Nancy K. Bristow
Office: Wyatt 140
Phone: ext. 3173
Email: nbristow@ups.edu
Office Hours:
M/W/F 11:00-1:00
and by appointment
History 153
American Experiences II:
1877 to the Present
Spring 2010
T
his course is designed to introduce you to some of the central topics and issues in American history
from 1877 to the present, while also providing you with the opportunity to gain a working
understanding of the historical and humanistic perspectives embodied in the methods of the
historian. The course adopts a broad conception of history,
and will touch on aspects of the political, social, cultural,
economic, diplomatic and military history of the nation. It
“History…does not refer merely to
will also explore the diversity of the American past,
the past…history is literally present
incorporating into our investigations the range of ethnic,
in all that we do.”
racial and gender groups as well as social and economic
--James Baldwin
classes that have peopled that history. This course will
attempt to grant all Americans their roles as historical
actors, exploring the multiple influences involved in
shaping the United States. While this will make for a
complex picture of the American past, it is only with that complexity intact that we can hope to understand
this nation’s history.
The period we will be studying is an exciting one, filled with dramatic change for the United States. A
rural nation devoted to agriculture in 1877, the United States was nevertheless already involved in a process
of industrialization and urbanization that was irreversible. Purportedly isolationist in outlook in 1877, by
the turn of the twentieth century the United States was increasingly engaged in actions overseas, another
trend that would persist with a seeming inevitability. Confronted with a changing nation and a changing
world, Americans in the period since 1877 have wrestled with insistent issues of identity. Who, they have
asked, is an American? What are the shared values that can be understood to define this American? What
rights does this identity impart? What responsibilities? Over the course of this semester we will explore the
changes that have taken place in this nation since 1877, as well as the ways in which Americans have
wrestled with those changes in their debates over national identity and its meaning.
While this course will acquaint you with the general outline of American history, it will also be important
for each one of you to develop your own skills as an historian. When we study history, we of necessity
study interpretations as well. While historians seek to write and speak only what they understand to be
true, each person studying history carries with them their own assumptions and their own history. In this
course we will work to understand the various interpretations placed on the past, as well as the assumptions
that frame our own interpretations, seeking ultimately to compile a fair vision of the past.
In order for this process to be successful, each of you will need to approach the class as an active
participant. Below are the course requirements, assigned readings, and topics for each class meeting.
Consider yourself an integral part of the class. Each of you has much to contribute and the class will
benefit to the extent that each of you approaches the class with a sense of responsibility for our shared work
this semester.
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REQUIRED READING:
In an effort to introduce you to a wide range of historical sources, the readings for this course will include a
textbook, a primary source collection, an historian’s focused exploration, an oral history, a novel, an edited
collection of letters, a memoir, and a journalist’s investigative report. We will also read several primary
and secondary sources that will be available in the course packet. The books listed below will be
required reading during the course, and are available at the bookstore and on reserve at the library.
James A. Henretta and David Brody, America: A Concise History, vol. 2: Since 1865.
(4th edition)
This textbook will allow us to construct a basic framework of knowledge about the past and to
begin our inquiry into the use of secondary sources.
Kevin J. Fernlund, Documents to Accompany America’s History, vol. 2: Since 1865 (6th edition)
This primary source collection brings breadth to our investigations, and will offer us countless
opportunities to engage in analysis of important documents from the past.
Edward T. Linenthal, Sacred Ground: Americans and Their Battlefields
This work by an historian will allow us to engage directly with one historian’s work, developing
critical reading skills for the exploration of secondary sources. It will also offer us a particular lens
for exploring events of the past, introducing the concept of historical memory.
Leonard Crow Dog and Richard Erdoes, Crow Dog: Four Generations of Sioux Medicine Men.
A combination of personal, family, and national history, this text will allow us to explore the use of
oral history while also offering significant insights into Lakota culture, the impact of
industrialization and westward expansion on that culture, and more recent efforts to revitalize
Lakota life.
Upton Sinclair, The Jungle.
This novel about the lives of working-class immigrants will allow us to explore industrialization,
working-class life, and the evolution of Progressivism, union activism, and socialism in the early
twentieth century, as well as the uses of literature in history.
Robert S. McElvaine, Down & Out in the Great Depression: Letters from the Forgotten Man
This collection of letters to President Roosevelt and his wife will offer us insight into both the
experiences and the values of a range of Americans as they struggled with the consequences of the
Great Depression. It will also provide us the starting point for your second paper.
Anne Moody, Coming of Age in Mississippi
This memoir of one young woman’s experiences in the modern African American freedom struggle
will help us to understand both the repressive context out of which it emerged and the meaning
activism held for at least one participant in this effort. It will also let us consider the strengths and
weaknesses of memoirs as historical documents.
Jim Sheeler, Final Salute: A Story of Unfinished Lives
This exploration of the impact of the war in Iraq focuses specifically on the powerful meaning of
the loss of life for those left behind by the American soldiers killed in the war. It will open up to us
a way of considering both the cost of war for, and the memorializing process of, our own
contemporary culture.
