History 102 U.S. History from 1877 to Present
Instructor: Mr. Vaughan
HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES FROM THE POST CIVIL WAR ERA
This course is dedicated to the propositions that those who forget the past tend to repeat it, those who
have never learned about it do not even know enough to forget it, and those who, through either
obliviousness or ignorance do not come to grips with it, will be at history’s mercy on the day when it
takes them by surprise and smirkingly lays them low. The following text has been assigned in a desperate
effort to remedy their plight, and is provided in class.
Foner, Eric; Give Me Liberty, 3nd Ed. W.W. Norton & Co:New York, New York; 2009.
Course Outline
This course provides an introduction to the important events and leading themes of Post-Civil War U.S.
History through to the present. The study of history is the study of different stories and different
perspectives. This class covers a great deal of time and space, so we can cover only some of the many
events, periods and important issues relevant to U.S. History. This course, therefore, cannot be
comprehensive, but is meant as a starting point to introduce students to topics that they may want to
pursue further on their own. We will look at different ways to consider the past—political, social, cultural
or economic. The primary objective of this course is to develop and expand the historical literacy of its
participants. This does not mean rote memorization of names and dates. Rather, it involves interacting
with historical content to extract from it larger meaning and significance. Historical inquiry is an active
pursuit that is meant to be engaged by those who study it. The benefits of such an approach offer
students not only a keener understanding of American history, but the enhancement of critical skills
applicable far beyond the scope of this class.
Course Objectives
Upon successful completion of the course, the student will be able to:
A. Identify and apply historiographic analysis.
B. Compare historiographic analysis with analytic methods of other social sciences.
C. Analyze the impact of immigration on American society and culture.
D. Compare and contrast regional Western, Southern, and North Eastern political, social and economic
developments after the Civil War.
E. Analyze the political and social effects of Reconstruction and its abandonment.
F. Trace post-reconstruction political development including Constitutional interpretations such as Plessy
v. Ferguson and Congressional actions such as the Chinese Exclusion Act, and analyze the social
effects.
G. Identify regional cause and effect relationships between technological and industrial developments of
the nineteenth century and Native American Wars.
H. Identify and analyze causal factors that produced populism, progressivism and socialism in America.
I. Trace the origin and development of American warfare and analyze their political, social, and economic
ramifications. Topics include, but is not limited to, the Spanish-American War and the “Philippine
Insurrection,” WWI and WWII, The Korean War, The Vietnam War, and the Gulf Wars.
J. Evaluate American Nativism.
K. Compare the Roaring 20s and Harlem Renaissance in the Republican Era.
L. Trace the origins and development of the Great Depression and analyze the effectiveness of the New
Deal.
M. Analyze the causal relationships between World War I, World War II and the Cold War.
N. Analyze the relationship between National movements and political action such as Japanese
internment, anti-communism, and citizen initiatives on immigration restriction.
O. Trace the origins and development of the various Civil Rights movements including but not limited to
the various ethnic civil rights movements, second wave feminism, the gay rights movement, and major
Supreme Court Constitutional interpretations such as Brown v. Board of Ed., Topeka, Kansas, Miranda v.
Arizona, Roe v. Wade.
P. Define the late 20th century as a post 9/11, “anti-terrorism” social, cultural, and political phenomenon.
Q. Evaluate the role of technology in 20th and 21st century America.
Writing-Intensive Course
History 101-102 are writing-intensive courses aiming to promote your compositional skill as well as enhance
your knowledge of American history. You will write something almost every week, although most assignments
will be fairly brief.
Assignments
You should complete the textbook assignment and complete the Chapter Summary assignment before
our
discussions. You are expected to attend regularly and participate in discussions.
The major written assignment (each quarter) will consist of a minimum 500 word research paper. The
paper must be word processed and double spaced; It will be submitted online through Turnitin.com. No
“hard” copy is required. Late papers will receive a serious deduction.
History 102 U.S. History from 1877
CCSD Credit(1/2 semester credit) and CSN Credit (3 CSN Undergraduate credits).
