SYLLABUS:
History 163
U.S.
HISTORY, 1877 - 1975
Jacqueline
M. Moore
Spring
2005
Office
Hours:M&F 12-1, W11-11:50, TTh 4:30-5:30pm, & by appt.
My
office is in: 121 Sherman Hall
Telephone
Numbers:
Office:
813-2262 (voice mail)
Home:(972)547-6812
(not between 11pm and 8am)
E-mail:
jmoore@austincollege.edu
Required Texts
In
Pursuit of Liberty,
Wilson, James Gilbert et. al., 1990
Up
From Slavery,
Booker T.
Washington, 1901
Children
of the City,
David
Nasaw, 1986
Ugly
American,
William J.
Lederer and Eugene Burdick, 1958
Course Contents
This
course is an introduction to United States History from Reconstruction
to
Watergate. We will study political, social and economic trends relating
to the
emergence of the United States as a world power and an industrial
nation. I
expect students to participate actively. In addition to the two
midterms and
final exam, students will write two 3-5 page, typed, double-spaced book
reviews
on two of the three assigned books other than Pursuit of Liberty.
They
may choose which two books they will write on but are responsible for
all
readings for class discussion and for the exams. The final will
concentrate
mainly on the last third of the course, but will have one comprehensive
essay. If you do not complete any exam
or major assignment I reserve the right to drop you from the course. If you miss more than one third of the course
you will automatically fail. In addition, since this is college not
kindergarten, I expect all students to conduct themselves in a manner
that does
not disrupt the class. I reserve the
right to drop any student from the course who repeatedly disrupts class
as a
result of their behavior.
Grade Distribution
|
Participation |
15% |
|
Midterm 1 |
15% |
|
Midterm 2 |
20% |
|
Book Analysis 1 |
15% |
|
Book Analysis 2 |
15% |
|
Final Exam |
20% |
If
you do not attend you cannot participate and therefore will not receive
credit
toward your grade. Participation means more than just attendance,
however. If
you attend every class and pay attention the whole time (without
falling
asleep) but never say a word, take a quiz, or do a homework assignment,
you
will receive a grade of C- for your participation. If you are absent
more than
three times this grade will drop to a D+ or lower. In general, more
than three
absences may affect your grade.
It is important, therefore, that you
make an attempt to say something in class discussion, preferably
something to
do with the class. For that reason you might want to keep up with the
reading
assignments which will help you think of something to contribute. There
are no
dumb questions or answers, I'm not going to laugh at you if you get
your facts
wrong, and I will listen to every point of view with an open mind. I
expect the
same from all the members of the class.
I assign all grades on an A-F letter
basis, A being excellent, B being above average, C being average, D
below
average, and F being failure to complete assignment. I then weight each
letter
grade according to the grade distribution chart and compute the average
grade
for the semester. To get an A you will need to perform consistently
with
excellence on major assignments and tests as well as participate
actively in
class discussions. To get a B you will have to perform consistently
above
average etc. etc.
Late Assignments and
Make-up Exams
I will not accept late homework
assignments without prior arrangement. The same applies to book
analyses. In
addition, I will lower the analysis one
grade for each day it is late unless you have a legitimate excuse. I
will
gladly accept early homework or book reviews and would be happy to
discuss them
with you.
I only give makeup exams by prior
arrangement except for extreme emergencies. If you miss an exam due to
an
emergency, it is YOUR responsibility to get in touch with me
IMMEDIATELY, to
discuss the possibility of making up the exam. I am more likely to
agree to a
makeup exam if you have been in touch with me since the day of the
original
exam. I have voice mail, email, and an answering machine so there's no
excuse
for saying that you couldn't reach me.
Academic Integrity
This
course will operate under Austin College Academic Integrity Policies.
Academic
honesty is absolutely essential. This means I will not tolerate
cheating of any
kind. I find it personally insulting, because it implies that you think
I am so
stupid that I will never catch you. WRONG. Be warned: I take immense
pleasure
in tracking down dishonest students. We will follow strictly the
guidelines
printed in the student handbook. Please read these carefully. If you do
not
understand these rules I would be happy to discuss them with you so
that you do
not accidentally break them in your own work.
Oh
yeah, and you can stop that yawning right now, sit up straight, brush
your
teeth and always cross the street at the crosswalk. And eat all your
vegetables
or no dessert. Got that?
COURSE GOALS
1.
Students will learn a basic narrative of historical events in U.S.
history from
1877 to 1975.
2.
Students will learn to analyze causes and effects of historical events.
3.
Students will learn to read historical sources critically.
4.
Students will practice writing basic analytical essays.
EXPECTED STUDENT OUTCOMES
1.
Students will demonstrate knowledge of basic events on two midterm and
one
final exam.
2.
Students will demonstrate ability to determine cause and effects in
examinations and in two analytical papers based on class readings.
3.
Students will demonstrate ability to distinguish between fact and
opinion in a
comparative book analysis.
4.
Students will demonstrate ability to pose an overall argument, with
supporting
evidence and examples on both examinations and in the 2 book analyses.