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WRITING ASSIGNMENTS: PAPERS and MEMOS
Writing is a top priority in this course, and so you will be required to write five essays over the course of
the semester—three formal papers and two reports in the form of memos. The due date on three papers is
set for you. For the two memos your due date will be determined according to your own decision about
timing (within certain parameters) These essays will give you the opportunity to work as historians,
employing investigative, analytical, and integrative techniques in the development and defense of your own
ideas. Below are brief descriptions of the assignments. Fuller explanations will be distributed and
discussed in class. The page lengths listed below are not limits, but serve only to give you a rough idea of
the scale of paper I am expecting.
Paper #1: The United States at the Turn of the Century: Defining “American” (roughly 4
pages) A nation of immigrants living on land it took through armed struggle, the people of the United States have
long contested the meaning of the term “American.” This first paper asks you to analyze how one person or group
conceptualized “the American” in the late nineteenth or early twentieth century. How, in other words, did this person
or group define who was American? What did that term mean? Due in class on February 15th
Paper #2: Experiencing the Great Depression (roughly 5 pages)
In the middle weeks of the semester we will spend significant time discussing how to work with multiple sources to
develop your thinking about the past. For your second paper you will combine your critical reading of Down and Out
in the Great Depression with at least one other primary source in order to develop a response to that book and the
ideas it suggests about life during that difficult era. Due in class on March 12th
Paper #3: Family History Research Project (roughly 7 pages)
This assignment asks each student to connect the history of his or her family to one of the broader currents of United
States history. Students may choose to write about one family member, or a topic or issue that involves several family
members. Family stories can seem simple and straightforward, but the challenge of this project is to put those stories
into a broader context and into conversation with historical arguments. Your essay should develop a thesis that links
your family’s experiences to broader issues, currents and events in American history. This means that you should
expect to research both the experiences of your family or a particular family member, and the broader context in
which these people lived. The first of these—your family’s history—will require you to locate some form of primary
source about a family member or your family more generally across time. Oral interviews, diaries, letters, magazine
articles, photographs and other primary sources are all appropriate sources. The second subject—the “broader
context” into which you place your family’s history—will require research into scholarly secondary sources. The real
challenge of this project is to put the two kinds of sources—primary and secondary—in conversation with each other.
Due in class on Wednesday, May 5th
Memo #1: Source Review (roughly 2 pages)
During the first half of the semester you will be responsible for analyzing one of our primary source readings, and
offering the class some ideas about how it can inform our understanding of the past. To do this, you will consider
what historical insights the source offers us and how it ties into important themes for the course. The due date for the
assignment depends on the source for which you are responsible. We will divide these responsibilities in class, as a
group. My Source Review is due on: _________________________________
Memo #2: Review of an Historical Site or Memorial (roughly 2 pages) One theme we will focus on
this semester is American memory and the memorializing of this country’s past. For your second memo, completed
sometime during the second half of the course, you will write a brief report on your visit to an historical site or
memorial, providing your classmates with insights into how the site or memorial is intended to function. What
messages does it communicate and how? My Site Review is due on________________________________.
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CLASS PARTICIPATION:
Discussion is an important part of this course. While the course will include some brief lectures, it is in
class discussions that we will have the opportunity to pursue together answers to the multitude of questions
the readings will raise. Working together, we have the opportunity to learn from one another, to consider
viewpoints different from our own, and to build on one another’s ideas. Keep in mind that attendance and
contributions to discussions will make up an important part of your grade. Also remember that there are
many ways to contribute to a discussion. Asking questions, offering ideas, providing evidence for the ideas
of others, and synthesizing recent points are all ways of making a significant contribution to the on-going
conversation. The following suggestions will help to make our discussions as fruitful as possible:
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Prepare for class: This includes not only reading all assignments before class, but thinking about them as well.
Be sure to read and think about the discussion questions included in the syllabus under “prep” for each class day.
It is often useful to write down a few thoughts and questions before class. This not only forces you to think
critically about what you are reading, but will often make it easier for you to speak up during the discussion.
Attend class: Unless you are in class, the rest of us cannot benefit from your ideas, and you will miss the
opportunity to benefit from the ideas of your classmates. Further, lectures and films offer you information and
context to help you understand your readings, and should not be missed.
Participate in discussions: We can only know your ideas if you express them. Twenty-nine minds are always
going to be better than just one. For this reason, we will all benefit from this course to the degree to which each
of you participates in our discussions. Each of you has a great deal to contribute to the class, and each of you
should share that potential with the other class members.
Listen to your classmates: The best discussions are not wars of words, but are a cooperative effort to
understand the issues and questions before us. Listen to one another, and build on the conversation. While we
will often disagree with one another, you should always be sure to pay attention to the ongoing discussion, and to
treat your classmates and their ideas with the respect they deserve.
Grading Standards for Class Participation:
 A student who receives an “A” for his or her participation typically comes to every class with questions
and ideas about the readings already in mind. He or she engages other students and the instructor in
discussion of their ideas as well as his or her own. This student is under no obligation to change their point
of view, yet respects the opinions of others. This student, in other words, takes part in an exchange of
ideas, and does so on a regular basis. This student also makes use of specific texts during the discussion,
providing depth to their contributions.
