History 202
U.S. History Since 1865
Allen Dieterich-Ward
Spring 2009
Office: DHC 217
MWF 9-9:50; 10-10:50
ajdieterichward@ship.edu
DHC 206
Phone: 477-1192
Office Hours: MW 12:00-2:00 or by appointment
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The course will explore key themes and pivotal developments in the political, social, cultural, and
economic history of the United States since the Civil War, focusing on both domestic and
international affairs. We will examine major eras and transformations such as Reconstruction, the
rise of Big Business and Organized Labor, Western Expansion and Imperialism, the Progressive
Era, the Rise of Mass Culture, the Great Depression and New Deal, World War II and the Cold
War, the Civil Rights Movement, the Vietnam Era, Conservatism and the "Reagan Revolution," and
the War on Terror. Students will also develop a variety of skills necessary for the study and
practice of historical writing, including how to read primary and secondary sources, how to develop
and write historical essays, and how to construct and deconstruct the narratives at the heart of this
thing called “history.”
Requirements
You are expected to be present and prepared for every class meeting and to participate actively in
the discussion. Class discussion and group work projects are major components of this course, and
thus multiple absences for any reason will significantly lower your final grade. You should
complete all reading and writing assignments in advance of their respective classes. Students
should also consult Blackboard routinely for graded assignments, readings, class updates, research
links and general course information.
Required Texts
William H. Chafe, Civilities and Civil Rights: Greensboro, North Carolina, and the Black Struggle
for Freedom (New York: Oxford University Press, 1981).
Andrew Isenberg, The Destruction of the Bison: An Environmental History, 1750-1920 (New York:
Cambridge University Press, 2001).
Mary Beth Norton, et.al., A People and a Nation: A History of the United States, Volume II: Since
1865, Dolphin Edition (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2007).
Virtual Coursepack
Assigned articles, chapters from books, and other documents will be available through the Web
Documents section of Blackboard. These web documents (WD) will serve as the basis for class
discussion on the day they are assigned. I strongly suggest downloading and printing the entire
coursepack at the beginning of the semester so that you will have the texts available when you need
them. You are required to bring to class any reading assignment listed on the syllabus except for
the Norton textbook. Failure to do so will result in a grade of “0” for class participation for the day.
Grading:
Active Class Participation
Online Journal
Papers (2)
10%
10%
30%
Midterm Exam
Final Project
Final Exam
20%
10%
20%
Active Class Participation
Class meetings will be divided between lectures, full-class interactions, and small group discussions
of the readings. During the first week, you will divide into groups of approximately six members.
Each time the class has a group work discussion of the assigned readings, students are responsible
for taking notes on the discussion and subsequently reporting their findings to the rest of the class. I
will periodically collect and evaluate these group work notes. At the end of the term, group
members will evaluate the contributions of each other. The quality of the group reports, student
evaluations, and my observations will determine individual class discussion grades.
Online Journal
Each week you will have a number of primary sources assigned in addition to the required books
and articles. Choose one or more of the sources that you find interesting and submit a short essay to
the “Online Journal” section of Blackboard linking the source/s to course themes. Each submission
should be at least 200 words, contain proper spelling, grammar and punctuation, and demonstrate a
deep engagement with the course themes and specific readings. I will evaluate your online journals
periodically throughout the semester and they will also help prepare you for the midterm and final
exam. Online Journals are due each week by Thursday at 8:00 p.m. unless otherwise noted.
Papers
The purpose of these longer written assignments will be to further develop your analytical skills by
focusing on historical monographs that provide a more in-depth analysis of particular events and
themes in U.S. history. We will devote several class discussions to the process of writing,
critiquing and rewriting historical essays. You should complete papers using double-spaced,
twelve-point Times font with Chicago style footnotes. Failure to meet minimum page length
requirement using the proper font and margins will result in a minimum ½ letter grade deduction.
Consult the “History 202 Style Guide” (available on Blackboard) for additional instructions on
formatting.
Midterm and Final Exams
The midterm exam will include short answer essays based on the terms and primary sources
covered in class discussion and readings. The final exam will also include at least one longer essay
that will challenge you to synthesize multiple readings/lectures into a coherent historical argument.
I will post study guides to Blackboard several weeks in advance of each exam.
Final Project
A major objective of this course is to understand how scholars construct meaningful and balanced
narratives of change over time by integrating a wide variety of historical evidence and artifacts.
Consequently, each discussion group will create an oral history collection focused on a particular
time period that addresses a specific course theme. Specific assignments will be available on
Blackboard and we will discuss further instructions for your final project throughout the semester.
Note on Plagiarism
In this course you will work together both in and out of class as you complete group work projects,
study for exams, and work on your museum exhibits. However, plagiarism or the “unacknowledged
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use of another writer’s own words or specific facts or propositions or materials in your own
writing” and other forms of academic dishonesty will not be tolerated and will result in the failure
of the course and/or other sanctions as outlined in the Shippensburg University “Student
Handbook,” pp. 18-21. To help prevent and identify plagiarism, students will submit papers to
Turnitin.com.
Attendance and Late Assignment Policies
Please do not miss class. If you do miss class, you are required to email me with a short
explanation and to complete all assignments in a timely fashion. Any absences above four will
result in a significantly lower class participation grade and may result in the failure of the course. I
will deduct ½ letter grade per day for points for late papers and I will only allow make-up exams at
my discretion.
Students with Disabilities
If you need additional assistance with any aspect of the class, please see me as soon as possible. I
will be more than happy to accommodate any reasonable request made well in advance of due dates.
Week 1
Jan. 12
Course Introduction
In-Class Reading: Andrew Carnegie, “How to Succeed in Life,” 1903
Jan. 14
Read:
Legacies of the Civil War and Reconstruction
Norton, Ch. 16 “Reconstruction: An Unfinished Revolution, 1865-1877” (begin)
WD Sidney Andrews, “Report on … South Carolina,” 1865
Jan. 16
Read:
Legacies of the Civil War and Reconstruction (cont.)
Norton, Ch. 16 “Reconstruction: An Unfinished Revolution, 1865-1877” (finish)
WD Abraham Lincoln, “The Emancipation Proclamation,” 1863
WD James Henry Gooding, “Letter to President Lincoln,” 1863
Week 2
Jan. 19
Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day – No Class
Jan. 21
Read:
Jim Crow Nation
WD Eric Foner, “A New View of Reconstruction”
WD Thomas Dixon, Jr., “The Negro Uprising,” in The Leopard's Spots, 1902
WD Mary Childs Nerney, “Letter Re: Birth of a Nation,” 1915
Jan. 23
Read:
The West and Frontier Mythology
Norton, Ch. 17 “The Development of the West, 1877-1900” (begin)
Isenberg, Destruction of the Bison, pp. 1-12, 193-198 (Introduction, Conclusion)
WD Edwards, “How to Read a Book”
Week 3
Jan. 26
Read:
Conquest of the West
Norton, Ch. 17 “The Development of the West, 1877-1900” (finish)
Isenberg, Destruction of the Bison, pp.13-62 (Chs. 1-2)
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Jan. 28
Read:
Conquest of the West (cont.)
Isenberg, Destruction of the Bison, pp. 63-122 (Chs. 3-4)
Jan. 30
Read:
Borderlands and Settlements
Norton, Ch. 18 “The Machine Age, 1877-1920” (begin)
Isenberg, Destruction of the Bison, pp. 123-192 (Chs. 5-6)
Week 4
Feb. 2
Read:
Writing Workshop I: “Mastering Book Reviews”
WD “How to Write a (Decent) Book Review” (Assignments Section)
WD Destruction of the Bison Reviews
Paper #1 Rough Draft Due
Feb. 4
Read:
Rise of the Corporation
Norton, Ch. 18 “The Machine Age, 1877-1920” (finish)
WD James Parton, “Pittsburg,” Atlantic Monthly, 1868
WD Theodore Vail, “ATT’s Relations to Associated Companies,” 1909
Feb. 6
Read:
The Gilded Age
Norton, Ch. 19 “The Vitality and Turmoil of Urban Life, 1877-1920” (begin)
WD Horatio Alger, Paul Prescott's Charge: A Story for Boys, (excerpts)
Paper #1 Due
Week 5
Feb. 9
Read:
The Gilded Age (cont.)
