AMERICAN HISTORY II
U.S.
History since 1865
History
H106 - Section C311 (3 credits)
Spring
2002, Tuesdays and Thursdays, 9:30am to 10:45pm
Cavanaugh
Hall 217
Instructor: Dr. Nancy M. Robertson Office:
Cavanaugh Hall 504N
Office Hours: Tuesdays 11am to 12 noon phone/voice
mail: 317/274-8017
Wednesdays,
4pm to 5pm fax:
317/278-7800
and by appointment e-mail
address: nmrobert@iupui.edu
“The problem
with history is that it’s written by college professors about great men. That’s not what history is. History’s a hell of a lot of little people
getting together and deciding they want a better life for themselves and their
children.” Bill Talcott in Studs Terkel, Working
I.
COURSE DESCRIPTION
p.
1
II.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
p.
2
III.
REQUIRED BOOKS
p.
2
IV.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
pp.
2 - 3
V.
COURSE POLICIES
pp.
3 - 4
VI.
CLASSROOM GUIDELINES pp.
4 - 5
VII.
A FEW HINTS FOR DOING
pp.
5 - 6
VIII. LOGISTICS p.
6
IX.
SCHEDULE OF CLASS MEETINGS pp.
7 - 8
I.
COURSE DESCRIPTION
History 106 is a survey of American
history from the end of the Civil War (1865) until the present (2002). There are a number of ways that different
historians approach the study of history.
This class relies on a “social history” approach. Social history is sometimes referred to as
“history from the bottom up” because it looks at the daily lives of average
people to understand the larger social forces that shaped their lives. Social historians also look at how those
“average” people worked to change those forces and their society. To understand the history of the United
States, you need to analyze both
individual people and the larger trends they were part of. We will focus on the historical trends of
expansion, economic development, urbanization, changes in legal and civil
rights, immigration and migration, and government intervention.
There are three sets of questions
that we will pay particular attention to:
< What
are the relationships between: different groups of Americans? different regions of the country? the United States and the rest of the world?
< How
do people change their society? How do
they make history?
< How
have Americans understood the role of government (especially the federal
government)? What did different people
think that the role of government should be?
Classes will include discussion as
well as lectures. Reading assignments
will include a variety of primary sources including several
autobiographies. The material is to be read for
the class that is listed on the syllabus.
You should come prepared to talk about the issues raised by the readings
and lectures.
II.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
Lectures, discussions, and written
assignments are designed to help students learn how to analyze documents from
the past, take a position on a historical question, use evidence to support it,
and express their insights to others.
Gaining these abilities helps not only in understanding American
history, but also in improving critical thinking and communication skills
essential to doing well both in school and in the future. A goal of this course is to assist students
in developing their analytical and writing skills. I, therefore, count improvement in your work.
Survey courses can feel overwhelming
because of the amount of material covered in the course. Someone once complained that “History is
just one darn thing after another.” The
emphasis in this course is less on memorizing dates and names and more on using
that information to develop reading and writing skills to analyze why
things happened. Such analytical skills
allow the student to better understand the present as well as the past.
These course objectives relate to
the “Principles of Undergraduate Learning” developed to identify what all IUPUI
students are expected to have mastered by graduation. You can find more about the Principles at:
http://www.iupui.edu/~history/principlesundergradlearning.html
III. REQUIRED BOOKS
These can be purchased at the bookstore
in Cavanaugh Hall or at Follett’s. In a
pinch, there is a copy of each on Reserve in the Library. You MUST bring W&B or 1st
PERSON to class when they appear on the syllabus for that session. You may also want to bring the textbook.
< John Mack Faragher,
et al., Out of Many: A History of the
American People, v.2, Brief 3rd ed. (2001). This is the textbook for the course; it is
referred to below as FARAGHER.
On Reserve, you will also find
Faragher, et al., Out of Many, v.1 (U.S.
history before 1877) for background if you need information about previous time
periods.
< Marian J.
Morton & Russell Duncan, eds., First
Person Past: American Autobiographies, v. II (1994) [referred to as 1st
PERSON].
