History 1493-247. History of the United States since 1865
Spring 2013. Wednesday and Friday, 11:35-12:55
Instructor: Bruce Niemi, Ph.D.
Office Hours: by appointment
302 Will Rogers Annex
918-706-4119
niemi.bruce@gmail.com
TCC NE Liberal Arts Division – Ernie Evans, Dean
918-595-7494
COURSE DESCRIPTION
HIST 1493 - U.S. History - Civil War Era to the Present
A survey of the unfolding of United States history from the Civil War Era to the present
day. The study includes social, economic, and political aspects of American life and
follows the development of the United States as a world power.
GENERAL EDUCATION GOAL STATEMENT
The General Education Goals are designed to ensure that graduates of Tulsa Community College
have the skills, knowledge, and attitudes to carry them successfully through their work and their
personal lives. General Education Goals relevant to this course include Critical Thinking,
Effective Communication, Engaged Learning, and Technical Proficiency.
TEXTBOOK
Roark, James L. et al. (2009). The American Promise: A history of the United States. 4th ed.
Loewen, James W. (2007). Lies my teacher told me: everything your American history textbook
got wrong, Introduction and chapters 4, 7, and 9. These chapters are posted on course
blackboard site.
TEACHING METHODS
Each week’s sessions will combine lecture and discussion. Students will be expected to read the
assigned material – a combination of primary and secondary sources – on time and to be prepared to
respond to discussion questions circulated in advance.
Reading material, assignments, discussions, announcements, and other information will be posted on the
course’s Blackboard site. Check it frequently. You are required to post your comments, ideas, thoughts
and reactions on the site between class sessions in partial fulfillment of class participation requirement.
With the web site, discussion does not have to be limited to class time.
Other assignments are: two (2) essays. Both shall be at least 2,000 words (5 pages) in length and relate
the assigned material to the other course readings and lectures. Word processing is required for the
assigned essays. Please use Times New Roman or Arial 12-point font only. Double space all work, justify
the type to the left, and observe proper margins. Staple the paper in the left hand corner. Students should
save their work in several places and email a copy of the document to themselves.
The first essay shall be a review of the assigned introduction and chapters of Lies. Essay 1 is due on
March 14. The second essay will be the student’s review of the one of the following books: (1) Eric Foner.
Reconstruction: America's Unfinished Revolution, 1863-1877 (1988); (2) David Haward Bain, Empire
Express: Building the First Transcontinental Railroad (2000); (3) Rebecca Edwards, New spirits:
Americans in the Gilded Age (2006); (4) Paul T. McCartney, Power and Progress: American national
identity, the War of 1898, and the rise of American imperialism (2006); (5) Michael McGirr, A fierce
discontent: the rise and fall of the progressive movement (2003); (6) James N. Gregory, Southern
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diaspora: how the Great Migrations of black and white southerners transformed America (2005); (7) Amity
Shlaes, The forgotten man: a new history of the Great Depression (2009); (8) E.B. Sledge, With the old
breed at Peleliu and Okinawa (1981); (9) Ellen M. Schrecker, Many are the crimes: McCarthyism in
America (1998); (10) James Miller, Flowers in the dustbin: the rise of rock and roll, 1947-1977 (1999);
(11) Sara Evans, Tidal wave: how women changed America at the century’s end (2003); (12) Phillip
Caputo, A rumor of war (1977); (13) Lisa McGirr, Suburban warriors: the origins of the new American right
(2001); (14) Roger Daniels, Guarding the golden door: American immigration policy and immigrants since
1882 (2004); (16) Charles Payne, I’ve got the light of freedom: the organizing tradition and the
Mississippi Freedom struggle (1995); (17) Luis Alvarez, The power of the zoot: youth culture and
resistance during World War II (2009). Essay 2 is due on April 28.
Also, each student shall submit a response to the weekly blackboard discussion posting.
In addition, students will be responsible for leading the class with lectures and class discussion on three
portions of assigned chapters. Students will be assigned over the course of the semester up to three (3)
sections of a period the class is studying (for example, agrarian worker revolts during the populist era).
The student will present material concerning that period in a 10-min. lecture format using visual aids,
handouts etc. and conduct a discussion of topic and its issues. This assignment is due on the day the
chapter on the topic is covered in class according to the schedule on the syllabus.
There also will be a final exam. It will occur at 11:30 AM on Wednesday, May 8, in accordance with the
college’s final exam schedule for spring semester 2013.
CLASS ETIQUETTE
This is a college class and as a student of Tulsa Community College students are expected to conduct
themselves in accordance with the regulations of the college. Students shall familiarize themselves for
information contained in the TCC Catalog, the TCC Student Policies & Resources Handbook, and
semester information in the class schedules. The college adopted a policy delegating forms of authority to
the faculty, including but not limited to the dismissal of disrespectful or disorderly students from class.
Specific directions include, but are not limited to:
This is the instructor’s hour and his leadership in the classroom shall be respected. Student’s
questions and comments are welcome and shall be addressed in an orderly and appropriate
manner.
