Dr. Libby

A346

American Diplomatic History: 1890-1945.

Office................CA-527

Office Phone..........274-3981

History Office........CA-504N

History Department....274-3811

e-mail:  jhlibby@iupui.edu

The study of One's nation's history makes one a better and moral loyal citizen.

(Voltaire)

The trouble of the world is not that people so little, but that they know so many things that ain't so.

(Mark Twain)

History is the witness of truth. The Life of Memory. The Teacher of Life. The Messenger of Antiquity.

(Cicero)

Wisdom is the Principal Thing Therefore Get Wisdom

(Plato)

But perhaps the study of history has been hindered by the following truth: After you have heard two eyewitness accounts of an automobile accident, you begin to worry about history.

(Barbara Dobbins)

 

Perhaps in our course, we shall not only become better citizens (Voltaire), learn many things that are so (Twain), be reminded of our antiquity, memory and life (Cicero), get wisdom (Plato), and come to a consensus about history (Dobbins).

I hope you will find the time in your busy careers to attempt those lofty objectives.

A346 - American Diplomatic History: 1890-1945

This course is designed to introduce the student to the broad spectrum of American diplomatic history from the presidency of Theodore Roosevelt to the formal signing of the peace treaty between the United States and Japan on April 28, 1952.

The course provides the student with perhaps his or her first introduction to historical research, writing a sizeable paper, footnoting and concluding his or her study with a Bibliographical Essay. The essence of these technical aspects of the paper will be explained more fully in class.

Textbook:

Walter LaFeber, The American Age: U.S. Foreign Policy at Home and Abroad Since 1750.

 

There will be a MID-TERM and a FINAL EXAMINATION. All of my examinations are essay in form...I do not ask fill-in-the-blank questions...choose the right answer...etc., you will need to write and to write well. You will have plenty of notice before the examinations are given.

The student is expected to answer completely, comprehensively and in a clear fashion. If you have not had experience in writing essay examinations it would be prudent to visit the Writing Center on the fourth floor for assistance. I will discuss further details in class.

PLEASE READ CAREFULLY:

*****Attendance is now required by the university so there will be a seating chart. Students who continue to be absent from class will have their names reported to the Registrar's Office and to the Admissions Office.

In the night classes attendance will be taken after the break as well.

If you do not have time for the course or for any reason become dissatisfied with the academic offering, do not merely leave the class but withdraw officially.

I ask students not to record my lectures; this is a private conversation between you and me and since lectures were recorded years ago and sold to students, I adopted this procedure.

If you are hearing impaired or, in any other way cannot take lecture notes without a tape recorder (for example because English is not your native language), please visit the Office of Adaptive Educational Services in CA-001C and have them contact me.

If you need to call that office the phone number is:

274-3241 or 274-3242.

Indiana University has a policy regarding cheating and plagarism. I ask you not to do either as no one wins.

If a student plans on leaving the course I would recommend that you withdraw officially by visiting the Registrar's Office.

Do not assume that I know you left the course because you have chosen to no longer attend the class.

Many students find out much later that they are not officially withdrawn from the class and there is no way I can be of assistance.

Should you call my office I have an answering machine which records the time and date of the call...for some reason students will speak clearly when talking to such machines but then give their phone numbers too rapidly for the mechanism to record.

Please speak precisely so the machine can pick up your whole messsage.

If you have never had a good experience in a history course (presuming you were taught by an historian) I would recommend staying current with your reading in the textbook and the Chronology to avoid that sense of being overwhelmed and frustrated by the course's requirements.

There is no daily nor weekly reading assignment. By the time you have arrived at the college-university level educational process, you should be able to make such judgements for yourself.

The textbook is a supplement to my lecture but it cannot serve as a substitute for learning the material required for the course.

The grade of incomplete is rarely given, usually for deaths in the family or hospitalization. Please do not rely on the possibility of an incomplete to save you if you have not completed the work.

If you have any questions regarding the grade of incomplete please see Dean Miriam Langsam in CA-401 or Pat Bostwick in her office for a more detailed explanation. The number is 274-3976.

I encourage students to ask questions in class so do not be embarrassed. If the question is an honest inquiry then there is no reason not to clear up any confusing aspects of the course or its content.