 A student who receives a “B” for his or her participation typically has completed all the reading
assignments on time, but does not always come to class with questions or ideas, or having considered the
readings carefully. Rather, this student waits passively for others to raise interesting issues. Other “B”
discussants are courteous and articulate but do not listen to other students, articulating their ideas without
reference to the direction of the discussion. Still others may have a great deal to contribute, but participate
only sporadically, or may not regularly connect their contributions to particular texts or specific examples.
 A student who receives a “C” for discussion typically attends every class and listens attentively, but
participates more sporadically in the discussion. Other “C” discussants would earn a higher grade, but are
too frequently absent from class.
 A student who receives a grade lower than “C” is consistently unprepared, unwilling to participate,
often seems distracted from the discussion, or is too frequently absent.
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QUIZZES:
You will take four quizzes over the course of the semester. These quizzes will test your command of the
historical information offered in the various readings for the course, including the textbook, and will also
test your understanding of that information. Each quiz will consider course materials covered since the
previous quiz day, including the readings for the day on which the new quiz is given. The format for the
quizzes will range from multiple choice and true-false questions to term definitions and short-answer
questions. The schedule for the quizzes is included on the class schedule. Missed quizzes can be made up,
but the rules surrounding these make-ups are firm. In the case of unavoidable emergencies and illness with
a proper medical excuse, you may take make-up quizzes without penalty. Similarly, if arrangements are
made in advance, you may also take a make-up quiz in the case of unavoidable school-related activities
without penalty. No other make-up quizzes are permitted.
BLACKBOARD:
Blackboard is a system that hosts course websites. This semester, we’ll be using Blackboard in History
153. Specifically, you are required to post your event review through our Blackboard site, making it
available for your classmates to read. The website also provides a great deal of information about the
course—the course syllabus, assignments, and various handouts, for instance. What follows are some basic
instructions for signing up for the course on Blackboard, and for posting your event review. If you have
any problems using Blackboard, just come by my office and I’ll help get you started. I hope you’ll be
impressed with how easy it is to use.
Signing up for the course:
 The address for the homepage where you’ll begin is http://blackboard.ups.edu
 Click on create account
 Follow the instructions to create your own account
 Once you have an account, and have arrived on the Welcome page, there are two ways to access
my course. Either click on Browse course catalog or type in History 153 (note that there is a
space between History and 153). There are sometimes multiple sections of History 153, so you
need to be sure to locate my particular course.
 When you are prompted for an access code, type in coho, and click on enroll.
You should now be successfully enrolled in my course. If this is the case, you will find yourself on the
announcements page, where there is an announcement congratulating you on your successful arrival.
Posting your Source and Site Reviews: Logistics
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On the homepage for the course, click on Communication, then click on Discussion Board.
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There is already a Forum prepared for your reviews, entitled “Source Reviews” and “Site
Reviews.” Click on the appropriate button.
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Now, to post your review you will need to begin a new thread. To do this, click on Add New
Thread, located at the top of the screen. Provide a title for your review. Then post your review by
pasting it into the message box. You can also include it as an attachment, for backup.
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You can preview your work by clicking on the Preview button.

Once you are happy with your work, click on the submit button, and then the OK button. Your
review should now be up and available for your classmates.
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GRADING SCALE:
In assigning grades, both during the semester and at its end, I will use the following scale:
A+:
B+:
C+:
D+:
F:
97-100
87-89
77-79
67-69
below 60
A:
B:
C:
D:
93-96
83-86
73-76
63-66
A-:
B-:
C-:
D-:
90-92
80-82
70-72
60-62
FINAL GRADES:
Your final grade in this course will be based on the following weighting of the course requirements:
 first paper …………………………………….. 15%
 second paper …………………………………. 15%
 third paper……………………………………. 25%
 source review…………………………………….5%
 site review………………………………….........10%
 quizzes…..……………………………………. 15%
 attendance and participation in discussions…... 15%
POLICIES:
 In this course, we will operate according to my “48 hour rule.” This means that you can turn in
one paper or review up to 48 hours late without penalty or explanation. Beyond this, though, late papers
will be accepted only in cases of illness or emergency, or when prior arrangements have been made, and
will generally be penalized except in cases of illness or emergency.
 You must complete all writing assignments in order to successfully complete this course. In other
words, you have to turn in all papers and reviews in order to pass the class.
 For any policy issue not covered here, I follow the rules set down in The Logger. You have
responsibility to be familiar with the handbook and the policies it contains.
A WORD ABOUT ACADEMIC HONESTY:
It is assumed that all of you will conform to the rules of academic honesty. I should warn you that
plagiarism and any other form of academic dishonesty will be dealt with severely in this course.
