BAKERSFIELD COLLEGE
Fall 2015
Hist 17B History of the United States, 1877-present
Section # 71741
T/Th@1-2:35pm
Humanities 103
Matthew Garrett, PhD
(at)
Office: H10 (Humanities Building)
Office Phone: 661-395-4267
Office Hours:
Mon/Wed 7:30-8am & 11-11:30am;
Tues/Thurs 7:30-8am & 9:35-10am;
Thurs 5:30-6pm
www2.bakersfieldcollege.edu/mgarrett
COURSE DESCRIPTION
History B17B is a survey course tracing the growth of the United States from the end of the Civil
War to the present. This course fulfils the CSU transfer requirements for US History, Constitution
and American Ideals, as well as Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum
Certification (IGETC) requirements for Area 3b (humanities) and Area 4 (social science). By use
of course readings, lectures, class discussions and assignments, students will accomplish the
following Student Learning Outcomes:
1. analyze major forces, events, and people instrumental in shaping U.S. History;
2. examine socio-cultural value systems which have formed a basis for American beliefs and
challenges to those beliefs;
3. describe examples of outstanding citizenship and productivity and explain the impact of
dissent and disruption;
4. analyze the various racial, ethnic and social sub-groups which have played a role in the
shaping of America and determine the common, underlying theses of American life;
This course includes substantial reading and writing.
REQUIRED TEXTS
The following texts are required reading. Students are expected to read assigned passages AND
take the online quizzes for each before attending class and are expected to be able to discuss them
intelligently.
Sylvie Waskiewicz, et. al. College, U.S. History. Houston: OpenStax College (Rice University),
2014. Purchase print copy or download free at: https://openstaxcollege.org/textbooks/us-history
Sandra Opdycke, Jane Addams and Her Vision of America. San Francisco: Pearson, 2012. ISBN#:
0205598404
i>clicker2. This electronic remote is available for purchase or rent at the BC bookstore or online.
Online registration will also be required by the close of the second week. ISBN: 1429280476
CLASS POLICIES
Please be respectful of others and attend class on time and prepared to remain actively engaged until
the end of class. Do not surf the Internet, play computer games, talk on cell phones, text message,
read newspapers or other materials not related to the class, consume food/drink in the classroom,
sleep, or otherwise distract yourself and/or classmates from learning. Additionally, to preserve
academic freedom for both the instructor and students, video and audio recordings are prohibited. If
you are not respectful or fail to abide by the above standards you will be asked to leave the
classroom. This is your only warning.
ATTENDANCE AND DROP POLICY
Students may be dropped or withdrawn by the instructor for any of the following three reasons:
• failure to attend all classes during the first two weeks of the semester
• absence from four classes (or a total of six hours) throughout the semester
GRADING
Final grades will be based on a 500 point scale.
Points
Percentage Grade
Reading Quizzes
10 pts each x 17 = 150 pts
450 and up
90-100%
A
Jane Addams Essay
100 pts
=
100 pts
400-449
80-89%
B
350-399
70-79%
C
Counterfactual Essay
100 pts
=
100 pts
300-349
60-69%
D
Final Exam
100 pts
=
150 pts
299 and less
Below 60%
F
TOTAL = 500pts
ASSESSMENTS
Reading Quizzes: Students will complete at least seventeen multiple choice quizzes on the
assigned readings (see reading schedule below), beginning on the second week of classes. All
quizzes beyond the fifteenth will count as extra credit (students keep the points but they do not
appear in points possible). Questions from the reading will center on the bolded headings and key
terms listed in the syllabus. Students MUST use an i>clicker device to respond to quizzes; no hand
written quiz responses will be accepted. Students who arrive late or leave early may miss part or all
of a quiz, or may have their quiz deleted/dropped.
