HISTORY 17B COURSE INFORMATION SHEET: HISTORY OF THE
UNITED STATES FROM RECONSTRUCTION TO THE PRESENT
San Joaquin Delta College, Fall Semester 2008
Instructor: Dr. Bisson <jbisson@deltacollege.edu>
Office Information: Holt 420 954-5695
Hours: MWF 9 - 10, TTh 12:30 – 1:30
Course Description: This course is a survey of United States history from
Reconstruction to the present. Emphasis is on the political, economic,
intellectual, and social forces that have molded America. The course fulfills
the Social Science Group A requirements for the associate degree and applies
toward completion of the California state requirements in United States history
and institutions. It is transferable to the UC and CSU systems.
Course Prerequisite: Reading Level II. This means that to enroll in this class
you must have demonstrated proficiency in: 1. the ability to analyze, evaluate,
and extend ideas that are presented in material written at college level; 2. the
ability to deal with the academic demands of college-level course work; 3. the
ability to derive synthesize, and sustain meaning from lengthy texts that vary in
content, vocabulary, style, and complexity; 4. the ability to understand the
meaning of words appearing in naturally occurring contexts written at college
level. If you do not already have these abilities, you should enroll in a class
that does not carry a Reading Level II prerequisite.
Format: Lecture and discussion. Each student should come to class ready to
take notes and discuss the material we cover. This means completing and
analyzing the readings BEFORE the day they are scheduled for discussion in
class.
Much of the exam material will be based upon ideas and themes developed in
class. You will need to take careful and coherent notes as you read and
during virtually every class meeting. My personal notes are NOT available to
students.
Required Readings:
E. L. Doctorow, Ragtime
Jack Kerouac, On the Road
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Bisson (ed.), American Passages: Documentary Readings in United States
History from Columbus to the Present (2006). Available in the
bookstore.***BRING THIS BOOK TO CLASS EVERY DAY.***
Henretta, America: A Concise History. Henretta study aids are available online
at: bedfordstmartins.com/henrettaconcise.
Graded Work:
 Two (2) multiple-choice exams (15%)
 Two (2) essay exams (TBA) (40%)
 One (1) documents analysis paper (20%)
 Comprehensive essay exam (25%)
Exams will be based upon material from class lectures, classroom
discussions, and the assigned readings.
Note-taking: This is an important skill to have for this class. When taking
notes in class, do not attempt to write down every word I say, or every word
that appears on the screen. Devise your own system of shorthand. Abbreviate
common words. Re-write your notes, especially when preparing for exams.
Listen to what I am saying and pay attention to ideas and themes that I repeat,
or that my lectures have in common with the reading assignments.
Plagiarism: Plagiarism is the use of someone else’s words, answers, and ideas
and representing them as your own. Plagiarism is cheating, and it is a violation
of the rules of academic conduct at SJDC. The plagiarized assignment will
receive a zero (F) grade. Removal from the class and/or college may also result.
See the SJDC Student Handbook for further details.
Attendance and Drops: I reserve the right to drop no-shows as per SJDC
policy. Remember: It is your responsibility to drop the class. I am under
no obligation to drop you and am not obligated to accommodate requests
for late drops. It is your responsibility to get missed lecture notes and other
course information from a classmate.
Missed Exams Policy: No make-ups permitted without a verifiable physiciandocumented medical excuse. Advanced notice required for SJDC-approved
activities that conflict with exam days. I determine the format of make-up
exams.
Basic Manners:
1. Punctuality: Please be on time and ready to work. Late arrivals disturb me
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and the other people in the class. This is a college learning environment that
grants students discretion and considerable freedoms that, if abused,
compromise the learning environment. I reserve the right to lock the classroom
door to enforce this policy. I also reserve the right to ask late arrivals to leave
the class. If you have a situation that is beyond your control that will regularly
make you late, please inform me as soon as possible. Late students forfeit their
right to sign the roll sheet or be counted as present.
2. Do not socialize while class activities are in progress. This is a discourtesy
to the other people in the class.
3. Early Departures: Please do not leave class early without notifying me
before class begins. If you have a medical condition that keeps you from sitting
for 50 minutes, please notify me.
4. Cell Phones, pagers, music players, radios, etc.: Turn these off and put
them away in purses, pockets, or backpacks where you cannot access them.
Remove headphones/ear buds, etc.
5. No Food or Drink in Class
6. Do not sleep in class or place your head down on the desk.
7. Keep the desks in rows and facing the front of the class unless otherwise
instructed.
