.
Humorist and social critic, Samuel Clemens, famously termed this period "the gilded age", but this course also considers
communitarian responses and labor resistance to managerial authority and systematization in the workplace, the manipulation
of race-defined and gender-defined roles for public and private advantage, the exploitation of public lands and of natural
landscapes, the reorganization of sport and leisure and of rural and urban life, and the international reach of American capital.
Students in this course will develop skills of critical reading and analysis through directed work in assigned secondary sources,
and by regular participation in weekly class discussions. Individual projects will develop applied skills of historical research
and writing, based on scholarly inquiry on topics of particular interest, with each student constructing a scholarly, analytical
narrative addressing a topic that is selected and refined in consultation with the course instructor.
Required Texts: (written assignments, class discussions, and exams presume a solid grounding in the following assigned readings)
White
1. Richard White, Railroaded: The Transcontinentals and the Making of Modern America (Norton, 2011)
Gorn
2. Elliott J. Gorn, Mother Jones: The Most Dangerous Woman in America (Hill and Wang, 2001)
Calh
3. Charles W. Calhoun, The Gilded Age: Essays on the Origins of Modern America (Wilmington, DE: Scholarly Resources, 1996)
Cohen 4. Nancy Cohen, The Reconstruction of American Liberalism, 1865-1914 (Chapel Hill: U of North Carolina Press, 2002)
Ramp
5. M. L. Rampolla, A Pocket Guide to Writing in History, 7th edition (Boston, MA: Bedford/St Martin's, 2012)
Schedule of Readings, Assignments, and Themes for in-class Discussion for the Week of:
Jan 8 & 10
The Unfinished Revolution: Business Values and Agrarian Traditions after the Civil War
Week #1 Readings (Read for AP#1): Rampolla, ch. 1-3, 6; Cohen, pp. 1-19; Calh, Ch. 1; White, Intro & Ch. 1
1.
2.
3.
How did the Civil War affect American industrial development and patterns of commerce and labor?
How did the concerns of working Americans compare with dominant political theories after the American Civil War?
What were the implications of transcontinental development for post-war structures of power and influence?
Jan 15 & 17 Restructuring the American System: Managerial Philosophies of Gilded Age America
Week #2 Readings (Read for AP#1): Cohen 23-60; Calh, Ch. 2; Gorn, Ch. 1; White, pp. 39-46 & ch. 2
1. How did the mobility and loyalties of people and capital compare with rhetorical nationalism at mid-century?
2. How did rural life differ from urban life in the Gilded Age and why? How did mechanization affect rural and urban lives?
3. What were the legacies of the Civil War and Reconstruction era for popular and intellectual theories about the role of government?
Analysis Paper #1 due Tuesday 22 January
Jan 22 & 24 Remaking Rural and Industrial Landscapes: Patterns of Protest and Resistance in the Heartland
Week #3 Readings (Read for AP#2): Calh, Chs. 8 & 13; White, pp. 88-92, 93-133, 134-139; Gorn, Ch. 2
1. How did post-war industrial development affect community traditions in the rural West?
2. How did the concerns of farmers in the West compare with the concerns of Indians in Gilded Age America?
3. How How did the politics of reform compare with the structure of power in post-Reconstruction America?
Prospectus due Thursday 31 January
Jan 29 & 31 Remaking Work: Labor Organization and Control in Reconstructed Landscapes
Week #4 Readings (Read for AP #2): Calh, Chs. 7 & 16; Cohen, pp. 61-85; Gorn, Ch. 3; White, 225-229, 278-316
1. Why did the textile industry flourish in the south after 1877 and what were the implications for southern cotton farmers?
2. How did the new economic system affect the status of former slaves and other southern Blacks in the post-Civil War era?
3. How did working life change in the era of Railway development and wny?
4. What were the conditions of incorporation and resistance that led Harris to reinvent herself as Mary Jones?
Analysis Paper #2 due Tuesday 5 February
Feb 5 &Feb 7 Escaping the System: Middle Class Opportunities and Urban Flight
Week #5 Readings (Read for AP #3): Reserve Packet #1; Calh, Ch. 10; Cohen, pp. 86-109; White, pp. 270-277, 230-269,
Gorn, Ch. 4
1. How did middle-class life compare/contrast with working-class concerns and agrarian concerns near the turn of the century?