Jane Addams Essay: Read the assigned biography of Jane Addams and compose a five page essay
summarizing the life of the reformer as presented by Opdycke with focus on the following:
How did Addams’ early life help her to develop her vocation, ideas, and methods that
defined her career as a social reformer? How did her problems in the Hull-House
neighborhood lead into large scale campaigns for reform? What price did she pay for her
involvement in World War I and what hostility did she face thereafter when pacifism and
progressivism fell out of fashion, and how did that compare to her international reception?
What are the key themes that characterize popular memory of the reformer?
Use proper grammar to craft a stand-alone essay (introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion).
Do not quote more than twenty words in the entire paper. Cite all quotes and other information with
endnotes (which do not count as part of the five pages). Do not use other sources beyond the
assigned biography. Students must submit two earlier edited drafts along with the final paper.
Counterfactual Essay: Students must complete a five page counterfactual essay. Please select one
of the key terms from the first fourteen weeks of class and write an essay that explains the term for
at least a page, describes its impact for at least a page, and spends one page speculating how history
might be reasonably different (no zombies) if the key term had not occurred. Students should rely
on the textbook, lecture, and some additional reading as necessary. Please cite the source for any
ideas/information you use, and do so with footnotes. Note: students may not select the key term
“Progressives”. Students must submit two separate edited drafts along with the final paper.
Final Exam: There will be one in-class exam at the close of the semester valued at 50 points. This
exam will consist of multiple choice and matching questions answered on a scantron 882E provided
by the each student. Questions will relate to material covered in class throughout the semester.
Students must bring a blank blue book for the exam, and during the exam students may not leave
the classroom for any reason (e.g. restroom) until the exam is completed. No hats, headphones, cell
phones or other electronic devices are permitted during the exam.
OTHER POINT ADJUSTMENTS
Extra Credit: There are two opportunities for extra credit. First, students may complete more than
twenty class quizzes/assignments; second, students may create flashcards for all terms listed in the
syllabus study guide and submit them to the instructor at least one week before the exam for ten
points.
Bonus points: Students who attend class regularly, participate in class discussions, complete all
assignments, and perform reasonably well on quizzes and exams MAY receive up to three extra
points (not percent) if necessary to raise their final grade. These points are not guaranteed and will
not be given to students who do not meet the above standards and generally contribute to the class.
Challenging grades: Any student challenges to grades (e.g., wrong points listed, assignments not
posted, late assignments submitted) should be presented to the instructor within two weeks of the
assignment and certainly before finals week. Students should regularly check grades at:
www2.bakersfieldcollege.edu/mgarrett
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY & PLAGARISM POLICY
Academic dishonesty will not be tolerated. Obvious examples include reviewing notes during a
closed-book exam or submitting writing assignments copied or purchased on the Internet or
elsewhere. A subtler form of dishonesty includes failing to fully and properly acknowledge your
sources on a research paper. Depending upon the severity and deliberateness of the offense, the
consequences for plagiarism or cheating may include failure on the assessment or a grade of F for
the entire course; additionally, there may be other disciplinary measures, i.e. warning, censure,
suspension, or expulsion. Just be honest.
ADDITIONAL ASSISTANCE
The Student Services Building houses a variety of resources for students: the Larry Robinson
Counseling Center; the Jerry Ludeke Learning Center (tutoring and proof reading); the Office of
Financial Aid; and Student Health Center. The Grace Van Dyke Bird Library houses the computing
commons and Academic Development Department. Be aware of these resources and access them
as needed.
STUDENTS WITH DISBILITIES POLICY
Students with disabilities who believe they may need accommodations in this class are encouraged
to contact Disabled Student Programs & Services located at Student Services Building, 1st Floor,
Counseling Center (661-395-4334), as soon as possible to better ensure such accommodations are
implemented in a timely fashion.
SYLLABUS SUBJECT TO CHANGE
All material, assignments, and deadlines are subject to change, with prior notice. All changes will
be clearly announced. However, it is your responsibility to attend class regularly and/or
communicate with the instructor, as needed, to adjust if assignments or due dates change. The
instructor reserves the right to make changes to the syllabus as deemed necessary but will give fair
notice to students.
