NORTH GREENVILLE COLLEGE
History 2320
Summer II 2004
United States History II
Dr. Jeffery B. Cook, Ph.D.
Office: 205B White Hall
Office Hours: 10:40-11:40 M-W and or by appointment
Phone: 895.8943
Fax: 895.8943
E-mail:
Website: http://jefferybcook.com/ushis2.htm
Office Hours:
If you want to see me about something, please make an appointment ahead of time. While I do try to be around most of the time, other commitments come up. If you make an appointment, please keep it--neither of us wants to keep the other one waiting!
Course Descriptions:
American history from 1865 to the present is examined in detail, with particular attention to the key personalities of the era, the industrial revolution, the recent wars, and the youth culture. We will examine the political, social, economic and cultural forces that shaped contemporary American civilization.
Objectives:
1. To produce a time line showing the most significant periods, dates and events for American history.
2. To discuss in detail the major written primary documents which have influenced American history.
3. Access current technology to obtain historical information.
4. To write an essay that forces students to focus their thinking on important questions related to the study of American history.
5. To develop an enduring interest in history.
6. To improve writing and critical thinking skills.
Student Responsibility:
Success in this course depends upon the completion of the reading assignments and participation in class discussion by the students. If students fall behind in their readings they may soon find it difficult to follow the subject matter of the class discussion or participate in it.
Instructor's Responsibilities:
The atmosphere of the class will be kept informal to encourage general participation and a full variety of viewpoints. The instructor will make himself available after class and during office hours to offer students additional advice on preparing course assignments. Students are urged to take advantage of such assistance.
Format:
During the semester there will be lectures, discussions and videos that will amplify the subjects discussed in the readings. Student participation in discussion is expected and will help determine your final grade.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
1. Exams: Two section exams and a comprehensive final will be administered during the semester on the dates listed below. The exams will consist of multiple-choice and short-answer questions drawn from both the lecture and reading materials.
Make-up exams: Make-up examinations are possible only when you have presented me with a legitimate excuse BEFORE the scheduled date of the exam. Failure to do so will result in an automatic 0 for the exam. This make-up policy does not apply to the final exam. Failure to take the final exam at the stated time during the final exam week will be treated as a serious breach of policy and will probably not be excused, resulting in a failing grade for the exam.
Note: Make-up Exams: All make-up exams will be administered during the final week of classes.
2. Quizzes: There will be 6 in-class quizzes administered during the semester. The quizzes will consist of multiple-choice and short answer questions drawn from both the lecture and reading materials.
Late Policy: If you arrive after the quiz has been administered
you will NOT be permitted to take the quiz.
Make-up Quizzes: Forget about it. No make-ups.
Pop Quizzes: The instructor does reserve the right to give pop quizzes if he deems it necessary.
3. Required Paper: There will be one short paper (3-4 pages, 750-1,000 words) required in History. The paper will be based on John Bradley’s Flags of Our Fathers. Write an essay in which you answer one of the following: (1) What were the men who raised the flag at Iwo Jima fighting for? (2) Why was Bradley’s father, who had been acclaimed a hero, so reluctant to talk about his experiences? (3) Were the men who raised the flag victims of their own fame? (4) Indicate the degree to which this book reveals the human side of the men raised the flag at Iwo Jima.
The purpose of this paper is to focus your thinking on important questions which relate to your study of American history. These are not research papers but an analytical essay in which you need to bring your thoughts together in a concise and meaningful manner. If you wish to quote from the source, and you probably should, you may simply indicate in parenthesis the pages(s) from which you have gotten a thought or a quote. Take serious the word limitation for this paper. Your grade will be based on how well you answer the question, not the length of your responses.
NOTE: CONSULTING THE INTERNET FOR THIS ASSIGNMENT WILL RESULT IN AN AUTOMATIC 0 IF DETECTED.
Late Essays: Essays are due at the end of the class period on July 20, 2004. That’s it, no excuses.
4. Proficiency Exam: The Department of History and Political Science administers proficiency exams for all survey courses twice per term. The second exam will be included in determining the final course grade.
Course Grade:
The grade for the course will be determined by averaging the two examinations, the final, the quizzes, the proficiency exam, and the essay. Other factors can elevate a student's grade, including CLASS PARTICIPATION and GRADE PATTERN.
