AMERICAN HISTORY II
HIS 104-S29 (SPRING 2015)
ONLINE, 3/9/16 – 5/13/16
Hans P. Vought, Ph.D.
TEXTBOOKS: You should purchase the following books at the college bookstore or retailer of your choice. The main textbook will be available on closed reserve in the MacDonald Dewitt Library. You will be responsible for all material in the books in addition to the lectures. In college, you should develop the ability to read critically - that is, to determine what the author’s thesis or argument is, and evaluate the evidence which he or she uses to support it. You will probably find it useful to take notes on the reading, both for the threaded discussion and in preparing for the papers and exams. In addition, there will be shorter documents to read on the website, which will be discussed in the threaded discussions.
· George B. Tindall & David E. Shi, America: A Narrative History, Volume Two, 9th ed. (W.W. Norton & Co., 2013). ISBN: 9780393912647. This is a basic textbook, which will give you a general overview to provide context as we examine specific topics in-depth. There are author videos, self-quizzes, flashcards, and many other features and study materials for each chapter located in each module.
· Colin G. Calloway, Our Hearts Fell to the Ground: Plains Indian Views of How the West Was Lost (Bedford, 1996). ISBN 978-0-312-13354-2. First-hand accounts by Native Americans of their defeat and dispossession.
· Jane Addams, Twenty Years at Hull House, ed. Victoria Bissell Brown (Bedford, 1999). ISBN 978-0-312-15706-7. A leading progressive reformer describes her efforts to transform working-class Chicago.
· Van Gosse, The Movements of the New Left, 1950-1975: A Brief History with Documents (Bedford, 2005) ISBN 978-0-312-13397-9. Mid-twentieth-century radicalism as described by the radicals.
CONTACT INFORMATION: My physical office is in Vanderlyn 239K. My Office Hours are Mon.-Wed.-Fri. 10:50 -11:50 am, Tues.-Thur. 12:00 - 1:00 pm, and by appointment. My office telephone number is 688-1594. My e-mail address is . Website: http://people.sunyulster.edu/voughth. Please note that all e-mail communication between faculty and students should occur through Blackboard or the mysunyulster.edu portal, which complies with federal law (FERPA).
COURSE OBJECTIVES: This course is designed to give an overview of the “second half” of United States history. It traces the history of American life from the period of Reconstruction following the Civil War to the present day. Key themes will include the interaction between different racial and ethnic groups, the economic growth and industrialization of the nation, changes in American society and culture, and the United States’ rise to the position of global superpower in the twentieth century. The course will consist of both lectures and threaded discussions based on the readings. You are expected to develop analytical skills as you assess historical evidence and arguments, and explain your conclusions in discussions and essays.
OUTLINE OF COURSE CONTENT: This is a 3-credit course presented in an accelerated, condensed format. It is very important, therefore, that you note all due dates and keep up with the readings and module content. Each content module (Modules 1, 2, 4, 5, 7 & 8) will only be open for 8 days. The first two exam modules (Modules 3 & 6) will be open 2 days each; the final exam module (Module 9) will be open 3 days. Papers are due at the end of Modules 2, 5 & 8.
Wed. 3/9 – Wed. 3/16: MODULE 1: RECONSTRUCTION & EXPANSION: THE SOUTH & WEST
Readings: Tindall & Shi, America, chaps. 17, 19; Calloway, Our Hearts Fell to the Ground; “Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address,” “Alexandria Petition,” “The Reconstruction Amendments to the Constitution,” “Justice Harlan’s Dissent in Plessy v. Ferguson,” & “Little Bear’s Account of the Sand Creek Massacre,” HIS 104 Documents.