ASSIGNMENT & READING SCHEDULE
Date
Lecture Topic
Reading/Assignment Due
Week 1: Aug 25
Syllabus
Aug 27
Prelude
Week 2: Sept 1
Reconstruction
Ch. 16: Era of Reconstruction
Sept 3
Reconstruction
(Sept. 6 = last day to drop)
Week 3: Sept 8
American West
Ch. 17: Go West Young Man!
Sept 10
American West
Read Jane Addams book Part I
Week 4: Sept 15
Industrialization
Sept 17
Combating Inequality
Week 5: Sept 22
Progressive Era
Ch. 18 Industrialization and the Rise of Big Biz
Ch. 19: Growing Pains
Read Jane Addams book Part II
Ch. 20: Politics of the Gilded Age
Sept 24
Progressive Era
Ch. 21: The Progressive Movement
Week 6: Sept 29
Imperialism
Ch. 22 Age of Empire
Oct1
WWI
Ch. 23: America and the Great War
Week 7: Oct 6
1920s Economics
Finish Reading Jane Addams book; begin paper
Oct 8
1920s Culture Wars
Ch. 24: The Jazz Age
Week 8: Oct 13
Great Depression
Ch. 25: Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?
Oct 15
st
Ch. 26: Franklin Roosevelt and the New Deal
nd
1 New Deal
Week 9: Oct 20
2 New Deal
Finish writing Jane Addams Paper
Oct 22
WWII
Ch. 27: Fighting the Good Fight in WWII
Week 10: Oct 27
Edit, edit, edit Jane Addams Paper
Jane Addams Paper Due
(Oct 30 = last day to Withdraw)
Nov 5
WWII
Cold War Policy under
Truman
Cold War Culture under
Eisenhower
Civil Rights
Research for counterfactual essay topic
Week 12: Nov 10
1960s Politics & Reform
Ch. 29: Contesting Futures
Nov 12
Continue research; begin writing essay
Nov 19
1960s Social Unrest
Counter-culture &
Activism
1968 & Nixon
Ch. 30: Political Storms at Home and Abroad
Week 14: Nov 24
The “Me Decade”
Counterfactual Essay Due
Oct 29
Week 11: Nov 3
Week 13: Nov 17
Finish writing counterfactual essay
NO SCHOOL – Thanksgiving
Nov 26
Week 15: Dec 1
Rise of the New Right
Dec 3
Society Today
Week 16
Ch. 28: Post War Prosperity
Ch. 31: Cold War to Culture Wars
Ch. 32: The Challenges of the Twenty-First
Century
Final Exam
Tips for Writing History Papers in College
What to do:
• Follow Instructions: read and re-read the instructions before writing the paper, then again
after you have a good draft, and then again when you are finished. Be sure you followed the
instructions precisely.
• Express your opinion with evidence: Anybody can say what they feel/think, but a scholar
explains what is correct using evidence. Explain who did what and when in clear prose.
Use sources as specific examples that support/prove the more general comments you
express. Documentary evidence is best summarized/paraphrased, and when quoted must be
contextualized. Fewer than ten words should be directly quoted on a page. Whether
quoted or paraphrased, all use of documents should be cited to avoid plagiarism.
• Organize your work: outline in advance; move smoothly from one topic to the next. Cut
out any information that is not central to your thesis. Separate each topic with paragraphs
and begin each paragraph with a topic sentence. Then fill that paragraph with sentences that
support that topic sentence. Keep paragraphs shorter than one page.
• Make it look professional. Follow the rules for font size and color. Staple or paperclip the
paper before class. Turn in a wrinkle free and smudge free final product.
What not to do:
• Do not plagiarize. Plagiarism is taking the words or ideas of somebody else and using them
without issuing proper citation. Copying entire sentences from the internet is an obvious
example, but re-phrasing a sentence without proper citation is also plagiarism. When in
doubt, cite your sources. If you plagiarize, I will catch you and you will suffer.
• Do not use first person: I, we, my, mine, us, our, you, your, yours. You were not there in
history and they are not your people. For the purposes of writing, you are not an American.