Plagiarizing in a paper or cheating on a quiz will be reported to the university, will result in an automatic F
on that assignment and potentially in the course, and may lead to more substantial university-level
penalties. Because academic dishonesty is such an egregious offense, the penalty is not negotiable. As a
member of this academic community, your integrity and honesty are assumed and valued. Our trust in one
another is an essential basis for our work together. A breach of this trust is an affront to your colleagues
and to the integrity of this institution, and so will be treated harshly. Rest assured that I will make every
effort to familiarize you with the rules surrounding academic honesty. If at any time you have questions
about these rules, too, know that I am anxious to help clarify them.
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COURSE OBJECTIVES:
Students in this course will have the opportunity:
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to gain an understanding of the historical and humanistic perspectives.
to gain an overview knowledge of American history in the period from 1877 to the present, and in
particular of the experiences and values of the diverse peoples that make up the United States.
to learn the methods employed by historians, in particular the critical reading of both primary and
secondary sources.
to polish their skills in oral and written communication and in cooperative learning.
SCHEDULE FOR CLASSES,
READINGS AND ASSIGNMENTS
Week #1
Introductions: The Historical Perspective
Jan. 20
Introduction to the Course / Introduction to the Historical Perspective
WELCOME TO THE COURSE!!
Jan. 22
Introductions: Thinking about the Meaning of History
READING:
 Edward T. Linenthal, Sacred Ground: Americans and Their Battlefields, Introduction and
ch. 3.
PREP:
In our first class we talked about how historians do their work, as each of you participated
in the interrogation of a primary source from 2010. Today we will spend time thinking
about why historians do their work. As you read the chapter for today, think about the
meaning of Linenthal’s ideas. Why does history matter? What difference does it make if
historical events are remembered in particular ways?
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Week #2
A Nation of Nations: A Diverse People
Jan. 25
Introductions: Reconstruction / Working with Primary Sources
READING:
 Henretta and Brody, America: A Concise History, ch. 15
 Kevin J. Fernlund, Documents to Accompany America’s History, pp. 20-22
15-9: Visual Documents (“This is a White Man’s Government,” “Colored Rule in a
Reconstructed (?) State”)
PREP:
In our first class we talked about how easily we can read sources from our own time because we
know their context. In today’s class we will look carefully at two political cartoons by Thomas
Nast, one of the premier political cartoonists of the nineteenth century. In order to understand the
meaning of these cartoons—both in their own time and for our understandings of the era of
Reconstruction—we will need to look carefully at this historical period. Think first about Nast’s
intended meaning with each cartoon. What positions on Reconstruction did he intend to encourage
in his readers? (To figure this out, be sure to think carefully about the context in which he
produced them. What, exactly, was happening at the time Nast drew the cartoons?) Next, can you
think about what they might mean to us? Are there any “unintended meanings” we can discern that
might help us understand the collapse of Reconstruction?
Jan. 27
The First Americans: Lakota Culture as a Case Study
READING:
 Leonard Crow Dog and Richard Erdoes, Crow Dog, 1-39,71-90,133-152 (chs. 1-4, 9-10,14-16)
PREP:
Think first about the nature of the source by Crow Dog. How was Crow Dog’s story recorded?
What influence might this have had on the text itself? What problems does the historian using this
source need to confront? In turn, how can this source prove useful to us? What questions can it help
us answer?
Jan. 29
Westward Expansion and the Lakota
READING:
 Henretta and Brody, America: A Concise History, 464-467 and ch. 16
 Crow Dog and Erdoes, Crow Dog, pp. 41-62, 91-113 (chs. 5-7, 11)
 Fernlund, Documents to Accompany America’s History, pp. 31-34
16-2: Helen Hunt Jackson, Century of Dishonor, excerpt
16-3: Dawes Severalty Act
PREP:
How did the arrival of European Americans and their occupation of western lands affect the
Lakota? How was Jerome Crow Dog affected by the arrival of Wavoka and the Ghost Dance?
How did the creation of the Native American Church reflect the crisis faced by the Lakota and
other Native Americans in the early twentieth century? Read the piece by Helen Hunt Jackson and
the Dawes Severalty Act carefully. What do you learn here about American assumptions regarding
the west, and Native Americans? What impact did these assumptions have for the Crow Dog
family? Was a particular definition of an “American” evident in these assumptions?
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Week #3
Industrialization: A Nation in the Throes of Change
Feb. 1
Remembering the War for the West / Thinking about Secondary Sources
READING:
 Linenthal, Sacred Ground, skim ch. 2 and read ch. 4 more carefully
 Fernlund, Documents to Accompany…, pp. 30-31, 45-46
16-1: “Custer’s Last Stand”
16-9: Nuestra Platforma
PREP: As you know from earlier reading, Edward Linenthal helps us think about how Americans have
remembered battles in their past. Today’s reading will direct us toward the nation’s memory of its
expansion in the west. Be sure you understand Linenthal’s arguments. What does he argue in each
of these chapters? How do they relate to the chapter we read about the Gettysburg battlefield?
Once you are sure you understand his claims, take a look more carefully at his methods. Do you
find his claims convincing? Why or why not? How, in turn, do our primary sources influence our
understandings?
