Department of Historical Studies, University of Toronto Mississauga
HIS 272H
The United States, 1877 to the Present
Winter Term 2015 Syllabus
Lecture: Wednesdays 11am-1pm (IB 235)
Tutorials: Wednesdays 3-4, 4-5, 5-6pm (DV, various)
Teaching Ass’t: Elizabeth Bryer
office: TBA
Office hours: TBA
elizabeth.bryer@mail.utoronto.ca
Instructor: Prof. Elspeth Brown
Office: Erindale Hall 211D
Office hours: Wed 1-2 pm + by appt
elspeth.brown@utoronto.ca
Note: This course uses Blackboard (Log on at http://portal.utoronto.ca/)
Course Description
How did the US move from the Civil War to a world power? What have been the tensions between national ideals of
"liberty for all" and US market expansion? Topics covered include: Jim Crow South; immigration and urbanization;
Populism and the Progressivism; consumerism; many wars; post-45 social movements; Reaganism and after.
Learning Objectives
At the conclusion of this course, students should not only understand the basic outlines of American history since
Reconstruction and how various political, social, cultural, economic, and diplomatic developments have helped shape
present-day America, but they will also have worked on skills related to core competencies central to the discipline of
history. These include:

Critically evaluating sources for their credibility, position and perspective. Specifically, in this course we will
focus on learning how to read and evaluate primary sources and secondary sources, and to understand the
difference between the two.

Understanding that the ethics and practice of history means recognizing and building on other scholars’ work,
peer review, and citation. This means that students will learn how to cite (accurately) other scholars’ work
using the Chicago Manual of Style, 16th edition, as well as what plagiarism is.

Demonstrating expertise in historical argument through learning to: a) identify and summarize a historical
argument; b) explain and apply a historical argument; and c) generate a historical argument.
Course Evaluation
Participation
Mindtap Activities
Critical Skills Exercise #1
Midterm (in class)
Critical Skills Exercise #2
Essay (5-7 pgs)
Final Exam
15%
15%
7.5%
15%
7.5%
15%
25%
ongoing
ongoing
WK 3 [how to analyze a primary source document 3 pp]
WK 6
WK 8 [how to read, summarize, and outline a scholarly article 3 pp]
WK 11 [includes submitting research question etc WK 9: see below]
tba
[during official exam time; 2 hrs]
Details on each element follow below in the Assignments and Requirements Section.
Required Texts/Resources
1. Mindtap for The Enduring Vision: A History of the American People, 8th Edition.
This is an electronic resource, for which students will be required to purchase an access key available from the
UTM bookstore in the form of an Access Card, or online at http://www.nelsonbrain.com/shop/micro/UTM/HIS272.
The resource included a full digital version of the The Enduring Vision textbook, as well as a number of online
activities. Students wishing to read the text in print can purchase it that through Nelson, although this option will
be more costly.
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Assignments and Requirements
1.
PARTICIPATION: It’s really important that you come to class prepared, ready to participate, and to actually
participate in meaningful ways once there. A class is a collaborative venture, and students have to kick in too. I’m
not talking about simple attendance here. I mean: 1) coming to class having read, watched, or listened to the
assigned material; 2) bringing the assigned material to class, electronically or in hard copy, on a device larger
than your phone; 3) being ready to discuss the material in meaningful ways. Sometimes, to gauge how prepared
you are, I may ask for short writing assignments in class, which I will use to help gauge this aspect of the course.
We will also be having some team-based group discussions throughout the term, indicated on the syllabus.
2.
ATTENDANCE: This is strongly encouraged for both lecture and tutorial. I really look forward to working with
students who come to class regularly and who are prepared to make the class a success. Other students might
want to consider signing up for the course at another time, when their schedule allows more engaged
participation in the ongoing work of the class. Students who skip classes will see their participation mark suffer.
3.