2. How did Gilded-Age innovations in the management system affect status and opportunity for men and women in urban America?
3. How did urban life and the gendered notions of the entrepreneurial ideal influence priorities of businessmen and their ideologies?
Feb 12 & 14 Fighting the System: Political Culture and Organizational Strategies of Challengers and Power-holders
Week #6 Readings (Read for AP #3): Calh, Ch. 12; Cohen, pp. 111-140; White, 140-178; Gorn, ch. 5 & 6
1. What was the dominant basis for political influence and power in the Gilded Age?
2. What were the most important challenges to the established political order in the Gilded Age?
3. How did Mary Jones' position herself in relation to structures of power and in relation to other radical leaders?
4. How did the geography and spatial dimensions of power change in the late 19 th century and why?
Analysis Paper #3 due Tuesday 19 Feb
Feb 19 & 21 Remaking a People: Ethnicity, Race, and Political Unrest in the Populist Era
Week #7 Readings (Read for AP #4): Calh, Ch. 11; Cohen, 177-216; White, 186-224; 455-498
1. What prompted the crisis of the 1890s and what were the implications of the crisis for those who wielded power?
2. Why were American voters relatively receptive to innovative political philosophies in the 1890s?
3. Why did popular support for the Populist Movement dissipate after 1896 and how did liberalism compare?
Feb 26 & 28 Progressive Conservatism: Class Status, Authority, and the Ethic of Reform
Week #8 Readings (Read for AP #4): Reserve Packet #2, Calh, Ch. 3 & 9; White, 317-325, 326-369;
1. How did the priorities of labor organizers change as a result of the 1890s crisis? How did capital respond?
2. How did the new factory system affect strategies and consequences of labor organizing?
3. What kinds of issues attracted the attention of progressive reformers, and what were the consequences of regulatory efforts?
4. What were the limitations of the Populist movement in an era of labor insurgency and managerial authority?
Analysis Paper #4 due Tuesday 5 March
Mar 5 & 7
Managing Family Values: Reconstructed Individualism and the Limits of Voluntarism
Week #9 Readings (Read for Final Exam): Calh, Chs. 4 & 15; Cohen, 217-256; White, pp. 370-413
1. How did the failure of the railroads influence popular ideals of success and virtue in public and private life?
2. How did the immigrant experience influence efforts to organize labor, either for managerial or mobilization purposes?
3. How did reinterpretations of constitutional authority affect the status of individuals in relation to the state during the Gilded Age?
Focus Project due 12 March (Tuesday)
Mar 12 & 14 Manly Virtues: The Strenuous Life and the Vicarious World of Global Management
Week #10 Readings (Read for Final Exam): Calh, Ch. 14; White, 414-452, 499-517; Reserve Packet #3
1 How did business strategies affect the national identity of early 20th century U.S.?
2 Why did commercialized leisure and spectator sports gain popularity in the era of imperialist expansion?
3 How did technological innovations and managerial innovations influence power relations in public and private life?
4 In what ways were the Railroads successful and in what ways were they failures, in relation to nationalist priorities of the postreconstruction era in the United States?
Final Exam (take-home) due by 5:00 pm Weds of Finals Week
Opportunity for Grade: Percentage of Grade for the Course
Analysis papers (#’s 1, 2, 3, and 4)
Class Participation
Term Project (including prospectus)
Final Exam
Due By
30
25
15
30
see above
regular attendance
Tuesday March 12
See Class Schedule
Final Exam Format: The final examination is a take-home essay assignment that will consist of three sections. The first
section will focus primarily on readings from the first 4 weeks of the course. The second section will focus on
material from weeks 5, 6, 7, and 8. The third section will focus on material from weeks 8, 9, and 10. Each section
will include an essay question that will be graded on the extent to which it presents a complete, coherent response to
the question with accurate examples from readings, discussions, and lectures that are appropriate to the question and
supportive of the argument presented in the essay, and adhering to the standards and expectations of academic
honesty (including citation of sources). To this end, I recommend each student take notes during class to ensure that
ideas from in-class discussion and lectures can be properly attributed during the final exam portion of the course.