It is not our country or our founding fathers. It is the United States and the founding fathers.
• Avoid present tense: is, are, do, going, being, and words that end in –ing. Words should be
written in past tense (past tense words often end in –ed).
Examples: killing killed; writing wrote; saying said
• Do not use contractions: weren’t, didn’t, isn’t – instead use: were not, did not, is not.
• Avoid the words “were” and “was” (limit usage to once/page). Note: you cannot simply
delete the word “were” from a sentence – it will not make sense. You must re-organize the
sentence. Examples:
Puritan houses were built close together. Puritans built houses close together.
The Indians were pushed off the land. Colonists pushed Indians off the land.
• Avoid words associated with passive voice: have, had, been, being, would.
• Do not use vague meaningless words: thing, stuff, very, a lot, etc.
• Avoid weak verbs: do/did, go/went, are/was/were, got, had/have and all the variations of be
(be, begin, began, became, being, been, etc.) - select verbs that are more descriptive, such as
engaged, embarked, departed, achieved, etc.
• Do not use clichés, idioms and informal language such as “got tired,” “up for grabs,”
“moved on in,” “went crazy,” “hard time,” “cool,” “dropped out” or “rags to riches.”
• Do not craft long sentences that occupy four or more lines.
• Do not speak about your writing. Do not write: “the groups I chose. . . ,” the second
group to discuss will be. . . ,” or “it seemed that . . . “ Rather, just explain what happened
without the silly preface.
• Do not make vague statements like “some historians think” or “some people say.
Final Exam Review Guide (and Counter-factual Essay topic options)
Reconstruction
• sharecropping; Radical Republicans; black codes; Freedmen’s Bureau; Reconstruction Acts of 1867;
carpetbaggers & scalawags; Ku Klux Klan; Jim Crow; Plessy v. Ferguson; exodusters
• Assess visions of freedom and they compared to how reconstruction actually played out
• How did Southern Whites seek to maintain the pre-Civil War social order?
• Why did reconstruction end?
• Identify several African American Activists
American West
• Homestead Act; soddies; Golden Spike; Ghost Dance; Sand Creek Massacre; Grant’s “Peace Policy”;
Termination; Frederick Turner
• What major industries did white settlers expand in the West?
• Use two examples to briefly explain the U.S. policy towards Indians in the late 1800s.
• Use examples to illustrate how the myth of the West compare with reality?
• The Grange; Omaha Platform; Populism; Election of 1896; Exodusters; segregation;
• What spawned farmer’s organization?
• Discuss some of the farmers’ solutions.
Industrialization
• Taylorism & Fordism; New immigration; 1883 Columbian Exposition; Social Darwinism; Liberty of Contract
• What new technologies emerged during the second industrial revolution?
• Introduce several wealthy industrialists
• Briefly compare wealthy, middle class, and worker societies.
• Social Gospel; Philanthropy; Knights of Labor; American Federation of Labor; Industrial Workers of the
World/Wobblies; Haymarket Affair
• Discuss several famous labor strikes
• Why did the labor movement fail to take hold in the late 1800s?
• Did the labor movement enjoy any successes in the Gilded Age?
Progressivism
• social justice; muckrakers; club women; “suffragettes”; settlement houses; socialism; Eugene V. Debbs; Boss
Tweed; Carlos Montezuma
• What reforms did progressives support?
• How did progressivism manifest among African American and Native American communities?
• conservationism; big stick diplomacy; Bull Moose Party; “New Freedom”
• Was TR a trustbuster? How so? How not?
• Compare the presidencies of TR, Taft, Wilson
Imperialism & WWI
• Alfred Thayer Mahan; Rough Riders
• How did the United States acquire Alaska? Hawaii?
• What caused the Spanish-American war?
• Lusitania; Zimmerman note; War Industries Board; War Labor Board; Committee on Public Information; Paris
Peace Conference (1919); Wilson’s 14 points; Red Scare; black nationalism; Treaty of Versailles (1919);
League of Nations
• How did WWI impact American industry, labor, and economy?
