William Gillette
Professor of History
Ph.D., Princeton
M.A., Columbia
B.S.F.S., Georgetown
At Rutgers Since 1967
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219 Van Dyck Hall
732-932-6779This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need
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RESEARCH INTERESTS
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Civil War and Reconstruction, New Jersey history, American political history,
American Western history
COURSES REGULARLY TAUGHT
UNDERGRADUATE
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512:104 Development of US II
512:303 Civil War and Reconstruction
512:410 New Jersey History
Seminar on American Western Frontier
PUBLICATIONS
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The Right to Vote: Politics and the Passage of the Fifteenth Amendment
Retreat from Reconstruction, 1869-1879
Jersey Blue: Civil War Politics in New Jersey, 1854-1865
author of 23 chapters or articles, including 9 recent articles in The Encyclopedia
of New Jersey.
has given 54 guest lectures in the United States, Austria, Germany, Italy, and
Japan served as Fulbright lecturer in Salzburg, Austria and Tokyo, Japan.
AWARDS
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1979: Landry Prize, Lousiana State University Press
1980: Chastain Prize, Southern Political Science Association
1996: Award of Merit, American Association for State and Local History
1997: McCormick Prize, New Jersey Historical Commission
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
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New Jersey Historical Society
Advocates for New Jersey History
The Political History of the United States
from 1860 to 1969
Professor William Gillette
Moscow State University
Spring 2008
This course will study American political developments from the Civil War
through Lyndon Johnson’s administration. The course will focus on domestic
politics: the growth of political parties and presidential power. Specifically, the
course will assess the leadership of Abraham Lincoln in directing the war effort and
the role of postwar presidents in mishandling Reconstruction; analyze the
contributions of William Jennings Bryan, Theodore Roosevelt, and Woodrow
Wilson in advancing progressive reform; examine the leadership of Franklin Delano
Roosevelt in forging the New Deal; and study postwar reform by evaluating the
administrations of Harry Truman, John Kennedy, and Lyndon Johnson. The final
lecture will sum up the contributions of parties and examine their current crisis.
LECTURE OUTLINES AND READINGS
for MGU SEMINARS
Prof. Gillette, 2008
Lecture 1: American Civil War and Abraham Lincoln
Readings:
1. Don E. Fehrenbacher, “Abraham Lincoln,” in John A. Garraty, ed.,
Encyclopedia of American Biography, pp. 665-667.
2. Richard Hofstadter, The American Political Tradition, pp. 121-173.
3. Irving L. Gordon, Review Text in American History, pp. 168-176.
Lecture 2: Early Reconstruction and Andrew Johnson: Feb. 20
Readings:
1. Harold M. Hyman, “Andrew Johnson,” in John A. Garraty,
ed.,Encyclopedia of American Biography, pp. 585-586.
2. Eric L. McKitrick, “Andrew Johnson, Outsider,” Andrew Johnson and
Reconstruction, reprinted in Eric L. McKitrick, Andrew Johnson: A Profile,
pp. 68-77.
3. Irving L. Gordon, Review Text in American History, pp. 178-181.
Lecture 3: Reconstruction; Retreat from Reconstruction: Feb. 27
Readings:
1. William Gillette, “Critique of the Radical Republicans during
Reconstruction,” pp. 1-12.
2. William Gillette, “The Grant and Hayes Administrations,” pp. 1-21.
3. Kenneth M. Stampp, The Era of Reconstruction, 1865-1877, pp. 213-215.
4. Irving L. Gordon, Review Text in American History, pp. 182-188.
Lecture 4: 1896 Election and William Jennings Bryan: March 5
Readings:
1. Lawrence W. Levine, “William J. Bryan,” in John A. Garraty, ed.,
Encyclopedia of American Biography, pp. 141-143.
2. Richard Hofstadter, The American Political Tradition, pp. 241-264.
3. Carl N. Degler, “Alabaster Cities,” Out of Our Past, pp. 349-367.
4. Irving L. Gordon, Review Text in American History, pp. 202-207.
Lecture 5: Politics of Moderation and Teddy Roosevelt: March 12
Readings:
1. William H. Harbaugh, “Theodore Roosevelt,” in John A. Garraty, ed.,
Encyclopedia of American Biography, pp. 929-931.
2. Richard Hofstadter, The American Political Tradition, pp. 267-305.
3. Irving L. Gordon, Review Text in American History, pp. 391-396, 239-241.
Lecture 6: Politics of Reform and Woodrow Wilson: March 19
Readings:
1. Arthur S. Link, “Woodrow Wilson,” in John A. Garraty, ed., Encyclopedia of
American Biography, pp. 1214-1216.
2. Richard Hofstadter, The American Political Tradition, pp. 309-365.
3. Irving L. Gordon, Review Text in American History, pp. 242-243, 398-402.
Lecture 7: Politics of Recovery, Reform and FDR: March 26
Readings:
1. John A. Garraty, “Franklin Delano Roosevelt,” in John A. Garraty, ed.,
Encyclopedia of American Biography, pp. 926-929.
2. Richard Hofstadter, The American Political Tradition, pp. 411-456.
3. Irving L. Gordon, Review Text in American History, pp. 411-419, 277-279.
Lecture 8: New Deal, Old Deal, or Raw Deal?: April 2
Readings:
1. Barton J. Bernstein, “New Deal: The Conservative Achievements of
Liberal Reform,” in Barton J. Bernstein, ed., Towards a New Past:
Dissenting Essays in American History, pp. 264-282, reprinted in Elizabeth
C. Hoffman and Jon Gjerde, eds, Major Problems in American History,
Vol. 2, pp. 237-244.
2. Ronald Radosh, A New History of Leviathan, reprinted in Allen F. Davis
and Harold D. Woodman, eds., Conflict and Consensus in Modern
American History, pp. 377-391.
Lecture 9: Politics of Insecurity and Harry Truman: April 9
Readings:
1. Alonzo Hamby, “Harry S. Truman,” in John A. Garraty, ed., Encyclopedia
of American Biography, pp. 1103-1105.
2. Barton J. Bernstein, “America in War and Peace: The Test of Liberalism,”
in Barton J. Bernstein, ed., Towards a New Past: Dissenting Essays in
American History, pp. 289-321, reprinted in J. Joseph Huthmacher, ed.,
The Truman Years, pp. 99-115.
3. Irving L. Gordon, Review Text in American History, pp. 419-422.
Lecture 10: Politics of Activism and John Kennedy: April 16
Readings:
1. Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., “John F. Kennedy,” in John A. Garraty, ed.,
Encyclopedia of American Biography, pp. 611-613.
2. Richard E. Neustadt, “Appraising a President,” Presidential Power,
pp.147-161.
3. Irving L. Gordon, Review Text in American History, pp. 430-434.
Lecture 11: Politics of Pragmatism and Lyndon Johnson: April 23
Readings:
1. Henry F. Graff, “Lyndon B. Johnson,” in Garraty, ed., Biography, pp. 592593.
2. Eric F. Goldman, “Lonesome Lyndon,” New York Times Magazine,
reprinted in Frank O. Gattell, Paul Goodman, Allen Weinstein, eds.,
Readings in American Political History, pp. 492-512.
3. Irving L. Gordon, Review Text in American History, pp. 434-438.
Lecture 12: The Rise and Fall of American Political Parties: Their Historical
Functions and Their Present Crisis: April 30
Readings:
1. A. James Reichley, “The Future of the American Two-Party System in the
Twenty-First Century.”
2. Richard M. Skinner, “The Partisan Presidency,” both in John C. Green and
Daniel J. Coffey, eds., The State of the Parties, pp. 15- 34 and pp. 331341.