The main information you will need for the examinations will come from my lectures...the Chronology will give you an overall panorama of the information contained in our course and the textbook is a supplement.

If you have not had any experience in writing essay examinations I suggest you visit the Writing Center (CA-427) on the fourth floor for assistance. Do check for the center's semester hours.

The dates of the examinations will be announced in class.

The Midterm Examination will cover:

Chapters 7-10, pages: 193-333.

 

The Final Examination will cover:

Chapters 11-13, pages 334-456

Office Hours will be announced during the semester in which this course is taught as well as by appointment.

If you have any questions about what has been written above, be sure to see me.

The student will choose one of the topics listed below and write a 20-30 page paper.

The essay will be typed, double spaced, but beyond the format the student should exhibit enterprising research (no encyclopedias... dictionaries... etc.), a thorough analysis of the topic, person or treaty chosen, in addition to revealing an understanding of the topic chosen.

If you begin researching your topic immediately at the beginning of the semester the time frame will not be a burden; however, if you wait to research and write the paper until the week before the essay is due to be turned in, then, of course, you have created an unnecessary burden upon yourself which could have been avoided with proper time allotment.

More about the paper will be said in class.

**********If you have never written a sizeable 300 level history paper and consider yourself a poor writer perhaps you might wish to rethink your reasons for signing up for my course.

Some students are under the false perception that this course is required in their degree program and some have been told that information by their counselors.

The paper constitutes 40 percent of the class grade while the two examinations total 60 percent of your grade.

Topics:

Because of the number of students in the diplomatic class it would be impossible if not futile to list all the topics so the subjects noted below are just samples of what students may choose for their topics.

I do ask all students to check with me and to let me mark their topics on my syllabus.

1. The Era of Expansionism beginning in 1890 and terminating with the acquisition of Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippine Archipelago in the Treaty of Paris, December 10, 1898.

This is a very broad topic and the student might consider researching and writing on any subject within that time frame.

2. Theodore Roosevelt:

A. The concept he had of the balance of power in European affairs, his reaction to the new imperialism motivating European nations to seek new empires in Africa, the eastern end of the Mediterranean, in Southeast, Northeast, and Eastern Asia, as well as what today we call the Pacific Rim.

B. Caribbean intervention including his Colombian-Panamanian policies, the Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine and his ideas of receiverships.

 

C. Asian issues and negotiations following the American acquisition of an insular empire throughout the Pacific basin.

 

You will need to define Roosevelt's concept of American diplomatic and military policies and strength combined with his growing suspicions and fears of Imperial Meiji Japan.

D. American acquisition of an empire and its consequences. Here the student will research and reflect upon the Supreme Court "Insular Cases" that allowed the United States to gain an insular empire and the Congressional legislation written and passed(sponsors of these proposals) that enabled the United States to govern these newly won possessions.

 

The student will also need to address the controversies surrounding the acquisitions as defined and argued by expansionists and anti-expansionists and know the exact difference between their philosophies.

 

BE CAREFUL: THEIR PHILOSOPHIES

NEED CAREFUL EVALUATION.

 

3. The presidency of William Howard Taft..choose one

of the three major issues of his administration:

A. The issues in Asia, especially the Taft-Knox Neutralization Scheme regarding railroads in Manchuria as well as other issues relating to Eastern Asia in general and Japan specifically.

B. His policies revolving around Dollar Diplomacy in Central and South America.

 

C. Whichever topic relating to President Taft that you choose be sure to explain his later conflicts with Theodore Roosevelt which were so important in electing Thomas Woodrow Wilson to the White House in 1912.

 

4. Woodrow Wilson's Diplomacy:

A. Pre-World War I diplomacy and the futility of neutrality, 1914-1917. The student will need to explain Wilson's decision to ask Congress for a declaration of war in April, 1917.

B. Once the United States was in the First World War what were Wilson's objectives, how did he hope to implement them and then evaluate how well he achieved his goals by explaining the issues he faced during the Treaty of Versailles and League of Nations negotiations.

Finally, discuss and explain the provisions of the treaty and League as well as the treaty's strengths and weaknesses as commented upon by historians.

C. Explain Wilson's relationship with the Senate before we entered the war, during the conflict and during the crucial advice and consent ratification debates.

***ANY STUDENT CHOOSING ONE OF THE WILSON TOPICS SHOULD BE VERY EXPERIENCED IN RESEARCH, HAVE A FIRM KNOWLEDGE OF THE LIBRARY AND BE WILLING TO READ MANY OF THE BOOKS AND ARTICLES RELATING TO THESE TOPICS AND KNOW ALSO HOW TO WRITE EVALUATIVE PAPERS.

5. Republican Foreign Policy: 1921-1933.

A. Washington Conference, 1921-1922...explain the four treaties and their impact on our government's diplomatic and military policies during the decade.

B. Reaction to the Chinese Revolution, 1925-1928.

C. The origins, diplomacy and consequences of the Kellogg-Briand Pact...The 'Outlawry of War' concept.

D. The Manchurian Crisis, 1931-1933...the Hoover-Stimson Non-Recognition Policy...the onset and continuation of the depression and the continuing issues in China.

6. The Diplomacy of Franklin Roosevelt:

The diplomacy of the four-term president is so vast that it cannot be conveyed in the handout. I would, however, divide the issues into four time frames:

A. The diplomacy of the early New Deal...the Italian-Ethiopian War of 1935, Hitler's invasion of the demilitarized Rhineland in 1936, the problems relating to neutrality legislation from 1934 to 1937, and the Spanish-Civil War, 1936-1939.

B. Reaction to the Second Sino-Japanese War beginning on July 7, 1937 at the Marco Polo Bridge (also known as the Marco Polo Bridge Incident) and its consequences through June 1940.

Be sure to include in this topic the bombing and sinking of the U.S.S. Panay on December 12, 1937, the attempt to revise the Neutrality Legislation and how Roosevelt viewed Chiang Kai-shek and China in America's East Asian policy formulation.

C. American-Japanese relations, 1933-1937. Here the student should begin with relations following Japan's withdrawal from the League of Nations, her withdrawal from the Washington Conference Naval Treaty obligations and the announcement of a future New Order in Asia that foreshadowed antagonisms in the next several years.

There are other issues but those mentioned here are required for understanding the growing hostility between Tokyo and Washington.

D. For the years 1937-1941, relations with Japan continued to deteriorate and the student will need to explain the final collapse of diplomatic cordiality between the two nations resulting in the Japanese strategic military blunder of attacking Pearl Harbor on that "date (NOT DAY) that will live in infamy".

****THERE ARE TOO MANY ASPECTS TO AMERICAN-JAPANESE RELATIONS BETWEEN 1937 AND THE ATTACK AT PEARL HARBOR TO LIST HERE. THUS, ANY STUDENT DESIRING TO WORK ON TOPIC NUMBER D SHOULD SEE ME DURING REGULAR OFFICE HOURS LISTED BELOW.

E. Any student who wishes to write about the historiography of the Pearl Harbor disaster and the charges of dereliction of duty that arose from the attack should see me for assistance with this massive topic.

The Bibliography that was passed out in class should be helpful.

PLEASE USE IT; DO NOT IGNORE IT.

 

7. Some students might wish to pursue the Cold War topics centering on American relations with the Soviet Union. A wide reading is required for this topic so do not attempt it without making that commitment.

8. Other possible topics:

A. Overview of American-Chinese Relations... 1911-1949

B. Overview of American-Soviet Relations.... 1933-1950

C. Overview of American-Japanese Relations.. 1900-1919

D. Overview of American-Japanese Relations.. 1920-1940

E. Overview of relations with European-Asian-Latin American countries not mentioned above. Since Africa was not of primary interest to American policy makers until the last thirty years, policies formulated for Saharan and sub-Saharan Africa were officially presented through the various foreign offices of governments with colonial interests on that continent.

I encourage students to research and write papers relating to the newly forming republics in the post World War II era on any continent but diplomatic sources might be insufficient in English.