MINDTAP ACTIVITIES: Each chapter of The Enduring Vision is accompanied by quizzes and activities that are
loaded in MindTap. The completion of some of these will be mandatory, and count towards your grade.
Mandatory quizzes and activities are clearly identified within MindTap by “counts towards grade” and each had a
due date, as listed both in MindTap and in the course schedule. Activities/quizzes that are not mandatory can, if
students choose, be done for practice to help gauge understanding of the material.
4.
CRITICAL SKILLS EXERCISES: Critical analysis skills are important to the practice of history. There are two
exercises this term. The first, due WK 3, builds students’ skills in analyzing primary sources (4 pgs). The second,
due WK 8, builds skills in reading and analyzing secondary sources, including notations (3 pgs).
5.
IN-CLASS MIDTERM: Held at the second hour of WK 6 and covering the first half of the course. The midterm will
cover all material up to that point in the course, as well as some specific skills including: the difference between
primary and secondary sources; how to cite material using the Chicago Manual of Style; common grammar
mistakes; and a few other skills details from Rampolla. There will also be short-answer/identification questions
concerning readings and lectures.
6.
WK 12 ESSAY: This is a 5-7 page essay will focus on an analysis of primary source documents using secondary
sources as evidence. Students will have a choice of pre-determined topics, but will learn how to ask historical
questions of source material as part of the assignment. An aspect of this assignment is due 2 weeks’ prior, in WK
10. The assignment will be described in detail in a separate handout to be posted to Blackboard.
7.
FINAL EXAM: Held during the April exam period, the final exam will cover the entire term. It will be 2 hours in
length, and consist of short IDs and essays.
Grading scheme: A+=87-100; A=84-86; A-=80-83; B+=77-79; B=74-76; B-= 70-73; C+=67-69; C=64-66; C-=60-63;
D+=57-59; D=54-56; D-=50-53; F=49 or below.
Other Details/the "fine print":
1. Late policy, absences, etc: Late work will be marked down 2 points per day late, including Sat. and Sun.
Work turned in more than seven days (including Sat. and Sun.) after the due date will not be accepted. Deadline
extensions will be made only when students present me with compelling reasons for their inability to meet the
deadline before the deadline passes, with satisfactory documentation (eg., death in the immediate family;
hospitalization, etc.) If this is your situation, be sure to declare your absence on ROSI
(https://www.rosi.utoronto.ca/main.html) in order to receive academic accommodation for any course work such as
missed tests, late assignments, and final examinations. Also please notify me and provide documentation
electronically, via email with PDFs. I will also ask you to provide medical documentation in the form of a University of
Toronto medical certificate. (About this, please note: The University of Toronto respects your privacy. The information
on the medical form is collected pursuant to section 2(14) of the University of Toronto Act, 1971 for the purpose of
administering accommodations for academic purposes based on medical grounds. The department will maintain a
record of all medical certificates received. At all times your information will be protected in accordance with the
Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.)
2. Exam make-ups: there will be none unless the student can provide evidence of a true emergency, with
satisfactory documentation (see above). Under no circumstances will I schedule a make-up for a student who fails to
contact me within 24 hours of a missed test. For the final exam (this information is from the Registrar’s office):
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Students who cannot write a final examination due to illness or other serious causes must file an online petition
within 72 hours of the missed examination. Original supporting documentation must also be submitted to the
Office of the Registrar within 72 hours of the missed exam. Late petitions will NOT be considered. If illness is cited
as the reason for a deferred exam request, a U of T Medical Certificate must show that you were examined and
diagnosed at the time of illness and on the date of the exam, or by the day after at the latest. Students must
also record their absence on ROSI on the day of the missed exam or by the day after at the latest. Upon approval of
a deferred exam request, a non-refundable fee of $70 is required for each examination approved.
3. Citing sources: Please use the Chicago Manual of Style, 16th edition. For a brief guide, please see here:
http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html as well as the handout in Blackboard. I will mark off for
failure to cite sources properly (-1 point per mistake) and citation format will also be the subject of the tests.