Citation Guidelines and Academic Honesty Policy: All written products submitted for a grade in this course must adhere to the
conventions of proper English usage and they must fully cite any and all sources referenced, quoted, or otherwise consulted in the course
of generating or developing ideas for these assignments. Students are expected to familiarize themselves with, and adhere to the WOU
student code of conduct in all matters pertaining to this class. Penalties for violating academic honesty guidelines are severe, and may
include both failure in this course and broader sanctions at the campus level, as detailed in the student code of conduct (available on-line
at http://www.wou.edu/student/csr.php ). These matters are further addressed in the Social Science division’s policy on Academic
Dishonesty, which is also available on-line at http://www.wou.edu/las/socsci (click on “student resources” at upper left).
Accomodations for Students with Documented Disabilities: Students with documented disabilities who may need accommodations, who
have any emergency medical information the instructor should be aware of, or who need special arrangements in the event of evacuation,
should make an appointment with the instructor as early as possible, and no later than the first week of the term. For more information
on services and support available on this campus, interested students should contact the Office of Disability Services (838-8250v/tty)
Analysis Papers: These assignments are intended to encourage careful analysis and informed discussion of assigned readings.
Each Analysis Paper should present a critical synthesis of ideas from readings assigned for the 2 weeks immediately
preceding the due date. Each student is expected to complete all readings before Thursday of each week and should come to
class each Thursday prepared to discuss central themes and examples from that week’s readings and how they relate to
broader themes of the course. Analysis Papers are due by the time class meets on the Tuesdays indicated. Commentary
should be limited to three (3) single-spaced, typed pages (in a font size equivalent to 10-12 point Times Roman), or
approximately 1500 words.

Guidelines for the Analysis Papers: Each analysis paper is a thematic, written discussion of readings assigned for the 2-week
unit (as indicated in the schedule of readings, below). Complete the following steps in drafting these analysis papers:
a. Draft an introductory thesis paragraph for the analysis paper that directly addresses one or more of the primary
discussion themes for those two weeks of the course
b. Identify and explain the central arguments of the assigned chapters as they relate to that thesis, and the nature of
the evidence and sources on which the author(s) rely in making those arguments
c. relate those materials to ongoing themes of the course as presented in previous readings, lectures, and discussions.
d. Each paragraph of the subsequent discussion should include a clear topic sentence that introduces the reader to the
central purpose of that paragraph *and* relates the material in that paragraph to the thesis for the paper
e. Each paragraph should support its central themes and ideas with specific examples and evidence drawn from
appropriate required readings from that 2-week unit of the course. All such evidence, examples, and ideas should
be properly cited, following the standard footnoting guidelines as explained in the Rampolla text.
f. Commentary should be limited to 2-3 single-spaced, typed pages (approximately 1000-1500 words) in a font size
no smaller than that on the first page of this syllabus). All papers must follow standard citation format, as
described in the Rampolla guidebook (INCLUDING THE USE OF FOOTNOTES, PROPERLY FORMATTED).

The goal is to develop a thematic essay that demonstrates an understanding (not a summary) of the scope, breadth, significance,
and purpose of issues addressed in those readings as they relate to themes addressed in lectures, discussions, and other readings
from the current and previous weeks. You may wish to discuss your ideas with me in office hours before writing the paper.

Analysis papers are graded on a scale of 0 to 10 (10=superior (rarely awarded), 9=excellent, 8=good, 7=adequate, 6=marginal, 5
and below=weak). Grading criteria include: organization, accuracy, clarity of argument (or thesis) and the extent to which the
material addressed in the analysis paper demonstrates a clear understanding of (a) the particular, individually assigned chapters,
and (b) the general scope of all course readings assigned for those 2 weeks.
