Cherry L. Spruill
Office: CA 502K
Phone: 274-7105 (Home Phone: 765-447-8985)
Email: cspruill@purdue.edu
Office Hrs: Tues. 12:30-1:30, Wed. 2:15-3:15, & by appointment
TA: Mark Emerson
Office: CA 313N
Phone: 278-5727
Email: memerso2@iupui.edu
Office Hrs: Tues. 9:15-10:45 & Thurs. 10:00-10:45; 12:45-1:30
Required Texts:
Course Description:
This course will examine the changing social, cultural, political, and economic scene in the United States from 1865 to the present. We will survey both the accomplishments and conflicts in American domestic and international affairs as the nation rose from a country healing from the wounds of civil war to a world superpower.
Course Objectives:
The objectives of this course are multifaceted and are based on the Principles of Undergraduate Learning. (You can access the Principles of Undergraduate Learning at http://www.iupui.edu/~history/principlesundergradlearning.htm.) In addition to broadening and deepening students’ factual knowledge of the history of the U. S. since the Civil War, we will focus on developing analytical and critical thinking skills. Through the analysis of primary sources, we will come to understand how historians interpret history, and we will learn to integrate information from primary and secondary sources into effective essays in much the same way as historians do. In addition, lectures and assigned readings are designed to present multiple perspectives and points of view on the history of America, its people, culture, and place in a worldwide setting.
Grade Determination:
(Total Points in this course=420)
Grades will be determined based on the course requirements of exams, tests, and attendance as stated below:
1) Exams: There will be two exams in this course. The first exam (midterm) will consist of one blue-book essay question and identifications. Point value
of the first exam = 110 pts.
The second exam (final) will comprise an essay question, identifications, and
a section of multiple choice questions. The multiple choice questions on the final exam will be comprehensive. Point value of final exam = 110 pts.
A study guide will be distributed approximately one week before each exam, and review sessions will be held before each exam if desired. The study guide will contain several essay questions, one of which you will be required to answer. The question chosen for the exam will be determined by the roll of a die and will thus be left to fate. Total exam points = 220.
2) Tests: There will be five tests in this course, each worth 40 points with an
allotted time of approximately 35 minutes. Two of the tests will be multiple
choice with questions drawn from lecture material in each half of the
semester. These “lecture tests” will be given shortly before each exam and
are designed to help you be better prepared for your exams. The tests will be
returned to you in the next class meeting so that you can utilize them to help
determine any weak spots in your knowledge, have time to study further, and
produce a very successful essay exam.
The other three tests will be in-class
essays based on: 1) Sinclair’s The
Jungle, 2) Wiesel’s Night, and 3) Moody’s Coming of Age in Mississippi.
The essays will require a short analysis (approximately 2 pages) of the books,
each in the context of its own time. The essay question on the book tests will
not be given in advance, but I will give a good sense of what to focus on as
you read each book. Total test points = 200.
Note regarding make ups: Make up exams and tests will be given only in
emergency situations, will require documentation, and will be determined at
the discretion of the instructor.
3) Attendance: Attendance is required for all classes and, in keeping with university policy, attendance will be taken during each class meeting. Three (3) absences will be permitted during the semester, no questions asked. Attendance becomes a factor in determining your grade, however, because any additional absences beyond the three “free” ones will result in a reduction in final grade of two (2) points per unexcused absence. Note that those two points per missed class can add up quickly and have been known to cause a failing grade for the course. Use your three “free” absences as an insurance policy in case of illness, car trouble, etc., and remember that no exams, tests, or other work may be made up if you are absent without an emergency situation and documentation. Note regarding grade determination: In computing final grades, this course takes into positive account: 1) students who show improvement over the semester, 2) students who have attended class regularly, and 3) students who have sought to improve their performance by utilizing our office hours and review sessions.
Jan. 8 Intro., Postwar Reconstruction (Brinkley Ch. 15; America Firsthand(AFH)
Readings
1-3, 5 (NOTE: Always read
introductions to each section in AFH.)
Jan. 10 Reconstruction and Far West (Brinkley Ch. 15-16; AFH4, 6, 7 & Visual
Portfolio pp. 51-59)
Jan. 15 Gilded Age: Industry, Labor, Ideology (Brinkley Ch. 17; AFH 8-13 & Visual
Portfolio pp. 161-169)
Jan. 17 Immigration, Urbanization (Brinkley Ch. 18)
Jan. 22 Politics, Populism, Imperialism (Brinkley Ch. 19-20)
Jan. 24 Politics, Populism, Imperialism – continued (same reading as Jan. 22)
TEST: The Jungle
Jan. 29
Progressive Era: Ideology,
Reform (Brinkley Ch. 21; AFH 15-18,
25)
Jan. 31 Ideology, Reform - continued (same reading as Jan. 29)
Feb. 5 Progressive Era: Nat’l Reform, TR, Taft, Wilson (Brinkley Ch. 22; AFH 14)
Feb. 7 TR, Taft, Wilson – continued (same reading as Feb. 5)
Feb. 12 World War I: Diplomacy, Mobilization (Brinkley Ch. 22-23; AFH 20-21)
Feb. 14 War: Publicity; Peace (Brinkley Ch. 23)
Feb. 19 A New Era: The Roaring 20s (Brinkley Ch. 24; AFH 22-24)
Feb. 21 Roaring 20s – continued: Culture and Conflicts (same reading as Feb. 19)
LECTURE
TEST #1
Feb. 26 20s: Hoover and the Depression (Brinkley Ch. 25)
***************************************
Mar. 5 1930s: Decade of Crisis Meets FDR (Brinkley Ch. 25; AFH 26-27)
Mar. 7 FDR and the New Deal (Brinkley Ch. 26)
Mar. 11 – 16 S P R I N G B R E A K
Mar. 19 Global Stage for WWII & U.S. (Brinkley Ch. 27)
Mar. 21 WWII: Mobilization and American Society (Brinkley Ch. 27-28; AFH 28-31)
Mar. 26 WWII and the end of U.S. Isolationism (Brinkley Ch. 28; AFH 32-33 &
Visual Portfolio pp.277-281)
TEST: Night
Mar. 28 Cold War; Truman (Brinkley Ch. 29)
Apr. 2 Eisenhower; McCarthyism; Society (Brinkley Ch. 30)
Apr. 4 1950s: Consumerism; Conformity (Brinkley Ch. 30)
Apr. 9 Turbulence: Civil Rights; Liberation (Brinkley Ch. 31; AFH 34-45, 38-40)
Apr. 11 Vietnam & Political Leadership in Crisis (Brinkley Ch. 31-32; AFH 36-37 &
Visual Portfolio pp. 277-281)
TEST: Coming of Age in Mississippi
Apr. 16 Nixon: Foreign Policy; Watergate (Brinkley Ch. 32)
Apr. 18 Carter, Reagan; New Right Politics (Brinkley Ch. 33; AFH 41
LECTURE
TEST #2
Apr. 23 Cold War ends (Brinkley Ch. 34)
Apr. 25 Post-Cold War America (Brinkley Ch. 34; AFH 42
Notes: