HST202: The United States Since Reconstruction
Professor Daniel Lewis
Office: Building 94, Room 337
Office Hours: MWF 10:30 to 11:15 am; or by appointment
Office Phone: (909) 869-3869; x3860; x3500
E-Mail: dklewis@csupomona.edu
Web site: http://www.csupomona.edu/~dklewis
Course Description
HST 202 is a course required for all students who wish to graduate from Cal Poly
Pomona. It is a general survey that starts after the Civil War and Reconstruction eras.
Through lecture, guided discussions, group analysis of primary documents, and smallgroup discussions of issues, events, texts, and themes, Dr. Lewis will introduce enrolled
students to the persons, groups, issues, and events that shaped the recent past of the
United States. Dr. Lewis believes that the discipline of History provides useful tools and
training for students who are interested in learning about the society in which they live.
He requires students to develop and use their skills of research, analysis, critical
thinking, written argumentation, and oral debate. He promises that students will never
need a scantron in his class. Dr. Lewis requires enrolled students to purchase and read
the following texts, which they will use in class and as resources for study, reflection,
test preparation and writing assignments:
Roark, et al., The American Promise, value edition, 4th ed., volume II
Johnson, Reading the American Past, 4th ed., volume II
Wright, Uncle Tom’s Children
Dr. Lewis will assess students in HST 202 in a variety of ways. During any given class
period, he may ask students to write brief essays or answer simple quizzes on particular
topics that form a part of the themes under examination. He will also give the students
two formal essay examinations. Students will also write a course journal and an essay
on the racial attitudes in the United States. In calculating students' grades, Dr. Lewis
will use the following formula:
Attendance and Participation:
Midterm Examination:
Course Essay:
Course Journal:
Final Examination:
20 percent
20 percent
20 percent
20 percent
20 percent
Dr. Lewis will provide detailed instructions for each assignment in class. Students must
complete all the assignments on time. Students who miss a deadline will fail the class.
HST 202: Syllabus
Spring 2011
Course Outline
Students should complete as much of the reading as they can by the start of each
week and finish the reading prior to the second class meeting each week.
Week One: Introduction; Regions, Races, and the Reconstructed Nation
Assigned Reading: American Promise, skim chs. 16 and 17; Reading, ch. 17.
Week Two: The Gilded Age
Assigned Reading: American Promise, chs. 18 and 19; Reading, chs. 18 and 19.
Week Three: Populists and Internationalists
Assigned Reading: American Promise, ch. 20; Reading, ch. 20; begin Wright.
Week Four: Progressives, America and the World
Assigned Reading: American Promise, chs. 21 and 22; Reading, chs. 21 and 22.
Week Five: The Nervous Decade
Assigned Reading: American Promise, ch. 23; Reading, ch. 23.
Midterm Examination
Week Six: Big Government’s Debut; Forging the Old New World Order
Assigned Reading: American Promise, chs. 24 and 25; Reading, chs. 24 and 25.
Week Seven: The Cold War Begins
Assigned Reading: American Promise, ch. 26; Reading, ch. 26.
Week Eight: The War at Home
Assigned Reading: American Promise, chs. 27 and 28; Reading, chs. 27 and 28.
Course Essay due in class
Week Nine: Cold War Peaks and Valleys
Assigned Reading: American Promise, chs. 29 and 30; Reading, chs. 29 and 30.
Week Ten: Recent Times
Assigned Reading: American Promise, ch. 31; Reading, ch. 31.
Course Journal due in class
Final Examination: To be announced.