The student is also encouraged to study a Secretary of State within the many administrations since the turn of the twentieth century. Among the more notable heads of the State Department include:

For Benjamin Harrison....James G. Blaine............1889-1892

John W. Foster.............1891-1893

 

For Grover Cleveland.....Walter Q. Gresham..........1893-1895

Richard Olney..............1895-1897

 

For William McKinley.....John Sherman...............1897-1898

William R. Day.............1898

John Hay...................1898-1901

 

For Theodore Roosevelt...John Hay...................1901-1905

Elihu B. Root..............1905-1909

Robert Bacon...............1909

 

For William Howard Taft..Philander C. Knox..........1909-1913

For Woodrow Wilson.......William Jennings Bryan.....1913-1915

Robert Lansing.............1915-1920

Bainbridge Colby...........1920-1921

 

For Warren Harding.......Charles Evans Hughes.......1921-1923

For Calvin Coolidge......Charles Evans Hughes.......1923-1925

Frank B. Kellogg...........1925-1928

 

For Herbert Hoover.......Henry L. Stimson...........1929-1933

For Franklin Roosevelt...Cordell Hull...............1933-1944

Edward R. Stettinius, Jr...1944-1945

For Harry Truman.........Edward R. Stettinius, Jr...1945

James F. Byrnes............1945-1947

George C. Marshall.........1947-1949

Dean G. Acheson............1949-1953

 

For Dwight Eisenhower....John Foster Dulles.........1953-1959

Christian A. Herter........1959-1961

 

For John Kennedy.........Dean Rusk..................1961-1963

Lyndon Johnson...........Dean Rusk..................1963-1969

For Richard Nixon........William P. Rogers..........1969-1973

Henry A. Kissinger.........1973-1974

 

For Gerald Ford..........Henry A. Kissinger.........1974-1977

For Jimmy Carter.........Cyrus R. Vance.............1977-1980

Edmund Muskie..............1980-1981

For Ronald Reagan........Alexander M. Haig..........1981-1982

George P. Schultz..........1982-1989

 

For George Bush..........James A. Baker III.........1989-1992

Lawrence Eagleburger.......1992-1993

 

For Bill Clinton.........Warren M. Christopher......1993-1997

Madeline Albright..........1997-

You would have to use contemporary accounts found in newspapers, magazines, and the most recently published scholarly textbooks and journals.

*****BE CAREFUL: SOME OF THE SECRETARIES OF STATE WHO DID NOT SERVE LONG TERMS MIGHT BE DIFFICULT TO STUDY FOR MATERIALS MAY BE LACKING THAT WOULD PREVENT A DISTINGUISHED AND SCHOLARLY PAPER. SEE ME IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT ANY TOPIC AND SECRETARY OF STATE.

To begin your research be sure to consult the Bibliographies in the textbook by LaFeber as well as the sources listed below.

From the sources listed below you have a beginning to inaugurate your historical-detective research regarding your topic.

Do not ignore these sources but do not rely upon them as your only source materials.

 

Samuel Flagg Bemis and Robert Ferrell, eds.,The American Secretaries of State series in multiple volumes.

Richard Dean Burns, ed., Guide to American Foreign Relations, Since 1700

Frank Merli and Theodore Wilson, Makers of American Diplomacy (2 volumes).

Norman Graebner, ed., An Uncertain Tradition: American Secretaries of State in the Twentieth Century

I have always found it curious that even after listing these sources, students do not utilize them nor cite them in their papers.

IN ADDITION, BE SURE TO CONSULT THE REFERENCE LIBRARIANS AT IUPUI, THE MARION COUNTY MAIN LIBRARY ON MERIDIAN STREET, THE STATE OF INDIANA LIBRARY AT OHIO AND SENATE STREETS AND IF POSSIBLE THE INDIANA UNIVERSITY LIBRARY IN BLOOMINGTON.

I WOULD SUGGEST VISITING OUR REFERENCE SECTION FOR ASSISTANCE INITIALLY.

The grade for the paper is determined not only by the content but by the quality of the sources you have used.

If you plan on just using an encyclopedia or copying from one source (or finding it on the web-site) perhaps we should part as friends and on good terms for that indifference to my course will not suffice but belongs in another level of your education that hopefully you passed out of years ago.

To be a good historian one must be a good detective and to do well in my class all of these elements go into determining your grade.

DO NOT CHEAT YOURSELF.

 

IF THERE IS ANYTHING ON THIS SYLLABUS THAT STILL CONFUSES YOU PLEASE SEE AT YOUR EARLIEST CONVENIENCE.