ROWAN UNIVERSITY
UNITED STATES HISTORY SINCE 1865
Dr. Lawrence J. DeVaro
SYLLABUS
Spring 2008
Contents
Course Schedule………………………………………………
Course Overview………………………………………………
Course Outline and Required Texts……………………..
Discussion topics and discussion essays……………………..
Course Description, Objectives, Requirements…………….
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2-10
11-13
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Date
January 23
January 28
January 30
February 4
February 6
February 11
February 13
February 18
February 20
February 25
February 27
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March 3
March 5
March 10
March 12
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March 17
March 19
March 24
March 26
March 31
April 2
April 7
April 9
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April 14
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April 16
April 21
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April 23
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April 28
April 30
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May 5
May 6-10
COURSE SCHEDULE- Monday/Wednesday Class
Lecture Lecture topic and Assignments
Unit 1
Course Requirements; Reconstruction of the Republic, 1863-1877
Reconstruction of the Republic, 1863-1877
Unit 2
Development of the West; Emergence of Modern America, 1865-1900
Development of the West; Emergence of Modern America, 1865-1900
Unit 3
Capitalism Triumphant: Big Business and Labor, 1865-1900
Capitalism Triumphant: Big Business and Labor, 1865-1900; Quiz #1
Unit 4
Urbanization and Immigration: 1865-1914
Urbanization and Immigration: 1865-1914; Exam # 1
Unit 5
Gilded Age Politics, Stalemate and the Agrarian Revolt, 1865-1900
Gilded Age Politics, Stalemate and the Agrarian Revolt, 1865-1900
Unit 6
Progressivism from TR to Wilson: 1900-1920
Essay # 1 due and Class Discussion: Du Bois, The Souls of Black Folk
Progressivism from TR to Wilson: 1900-1920
Unit 7
Quest for Empire: Globalism #1, 1865-1917
Quest for Empire: Globalism #1, 1865-1917;
Unit 8
American Foreign Policy and the Great War (WWI): 1900-1920; Wheeler
essay due, Ch. 5
SPRING BREAK
SPRING BREAK
American Foreign Policy and the Great War (WWI): 1900-1920; Quiz #2
Unit 9
The New Era: The 1920s and the 20th Century; Wheeler essay due, Ch. 6
The New Era: The 1920s and the 20th Century; Exam # 2
Unit 10
The Great Depression and the New Deal: 1929-1940
Great Depression & the New Deal: 1929-1940, Wheeler essay due, Ch. 7
Unit 11
Isolation, Neutrality and World War II: 1920-1945; Video: Bataan Death
March
Isolation, Neutrality and World War II: 1920-1945; Video: Hiroshima:
The Decision to Drop the Bomb
Unit 12
American Foreign Policy: Post-War & Cold-War America, 1945-1990;
American Foreign Policy: Post-War & Cold-War America, 1945-1990;
Essay # 2 due and Class Discussion: Suri, Global Revolutions
Unit 13
Domestic Policy: New Deal Stasis & Fulfillment: 1945-1970, Wheeler
essay due, Ch. 10
Domestic Policy: New Deal Stasis and Fulfillment: 1945-1970
Unit 14
Redefining the Republic: Civil Rights, Vietnam, Watergate; Wheeler
essay due, Ch. 11
Unit 15
Redefining the Republic: Neo-Conservatism and Globalism # 2
FINAL EXAM WEEK; Commencement: May 16
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COURSE SCHEDULE- Tuesday/Thursday Class
Day
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Date
January 22
January 24
January 29
January 31
February 5
February 7
February 12
February 14
Lecture
Unit 1
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February 19
February 21
February 26
Unit 5
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February 28
March 4
March 6
March 11
March 13
March 18
March 20
March 25
March 27
April 1
April 3
April 8
R
April 10
T
R
April 15
April 17
Unit 12
T
April 22
Unit 13
R
T
April 24
April 29
Unit 14
R
May 1
May 6-10
Unit 2
Unit 3
Unit 4
Unit 6
Unit 7
Unit 8
Unit 9
Unit 10
Unit 11
Unit 15
Lecture topic and Assignments
Course Requirements; Reconstruction of the Republic, 1863-1877
Reconstruction of the Republic, 1863-1877
Development of the West; Emergence of Modern America, 1865-1900
Development of the West; Emergence of Modern America, 1865-1900
Capitalism Triumphant: Big Business and Labor, 1865-1900
Capitalism Triumphant: Big Business and Labor, 1865-1900
Urbanization and Immigration: 1865-1914
Urbanization and Immigration: 1865-1914
Exam # 1
Gilded Age Politics, Stalemate and the Agrarian Revolt, 1865-1900
Gilded Age Politics, Stalemate and the Agrarian Revolt, 1865-1900
Progressivism from TR to Wilson: 1900-1920
Essay # 1 due and Class Discussion: Du Bois, The Souls of Black Folk
Progressivism from TR to Wilson: 1900-1920
Quest for Empire: Globalism #1, 1865-1917
Quest for Empire: Globalism #1, 1865-1917; Wheeler essay due, Ch. 4
American Foreign Policy and the Great War (WWI): 1900-1920
American Foreign Policy and the Great War (WWI): 1900-1920
SPRING BREAK
SPRING BREAK
The New Era: The 1920s and the 20th Century; Wheeler essay due, Ch. 6
The New Era: The 1920s and the 20th Century; Exam # 2
The Great Depression and the New Deal: 1929-1940
Great Depression & the New Deal: 1929-1940, Wheeler essay due, Ch. 7
Isolation, Neutrality and World War II: 1920-1945; Video: Bataan Death
March
Isolation, Neutrality and World War II: 1920-1945; Video: Hiroshima:
The Decision to Drop the Bomb