4. Papers: writing is a critically important skill, and central to what we do in Historical Studies. I pay close
attention to grammar, punctuation, style, and citation formats. If you need help with your writing, I am more than
happy to work with you, and I also urge you to take advantage of the resources at UTM writing. For further tips on
writing, as well as a list of resources on writing at U of T, see http://www.writing.utoronto.ca/home and
http://www.utm.utoronto.ca/asc.
5. Plagiarism is, basically, the act of using the ideas or words of another person as one's own original work,
and is therefore a gross form of cheating. The way to avoid plagiarism is, in part, to learn how and when to cite your
sources. Please consult and familiarize yourselves with policies concerning plagiarism at U of T. There are other
rules of academic conduct all students must familiarize themselves with, such as not handing in a paper for a class
when you've already submitted the same paper to another class for credit. For further information, see
http://www.writing.utoronto.ca/advice/using-sources/how-not-to-plagiarize and http://academicintegrity.utoronto.ca
6. Accessibility Needs: Students with diverse learning needs are welcome in this course. If you require
accommodations relating to learning styles, or have any accessibility concerns about the course, the classroom or
course materials, please let me know and also contact the UTM AccessAbility Resource Centre, located in the South
Building, room 2047. Their website is http://www.utm.utoronto.ca/accessability/, and you can email them at
access.utm@utoronto.ca or call them at 905 569 4699. They can also help answer questions if you think you may
have some concerns, but aren’t sure. Do avail yourself of their services.
7. Academic Skills Centre: if you would like to get some individual help with writing or studying, please
contact them at: http://www.utm.utoronto.ca/asc. They provide individual appointments, and they also have study and
writing tips.
8. Turnitin.com: we will be using this for your paper, so that you may review your essay for textual similarity
and detection of possible plagiarism. In doing so, you agree to allow your essay to be used by Turnitin.com as part of
their essay reference database, where it will be used only to detect plagiarism. The terms that apply to the
university’s use of this service are described on their website, at Turnitin.com. If you have objections to using
Turnitin, let me know and we can set up an alternative arrangement.
9. Communication: Please direct questions and comments about the lecture to Prof. Brown, and all questions
and comments about tutorials to your TA. Questions regarding assignments can be addressed to either the TA or the
relevant course instructor. When emailing, please use your University of Toronto email address and put the course
title in the subject line (HIS 272) and the topic of the query. Remember that in order to receive email communications
through Blackboard, you must provide the system with your utoronto.ca address. Students are responsible for
ensuring that they have a valid UofT email address that is properly entered in the ROSI system, and for checking that
account on a regular basis. Students are also responsible for regularly logging onto the Blackboard to check for
posted announcements.
10. Classroom etiquette: Students are expected to refrain from doing anything unrelated to our class while in
the classroom. Laptops may be used for note taking—not email, chatting, playing games, etc.—if that is your
preferred method, but other electronic devices must be turned off for the duration of the class. Should you be found
using either your laptop or another electronic device for something other than class purposes you will be asked to
turn off the device for the duration of the class.
11. Recording lectures: I don’t give permission for this to happen, so please don’t record lectures or tutorials.
WEEK 1 (Jan 7): The Rebirth of a Nation
Introduction to Winter term; how to use MindTap; small group discussion of syllabus and introductions: lecture on the
New South and the New West.
Read:
•Boyer, Clark et al: The Enduring Vision: A History of the American People: read chapters 16+17 on “Reconstruction
and Resistance 1865-1877” and “The Transformation of the Trans-Mississippi West 1860-1900” [65 pages; read
digitally, via MindTap access]
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•On BB, read “How to Read and Study the Textbook”
Tutorial: none this week; tutorials begin next week.