First exam 100 points
Second exam 100 points
Quizzes 100 points
Essay 100 points
Proficiency Exam 50 points
Final exam 125 points
Extra Credit:
Extra Credit is part of the high school experience and will not be granted in this course.
Attendance:
ATTENDANCE IS MANDATORY. YOU ARE ALLOWED TO MISS CLASS ON TWO (2) DAYS. AFTER THAT, YOUR FINAL GRADE WILL BE REDUCED BY HALF A GRADE FOR EVERY ABSENCE. THAT IS, IF YOU HAVE TWO UNEXCUSED ABSENCES AND THE GRADE YOU EARN IS A, THE GRADE REPORTED WILL BE B. IN LIGHT OF THIS POLICY, I STRONGLY URGE YOU TO DROP THIS COURSE IF YOU DO NOT PLAN TO BE IN CLASS.
Plagiarism:
Plagiarism is copying from a source without acknowledging it. It is academically dishonest and should not be tolerated in any course. Plagiarism will result in an F for the assignment and could well jeopardize your grade for the course.
Cheating:
Cheating is a serious academic offense and will result in severe penalties. These include a zero for the work involved, an immediate F in the course, and referral to college authorities for further discipline, including expulsion from Nyack College.
Disability:
If you are learning, sensory, or physically disabled, and need assistance in lecture, testing, etc., please contact me as soon as possible. I will help you anyway I can and matters will be held in the strictest of confidence.
This Class:
You should take this class seriously. It assumes college-level reading and writing. It will require regular, thorough, and effective studying. But if you give it your best, you will have personal satisfaction, new insights into our past, and even fun. For my part, I want to help you in every way I can.
The following texts are required:
George Tindall and David Shi, America: A Narrative History.
John Bradley, Flags of Our Fathers.
Please note that all books are referred to by the last name
of the author in the syllabus.
Course Outline
PART I HUDDLED MASSES AND CROSSES OF GOLD
June 28 Introduction to the Course
Proficiency Exam
The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln
Tindall and Shi, pp. 713-722
*David Donald, Lincoln.
*Stephen Oates, With Malice Toward None.
June 29 Film: Reconstruction: The Second Civil War
The End of Reconstruction
Tindall and Shi, pp. 722-801
*C Vann Woodward, Reunion and Reaction.
*Eric Foner, Reconstruction.
*Edward Ayes, The Promise of a New South. *Eric Foner, A Short History of Reconstruction.
June 30 Industrialization
The Last Indian Wars
Tindall and Shi, pp. 802-841
*Dee Brown, The American West.
*Matthew Josephson, The Robber Barons.
*Larry McMuntry, Crazy Horse.
*Glenn Porter, The Rise of Big Business.
July 1 The New Immigration
City Life
Tindall and Shi, pp. 842-932
*Raymond A. Mohl, The New City.
*Walter Nugent, Crossings.
July 6 Film: Ellis Island
The Spanish American War
Tindall and Shi, pp. 933-966
*Richard Welch, Response to Imperialism.
*Frank Freidel, The Splendid Little War.
*Stuart Miller, Benevolent Assimilation.
July 7 First Exam
PART II THE FIRST INTERNATIONAL NATION
July 8 Theodore Roosevelt
Film: Theodore Roosevelt
Tindall and Shi, pp. 967-1005
*Lewis Gould, The Presidency of Theodore Roosevelt.
*Arthur Link and Richard McCormick, Progressivism.
*Edmund Morris, Theodore Rex.
*Edmund Morris, The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt.
*John Milton Cooper, The Warrior and the Priest.
July 12 The First World War
Film: Alvin C. York Tindall and Shi, pp. 1006-1035
*Paul Fussell, The Great War and Modern Memory.
*Martin Gilbert, The First World War.
*John Keegan, The First World War.
*David Kennedy, Over There.
*Barbara Tuchman, The Guns of August.
*David Lee, Sergeant York.
*John Perry, Sgt.York.
July 13 The Long Armistice
The Roaring Twenties
Tindall and Shi, pp. 1035-1080
*John D. Hicks, The Republican Ascendancy.
*Daniel Smith, The Great Departure.
*Frederick Calhoun, Armed Intervention.
