History 311:
History of the United States Since 1877, Women’s Emphasis
Professor Julia K. Kehew
E-mail: KehewJ@scc.losrios.edu
Website: http://www.saccity-online.org/kehewj
Student hours: Tuesdays, 12-1
SCC Main Campus, Fall 2013
TuTh 1-2:20, RN 267, #16039
D2L: http://www. d2l.losrios.edu
Office: RN 263
This course covers the development of American Institutions and society from Reconstruction to
the present and partially fulfills American Institutions requirements. The course emphasizes the
role played by political, economic, social, cultural, and intellectual forces on the culture and
development of multiple ethnic groups in a comparative format.
Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:
 identify and examine basic American social, ethnic, cultural, political and economic
institutions and groups and their interrelationships within the United States and with the
world
 assess the role of the environment in shaping human institutions and experiences
 identify and apply basic historical terminology
 utilize such historical concepts as cause and effect and multiple causations as means of
developing appropriate historical generalizations
 critically evaluate basic historical interpretations and analyses
GRADING:
Participation
20 points
Quizzes
100 points
First paper, 5-6 pgs.
50 points
Midterm
80 points
Paper Rewrites, 5-6 pgs. 50 points
Final Exam
100 points
Total Points:
400
10 quizzes, 10 points each.
due beginning of class, Tuesday, October 3.
in class, Tuesday, October 15.
due beginning of class, Tuesday, November 12.
in class, Tuesday, December 17, 12:45-2:45
Grades will be assigned on the following basis:
360-400 points:
A
320-359 points:
B
280-319 points:
C
240-279 points:
D
0-239 points:
F
REQUIRED BOOKS:
James Henretta, et. al., America’s History (volume 2: 1877-Present), ISBN 9780312452865
Jo Ann Argersinger, The Triangle Fire, ISBN 9780312464523
NOTE: You may use an earlier edition of the textbook if you like. The textbook is also
available as an ebook rental from CourseSmart: http://www.coursesmart.com/
LEARNING ACCOMMODATIONS:
Students who have a learning disability or a physical disability that requires special
accommodation should inform me at the beginning of the term. Students who have obtained
verification from the appropriate campus authorities will be accommodated.
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Class Schedule
Week One: August 27 & 29
27 Tuesday:
Reading: Read the syllabus and other course documents.
Lecture: Introduction.
29 Thursday:
Reading: America’s History Chapter 15, “Reconstruction”
Lecture: True Womanhood in the 19th Century
Week Two: September 3 & 5
3 Tuesday:
Reading: America’s History Chapter 15, “Reconstruction”
Lecture: The Segregated South.
5 Thursday:
DUE: QUIZ 1 – SYLLABUS QUIZ
Reading: America’s History, Chapter 16, “The American West.”
Lecture: Life in the West
Week Three: September 10 & 12
10 Tuesday:
In-Class Exercise: Cultural Misunderstanding
12 Thursday:
Reading: America’s History, Chapter 17, “Capital and Labor,” The Triangle Fire
Lecture: City Life in the East at the Turn of the Century
Week Four: September 17 & 19
17 Tuesday:
DUE: QUIZ 2- CITY LIFE IN THE EAST
Reading: America’s History, Chapter 18, “The Industrial City,” The Triangle Fire
Lecture: The Labor Question and Politics at the Turn of the Century
19 Thursday:
Reading: America’s History, Chapter 19, “Politics in the Age of Enterprise,” The Triangle Fire
Lecture: American Populism
Week Five: September 24 & 26
24 Tuesday:
Reading: The Triangle Fire
Lecture: American Business in the Early 20th Century
26 Thursday:
DUE: QUIZ 3: The Triangle Fire
DUE: QUIZ 4 – PAPER REQUIREMENTS
Discussion: Brainstorming for first paper – Bring The Triangle Fire to class!
Week Six: October 1 & 3
1 Tuesday:
Reading: America’s History, chapter 20, “The Progressive Era.”
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Lecture: The Progressive Era and Woman’s Suffrage
3 Thursday:
DUE: First Paper!