WEEK 2 (Jan 14): The Second Industrial Revolution
Lectures:
The Rise of Corporate America and the Republic of Labor; Immigration and Urbanization
Group Work in Lecture: Reading the Visual Record
Reading for the week:
•Boyer, Clark et al: The Enduring Vision: A History of the American People: read chapters 18+19 on “The Rise of
Industrial America, 1865-1900” and “Immigration, Urbanization, and Everyday Life, 1860-1900” [63 pages]
•Primary sources, for discussion in tutorial: Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle (1906) excerpt at:
http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5727
•Elspeth Brown, “Reading the Visual Record” in Ardis Cameron, ed., Looking for America (Blackwell, 2005), 362-370
[8 pgs; on Blackboard; you will need this for Assignment #1, due next week.]
•On BB, read Mary Lynn Rampolla, A Pocket Guide to Writing in History, ch. 1+ 2 (pp 1-21). These chapters cover:
what sorts of questions historians ask of the past; identifying historical sources; primary sources vs. secondary
sources; evaluating sources, including internet sources.
MindTap activities, due Jan 14th at 11 am:
•Activity: Immigration, Urbanization, and Everyday Life
•Explore: Tenement House Museum, NYC
tutorials begin this week
WEEK 3 (Jan 21): Rural Revolt and the Growth of Empire
Lectures: Populism + American Empire
Reading for the week:
•Boyer, Clark et al: The Enduring Vision: A History of the American People: read chapter 20 “Politics and Expansion
in an Industrializing Age, 1877-1900.” [30 pgs]
•Primary sources, for discussion in tutorial: Theodore Roosevelt, “The Strenuous Life,” 1899; read at
http://www.bartleby.com/58/1.html; Rudyard Kipling (1899) “The White Man’s Burden: The United States and The
Philippine Islands” at http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5478; the Spanish American War motion pictures in MindTap.
•Secondary source: Kristin Hoganson, “Cosmopolitan Domesticity: Importing the American Dream, 1865-1920,” The
American Historical Review, Vol. 107, No. 1 (February 2002), pp. 55-83 [BB]
MindTap activities, due Jan 21th at 11 am:
•Interactive Quiz, Chapter 20
•review two Spanish-American War motion pictures in the link provided to the Library of Congress on MindTap; come
to tutorial prepared to discuss your observations.
Critical Skills Assignment #1, on working with primary sources, due today at 11 am (4 pgs). Submit via
Blackboard’s ‘Assignment’ folder, electronically, in a Word format (not PDF).
WEEK 4 (Jan 28): Progressivism to World War I
Lectures: Progressivism in Black and White; the Birth of Mass Culture; WWI + Woman Suffrage
Group Work in Lecture: TBA
Reading for the week:
•Boyer, Clark et al: The Enduring Vision: A History of the American People: read chapter 21, “The Progressive Era,
1900-1917” and chapter 22: “Global Involvements and WWI, 1902-1920”
•On BB, read Mary Lynn Rampolla, A Pocket Guide to Writing in History, ch. 3 (pp 22-38). This chapter provides
suggestions on how to approach typical assignments in history courses, including reading critically; how to approach
exams; and writing history papers.
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MindTap activities, due Jan 28th at 11 am:
•Primary Sources for discussion in tutorial: Exposing Injustice module in MindTap
•Interactive Quiz for ch. 22
•Explore: Hull House Museum
WEEK 5 (Feb. 4): The Jazz Age
Lecture: The Birth of Modern Advertising; Harlem Renaissance
Reading for the week:
•Boyer, Clark et al: The Enduring Vision: A History of the American People: read chapter 23: “Coping with Change:
1920-1929.”
•Primary sources: Langston Hughes, "The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain” (1926), on line at:
http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/poets/g_l/hughes/mountain.htm.