Norton, Ch. 19 “The Vitality and Turmoil of Urban Life, 1877-1920” (finish)
Norton, Ch. 20 “Gilded Age Politics, 1877-1900” (begin)
WD Jacob Riis, How the Other Half Lives, 1890 (excerpts)
Feb. 11
Read:
Politics of Protest
Norton, Ch. 20 “Gilded Age Politics, 1877-1900” (finish)
WD Samuel Gompers, Testimony to the U.S. House of Representatives, 1899
WD Florence Kelly, "Women, Labor, and the Power of the Ballot,” 1898
Feb. 13
Read:
American Imperialism
Norton, Ch. 22 “The Quest for Empire, 1865-1914” (begin)
WD Queen Liliuokalani “Letter to Pres. McKinley,” 1897
WD William McKinley, “The Acquisition of the Philippines,” 1898
WD John Hay, “The Open Door Note,” 1899
Week 6
Feb. 16
Read:
Feb. 18
The “Burden of Empire”
Norton, Ch. 22 “The Quest for Empire, 1865-1914” (finish)
WD Albert Beveridge, "The March of the Flag,”1898
WD Anti-Imperialist League, “Soldier’s Letters,” 1899
WD Mark Twain, "To the Person Sitting in the Darkness,” 1901
Age of Reform
4
Read:
Norton, Ch. 21 “The Progressive Era, 1895-1920” (begin)
WD “Preamble to the Constitution of the Knights of Labor,” 1878
WD Henry Demarest Lloyd, “Story of a Great Monopoly,” Atlantic Monthly, 1881
WD Report of the Pennsylvania Factory Inspector, 1894
Feb. 20
Read:
Age of Reform (cont.)
Norton, Ch. 21 “The Progressive Era, 1895-1920” (finish)
WD Theodore Roosevelt, “State of the Union Message,” 1901
WD Upton Sinclair, The Jungle (excerpts), 1906
WD Louis Brandeis, “Breaking the Money Trust,” Harper’s Weekly, 1913
Final Project Proposal Due
Week 7
Feb. 23
Read:
America and the Great War
Norton, Ch. 23 “Americans in the Great War, 1914-1920”
WD Woodrow Wilson, “Making the World Safe for Democracy,” 1917
WD Robert La Follette, “It Has No Popular Support,” 1917
WD Eugene Debs, “Anti-War Speech,” 1918
Feb. 25
Read:
Interpreting the ‘20s
Norton, Ch. 24 “The New Era 1920-1929” (begin)
WD Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer, “The Case against the Reds, 1920
WD Ellison DuRant Smith, “Shut the Door,” 1924
WD John Dos Passos, [Sacco and Vanzetti] Facing the Chair, 1927
Feb. 27
Midterm Exam
Spring Break – No Class
Week 9
Mar. 9
Read:
Modernism and Reaction
Norton, Ch. 24 “The New Era 1920-1929” (finish)
WD Rebecca L. Davis, “Not Marriage at All, but Simple Harlotry": The
Companionate Marriage Controversy,” Journal of American History, Mar. 2008
Mar. 11
Read:
Hard Times
Norton, Ch. 25. “The Great Depression and the New Deal, 1929-1941” (begin)
WD Dorothea Lange, “Photographs – Migrant Workers,” ca. 1930s
WD Ben Shahn, “Photographs – Cotton Pickers,” 1935
WD Arthur Rothstein, “Photographs – Tenant Farmers,” 1937
Mar. 13
New Deals
Norton, Ch. 25. “The Great Depression and the New Deal, 1929-1941” (finish)
WD Franklin Roosevelt, "Forgotten Man" Speech, 1932
WD Frank Cregg and Virginia Miller, “Letters to President Roosevelt,” 1933
Week 10
Mar. 16
A Fragile Peace
5
Read:
Norton, Ch. 26 “Peaceseekers and Warmakers: Americans in the World, 1920-1941”
WD Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf, 1925
WD Hirota Koti, “Fundamental Principles of National Policy,”1936
WD Henry Luce, “The American Century,” Time, 1941
Mar. 18
Read:
World War II
Norton, Ch. 27 “The Second World War at Home and Abroad, 1941-1945” (begin)
WD A. Philip Randolph, “The March on Washington Movement,” 1942
WD Franklin D. Roosevelt, “Economic Bill of Rights,” 1944
Mar. 20
Read:
Origins of the Cold War
Norton, Ch. 27 “The Second World War at Home and Abroad, 1941-1945” (finish)
WD Henry Stimson, “Decision to Use the Atomic Bomb,” Harper’s Magazine, 1947
WD Historians' Committee for Open Debate on Hiroshima, “Letter,” 1995
Final Project Background Paper Due
Week 11
Mar. 23
Read:
Origins of the Cold War (cont.)
