Nancy K. Bristow
Office: Wyatt 140
Phone: 879-3173
Email: nbristow@ups.edu
Office Hours:
M/W/F 9:00-10:50
and by appointment
American Experiences II:
1877 to the Present
Spring 2016
T
his course is designed to introduce you to some of the central topics and issues in American history
from 1877 to the present while also providing you with the opportunity to gain a working
understanding of the historical and humanistic perspectives embodied in the methods of the
historian. The course adopts a broad conception of history, and will touch on aspects of the
political, social, cultural, economic, diplomatic and military history of the nation. It will also explore the
diversity of the American past, incorporating into our investigations the intersecting complexity and range
of ethnic, racial and gender groups as well as social and economic classes that have peopled that history.
This course will attempt to grant all Americans their roles as historical actors, exploring the multiple
influences involved in shaping the United States. While this will make for a complicated picture of the
American past, it is only with that complexity intact that we can hope to understand this nation’s history.
The period we will be studying is a dynamic one, filled with dramatic change for the United States. A rural
nation devoted to agriculture in 1877, the United States was nevertheless already involved in a process of
industrialization and urbanization that was irreversible. Based in ideals of freedom and equality, the nation
continued to reflect vast disparities in rights and opportunities based in social categories such as (but not
limited to) race, class, gender, sexuality and religion. Purportedly isolationist in 1877, by the turn of the
twentieth century the United States was increasingly engaged in actions overseas, another trend that would
persist with seeming inevitability. Confronted with a changing nation and a changing world, Americans in
the period since 1877 have wrestled with insistent issues of identity. Who, they have asked, is an
American? What are the shared values that can be understood to define this American? What rights does
this identity impart? What responsibilities? Over the course of this semester we will explore the changes
that have taken place in this nation since 1877, as well as the ways in which Americans have wrestled with
those changes in their debates over national identity.
While this course will acquaint you with the general
outline of American history, it will also be important for
“History…does not refer merely to
the past…history is literally
each of you to develop your own skills as an historian.
present in all that we do.”
When we study history, we of necessity study
--James Baldwin
interpretations as well. While historians seek to write and
speak only what they understand to be true, each person
studying history carries with them their own assumptions
and their own history. In this course we will work to
understand the various interpretations placed on the past, as well as the assumptions that frame our own
interpretations--assumptions based in our individual identities and shaped by the broader structures within
which our lives take shape. Our goal will be to use these explorations to compile an understanding of the
past on its own terms, even as we understand the relationship between that past and the world within which
we live today. In order for this process to be successful, each of you will need to approach the class as an
active participant. Consider yourself an integral part of the class. Each of you has much to contribute and
the class will benefit to the extent that each of you approaches it with a sense of responsibility for our
shared work this semester.
2
REQUIRED READING:
In an effort to introduce you to a wide range of historical sources, the
readings for this course are both extensive and wide-ranging. The
books listed below will be required reading during the course, and are
available at the bookstore and on reserve at the library. There are also
several sources that we will access through a course packet, available
only through the bookstore, and an occasional source on our Moodle
site.
 Eric Foner, Give Me Liberty, vol. 2 – Brief Edition (Fourth Edition – 2014)
 Eric Foner, Voices of Freedom: A Documentary History, vol. 2 (Fourth Edition - 2014)
 Douglas Cazaux Sackman, Wild Men: Ishi and Kroeber in the Wilderness of Modern America
(2010)
 Robert S. McElvaine, Down and Out in the Great Depression: Letters from the Forgotten Man
(25th Anniversary Edition, 2008)
 Gilbert King, Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a New
America (2012)
 Philip Caputo, A Rumor of War (1977, 1996)
 Peter Orner, Underground America: Narratives of Undocumented Lives (2008)
 Ta-Nehesi Coates, Between the World and Me (2015)
 History 153, Course Reading Packet
MOODLE:
Moodle is an online system that provides courses with a web presence. This semester, we’ll be using
Moodle in History 153. Specifically, our Moodle site provides a great deal of information about the
course—the course syllabus, assignments, some of our readings, and various handouts, for instance. If you
have any problems using Moodle, just come by my office and I’ll help get you started.
COURSE OBJECTIVES:
Students in this course will:
 gain an understanding of the historical and
Let a thousand historical flowers bloom. History is
humanistic perspectives.
never a closed book or a final verdict. It is forever in
 gain an overview knowledge of American history
the making.
in the period from 1877 to the present, and in
particular of the experiences and values of the
--Arthur M. Schlesinger, 2007
diverse peoples that make up the United States.
 learn the methods employed by historians, in
particular the critical reading of both primary and
secondary sources.
 polish their skills in critical thinking, oral and written communication and collaborative learning.
3
WRITING ASSIGNMENTS
You have two kinds of writing assignments this semester—short exploratory exercises
and longer, fully developed essays. The exercises give you the chance to do some indepth thinking in anticipation of upcoming work—class meetings, debates, and larger
writing assignments, for instance. The more comprehensive essays will give you the
opportunity to work as historians, employing investigative, analytical, and integrative
techniques in the development and defense of your own ideas about significant historical questions. Below
are brief descriptions of the assignments in the order in which they will be due. Fuller explanations for the
three longer essays will be distributed and discussed in class. The page lengths listed below are not limits,
but serve only to give you an idea of the scale of paper I am expecting. Exercises and essays should be
typed, double-spaced, and cited using Chicago Manual of Style footnotes or endnotes.