DUE: QUIZ 5 – PROGRESSIVE WOMEN
Reading: America’s History, Chapter 21
Lecture: American Expansionism
Week Seven: October 8 & 10
8 Tuesday:
Reading: America’s History, Chapter 22, “An Emerging Power,” Midterm Study Guide
Lecture: Suffrage and World War I
10 Thursday:
DUE: QUIZ 6 – WOMEN’S SUFFRAGE
Reading: Review Midterm Study Guide, lecture notes and textbook for midterm exam.
Lecture: Midterm Review
Week Eight: October 15 & 17
15 Tuesday:
Midterm Exam – Please Bring Exam Book!
17 Thursday:
Reading: America’s History, chapter 23, “Modern Times.”
Lecture: The 1920’s
Week Nine: October 22 & 24
22 Tuesday:
DUE: QUIZ 7 – THE 1920’S
Reading: America’s History, chapter 24, “Redefining Liberalism,”
Lecture: The Stock Market Crash
24 Thursday:
Reading: America’s History, chapter 24, “Redefining Liberalism,”
Lecture: The Great Depression
Week Ten: October 29 & 31
29 Tuesday:
Reading: America’s History, chapter 24, “Redefining Liberalism,”
Lecture: The New Deal
31 Thursday:
Reading: America’s History, chapter 25, “The World at War,”
Lecture: World War II
Week Eleven: November 5 & 7
5 Tuesday:
Lecture: Paper Rewrites Workshop
7 Thursday:
Reading: America’s History, Chapter 26, “The Age of Cold War Liberalism
Lecture: Postwar America
Week Twelve: November 12 & 14
12 Tuesday: Paper Rewrites Due!
Reading: America’s History, chapter 27, “The Age of Affluence.”
Lecture: The Cold War
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14 Thursday:
Reading: America’s History, Chapter 28, “The Liberal Consensus: Flaming Out.”
Lecture: Vietnam
Week Thirteen: November 19 & 21
19 Tuesday:
Reading: America’s History, chapter 28, “The Liberal Consensus: Flaming Out.
Lecture: The Early Civil Rights Movement
21 Thursday:
Reading: America’s History, chapter 28, “The Liberal Consensus: Flaming Out.”
Lecture: The Civil Rights Movement
Week Fourteen: November 26 & 28
26 Tuesday:
Reading: America’s History, chapter 29, “The 1970s – Towards a Conservative America”
Lecture: Women’s Rights vs. Women’s Liberation
28 Thursday: THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY – NO CLASS!
Week Fifteen: December 3 & 5
3 Tuesday:
DUE: QUIZ 8 – WOMEN’S RIGHTS VS. WOMEN’S LIBERATION
Reading: America’s History, Chapter 29, “The 1970s – Towards a Conservative America”
Lecture: The Gay Rights Movement
5 Thursday:
DUE: QUIZ 9- GAY RIGHTS
Reading: America’s History, Chapter 30, “Into the Twenty First Century.”
Lecture: The Rising Tide of Conservatism
Week Sixteen: December 10 & 12
10 Tuesday:
Reading: America’s History, Chapter 31,“Into the Twenty First Century,” Final Study
Guide
Lecture: The Triumph of Conservatism
12 Thursday:
DUE: QUIZ 10 - CONSERVATISM
Reading: Review Final Study Guide, lecture notes, and textbook.
Lecture: Final Exam Review
FINAL EXAM – Tuesday, December 17, 12:45-2:45 p.m. -Please Bring Exam Book!
CLASS POLICIES
Classroom Etiquette: Please arrive to class on time, and TURN OFF AND PUT
AWAY ALL CELL PHONES before entering class. Do not talk when the instructor or
another student is addressing the class. You can expect the instructor to behave as a
professional at all times, and the instructor expects that you will also behave in a
professional manner.
Prerequisite: History classes at SCC require that students have completed ENGWR 101
or have an assessment stating they already have the skills taught in ENGWR 101.
Students can print out an unofficial transcript or their assessment report from the student
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information system, and are required to provide proof that they meet the prerequisite by
the second class meeting. Students who do not provide evidence that they meet the
prerequisite by the second class meeting will be dropped from the class.
Missed exam policy: Exams cannot be made up except in extraordinary circumstances.
Substantial documentation will be required. Contact me via email as soon as humanly
possible if you find that you have no choice but to miss an exam.