Feb. 3
Introducing Industrialization and its Ideology
READING:
 Henretta and Brody, America: A Concise History, ch. 17
 Fernlund, Documents to Accompany America’s History, pp. 40-43, 57-60, 65-67
16-7: William E. Smythe, “On Irrigation”
17-3: Andrew Carnegie, “The Gospel of Wealth”
17-7: Frederick Winslow Taylor, Principles of Scientific Management
 Course Packet: pp. 9-11
Carnegie, “A Talk to Young Men”
PREP: What can we learn about the ideologies surrounding industrialization from the pieces written by
Smythe, Carnegie, and Taylor? What other insights into American culture do these documents
provide? What important differences do you note between these beliefs and those of the Lakota?
Feb. 5
Immigrants to a New World: The Rise of an Urban United States
READING:
 Sinclair, The Jungle, chs. 1-6
 Henretta and Brody, America: A Concise History, ch. 18
 Fernlund, Documents to Accompany, pp. 44-45
16-8: On Chinese Immigration
PREP: First, think about The Jungle as a source. Using the guidelines we’ve been working with for
reading primary sources, what would you identify as the limitations of this source? Given these
potential problems, how can we nevertheless make use of this source? What, in particular,
might we explore in class together? Locate at least one passage you find significant and be ready
to explain why you selected it. Finally, what can we learn from the document on Chinese
immigration about American views of immigrants? Of themselves?
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Week #4:
Becoming One Nation?
The Impact of Industrialization
Feb. 8
Industrialization and the Laborers’ Alternatives: A Labor Conference
READING:
 Sinclair, The Jungle, chs. 7-13
 Fernlund, Documents to Accompany, pp. 61-65, 69-74
17-4: On Child Labor
17-5: Chase Wyman, “Studies of Factory Life”
17-6: Anonymous, “More Slavery at the South”
17-9: Powderly, “The Army of Unemployed”
17-10: Debs, “How I Became a Socialist”
17-11: Testimony before the US Strike Commission on the Pullman Strike
 Course Packet: pp. 12-44
Constitution of the Knights of Labor
Documents on the AFL and IWW (skim)
Preparation for the Labor Conference
PREP:
See Course Packet
Feb. 10
Industrialization and Politics: New Politics and the New South
READING:
 Henretta and Brody, America: A Concise History, ch. 19
 Fernlund, Documents to Accompany, 118-120, 127-131
19-6: 1890 Mississippi Constitution
19-7: Wells, “Lynching at the Curve”
19-10: Democratic and Republican Party Platforms (1892)
19-11: People’s Party National Platform (1892)
 Course Packet: pp. 45-55
Henry Grady, “The New South”
Majority Opinion and Dissent in Plessy v. Ferguson
PREP: What was the ideology of the New South as Henry Grady described it? How did it constitute
something new? How were its values supported or contradicted by the Mississippi Constitution of
1890? By the decision in Plessy v. Ferguson? Again, what do these documents suggest about the
competing visions of the United States, and of Americans, in the late nineteenth century?
**You will take your FIRST QUIZ in class TODAY!!**
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Feb. 12
Resisting Jim Crow: African American Alternatives
READING:
 Fernlund, Documents to Accompany, 120-126
19-8: Washington, “Atlanta Exposition Address”
19-9: Du Bois, “Of Mr. Booker T. Washington and Others”
 Course Packet: pp. 56-59
Ida B. Wells, United States Atrocities
Henry McNeal Turner, speech
PREP:
What were the key components of the plans laid out by the four leaders considered in the reading
today? How were these various plans similar to, and different from, one another? Next, think about
the implications of each of these plans, given the historical context in which they were presented.
Can you identify the strengths and weaknesses of each plan, given this context? Finally, what is the
conceptualization of the United States evident in each of these leaders’ views?
Week #5
Reforming Americans: The Progressive Era
Feb. 15
READING:
Imagining the American
No new reading
**Your FIRST PAPER is DUE in class TODAY!!**
Feb. 17
Progressivism and the Progressive Social Vision: An Overview
READING:
 Henretta and Brody, America: A Concise History, chap. 20
 Fernlund, Documents to Accompany…, chapter 20
PREP: After reading the textbook chapter, skim all of the documents in Fernlund, chapter 20. Then
brainstorm a list of reforms Progressives set out to achieve. Using this list, try to write a definition
of Progressivism. Who were the Progressives? Can you identify any shared goals? Shared
methods? Shared beliefs? Now select one of the primary source documents and study it carefully.
How does it shape your definition of Progressivism?
Feb. 19
Progressivism and Upton Sinclair? A Case Study
READING:
 Sinclair, The Jungle, complete. (Pay special attention to chs. 26-31)
PREP: Think about The Jungle in the context of our discussion of Progressivism in class last time. How
did his background affect what Sinclair wrote? Why do you think he wrote the book? Who was his
intended audience? What do you think he wanted his readers to take away from the text? How did
he define socialism, and how did he try to make it appealing to Americans? Finally, think about the
book and its relationship to Progressivism. Would you consider Sinclair a Progressive?
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Week #6
The Modern Era?
