Spring, 2004

History A314 (Sect.C276) and

History H511 (Sect.C298):

U.S. History, 1917-1945

Time: M W 11:00 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. Instructor: R. Barrows

Location: Cavanaugh Hall 215 Office: Cavanaugh Hall 532

Phone: 274-2457/3811

Office Hours: M W 12:30-1:00 p.m., E-mail: rbarrows@iupui.edu

4:00-5:00 p.m., or by appointment

REQUIREMENTS: Regular class attendance and participation in discussion; completion of assigned reading; a mid-term exam and a non-comprehensive final (essays and short answer IDs, covering both reading assignments and the lectures); and several short written assignments: a) a brief synopsis and analysis of a supplementary novel or oral history; b) a short description and analysis of a contemporary newspaper or news magazine account of a notable event; c) a synopsis and evaluation of two chapters of the book Middletown; d) a brief description and analysis of a mass circulation magazine from the 1930s or early 1940s. Students taking the course for graduate credit will complete an additional reading/writing assignment to be determined in consultation with the instructor.

GRADING: Each exam will count for one-third of the final grade; the written work will comprise the other third. Improvement counts. So does literacy. In cases where the semester grade comes down to a borderline decision (between a C+ or a B-, for example), regular attendance and participation in discussion will be taken into account.

University policy is that grades of "Incomplete" may be assigned only to students who have successfully completed most of the course work and who have been prevented by significant and unanticipated circumstances from finishing all requirements. Removal of "Incomplete" grades is often troublesome for both student and instructor, and I shall be reluctant to assign them.

Plagiarism (including the use, without attribution, of materials found on the Internet), cheating on exams, and other forms of intellectual dishonesty will not be tolerated, will result in a failing grade on the work in question, and may lead to disciplinary action by the university. If you are unsure what constitutes plagiarism, ask. Also, consult the IUPUI Campus Bulletin, 2002-2004, pp. 37-38.

TEXTS:

JEANSONNE Glen Jeansonne, Transformation and Reaction

ODETS Clifford Odets, Waiting for Lefty

POLENBERG Richard Polenberg, The Era of Franklin D. Roosevelt

SHANNON David A. Shannon, Between the Wars (2nd ed.)

WINKLER Allan M. Winkler, Home Front U.S.A.

Plus one of the following: Sinclair Lewis, Babbitt; John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath; Studs Terkel, Hard Times; Sinclair Lewis, It Can't Happen Here

Tentative Course Outline and Assignments

January

12 Introduction to the Course

14 Legacy of WW I: Treaty Fight, Demobilization, Red Scare

Assignment: Shannon, chapter 1

19 NO CLASS (Martin Luther King, Jr. Day)

21 The Twenties: An Introduction

Assignment: Jeansonne, chapter 1

26 Republican Ascendancy: The Politics of Normalcy

Assignment: Jeansonne, chapter 2; Shannon, 37-55

28 Prosperity Decade: The U.S. Economy in the Automobile Age

Assignment: Shannon, 94-102; Jeansonne, 60-64

February

2 The Reluctant Giant: Foreign Affairs

Assignment: Jeansonne, chapter 7; Shannon, 55-65

4, 9 The Tribal Twenties

Assignment: Shannon, chapter 3; Jeansonne, chapter 3; and on library

reserve: a) Robert Coughlan, “Konklave in Kokomo” OR William E Wilson,

“The Klan and a Congressman”; b) Leonard J. Moore, “Introduction: Indiana

and the Radical Interpretation of the Ku Klux Klan”; c) H. L. Mencken,

“The Hills of Zion” OR “In Memoriam: W.J.B.”

11 The Revolution in Manners and Morals

class=Section2>

Assignment: Jeansonne, 54-60; "The Revolution in Manners and Morals" [on library reserve]

16 Middletown

Assignment: Submit and be prepared to discuss your paper on Middletown.

