History 112 United States History Since 1865

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HISTORY 112--UNITED STATES HISTORY SINCE 1865

Spring 2010

Vivian Bruce CongerOffice: Muller 408

Office Hours: TR 10:00-12:00 and 1:00-3:00Office phone number: 4-3572

Or by appointmentE-mail:

Course Description:

I assume that American history is not a fixed set of facts, figures, and events, that it is not a done deal. People, places, motivation and circumstance are the content for rigorous historical thinking. History was contested all along and continues to be contested. It is that complexity we will explore throughout the semester. To that end, this course explores major themes and issues that led to the making of the modern United States. I pay attention to social and intellectual currents, labor and business, farmer protest, immigration and ethnicity, race and gender, the development of reform and radical thought and activities, American involvement in war, civil liberties issues, Progressivism and the New Deal, and major changes in post-World War II America. Through few short lectures, readings (both primary and secondary), videos, hand on work with primary sources, and LOTS OF DISCUSSION, you will become acquainted with the central concerns of US history and you will begin to cultivate habits of critical understanding that allow you to draw significance from the past.

Course Expectations:

Standards of Academic Conduct: All work turned in for this course must be completed on your own without unauthorized assistance. You must abide by the student code of conduct at all times. If you have questions about plagiarism or other violations of the student conduct code, please see the relevant passages of your student handbook.

Attendance: I operate on the assumption that you will attend class and read the assignments, and I grade on those assumptions.

Course Goals:

We live in a tangled and confusing era fraught with both domestic and foreign challenges and dangers. Many of us have returned to our own past to see how Americans dealt with civil rights, imperialism, government propaganda, diversity, gender issues—to name a few. In short, we are coming to see history as not only entertaining but also important in our efforts to understand ourselves—where we have come from, where we are at the present and where we might be going.

“We study history because it provides us with knowledge, vocabulary, idioms, and language in which to make connections between the past, present, and future”

educator Diane Ravitch

• To understand the differences between geographic regions, cultures, classes, races and gender at one time and over time—to understand why there were such differences and THE CONSEQUENCES FOR AMERICAN SOCIETY OF SUCH DIFFERENCES
• To understand how the United States developed over time—how events led into one another (how and why American society transformed) and WHAT THAT UNFOLDING OF EVENTS MEANT TO AMERICAN SOCIETY
• To learn how to read AND INTERPRET secondary and primary documents—what they are saying and how and why the perspective of the author matters
• To learn how to put primary documents together to formulate a thesis/an argument about American society—TO ANALYZE THE MEANING, SIGNIFICANCE AND THE CONSEQUENCES OF THOSE DOCUMENTS
• To learn how to formulate and articulate (both verbally and in writing) a historical argument and be able to support that argument with information from secondary and primary sources—that is, TO LEARN HOW TO BE A HISTORIAN.

I have LOTS of class discussion because I think it is important for you to be ACTIVE learners. You learn more and you learn it better when you become an agent of your own education. It also makes the class more fun and engaging for all of us.

Required Readings:

James L. Roark, et. al.,The American Promise: A Compact History, Volume II: From 1865, Fourth Edition (hereafter referred to as TAP)

Visit the text’s companion Web site, bedfordstmartins.com/roarkcompact, for online access to extensive resources, including:

-Recommended Study Plan

-Self-quizzes

-Map Activities

-Make History documents e-library: a database of over 750 annotated Web links to primary documents.

-Make History links e-library: an excellent resource for research papers.

-Research and Documentation Online: advice on integrating outside material into a research paper, citing sources correctly, and so on.

Victoria Bissell Brown and Timothy J. Shannon,Going to the Source: The Bedford Reader in American History, Volume 2: Since 1865, Second Edition (hereafter referred to as GTTS)

Mirroring the chronology of the U.S. history survey, each chapter introduces you to the excitement of working with documents by focusing on a single intriguing historical episode. The reader’s wide variety of chapter topics that complement TAP and its rich diversity of sources—from personal letters to political cartoons—will provoke your interest and it teaches you the skills you need to successfully grapple with historical sources.

Robert D. Marcus, David Burner, and Anthony Marcus, America Firsthand: Volume Two: Readings from Reconstruction to the Present, Eighth Edition (hereafter referred to as AF)

With its distinctive focus on ordinary people, this primary documents reader offers a remarkable range of perspectives on America’s history from those who lived it. Popular Points of View sections will expose you to different perspectives on a specific event or topic, and Visual Portfolios will invite your analysis of the visual record.