James Flink, The Car Culture.
*Lynn Dumenil, The Modern Temper.
*William Leuchtenberg, The Perils of Prosperity.
*Geoffrey Peret, America in the Twenties: A History.
PART III NOTHING TO FEAR BUT FEAR ITSELF
July 14 The Stock Market Crash
FDR and the New Deal
Tindall and Shi, pp. 1081-1160
*John A. Garraty, The Great Depression.
*Studs Turkel, Hard Times.
*Murray Rothbard, America’s Great Depression.
*Paul Conklin, New Deal.
*Frank Freidel, Franklin Roosevelt
*John T. Flynn, The Roosevelt Myth.
*Gregory Pavik, ed., Forgotten Lessons.
*Doris K. Goodwin, No Ordinary Time.
July 15 Film: The Great Depression
World War II
Tindall and Shi, pp. 1161-1190
*Winston S. Churchill, The Second World War, 6 vols
*John Keegan, The Second World War.
July 19 War in Europe
War in the Pacific
Tindall and Shi, pp. 1191-1236
*Stephen Ambrose, Band of Brothers.
*Stephen Ambrose, Citizen Soldiers.
*Stephen Ambrose, D-Day.
*Dwight D. Eisenhower, Crusade in Europe.
*John Keegan, Six Armies in Normandy.
*Ronald H. Spector, Eagle Against the Sun.
*John Toland, The Rising Sun.
July 20 Film: The Heroes of Iwo Jima
Discussion: Flags of Our Fathers.
Essay is due
July 21 The Holocaust
Film: “Night and Fog”
*Daniel Goldhagen, Hitler’s Willing Executioners.
*Primo Levi, Survival at Auschwitz.
*Elie Wiesel, Night.
*Christopher Browning, Ordinary Men.
July 22 Second Exam
July 26 The Cold War
Film: Korean War Stories
Tindall and Shi, pp. 1236-1339
*David McCullough, Truman.
*David Halberstan, The Fifties.
*Clay Blair, The Forgotten War.
*Ann Coulter, Treason.
PART IV WE WILL PAY ANY PRICE, BEAR ANY BURDEN
July 27 Kennedy and the New Frontier
Vietnam: America’s Longest War
Tindall and Shi, pp. 1340-1412
*Irving Bernstein, Promises Kept.
*Taylor Branch, Parting the Waters.
*Herbert Parmet, JFK: The Presidency of JFK.
*Thomas Reeves, A Question of Character.
*Michael Herr, Dispatches.
*George Herring, America’s Longest War.
*Robert McNamara, In Retrospect.
*Thomas Powers, The War at Home.
*Chester Cooper, The Lion's Last Roar.
*Michael Lind, Vietnam The Necessary War.
July 28 Nixon and Watergate
Film: Ronald Reagan
Tindall and Shi, pp. 1412-1445
*Theodore White, Breach of Faith.
*John Ehrlichman, Witness to Power.
*Lee Colodny and Robert Gettlin, Silent Coup.
*Monica Crowley, Nixon Off the Record.
*John Dean, Blind Ambition.
*H. R. Halderman, The Ends of Power.
*Joe McGinnis, The Selling of the President.
*Ronald Reagan, An American Life: an Autobiography.
*Peggy Noonan, When Character was King.
*Dinesh D’Souza, Ronald Reagan.
*Peter Robinson, How Ronald Reagan Changed My Life.
*Edmund Morris, Dutch.
July 29 Ronald Reagan: Ending the Cold War
Osama bin Laden, September 11, & the aftermath
Tindall and Shi, pp. 1445-1512
*David Remnick, Lenin’s Tomb.
*Michael Beschloss, At The Highest Levels: The Inside Story of the End of the Cold War.
*Thomas J. McCormick, America’s Half Century.
*Peter Bergen, Holy War.
*Bill Gertz, Breakdown: How America’s Intelligence Failures Led to September 11.
*Jane Corbin, Al-Qaeda: In Search of the Terror Network that Threatens the World.
July 30 Proficiency Exam and the Final Exam
*Denotes recommended readings
Calendar Dates to Remember
June 28 / Proficiency ExamJuly 7 / First Exam
July 20 / Essay is due
July 22 / Second Exam
July 30 / Proficiency Exam and Final Exam