Course Ethos: We must create a space where everyone feels that class is a safe forum for
expression. We must all keep open minds to recognize, honor, and encourage all ways of
thinking and being in the world. Everyone needs to be able to express their ideas without
fear of ridicule. We may not always agree with the readings, lecture material, or with
each other, but we must all fight to hear other truths and accept – not merely tolerate –
the validity of other points of view.
Participation: Your participation grade will be determined by your contributions in
class. This includes your level of preparedness and participation in class discussions. If
you are not in class, you cannot participate in discussion, and this will be reflected in
your grade.
Attendance: If you miss class, you are responsible for getting the information you
missed from another student. I do not provide my lecture notes to students for any reason.
Since other students are not always the most reliable source of information, I recommend
you attend class regularly and take extensive notes for yourself. NEVER ask me if you
missed anything important in class. Of course you did!
Recording Lectures: Students are not permitted to record in-class lectures UNLESS they
have permission from Disabilities Services. Written notification from Disabilities
Services must be provided by the student before recording lectures in class.
Extra Credit: Extra credit is not offered in this class. For the best grade, do the
assignments on time.
Plagiarism: Plagiarism is a form of academic dishonesty; as such, it will not be
tolerated. The Student Honor Code defines plagiarism as: “1. Incorporating the ideas,
words, sentences, paragraphs or parts of another person’s writings without giving
appropriate credit, and representing the product as your own. 2. Representing another’s
artistic or scholarly works such as musical compositions, computer programs,
photographs, paintings, drawings or sculptures as your own. 3. Submitting a paper
purchased from a research or term paper service, including the internet. 4.
Undocumented Web source usage.” I expect students to do their own work at all times in
this class. Students who plagiarize on assignments or cheat on exams will receive a zero
for the assignment or exam, and will be referred to the appropriate campus authorities.
*******The instructor reserves the right to alter this syllabus at any time.********
ASSIGNMENTS:
Reading Assignments: Daily reading assignments must be completed prior to class. We
will discuss aspects of the readings in class, and questions about the readings will come
up on the quizzes and exams. Take notes on your reading. Books should be read to
identify themes that come up in class and in other readings.
Quizzes: Students are required to take 10 quizzes worth 10 points each online using D2L.
Make sure you have an active D2L account – go to https://d2l.losrios.edu to set up your
account and to see my class information. Quizzes are typically 5-10 randomly ordered
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true/false questions that cover main points from reading assignments and/or lecture, and
must be completed BEFORE class on the day the quiz is listed as due. Students are
allowed 1 attempt and 30 minutes to complete the quiz. Missed quizzes cannot be made
up.
Midterm and Final Exam: The week before the exam, I will give you a study guide
with a list of possible essay questions and identifications. The actual exam questions and
identifications will be drawn from this list. For both exams, you will be given a list of
identifications and will need to choose the specified number to answer. For the essay
portion, you will be given a choice of 2 questions on part A, and will choose one to
answer. You will then be required to answer a specific essay question (no choice) on part
B. In total, you will answer 2 essay questions and 4-5 identifications for the midterm and
final.
The Papers: There will be two papers due for this class. For the first paper, a packet of
historical documents pertaining to a particular historical event will be available for you
on the course website. Your job will be to analyze the documents in the packet and write
a paper that makes an argument or states an opinion describing the event, citing the
documents to provide evidence to support your argument or opinion.
For the second paper, you will use the feedback I provide to rewrite the paper and will
be graded on improvement. For the second paper, you MUST submit the first paper AND
the rewritten paper. Papers are due at the beginning of class on the date specified.
IMPORTANT! Every piece of information that comes from the textbook, lecture, or
documents and is used in the paper, whether quoted directly or put in your own words,
MUST be cited appropriately. See examples at the end of the syllabus for how to cite
your sources. Papers are due at the beginning of class on the date specified. Papers
MUST be stapled. Assignment submissions via email are not acceptable. Late papers
will receive a 10 point deduction for each class period late. Papers will not be
accepted past 2 classes following the due date.
Structure of the Paper: This type of paper is divided into three sections:
1. The Introduction. The introduction states the topic of the paper, gets the
reader’s attention, and makes the subject appear interesting and important.