Exploratory Exercise #1: Reading Primary Sources Critically (2 paragraphs)
Your job in this memo is to select any one of the primary sources included in the reading for February 5
and to write two paragraphs about it. In the first, suggest one problem the historian needs to take into
account as they approach the source, for instance one issue that would lead you to challenge it as a
statement of simple fact. In the second, explain one insight you nevertheless gained by thinking critically
about the source. You may even find that the source’s limitation is also the source of this unintended
insight. Due in class on Friday, February 5
Essay #1: The United States at the Turn of the Century: Defining “American” (3-4 pages)
A nation of immigrants living on land they took through armed struggle, the people of the United States
have long contested the meaning of the term “American.” This first paper asks you to analyze how one
person or group conceptualized “the American” in the late nineteenth or early twentieth century. How, in
other words, did this person or group define who was American? What did the term mean to them? What
qualities or beliefs did they associate with the term? There will be many ways to approach this paper, and
we will discuss some of the options in class to prepare you for the assignment. You will not need to do any
outside research for this paper. Due in class on Wednesday, February 17
Exploratory Exercise #2: The History of Tacoma and the University of Puget Sound
As our readings and discussions for February 5 make clear, our local history is not isolated from the
dynamics of the nation’s history, but co-exists with influence running both directions. In turn, since 1889
the College/University of Puget Sound has had its own history, also operating in and interacting with these
broader contexts. In order to help us study these interactions, each of you will be responsible for making
one entry to a class timeline, providing us with one primary source and commentary about our local history
and its relationship to the national story we are studying. These entries may also serve as inspiration for
final projects! Fuller details on this assignment will be distributed in class. Due in class on individual
assigned days—you will sign up for these in class.
Essay #2: The Great Depression and American Life
In the middle weeks of the semester we will spend significant time discussing how to work with multiple
sources to develop your thinking about the past. For your second paper you will combine your critical
reading of Down and Out in the Great Depression with at least one other primary source in order to
develop a response to that book and the ideas it suggests about life during that difficult era.
Due in class on Friday, March 4
4
Exploratory Exercise #3: Final Project Research Plan
To ensure you are moving forward with your final research project, and to give me a chance to check in
with you, this exercise asks you to lay out your plans for the project. You should do four things in the
exercise. First, suggest the overall focus of the project. What historical issue or trend will the paper
engage? Second, provide a one-paragraph annotation of the secondary source you will test with your
primary source work, including the key argument you will consider. Third, suggest the primary source(s)
you will use to conduct the local history or family part of your exploration, and the initial findings you have
so far. (Does your research confirm or challenge your secondary source? How so?) Finally, suggest one
digital addition you plan to make to the paper.
Due in class on Wednesday, April 6
Essay #3: Family History or Local History Research Project (roughly 7 pages)
This assignment asks you to connect one of the broader currents of United States history that we have been
studying with either your family or the local history of the university or Tacoma. You will begin by
deciding on some aspect of the history we have studied you are interested in exploring more fully. Then
you will locate a secondary source on that subject to supplement what you know about the issues historians
wrestle with regarding this topic. Then, using this as the basis for your “national story,” you will collect
primary sources—on either your family or the local history of Puget Sound or Tacoma—that will allow you
to test the thesis of your secondary source and to explore the resonance or dissonance between the national
dynamics and those of either your family or our local context. This means that you should expect to
research both the experiences of your family (or a particular family member), the University of Puget
Sound, or the Tacoma region, and the broader national context for the particular issue or topic you are
exploring. Finally, these will be turned in as Digital Essays, so you will need to think about how you will
integrate images and sound clips into the paper. The toughest part of this assignment will be putting all of
these different kinds of sources into conversation with one another.
Due in class on Wednesday, May 4
Grading Standards for Writing Assignments




A paper that receives a grade lower than “C” does not meet the standards of this course. Typically a
“D” or “F” paper does not respond adequately to the assignment, is insufficiently developed, is marred
by frequent errors, unclear writing, confusing organization, or some combination of these problems.
A typical “C” paper has a good grasp of the material on which it is based and adequately responds to
the assignment, reflecting a solid understanding, a strong thesis, and meaningful insights. Yet such a
paper may provide a less-than-thorough defense of the student’s ideas, or may suffer from problems in
presentation such as frequent errors, unclear writing, or confusing organization.
A typical “B” paper is very good work that contains significant insights that demonstrate that the
student has engaged in serious thinking and has developed an important and imaginative thesis as a
result. A “B” paper also includes strong development of the main ideas of the paper, including
substantial and well-explicated evidence. These papers are generally effective in their presentation as
well.
A typical “A” paper is exceptional. Not only does an “A” paper include all of the strengths of a “B”
paper, but it also has an exceptionally perceptive and original central argument that is cogently argued
and supported by a very impressively chosen and developed variety of specific examples drawn from a
range of sources. An “A” paper also succeeds in suggesting the importance of its subject and of its
findings.
5
CLASS PARTICIPATION:
Discussion is an important part of this course. While the course will include some brief lectures, it is in
class discussions that we will have the opportunity to pursue together answers to the multitude of questions
the readings will raise. Working together, we have the opportunity to learn from one another, to consider
viewpoints different from our own, and to build on one another’s ideas. Keep in mind that attendance and
contributions to discussions will make up an important part of your grade. Also remember that there are
many ways to contribute to a discussion. Asking questions, offering ideas, providing evidence for the ideas
of others, and synthesizing recent points are all ways of making a significant contribution to the on-going
conversation. The following suggestions will help to make our discussions as fruitful as possible:




Prepare for class: This includes not only reading all assignments before class, but thinking about them as well.
Be sure to read and think about the discussion questions included in the syllabus under “prep” for each class day.
It is often useful to write down a few thoughts and questions before class. This not only forces you to think
critically about what you are reading, but will often make it easier for you to speak up during the discussion.
Attend class: Unless you are in class, the rest of us cannot benefit from your ideas, and you will miss the
opportunity to benefit from the ideas of your classmates. Further, lectures and films offer you information and
context to help you understand your readings, and should not be missed.
Participate in discussions: We can only know your ideas if you express them. Twenty-some minds are always
going to be better than just one. For this reason, we will all benefit from this course to the degree to which each
of you participates in our discussions. Each of you has a great deal to contribute to the class, and each of you
should share that potential with the other class members.