Repeated violations of these rules may result in suspension from the class,
referral to the Vice President of Student Services, and expulsion from the class.
Your Grade: Assignments will be graded according to the following scale.
90-100% A (Excellent); 80-89% B (Good to Very Good);70-79% C (Average);
60-69% D (Poor); Below 60% F (Failing)
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SCHEDULE OF TOPICS, READINGS, AND ACTIVITIES
(subject to change)
Be sure to complete the readings by the beginning of the week or day for which
they are assigned. Keep up with the readings and pay close attention to due dates.
Henretta readings are listed for each part of the class. Henretta study guides are at
bedfordstmartins.com/henrettaconcise.
PART I: THE EMERGENCE OF MODERN AMERICA
August 15
Introduction & The South After Slavery
Read Henretta, Chapter 15 and pp. 581-587
From AP Chapter 8: “The Black Codes,” “Frederick Douglass Speaks to
Abolitionists, “The Fourteenth Amendment,” ‘A Georgian Calls for Brute Force,”
A South Carolina Republican.”
August 18, 20, 22
The South After Slavery; The Wars Against the Indians
From AP Chapter 8 “A Sharecrop Contract,” Ida Wells, Booker T. Washington,
W.E.B. DuBois, “Black Migration Patterns, 1870-1920,” “Massacre at Sand
Creek,” “Custer at the Washita River,” “An Indian Commissioner,” “Custer’s Last
Stand,” “Chief Joseph Offers and Solution,” “A Native American Tries
Assimilation”
August 25, 27, 29
The Wars Against the Indians;The Industrial Revolution
Read Henretta, Chapter 17
From AP Chapter 9: Illinois Grangers, “Terrence Powderly, Samuel Gompers, “A
Tailor Testifies,” “Testimony of a Spinner,” “An Advocate of Scientific
Management,” A Harvard Economist.
September 3 & 5 (Labor Day Observed Monday, Sept. 1)
The Industrial Revolution
Read Henretta, Chapter 18
September 8, 10, 12
The Farmers’ Revolt
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Read Henretta, Chapter 19
From AP: “Populist Party Platform,” A Republican Editor, “A London Paper
Gloats.”
***Multiple Choice Exam #1 Friday September 12***
PART II: THE EARLY 20TH CENTURY AND THE SEARCH FOR A NEW
ORDER
September 15, 17, 19
The Imperial Republic; The Progressives
Read Henretta, Chapter 21
From AP Chapter 10: “Anglo-Saxonism and US Expansion,” McKinley’s War
Message,” “McKinley Decides to Annex the Philippines,” “The March of the
Flag,” “An Anti-Imperialist Professor,” Mark Twain’s satire, “President Roosevelt
Updates US Policy in Latin America.”
September 22, 24, 26
The Progressives; World War I
Class discussion: Ragtime (details TBA)
Read Henretta, Chapters 20 and 22
From AP Chapter 11: “A Journalist Attacks the Trusts”, “Conditions in the
Meatpacking Plants,” “Robert Lafollette and the Money Trusts,” “Louis
Brandeis and the Problem of Interlocking Directorates,” New Nationalism,
“Progressive Party Platform,” “Wilson’s Views on Reform.”
September 29, Oct 1, 3
World War I and Wilsonian Internationalism
From AP Chapter 12: The President’s War Message,” “The American Defense
Society,” “The Creel Committee,” “A Radical Attacks the War Mongers,”
“President Wilson Promotes his Fourteen Points,” “A Senator Opposes
Membership,” “the War’s Effect on Black Consciousness,” “The Attorney
General Speaks Out Against the Reds.”
***ESSAY EXAM #1 FRIDAY OCT. 3***
October 6, 8, 10
The 1920s
Read Henretta Chapter 23
From AP Chapter 13: “A look Back at the Election of 1920,” “President Coolidge
on the Virtues of Business,” “An Advertising Man’s View of Jesus,”
“Advertising and Corporate Image-making,” “Margaret Sanger Advocates
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Birth Control,” “The supreme Court Rules on Female Equality,” “The Klan
Defends Its Principles,” “A Nativist Describes Disturbing Trends,” Marcus
Garvey, Langston Hughes.