• How did WWI impact American civil liberties?
• In what ways was 1919 a tumultuous year?
1920s
•
•
•
•
Associationalism; American Plan; prohibition; Scopes Trial; eugenics; Harlem Renaissance; Lost Generation
Describe US economic policy during the 1920s, and its impact
How did American society change during the 1920s?
Relate the sources of conflict & manifestations between 1920s moral traditionalists and secular pluralists
Great Depression & New Deal
•
Hawley-Smoot Tariff; FDR’s “liberalism”; Fireside Chats; Tennessee Valley Authority; National Recovery Act;
Agricultural Adjustment Act; Dust Bowl
•
What caused the Great Depression?
•
How did Hoover combat the Great Depression?
•
How did the New Deal seek to control prices? (NRA, AAA, TVA)
•
Congress of Industrial Organization; Keynesian economics; Wagner Act; Social Security Act; Court packing fiasco;
Indian New Deal
•
Compare/contrast first & second New Deal programs
•
How did the New Deal impact minorities?
•
Why did New Deal reforms stop?
•
Was the New Deal successful?
WWII
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Fascism; Adolf Hitler; Pearl Harbor; Midway; Holocaust
What were the major events abroad between 1931–1939 that led to the war?
What drew the US into WWII?
How did WWII impact the American Economy?
How did the US direct public opinions during WWII?
Bracero Program; Internment; Port Chicago; Atomic Bomb; Operation Overlord
How did the WWII change the role of women and minorities in the United States?
How did the Allies seek to shape the post WWII world?
Cold War Containment
•
Cold War; Truman Doctrine; National Security Act; Election of 1948; Dixiecrats; Fair Deal; Berlin Airlift; NATO;
NSC-68
•
What are the origins of the Cold War—how did it start?
•
How do incidents in China and Korea at mid-century illustrate American foreign policy?
•
HUAC; McCarthyism; Rosenbergs; McCarran Internal-Security Act
•
How did the Red scare impact immigration?
•
How did society change during the Red Scare?
Cold War Affluence
•
Highway Act; New Look; Yankeephobia; Suez Crisis; suburbs
•
Introduce Eisenhower’s foreign policy
•
How did America’s 1950s affluence impact American culture?
•
Compare/Contrast Eisenhower & Kennedy’s Foreign policies. Compare/contrast their domestic policies.
•
Brown v. Board of Ed.; Montgomery Bus Boycott; Little Rock Crisis; Termination; Barry Goldwater
•
What was the three-fold agenda of the reorganized GOP in the 1950s?
1960s Disruption & Great Society
•
Flexible Response; Silent Spring; Freedom Rides; Great Society; Young Americans for Freedom
•
Compare/Contrast Eisenhower & Kennedy’s foreign policies; give ex
•
amples.
•
Compare/Contrast Eisenhower & Kennedy’s domestic policies; give examples
•
Tonkin Gulf Resolution; New Left; Black Panthers
•
Compare/contrast Martin Luther King and Malcolm X.
•
How did American society change during the 1960s?
1970s&80s Culture Wars
•
“Hippie” movement; Caesar Chavez; AIM; Stonewall Riot; Feminine Mystique; Tet Offensive; Warren Court; Roe v.
Wade; Vietnamization; Watergate
•
How did American society change during the 1970s?
•
Describe Nixon's domestic policy
Conservativism
•
Clarence Thomas; Congressional Black Caucus; Self Determination
•
Compare domestic policies of Ford, Carter, and Reagan
•
Compare foreign policies of Ford, Carter, and Reagan
•
Why is the 1970s called the "Me decade"? Be specific.
•
Introduce ethnic activism in the 1970s
•
New Right; Reaganomics; Iran-Contra Affair; Operation Desert Shield
•
Compare domestic policies of Ford, Carter, and Reagan
•
Compare foreign policies of Ford, Carter, and Reagan