Grading:

In calculating your final grade, the assignments will be weighted as follows (further explanations are below):

• Attendance 5%
• Participation 10%
• Written homework assignments30%
• Exam 1 15%
• Exam 2 20%
• Final Exam (one question will be comprehensive)20%

LETTER GRADE / HONOR POINTS / NUMERIC GRADE
A / 4.0 / 92-100
A- / 3.7 / 90-91
B+ / 3.3 / 88-89
B / 3.0 / 81-87
B- / 2.7 / 79-80
C+ / 2.3 / 77-78
C / 2.0 / 69-76
C- / 1.7 / 67-68
D+ / 1.3 / 65-66
D / 1.0 / 55-64
D- / 0.7 / 50-54
F / 0.0 / <50

MY ATTENDANCE POLICY

You will get THREE “free” absences (one week of classes). After that, you must have an official written excused absence for the absence to be considered legitimate (see below). I will deduct one letter grade for each day you are absent (that is, your grade will start with an A, then drop to an A- for the first absence after the THREE free absences, then to a B+ for the next absence, and so on). DO NOT attempt to put me in the position of trying to decide which absences sound legitimate and which do not. Either save your absences for illness or plan your THREE days off wisely!!!

This is IthacaCollege’s official policy about visits to the HealthCenter:

The IC Health Center no longer routinely issues "blue notes" documenting students' visits. According to recent policy, “We believe that students have the same responsibility for understanding and meeting the attendance requirements of their faculty as do employees in the workplace. Neither faculty nor students should be misled into overvaluing a ‘doctor's note.’ When necessary we will continue to provide students with written documentation for severe, prolonged, or unusual illness that causes them to miss class, e.g. in uncommon circumstances like those that might require any of us to provide a medical note to our employer. We will ask that these visits be by appointment, as they would be in the community, and will seek permission to document pertinent medical details when required.”

This is IthacaCollege’s Official Attendance policy:

“Students at IthacaCollege are expected to attend all classes, and they are responsible for work missed during any absence from class. At the beginning of each semester, instructors must provide the students in their courses with written guidelines regarding possible grading penalties for failure to attend class. Students should notify their instructors as soon as possible of any anticipated absences. Written documentation that indicates the reason for being absent may be required. These guidelines may vary from course to course but are subject to the following restrictions:

• In accordance with New YorkState law, students who miss class due to their religious beliefs shall be excused from class or examinations on that day. Such students must notify their course instructors at least one week before any anticipated absence so that proper arrangements may be made to make up any missed work or examination without penalty.

• Any student who misses class due to a verifiable family or individual health emergency, or to a required appearance in a court of law shall be excused. The student or a family member/legal guardian may report the absence to the Office of Student Affairs and Campus Life, which will notify the student's dean's office, as well as residential life if the student lives on campus. The dean's office will disseminate the information to the appropriate faculty. Follow-up by the student with his or her professors is imperative. Students may need to consider a leave of absence, medical leave of absence, selected course withdrawals, etc., if they have missed a significant portion of classwork.”

PARTICIPATION

In-class activities will revolve around discussion because as you share your ideas with others and as those ideas get challenged and refined, your analytical and verbal skills improve. I will mix up the structure of those discussions; sometimes they will be among the whole class, sometimes they will be among medium-sized groups, and sometimes they will be among two or three students. I also will set up debates and role-playing exercises. These in-depth discussions will facilitate an interactive (and hopefully intense) learning experience to which each of you contributes. There will be controversial topics this semester so the discussions should be lively and perhaps even contentious (which in itself will be a great lesson in how to deal with and learn from perspectives that you might disagree with—you should learn to be comfortable with feeling uncomfortable).

That said, class participation means not simply showing up for class discussions, rather it meansactively participating in those discussions—ofTAP, GTTS, and AF and other in-class assignments. If you attend all classes but do not participate in class discussions, you can NOT earn an “A” for this part of the course. I watch and take notes—especially when you are in groups so do not think this is a time to let someone else do the work. Obviously, I take class discussion very seriously, so if you feel that you are too shy to talk in class, please let me know so we can work out an alternative (i.e., keeping a discussion journal).

HOMEWORK

Let me make it abundantly clear that I expect EVERYONE in the class to read the assigned chapters from TAP, GTTS and AF and you MUST be able to discuss the material in class. Forewarning: I do call on students randomly. Sometimes I will base those discussions in part on the questions posed for each chapter, and sometimes I’ll bring in entirely new questions. BUTyou will turn in written answers to only fourGTTS assignments (answer all the questions near the end of each chapter in the section entitled “Analyzing . . .”) and twoAFassignments (write an essay—choose from the list at the end of the syllabus). TWO assignments from GTTS and ONE assignment from AFmust be completed before Spring Break. Do not take the homework assignments lightly—this is not just busy work. Think of the assignments this way: if this was a science course, these would be your lab assignments—that part of the course where you get “hands on” experience and the written material is your lab report.

Answer the questions as fully and completely as you can. It must be evident that you used the sources provided in each chapter to answer the questions—and the best way to do that is to cite the sources you used (read Appendices I and II of GTTS). Your goal is not to get through the assignment as quickly and easily as possible, but instead it is to tease out the complexities of the issues at hand. Your grade will, in part, reflect how thoroughly you delved into the material.

All homework assignments are to be e-mailed to me as an attachment before we discuss the readings in class. I WILL NOT ACCEPT HARD COPY ASSIGNMENT AND I WILL NOT ACCEPT LATE ASSIGNMENTS.

When we discuss TAP, we will figure out—as a group—what we considerthe three most important points from the chapter. You must come to class prepared to discuss the issue and you must be able to defend your choice (don’t ignore the questions posed throughout the chapters—and don’t skip over the images—they provided important information if you pay careful attention to how the authors are analyzing them). We will also discuss patterns—such as why everybody picked the same issue or why someone picked an issue when no one else did. This will lead to a more comprehensive understanding of what sometimes feels like an overwhelming amount of “factual” information. Here too you can answer briefly or more completely. The more fully you answer the question, the better for everyone. Here is an example from the fall semester to illustrate what I mean. Obviously I want you to model Example Y.

Example X

1.) The second great awakening revived religion in America during the early 1800's.

2.) The abolitionists were huge in trying to end the evil of slavery and many women and blacks stuck out in trying to help end slavery.

3.) Andrew Jackson's two terms really helped boost the executive branches power as he vetoed many laws passed by Congress and really helped separate the Democrat and Whig parties

Example Y

1. The reform movements that took place in the United States in the 1820's-1830's incorporated new views on religion, slavery and women’s rights. The Second Great Awakening was a religious movement in whichreformers attempted to free the world from sins such as prostitution and alcoholism, and advocated for personal salvation through repentance. Meanwhile strong feelings about the evilness of slavery led abolitioniststo fight for the freedom of slaves in the United States. Although abolitionists were united in their belief that slavery was wrong, they were divided on the methods that should be taken. While some abolitionists advocated immeditiasm (freeing slaves immediately), others favored gradual emancipation.

2. The 8 year term of Andrew Jackson completely reshaped the role of government in society and had many lasting impacts for years to come. Jackson, feeling cheated after the Election of 1824 (which he referred toas the corrupt bargain), set out to enforce his will after winning the presidency in 1828. Jackson opposed a strong central government, nullification, the Second Bank, and reform movements and advocated a strong role for the president (Jackson vetoed 12 bills during his term) and the specie circular. Jackson's status as part of the Democratic Party and his clear views on all of the major topics turned out to bring forth the establishment of the second party system. After Jackson's term, two political parties emerged, the Democrats (the Jacksonians) and the Whigs, who opposed Jackson's views. These two parties created lots of controversy over issues concerning the economy and westward expansion. The Whigs wanted a more centralized government and the Democrats called for a limited government.

3. Manifest Destiny was caused by a growing strong national pride and it was the belief held by Americans that the US was destined to expand its borders. Although many Americans agreed with this concept, sectionalismled to different views on how the U.S. should expand. Southerners supported the annexation of Texas as a slave society to tip the balance of the national government in favor of pro slavery views. However, northerners viewed this as unfair advantage and felt that the US should instead focus its expansion on the OregonTerritory. Texas was annexed by the US as a slave state and joined the Union (the South) in December of 1845.

These are important discussions that you will find quite beneficial when it comes to exam times—in terms of content and in terms of methodology! I suggest you take good notes!! I also suggest that you pay very close attention to the section at the end of every chapter entitled “Reviewing the Chapter.”

You must know the key terms provided at the end of every chapter and on the companion website for TAP. HALF OF ALL THE EXAMS WILL ENTAIL THESE TERMS. You will be expected to be able to define the terms, but most importantly, you will be expected to explain the significance of the terms. The companion website provides a brief definition of the terms, but you have to go beyond that. You MUST understand the term in the context of the chapter (understand the introduction and the main ideas--what is the chapter about?) and of the particular section in the chapter (pay attention to the section before as well as the relevant section—understand the main points of those sections--what are they about?). For example, you should be able to tell me that Nat Turner was a slave who fomented an insurrection in Virginia in 1831. True enough. But there is more to it than that. You might explain that not only was Nat and other “rebels” hunted down and hanged, but also in the process vengeful whites killed 200 African Americans, including innocent victims. Also while Virginia debated abolishing slavery many southern states ultimately tightened legal codes outlawing the education of blacks and black religious practices. It also escalated tension between the north and south. As southern fears of further slave uprisings increased so did restrictions on slave movements and harsh punishment of resistance. This atmosphere fueled northern abolitionism as they responded in horror to the treatment of southern slaves.