Topics:
· Reconstruction
· The “Jim Crow” South
· Native Americans & “Settlers” in the West
Thur. 3/17 – Thur. 3/31 (Mon. 3/21 – Sat. 3/26 = Spring Break): MODULE 2: THE GILDED AGE
Readings: Tindall & Shi, America, chaps. 18, 20-21; “Carnegie’s ‘Gospel of Wealth’,” “The Populists’ Omaha Platform,” “The Populists Try to Unite Poor Whites and Blacks,” & “William Jennings Bryan’s ‘Cross of Gold” Speech,” HIS 104 Documents.
Topics:
· Industrial Capitalism
· Organized Labor
· Immigration
· Gilded Age Politics & Reform
· Populism
**1st PAPER DUE 3/31 on Calloway, Our Hearts Fell to the Ground**
Fri. 4/1 – Sat. 4/2: MODULE 3: FIRST EXAM
Sun. 4/3 – Sun. 4/10: MODULE 4: PROGRESSIVE ERA & WORLD WAR I
Readings: Tindall & Shi, America, chaps. 22-24; Addams, Twenty Years at Hull House; “Firsthand Account of Archduke Franz Ferdinand’s Assassination,” “George Creel, ‘How We Advertised America’,” & “Sen. Lodge’s Objections to the League of Nations,” HIS 104 Documents
Topics:
· The Progressive Era
· The “New” Imperialism
· World War I
Mon. 4/11 – Mon. 4/18: MODULE 5: 1920s-1940s
Readings: Tindall & Shi, America, chaps. 25-28; “Supreme Court’s Decision in U.S. v. Butler,” “Sen. Huey Long’s Plan to ‘Share Our Wealth’,” “FDR, ‘America, the Arsenal of Democracy’,” & “FDR, ‘The Four Freedoms’,” HIS 104 Documents
Topics:
· The “New Era” of the 1920s
· The Consumer Economy and the Great Depression
· The New Deal(s)
· World War II
**2nd PAPER DUE 4/18 on Addams, Twenty Years at Hull House**
Tues. 4/19 – Wed. 4/20: MODULE 6: SECOND EXAM
Thur. 4/21 – Thur. 4/28: MODULE 7: POSTWAR AMERICA
Readings: Tindall & Shi, America, chaps. 29-31; “The Truman Doctrine,” “The Marshall Plan,” “NSC-68,” “Rev. King’s Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” “Stokely Carmichael, ‘What We Want’,” & “LBJ, ‘The Great Society’,” HIS 104 Documents
Topics:
· The Beginnings of the Cold War
· The Affluent Society of the 1950s
· The Civil Rights Movement
· A New Frontier for a Great Society
Fri. 4/29 – Fri. 5/6: MODULE 8: 1970s-2000s
Readings: Tindall & Shi, America, chaps. 32-34; Gosse, The Movements of the New Left, 1950-1975; “Vietnamese Declaration of Independence,” “LBJ, ‘Peace Without Conquest’,” “Col. Heinl’s View of Vietnam,” “Thomas Wolfe on the ‘Me Decade’,” “Peter Schrag, ‘The Forgotten American,’ 1969” & “Pres. Reagan’s First Inaugural Address,” HIS 104 Documents
Topics:
· The Vietnam War
· The New Left, Nixon and Watergate
· The 1970s: the U.S. at 200
· 1980s: Reagan & Neo-Conservatism
· 1990s: The Clinton Years
· 2000s: Terrorism & Transition
**3rd PAPER DUE 5/6 on Gosse, The Movements of the New Left**
Sat. 5/7 – Mon. 5/9: MODULE 9: FINAL EXAM
STUDENT REQUIREMENTS FOR COMPLETION OF THE COURSE: You will write three short papers and three essay exams over the course of the semester. The three exams will include a choice of short answer and essay questions, covering material from the lectures and readings. They are closed-book and non-cumulative. Your essays should articulate a clear thesis (that is, an argument supported by evidence) in response to the questions. You are free to express any opinion; however, you must present historical evidence to support it.