Listen to your classmates: The best discussions are not wars of words, but are a cooperative effort to
understand the issues and questions before us. Listen to one another, and build on the conversation. While we
will often disagree with one another, you should always be sure to pay attention to the ongoing discussion, and to
treat your classmates and their ideas with the respect they deserve. Remember this is a learning community, and
do what you can to invite others to see themselves as full and welcomed members.
Grading Standards for Class Participation:




A student who receives a grade lower than “C” is consistently unprepared, unwilling to participate,
refuses to engage with others, often seems distracted from the discussion, or is too frequently absent.
A student who receives a “C” for discussion typically attends every class and listens attentively, but
rarely participates in discussion. Other “C” discussants would earn a higher grade, but are too
frequently absent from class, or may not listen openly to the ideas and suggestions of others.
A student who receives a “B” for his or her participation typically has completed all the reading
assignments on time, and makes important contributions to our discussions. This student may tend to
wait for others to raise interesting issues, rather than initiating discussion. Other “B” discussants are
courteous and articulate but do not listen to other students, offering their ideas without reference to the
direction of the discussion. Still others may have a great deal to contribute, but participate only
sporadically, or may not regularly connect their contributions to particular texts or specific examples.
A student who receives an “A” for his or her participation typically comes to every class with
questions and ideas about the readings already in mind. He or she engages other students and the
instructor in discussion of their ideas as well as his or her own. This student is under no obligation to
change their point of view, yet listens to and respects the opinions of others. This student, in other
words, takes part in an exchange of ideas, and does so on a regular basis. This student also makes use
of specific texts and examples during the discussion.
6
QUIZZES:
You will take five quizzes over the course of the semester, on February 10, February 24, March 9, April 8,
and April 29. These quizzes will test your command of the historical information offered in the various
readings for the course, including the textbook, and will also test your understanding of that information.
Each quiz will consider course materials covered since the previous quiz, including the readings for the day
on which the new quiz is given. The format for the quizzes will range from multiple choice and true-false
questions to term definitions and short-answer questions. Missed quizzes can be made up, but the rules
surrounding these make-ups are firm. In the case of unavoidable emergencies and illness with a proper
medical excuse, you may take make-up quizzes without penalty. Similarly, if arrangements are made in
advance, you may also take a make-up quiz in the case of unavoidable school-related activities without
penalty. No other make-up quizzes are permitted.
POLICIES:





Digital Assignments: This course incorporates various online software and other technologies.
Some technologies require you to either create an account on an external site or develop
assignment content using them. The content, as well as your name/username or other personally
identifying information may be publicly available as a result. While the purpose of these
assignments is to engage with technology as a means for representing the content we are
discovering in our work, please see me if you have concerns about sharing your account, name or
other content you would create in these technologies. We can either establish an alias for your use,
or have you complete an alternative assignment.
48 Hour Rule: In this course, we will operate according to my “48 hour rule.” This means that you
can turn in one paper or memo up to 48 hours late without penalty or explanation. Beyond this,
though, late papers or memos will be accepted only in cases of illness or emergency, or when prior
arrangements have been made, and will generally be penalized except in cases of illness or
emergency.
Course Completion: You must complete all writing assignments in order to pass this class. Those
missing any of the writing assignments will receive a WF for the course. Similarly, too many
unexcused absences will also result in withdrawal from the course.
Academic Honesty: It is assumed that all of you will conform to the rules of academic honesty. I
should warn you that plagiarism and any other form of academic dishonesty will be dealt with
severely in this course. Plagiarizing in a paper or cheating on a quiz will be reported to the
university, will result in an automatic F on that assignment and potentially in the course, and may
lead to more substantial university-level penalties. Because academic dishonesty is such an
egregious offense, the penalty is not negotiable. As a member of this academic community, your
integrity and honesty are assumed and valued. Our trust in one another is an essential basis for our
work together. A breach of this trust is an affront to your colleagues, your instructor, and to the
integrity of this institution, and so will be treated harshly. If you have any questions about these
rules, too, know that I am anxious to help clarify them.
Accessibility and Accommodations If you have a physical, psychological, medical or learning
disability that may impact your course work, please contact Peggy Perno, Director of the Office of
Accessibility and Accommodations, 105 Howarth, 253.879.3395. She will determine with you
what accommodations are necessary and appropriate. All information and documentation is
confidential.
7


Bereavement: We all hope this policy will not come into play, but if this should occur, the
University of Puget Sound recognizes that a time of bereavement can be difficult. Therefore, the
university provides a Student Bereavement Policy for students facing the loss of a family member,
which this course follows.
Students are normally eligible for, and I would of course grant, three
consecutive weekdays of excused absences, without penalty, for the death of a family member,
including parent, grandparent, sibling, or persons living in the same household. If you need
additional days, you should let me know, and also request additional bereavement leave from the
Dean of Students or the Dean’s designee. In the event of the death of another family member or
friend not explicitly included within this policy, know that you can petition for grief absence
through the Dean of Students’ office for approval, and I am very open to granting it for the course
as well. To request bereavement leave, a student must notify the Dean of Students’ office by
email, phone, or in person about the death of the family member. If you need any help with this
process, please just ask and I will supply whatever support I can.
