20 TH -CENTURY US HISTORY

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1 History 361 P. Ethington 268 Social Science Building Meets THH :00-11:50 Wednesdays and Fridays Office Hours 2-4:00PM Thursdays and by Appt. advisement encouraged: send me questions! 20 TH -CENTURY US HISTORY Overview and Learning Objectives This is a course about the critical turning points ("crises") in 20 th -century U.S. history, and about the sources of social and political changes. Course materials include not only interpretive "secondary" readings by historians, but also primary documents and historic film, radio and television records. By the end of this course students should be able to "explain" the origins and outcomes of the major crises that have shaped this nation in the last one hundred years. Required texts (available at bookstore and on reserve) Alan Brinkley and Ellen Fitzpatrick, America in Modern Times, Since 1890 (1997) Leon Fink, ed., Major Problems in the Gilded Age and Progressive Era: Documents and Essays, Second Edition Colin Gordon, ed, Major problems in American History, : Documents and Essays Robert Griffith and Paula Baker, eds, Major Problems in American History, Since 1945: Documents and Essays, Second Edition Format of Class: This is a small upper-division course with a heavy emphasis on use and study of the mass media of the 20 th century. Every Wednesday session will be devoted to a film, audio, or multimedia presentation. When there is time left after these presentations, we will discuss our reactions on that day. Otherwise, we will discuss the Wednesday screenings on Fridays. I will lecture on Fridays, but the lecture will be punctuated by many questions to you based on the readings. Come to the Friday sessions prepared to discuss the readings for each week.

2 Grading: Your grade will primarily be a product of your participation in class (10%) and performance in the written requirements (90%), which consist of: Participation: 10% I expect full attendance and the ability to answer questions based on the readings if you are called upon. I call upon everyone randomly. Typewritten Essays (3) The essays give you an opportunity to integrate the results of your reading with ideas developed in class in response to a question that requires you to explain how the events in U.S History developed the way they did. First Essay 20% 5-6 pp. Due 28 September at beginning of class. Second Essay 30% 5-6 pp. Due 2 November at beginning of class. Final Essay 40% 8-10 pp. (Due at the scheduled time for the "Final Exam": there will be no "exam" as such, but your final typewritten essay is due at that time). Format of Essays: Essays are argumentative responses to open-ended questions about the origins and outcomes of major crises in 20 th -century US history. Essay questions will be announced at least two weeks before essay is due. Style Requirements: Double space, point font, 1" margins. Citations can be either within the text--for example: (Fink, ed., p. 134)--or as footnotes. Short form in the footnotes, as in the previous example, is sufficient, since we are all discussing the same books. Criteria for Grading Papers: 1) Students must show they have done the assigned reading by explicitly citing facts and/or quotes to support their argument. Do not underestimate the importance of this criterion. Students must remember that the hard work of learning is not listening to lectures, but reading and taking notes on the reading. If you do not keep up with the reading, you will not follow the lectures anyway, and you will not do well in this course. In general, you should not cite readings not assigned in this course. There is no need to do so, and no extra credit will be given for such references. I do not prohibit an apt reference, but you are working with limited space, and substantial reference to readings not assigned for this course will displace needed references to assigned readings. 2) Essays must have a clear argumentative structure: with a clearly stated major thesis and clearly supported sub-sections of the essay. A thesis is not the same as a theme. A thesis is a tendentious argument, which requires justification. A theme is just a 2

3 series of similar topics strung throughout an essay, which do not necessarily lead to any argument. 3) Essays must be well written, grammatically and otherwise. LATE PAPERS MUST BE DATE/TIME STAMPED AT MAIN HISTORY OFFICE, 254 SOS. LATE PAPERS WILL BE MARKED DOWN ONE GRADE PER DAY LATE LY SCHEDULE AND ASSIGNMENTS: Note: Readings are to be completed by Friday session of each week!!! 1 Theme: Overview of 20 th Century, Crisis of 1890s 8/29-8/31 Read Chapters 1-3 Essays or Chapters to Read in Leon Fink, ed. Major Problems in the Gilded Age and Starts on Page Andrew Carnegie on the Triumph of America, Henry George and the Paradox of Capitalist Growth 20 An Anarchist Celebrates the Potential of Dynamite, The Purposes and Program of the Knights of Labor, Alfred T. Mahan on the Importance of Sea Power, Theodore Roosevelt Links War in the Philippines to the Ideal of the Strenuous 265 Life William Jennings Bryan Opposes U.S. Occupation of the Philippines, Alfred Beveridge Defends U.S. Imperialism 270 The Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine 272 Population Growth in Select U.S. Cites, Immigrant Distribution in Six Cities, Rudyard Kipling Gives a Visitor's View of Chicago, Carl Sandburg: Chicago Poems 122 Louis A. Perez, 1898: The Meaning of the Maine Theme: Imperialism, Racism, Feminism, Immigration, and the Origins of Progressivism 9/5-9/7 Read Chapters 4-5 Essays or Chapters to Read in Leon Fink, ed. Major Problems in the Gilded Age and A Trade Union Official Enunciates a Restrictive AFL Policy Toward Women Workers, 1897 Congress Takes Aim at the Chinese Menace, Huang Zunxian Expresses the Chinese Perspective in Poetry, c W.E.B. Dubois Denounces Racial Prejudice in Philadelphia, An Advice column for Jewish Immigrants, 1906, Chapter 10 "Race and Power under Jim Crow" Chapter 11 Consumer Culture and Commercialized Leisure Chapter 12 Progressivism: Roots of the Reform Vision