American Foreign Policy: Post-War & Cold-War America, 1945-1990;
American Foreign Policy: Post-War & Cold-War America, 19451990;Essay # 2 due and Class Discussion: Suri, Global Revolutions
Domestic Policy: New Deal Stasis & Fulfillment: 1945-1970, Wheeler
essay due, Ch. 9
Domestic Policy: New Deal Stasis and Fulfillment: 1945-1970
Redefining the Republic: Civil Rights, Vietnam, Watergate; Wheeler
essay due, Ch. 10
Redefining the Republic: Neo-Conservatism and Globalism # 2
FINAL EXAM WEEK; Commencement: May 16
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COURSE OVERVIEW
In this survey of United States History Since 1865, we will focus on four (4) dominant themes:
(1.) Triumphant capitalism and consumerism
(2.) American hegemony and world leadership
(3.) Inherent tensions within the American republican form of government
(4.) Fulfilling the promise of the Declaration of Independence and the American Revolution
Each theme was formative in our history and continues to be so, and each presents major issues for
the American people and their government—issues which have been and continue to be part of the
public discourse. I believe that we are better able to understand the United States in 2006 through
comprehension and appreciation of each of these dominant themes, related issues in American
democracy and the ongoing public discourse. As we explore and deliberate each, you will formulate
your own interpretation.
COURSE OUTLINE
1. RECONSTRUCTION OF THE REPUBLIC: 1863-1877
Required Reading: Norton, Chapter 16.
Questions:
 What did the Civil War settle?
 What were American attitudes toward race?
 How and why did Reconstruction change between 1863 and 1877?
 How successful was Reconstruction?
 Why did Reconstruction end in 1877? What was the Compromise of 1877?
 What is the status of African-Americans by 1900?
 How is the history of Reconstruction written after 1877?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Lincoln on Reconstruction and Race
Presidential Reconstruction, 1865-1867
Congressional Reconstruction, 1867-1877
The Election of 1876 and the Compromise of 1877
Reconstruction historiography
Reconciling republic and race
2. THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE WEST & THE EMERGENCE OF MODERN
AMERICA: 1865-1900
Required Reading: Norton, Chapter 17.
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Questions:
 What were the competing interests in the West after the Civil War?
 What was the role of the railroad in the West’s development?
 How did federal policy stimulate western settlement? Who were the winners and losers?
 What was the impact of federal policy and railroad development on western Indians and
American settlers?
 How did western farmers respond to industrialization?
 What is Frederick Jackson Turner’s Frontier Thesis? How valid is it?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
2.
Competing interests in the West: Miners, Farmers, Cattlemen, and western Indians
Railroad development and affect on the west and western Indians
Post-Civil War agricultural revolution and its impact: Emergence of Populism
The West and the South in the Post-Civil War Era
The Turner (Frontier) Thesis
Reconciling republic and empire
CAPITALISM TRIUMPHANT: BIG BUSINESS AND LABOR: 1865-1900
Required Reading: Norton, Chapter 18.
Questions:
 What are the prerequisites for industrialization?
 How did industrialization develop in the United States?
 How do we explain the public ambivalence toward the unregulated competition of the postCivil War age? What was Social Darwinism and how was it useful to Americans in resolving
their ambivalence?’
 How did business, labor, government and the public respond to industrialization’s problems?
 What hurdles did labor confront in organizing and what were labor’s successes and failures?
 What was the cost/benefit of industrialization in a democratic republic?
1. Causes and nature of industrialization: railroads, iron, oil, steel (and coal), utilities,
retailing and banking
2. Economic conditions, institutions, policies and ideology facilitating industrialization
3. Labor’s response to industrialism
4. Role of the Federal Government in regulating industry and labor: Executive, Legislative
and Judicial responses
5. Minorities, women, children, and industrialization
6. Assessment of the labor movement
7. Reconciling competition and regulation
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3.
URBANIZATION AND IMMMIGRATION: 1865-1914
Required Reading: Norton, Chapters 19
Questions:
 How did urbanization change American society?
 How did immigration affect urbanization?
 What obstacles did immigrants have to overcome in adapting to American life?
 Why was acculturation to America difficult for Catholic immigrants?
 What was the cost/benefit of America’s open door policy for European immigrants before
1920?
 What were the arguments for and against a restricted immigration policy?
 What were the roots, nature and consequences of nativism?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
4.
Causes and nature of urbanization; affects on urban residents and living conditions
“Old” immigrants, “New” immigrants, cultural conflict and cultural pluralism
Non-white Americans, cultural conflict and cultural pluralism
The impact of immigration on American economic, political, and social life.
Leisure time, American mobility, cultural change and urbanization
Reconciling urbanization and the agrarian myth
GILDED AGE POLITICS, STALEMATE AND THE AGRARIAN REVOLT:
1865-1900
Required Reading: Norton, Chapter 20
Questions:
 How did Americans view the right to vote?
 What was the nature of the two political parties?
 What other means did Americans use to access the political system? How successful were
they?
 Were democracy and economic equality possible in an industrial society?
 How successful was the Populist movement in reconciling democracy and economic equality
with corporate capitalism?
1. Voting in Post-Civil War America: Woman suffrage movement and African-American
disfranchisement
2. Characteristics of American politics and political equilibrium; conservatism and the two
parties
3. Alternatives to Voting: Civic Engagement and public discourse
4. Causes and nature of farmer discontent; political activism among farmers and urban
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workers;
5. Third Party Politics: Election of 1896 and the Populist Party
6. Reconciling the Party System and Third Parties
5.
PROGRESSIVISM FROM T.R. TO WILSON: 1900-1920
Required Reading: Norton, Chapter 21
Questions:
 What were the antecedents of Progressivism?
 What was Progressivism and who were the Progressives?
 How did Theodore Roosevelt reflect the spirit of the age?
 What were the successes and failures of the Roosevelt, Taft and Wilson administrations?
 How do we assess Roosevelt, Taft and Wilson as successful leaders?
 What was the legacy of Progressivism?
1. Development of Progressivism, varied positions of Progressives, and the impact of
Progressive reforms on American society
2. The Process of Progressivism
3. Development and nature of the socialist movement; compared with Progressivism.
4. Reactionary Aspects of Progressivism: Class, Race and Gender
5. Comparison of Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft and Woodrow Wilson and
their administrations’ successes and failures
6. Consequences and Assessment of Progressivism
7. Reconciling republic and strong central government
6.
QUEST FOR EMPIRE: GLOBALISM # 1, 1865-1917
Required Reading: Norton, Chapter 22.
Questions:
 What was the extent of globalism after 1865?
 Why do nations engage in imperialism? colonialism? expansionism?
 What were the antecedents of American expansionism and imperialism?
 What are the pro and con arguments of imperialism?
 What were its successes and failures?
 What was the impact of expansionism and imperialism on American society?
1. Globalism # 1, 1865-1914, development and dismantling
2. Causes and nature of Expansionism (imperialism) in Asia and Latin America; affect on
American society.
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3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
The imperialist and anti-imperialist arguments and their impact
The Spanish-American War of 1898
TR’s Big Stick, Taft’s Dollar Diplomacy and Wilson’s Missionary Diplomacy
Reconciling republic and empire
AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY AND THE GREAT WAR: 1900-1920
Required Reading: Norton, Chapter 23
Questions:
 What were the antecedents of American neutrality?
 What were the causes of the First World War?
 What conditions led the United States to abandon its tradition of neutrality and isolation from
Europe from 1914-1917?
 What was the nature of opposition to the war?
 How did the war affect Americans on the home front?
 How did Wilson plan to make the “world safe for democracy?” How successful was Wilson?
 What role would the United States play as a world leader in 1920?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
8.
Causes of the war and the causes, nature and outcome of American neutrality
America’s role in World War I and consequences of American involvement
Affect of the war on women, minorities, labor, business and civil liberties
The nature of the peace and the new, implied international role for the Untied States
Reconciling entangling alliances and republic
THE NEW ERA: THE 1920S AND THE 20TH CENTURY
Required Reading: Norton, Chapter 24
Questions:
 How new was “The New Era?”
 How did “The New Era” expose the fault lines in the United States?
 What were the fault lines?
 What happened to Progressivism during the 1920s?
 How did technology affect the lives of American women? How so the vote?
 How did the economic climate of the 1920s prepare the way for the Great Depression?
1. Economic characteristics and the agricultural depression of the 1920s
2. Political, social and economic aspects and implications of Harding and Coolidge
administrations.
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3. The nature of minorities and women in the United States; their response to their roles
4. Causes or resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan, Christian fundamentalism, prohibition,
xenophobia.
5. Consumerism and urbanization’s continuing role in shaping American culture
6. Reconciling republic and the new woman
9.
THE GREAT DEPRESSION AND THE NEW DEAL: 1929-1940
Required Reading: Norton, Chapter 25
Questions:
 What were the causes of the Great Depression? How did it differ from previous depressions?
 To what extent did policies of the federal government contribute to the Great Crash and the
Great Depression?
 What were the antecedents and evolution of the New Deal?
 What were Herbert Hoover’s strengths and weaknesses?
 Why did the American people elect Roosevelt to a third term?
 What was the New Deal legacy of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt?
1. Causes and nature of the Great Depression and Herbert Hoover’s response
2. The evolution and impact of New Deal policies and legislation under Franklin Roosevelt
and Congress
3. Emergence, make up and consequences of the New Deal Coalition.
4. New Deal legacy of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt
5. Reconciling republic and strong central government
6. Reconciling the public good and individualism
10.