Other Policies: For any policy issue not covered here, I follow the rules set down in The Logger,
the university’s academic handbook. You have responsibility to be familiar with the handbook and
the policies it contains. You can access it on the university website at:
http://www.pugetsound.edu/student-life/personal-safety/student-handbook/academichandbook/
GRADING SCALE:
A+:
B+:
C+:
D+:
F:
97-100
87-89
77-79
67-69
below 60
A:
B:
C:
D:
93-96
83-86
73-76
63-66
A-:
B-:
C-:
D-:
90-92
80-82
70-72
60-62
FINAL GRADES:
Your final grade in this course will be based on the following weighting of the course requirements:








2.5%
12.5%
5%
15%
2.5%
22.5%
20%
15%
Exercise #1: Working with Primary Sources (due in class on February 5)
Essay #1: Defining “American” (due in class on February 17)
Exercise #2: Tacoma / Puget Sound Timeline Digital Contribution (individual due dates)
Essay #2: The New Deal (due in class on March 4)
Exercise #3: Planning the Research Project (due in class on April 6)
Essay #3: Final Research Project (due in class on May 4)
Quizzes (Feb. 10, Feb. 24, March 9, April 8, April 29)
Attendance and participation in discussions
8
SCHEDULE OF
READINGS AND ASSIGNMENTS
Week #1
(W) January 20
Introductions: The Course and the Historical Perspective
WELCOME TO THE COURSE!!
(F) January 22
Introductions: History, Reconstruction, and Ourselves as Historians
READING:
 Moodle: Cartoons by Thomas Nast
 Eric Foner, Give Me Liberty! An American History, ch. 15
PREP: In our first class we talked about how easily we can read sources from our own time because we
know their context. Today we will turn our attention to the past, thinking about why and how historians do
their work, and what that means for each of us as we begin our explorations of earlier worlds and lives.
Begin your preparation with the three political cartoons by Thomas Nast. Note the transition in his
depiction of freed African Americans between the second and third cartoons. How should we make sense
of this? In order to understand the meaning of these cartoons—both in their own time and for our
understandings of the era of Reconstruction—we will need to look carefully at this historical period. To do
this, complete the other reading for today. What was at stake during Reconstruction? Whose interests were
served at different stages? Who were the ultimate winners and losers? Now return to the cartoons. Think
first about Nast’s intended meaning with each cartoon. What positions on Reconstruction did he intend to
encourage in his readers? How can they help us understand the history of Reconstruction?
Week #2
(M) January 25
No Class Today
I will be participating in the interviews of finalists for the university presidency today. Use today to read
ahead. There is significant reading for Wednesday.
9
(W) January 27
Indian Wars?
READING:
 Course packet, 3-5
o “Reading Secondary Sources”
o “A Fight with the Hostiles,” New York Times, 30 December 1890
o Dawes Severalty Act, 1887
 Douglas C. Sackman, Ishi and Kroeber in the Wilderness of Modern America, Prologue,
Chapter 1 and 2, and Afterword
PREP: Begin by looking at the two primary sources for today. Using the instructions on “How to Read
Primary Sources” distributed in class on Friday, think about the insights we can gain by reading them
critically. For instance, how did they portray Native Americans? Their own culture? Use these documents
as context for thinking about the relationship between Native Americans and United States. Today we
begin reading a source written by an historian, Douglas Sackman, a member of the Puget Sound faculty.
His book will give us a chance to consider the role and responsibilities of the historian even as it opens up
our explorations of many different subjects and issues in the history of the United States. For today, begin
by considering how Sackman sets up his exploration of Ishi and his worlds. How does Sackman
conceptualize the history of Ishi and his people? Why did he begin his book where he does? What are the
“three worlds” of the Yahi he explores in the first chapter? What, in turn, is Sackman arguing in this
chapter? How do you know? Do find his ideas compelling? Why or why not? Now read Sackman’s
“Afterword.” Does this provide any additional insights into Sackman’s imagining of the historian’s work?
(F) January 29
The Gilded Age: Introducing Industrialization and its Ideology
READING:
 Eric Foner, Give Me Liberty! An American History, ch. 16
 Eric Foner, Voices of Freedom, 28-35
o Andrew Carnegie, The Gospel of Wealth
o William Graham Sumner, On Social Darwinism
 Course Packet: 6-10
o Andrew Carnegie, “A Talk to Young Men”
PREP: Today we will continue to talk about the careful and critical reading of primary sources, and will
also turn to the emergence of industrialization as an economic, political, social and cultural phenomenon.
How do the sources by Carnegie and Sumner reflect particular ways of understanding the world? What
assumptions and values can we discern in their writings? How would you compare their worldview with
that of Ishi and his people?
Week #3
(M) February 1
Industrialization and the Laborers’ Alternatives: A Labor Conference
READING:
 Eric Foner, Voices of Freedom, 36-37
o “A Second Declaration of Independence”
 Course Packet, 11-25, 127-128
o Documents on the Pullman Strike
o Upton Sinclair, The Jungle, excerpt
 Visit the Historical New York Times, available through the library’s website, and read at least 3
articles relevant to your preparation for today’s labor conference.
PREP: We will assign responsibilities for today’s class ahead of time. Then follow the preparation
instructions for your group.
10
(W) February 3
Politics: From the Gilded Age to the Populists
READING:
 Eric Foner, Give Me Liberty! An American History, ch. 17
 Eric Foner, Voices of Freedom, 38-53
o Henry George, Progress and Poverty
o Edward Bellamy, Looking Backward
o Walter Rauschenbusch, Christianizing the Social Order
o The Populist Platform
PREP: Does the term “gilded age” fit this period? Why did so much reform energy take place outside the
mainstream political process?
(F) February 5
Immigration, Nativism and the New Imperialism
READING:
 Moodle: Jean Pfaelzer, Driven Out: The Forgotten War against Chinese Americans, Introduction
 Course Packet, 1-2, 26-33
o “Grand Mass Meeting”
o The Chinese Exclusion Act
o Albert Beveridge, “The March of the Flag”
 Eric Foner, Voices of Freedom, 66-72
o Josiah Strong, Our Country
o Emilio Aguinaldo on American Imperialism in the Philippines
o Rudyard Kipling, “The White Man’s Burden”
PREP: Today we will have the chance to see that our local history is not isolated from the broader
national landscape of issues and tensions as we explore the expulsion of Chinese and Chinese-Americans
by white Tacomans in 1885 as one part of the story of nativism and imperialism in the late nineteenth
century. Our conversations will be particularly sophisticated today, too, because you will have completed
your first memo about one of today’s primary sources. Today’s discussion will launch our semester-long
Tacoma /Puget Sound history project, a digital project in which you will all play a role!