Feb. 22
Americans and the World: The Age of Imperialism
READING:
 Henretta and Brody, America: A Concise History, chap. 21
 Fernlund, Documents to Accompany, 168-175
21-4: Beveridge, “The March of the Flag”
21-5: James, “The Philippines Tangle”
21-6: McKinley, “On Prayer and the Philippines”
21-7: Bowman, Cartoon on the Philippines and Cuba
PREP:
Begin by reading the textbook and the primary sources. Was the United States an imperialist nation
in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries? Were the nation’s actions in this period
different from what had come before? What do the struggles over the Philippines and Cuba suggest
about how Americans were understanding their identity as a people and a nation? Was this
changing?
Feb. 24
World War One: Progressivism at Home and Abroad?
READING:
 Henretta and Brody, America: A Concise History, pp.636-639 and ch. 22
 Fernlund, Documents to Accompany, ch. 22
PREP:
After reading the textbook, look over all of the documents in the Fernlund collection’s Chapter 22
quickly. Given what you read here, was World War One a Progressive war, reflecting the designs
of Progressives, or was it, as the historian Richard Hofstadter declared, the “nemesis” of American
reform efforts? Be ready to defend your position with specific examples and evidence.
Feb. 26
The 1920s: “Modern Times” or “Progress and Nostalgia”?
READING:
 Henretta and Brody, America: A Concise History, ch. 23
 Course Packet: pp. 60-70
Lawrence Levine, “Progress and Nostalgia”
PREP:
Read the chapter in America: A Concise History. What is the thesis of this chapter? How does the
textbook defend it? What, in turn, is the thesis of Levine’s article? How does he defend it? Next,
read over the primary source on page 686 in America: A Concise History by Hiram Wesley Evans
on the KKK in the 1920s. Does it seem to speak to the ideas argued by the textbook? By Lawrence
Levine? Does it support or refute those ideas?
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Week #7:
Into the Great Depression
March 1
Assessing the 1920s
READING:
 Fernlund, Documents to Accompany, any two documents in Ch. 23 “Modern Times: The 1920s”
PREP:
Today we will continue testing the secondary source we read last time by Lawrence Levine, this
time by reading over many of the primary sources in the chapter in Fernlund. Select any two of the
documents in this chapter, and be prepared to explain how they support and/or refute Levine’s
ideas. Also use them to develop at least one more insight into American culture during the 1920s.
March 3
The Depression Hits the American People / Thinking about our Source
READING:
 Henretta and Brody, America: A Concise History, ch. 24
 Robert S. McElvaine, ed., Down and Out in the Great Depression, Foreword, Preface,
Introduction, and Part I
PREP:
Think about what McElvaine says about his purposes in editing this collection, and his sense of
the meaning it has. What does it mean to read a collection of sources and find them “moving”?
Also note the arguments he makes in his introduction. Then look at the primary sources in Chapter
One, as well as the photographs located throughout the text. What kind of source is this? What
advantages and disadvantages do we encounter working with a source such as this? Finally, do you
know anything about your own family’s experiences in the Great Depression? If not, think about
asking someone about them. All it takes, in many cases, is a phone call!
March 5
Americans Experience the Great Depression: Exploring Life through Letters
READING:
 McElvaine,ed., Down and Out in the Great Depression, Part II, Chs. 2-6
PREP:
Begin to think about the paper you will write using McElvaine’s book. You will see that you have
a couple of options for the paper—writing a paper about a particular kind of experience during the
Great Depression or writing a review of McElvaine’s collection. As you do the reading for today,
watch for themes and issues you see emerging, and begin to develop your own insights on the basis
of this primary source reading. Also, do you have any developing ideas about the strengths or
weaknesses of this collection for a course such as ours?
**You will take your SECOND QUIZ in class TODAY!!**
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Week #8
From “Dr. New Deal” to “Dr. Win-the-War”
March 8
Paper Workshop
READING:
Robert S. McElvaine, Down and Out in the Great Depression, any chapter from Parts III and IV.
PREP:
We will spend our time in class today talking about and thinking about the papers due on Friday.
As you select a chapter to read for today, consider your own interests for the upcoming paper.
Also begin the work of supplementing McElvaine’s materials with another primary source.
March 10
World War II: Defining and Battling the Enemy
READING:
 Henretta and Brody, America: A Concise History, ch. 25
 Course Packet: pp. 71-92
Franklin D. Roosevelt, “Declaration of War Speech”
John Dower, War Without Mercy, excerpt
 Handouts:
Articles from the Trail, 1942
Honorary Degree Citation, 2009
PREP: Read the excerpt from John Dower’s book, and be sure you understand his argument. How
effective, in turn, do you find his evidence? We will take a look at a propaganda film from the war
years to further test his ideas. Also take a few minutes to learn about the experiences of Japanese
American students at UPS during the war. Does Dower’s book help us understand these events as
well?
IN-CLASS FILM: Know Your Enemy: Japan
March 12
World War II: The Homefront
READING: No new reading for today!
IN-CLASS FILM: The Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter
**Your SECOND PAPER is due in class TODAY!!**
Have a GREAT SPRING BREAK!!
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Week #9
A Dangerous World:
Americans and the Cold War
March 22
Preparing for the Family Research Project
READING:
No new reading for today. We will meet in Library 118 today, with Peggy Burge, the Liaison
Librarian for the History Department.
March 24
Remembering World War Two / Remembering American History
READING:
 Linenthal, Sacred Ground, ch. 5
PREP:
We return today to thinking about how Americans have remembered their past. We’ll start by
talking about the argument Linenthal makes in his chapter about World War Two. Does his
argument suggest changes in American culture, or continuities, or some of both? Do you find
Linenthal convincing? Why or why not? In class we will have a chance to look at the new World
War Two memorial on the mall in Washington DC to see how this corresponds with Linenthal’s
claims. From here we’ll spend time discussing your new assignment to interpret for the class an
historical site or memorial.
March 26
READING:


From Uncle Joe to the Red Menace: Origins of the Cold War
Henretta and Brody, America: A Concise History, ch. 26
Fernlund, Documents to Acompany…., 311-327
26-1: Novikov Telegram
26-2: Kennan, Containment Policy
26-4: NSC-68
PREP:
Read the chapter in the textbook carefully, then step back and look at it as a secondary source.
What thesis does it offer regarding the origins of the Cold War? What evidence does it provide to
support that thesis? Now read the primary sources. Do they confirm or refute the textbook’s
thesis?
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Week #10
Cold War Culture:
The United States in the 1950s
March 29
Cold War Politics: Domesticating the Threats
READING:
 Fernlund, Documents to Accompany…, 331-333
26-6: McCarthy, Communists in the U.S. Government
 Course Packet, pp. 93-112
Life magazine articles on civil defense and bomb shelters
PREP:
Look over the articles from Life magazine on bomb shelters, which were published between
1959 and 1961. How do these articles affect your understanding of the Cold War in American
culture? Also, think about the anti-communist crusade of the 1950s. Are these two phenomena
linked?
IN-CLASS FILM: The House in the Middle
March 31
Cold War Culture: Americans in the 1950s
READING:
 Henretta and Brody, America: A Concise History, ch. 27
 Anne Moody, Coming of Age in Mississippi, chs. 1-3, 6-7, 9-11
PREP:
How would you characterize American culture in the years from 1945-1960? How, in turn, do you
situate Anne Moody’s story in that culture. Was the south exceptional in its racial dynamics in the
1950s, or did it simply exaggerate national tendencies?
**You will take your THIRD QUIZ in class TODAY!!**
April 2
A Civil Rights Movement, and its Opponents, Emerge
READING:
 Anne Moody, Coming of Age in Mississippi, 12-14, 18, 20-24
 Fernlund, Documents to Accompany…, 335-339
26-8: Brown v. Board of Education
26-9: The Southern Manifesto
PREP:
Why did the Supreme Court argue that segregation in education was unconstitutional? Given what
you know about this period in American history, how do you explain the emergence of this new
ruling at this particular historical moment? How, in turn, did opponents justify their opposition?
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Finally, think about the kinds of actions Anne Moody and others employed to challenge white
supremacy’s legal and culture bases. What made this kind of approach so powerful?
Week #11
A Liberal Consensus?
The United States in the 1960s
April 5
Navigating the Cold War: The New Frontier and the Great Society
READING:
 Henretta and Brody, America: A Concise History, ch. 28
 Fernlund, Documents to Accompany, 371-379
28-2: Kennedy, Inaugural Address
28-3: SDS, “Port Huron Statement”
28-4: Goldwater, Acceptance Speech
28-5: Johnson, Address at the University of Michigan
28-6: Wilderness Act
PREP:
Think about the goals set by both Kennedy and Johnson for their presidential administrations, the
New Frontier and the Great Society. What goals did they share? How were they different? What
definition of “liberalism” did their administrations seem to adopt? How did their domestic visions
relate to their foreign policy goals?
April 7
The Civil Rights Movement Evolves
READING:
 Anne Moody, Coming of Age in Mississippi, chs. 25-30
 Fernlund, Documents to Accompany, 386-388
28-10: Malcolm X and Yusef Iman
PREP:
Anne Moody concludes her memoir by expressing doubts about the lyrics “We Shall Overcome.”
Why is she so skeptical of progress? How has she changed over the course of her narrative? Why?
Can you imagine how experiences like hers would make the views of Malcolm X popular?
April 9
Fighting the Cold War: The War in Vietnam
READING:
 Fernlund, Documents to Accompany, 380-385
28-7: Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
28-8: Johnson, “Peace Without Conquest”
28-9: Caputo, “The Splendid Little War”
 Course Packet, pp.113-145
Tim O’Brien, “The Things They Carried”
Laura Palmer, Shrapnel in the Heart, excerpt
PREP:
Compare the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution to Wilson’s and Roosevelt’s speeches asking for a
Declaration of War. What is different here? What is similar? Why did the nation go to war in
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Vietnam? What did it mean for the soldiers who fought the war? How has the memorializing of
this war differed from that of earlier ones?