ISOLATIONISM, NEUTRALITY AND WORLD WAR II: 1920-1945
Required Reading: Norton, Chapters 26, 27.
Questions:
 Why did the United States return to a policy of neutrality and isolationism from Europe after
the First World War?
 What were the causes of the Second World War?
 Why did the United States abandon neutrality again in favor of intervention on the side of
Great Britain?
 How did technological developments change the nature of future warfare?
 Since Japan and not Germany had attacked the United States at Pearl Harbor, why did the
United States make the defeat of Germany the first priority?
 Besides the atomic bomb, what other viable options did the United States have in forcing
Japan to surrender?
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
How does one assess Truman’s decision to use the atomic bomb to force Japan’s surrender?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
11.
Fascism and Communism
Japanese and Italian aggression: From Manchuria to Pearl Harbor
Adolf Hitler and German Blitzkrieg
US Policy and actions toward Germany and Japan
US evolution from Neutrality to Intervention
The United Nations
Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Reconciling republic and American global hegemony
AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY: THE COLD WAR AND POST-WAR
AMERICA: 1945-1990
Required Reading: Norton, Chapters 28, 29
Questions:
 What were the origins of the Cold War? What were FDR’s, Truman’s and Stalin’s roles?
 What were the causes of the Korean War?
 How did America’s foreign policy in Korea differ from its policy in the Second World War?
 What was McCarthyism and why was domestic communism a serious concern in the early
1950s? Was it justifiable in any way?
 To what extent did the Korean War influence the United States in its policy toward Vietnam?
 What reason best explains the decision of the United States to become involved in Vietnam?
 What was the legacy of Vietnam vis-à-vis American hegemony and world leadership?
 How and why did the Cold War end?
 Was the world more or less dangerous as a result of nuclear weapons in the Cold War?
1. Evolution and nature of Cold War diplomacy from the Truman Doctrine to the collapse
of the Soviet Union in the 1990s.
2. Containment as policy and action
3. Korea and Vietnam as containment
4. Diplomatic events in Europe, the Middle East, Latin America and Asia from 1945-1991.
5. The End of the Cold War and the “New World Order”
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12.
DOMESTIC POLICY: NEW DEAL STASIS AND EXPANSION IN POST-WAR
AMERICA: 1945-1970
Required Reading: Norton, Chapters 29, 30.
Questions:
 What were the significant domestic accomplishments of Harry S Truman?
 To what extent does the Eisenhower domestic policy conform to the New Deal?
 How were the New Frontier, and more so the Great Society, expressions of New Deal
expansion?
 What were the reasons for American economic prosperity in the postwar period?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
GI Bill
Taft-Hartley Act
Anti-communist hysteria of the prewar and post-war years and American response to
Development and nature of domestic policies from Truman to Johnson
Pivotal Presidential Politics from 1948-1968
Middle Class America
13.
REDEFINING THE REPUBLIC: CIVIL RIGHTS, VIETNAM AND
WATERGATE
Required Reading: Norton Chapters 31
Questions:
 Why was the Civil Rights movement referred to as the Second Reconstruction?
 What triggered the movement in the 1950s and why had it runs its course by 1970?
 What were the accomplishments and failures of the Civil Rights movement?
 What were the roots of the Women’s Rights movement and how did it intersect with the Civil
Rights movement?
 What other “isms” forced a redefining of the American republic?
 How did the Vietnam experience redefine the republic in terms of American hegemony in the
world?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Civil rights movement in the 1950s
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 1954
Civil Rights movement and the Great Society
Women’s Rights movement
Other “Isms”
In the Wake of Vietnam
In the Wake of Watergate
Reconciling republic and other “Isms”
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14.
REDEFINING THE REPUBLIC: CONSERVATISM, LIBERALISM, CENTRISM
AND GLOBALISM # 2
Required Reading: Norton, Chapters 32, 33
Questions:
 What were the reasons for the re-emergence of American conservatism?
 To what extent do the Democratic administrations of Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton conform
to American conservatism? What are the similarities and differences of each vis-à-vis the New
Deal and the Great Society? To what extent does the Nixon presidency conform to the New
Deal and Great Society?
 What is the significance of the election of two southerners as president from 1976-1992?
 How, and to what extent, did the Reagan Administration dismantle the New Deal and Great
Society programs?
 How Globalism reconstructed after 194`5 and what was was the role of the United States in
this process?
 Wither the republic in the 21st Century?
1. Richard Nixon and the rise of American conservatism
2. The polices, programs and problems of Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter
3. The election of 1980 and the Reagan Revolution; economic, domestic and foreign
policies.
4. Minorities, women, labor and the poor under Reagan
5. Issues and nature of the 1992 presidential election campaign.
6. Domestic policies and programs of the G.W.H. Bush and Clinton administrations
7. “The New Economy” and Globalization
8. Foreign policy and terrorism under G.W.H. Bush and Clinton administrations
9. September 11 and the war on terrorism
10. Reconciling American exceptionalism and globalism
11. Reconciling libery and security
12. Wither the republic in 2005 and beyond?
REQUIRED TEXTS:




Mary Beth Norton et. al., A People and a Nation: Volume 2: Since 1865 (7th Edition); this
is the anchor text for the course.