DUE: Your FIRST EXERCISE is due in class TODAY!
Week #4
(M) February 8
Racial Politics: Violence, Resistance and
Accommodation
READING:
 Eric Foner, Voices of Freedom, 53-63
o John Marshall Harlan, Dissent in Plessy v. Ferguson
o Ida B. Wells, Crusade for Justice
 Course Packet, 34-45
Booker T. Washington, Address to the Atlanta Exposition
W. E. B. Du Bois, “Of Mr. Booker T. Washington and Others”
 Moodle: Majority Opinion, Plessy v. Ferguson
PREP: Though Justice Harlan dissented in Plessy v. Ferguson, might his opinion help us understand the
context within which the majority could accept segregation as constitutional? What did his view share with
that of the majority? How in turn did Wells, Washington and Du Bois, three African American leaders,
conceptualize the situation of African Americans? What strategies did each propose to solve the racial
11
crisis? How do you explain their differences of opinion? To whom might each have appealed? Why?
(Think carefully about historical context.)
(W) February 10
Ishi and the Wildness of a Modernizing Nation
READING:
 Douglas Sackman, Wild Men, Chapters Three, Four and Five
PREP:
As you think about Ishi’s confrontation with “modern” American culture, how would you compare the
culture of the Yahi with that culture? Can you find any similarities? What are the most significant
differences? Be sure to think, in particular, about the differences in the ways the Yahi and modernizing
Americans understood knowledge itself. How did this affect their interactions? Finally, what does Sackman
mean when he suggests of Ishi, “He’d been living in a world shaped by the consequences of the image of
Indians that whites held in their heads”?
DUE: You will take your FIRST QUIZ today.
(F) February 12
Defining “Modern” / Defining Progressivism
READING:
 Eric Foner, Give Me Liberty! ch. 18
 Eric Foner, Voices of Freedom, 73-94, 98-99, 114-118
o Manuel Gamio on a Mexican-American Family and American Freedom
o Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Women and Economics
o John A. Ryan, “A Living Wage”
o Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, “The Free Speech Fight at Spokane”
o Margaret Sanger, “Free Motherhood”
o Carlos Montezuma, “What Indians Must Do”
o R. G. Ashley on Unions and the “Cause of Liberty”
o Randolph Bourne, “Trans-National America”
 Course Packet: 46-71: Gary Gerstle, “Theodore Roosevelt and the Divided Character of American
Nationalism”
PREP:
We’ll start by figuring out what historians mean by the term “Progressivism.” As you read through the
primary sources, what values, goals, and methods might seem to join many of these reformers? How, in
turn, does Gerstle’s argument about Roosevelt frame your understanding of Progressivism?
Week #5
12
(M) February 15
Ishi, Kroeber and Sackman: A Visit with the Author
READING:
 Douglas Sackman, Wild Men, Chapters Seven, Eight and Epilogue, and
review Afterword
PREP: Today we will have the opportunity to discuss Wild Men with Professor
Sackman, who will be joining our class meeting. In order to prepare, then, write
down at least one passage you would like him to discuss with you, and one question
that the text has left you with.
(W) February 17
TUTORIAL FOR TACOMA / PUGET SOUND DIGITAL PROJECT
PREP: No new reading for today. To prepare for class, complete your first paper. In class we will have a
tutorial about the digital project we will be working on together over the next several weeks.
DUE: Your FIRST paper is due in class TODAY!
(F) February 19
United States and the World: World War
READING:
 Eric Foner, Give Me Liberty, ch. 19
 Eric Foner, Voices of Freedom, 100-113, 118-121, 125-130
o Woodrow Wilson, Declaration of War speech
o Mao Zedong, Critiques of the Versailles Peace Conference
o Carrie Chapman Catt, “Address to Congress on Women’s Suffrage”
o Eugene V. Debs, “Speech to the Jury”
o Rubie Bond, “The Great Migration”
o John A. Fitch, “The Closed Shop”
PREP:
Was American involvement in World War I similar to or different from the nation’s earlier imperialistic
engagements? Why? How did Wilson depict American goals? American identity itself? How, in turn, did
the growing international role affect domestic politics. Was war, as the historian Richard Hofstadter once
argued, the “nemesis” of reform?
Week #6
(M) February 22
The 1920s: “Modern Times” or “Progress and Nostalgia”?
READING:
 Foner, Give Me Liberty, p. 609-631
 Foner, Voices of Freedom, 122-124, 131-157
o Marcus Garvey, Africa for the Africans
o Andre Siegfried, on the “New Society”
13
o American Civil Liberties Union on the Fight for Civil Liberties
o Bartolomeo Vanzetti’s Last Statement in Court
o Congress Debates Immigration
o Meyer v. Nebraska, Opinion of the Court
o Alain Locke, The New Negro
o Elsie Hill and Florence Kelley Debate the ERA
PREP: What does the textbook argue about the nature of the 1920s? Put another way, what is the thesis of
this chapter? Do the primary sources support this interpretation? Some historians have suggested the
19320s are the first “modern” decade. Others suggest it had a strong streak of nostalgia for an imagined
past. Can you imagine any alternative characterizations for this decade?