18 Society and Culture in the 1920s: Highbrow, Middlebrow, and Mass

Assignment: Shannon, 102-125; Jeansonne, chapts. 5, 6

23 Group 1: Presentation and discussion of Babbitt

25 The Big Bull Market and the Stock Market Crash

Assignment: Shannon, 142-153

March

1 Mid-Term Exam

3 The Great Depression: Cause

Assignment: Jeansonne, chapter 8

8 The Ordeal of Herbert Hoover

Assignment: Shannon, chapter 6

March

10 The Great Depression: Effect

Assignment: Shannon, 129-142

15, 17 NO CLASS (Spring Break)

22 Group 2: Presentation and discussion of Hard Times

24 The New Deal - I

Assignment: Jeansonne, ch. 9; Shannon, 176-189; Polenberg, 1-16, 39-44

29 Group 3: Presentation and discussion of The Grapes of Wrath

Assignment: Polenberg, 77-83

31 The New Deal - II

Assignment: Jeansonne, ch. 10; Shannon, 189-216; Polenberg, 47-52, 83-92

April

5 Voices of Protest

Assignment: Jeansonne, ch.11; Polenberg, 16-24, 114-32

7 Group 4: Presentation and discussion of It Can't Happen Here

12, 14 Society and Culture in the 1930s

Assignment: Jeansonne, chapter 12; Shannon, chapter 8;

Polenberg, 108-113; Odets, Waiting for Lefty

19 The Road to War

Assignment: Jeansonne, chapter 13; Shannon, chapter 9

21 World War II

Assignment: Jeansonne, ch. 15; Winkler, chapts. 1, 2

26 The Home Front

Assignment: Jeansonne, ch. 14; Winkler, chapters 3, 4;

Polenberg, 24-35, 184-204

{Mass Circulation Magazine Assignment due}

28 "The Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter"

May

3 Recapitulation and Evaluation

5 FINAL EXAM 10:30 a.m. - 12:00 noon (note time change from normal class time)

History A314

Spring, 2004

SUPPLEMENTARY NOVEL

(Groups 1, 3, 4)

Instructions for Group Presentations

and Individual Written Assignments

(200 points)

Group Presentations

Each group will have 50 minutes to make its presentation. Your objective is to inform the other members of the class about the novel you have read and to explain to them how it helps us understand the period of American history we are studying in this course. You may structure your presentation as you wish, but you will probably want to touch upon the following in some way:

--Biographical information regarding the author

--Publication information regarding the book (when/where originally published, how long in print,

sales figures [if available], etc.)

--The plot of the novel: who are the major characters, what do they do or what happens to them

--The literary quality of the novel

–The context within which the book was written and the ways in which the novel reflects that context.

--The impact of the novel, both when it was originally published and in subsequent years

--The book's value in helping us to understand U.S. history in the 1920s or 1930s

Individual Written Assignment

Your written analysis of the novel is due on the day of your group presentation. This review should be approximately 750 words (3-4 typewritten pages, double-spaced).

History A314

Spring, 2004

SUPPLEMENTARY ORAL HISTORY

(Group 2)

Instructions for Group Presentation

and Individual Written Assignments

(200 points)

Group Presentation

Your group will have 50 minutes to make its presentation. Your objective is to inform the other members of the class about the book you have read and to explain to them how it helps us understand the period of American history we are studying in this course. You may structure your presentation as you wish, but you will probably want to touch upon the following in some way:

--Biographical information regarding the author

--Publication information regarding the book (when/where originally published, how long in print,

sales figures [if available], etc.)

--The structure of the book: how is it organized

--The range of interviewees and, taken as a group, how representative they seem to be of the

variety of Depression experiences

--The reaction to the book by readers/reviewers (especially, if possible, the reaction to the volume by those

who lived through the Great Depression)

--The book's value in helping us to understand the 1930s (and, more generally, the value of oral history as a research tool).

Individual Written Assignment

Your written analysis of Hard Times is due on the day of your group presentation. This review should

be approximately 750 words (3-4 typewritten pages, double-spaced).

The review should consist of two parts. The first one-third should be a summary that tells the person reading the review what the book is about. The remaining two-thirds of the review should give your opinion of the book, noting particularly its value as a historical source (and, more generally, the value of oral interviews as a technique of historical research). You should respond explicitly to Terkel's assertion that "In their rememberings are their truths. The precise fact or the precise date is of small consequence" (3).

History A314

Spring, 2994

Middletown Assignment

(100 points)

Two copies of Middletown: A Study in American Culture (1929), by Robert S. and Helen Merrell Lynd, are on reserve in the University Library. This celebrated volume, one of the classics of American social science, was based on an in-depth examination and analysis of Muncie, Indiana, in the mid-1920s--a city, as the Lynds put it, "as representative as possible of contemporary American life." It has been widely cited since its initial publication (often by historians, including your instructor, looking for anecdotal material to spice up a lecture on the Twenties), and used as a "baseline" for many subsequent "Middletown" studies.

Begin by scanning the Table of Contents and reading the Lynds' Introduction (chapters I, II, and III). Then select two of the following chapters (the paired chapters--in parentheses--count as one) to read and evaluate:

(IV + V) (IV + VII) X XII XIV XVI XVIII

(XX + XXI) XXV XXVI

Prepare a 3-4 page paper (typewritten, double-spaced) in which you

--provide a brief synopsis of the Lynds' findings as reported in the chapters you read

--relate those findings, when possible, to other reading you have done about the 1920s (for example, does the "revolution in manners and morals" described by Frederick Lewis Allen seem to be reflected in the Lynds' "representative" city?)

--discuss any results of the Middletown study that you find particularly noteworthy, surprising, or insightful

--explain why you think the book is (or is not) a useful source for those who study 1920s America

Due Monday, February 16

History A314

Spring, 2004

Newspaper/Newsmagazine Assignment

(100 points)

Select one of the following events and read contemporary newspaper or newsmagazine accounts of the incident. (The New York Times is available on microfilm in the University Library; newsmagazines and Indianapolis newspapers, also mainly on microfilm, may be found at the Indiana State Library or the Indianapolis-Marion County Public Library.) Then prepare an essay of no more than three double-spaced, typewritten pages. The first one-third to one-half of your essay should simply provide a summary description of the historical event as recounted in the articles you consulted. The remainder of the essay consists of your analysis of the coverage. Does it seem accurate? Fair? Thorough? Do you find anything unusual or surprising about the newspaper's or magazine's treatment of the story? Are there ways in which the coverage differs from the manner in which the print media today might deal with the same story?

Note that while I have provided the date(s) that the event(s) took place, coverage of the story in all likelihood went on for several days afterwards–and in some cases may even have preceded the event.

Indicate somewhere in your essay, either as a heading or as a part of the text, the name of the newspaper or newsmagazine you read, the dates of the issues you consulted, and the repository where the source was located. Due on dates indicated.

Due ASAP

Election of President Harding [November 2, 1920]

Death of President Harding [August 2, 1923]

Due February 4

Conviction of Indiana Grand Dragon D.C. Stephenson [Nov. 14, 1925; read Indianapolis papers, if possible Star or News and Times]

Scopes Trial [July 10-21, 1925]

Conviction/execution of Sacco & Vanzetti [July 14, 1921 and Aug. 23, 1927]

Due February 18

Lindbergh's trans-Atlantic flight [May 20+, 1927]

Attempt to rescue Floyd Collins [February 1-17, 1925]

Due March 3

Stock Market Crash [October 24-30, 1929]

Due March 8

Expulsion of the "Bonus Army" from Washington [July 28-29, 1932]

Due March 24

FDR’s acceptance speech at Demo. Natl. convention [July 2, 1932]

FDR's first inaugural address [March 4, 1933]

Bank Holiday [March 5-11, 1933]

Due April 5

FDR's second electoral victory [Nov. 3-4, 1936]

Due April 12

Marian Anderson's ban by the DAR [approx. Feb. 22, 1939] and her subsequent performance at the Lincoln Memorial [Easter, 1939]

Due April 19

FDR's "Quarantine" speech [October 5, 1937]

Passage/signature of Lend-Lease [March 8-11, 1941]

Attack on Pearl Harbor [December 7, 1941]

Due April 21

Battle of Midway [June 3-6, 1942]

D-Day (Operation Overlord) [June 6, 1944]

Atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima/Nagasaki [Aug. 6, 9, 1945]

Due April 26

Death of FDR [April 12, 1945]

Sign-up Sheet for Newspaper/Magazine Assignment

Election of President Harding (due ASAP)

Death of President Harding (due ASAP)

Conviction of Indiana Grand Dragon D. C. Stephenson (due 2/4)

Scopes Trial (due 2/4)

Conviction/execution of Sacco & Vanzetti (due 2/4)

Lindbergh's trans-Atlantic flight (due 2/18)

Attempt to rescue Floyd Collins (due 2/18)

Stock Market Crash (due 3/3)

Expulsion of the "Bonus Army" from Washington (due 3/8)

FDR's acceptance speech at 1932 Democratic convention (due 3/24)

FDR's first inaugural address (due 3/24)

Bank Holiday (due 3/24)

FDR's second electoral victory (due 4/5)

Marian Anderson's ban by DAR and performance at Lincoln Memorial (due 4/12)

FDR's "Quarantine" speech (due 4/19)

Passage/signature of Lend-Lease (due 4/19)

Attack on Pearl Harbor (due 4/19)

Battle of Midway (due 4/21)

D-Day (Operation Overlord) (due 4/21)

Atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima/Nagasaki (due 4/21)

Death of FDR (due 4/26)

History A314

Spring, 2004

Mass Circulation Magazine Assignment

(100 points)

Select a mass circulation magazine that was published during the 1930s and 1940s. You may choose a title from the list provided on the reverse or, with the consent of the instructor, select some other mass circulation periodical.

Scan a total of twelve issues, in one of the following patterns:

1) Every issue for one year (for a monthly)

2) One issue per month for one year (for a weekly)

3) One issue per year (December, say) for twelve years

As you skim through the issues, give some attention to the covers, the types of articles published and the subjects of those articles, advertisements, letters to the editor, and so on. Then prepare an essay of 3-4 double-spaced, typewritten pages discussing what you have observed. A partial list of items you may want to consider would include:

--Who is the audience for this magazine? Does that audience seem to change over time? What is the evidence on which you base your conclusion?

--Does the content of the magazine reflect any of the harsh realities of American life during these years? For example, in what ways can you deduce from your periodical (if you can) that the country is struggling through a deep economic depression, or is engaged in a world war? (You might find it instructive to examine issues of the magazine that were published on either side of a seminal event such as the stock market crash in October, 1929, or Pearl Harbor in December, 1941.)

--What differences do you observe between the magazine you selected and magazines with which you are familiar today? What similarities?

Due no later than Monday, April 26

The following magazines are available in both the Indiana State Library (ISL; corner of Senate & Ohio; not open evenings or weekends) and the Indianapolis-Marion County Public Library (IMCPL; 40 E. St. Clair, at north end of War Memorial Plaza).

micro = available on microfilm

Colliers

Country Life

Good Housekeeping (ISL run starts in 1939; micro at IMCPL)

Ladies Home Journal (ISL missing 1931-1934)

Life (first issue in 1936)

New Republic (micro at ISL, IMCPL)

Newsweek (ISL run starts in 1939)

New Yorker (micro at ISL, IMCPL)

Saturday Evening Post (micro at IMCPL)

Time (micro at ISL, IMCPL)

Supplementary Novel/Oral History Assignments

Group 1 (Babbitt) Group 2 (Hard Times)

Group 3 (The Grapes of Wrath) Group 4 (It Can't Happen Here)

* = Group Facilitator

History A314

Spring, 2004

Reading assignments for February 4, 9 ("The Tribal Twenties")

Texts

Shannon, chapter 3

Jeansonne, chapter 3

On library reserve (in either paper or electronic format, and

perhaps in both)

1. Robert Coughlan, "Konklave in Kokomo" (from Leighton, The