W. E. B. DuBois, The Souls of Black Folk
Ernest R. May, ed., American Cold War Strategy: Interpreting NSC 68
Wheeler, William B. and Susan D. Becker, eds., Discovering the American Past: A Look
at the Evidence, Vol. 2 since 1865 (6th Edition)
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BOOK ESSAYS:
Book Assignment # 1: W.E.B. Du Bois, The Souls of Black Folk (TBA)
Book Assignment # 2: Ernest R. May, American Cold War Strategy: Interpreting NSC 68
(TBA)
DISCUSSION ESSAY ASSIGNMENTS:
Assignment # 1: Propaganda during World War I
Required reading: Wheeler and Becker, Chapter 5, “Homogenizing a Pluralistic Nation:
Propaganda During World War I”
After reading the entire chapter, with a careful and critical reading of the “The Evidence”,
answer the following questions, using at least five (5) sources as evidence to support your
position; select at least one source from each of these categories: posters, newspaper
advertisements, excerpts from speeches by Four Minute Men, song lyrics, and commercial firm
advertisements.
1. How did the government attempt to mobilize the opinion of a diverse American public in
support of a united war effort?
2. What were the consequences—positive and negative—of this effort?
Assignment # 2: Select one of following for your second assignment:
1. Required Reading: Wheeler and Becker, Chapter 6, “The ‘New’ Woman: Social Science
Experts and the Redefinition of Women’s Roles in the 1920s”
2. Required Reading: Wheeler and Becker, Chapter 7, “Documenting the Depression: The
FSA Photographers and Rural Poverty”
3. Required Reading: Wheeler and Becker, Chapter 10, “A Generation in War and Turmoil:
The Agony of Vietnam”
4. Required Reading: Wheeler and Becker, Chapter 11, “A Nation of Immigrants: The
California Experience”
Instructions:
 Select one of the following chapters—6, 7, 10 or 11—and write a discussion essay on the
discussion question.
 Per syllabus requirements, papers are not to exceed 2 pages in length, double-spaced (not
space and a half), Times or Ariel font and 12 font size.
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
Include direct quotations as evidence, citing the source # and page # (and ¶ # if the
source is lengthy).
Wheeler Chapter 6, The New Woman: Social Science Experts and the Redefinition of
Women’s Roles in the 1920s
After reading the entire chapter, with a careful and critical reading of the “The Evidence” select
five (5) representative documents and analyze each using the “Methods” questions 1-3, p. 164.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Assess each of the five documents and apply questions 1-3
Include direct quotes from these primary sources to support your statements
Absolutely do not exceed 2-3 pages
Source, page and line number must be included for each quotation
(example: “Home-making is the finest job in the world, and it is the aim of this book to
make it as interesting as satisfying as it is important.” (Source 7, line 1, 177).
Wheeler Chapter 7, Documenting the Depression: The FSA Photographers and Rural
Poverty
After reading the entire chapter, with a careful and critical reading of the “The Evidence” select
three (3) representative photos and analyze and discuss in answering following questions:
1. What messages did the photographs send to the middle-class Americans who saw them?
2. What major problems did the photographs portray, and what kinds of programs did FSA
propose to try to aid poor farmers?
3. Why do you think these documentary photographs were so effective in creating sympathy
and support for aid to these farmers?
4. Do the photographs present a balanced or biased view?
Wheeler Chapter 10, A Generation in War and Turmoil: The Agony of Vietnam
After reading the entire chapter, with a careful and critical reading of the “The Evidence” select
four (4) oral interview documents-- two (2) anti-war protestors and two (2) veterans and analyze
and discuss in answering following questions; be sure that your selection is representative of the
sample, i.e., do not select two interviewees whose thinking is similar; feel free to include
photograph documents in your discussion as additional evidence:
Protestors:
1. What were the motives for enlisting in the war or what was their reaction to being
drafted?
2. Why did they become involved in antiwar protests and how did they differ in their
opposition to the war?
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Veterans:
3. What were their feelings about the Vietnamese people?
4. What did they believe were the reasons for American involvement in the war? Did they
agree or disagree with the reasons?
Wheeler, Chapter 11, A Nation of Immigrants, The California Experience
After reading the entire chapter, with a careful and critical reading of “the Evidence” answer the
following questions by discussing a variety of representative sources; cite the sources that you
believe provide the best evidence to support your conclusions.
Question: What were the difficulties encountered by immigrants and how did they respond to
these problems? To what degree does opportunity still exist for newcomers to this country?
COURSE DESCRIPTION, OBJECTIVES, POLICY
Objectives
A. To cultivate an appreciation and understanding of American History in order to become
more informed and responsive citizens.
B. To develop an historical perspective on the political, social, economic, intellectual and
cultural antecedents of American civilization, thereby enhancing our understanding of
contemporary America.
C. To heighten our sense of participation in the process of change over time (and continuity
over time) and our sense of human accomplishments and failures; of human potential and
limitations.
D. To develop an understanding of the complexity of causation and consequence in the
chronological sequence of historical events.