Class Participation: Discussions are an important component of this class, and the weekly focus questions are designed to encourage
an informed discussion of issues addressed in the assigned readings and lectures. Students should come to class each day prepared
to discuss all of the readings assigned for that week, and class discussions are intended to prepare students to develop critical
themes and supporting evidence in analysis papers based on those assigned materials. Daily attendance is required. Credit is
deducted for any absences. Credit for active (constructive) participation is noted after each meeting. Constructive participation
includes active and considerate listening, asking pertinent questions, and verbally expressing ideas and insights relevant to the
material at hand and responsive to the ideas and insights of other students and the instructor. Students are expected to familiarize
themselves with, and adhere to the WOU student code of conduct in all matters pertaining to this class.
Term Project: This assignment is an opportunity to focus on the historical context of a particular issue of interest to you and directly
relevant to the central theme and focus of this course (see course objectives and outline for course parameters, chronology, and themes).
The following instructions are intended as general guides to this project, but you should discuss your plans with the instructor in a
scheduled appointment at least 4 weeks prior to the due date. Read carefully, the guidelines in the Rampolla text, and follow carefully
the citation examples for footnotes, in the grey-shaded pages near the end of that text.
(a)Prospectus: draft a one-page, single-spaced, formal prospectus defining your topic, operating thesis, and a working bibliography (see
source requirements, below). Prospectus is due by Tuesday of the 4th week of class. The prospectus should also indicate whether your
finished product will be a written paper or an oral presentation. Only those students who so indicate their intent to make an oral
presentation will be permitted this option for credit toward completing the term project in this course.
(b)Secondary Sources: locate at least two (2) scholarly, historical monographs (single-author books) and at least four (4) recent articles
(ca. 1970s-2000s publications) from at least two different scholarly, historical journals that address and explore the historical context of
a particular issue or topic directly relevant to the central themes of this course. See bibliographic citations in assigned readings for
examples of scholarly monographs relevant to the issues addressed in those sources.
(c)Historiographical articles or essay: the paper should develop a thesis that builds on the ideas of at least one review essay that
explores how historical interpretations of this issue have evolved over time, clearly identifying how the paper fits into those traditions of
scholarship.
(d)Primary Source: locate at least one (1) discussion of an issue relevant to your topic in a primary source (first-hand account) from the
period under scrutiny. Possibilities for a primary source include published diaries and/or collections of letters, government documents
(colonial), treaties, and imperial correspondence. See the instructor if you are uncertain about what constitutes a primary source and/or
if you encounter difficulties locating such sources. Consult with a reference librarian for search strategies and tools.
(e) prepare either a written, critical analysis OR an oral presentation of the issue in its historical context. Students who opt to
complete a written analysis should prepare a final term project totaling a maximum of 15 double-spaced pages (or approximately 50007500 words), plus footnotes or endnotes. Students who opt, instead, to make an oral presentation of their research project should limit
the discussion to a maximum of 20 minutes in length, and they must also complete an annotated bibliography for the project (see
guidelines below) In either case, the essay or presentation should critically analyze the issue in relation to broader themes of history as
addressed in this course. Any and all ideas not your own must be fully cited in endnotes or footnotes, in the case of a written analysis, or
in the form of a fully annotated bibliography of sources consulted, in the case of an oral presentation (see guidelines, below). Students
opting to orally present their research must meet with the instructor before Thursday of the 5th week to plan a presentation date. For
students choosing this option, the annotated bibliography is due within one week after the date of the presentation. In either case,
grading will emphasize coherence and accuracy of the argument, clarity and conciseness of presentation, quality of sources and evidence
selected for presentation, and development, contextual understanding, and effective citation of sources. As with the written project, the
presentation should clearly identify historigraphic trends relevant to the topic, and clearly identify how the presentation fits within the
context of those historiographic traditions (what historiographic problem does it address, and with what result?).
(f) Annotated Bibliography guidelines (required for oral presentations only):
1. The first page should be a one-page essay (approximately 250-300 words in length) that briefly identifies the central thesis of
the presentation and its major arguments. All sources consulted for the project must be listed with full bibliographic
information, following the formatting instructions provided in the Rampolla text for bibliographic citations
2. Immediately below each listed reference, provide a brief paragraph concisely describing the nature of that source, its relevance
to the project (how does it support/develop the central thesis identified in the essay on the first page), and how it compares with
the other sources cited for this project. Indicate points of significant difference from other sources consulted in terms of focus,
methods, and conclusions of the author in comparison to other authors who have written on this subject.