(W) February 24
The Depression Hits the American People
READING:
 Foner, Give Me Liberty, pp. 631-638 and ch. 21
 Robert S. McElvaine, ed., Down and Out in the Great Depression: Letters from the Forgotten
Man, Foreword, Preface, Introduction, and Part I
 Course packet, 72-75 (Roosevelt, “First Inaugural Address”)
PREP: Think about what McElvaine says about his purposes in editing this collection, and his sense of
the meaning it has. What does it mean to read a collection of sources and find them “moving”? Also note
the arguments he makes in his introduction. Then look at the primary sources in Part One, as well as the
photographs located throughout the text. What kind of source is this? What advantages and disadvantages
do we encounter working with a source such as this? Finally, do you know anything about your own
family’s experiences in the Great Depression? If not, think about asking someone about them. All it takes,
in many cases, is a phone call!
DUE: You will take your SECOND QUIZ in class TODAY.
(F) February 26
Exploring Life Through Letters
READING: McElvaine, ed., Down and Out in the Great
Depression, Selections, Parts II, II and IV
PREP:
Begin to think about the paper you will write using
McElvaine’s book. You will see that you have a couple of
options for the paper—writing a paper about a particular kind of experience during the Great Depression or
writing a review of McElvaine’s collection. We will spend our time in class today talking about and
thinking about these papers, due next week. As you select the particular chapters you will read for today,
consider your own interests for the upcoming paper. Watch for themes and issues you see emerging, and
begin to develop your own insights on the basis of this primary source reading.
14
Week #7
(M) February 29 Paper Workshop!
READING: No new reading for today.
PREP:
Bring at least your introduction and one body paragraph to class today. We
will spend time in class reviewing thesis statements and working in small
groups doing some peer editing.
15
(W) March 2
READING:



The United States at War: The Good War?
Foner, Give Me Liberty, ch. 22
Course Packet, 76-77
o Franklin D. Roosevelt, “Declaration of War Speech”
Foner, Voices of Freedom, 187-189, 194-196, 200-209
o Franklin D. Roosevelt on the Four Freedoms
o Henry R. Luce, The American Century
o World War Two and Mexican Americans
o African Americans and the Four Freedoms
o Justice Jackson, Dissent in Korematsu v. United States
PREP:
Compare Roosevelt’s Declaration of War speech to the Declaration of War
speech offered by Wilson in anticipation of World War One. What
similarities and differences do you find in the rhetorical choices each
made? In their presentation of Americans? The nation’s enemies? Next
think about how Roosevelt and others defined American purposes in the
world. Finally, read the primary sources about American life during the
war. How should we understand the contradictions evident here?
(F) March 4
An Introduction to the Cold War
DUE: Your SECOND PAPER is due in class TODAY!!
Week #8
(M) March 7
The Emergence of a Bi-Polar World
READING:
 Foner, Give Me Liberty, pp. 707-722
 Foner, Voices of Freedom, 213-228
o Truman Doctrine
o NSC 68
o Walter Lippmann, A Critique of Containment
o United Nations Declaration of Human Right
 Moodle: Novikov Telegram
PREP:
During World War Two the United States was allied with the Soviet Union. How do you explain
the growing tension between the two nations? How did the United States imagine the Soviet
Union? What similarities and differences do you see as you explore the Soviet understanding of
the United States?
16
(W) March 9
Americans and Cold War Culture
READING:
 Foner, Give Me Liberty, 722-735
 Foner, Voices of Freedom, 229-240
o President’s Commission on Civil Rights, To Secure These Rights
o Joseph R. McCarthy, Speech to Congress
o Henry Steele Commager, “Who is Loyal to America?”240
 Gilbert King, Devil in the Grove, Prologue and chs. 1-4
 Moodle:
o View the short educational film “Duck and Cover”
PREP:
Given the rise of McCarthyism, should we think of the impact of the Cold War as similar to, or different
from, that we have seen with other wars? How, in turn, does the film “Duck and Cover” narrate the new
atomic era? What other messages, including implicit ones, does the film communicate. Finally, begin
Devil in the Grove. What kind of text is this? How are you going to handle the level of detail it offers?
What seem to be important themes/arguments in the text so far?
DUE:
You will take your THIRD QUIZ in class today.
(F) March 11
Race and the Realities of Early Cold War Culture
READING:
 Gilbert King, Devil in the Grove, Prologue and chs. 5-10
PREP:
Compare the situation for African Americans in Florida in 1949 to what we learned about the postReconstruction period. What has changed? What has remained the same? How do you account for the
willingness of Thurgood Marshall to take on the racial status quo? Over the break, continue reading Devil
in the Grove. It’s a great read, and getting ahead will allow the return to campus to be a bit less onerous!
Enjoy Spring Break!!
See you back here in a week.
Week #9
(M) March 21
Devil in the Grove
READING:
 King, Devil in the Grove, chs. 11-16
PREP:
How did gender intersect with race in Florida in 1949? Step back and think a bit about this text as a
secondary source. What are its strengths? How is it useful to us in History 153, even though it is a tightly
focused story in some ways. In turn, do you discern any weaknesses in this book as a work of history? If
so, what are they, and how do they affect your reading of the text?
17
(W) March 23
Race and Politics in the 1950s: The National Scene
READING:
 King, Devil in the Grove, chs. 17-22 and Epilogue
 Foner, Give Me Liberty, 754-764
 Foner, Voices of Freedom, 263-267
o Martin Luther King Jr. and the Montgomery Bus Boycott
 Course Packet, 78-84
o Court Opinion, Brown v. Board of Education
o Southern Manifesto
PREP: How would you characterize American culture in the years from 1945-1960? Was the south
exceptional in its racial dynamics in the 1950s, or did it simply exaggerate national tendencies? What does
the story presented in Devil in the Grove suggest about the mechanisms and actions necessary to overturn
white supremacy? How, in turn, do those who oppose the ruling in Brown make their case against it?
