UNITED STATES HISTORY SINCE 1865

History 2112: 25H

Fall 2005

Professor: Dr. Stephanie Wright

Office: TLC 3208 Phone: 678-839-6035 email: swright@westga.edu

Office Hours: M,W,F 8:45-9:45 am and 1-2:00 pm; or by appointment

Class Meetings: M,W,F 10:00-10:50

Course Description and Learning Outcomes: This course surveys the history of the United States from the end of the Civil War to the present. It provides students with an opportunity to examine the historical origins of present day America by studying the various individuals, groups, institutions, and movements that shaped the modern United States. Important themes discussed in this course include the nation’s shift from a rural/agricultural economy to an urban-industrial power; the ways that race, class and gender shape the historical experiences of individuals and groups; and the development of the United States into a post-industrial society. Through the use of examinations, oral participation and presentations, and short papers, students will develop their critical thinking and writing skills.

Course Requirements

Participation 50 points

Attendance 50 points

Examinations (3) 200 points each

Group Project 100 points

Short Paper 100 points

Book Review 100 points

Attendance/Participation: Attendance is a crucial part of your participation grade since you cannot participate if you are not present. You will be allowed four unexcused absences. Any absences beyond this will result in the loss of five (5) attendance points per absence. Attendance will be taken during the first five minutes of class, so arrive on time. Please come to class prepared to discuss the assigned reading. Contributing to class includes not only your ability to discuss the assigned readings, but your ability to respect your fellow scholars by arriving on time, not talking while others are talking and by turning off all cell phones, pagers, or other electronic devices.

Examinations: There will be three exams. Exams will cover material from your textbooks, hand-outs, and classroom presentations (lectures, discussion, movies). Exams will consist primarily of identification, short answer, and essay questions. Make up exams will only be given with documentation of a legitimate absence. Cell phones and text messaging systems should be turned off during exams.

Group Project: Your group will be responsible for perusing an issue of the Atlanta Journal Constitution during the time period under discussion for your week. Choose an article to share with the class that reflects an issue under discussion in that week’s reading. You should be able to give an overview of the article, discuss what it reveals to us about the time period, and compare it to the interpretation of the same event, movement, or individual discussed in your textbook. Your group should use Power Point to present the article and your findings to the class. See the group project handout for a more detailed discussion.

Short Paper: The short paper should be 3-4 pages, double-spaced and typewritten with Times New Roman or Courier New 12 pt font. Handwritten and/or electronic versions of papers will not be accepted. See the short paper handout for further instructions.

Book Review: You will write a 3-4 page book review of an approved book that explores one of the themes examined in U.S. History since 1865. The review should give a brief overview of the book (no more than 1 ½ pages) and analyze the text for what it tells us about the time period under analysis.

Academic Honesty: The work that you submit and the answers that you provide on exams are expected to be your own. When quoting words that are not your own, use quotation marks and note the source. Evidence of plagiarism on papers and/ or of cheating on exams will result in a zero for the assignment. For a full outline of the university’s policy on academic dishonesty, see the Catalog.

Assigned Texts

Mary Beth Norton, et al., A People and a Nation, vol. Two, sixth edition

John Broesamle and Anthony Arthur, Clashes of Will: Great Confrontations that Have Shaped Modern America.

Anne Moody, Coming of Age in Mississippi

Course Packet of Primary Source Readings

SCHEDULE

Aug. 22 Introduction to class

Aug. 24 Conducting Historical Research

MEET IN THE LOBBY OF INGRAM LIBRARY

Aug. 26 Reconstruction

Norton, 427-444

Aug. 29 Reconstruction

Norton, 444-456

Documents 1,2, & 3 from course packet

Aug. 31 Reconstruction Ends

Sept. 2 The Development of the West

Broesamle and Arthur, Ch. 1

“Transcontinental Railroad”

Sept. 5 NO CLASS: LABOR DAY

Sept. 7 The Development of the West

Norton, Ch. 17 (458-469)

Document 5 from course packet

Sept. 9 The Development of the West

Norton, Ch. 17 (469-485)

Document 6 from course packet

Sept. 12 Industrialization

Norton, Ch. 18 (487-500)

Broesamle and Arthur, Ch. 2 (27-37)

Sept. 14 Industrialization

Norton, Ch. 18 (500-515)

Broesamle and Arthur, Ch. 2 (27-37)

Sept. 16 Industrialization

Documents 7-9 from course packet

Sept. 19 The Growth of Urban America

Norton, Ch. 19 (516-530)

Sept. 21 The Growth of Urban America

Norton, Ch. 19 (530-549)

“America 1900”

Sept. 23 The Growth of Urban America

Documents 13-15

Sept. 26 Gilded Age Politics

Norton, Ch. 20 (551-560)

Sept. 28 Populism

Norton, Ch. 20 (560-575)

Documents 10 & 17

Sept. 30 Racial Violence

Broesamle & Arthur, Ch. 3

Documents 18 & 19

Oct. 3 The Progressive Era

Norton, Ch. 21 (577-590)

Oct. 5 Woman’s Suffrage during the Progressive Era

Norton, Ch. 21 (590-605)

Document 4

Oct. 7 EXAM 1

Oct. 10 Regulation during the Progressive Era

Broesamle & Arthur, Ch. 4

Document 20

Oct. 12 Imperialism

Norton, Ch. 22

Document 16

Oct. 14 Imperialism

“America: 1900”

Begin reading for Book Review

Oct. 17 World War I

Norton, Ch. 23

Oct. 19 World War I

Broesamle & Arthur, Ch. 5

Oct. 21 NO CLASS

Work on short paper

Oct. 24 World War I

Documents 21-24

Oct. 26 The 1920s

Norton, Ch. 24 (665-680)

Document 25

Oct. 28 The 1920s

Norton, Ch. 24 (680-693)

“The Crash”

Oct. 31 The Great Depression

Broesamle & Arthur, Ch. 6 (129-142)

Documents 26-27

Nov. 2 The Great Depression & the New Deal

Norton, Ch. 25 (695-703)

Broesamle & Arthur, Ch. 6 (142-156)

Nov. 4 The Great Depression & the New Deal

Norton, Ch. 25 (703-727)

Nov. 7 Precursors to War

Norton, Ch. 26

Short Paper Due

Nov. 9 WWII: Abroad

Norton, Ch. 27 (757-772)

Nov. 11 WWII: At Home

Norton, Ch. 27 (772-785)

Documents 28-29

Nov. 14 WWII Ends: The Holocaust

Nov. 16 A New World: The Atomic Bomb

Broesamle & Arthur, Ch. 7

Nov. 18 Postwar America

Norton, Ch. 28

Document 30

Nov. 21 EXAM 2

Nov. 23-25 NOCLASS: THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY

Nov. 28 The Cold War

Norton, Ch. 29

Nov. 30 The Cold War

Document 31

Read 1/3 of Moody

Dec. 2 The Cold War

Read 1/3 of Moody

Dec. 5 The Civil Rights Movement

Norton, Ch. 30 (853-875)

Finish Moody

Discussion of Moody

Dec. 7 Vietnam

Norton, Ch. 31 (883-901)

Documents 32-33

Dec. 8 Watergate/Exam Review

Norton, Ch. 30 (875-881)

Document 34

BOOK REVIEW DUE

FINAL EXAM