Grading
The quarterly term paper, the chapter summaries, and tests/quizzes each count for 25% of the final
grade. The chapter assignments will be submitted on or before the due date, no later than 11:59 P.M. on
the due date. The Chapter summaries (500 word minimum-see “word of caution” below) will be
submitted through Turnitin.com only. Since you may progress at your comfortable pace and complete
them at home, late Chapter Summaries receive serious deductions (see attached “Proclamation”). Class
participation will account for 5% of your final grade and the semester exam a further 20%. Class
participation will be evaluated on a combination of attendance and quality of discussion (which is not
identical to quantity).
The CCSD grading scale will be:
90-100% =A
80-89% =B
70-79% =C
60-69% =D
below 59% =F
The CSN grading scale will be:
93-100% = A
90-92 = A87-89
= B+
83-86
=B
80-82
= B77-79
= C+
73-77
=C
70-72
= C60-69
=D
0-59
=F
CCSD Grade computation
- Each quarter counts for 45%
- Semester Exam is 10% for all students
Grades figured on a 4.0 Scale
90-100%
80-89 %
70-79%
60-69%
59% down
A=4 points
B=3 points
C=2 points
D=1 point
F=0 points
Please note: Your CSN grade is computed as both quarter grades as of MAY 10. Your CCSD term project and
Final exam are NOT included in the CSN grade since it is due one month before the CCSD grade isn posted. In
many cases your CSN grade will not be the same as your CCSD grade and may be lower or higher, depending
on the quality of your CCSD work in the final month.
A word of caution: The Term Paper and Summaries should be in YOUR OWN WORDS. DO NOT
COPY OR PLAGIARIZE FROM THE TEXT, INTERNET, BOOK, OR ANOTHER STUDENT.
TURNITIN.COM CATCHES ALL OF IT. YOU WILL RECEIVE A –0- FOR THE ASSIGNMENT AND MAY
FAIL THE COURSE FOR “ACADEMIC DISHONESTY.” All instances of plagiarism are referred to the
Dean’s Office.
Week 1: Chapter 16, America’s Gilded Age, 1870-1890
Week 2 Chapter 17, Freedom’s Boundaries, at Home and Abroad, 1890-1900
Week 3 Chapter 18, The Progressive Era, 1900-1916
Week 4 Chapter 19, Safe for Democracy, The United States and World War I, 1916-1920
Week 5 Chapter 20, From Business Culture to Great Depression, The Twenties, 1920-1932
Week 6 The Roaring Twenties, The Dust Bowl and the Depression
Week 7 Chapter 21, The New Deal, 1932-1940
Week 8 Chapter 22, Fighting for the Four Freedoms, World War II, 1941-1945
Week 9 World War II in the Pacific and in Europe, 1942-1945
End of 1st Quarter
Week 10 Chapter 23, The United States and the Cold War, 1945-1953
Week 11 Chapter 24, An Affluent Society, 1953-1960
Week 12 Chapter 25, The Sixties, 1960-1968
Week 13 Chapter 26, The Triumph of Conservatism, 1969-1980
Week 14 Chapter 27, Globalization and Its Discontents, 1989-2000
Week 15 Chapter 28, 9-11 and the Next American Century
Week 16 American Policy, Foreign and Domestic
Week 17 Politics, the “Super Powers” and World Economy
Week 18 General Contemporary Discussion and Historical Analysis
Semester Exam
This class is required for graduation and a grade of A or B is expected for College Credit (to be fully
transferable). Students are expected to work to achieve knowledge that will serve them well in later life. If
you do all that is expected of you, this class can be fun and you will receive a good grade. This class is not
graded on a curve. There can be 40 "A's" to a class if all students earn them.
Conversely, if you choose to do little or nothing, you can also earn "F's." The choice is YOURS to
make. Good luck and let's have a great year!
