Syllabus 

MODERNAMERICANHISTORY

Woodstock 1969

History 252/Fall 2008                                                                             Section 3/MWF/12:25-1:15

Dr. Louisa Kilgroe                                                                                 Tel:  (O) 513-2237  

Office: Withers 252                                                                                Hours: M/W 1:30-2:30 and By Appt.

Email: louisa_kilgroe@ncsu.edu

Web Site: http://social.chass.ncsu.edu/kilgroe

Course Objectives

History 252 is an introductory survey of the significant political, social, and economic developments of modern American history.  Modern American history comprises that period from the end of the Civil War to the beginning of the 21st century. Much like archeologists on a dig, our efforts to understand the transformation of the United States into the superpower of today may be difficult, but rewarding. 

Intended Learning Outcomes 

Students will

• Explore America's metamorphosis into a modern industrial state.
• Assess the demographic and social impact of such factors as immigration and urbanization.
• Trace the development of a multicultural, pluralistic society, including the entrance of such groups as women, African-Americans, and other minorities into the political, economic, and social mainstream.
• Analyze the response of democratic political institutions to such cataclysmic events as the wars and depressions.
• Discuss the emergence of the United States as the world's superpower.
• Develop new tools to critically analyze historical data, including primary sources.

Required Books

Davidson, James West and Mark Hamilton Lytle, After the Fact: The Art of Historical

     Detection. Vol. II (5th Ed., 2005)*

Rampolla, Mary Lynn,  A Pocket Guide to Writing in History. (5th Ed., 2007)

Shi, David E. and Holly A. Mayer, For the Record: A Documentary History of the

     United States. Vol. II. (3rd Ed., 2007)

Recommended

Foner, Eric, Give me Liberty! An American History. Vol. 2 (Seagull Ed., 2006)

These books are available at the NCSU Student Store, at any of the bookstores within the immediate campus area or online.  The prices may vary but in general, prices at the campus bookstore are slightly cheaper. *Please note that After the Fact should include a CD entitled Primary Source Investigator. If it does not, let me know.

Grading

Evaluation of a student's performance will be determined by

• After the Fact: Four assignments worth 15%.
• Mid-term Exam: Format to be announced 20%.
• Class participation: Our focus will be on the primary evidence included in the Shi and Mayer reader, For the Record and on Dav idson and Lytle's After the Fact's Primary Source Investigator. On occasion I will ask you to submit a short paper comparing two or more documents, answering a question (s) at the end of the selection, or explaining the significance of the document(s) to the period or topic under discussion. Class participation, based on your submission of the assignments and your contribution to the discussions, will constitute 15% of your grade.
• Research Paper:  Topics to be selected from the post World War II period. 20% of your grade.
• Final:  Format to be announced 30%.     

Assigments

As indicated above, our emphasis will be on selections from the assigned texts and at least one outside reading. Specific details of all assignments (page numbers, questions to be submitted, the date due) are on my web site (http://social.chass.ncsu.edu/kilgroe). All assignments must be turned in no later than the Monday after the assignment was due. I will deduct one point for each class meeting if the assignments are not turned in by the end of that week. All papers must be stapled and if possible, typed. Please let me know if you are unable to turn in your assignments during the allotted time. All papers must be stapled and if possible, typed.  Exams may be rescheduled only if the student has consulted with the instructor prior to the exam.

Students are required to do their own work whether it is an assignment or an examination. During examinations for example, you will be required to sign an Honor Code indicating that you have neither given nor received assistance. Plagiarism will incur heavy penalties.This is in keeping with the University's definition of Academic Integrity as stated in the cod of Student Conduct. If you are unclear about what constitutes plagiarism, please see Rampolla, Chapter 6 Plagiarism: What it is and How to Avoid it.