The introduction also makes clear how the topic will be organized, in what
order the analysis will be presented.
2. The Body. The body of the paper is the examination of the subject that has
been introduced in the introduction in the order stated in the introduction.
In the body of the paper, the argument is fleshed out and the evidence is
presented. The paper should flow from point to point smoothly with
transitions between each paragraph.
3. The Conclusion. The conclusion is a summary wrap-up of the topic. In a
reasonably short paragraph, the writer restates the main argument and
summarizes the major points of the paper.
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Grading Checklist
After your papers are graded, I will give you a checklist similar to the following one
showing the areas that need work. It is a good idea to use this checklist to proofread your
paper before turning it in to avoid losing points unnecessarily.
Please work on the following issues:
Thesis/Argument
o The argument needs to be clearly stated in the introduction.
o The argument needs to be more specific and not merely descriptive.
Evidence
o The paper needed more specific examples from the historical documents (7
documents minimum) to support its main ideas/argument.
o Include citations for ALL evidence used, even if paraphrasing.
o Use ONLY the required sources for the paper.
Historical Context
o The paper needed to place the documents within a historical period and
provide an assessment of how the documents reflected multiple
perspectives within this historical context.
Organization
o The paper needed a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion.
o Each paragraph needed a topic sentence that states the central idea
holding the paragraph together. Transitions unite the essay.
o Paragraphs needed to relate to the argument.
o Paper needs to pay attention to chronology and discuss events in the order that
they happened.
Mechanics
o Sentences must be clear and free of spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors.
o Quotes must be introduced and integrated into the text.
o Quotes must not be over 5 lines in length.
o Paper must not use contractions.
o Citations must follow required format.
o Paper must not use personal pronouns.
o Paper must be required length.
o Paper must be written in past tense.
o Titles must be underlined or italicized within text.
o Include works cited page.
Conclusion
o Needs to restate the main argument and sum up the evidence.
o Must not introduce new ideas or information.
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Paper Tips:
1. PLEASE STAPLE YOUR PAPER before handing it in.
2. The paper should conform to page length requirements (5-6 pages), excluding the
bibliography (works cited page) and title page. The paper should be typed,
double-spaced, with properly sized margins. Font size should be no smaller than
10 point and no larger than 12 point. You may use Times New Roman or Arial as
your font, and do not use italicized versions of these fonts.
3. The paper should not be divided into chapters using subheadings. The paper
should flow together using transitions.
4. The first sentence of a new paragraph should be indented 5 spaces, not separated
by additional line spacing.
5. Proofread carefully. There should be no misspelled words, no contractions
(example: can’t, don’t, isn’t), no abbreviations, and no personal or possessive
pronouns. Do not use “I” or “you” or “us” or “our” or “my”.
6. Please follow these rules for in-text citations:
Please put citations at the end of the sentence that uses information from that
source. The period follows the citation. Format your citations as follows:
From the textbook: First author’s last name and page number.
Example: (Henretta, 264).
From lecture: The word “Lecture” followed by the date of lecture.
Example: (Lecture, 1/27/10).
From the document packet: Document number only. Example:
(Document 10).
7. Do not use overly long quotations in a paper of this length. If a quotation is over 5
lines in length, paraphrase parts of it and only quote the most significant portions.
8. When quoting material from your documents, be sure to introduce the quotes. In
other words, incorporate the quoted material into a complete sentence. For
example, you might write:
According to Mary Doe, “Writing a research paper is the most
inhumane form of torture known to man,” (Doe 351).
Do not let a quote stand alone without introduction, such as:
“Writing a research paper is the most inhumane form of torture
known to man,” (Doe 351).
9. Always write about history using past tense. Nathaniel Bacon is dead. He says
nothing and believes nothing anymore, but he said and believed many things in
the past.
10. DO NOT USE SOURCES FOR THIS PAPER OTHER THAN THOSE
REQUIRED BY THIS ASSIGNMENT. You may use the textbook for
background information and you may use lecture material, as long as they are
cited appropriately. HOWEVER, the paper should primarily draw on the
document packet. Use no other sources in writing the paper.
11. The Works Cited page should use MLA format to give the complete information
for the textbook. You may simply list the document numbers used without
additional information. Also list lectures and the dates of lectures cited.