Norton, Ch. 28 “The Cold War and American Globalism, 1945-1961” (begin)
WD George Kennan, “The Long Telegram,” 1946
WD Nikolai Novikov, “Telegram,” 1946
Mar. 25
Read:
Exporting Capitalism and Democracy
Norton, Ch. 28 “The Cold War and American Globalism, 1945-1961” (finish)
WD “The U.S. Opportunity,” Fortune, 1947
WD “Steel’s Fight for Survival,” Steel: The Metalworking Magazine, 1968
Mar. 27
Read:
Fifties America
Norton, Ch. 29 “America at Midcentury 1945-1960” (begin)
Chafe, Civilities and Civil Rights, pp. 3-10, 237-254 (Introduction, Ch. 9, Epilogue)
WD Betty Friedan, “The Problem that Has No Name,” 1963
Week 12
Mar. 30
Read:
Suburban Nation
Norton, Ch. 29 “America at Midcentury 1945-1960” (finish)
Chafe, Civilities and Civil Rights, pp. 13-70 (Chs. 1-2)
WD “Building the Suburban Dream: Levittown (Pa.)” Exhibit
Apr. 1
Read:
Civil Rights Era
Norton, Ch. 30 “The Tumultuous Sixties” (begin)
Chafe, Civilities and Civil Rights, pp. 71-152 (Chs. 3-5)
Apr. 3
Read:
Civil Rights Movement
Chafe, Civilities and Civil Rights, pp. 155-239 (Chs. 6-8) *** Review Ch. 9 ***
Week 13
Apr. 6
Writing Workshop II: Critical Editing and Peer Review
Paper #2 Rough Draft Due
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Apr. 8
Read:
Crisis of Liberalism
Norton, Ch. 31, “Continuing Divisions and New Limits, 1969-1980” (begin)
WD Lyndon B. Johnson, “To Fulfill These Rights,” 1965
WD Stokely Carmichael, “Black Power,” 1966
WD Martin Luther King, Jr. “Where do we go from here?”, 1967
Apr. 10
Read:
Vietnam War
Norton, Ch. 30 “The Tumultuous Sixties” (finish)
WD President Lyndon Johnson, "Peace without Conquest, 1965
WD Paul Potter, “Speech,” March on Washington to End the War in Vietnam, 1965
WD Martin Luther King, Jr., “Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence,” 1967
Paper #2 Due
Week 14
Apr. 13
Read:
Conservative Turn
Norton, Ch. 31, “Continuing Divisions and New Limits, 1969-1980” (finish)
WD “No More Miss America!,” Women's Liberation Manifesto, 1968
WD President Richard Nixon, “Address to the Nation on the War in Vietnam,” 1969
WD “War Foes Here Attacked by Construction Workers,” New York Times, 1970
WD “Gays on the March,” Time, 1975
Apr. 15
Read:
Reagan and America
Norton, Ch. 32 “Conservatism Revived, 1980-1992” (begin)
WD Jimmy Carter, "Crisis of Confidence" Speech, 1979
WD Ronald Reagan, First Inaugural Address, 1981
Oral History Transcript Due
Apr. 17
Read:
Week 15
Apr. 20
Read:
E Pluribus Unum?
Norton, Ch. 33 “Into the Global Millennium: America Since 1992” (begin)
WD Donald L. Barlett and James B. Steele, “Who Left the Door Open?” Time, 2006
WD Nathan Thornburgh, “Inside the Life of the Migrants Next Door,” Time, 2006
WD Karen Tumulty, “Who Gets to be an American?” Time, 2006
New World Order
Norton, Ch. 32 “Conservatism Revived, 1980-1992” (finish)
WD George H. W. Bush, “Speech,” 1990
WD Thomas Friedman, “Big Mac I,” New York Times, 1996
WD Bill Clinton, Between Hope and History, 1996
Apr. 22
Final Project Exhibit
Apr. 24
Read:
History of Everyday Life
Norton, Ch. 33 “Into the Global Millennium: America Since 1992” (finish)
WD Senator Barack Obama, “A More Perfect Union,” 2008
WD Henry Blodget, “Why Wall Street Always Blows It,” Atlantic, 2008
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Final Exam – TBA
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