Week #12
Making Sense of the Conservative Resurgence:
The 1970s
April 12
Rising Radicalism: AIM as a Case Study
READING:
 Crow Dog and Erdoes, Crow Dog, chs. 18, 21-22
PREP:
Why did AIM appear when it did? How did the members of AIM define their goals? How did their
actions reflect these goals? How did other Americans respond to AIM, its goals, and its actions?
What was its relationship to the earlier African American civil rights movement?
IN-CLASS FILM:
In the Spirit of Crazy Horse
April 14
The 1970s: An Age of Limits?
READING:
 Henretta and Brody, America: A Concise History, ch. 29
 Fernlund, Documents to Accompany, 391-392, 411-414, 424-425
28-13: NOW, “Statement of Purpose”
29-5: Gloria Steinem, “Statement in Support of the ERA”
29-6: Phyllis Schlafly, “The Positive Woman”
29-10: Carter, “The National Crisis of Confidence”

Course Packet: 146-158
“No More Miss America”
John D’Emilio, “Placing Gay in the Sixties”
PREP:
Historians sometimes describe the 1970s as an “age of limits.” Do the primary sources confirm or
critique this interpretation? How does the historian John D’Emilio recast our thinking about this
decade?
April 16
The Credibility Gap and the Nixon White House
READING:
 Fernlund, Documents to Accompany, 400-410
29-1: Dan Rather’s Conversation with President Nixon
29-2: Richard Nixon, “Vietnamization and the Nixon Doctrine”
29-3: Richard Nixon, “The Invasion of Cambodia”
29-4: Watergate: Taped White House Conversation
PREP:
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How does an exploration of the Nixon years help to illuminate the triumph of conservatism evident
in the election of 1980?
Week #13
Conservatism Triumphant
April 19
The Reagan Revolution?
READING:
 Henretta and Brody, America: A Concise History, ch. 30
 Fernlund, Documents to Accompany, 424-428
29-11: Reagan, “Acceptance Speech,”
30-1: Ronald Reagan, Remarks at the Annual Convention of the NAE
30-2: Creationism, the Public Schools and the First Amendment, Edwards v. Aguillard
30-3: Donald T. Regan, “For the Record”
PREP:
Was there a Reagan Revolution? If so, in what ways was it “revolutionary”? Now take a look at
the presidencies of George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. Do they reflect the
impact of the Reagan presidency, or was its impact limited to his years in office?
April 21
Americans in the Late Twentieth Century: Culture Wars?
READING:
 Henretta and Brody, America: A Concise History, 31
 Fernlund, Documents to Accompany, 30 and 31
(read any three documents from the two chapters, though not those we’ve already read)
PREP:
Thinking about the nation at the turn of the millennium, how would you compare it to the country
in 1877? 1900? 1950? What are the most important similarities? Differences? How have the
definitions of “American” changed? How have they stayed the same? Is this term still contested?
April 23
Entering the 21st Century
READING:

Henretta and Brody, America: A Concise History, ch. 32

Fernlund, Documents to Accompany, 474-493
32-1: Bush v. Gore
32-2: Goldsmith, “What Compassionate Conservatism Is—and Is Not”
32-3: Bush on Iraq
32-4: U.S. National Security Strategy, 2002
32-5: Report on Catastrophic Hurricane Evacuation Plan Evaluation
PREP:
What do you remember about the history of the last 10 years? How is it different to study history
that you can remember? What new cautions does this require on the historian’s part? Now read
the textbook chapter and the documents from Fernlund. How do these resonate with your own
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recollections? How do you handle the differences? Finally, can we reach any conclusions about
the meaning of 9/11? Hurricane Katrina? The George W. Bush presidency?
Week #14
A New Millenium?
United States and the World in the 21st Century
April 26
Final Quiz and Family History Research Projects
READING:
No new reading for today. After you take the final quiz, we will answer any questions that have
emerged regarding the Family History Research Project, due next week.
**You will take your FINAL QUIZ in class TODAY!!**
April 28
America and the World: The War in Iraq
READING:
 Jim Sheeler, Final Salute: A Story of Unfinished Lives, Parts I and II
PREP:
What kind of book is this? How might it connect with some of our earlier investigations?
April 30
Sacred Ground? Americans and Remembering the War in Iraq
READING:
 Sheeler, Final Salute, complete
PREP:
If you were writing the final chapter for Edward Linenthal’s book, Sacred Ground, on Americans
and the memory of the war in Iraq, what would you argue? What leads you to this conclusion?
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Week #15
Looking Backward / Looking Forward:
Our Place in the Nation’s History
May 3
Looking at Ourselves: The Nation in 2010
READING:
Over the weekend you should read at least one newspaper cover to cover. Then follow up by
locating and reading an additional article from a different news source on the same subject.
PREP:
What do you learn about how Americans understand themselves and their nation through these
articles and the issues they consider?
May 5
Looking at Ourselves: De-Briefing the Family History Projects
READING
No new reading for today.
**Your FINAL paper is due in class TODAY!!**
Phew! You made it!!!
Now go and enjoy your
Summer Break!!