(F) March 25
An Affluent Society: Repression and Rebellion in Cold War America
READING:
 Foner, Give Me Liberty, 736-754, 764-767
 Foner, Voices of Freedom, 244-253, 256-262
o Richard M. Nixon, “What Freedom Means to Us”
o Clark Kerr, Industrialism and Industrial Man
o Milton Friedman, Capitalism and Freedom
o C. Wright Mills, on “Cheerful Robots”
o Allen Ginsberg, “Howl”
 Course Packet, 85, 139-147
o “Help Wanted”
o Ads and articles on Fallout Shelters
 Moodle: View the educational film “A Date With Your Family” or “The House in the Middle”
PREP: How are the concerns of Americans in the 1950s similar to and different from those we observed at
the turn of the century? How do you explain the differences? How would you explain this culture, which
will soon give rise to the activism of the 1960s?
(M) March 28
The Complex Politics of the 1960s
READING:

Foner, Give Me Liberty, ch. 25
Course Packet, 86-87
o John F. Kennedy, “Inaugural Address,” 1961
Foner, Voices of Freedom, 272-281
o The Sharon Statement
o Barry Goldwater, “Extremism in Defense of Liberty”
o Lyndon B. Johnson, Commencement Address at Howard University
Week #10


PREP:
Think about the goals set by both Kennedy and Johnson for their presidential administrations, the New
Frontier and the Great Society. What goals did they share? How were they different? What definition of
“liberalism” did their administrations seem to adopt? How did their domestic visions relate to their foreign
policy goals? How might we understand the attraction of liberalism in the early 1960s? Now consider the
alternative vision, offered by the conservatives who wrote the Sharon Statement, and by Barry Goldwater.
Why were conservative views less popular at this historical moment?
18
(W) March 30
The Torch Has Been Passed: A New Generation, A New Politics
READING:
 Foner, Voices of Freedom, 268-271, 282-288, 290-300
o Martin Luther King, Letter from Birmingham Jail
o Students for a Democratic Society, Port Huron Statement
o National Organization for Women, Statement of Purpose
o Cesar Chavez, “Letter from Delano”
o The International, 1968
 Course Packet, 88-100, 129-138
o Malcolm X, “The Ballot or the Bullet”
o Anne Moody, Coming of Age in Mississippi
PREP:
The 1960s were defined, in part, by the emergence of youth culture and youth activism. Begin by reading
King’s letter very closely. How does he explain the need for civil rights activism? Of whom is he
especially critical? Now note the differences between the perspectives and rhetoric of King and Malcolm
X. Are there also similarities and resonances? How does Anne Moody help us understand the realities of
the civil rights struggle? Finally, read the other documents. How are these other emerging movements
linked to the African American civil rights and black nationalist struggles?
(F) April 1
Fighting the Cold War: An Introduction to the War in Vietnam
READING:
 Foner, Voices of Freedom, 210-213
o Declaration of Independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam
 Course Packet: 101-114
o Gary R. Hess, “South Vietnam Under Siege, 1961-1965”
o Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
 Philip Caputo, A Rumor of War, Prologue and chs. 1-6
PREP:
Why did the United States go to war in Vietnam? How, in turn, was the war experienced by soldiers who
served in the first years of the war, as Caputo did?
Week #11
(M) April 4
Fighting the War
READING:
 Foner, Voices of Freedom, 288-290
o Paul Potter on the Antiwar Movement
 Philip Caputo, A Rumor of War, chs. 6-10, 15-18
PREP:
What does Caputo mean when he says, on page 323, “The explanatory or extenuating circumstance was the
war”? Do you agree?
19
(W) April 6
Conservatism Resurgent? The Nixon Years
READING:
 Foner, Give Me Liberty, 806-816
 Foner, Voices of Freedom, 301-303, 316-318
o Brochure on the ERA
o Phyllis Schlafly, “The Fraud of the Equal Rights
Amendment”
 Listen to selections of the Richard M. Nixon, White House Tapes,
by visiting :
http://millercenter.org/presidentialrecordings/nixon/watergatecollection
Read and listen to “Smoking Gun” and at least three other selections.
PREP:
How would you compare President Nixon’s approach to the war in Vietnam to that exercised by Presidents
Kennedy and Johnson? How, in turn, do you make sense of the Watergate scandal? What was the
President guilty of doing? Finally, what do the competing voices on the ERA suggest about American
culture in the early 1970s?
DUE: Your THIRD MEMO Is due in class TODAY!!
(F) April 8
Quiz #4
READING:
No new reading today.
PREP: Use the extra time to catch up and prepare for the quiz.
DUE: You will take your FOURTH QUIZ in class TODAY.
Week #12
(M) April 11
ATAVIST TUTORIAL
PREP: Recognizing your third memo is due on Wednesday, do the preparatory
work before today’s class. This will also prepare you well for today’s tutorial on digital essays.
(W) April 13
The 1970s: The Age of Limits?
READING:
 Foner, Give Me Liberty, 816-829
 Foner, Voices of Freedom, 303-311, 319-321
o Barry Commoner, The Closing Circle
o Jimmy Carter on Human Rights
o James Watt, “Environmentalists: A Threat to the Ecology of the
West”
 Visit the PBS website about the Stonewall Rebellion and read the
introduction and primary sources at
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/introduction/stonewall-intro/
PREP: Historians sometimes describe the 1970s as an “age of limits.” How would the political situation,
both national and international, fit with this interpretation? How did the new gay rights activism fit into this
discussion? The new environmental movement? The movement for human rights?
20
(F) April 15
Conservatism Triumphant
READING:
 Foner, Give Me Liberty, 829-839
 Foner, Voices of Freedom, 321-323, 311-315
o Ronald Reagan, “Inaugural Address”
o Jerry Falwell, “Listen America!”
PREP:
How did Ronald Reagan conceptualize conservatism? How did he understand the role of the federal
government? Of state government? What values undergirded his articulated viewpoints? Now, do these
seem like a conservative “revolution”?
Week #13
(M)April 18
Closing Years of the Twentieth Century: New Challenges?