E. To develop knowledge of the institutions that are the framework of our daily life and
behavior.
F. To understand the subjective nature of history and the importance of reinterpretation of
the past through familiarity with American historiography and through original, thorough
and honest research.
G. To appreciate the interaction of continuity and change in American History and to better
understand change over time.
I. To better understand the past and present and to plan for the future, mindful that history
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is not predictive.
Requirements
A.
Attendance
Your attendance is required and essential if you are to derive the full benefit of the course.
Attendance is also a measure of your interest in and commitment to the course. Therefore
attendance will be taken before each class. "In attendance" means remaining for the entire class.
Students are responsible for all material covered regardless of an absence. Four absences may be
excused, which means that no explanation is required. Excessive absences (more than four) will
result in a lower grade point average for the semester. No make-up examinations will be
permitted without a signed note by a physician indicating that absence from class was due to
illness.
Audio (tape) recorders, ipods and the like are not permitted in class; cell phones must be in
silent mode. Cell phones are NOT permitted in the classroom during examinations.
B.
Discussion Assignments
Assigned discussion topics and formal discussion are interspersed throughout the semester. Students
are required to attend and participate in each of these class discussions.
Discussion Assignments: You are required to write two brief essays (no more than two, doublespaced typed pages, 12 font size, Times New Roman or Arial font style, totaling 500 words or
less) on an assigned discussion question (See discussion topics above).
No late assignments will be accepted. Assignments are due in class on their due dates; students
who have a physician’s note may submit them as e-mail attachments; Please note that these
essays are a requirement and are not optional. Failure to complete discussion essay assignments
will result in a lower grade point average for the semester.
15
Guidelines for Use of Primary Sources as Evidence:



Use direct quotations only; do not paraphrase the evidence.
Enclose quotations with quotation marks.
Quotations should not exceed six (6) typed lines of text (four (4) is optimal) and must
be incorporated into the text (double spaced); do not offset and single space
quotations.
 Include the page number in parentheses, ex: (p. 42); this shortened source note is
acceptable as everyone will be using assigned sources. Where more than one primary
source is used, such as in the Wheeler text, include the source number and page, ex:
(Source 3, p. 42).
 DO NOT USE OR QUOTE SECONDARY SOURCES AS EVIDENCE FOR
THESE ASSIGNMENTS. As you know, quoting secondary sources is perfectly
acceptable in historical writing, but not for these primary source assignments.
Plagiarism: Whenever we use another person’s words or ideas as our own, we are being dishonest.
It is unethical; it is also illegal. When we use another’s words, we enclose them with quotation
marks (“ ”) and we refer to this as a direct quotation. Paraphrasing is the summarizing (in our own
words) of another person’s words or ideas. Whether we use direct quotations or paraphrasing, we
must cite the author of those words or ideas. If we do not acknowledge another’s work we commit
plagiarism, which is theft, whether intentional or unintentional. Anyone who submits plagiarized
work in this class will receive a grade of F for the course. If you have any questions or concerns
about proper citation or acknowledgement of another’s work, please ask me. Also remember that
for these class assignments, paraphrasing is not permissible.
Policy on Extra Credit: As a rule I do not offer extra credit assignments. On those rare
occasions when extra credit is available, it will be offered as an additional opportunity to develop
your research and critical thinking and writing skills; this in turn will help you to develop a better
argument and to write a better essay. However, extra credit is not a substitute for writing an
acceptable essay examination; extra credit can only help with your grade if your course average
is on the threshold of the next grade level. For those rare occasions when extra credit is offered,
please note the following requirements:
(1.) Only students who have completed all required assignments are eligible to submit extra
credit essays
(2.) Extra credit assignments may be handed in at any time up to the last class lecture; no extra
credit will be accepted at the time of the final examination.
C.
Examinations.
Essay questions will test your understanding and grasp of the broad sweep of history, concepts and
ideas, a grasp of change over time, historical trends, causes, consequences and significance of
events and an ability to think and write critically. Although the primary focus of this course is not
16
upon factual information, as in any discipline, one cannot make a reasoned case without data to
support an argument. Therefore essays will be evaluated for clear, concise prose crafted in complete
sentences; for organization, including sufficient factual information (names, dates, other facts), that
supports your statements. You will be expected to draw upon lectures, discussions, the Norton
and Wheeler texts and class handouts, as well as independent study and sources. Note: not all
internet sources are created equal. Use official sites such as government archives (.gov),
historical societies (.org), and university-academic based sites (.edu.
D.
Office Hours
I will be available before class or after class and office hours are by appointment. I can always be
reached by e-mail, devaro@rowan.edu (please note that is L DeVaro and not # 1 DeVaro), or you
may leave a message for me with the History Department, 856-256-4500, x3990. E-mail is the most
efficient and timely way for us to communicate.
E.