•secondary sources: Stephen Robertson, Shane White, Stephen Garton, and Graham White, “Disorderly Houses:
Residences, Privacy, and Surveillance of Sexuality in 1920s Harlem,” Journal of the History of Sexuality, Volume 21,
Number 3, September 2012, pp. 443-466. BB
• On BB, read: “Asking Good Historical Questions + How to Develop a Manageable Topic” and “Citation and
Grammar Guide.” Further material on how to document sources will be covered in WK 10. You may also wish to
consult the brief online guide to the Chicago Manual, here:
http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html. Focus on how to cite a journal article with a single
author and a book with a single author. The way to cite this material in an endnote is different from the bibliography.
This will be covered in the midterm WK 6,
MindTap activities, due Feb 4th 11 am:
•Primary sources, for discussion in tutorial: “Selling America” module in MindTap;
•Interactive Quiz for ch. 23
Skills to work on in tutorial and lecture: how to narrow a research topic to something reasonable for a short paper;
how to pose a historical question; how to scan secondary sources to find articles that are relevant for your research;
how to read for argument. You will want to start doing some research for your paper now, as many elements of your
paper are due soon, in WK 9.
WEEK 6 (Feb 11): Depression/ New Deal + Midterm
Lectures: The New Deal + Thirties Culture
Reading for the week:
•Boyer, Clark et al: The Enduring Vision: A History of the American People: read chapter 24 “The Great Depression
and the New Deal, 1929-1939.”
•Read: Franklin D. Roosevelt, Inaugural Address, March 4, 1933
•video activity: FDR Inauguration: Nothing to Fear AND do ‘video activity’
•video activity: newsreel hails the end of Prohibition
MIDTERM today in 2nd HR: from course beginnings through WK 6, inclusive [50 min]. Midterm will also include
questions on skills learned thus far, including citation via Chicago Manual of Style; common grammar mistakes;
primary sources vs. secondary sources, etc.
No Tutorials this week
WEEK 7: Reading Week!
Reading Week: no classes.
WEEK 8 (Feb 25): WWII at Home and Abroad
Lectures: From Pearl Harbor to Hiroshima + The Homefront
Group Work in Lecture: [How to Find Sources in the Library with Vanessa Kitchin]
Reading for the week:
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•Boyer, Clark et al: The Enduring Vision: A History of the American People: read chapter 25: “Americans in a World
of Crisis.”
•recordings of Americans interviewed about their reactions to the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor from the Library
of Congress’s site “After the Day of Infamy.” Go through the listing and choose 4-5 to listen to (they are short
recordings of ‘man on the street’ reactions). Come to tutorial prepared to reflect on what you’ve heard; pay attention
to the audio form, and be ready to discuss.
• On BB read: “Ch. 4, “Writing a Research Paper” in Mary Lynn Rampolla, A Pocket Guide to Writing in History pp
39-52
MindTap activities, due Feb 25th at 11 am:
•view video: a Hiroshima survivor’s account
•Primary Source Module: Japan through U.S. Eyes during World War II, 1941-1945
Critical Skills Assignment #2, on working with secondary sources, due today at 11 am. Submit via Blackboard’s
‘Assignment’ folder, electronically, in a Word format (not PDF).
WEEK 9 (March 4): The Cold War
Lectures: Cold War Politics; Not June Cleaver: The "Other" 1950s
Reading for the week:
•Boyer, Clark et al: The Enduring Vision: A History of the American People: read chapter 26, “The Cold War Abroad
and At Home, 1945-1960” and chapter 27, “America at Mid-Century, 1945-1961.”
• Read: Speech of Joseph McCarthy, Wheeling, West Virginia, February 9, 1950
MindTap activities, due March 44h at 11 am
•view video: 1950s Red Scare and Arrests of Alleged Communists [1 min] AND do ‘video activity’
•view video: The Fall of Senator Joseph McCarthy [3:37 min] AND do ‘video activity’
WEEK 10 (March 11): From Civil Rights to the Great Society
Lectures: The Civil Rights Movement; From Camelot to LBJ; Vietnam
Reading for the week:
•Boyer, Clark et al: The Enduring Vision: A History of the American People: read chapter 28 “Liberalism, Civil Rights,
and War in Vietnam, 1960-1975.”