READING:
 Foner, Give Me Liberty, ch. 27
 Foner, Voices of Freedom, 324-340
o Pat Buchanan, “Speech to the Republican National Convention
o Bill Clinton, “Speech on Signing NAFTA”
o Declaration for Global Democracy
o The Beijing Declaration on Women
o Puwat Charukamnoetkanok, “Triple Identity: My Experience as an Immigrant in America”
 Course Packet, 115-121
o “Contract with America” You can also read a more comprehensive version at:
http://web.archive.org/web/19990427174200/http://www.house.gov/house/Contract/CONTRACT.
html
PREP:
Compare the presidency of Bill Clinton to those of earlier leaders. How would you characterize his
political position? That of Pat Buchanan? The authors of the “Contract with America”? What sense do you
gain of American culture at the end of the twentieth century from the combination of primary sources in
today’s reading?
(W) April 20
America and the World: September 11th
READING:
 Foner, Give Me Liberty, 874-878
 Moodle:
o History Channel documentary, 102 Minutes that Changed America
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIWKNNer1Cc
o George Bush 9/11 speech
http://edition.cnn.com/2001/US/09/11/bush.speech.text/
 Visit the website for the 9/11 Memorial in New York City at:
http://www.911memorial.org
PREP:
First, watch the film on 9/11. How does it narrate the tragedy? How, in turn, did George
Bush explain the 9/11 attacks? Finally, look at the Ground Zero memorial website. What
does it tell you about how Americans are thinking about themselves in the world?
21
(F) April 22
The Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan
READING:
 Foner, Give Me Liberty, 878-909
 Foner, Voices of Freedom, 341-351, 357-362
o The National Security Strategy of the United States
o Robert Byrd on the War in Iraq
o Second Inaugural Address of George W. Bush
o Opinion of the Court, Lakhdar Boumediene et al v. George W. Bush
o Barack Obama, “Speech on the Middle East”
 Course Packet, pp. 122-123
o George W. Bush, “Operation Iraqi Freedom”
 Moodle: View the film Restrepo on the war in Afghanistan
PREP:
How would you compare President George W. Bush’s speech on “Operation Iraqi Freedom” to other
declaration of war speeches we have read this semester? How does he explain the need for this war? What
is the Bush Doctrine, and again, how is this like or unlike other foreign policy stances taken by the United
States? Finally, what are the competing views about American intervention in Afghanistan and Iraq? How
did President Obama attempt to redefine the American relationship to the Middle East in 2011? Has he
succeeded?
Week #14
(M) April 25
Immigration Debates and the Lives of Undocumented People
READING:
 Peter Orner, ed., Underground America: Narratives of Undocumented Lives, 1-17, 347-361, 385389
o Luis Alberto Urrea, Foreword
o Introduction, “Permanent Anxiety”
o Editor’s Note and Note for the 2013 Edition
o Editor’s Note for the Afterword
o Lorena, Afterword
o Appendices A-C
o Glossary
o At least three narratives of your choice
 Foner, Voices of Freedom, 351-354
o Archbishop Roger Mahoney, “Called by God to Help”
 Visit the website of at least one Republican and one Democratic presidential candidate to read up
on their position on issues around immigration.
PREP:
Issues around immigration have received significant attention in recent months, particularly in the
arguments of candidates for the presidency. Today we will focus, first, on the experiences of those living
as undocumented residents of the United States. Why have people come to the United States outside of the
established channels for immigration? What risks and costs have these choices involved? What are their
experiences of life inside the United States? How are these like or unlike what we know about immigrant
experiences a century ago? What similarities and differences do you note among the narratives you have
read? Finally, how are different candidates defining national identity as they talk about immigration
issues?
22
(W) April 27
Between the World and Me: Black Life in the 21st Century
READING:
 Ta-Nehisi Coates, Between the World and Me, Part I (to page 71)
 Course Packet, 124-126
o Jennifer Schuessler, “Drug Policy as Race Policy”
PREP:
Why do you think Coates wrote this book to his son? Why now? Select one passage from Coates’ work
that you would like to discuss in class today. Look for something that seems important, or challenging, or
confusing, even troubling.
(F) April 29
Final Quiz / Paper Workshop
READING: No new reading for today. Catch up and review for your final quiz.
PREP:
Be ready to ask any questions you have about the Research Project, due on the last day of class.
DUE: You will take your FINAL QUIZ in class TODAY!!
Week #15
(M) May 2
Black Lives Matter?
READING:
 Ta-Nehisi Coates, Between the World and Me, complete
PREP:
As you think about what Coates is sharing about his experiences of living as an African American in the
United States, place his narrative in its historical context. What is new, and what seems to resonate with
earlier discussions about the racial dynamics of the United States? Peruse the internet to see how the Black
Lives Matter movement is being portrayed by a range of American voices. How do different Americans
define national identity in these debates?
(W) May 4
FINAL PAPERS DUE
PREP:
Finish your research projects for class today.
23
Have a GREAT SUMMER!!
24
ABOUT CAMPUS EMERGENCIES
Classroom Emergency Resonse Guide
Please review university emergency preparedness and response procedures posted at
www.pugetsound.edu/emergency/. There is a link on the university home page. Familiarize yourself with
hall exit doors and the designated gathering area for your class and laboratory buildings.
If building evacuation becomes necessary (e.g. earthquake), meet your instructor at the designated
gathering area so she/he can account for your presence. Then wait for further instructions. Do not return to
the building or classroom until advised by a university emergency response representative.
If confronted by an act of violence, be prepared to make quick decisions to protect your safety. Flee the
area by running away from the source of danger if you can safely do so. If this is not possible, shelter in
place by securing classroom or lab doors and windows, closing blinds, and turning off room lights. Stay
low, away from doors and windows, and as close to the interior hallway walls as possible. Wait for further
instructions.