A
B
C
D
F
Grades
90-100 %
80-89 %
70-79 %
60-69 %
Below 60 %
Excellent
Good
Average
Passing
Failure
Course grade components:
First Exam
Second Exam
Third Exam
The Souls of Black Folk Essay # 1
Cold War Essay # 2
Quiz # 1
Quiz # 2
Class Discussion/Essays/Attendance
TOTAL
20
20
20
10
10
5
5
10
100%
17
IDENTIFICATIONS
Reconstruction of the Republic and Race Relations, 1863-1913
Lincoln’s 10 Percent Plan
Wade Davis Bill, 1864
Radical Republicans
13th Amendment, 1865
14th Amendment, 1868
15th Amendment, 1870
Black codes
Carpetbaggers
Scalawags
NAACP, 1909
50th Anniversary of Battle of
Gettysburg, 1913
Ku Klux Klan
Sharecropping
Crop-lien System
Freedmen’s Bureau
Civil rights bill of 1866
Civil Rights Act, 1875
Civil Rights Cases, 1883
Atlanta Compromise, 1895
Plessy v. Ferguson, 1896
The “Talented Tenth”
Development of the West; Emergence of Modern America, 1865-1900
Comstock Lode
Open Range Ranching
Long drive
Homestead Act, 1862
Timber and Stone Act
Morrill Land Grant Acts, 1862, 1890
Hatch Act, 1887
Turner (Frontier) Thesis
Dawes Severalty Act, 1887
Battle of Little Big Horn, 1876
Massacre at Wounded Knee, 1890
Ghost Dance Movement
Exodusters
Capitalism Triumphant: Big Business and Labor, 1865-1900
Laissez-Faire Conservatism
The “iron law of wages”
Charles Darwin, Origin of Species, 1860
Social Darwinism
James Bryce, American Commonwealth, 1888
Edward Bellamy, Looking Backward, 1888
Interstate Commerce Act, 1887
Sherman Antitrust Act, 1890
The National Labor Union
Knights of Labor
American Federation of Labor
Industrial Workers of the World
Gospel of Wealth
Haymarket Riot, 1886
Homestead Strike, 1892
Pullman Strike, 1894
The trust
Urbanization and Immigration: 1865-1914
African American migration
Political machines
The Birth of a Nation
Yellow journalism
18
Urban reform movement
Social reformers
"Social Gospel"
Pragmatism
Mass circulation magazines
Settlement houses
Nativism
Gilded Age Politics, Stalemate and the Agrarian Revolt, 1865-1900
Bland-Allison Act, 1878
Pendleton Civil Service Act, 1883
Sherman Silver Purchase Act, 1890
Coxey’s Army, 1894
“Cross of Gold” Speech, 1896
Credit Mobilier, 1873
Tweed Ring
The Grange movement
Farmers Alliance, 1877
Stalwarts
Halfbreeds
Mugwumps
“waving the bloody shirt”
Grand Army of the Republic.
The “Crime of ‘73”
“Billion Dollar Congress”
Progressivism from TR to Wilson: 1900-1920
The “Talented Tenth”
NAACP, 1909
Northern Securities Case, 1904
Hepburn Act, 1906
New Nationalism
New Freedom
16th Amendment, 1913
17th Amendment, 1913
Underwood Simmons Tariff, 1913
Glass-Owens Act (Federal Reserve Act) 1913
19th Amendment, 1920
Square Deal
Anthracite Coal Strike, 1902
Newlands Reclamation Act, 1902
Mann Act, 1910
Mann-Elkins Act, 1913
The Niagara movement
Clayton Anti-Trust Act, 1914
Pure Food and Drug Act, 1906
Upton Sinclair The Jungle, 1905
The Meat Inspection Act, 1906
Quest for Empire: Globalism #1, 1865-1917;
Capt. Alfred T. Mahan
Monroe Doctrine
Roosevelt Corollary
De Lôme Letter
Dollar Diplomacy
Open Door Policy
Platt Amendment
"Gentlemen's Agreement"
Teller Amendment 1898
Burlingame Treaty
Missionary Diplomacy
Pan-American Conference of 1889
Big Stick
McKinley Tariff of 1890
Venezuelan crisis of 1895
The Spanish-American War
Boxer Rebellion, 1900
Portsmouth Conference, 1905
Root-Takahira Agreement, 1908
The Taft-Katsura Memorandum, 1905
Hay-Pauncefote Treaty of 1901
Panama Canal
19
American Foreign Policy and the Great War (WWI): 1900-1920
Proclamation of Neutrality
Lusitania, 1915
Francisco “Pancho” Villa
The National Defense Act, 1916
The Navy Act, 1916
Commission on Training Camp Activities
War Industries Board, 1917
National War Labor Board, 1918
“Peace without Victory”
Espionage and Sedition Acts, 1918
Committee on Public Information
Red Scare
Influenza pandemic
Versailles Treaty, 1919
Missionary Diplomacy
Demobilization
Zimmermann Telegram
League of Nations, 1919
Fourteen Points, 1918
Irreconcilables
The New Era: The 1920s and the 20th Century
Normalcy
Sacco-Vanzetti Trial, 1921
Prohibition
Scopes Monkey Trial, 1925
Reconstruction Finance Corporation, 1932
Federal Farm Board, 1929
The Bonus Army, 1932
Ku Klux Klan
Harlem Renaissance, 1949-1929
Henry Ford
Teapot Dome Scandal, 1923
Budget and Accounting Act
National Origins Act, 1924
Indian Rights Association
Bureau of Indian Affairs
General Federation of Women’s Clubs
National Woman’s Party, 1913