Attendance

Attendance will be taken at each class meeting. Students are expected to fully paarticipate in classes and examinations Students shall receive excused absences for a reasonable number of absences and opportunities to make up missed work. These include anticipated absences, official University functions, court attendance, religious observations, military duty, emergency absences, illness or injury certified by an attending physician, death or serious illness in the family. Instructors in 200-level courses have the right to use “reasonable academic penalties commensurate with the importance of the work missed because of unexcused absences.” More than two unexcused absences will result in a reductin of your grade. Students who remain on the roll but who do not officially drop the course will receive a F. (Handbook for Advising and Teaching, 1995)

Schedule

Aug 20 Introduction

Aug  22-Sep 3 The Nation Restored 1865-1900 [Civil War & Reconstrution; New South]

Shi & Mayer

Ch19

Plessy vs Ferguson

Booker T. Washington, Atlanta Compromise

Ch 24

Ida B. Wells, Lynch Law in America

Benjamin R. Tillman, The Use of Violence Against Southern Blacks

   [Online]

         Wilmington Race Riot

Davidson & Lytle, Ch 8 The View from the Bottom Rail

Foner, Chapters 15, 16, & 17

Sep 5-10  Western Expansion 1860-1890 [West; Indian Policies]

                    Shi & Mayer

      Ch 19

Chief Joseph, An Indian Perspective

Frederick Jackson Turner, The Frontier in American History

       [On E-Reserve}

                                           Richard White, "When Frederick Jackson Turner & Buffalo Bill Cody Both Played Chicago in 1893"  

Sep 12-22   America Becomes a Great Power 1880-1912

                  [Part 1: Industrialization; Urbanization; Immigration]

                        Shi & Mayer

                  Ch 20

                        Andrew Carnegie, Wealth

                        Preamble to the Constitution of the Knights of Labor

        Samuel Gompers, The American Federation of Labor

    Ch 21

             Josiah Strong, Our Country

Interpreting Visual Sources: Photography and Progressive Reform (Jacob Riis)

Sep 24-Oct 1  [Part II: Populism; Progressivism; Imperialism]

               Shi & Mayer

              Ch 23

               Albert J. Beveridge The March of the Flag

           Ch 24

                           Jane Addams, The Subjective Necessity for Social Settlements

        Rose Schneiderman, Working Women and the Vote

                Davidson & Lytle, Ch 9 USDA Government Inspected

                     Foner, Chapters 17 & 18

Oct 3-8  "War to end all wars" 1912-1920 [WWI; Aftermath of War]

      Shi & Mayer

            Ch 26

               A. Mitchell Palmer, The Case Against the Reds

               William Allen White, The Red Scare is Un-American

     Foner, Chapter 19

Oct 9-11   Fall Break  

Oct 13       Mid Term Examination   

Oct 15-24 Collapse & Recovery 1920-1939 [1920s; Gt Depression; New Deal]

    Shi & Mayer

                    Ch 26

                         Hiram W. Evans, The Klan's Fight for America

                         Robert  H. Clancy, The Immigration Act of 1924

     The Scopes Trial

                     Ch 28

                                   Huey Long, Share Our Wealth

                    Foner, Chapters 20 & 21

Oct 27-31 Dogs of War 1939-1945 [World War II]

Shi & Mayer

Ch 30

Korematsu V. United States

Davidson & Lytle, Ch 13 The Decision to Drop the Bomb

          Foner, Chapter 22

Nov 3-12 A New Kind of War 1945-1960 [Cold War; 1950s; Civil Rights]

                Shi & Mayer

                            Ch 31

                                     Mr. X, The Sources of Soviet Conduct

                                      Walter Lippmann, A Critique of Containment

                            Joseph McCarthy, Democrats and Communists

          William O. Douglas, Black Silence of Fear

                Foner, Chapters 23 & 24.

Nov 14-Dec 1Rebellion & Reaction 1960-1975[Civil Rights; Vietnam; Women's Movement ]

               Shi & Mayer

                             Ch 32

                                    Betty Friedan, The Feminine Mystique

                               Ch 34

                                      Martin Luther King, Letter from a Birmingham Jail

                              Malcolm X, The "Black Revolution" Speeches

                                       Interpreting Visual Sources: The Civil Rights Movement

                               Ch 35

                           Gloria Steinem, Women's Liberation

                Davidson & Lytle, Ch 16: Where Trouble Comes

                Foner, Chs 25 & 26

Nov 24        Papers Due

Dec 3-5  A New World Order, 1973-2005 [Conservative Resurgence; 9/11; Iraq/Afghanistan]

             Shi & Mayer     

                         Ch 37

                               John Lewis Gaddis, Setting Right a Dangerous World   

                   Foner, Chapter 27 & 28

Dec 10 Final Exam

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