4 3 Theme: Climax of Progressivism 9/12-9/14 Read Chapters 6-7 Essays or Chapters to Read in Leon Fink, ed. Major Problems in the Gilded Age and Chapter 13: Progressivism: Foundations for a New American State Chapter 14: Nature without Nurture: Progressives Confront Environmental Destruction 9/20-9/21 4 Theme: The Great War and the New Era Read Chapters 8-9 Essays or Chapters to Read in Leon Fink, ed. Major Problems in the Gilded Age and Chapter 15: America and the Great War Theme: The Crisis of the Twenties 9/27-9/28 Read Chapters Essays or Chapters to Read in Colin Gordon, ed. Major Problems in American Chapter 2: Reform and Reaction: Public Policy in the Republican Era The Interchurch World Movement Investigates the Steel Strike, Ralph Chaplin Recalls the Clampdown of the 'Red Scare' of the 1920s The Employer's Case for Welfare Capitalism, Labor's Case Against Welfare Capitalism, The National Association of Manufacturers Defends the Open Shop, The AFL condemns the Open Shop, Employers Consider the Regulation of Women's Work, The AFL Ignores Women, FIRST ESSAY DUE Monday 10/1 BY 5:00 PM IN THE HISTORY DEPARTMENT 254 SOCIAL SCIENCE BUILDING. Question: Did North Americans during the Progressive Era do more Harm than Good? LATE PAPERS MUST BE DATE/TIME STAMPED AT MAIN HISTORY OFFICE, 254 SOS. LATE PAPERS WILL BE MARKED DOWN ONE GRADE PER DAY LATE. 6 Theme: The Great Depression and the New Deal 10/3-10/5 Read Chapters Essays or Chapters to Read in Colin Gordon, ed. Major Problems in American Chapter 6: "'100 Percent Americanism': Race and Ethnicity Between the Wars Chapter 7: "Responding to the Crash"

5 7 Theme: End of the New Deal and the Origins of the Second World War 10/11-10/12 Read Chapters Essays or Chapters to Read in Colin Gordon, ed. Major Problems in American A Working Class Woman on 'Making Do' in the 1930s Dr. Hilda Standish Recalls Efforts to Control Reproduction in the 1930s Children Recall the 1930s The Plight of the Unemployed in the 1930s An Ordinary American Appeals to Her Government, Robin D.G. Kelly, "the Share Cropper's Union," George Chauncy, "The Campaign Against Homosexuality," Chapter 11: "Shaping the New Deal: Recovery and Reform Politics" -- Read all "Documents." Chapter 12: "Race, Gender, and the Rise of the CIO" -- Read all "Documents." Chapter 13: "Contesting the New Deal" -- Read all "Documents." Theme: The Transformations of World War II 10/17-10/19 Read Chapters Essays or Chapters to Read in Colin Gordon, ed. Major Problems in American Gordon Chapter 14: The Social Impact of World War II Chapter 15: The Political Economy of World War II Theme: The Cold War 10/24-10/26 Read Chapters Essays or Chapters to Read in Robert Griffith, ed. Major Problems in American History, Since 1945: Documents and Essays Chapter 2: "From World War II to the Cold War: The Atomic Bombing of Japan" Chapter 3: "The Cold War Begins"

6 10 Theme: The Fifties: Prosperity and Protest 10/31-11/02 Read Chapters Essays or Chapters to Read in Robert Griffith and Paula Baker, eds,. Major Problems in American History, Since 1945: Documents and Essays 2 nd Edition Chapter 4: "Affluence and Discontent in the 1950s" SECOND ESSAY DUE MONDAY 11/5 BY 5:00 PM IN THE HISTORY DEPARTMENT 254 SOCIAL SCIENCE BUILDING. (Question to be announced) LATE PAPERS MUST BE DATE/TIME STAMPED AT MAIN HISTORY OFFICE, 254 SOS. LATE PAPERS WILL BE MARKED DOWN ONE GRADE PER DAY LATE. 11 Theme: From Suburbia to Camelot 11/7-11/9 Read Chapters Essays or Chapters to Read in Robert Griffith and Paula Baker, eds,. Major Problems in American History, Since 1945: Documents and Essays 2 nd Edition Chapter 5: "John F. Kennedy, the Cuban Revolution, and the Cold War" Chapter 8: Vietnam and the Crisis of American Empire" Theme: Vietnam and the Sixties 11/14-11/16 Read Chapters Essays or Chapters to Read in Robert Griffith and Paula Baker, eds,. Major Problems in American History, Since 1945: Documents and Essays 2 nd Edition Chapter 7: "Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Struggle for African- American Equality" Chapter 9: "The New Left and the Politics of the 1960s" Chapter 10: From the Feminine Mystique to the New Feminism THANKSGIVING BREAK 6

7 13 Theme: Thermidor: Nixon to Reagan 11/28-11/30 Read Chapters Audio: The Watergate Tapes Essays or Chapters to Read in Robert Griffith and Paula Baker, eds,. Major Problems in American History, Since 1945: Documents and Essays 2 nd Edition Chapter 11: "Richard M. Nixon, Watergate, and the Crisis of the 'Imperial' Presidency Theme: Gen-Xers Unite! 12/5-12/7 Read Chapters 28 Essays or Chapters to Read in Robert Griffith and Paula Baker, eds,. Major Problems in American History, Since 1945: Documents and Essays 2 nd Edition Chapter 12: The Reagan Revolution and After: Politics and Political Economy in the New Era Chapter 13: The Empire Strikes Back: Ronald Reagan and the End of the Cold War. Benjamin R. Barber, Jihad vs. McWorld Ronald Takaki, America as a New World Borderland Michael Schudson, A Gathering of Citizens THIRD ESSAY DUE BY END OF OFFICIAL "FINAL EXAM" PERIOD, 2-4 PM THURSDAY 14 DECEMBER DATE/TIME STAMPED AT HISTORY DEPARTMENT MAIN OFICE, 254 SOS BLDG (Question to be announced) 7