League of Women Voters
The Great Depression and the New Deal: 1929-1940
Agricultural Adjustment Administration-AAA, 1933
National Industrial Recovery Act-NIRA, 1933
National Recovery Administration
Works Progress Administration-WPA, 1933
Public Works Administration-PWA, 1933
Tennessee Valley Authority-TVA, 1933
Civilian Conservation Corp
Federal Emergency Relief Act, 1933
National (Wagner) Labor Relations Act, 1935
Social Security Act, 1935
Keynesian Economics (Deficit Spending)
Revenue Act of 1932
Roosevelt’s fireside chats
“Okies” and “Arkies”
The Dust Bowl
Second New Deal
Scottsboro trials
20th Amendment, 1933
Congress of Industrial Organizations
Indian Reorganization Act, 1934
"Brains Trust"
21st Amendment, 1933
Isolation, Neutrality and World War II: 1920-945
Nye Report
Neutrality Acts, 1935, 1936, 1937
Ludlow Amendment
Jones Act of 1917
Fascism
Rome-Berlin Axis and Anti-Comintern Pact
20
Lend-Lease Act, 1941
Washington Disarmament Conference
Kellog-Briand Pact, 1928
Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, 1941
Atlantic Charter, 1941
Battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa, 1945
the Teheran Conference, 1943
Hiroshima and Nagasaki, 1945
The Battle of the Bulge, 1944-45
The Dumbarton Oaks Conference, 1944
Alien Registration (Smith) Act, 1940
Potsdam Conference, 1945
Appeasement
Munich Conference
Nazi-Soviet Pact
The Stimson Doctrine, 1931
Manhattan Project
D-Day, June 6, 1944
Comm. on Wartime Relocation & Internment of Civilians
“Double V” Campaign
Bataan Death March, 1942
Yalta Conference, 1945
Communism
Rosie the Riveter
The “missile gap” 1960
American Foreign Policy: The Cold War & Post-War America,
1945-1990;
The Cold War
Churchill’s “Iron Curtain” speech
Containment
The Marshall Plan
Berlin blockade and airlift, 1949-50
Truman Doctrine, 1947
Warsaw Pact, 1947
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), 1949
Korea
Domino theory
My Lai massacre
The Nixon Doctrine, 1969
The Pentagon Papers, 1971
War Powers Act of 1973
Détente, 1972
SALT-I agreements and SALT-II treaty, 1972
Nixon’s China Trip, 1972
Perestroika and glasnost
GI Bill of Rights, 1944 (Second, 1966)
Taft-Hartley Act, 1947
Dixiecrats
McCarthyism
Alger Hiss Investigation and Trial, 1948-1950
Internal Security Act of 1950
The Highway Act of 1956
Military-industrial complex
War on Poverty
21
The 1954 Geneva accords
The Suez crises, 1956
Eisenhower Doctrine, 1957
South East Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO)
The Bay of Pigs invasion, 1961
The Cuban missile crisis, 1962
The Alliance for Progress, 1961
The Peace Corp
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, 1964
Vietnam
Tet Offensive, 1968
OPEC oil embargo, 1974
Vietnamization
Carter Doctrine, 1980
Camp David Accords, 1978
Iran-Contra scandal, 1986
Iranian hostage crisis, 1979-1981
Panama Canal treaties of 1977
Rachel Carson, Silent Spring
New Frontier
Warren Commission, 1964
24th Amendment, 1964
Great Society
The Immigration & Nationality Act of 1965
Supreme Court’s school-prayer decision
Medicare and Medicaid Programs, 1965
Domestic Policy: New Deal Stasis and Fulfillment: 1945-1970
Brown v. Brd. of Education of Topeka, 1954
The Little Rock crisis, 1957
Rosa Parks
The Other America
Southern Christian Leadership Conference
(SCLC)
Montgomery bus boycott, 1955-56
Civil Rights Acts, 1964, 1965, 1968
Affirmative Action
Watergate Affair, 1972-1974
Voting Rights Act of 1965
Black Power
Counterculture
Betty Freidan, The Feminine Mystique
National Organization of Women (WOW)
Equal Rights Amendment (ERA)
Roe vs. Wade, 1973
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), 1990
Redefining the Republic: Conservatism, Liberalism and Centrism
Dual status of Native Americans
Nixon’s “southern strategy”
The Moral Majority
United Farm Workers
The Reagan Revolution
The Simpson-Rodino Act, 1986
Supply-side economics
The antifeminist (“pro-family”) movement
The “Revolution” of 1994
The anti-abortion (pro-life”) movement
North American Free Trade Org. (NAFTA)
The homeless
The Persian Gulf War
The AIDS epidemic
Health care reform
The Graham-Rudman-Hollings Act, 1985
27th Amendment, 1992
The globalization of American culture
The “Contract with America”
Whitewater scandal, 1993
Ross Perot and the Independent Party
Clinton-Lewinsky affair, 1998
The contested presidential election of 2000
Impeachment and Acquittal of President Clinton, 1999
22