LECTURES
AND READING
ASSIGNMENTS
US
History, 1877-1975 Spring
2005
*Pursuit means Pursuit
of
Liberty; *Slavery = Up From Slavery; *City = Children
of the City; *Ugly = Ugly American. *Rec'd =
Recommended
Reading
|
DATE |
READINGS |
TOPIC |
|
Jan. |
||
|
31, MON.: |
START READING Slavery Rec'd Pursuit, 21-29 |
Opening, Civil War,
African-American Experience |
|
Feb |
||
|
2, WED.: |
Pursuit, 46-62, Rec'd
29-43 |
Presidential Reconstruction
Congressional Reconstruction,
Redemption, Election of 1876 |
|
4, FRI.: |
Pursuit, 124-59 |
Wounded Knee, Native
Americans, Westward Expansion, Transportation and Mining Revolution |
|
7, MON.: |
Pursuit, 97-107, 68-69 |
Industry and Big Business,
populism and the Grange |
|
9, WED.: |
Pursuit, 69-77 |
Greenbacks, Free Silver,
Populism |
|
11, FRI. |
Pursuit, 82-96,107-119 |
Haymarket, Immigration and
Organized Labor |
|
14, MON.:: |
FINISH Slavery |
Discussion of Up From
Slavery |
|
16, WED: |
Pursuit, 164-97, Rec'd 262-72 |
Lizzie Borden and Conspicuous
Consumption, US Expansion |
|
18, FRI |
Pursuit, 240-61, 272-76 |
Philippines, Spanish-American
War, Dollar Diplomacy, Mission Diplomacy |
|
21, MON.: |
MIDTERM #1 |
|
|
23, WED.: |
Pursuit, 200-16, 220-26, START
READING City |
Origins of Progressivism
Social Reform: Prohibition, Jane Addams |
|
25, FRI.: |
Continue City Pursuit, 226-29, PAPER OPTION #1 DUE |
Social Reform:Working
Conditions; Economic Reform: Theodore Roosevelt |
|
28, MON.:
|
TBA |
Continue City |
|
Mar. |
||
|
2, WED.: |
TBA |
Continue City |
|
4, FRI.: |
TBA |
Continue City |
|
7, MON.: |
Pursuit, 229-35 |
Election of 1912; Economic
Reform: Woodrow Wilson; Political Reform: state and local |
|
9, WED.: |
Pursuit, 223-24, 276-80, Continue City
|
Women's Suffrage, African
Americans, Decline of Progressivism, World War I |
|
11,FRI.: |
Pursuit, 280-86 |
World War I |
|
14, MON.: |
Finish City |
Discussion of City, |
|
16, WED.: |
Pursuit, 290-320, |
Lindbergh, 1920s culture |
| SPRING
BREAK BEGINS AT NOON ON MARCH 18-- NO CLASS FRIDAY |
||
|
28, MON.: |
Pursuit, 339-48 PAPER OPTION# 2 DUE |
1920s culture and politics |
|
30, WED.: |
Pursuit, 348-52 |
Origins of Depression,
Hoover's Response |
|
April |
||
|
1, FRI.: |
NO CLASS |
|
|
4, MON.: |
Pursuit, 352-59 |
FDR and First New Deal |
|
6, WED.: |
Pursuit, 359-68 |
Challenges and Second New Deal |
|
8, FRI.: |
Pursuit, 372-408 BEGIN READING Ugly |
Hiroshima and World War II |
|
11, MON.: |
MIDTERM # 2 |
|
|
13, WED.: |
Pursuit, 409-412, Continue reading Ugly |
Origins of the Cold War, Cold
War Ideology |
|
15, FRI.: |
Pursuit, 412-18, 441-52 |
Korean War, McCarthyism,
Truman, Society in 40s and 50s |
|
18, MON.: |
Pursuit, 452-56, Continue Ugly |
"Disturbia", Beat Generation
Eisenhower Foreign Policy |
|
20, WED.: |
FINISH Ugly |
Discussion of Ugly American |
|
22, FRI.: |
Pursuit, 456-64 |
JFK, New Frontier, Camelot |
|
25, MON.: |
Pursuit, 422-40, |
Civil Rights Movement: Court
Action to Direct Action, Montgomery and MLK |
|
27, WED.: |
Pursuit, 458-60, 496-98 PAPER OPTION #3 DUE |
CRM: Direct Action--Sit-Ins
Freedom Rides, Albany, |
|
29, FRI.: |
Pursuit 498-502 |
CRM: Civil Rights Act,
Empowerment--Selma, Alternate Strategies |
|
May |
||
|
2, MON.: |
Pursuit, 489-96 |
Guns, Butter, and LBJ's Great
Society |
|
4, WED.: |
Pursuit, 468-88 |
Vietnam, Election of 1968 |
|
6, FRI.: |
Pursuit, 531-45, |
Nixon and Watergate, Closing
Remarks |
|
9, MON.: |
REVIEW DAY--NO CLASS |
|
FINAL
EXAM IS TUESDAY MAY 10 FROM 9-11am. THE FINAL EXAM WILL CONCENTRATE ON
THE
MATERIAL SINCE THE LAST MIDTERM, HOWEVER THERE WILL BE ONE
COMPREHENSIVE ESSAY
ON A BROAD TOPIC BASED ON ONE OF THE THEMES WE DISCUSSED ON THE FIRST
DAY OF
CLASS