< William Bruce
Wheeler and Susan D. Becker, eds., Discovering
the American Past: a look at the evidence, 5th ed. (2002) {you must
have this edition}, v. II since 1865 [referred to as W&B].
IV.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
The following is an overview of the
assignments for the course with due dates.
They are also listed on the class schedule below. A more detailed explanation for each will be
handed out and we will discuss the assignments in class before they are due.
< A 1½ to 2
page biographical essay (typed, double-spaced, approximately 300 to 500 words)
about Black Elk. This is due Tuesday, January 22nd. We will discuss this assignment in more
depth, but the purpose is to think about the life and times of this individual
and situate him in his historical context as well as give you a sense of what
the writing expectations for this courses are like. The paper is due at the start of the class (5% of your final grade).
< Midterm
examination, scheduled for Tuesday,
March 5th (20% of
final grade).
< Final
examination, scheduled for Tuesday,
April 30th (20% of
final grade).
Both exams
will include an essay question (or questions) as well as a short-answer or
multiple-choice part. A study guide
will be handed out ahead of time and we will discuss the exams as they
approach.
IV.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS (cont.)
< Assignments
based on the chapters from W&B; these are due Tuesday, January 29th; Tuesday, February 5th;
Thursday, February 21st; Thursday, March 7th, Tuesday,
March 19th; Thursday, April 4th; and Thursday, April 11th.
These
assignments will ask you to provide progressively more information for, or
analysis of, the historical question and evidence in six chapters in
W&B. The written work will also
help you prepare for class discussion of the chapter (together, these will
account for a total of 25% of final
grade).
< One long
paper (approximately 5 to 6 pages, i.e., 1250 to 1500 words), based on two of
the individuals in 1st PERSON, supplemented by other class
materials. We will discuss this further
in class. A draft of this paper is due
on Tuesday, March 26th. The
final paper is due Tuesday, April 16th
at the start of class. There will be
other interim assignments that will break writing the paper down into
steps. You will also give one other
student comments on his or her paper.
(Altogether, these steps, including the comments on another student’s
work and your own writing, will count for 25%
of your final grade.)
< Completion of
reading by the assigned date, pass/fail assignments, reading quizzes, ungraded
written assignments in class, and participation in class discussions. Each person starts off with a B- for this
portion of your grade. You can raise
this grade by participating thoughtfully in class. Thoughtful participation
includes being prepared and contributing useful questions, ideas, or
opinions. Likewise, this portion of
your grade can be lowered if you miss these assignments or do not participate
in class. If you feel too shy to talk
in class, come and see me and I can give you some helpful hints (5% of your final grade).
< Regular
attendance is mandatory in this class.
You are allowed three (3)
absences in the course of the semester.
You do not have to offer a reason or an excuse for your absence. I expect, however, that three absences will
take care of emergencies, family needs, celebrations, or job requirements. For each absence beyond three, your grade
for the class may be lowered (i.e., if you were going to get a B+ for the
class, and you are absent 4 times, you would get a B; if you are absent 5
times, you would get a B-, etc.).
In the case of a severe illness or
other prolonged difficulty, I will need official documentation.
V.
COURSE POLICIES
EXTENSIONS
FOR ASSIGNMENTS:
Extensions
for due dates for assignments are granted only if you contact me BEFORE the
deadline. Extensions are not
automatically given. You should be sure
to get from me IN WRITING a note indicating that I agreed to the later date;
that note must be included with your paper when you hand it in.
LATE
OR MISSED WORK:
Material
that is handed in after the due date (or extended due date) will generally be
marked down for each day it is late.
Days means days of the week, not class sessions.
Make-up exams are
offered only at the discretion of the professor.
V.
COURSE POLICIES (cont.)
REWRITING
PAPERS:
If you want to rewrite an
assignment, you MUST:
< Speak
with me first.
< Hand
in the original version when you submit the rewrite (with any comment sheet
that I included).
