H 106 American History II

Reconstruction to the Present

Section 15430, 3 Credit Hours

Fall 2004

Location: Cavanaugh Hall, Room 217

Time: Saturdays, 12:00 noon to 2:40 p.m.

Instructor: Richard Gantz

Office Hours: Tuesdays 8:30-9:00 p.m., Wednesdays 8:30 to 9:00 p.m.,

Saturdays 2:50 to 3:30 p.m., and other times by appointment. Cavanaugh

Hall, Room 420

Telephone: 274-7867

E-mail: rgantz@iupui.edu

Course: This course will provide a broad survey of major political, cultural, social, diplomatic, and economic developments in America from the end of the Civil War to the present time. The class will look at how and why people have reacted to events, movements, and ideas and how the nation has changed through the years.

This course will seek to incorporate many of the educational goals as outlined in the “IUPUI Principles of Undergraduate Learning.” These principles include basic skills in communication, critical thinking, and analysis to understand society and culture. Just as America did not evolve into a modern nation in a vacuum, history is part of a larger stream of human experience that includes art, literature, culture, science, different societies, religion, and technology. Students are encouraged to apply knowledge from other disciplines to the study of historical movements and events. A copy of the “Principles of Undergraduate Learning” is posted on the Department of History’s Home Page at www.iupui.edu/~history.

Texts: Alan Brinkley, The Unfinished Nation, A Concise History of the American People, Volume II: From 1865. 4^th edition (2004).

Michael P. Johnson, ed., Reading the American Past: Selected Historical Documents, Volume II: From 1865. 2^nd edition (2002).

Quizzes and written assignments will be based on assigned readings. Follow the reading assignments as listed in the syllabus; the instructor will note any exceptions to the published schedule. Check Oncourse for any changes and assignments.

Semester Schedule:

August 28 – Introduction, United States in 1865.

September 4 – Reconstruction and Race. Read Brinkley, Ch. 15; Johnson, Ch. 15 all,

Ch. 19 #2, Ch. 20 #4 & 5.

September 11 – The West and Railroads. Read Brinkley, Chs. 16 & 17; Johnson,

Ch. 16 #1, 2, 3. Quiz over assigned readings.

September 18 – Rise of Cities, Imperialism Impulse. Read Brinkley, Chs. 18 & 20;

Johnson, Ch. 16 #5, Ch. 17 #1, 3, 4, Ch. 18 #1, 2, 3, Ch. 19 #4.

September 25 – First Examination.

October 2 – No class.

October 9 – Populism and Progressivism. Read Brinkley, Chs. 19, 21, 22; Johnson,

Ch. 19 #1 & 3. Written assignment over assigned readings due.

October 16 – World War I and the Twenties. Read Brinkley, Chs. 23 & 24; Johnson,

Ch. 21 all, Ch. 22 #3 & 4.

October 23 – Great Depression and the New Deal. Read Brinkley, Chs. 25 & 26;

Johnson, Ch. 23 all. Quiz over assigned readings.

October 30 – World War II. Read Brinkley, Chs. 27 & 28; Johnson, Ch. 24 #2, 3, 4.

November 6 – Second Examination.

November 13 – Postwar America. Read Brinkley, Ch. 30; Johnson, Ch. 25 #3,

Ch. 26 #1, Ch. 27 #1 & 4.

November 20 – Civil Rights Movement. Read Brinkley, Ch. 31; Johnson, Ch. 26 #3,

Ch. 27 #2 & 3.

November 27 – No class, Thanksgiving vacation.

December 4 – The Cold War and Vietnam. Read Brinkley, Chs. 29 & 32; Johnson,

Ch. 25 #1 & 2, Ch. 28 all. Written assignment over assigned readings

due.

December 11 – Watergate and Modern Conservatism. Read Brinkley, Chs. 33 & 34;

Johnson, Ch. 29 #1 & 2, Ch. 30 #2.

December 18 – Final Examination.

Grading: The semester grade will be based on the following elements:

Attendance and class participation 10%

Three highest quiz scores 21%

First examination 21%

Second examination 21%

Final examination 27%

Quizzes over the reading assignments will be given in class on September 11 and October 23. Written assignments will be due on October 9 and December 4; late papers will be dropped a letter grade for every day they are late. Late papers should be left in my mail box in Cavanaugh Hall, Room 504M or sent to me by e-mail. Students should keep a copy of their papers. Only the highest 3 scores of the quizzes and written assignments will be counted.

The grading scale is as follows:

A+ 99-100 B+ 87-89 C+ 77-79 D+ 67-69

A 93-98 B 83-86 C 73-76 D 63-66

A- 90-92 B- 80-82 C- 70-72 D- 60-62

Examinations will cover the readings in the text, class lectures, and other materials presented in class in handouts and audio-visual presentations. Students will be expected to know significant facts, causes, and results in American history since the Civil War. It is more important to know the sequence of events, since this relates to cause and effect, rather than simply memorizing dates. Students should also be able to use critical thinking to interpret and compare ideas, episodes, and movements from the different periods of American history after the Civil War.

Cheating, plagiarism, or fabrication of research or work will result in a zero for the paper, quiz, test, or project involved. Students will be expected to adhere to the Student Code of Conduct as adopted by IUPUI.

Attendance: Attendance and participation in class discussions are important. The entire class will benefit from your ideas, questions, and reactions. Students who miss half or more of the class sessions will receive a zero for the attendance portion of the semester grade. Please be considerate of others and turn off cell phones and pagers during class sessions.

Makeup Policy: There will be not makeup quizzes or examinations. If a student has an excused absence due to illness or a provable emergency on a day of a quiz or an examination, the other quiz or test scores will be increased in weight to compensate for the excused work.