Into the Great Depression
Read Henretta Chapter 24
From AP Chapter 14: “An Economist’s Warning,” “An Editor Describes
Conditions After the Crash,” ‘Hoover Defines the Proper Role of
Government,” “FDR’s First Inaugural Address”
October 13, 15, 17
The New Deal & the Politics of Mass Poverty
Read Henretta Chapter 25
From AP: “Radio Priest’s Preamble,” “Share Our Wealth,” “FDR Justifies
Massive Public Works,” “Candidate Roosevelt Speaks about Social Security,”
“Candidate Roosevelt Attacks ‘Economic Royalists,’” “The New Deal and the
Unions” section.
PART III: Rise to Globalism: THE SECOND WORLD WAR AND
AFTER
October 20, 22, 24
****Essay Exam #2 Monday Oct 20****
Isolation or Intervention?
Read Henretta Chapter 26
From AP Chapter 15: “Charles Coughlin Condemns the World Court,” “The
Neutrality Act of 1937,” “Senator Vandenberg Fights Repeal,” Charles
Lindbergh and isolationism” “FDR on Lend-Lease,” “Senator Criticizes LendLease,” “The Atlantic Charter”
October 27, 29, 31
The Road to Pearl Harbor
World War II
From AP Chapter 15: “The Effects of Defense Spending,” “A. Phillip Randolph
Demands Reforms,” “FDR Establishes Fair Employment Practices,”
“Hirabayashi is Convicted,” “The Idealized woman War Worker.”
Recollections of a Woman War Worker,” “Advice to the Career-Minded
Wife,” “FBI Warns Against Juvenile Delinquents.”
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November 3, 5, 7
The Cold War
The 1950s
Read Henretta Chapters 27 & 28
From AP Chapter 16: “The Soviet Perspective,” “The Truman Doctrine,”
“Marshall Introduces His Plan,” “J. Edgar Hoover Testifies,” “Senator
McCarthy Demonstrates ‘McCarthyism’” “A Senator Challenges McCarthy’s
Methods,” “NSC-68,” “A US Supreme Court Justice Deplores the Climate of
Fear,” “The Duties of a Housewife,” “The US Supreme Court Rules Against
School Segregation,” the Southern Manifesto,” “President Eisenhower Sends
Troops to Little Rock.”
November 12 & 14 (Veterans’ Day observed Monday, Nov. 10)
***Multiple Choice Exam #2 (Wed., November 12)
Class Discussion: On the Road (details TBA)
Civil Rights & Black Separatism
Read Henretta Chapter 29
From AP Chapter 17: “JFK: First Inaugural,” “Lyndon Johnson Declares War on
Poverty,” “Lyndon Johnson Proposes the ‘Great Society,’” “Lyndon Johnson
Speaks About Race,” All documents in “A Changing Consciousness” section
November 17, 19, 21
Cultural Revolution, Political Radicalism
The US in Vietnam
Read Henretta Chapter 30
From AP Chapter 17: “A Student Leader Speaks Against the Vietnam War,”
“Weathermen Go Off the Deep End,” “A Yippie Call to Action,” “The Vice
President Protests Against the Protesters,” “NOW States Its Purpose,” “El Plan
de Aztlan,” and Armendo Rendon, “Lyndon Johnson Defines the US Role,”
“A Presidential Adviser is Pessimistic,” “A General Reassures the American
Public,” President Johnson and the Tet Offensive,” “Nixon Defends US
Action in Cambodia.”
November 24 & 26 (Thanksgiving observed Thursday and Friday)
The Nixon Era
Crisis of Confidence: The 1970s
Continue reading Henretta Chapter 30
From AP Chapter 18: “Vietnam and Military Morale,” “Congress Protects Its War
Making Prerogative,” “The Watergate Scandal and the Nixon White House,”
“An Environmentalist’s ‘Fable for Tomorrow,’” “Love Canal, New York,”
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“Environmentalists Issue a Warning,” “President Carter and Morality in US
Foreign Policy”
****Documents Analysis paper due Monday, Nov. 24 (in
class)****????
December 1, 3, 5
The 1970s;The Carter Presidency
From AP Chapter 18: “Carter Describes the National Mood,” “President Carter
Discusses the Oil Crisis,” “The Iranian Hostage Crisis,”
December 8, 10, 12
Conservatism and the Reagan Revolution
Neo-Conservatism and Global Terrorism
Read Henretta Chapter 31
From AP Chapter 18: “Ronald Reagan Accepts His Nomination,” “Ronald Reagan
Preaches to the Choir,” “Ronald Reagan: Second Inaugural,” George W. Bush
selections
Final exam schedule begins Monday Dec. 15.
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