INTELLECTUAL
HONESTY:
Developing
your intellectual skills is possible only when you actually do the work
assigned. We will have a longer
discussion of intellectual work, academic integrity, and plagiarism. Plagiarism and cheating will result in an
“F” for the work in question and possible disciplinary action by the
University. The University’s policy on
plagiarism, as stated in the IUPUI Campus
Bulletin, 2000-2002 (p.36) is:
A student must not adopt or reproduce
ideas, words, or statements of another person without an appropriate
acknowledgment. A student must give due
credit to the originality of others and acknowledge an indebtedness whenever he
or she does any of the following:
a.
Quotes another person’s actual words, either oral or written;
b.
Paraphrases another person’s words, either oral or written;
c.
Uses another person’s idea opinion, or theory; or
d.
Borrows facts, statistics, or other material, unless that information is
common knowledge.
For more information, you can find the IUPUI Student Code of Conduct on line
at:
http://life.iupui.edu/dos/code.html
You may also talk with
me if you have questions about what is or is not permissible.
INCOMPLETES:
The
University’s policy on incompletes is that they are only for students who have
completed almost all course requirements and have been prevented by significant
or unanticipated circumstances from finishing them.
WITHDRAWING
FROM CLASSES:
If you
decide to drop the class, please note that you must submit an official “drop slip” to the registrar (signed by the
appropriate people). University policy
requires assigning an “F” to a student who stops showing up even if that student has told the professor
that she or he plans to withdraw.
VI.
CLASSROOM GUIDELINES
To
enhance the learning process for all students in this course, there are a few
basic guidelines that will govern classroom etiquette.
Class discussions will go better and
be more interesting and useful if students keep up with the reading (indicated
on the schedule below for each session).
VI.
CLASSROOM GUIDELINES (cont.)
Please bring to class the syllabus,
handouts about upcoming assignments, and the books (other than FARAGHER) that
are listed for each class session.
We will start and end each class on
time. If you must leave class early or
arrive late, you should do so with a minimal amount of disruption. In this classroom, it is particularly
difficult to arrive late and find a seat without disrupting other
students. We will go by the clock
inside this room.
Please turn off or mute cell phones,
pagers, and beepers before class begins.
I welcome questions at any time
(although I may sometimes put you “on hold” until I conclude a particular point
or topic). I do not, however, welcome private conversations between class members
while I am lecturing or your classmates are talking. In addition to being rude, such conversations are distracting
for other members of the class.
The ability to take good notes is a
useful skill, and one that improves with practice. I, therefore, ask that students not record my lectures. If a physical disability prevents you from
taking notes without a tape recorder, please visit the office of Adaptive
Educational Services in CA-001E and have them contact me. You can reach them at 274-3241.
VII. A FEW HINTS FOR DOING WELL (in this
and other courses)
Come
to class. You may have to miss a
class very occasionally (see above
for my attendance policy). I strongly
encourage you to find someone who will share notes with you if you miss
class. You will usually find that other
people’s notes are rarely a replacement for being in class.
Lectures, discussions, the primary
sources, and the textbook will be mutually reinforcing ways to gain control
over information and begin to understand key questions about what happened and
why. Class discussion depends on students having read and thought about the
W&B and 1st PERSON reading assignments.
Participate
in class. This includes being
prepared and asking questions or contributing informed ideas or opinions.
If you are hesitant about asking
questions during class, come see me in
my office hours or e-mail me. Generally,
if you have a question about the material you have read or something that was
said in class, other people may as well.
If you ask the question, they will benefit from the answer; you may
benefit from a follow-up question they ask.
Get
to know some of your fellow students.
They will be able to tell you about a class that you miss. You can also study together for
examinations.
Information for this class will be posted on ONCOURSE. This will include a copy of the overview for
the lecture, announcements to the class, changes in the syllabus or due dates,
some handouts, e-mail, etc. I expect that all students in this class
will access ONCOURSE regularly. Generally, I will post materials for Tuesday’s class by 7pm the
preceding Friday and for Thursday’s class by 7pm the preceding Tuesday. I encourage you to set your ONCOURSE options
to let you know when you have ONCOURSE mail.
