2
History 2620.007
American History from 1865
Spring 2016 TR 8:00 a.m. – 9:20 a.m.
Life Science Building A204
Instructor: William C. Yancey E-mail:
Office Hours: TR: 10 a.m. – 11 a.m. Office: Wooten Hall 261
Phone: ext. 4678
Course Description:
This course seeks to familiarize students with the major events in American History from Reconstruction through the present day. We will focus on cause and effect relationships and how broad historical trends affected the lives of everyday people, as well as how these historical events continue to affect us today.
Required Texts:
Text: Brands et al, American Stories, Volume 2, 3rd Edition. Pearson, 2015.
(ISBN – 10: 0-205-96090-1)
Reader: HIST 2620 Reader in American History, Hayden McNeil, 2015
(ISBN 978-0-7380-7465-8)
Attendance:
Class attendance is essential. Attendance will be taken each class session by sign-in sheet. Make-up tests will only be given at the discretion of the instructor. If you know in advance that you will miss a test or quiz, notify the instructor before missing that class. Make-ups must be scheduled within 48 hours of the test or quiz missed and will be administered in the History Help Center, Wooten Hall Room 220. You will have a maximum of one week to make up any test or quiz missed.
Disability Accommodation (ADA):
The University of North Texas makes reasonable academic accommodation for students with disabilities. Students seeking accommodation must first register with the Office of Disability Accommodation (ODA) to verify their eligibility. If a disability is verified, the ODA will provide you with an accommodation letter to be delivered to faculty to begin a private discussion regarding your specific needs in a course. You may request accommodations at any time, however, ODA notices of accommodation should be provided as early as possible in the semester to avoid any delay in implementation. Note that students must obtain a new letter of accommodation for every semester and must meet with each faculty member prior to implementation in each class. For additional information see the Office of Disability Accommodation website athttp://www.unt.edu/oda. You may also contact them by phone at 940.565.4323.
Tests:
There will be three exams including the final. The first three exams will be worth 100 points and will consist of a combination of multiple choice, identification/significance and essay questions. The final exam will be comprehensive and will be worth 200 points. I will drop your lowest test grade, provided that grade is at least 30. Students with an A average going into the final exam will be exempt from the final. Test questions will be based mainly on the lectures and the reader. The dates for each test are listed in the course calendar below.
Make-up Policy:
Make-up exams will consist of all ID/SIG and essay questions. There will be no make-up exam for the final. Any problems or issues with tests must be addressed by one week from the date the test or quiz is returned. After that time has passed for each test or quiz, no adjustments will be made.
Grading:
Test 1 – 100 points 90% = 360 points = A
Test 2 – 100 points 80% = 320 points = B
Test 3 – 100 points 70% = 280 points = C
Final Exam – 200 points 60% = 240 points = D
500 Possible Points 239 points or less = F
(but one test will be dropped & grade is based on 400 points.)
Course Schedule:
This is an outline of our schedule with the corresponding readings for each lecture. This schedule can be amended at any time.
Date / Lecture Topics / Chapters in American StoriesJanuary 19, 2016 / Introduction to Class
January 21 / Reconstruction / Chapter 16
January 26 / Reconstruction, cont. / Chapter 16
January 28 / Industrialization, Urbanization & Labor / Chapter 18
February 2 / Industrialization, cont.; Taming the West / Chapters 17 & 18
February 4 / Gilded Age Politics & Rural Revolt / Chapter 20
February 9 / Gilded Age cont.; Jim Crow & Racism / Chapters 19 & 20
February 11 / Catch-up Day & Review for Test
February 16 / Test 1 (Lectures Reconstruction through Jim Crow & reader chapters 1 – 5)
February 18 / Imperialism / Chapter 21
February 23 / The Progressive Era / Chapters 22 & 23
February 25 / Progressives, cont.; World War I & its Aftermath / Chapters 23 & 24
March 1 / WWI cont.; The 1920s / Chapters 24 & 25
March 3 / 1920s, cont. / Chapter 25
March 8 / Catch-up Day & Test Review
March 10 / Test 2 (Lectures Imperialism through 1920s & reader chapters 6 – 10)
March 14 – 20 / SPRING BREAK – NO CLASS
March 22 / The Stock Market Crash, Great Depression & New Deal / Chapter 26
March 24 / New Deal, cont. / Chapter 26
March 29 / World War II / Chapter 27
March 31 / WWII, cont. / Chapter 27
April 5 / WWII, cont.; The Cold War / Chapters 27 & 28
April 7 / Cold War, cont. / Chapter 28
April 12 / Cold War, cont.; Post-War Adjustment / Chapters 28 & 29
April 14 / Catch-up Day & Test Review
April 19 / Test 3 (Lectures New Deal through Cold War & reader chapters 11 – 15)
April 21 / Post-War cont. / Chapter 29
April 26 / The Turbulent Sixties / Chapter 30
April 28 / Sixties, cont.; Shaken to the Roots / Chapters 30 - 31
May 3 / Shaken, cont.; The Reagan Revolution / Chapters 31 - 32
May 5 / Catch-up Day & Test Review
May 10 / FINAL EXAM (Comprehensive over lectures and reader chapters 16 – 20) – 8:00 A.M. – 10:00 A.M.
American History 2620 Student Learning Outcomes
1. Course Goal: Students will demonstrate an understanding of the facts and chronology of the United States history from 1865 to the present.
1.1 Students will identify and understand the major eras in the United States from 1865 to the present and describe their defining characteristics. By the end of the semester students taking History 2620 will:
1.1.1. Identify the social, cultural, economic, and political changes and their consequences in the United States during the Reconstruction era.
1.1.2. Identify the social, cultural, economic, and political changes and their consequences in the United States during the New South era.
1.1.3. Identify the social, cultural, economic, and political changes and their consequences in the United States during the Gilded Age.
1.1.4 Identify the social, cultural, economic, and political changes and their consequences in the United States during the Progressive Era.
1.1.5 Understand the effects of reform and third-party movements and changes in the United States political system.
1.1.6 Explain causes and consequences of late 19th century and early 20th century economic modernization and expansion.
1.1.7 Understand the contribution of labor and immigrant groups to economic modernization during the late 19th and early 20th century.
1.1.8 Explain the causes and consequences of U.S. imperialism and the nation’s rise to world power status.
2.1. Students will know the significant events, individuals, and the social, political, and economic changes that occurred in the United States from 1877 to the present. By the end of the semester students taking History 2620 will:
2.1.1. Understand the United States entry into World War I.
2.1.2. Identify the social, cultural, economic, and political changes of the 1920s.
2.1.3. Explain the causes and consequences of the Great Depression and New Deal.
2.1.4 Understand the domestic and international impact of U.S. participation in World War II.
2.1.5. Identify the significant events that occurred due to the United States’ entry into the Korean War and Vietnam War.
2.1.6. Understand the impact of significant national and international decisions and conflicts in the Cold War that affected the United States.
2.1.7 Trace the historical development of the Civil Rights Movements from 1877 to the present and understand the impact of the American Civil Rights Movement.
2.1.8 Identify the social, cultural, economic, and political changes and their consequences in the United States during the late 20th century.
3.1. Students will demonstrate critical thinking and communication skills by analyzing, synthesizing and evaluating historical information from multiple sources. By the end of the semester students taking History 2620 will:
3.1.1. Students will apply historical methods to evaluate critically the record of the past and how historians have interpreted it.
3.1.2. Students will organize and express their thoughts clearly both in written and oral communication.