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 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 bookreviews (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) 80-89%; 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.
Gian Gentile, “A Slightly Better War: A Narrative and It’s Defects,” World Affairs, Vol. 171:1 (Summer 2008), pp. 57.
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 Sageless: 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.
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.
Course Schedule
Week 1:
Tuesday August 25: Course Introduction
Thursday Aug 27: No class
Find biographical information on Lewis S. Sorley and James McPherson from the library (check
Contemporary Authors first);
Find two professional reviews of A Better War: The Unexamined Victories and Final Tragedy of
America’s Last Years in Vietnam and For Cause and Comrades: Why Men Fought in the Civil
War; turn in reviews and biographical information for the first quiz score at the start of the
following class.
To substitute for this missing course, students must plan to attend the TAMUCT Military history
symposium on Saturday, 3 October (time TBD);
Week 2:
Tuesday September 1: Early Settlers and Colonial Militias; Millett, Chapter One;
Tuesday September 3: Quiz Chapter One and film: The New World
Week 3:
Tuesday September 8: Colonial Wars and Warfare; Millet, Chapter Two.
Thursday September 10: 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 Sageless: 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:
Tuesday September 15: Read: the American Revolution; Millet, Chapter Three;
Thursday September 17: 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:
Tuesday September 22: Lecture: Civic-Military Relations and Democracy; Millet, Chapter Four.
Thursday September 24: 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.
And
Gregory Foster, “Civil-Military Relations: The Postmodern Democratic Challenge,” World
Affairs, Vol. 167:3 (Winter 2005): 91-100.
Week 6:
Tuesday September 29: The Armed Forces and National Expansion; Millet, Chapter Five;
Thursday October 1: 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): 40013.
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:
Tuesday October 6: The Civil War, 1861 to 1862, Millet, Chapter Six and Seven
Thursday October 8: Quiz and class Discussion on For Cause and Comrades: Why Men Fought
in the Civil War (book review due).
Week 8:
Tuesday October 13: The Armed Forces and Postwar Mobilization; Millet Chapter 8;
Thursday October 15: Midterm Examination
Week 9
Tuesday October 20: The Armed Forces and American Imperial Ambitions; Millet Chapter 9.
Thursday October 22: Quiz and Discussion, read:
Brian McAllister Linn, “The American Way of War,” OAH Magazine of History, Vol. 22:4
(Oct., 2008): 19-23.
and
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:
Tuesday October 27: Military Expansion; Millet Chapter 10.
Thursday October 29: 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:
Tuesday November 3: World War I; Millet Chapter 11,
Thursday November 5: 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:
Tuesday November 10: World War II; Millett Chapter 12 and 13
Thursday Nov 12: Quiz 7 and film, “Why We Fight.”
Week 13:
Tuesday Nov 17: Nuclear Deterrence and Collective Security, Millet Chapter 16.
Thursday November 19: 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.
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:
Tuesday November 24: American Defense Policy for Extended Deterrence and Containment
Millet Chapter 15
Thursday November 26: Thanksgiving Holiday- No Class.
Week 15
Tuesday Dec 1: 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.
Thursday December 3: The Vietnam War and American Military Policy; Millet Chapter 17.
Week 16:
Tuesday Dec 8: Quiz and class discussion on 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, 1968-72," War
& Society 32:3 (October 2013), pp.252-70.
Gian Gentile, “A Slightly Better War: A Narrative and It’s Defects,” World Affairs, Vol. 171:1
(Summer 2008), pp. 57.
Peter Spiegel and Jonathan Weisman, “Behind Afghan War Debate, A Battle of Two Books
Rages,” The Wall Street Journal (October 7, 2009), A1
Thursday Dec 10.: Final
Instructor reserves the right to amend this syllabus at any time.