I cannot stress too heavily the
usefulness of planning ahead, saving
work on your computer OFTEN, making backups
(on diskettes), and printing out your
paper early.
VII.
A FEW HINTS FOR DOING WELL (cont.)
Read
over comments that I make on your writing (and any handout with comments
about the assignment). Understanding
what I thought was strong about your work or what could be improved will help
you when you write your next assignment.
Your tuition and fees pay for the
Writing Center (CA 427; 274-2049; grammar hotline
274-3000). Make
use of it. Appointments are usually
required and it gets busy around exam time.
They have the time and skills to work with you one-on-one to improve
your writing.
Learn
how to use textbooks as a resource. You
may find it help to read the textbook (FARAGHER) carefully once and skim it
once. If you read it before the class
session, it will help you understand what is going to be covered. Skimming it after the class lecture or
discussion will give you additional information related to the issues and
themes covered during class. While
sometimes dry, a textbook can be a useful tool for organizing a lot of
information (using its index may help you find an answer quickly, for
instance).
VIII.
LOGISTICS
It is your responsibility to check
classmates and ONCOURSE for materials from a class you miss. You need to contact me as soon as possible
to make arrangements for late written work.
If you need to submit an assignment
to me outside of class (either by bringing it to my office or by e-mailing it
to me), you should bring a hard copy with you the next time you come to class
unless I e-mail you that I received the paper.
E-mail does not always get through and papers can get lost; you need to
be sure that I receive your paper.
In
any case, be sure to keep a back-up copy of any written work that you do not
want to rewrite.
You are entitled to an e-mail
account through IUPUI. I realize that
many of you prefer to use another provider for e-mail and web work. The University encourages you to set up your
IUPUI account to forward information to your other accounts. It means that you can easily access
information from the University. If you
need help setting up the account or forwarding mail, contact:
https://iupui-accts.iupui.edu/students/student.html
Please note that, according to
University policy, you are, ultimately, responsible for activity on your
computer account.
I have voice mail that is on
twenty-four hours a day. You are
welcome to call me should you need to do so.
If you leave a phone message, speak slowly and clearly, provide a phone
number where you can be reached, and state times when you will be at that
number. I will respond to e-mail or
voice mail messages within 48 hours (except for messages sent after 12:00 noon
on Friday, to which I may not respond until sometime late Monday).
FYI: There is a University web page
that will let you know if the campus is closed for snow:
http://registrar.iupui.edu/adverseweather.html
You can also call: 317/278-1600
IX. SCHEDULE OF CLASS MEETINGS
PLEASE
NOTE: The syllabus is tentative and
subject to change. Adjustments will be
announced in class and posted on ONCOURSE and it is the responsibility of the
student to stay on top of changes.
RECONSTRUCTION and
THE OTHER CIVIL WAR, 1860s-1890s
1/8: Introductions,
overview of course objectives, requirements, themes, and the syllabus.
What is history? Why do we study history? What do we need to know?
1/10: The
Crises of Reconstruction: How do you rebuild a nation?—FARAGHER, ch. 17.
1/15: Emancipation:
What is freedom? What is equality?—1st PERSON, Campbell.
1/17: The
West: Can you look at the west by itself?—FARAGHER, ch. 18 & 1st
PERSON, Black Elk.
1/22: The
Other Civil War, pt. 1: How did industrialists understand the tensions?—
review FARAGHER, pp.321-325; read FARAGHER, ch. 19 and 1st PERSON, Carnegie.
Paper
on Black Elk DUE.
1/24: The
Other Civil War, pt. 2: How did workers understand the tensions?—review FARAGHER, pp.356-358; read
FARAGHER, ch. 20: pp.370-381 and 1st PERSON, Jones.
AMERICA
and THE WORLD, 1890s-1919
1/29: Imperialism
and the US’s growing role in the world: Why did the US expand overseas?—
FARAGHER, ch. 20: p.381 to end, esp. the map on p.383 and W&B, ch. 4.