Plagiarism is a major academic sin and considered dishonest and cheating. When the writer uses
another writer’s words in quotation marks and the author shall reveal the source in the citations.
Even if the student revises the creator’s words or ideas, it must be cited. In the case of plagiarism
and other forms of academic dishonesty, an instructor may require the student to: resubmit the
assignment or complete a substitute assignment; recommend to the student that the student
withdraw or administratively withdraw the student from the class; record a semester grade of “F”
for the student; or faculty may request that disciplinary action be taken against a student by the
college administration by submitting a request to the Dean of Student Services.
All assignments must be completed and submitted on time. A letter grade will be deducted for
each class period that the assignment is late. (For example, if the paper is due on a Tuesday but
is not turned in until Thursday, one letter grade will be lost; if the paper is not turned in until the
next Tuesday, another letter grade will be lost; etc.)
If absolutely necessary for physical comfort, the student may quietly leave and return to the
classroom.
Private conversations are prohibited in class during lectures, films, discussions and
presentations. Individuals conducting such conversations will be asked to leave the room and will
receive an absence for that day.
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No public displays of affection (PDA) toward members of the opposite/same sex will be tolerated
in the classroom. Individuals acting in this manner may be asked to leave and will receive an
absence for that day.
A total of four (4) unexcused absences during the semester will result in a reduction of one letter
grade for the semester. Additional absences will result in administrative withdrawal of the student
from the college and issuance of a AW or, after April 12, a F grade.
Cell phones shall be completely powered off. Texting is not permitted during the class period.
The classroom is not a study hall for this class or any other class. All work must be completed
prior to the class meeting.
EVALUATION
Performance evaluations will be made on the basis of a final exam and three unit exams, four
chapter quizzes, two a book review and Lies chapter review essays, three chapter lecture/class
discussion presentations, blackboard discussion postings, and class participation. Grades will be
determined by the percentage of total points accumulated as follows:
Exams 4
Chapter quizzes 4
Papers – 2
Blackboard participation – 15
Chapter presentations – 2
Total
720 points (180 each) – 51%
200 (50 each) – 14%
200 (100 each) – 14%
80 (5.34 each) – 6%
200 (100 each) – 14%
1400 points – 100%
GRADING
90 - 100% (1260 – 1400)
80 - 89% (1120 – 1259)
70 – 79% (980 – 1119)
60 - 69% (840 – 979)
Below 60% (<840)
A
B
C
D
F
Occasional changes to the syllabus are necessary. Students will be notified in writing on
the blackboard site of any changes to the syllabus.
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Topics & Assignments:
Date
Subject
1.
Jan. 16
Introduction
2.
3.
4.
Jan. 18
Jan. 21
Jan. 23
Reconstruction: 1865-1877
Martin Luther King holiday
Film: Birth of a Nation
5.
6.
7.
8.
Jan. 25
Jan. 30
Feb. 1
Feb. 5
Securing the West
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
Feb. 8
Feb. 13
Feb. 15
Feb. 20
Feb. 21
14. Feb. 22
15. Feb. 27
16. March 1
The Gilded Age: 1870-1895
Urbanization & industrialization: 18701900
Film: Matwan
Populism & imperialism, 1890-1900
World War I: 1914-1920
March 8
March 13
March 15
Mar. 18-22
March 27
March 29
April 3
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
33.
34.
35.
April 5
April 10
April 12
April 12
April 17
April 19
April 24
April 26
May 1
May 3
May 9
Activities
2 page paper due in class: your
post-graduate career plans & how
you’ll get there. 25 points
Roark 17
Declaration of book reviewed in
Essay 2
Lies – chapter 4
Roark 18
Roark 19
Quiz chapter 16, in class, matching
Exam 16 – 19, in class multiple
choice – 180 points
Roark 20
Lies – chapter 7
Roark 21
Progressivism: 1890-1920
Field trip: Blue Bell – Broken Arrow
Lies – chapter 9 &
Roark 22
Roark 23
Transportation provided. Parental
release required.
Quiz – chapter 21 – matching
Return to Normalcy & New Era: 19201930
17. March 6
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
Reading
Roark 16, Lies introduction
Roark 25
Mid-term exam – multiple choice;
20 – 23.
Quiz – chapter 24, in class, essay
Response paper on Lies due
Roark 26
Exam – 24 – 26 – multiple choice
Roark 24
Depression & New Deal: 1929-1939
Film: The Grapes of Wrath
Spring Break – no class
World War II: 1939-1945
Post war, Cold War I & Korea: 19451953
“Dewey beats Truman”
The Affluent Society: 1952-1960
Age of Space & Science: 1942-1970
Last day to withdraw
The ‘60s: 1960-1974
Film: The Candidate
Vietnam: 1961-1975
Roark 27
Roark 28
Quiz – chapter 28.
Roark 29
Roark 30
Conservatism in America: 1964-1989
Presentations
Final exam
Book review paper due
Final due – 27 – 29
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