•On BB, read “Your Friend the Thesis Statement” and “How to Write a 5-7 Page Paper”
•On BB read ch. 6 “Plagiarism and How to Avoid it” and the beginning of ch. 7 on “Documenting Sources” in Mary
Lynn Rampolla, A Pocket Guide to Writing in History pp 70-84.
•Read: “To Determine the Destiny of Our Black Community”: The Black Panther Party’s 10-Point Platform and
Program, October 1966; Declaration of Independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, 1945
MindTap activities, due March 11th at 11 am:
•view video: MLK’s I have A Dream Speech AND video activity
•Interactive Quiz, chapter 28.
Final Paper Worksheet Assignment Due: Please see BB for full directions, but a summary follows. Submit the following by
11 am, electronically, and bring a copy to tutorial: Create a worksheet that you will hand in for marking. This worksheet needs
to have the following elements: a) a one sentence description of your research TOPIC, identifying the primary source
collection you will be working with (see WK 12 paper directions; b) a 100 word or so description of which specific primary
sources in your collection you plan to work with (which interviews, which diary entries, which photographs, etc—make sure to
have between 4 and 10 specific primary sources for your topic, unless you are choosing one of the documentary films); c) a
research question (you MUST pose it as an actual question); d) a bibliography of at least six relevant secondary source
scholarly articles on your topic, using the Chicago Manual of Style as a guide (you can find the brief guide on line for free); );
A papers will likely have more sources, though more doesn’t always mean ‘better’ d) a 50 word précis for each of these
scholarly articles, following the directions from the WK 3 exercise and e) a short paragraph of about 100 words that clearly
summarizes the content of the article or book in a manner that demonstrates your understanding of its method, main points,
and use of evidence. Conclude this paragraph with a statement as to why, exactly, this article or book is relevant to your
research. In tutorial you will workshop your research questions and discuss how to develop an argument for your paper
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(thesis). NB: you are not expected to necessarily have a thesis at this stage of your paper. This assignment will compromise
25% of your paper grade, so do spend time working on it (you will be appreciative later!)
WEEK 11 (March 18): War at Home and Abroad
Lectures: Power to the People; Gender, Sexuality, and Liberation
Group Work in Lecture: TBA
Reading for the week:
•Boyer, Clark et al: The Enduring Vision: A History of the American People: read chapter 29 “A Time of Upheaval,
1961-1980”
•read: “Consciousness Raising: A Radical Weapon” by Katie Sarachild, 1968-1973
MindTap activities, due March 18th at 11 am:
•Primary Source Module: Voices for Equality
•view video: Early Coverage of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Assassination (1968) [2:38 min] AND video activity
•view video: President Nixon Resigns [3:38 min] AND video activity
WEEK 12 (March 25): Conservative Revivals
Lecture topics: The Reagan Revolution and the Triumph of Neoliberalism
Reading for the week:
•Boyer, Clark et al: The Enduring Vision: A History of the American People: read chapter 30 “A Conservative Revival
and the End of the Cold War, 1980-2000”
•Read: from the website “American President: An Online Reference Resource” read/listen to Ronald Reagan’s 1983
“Evil Empire” speech
MindTap activities, due March 25th at 11 am:
•Activity: A Conservative Revival and the End of the Cold War, 1980-2000
Paper Due Wed. March 25, 11 am through Turnitin/Blackboard. See Assignment folder on BB.
WEEK 13 (April 1): The Rise of the National Security State
Lecture topic: 9/11 and after.
Reading for the week:
•Boyer, Clark et al: The Enduring Vision: A History of the American People: read chapter 31: “A Changing Nation
Confronts Home-Front Crises and New Global Realities: 2001 to the Present.”
Last tutorial will be this week; focus will be on exam studying strategies.
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