W&B
assignment #1 DUE.
1/31: Urbanization
& Immigration: What does it mean to be an American?—FARAGHER, ch. 21 and 1st
PERSON, Antin.
HINT: you will find useful information in FARAGHER,
pp.358-361, 364-365, 440-443, esp. the chart on p.441, and the chart on p.
A-18.
2/5: How
do you get change when the government won’t help?—W&B, ch. 2.
W&B
assignment #2 DUE.
2/7: Progressivism:
How do you get government involved? pt. 1: the middle class and reform— review FARAGHER, ch. 21 and read
1st PERSON, Howe.
2/12: Progressivism:
How do you get government involved? pt. 2: workers and women—
1st PERSON, Shaw.
2/14: Review: What should the role of government be? How do people get change?
NOTE: Bring both W&B and 1st
PERSON to class.
2/19: World
War I: “Over There”: How is the US connected to the rest of the world?—
FARAGHER, ch. 22.
2/21: World
War I: Over Here: How did WWI affect the country?—W&B, ch. 5.
W&B
assignment #3 DUE.
GOOD
TIMES/HARD TIMES, 1920s-1930s
2/26: The
1920s: What is your image of the 1920s?—FARAGHER, ch. 23.
2/28: The
Great Depression: Who should help people in hard economic times?—
FARAGHER, ch. 24: pp.446-448 and 1st PERSON,
Guthrie.
3/5: MIDTERM (covering the material through
2/26–the 1920s).
GOOD TIMES/HARD TIMES, 1920s-1930s
(cont.)
3/7: The
New Deal, pt. 1: What should government do?—FARAGHER, ch. 24: pp.444-445, 448
to end and W&B, ch. 7.
W&B
assignment #4 pt. 1 DUE.
3/12 & 3/14: Spring Break–no
class.
3/19: New
Deal, pt. 2—review FARAGHER, ch. 24 and W&B, ch. 7.
W&B
assignment #4 pt. 2 DUE.
WARS, REBELLIONS,
and REVOLUTIONS, 1930s-2002
3/21: World
War II: the World at War: How did the US affect the war?—FARAGHER, ch. 25: esp.
pp.461-465, 472 to end.
3/26: World
War II: the Homefront: How did the war affect the US?—FARAGHER, ch. 25: esp.
pp.465-471 and 1st PERSON, Sone.
Draft
of long paper DUE.
3/28: Cold
War America: How did the US/USSR relations shape the world?—FARAGHER, ch. 26.
You
will get a copy of someone else’s long paper.
4/2: The
Affluent Society: What is the American way of life?—FARAGHER, ch. 27.
Your
comments on another student’s paper DUE.
4/4: Other Americas: Who was left out of the
“affluent society?”—FARAGHER, ch. 28 and
W&B, ch. 9.
W&B
assignment #5 DUE.
4/9: The
1960s: What was the impact of the civil rights movement on all Americans’
efforts to change things?—review
FARAGHER, ch 27: 513 to end and read FARAGHER, ch. 29.
4/11: Vietnam:
How does this war affect the country?—W&B, ch. 10 is required; 1st
PERSON, Kovic is optional.
W&B
assignment #6 DUE.
4/16: The 1970s, one view: Why were they called
the “lean years?”—FARAGHER, ch. 30.
Long
paper DUE.
4/18: The
1970s, another view: What else was happening?—review FARAGHER, pp.554-560 and 577-581.
4/23: The
Reagan-Bush I Years: What was the Reagan Revolution?—FARAGHER, ch. 31:
pp.589-604.
4/25: What
is the future of America? How will
people in the future look at 1992-2002?— FARAGHER, ch. 31: p.604, “The Election
of 1992” to end and pp.612-615; if there is no chart on p.615, see p. A-18.
Course review.
FINAL EXAMINATION
Tuesday,
4/30: FINAL EXAMINATION: 10:30am to 12:30pm.
Note the different time, but it will be in the usual classroom.