The papers will be 2-3 pages each (typed, double-spaced, 1-inch margins and 12-point type). You will write your analysis of the primary historical sources presented in each of the three shorter books. You will submit your papers to Turnitin.com, a website which checks student papers for evidence of plagiarism. Use the drop boxes in the “Papers” section of the Learning Modules to submit your papers. Late papers will not be accepted.
LATE PAPER POLICY: The papers are due at the end of the second, fifth and eighth modules, on the days noted in the schedule above. Late papers will not be accepted.
ATTENDANCE POLICY: “Attendance” online and participation in the threaded discussions is mandatory. Failure to participate or submit assignments may lead to your being removed from the course with cause by me.
If you need course adaptations or accommodations because of a disability please make an appointment with me as soon as possible. Please note the withdrawal deadlines set by the college.
ASSESSMENT: Grades will be based upon your meaningful participation in the threaded discussions, the three papers and the three exams. The papers will make up 10% each of your final grade. The first two exams will make up 20% each of your final grade. The final exam will make up 30% of your final grade. There will be no “extra credit” - in college, you are judged by the quality rather than the quantity of your work. Both participation in the threaded discussion and improvement will be taken into consideration in determining the final course grade.
The following grading scale is used:
93-100 = A
90-92 = A-
87-89 = B+
83-86 = B
80-82 = B-
77-79 = C+
73-76 = C
70-72 = C-
67-69 = D+
63-66 = D
60-62 = D-
< 59 = F
Please retain all graded papers from this course until you see your final grade posted on your College transcript. If I suspect you of plagiarism or cheating, you will receive a 0 for that particular exam. You will have an opportunity to meet with me and demonstrate that you are innocent. If a second offense should occur, you will receive a 0 for the course.
FINAL EXAM: The final exam will not be cumulative – it will simply be the third exam.
STUDENT RESPONSIBILITIES FOR ACADEMIC HONESTY: Academic honesty means that students are expected to do their own work and follow the rules regarding acts such as cheating and plagiarism. It is the student’s responsibility to maintain academic honesty. That is, ignorance of the standards of academic honesty is not an acceptable excuse for breaking these standards. Academic dishonesty - breaking the standards of academic honesty - is taken very seriously by the College. Breaking the rules of academic honesty will result in immediate disciplinary consequences.
Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, the following actions:
1. Cheating on examinations or quizzes. Examples include (a) referring to materials that the instructor has not allowed to be used during the test, such as textbooks or notes or websites; (b) using devices the instructor has not allowed to be used during the test, such as cell phones, text messages, or calculators; and (c) copying from another student’s paper or asking another student for an answer.
2. Plagiarism. Plagiarism means the use of words or ideas that are obtained from other sources without giving credit to those sources. Not only do quotations have to be referenced, but also any use of the ideas of others, even if expressed in the student’s own words, must be referenced. The College has a service to check for plagiarism. Any student paper can be submitted for this plagiarism check.
3. Submission of work that is not entirely the student’s own work. Having another person write a paper or parts of a paper is one example of this offense; allowing another student to copy test answers is another example.
4. Theft or sale of examinations, falsification of academic records, and similar offenses.
5. Submitting work to more than one class. For example, a student who submits to an English class a paper previously turned in to a philosophy class is in violation of academic honesty, unless the English instructor has given permission for the duplicate submission.
6. Unauthorized duplication of computer software or print materials. For example, turning in a term paper downloaded from a website is a violation of academic honesty.
7. Influence. A student should not attempt to get an instructor to change a grade or record for any reason except achievement. For example, trying to get an instructor to change a grade because of personal hardship - or because of a bribe - is a violation of academic honesty.
8. Practice of any other form of academic dishonesty not included in this list.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: To learn more about any of the topics covered in this course, please see the list of recommended books at the end of each chapter in the textbook, and on the textbook website.
N.B.: This syllabus is not a legal contract. Assignments and policies (other than college rules) are subject to revision at any time throughout the course.