NOTE:
It is the mission of Foothill High School that all students will graduate with a diploma which symbolizes their
preparedness to successfully enter college and the world of work. To achieve this, Foothill High School’s
homework and grading philosophy for the 2010-2011 reflects our motto, “Success is the Only Option.”
HOMEWORK: Homework is defined as any assignment that is completed during non-classroom time. These
assignments should reinforce, extend, and enrich class work to increase student achievement and to help
students develop good work habits. Homework is an important part of a student’s educational experience,
one that encourages self-discipline, organizational skills, and time management as students prepare for
upcoming lessons and exams.
CLASSWORK: Completion of class work and homework in a timely manner provides students and teachers
with feedback on progress toward mastery of skills. Student attendance is important for successful
completion of assignments in preparation for exams.
PARTICIPATION/EXTRA CREDIT: Participation and extra credit points do not reflect mastery of skills.
Participation is part of the regular classroom work and is not recommended as an additional grade. Extra
credit may be given if it is academic in nature and related to the concepts being taught.
GRADES: Grades should reflect the level of mastery that students have attained in the curriculum content;
therefore, tests, quizzes, projects, and performances are worth more points than homework and class work.
Students may retake summative tests for full credit if a failing score has been earned and formative tests may
be retaken at the teacher’s discretion as long as they have met the conditions set forth by the individual
teacher. Students are encouraged to see the teacher for individual help to master the necessary skills before
retaking the exam.
Our teachers and administrators are committed to providing the best educational opportunities for our
students. With the support of our parents and the school community, all of us can help students make the
right choices necessary to accomplish “Graduation for All.”
A PROCLAMATION
Regarding Late Papers
Whereas it may come to pass that one or more individuals, whether through dilatoriness, dereliction,
irresponsibility, or chutzpah, may seek respite and surcease from escritorial demands through
procrastination, delay, and downright evasion;
And whereas this unhappy happenstance contributes mightily to malfeasance on the part of parties of the
second part (i.e., students, the instructed, you) and irascibility on the part of us (i.e., me);
Be it therefore known, understood, apprehended, and comprehended:
That all assignments must reach us on or by the exact hour announced in class, and that failure to comply
with this wholesome and most generous regulation shall result in the assignment forfeiting one
letter grade each day for which it is tardy (i.e., an “A” shall become an “B”), “one day” being defined as a
24-hour period commencing at the announced hour on which the assignment is due; and that the
aforementioned reduction in grade shall continue for each succeeding day of delay until either the
assignment shall be remitted or its value shrunk unto nothingness. And let all acknowledge that the
responsibility for our receiving papers deposited surreptitio (i.e., via email or mailbox or under my door),
whether timely or belated, resides with the aforementioned second-part parties (i.e., you again), hence onus
for the miscarriage of such items falls upon the writer's head (i.e., until I clutch your scribbles to my
chest, we must assume you have not turned them in, all protestations to the contrary notwithstanding).
Be it nevertheless affirmed:
That the greater part of justice residing in mercy, it may behoove us, acting entirely through our gracious
prerogative, to award an extension in meritorious cases, such sufferance being granted only upon
consultation with us, in which case a negotiated due date shall be proclaimed; it being perfectly well
understood that failure to observe this new deadline shall result in the immediate and irreversible failure
of the assignment (i.e., an “F”), its value being accounted as a null set and less than that of a vile mote. And
be it further noted that routine disruptions to routine (i.e., lack of sleep occasioned by pink beagles dancing
on the ceiling) do not conduce to mercy, but that severe dislocations brought on by Acts of God
(exceedingly traumatic events to the body and/or soul, such as having the earth swallow one up on the
way to delivering the assignment) perpetrated either on oneself or on one's loving kindred, do.
And we wish to trumpet forth:
That our purpose in declaiming said proclamation, is not foremost to terminate the wanton flouting of our
didactic intentions but to encourage our beloved students to consult with us, and apprehend us of their
difficulties aforehand (i.e., talk to me), so that the cruel axe of the executioner fall not upon
their Grade Point Average and smite it with a vengeance.
To which proclamation, we do affix our seal: