History
114: History of the United States Since
1877
Virginia
Wesleyan College
Dr.
Dan Margolies
Office: Blocker 31
Office
Hours: M, 4:30-6:00, T, 11-1; W,
4:30-6; TH, 11-1; 4:30-6:00,
or by appointment. Come on by!
Email: dmargolies@vwc.edu
Webpage:
http://facultystaff.vwc.edu/~dmargolies/
Phone: 455-5716
Class Meetings: Section 01 Section 04
MW, 1:30-2:45 MW, 3-4:15
Blocker 18 Blocker
18
This class is an introductory survey of the major political, social,
economic, cultural, demographic, and diplomatic developments in U.S. history
from the end of Reconstruction through the present. During this short time, the nation rapidly passed from an
unfinished social revolution through the dynamism, dislocation, and challenges
of ongoing industrial revolution, two World Wars, and periodic depressions,
only to rise a short time later to unparalleled prosperity, power, and
influence in the world. This was an
incredible period of time and it makes for an equally incredible story. We will witness superlative achievement,
bare-fisted politics, outsized personalities, cultural hegemony, social crisis,
and fantastic economic development and military power. As we cover this grand story we will
critically examine not only the advances and wonders of the time, but also the
inequality, violence, and injustices that unfortunately also form a part of our
history. Among other topics, we will
study scientific, technological, and intellectual developments, imperial
expansionism and warfare, the ongoing expansion and centralization of federal
government power and authority, struggles for social justice, individual
autonomy and environmental balance, cultural transformation, and the
interaction of diverse communities of peoples across both time and space. Because these topics and themes are so vast,
we will also develop and utilize thematic frameworks with which to organize and
understand the historical events and materials we discuss. As we study the events of the past, we also
concern ourselves with the historical process,
with “doing history.” This class
seeks to create a usable understanding of American history by teaching you not
only the course material, but also the invaluable skills of how to think historically and analytically,
and how to articulate these ideas in class discussions, in exams, and in your
written work.
Required Readings: (on sale at the college bookstore)
Text:
Tindall,
George Brown and David E. Shi, America: A Narrative History. Vol. Two.
Reader:
Shi,
David E. and Holly A. Mayer, eds. For the Record: A Documentary History of
America, Vol. Two: From Reconstruction through Contemporary Times.
Baker, Mark.
Nam: The Vietnam War in the
Words of the Men and Women Who Fought There.
Byerly,
Victoria. Hard Times
Cotton Mill Girls: Personal Histories of Womanhood and Poverty
in the South (any edition)
Harris,
Frank. The Bomb (any edition)
Kromer, Tom, Waiting for Nothing and Other
Writings (any
edition)
Course Requirements:
Attendance and Participation:
Regular
attendance in class is, of course, mandatory, as is prompt completion of all
readings and assignments. You are
expected to read and reflect upon the
assigned materials before coming to class each week so you can get the most out
of lectures and discussion.
Pariticpation in discussion requires that you have read the material
first.
Because
we will cover a large amount of material over the course of the semester, you
should be prepared to spend the time it takes to complete the reading
thoroughly and thoughtfully. You
MUST do the reading before each class to be prepared for discussions and exams,
and to do well in this class. Your
active participation in all aspects of the class is expected, and your final
grade will reflect your level of involvement and commitment.
Late assignments (such
as homework, essays, papers, or other assignments) will be graded down one
grade per day and are accepted only at the discretion of the
professor.
More
than two absences that are not expressly approved by the professor will result
in a lower final grade for the semester.
For each absence after two excused absences, your discussion grade
will be lowered one-half grade.
Excused
absences include legitimate illness, a field trip, or a pre-appproved athletic
event. However, such excused absences
will require extra work to make up for the missed class time.
If
your cell phone rings during class (unless authorized by the professor) your
final grade will be lowered by one-half letter grade.
Reading Quizzes:
We
will have weekly reading quizzes to gauge your coverage and understanding of
the material we read and to help organize your thinking on it. You will be asked to discuss terms,
individuals, and events from the reading, to explain concepts covered in the
documents, and to write short explanatory paragraphs about the material we are
studying. These quizzes will not
always be announced ahead of time, yet they form a significant part of your
final grade. Doing the reading
regularly and with some care will be essential to doing well on these quizzes
and in the class generally.
Quizzes may be made-up only in case of an excused absence and only at
the discretion of the professor.
Exams:
There
will be two take-home essay exams. In
general, you will be graded on your knowledge of the subject matter, on your
ability to connect themes we have covered in class, and on the sophistication
of your ideas and writing. We will work
on study and test-taking strategies during the course of the semester.
Written Assignments:
There
will be several short written assignments due throughout the semester covering
the readings in the documents reader, and longer (2-3 page) papers evaluating
the books. These short exercises will
help prepare you for class discussion and will be announced and discussed in
class as we go along.
Grades:
Class
Participation: 20%
Reading
Quizzes: 20%
Midterm:
15%
Short
Papers: 30%
(10% each)
Final:
15%
The following grading point scale
will be used in determining your grade, subject to the discretion of the
instructor: A= 93-100; A- = 90-92; B+ = 88-89; B = 83-87; B- =
80-82; C+ = 78-79; C = 73-77; C- = 65-69; D = 50-64; F = less than 50
Films:
The
visual memory and artistic expression of twentieth century film are vital parts
of the American experience, and are very useful tools for understanding the
themes and events we are studying. In
recognition of this, we will screen several films during the course of the
semester at night. Each student is
expected to attend at least ONE (and hopefully more) of these showings, OR to
watch the film on his/her own. The
times and places of these films will be announced in class during the course of
the semester.
Email policy:
I do not respond to or
read emails that lack capitalization, proper punctuation, or a salutation.
Email
is a vital tool of communication for educators and scholars and all students
must be familiar with its effective use.
I encourage you to contact me via email whenever you have questions or
comments about the course or the assignments.
We will have at least one homework assignment that will be submitted in
the form of an email attachment. This
will be discussed later in the semester.
However, please do NOT send me assignments or papers through email as
a general policy, unless it is part of an assigned exercise, or prior
arrangements were made.
Blogs:
I
encourage all of you to create a blogsite for this class (at blogger.com or
some similar site). You may hand in
your homework on this site, keep a running commentary on the reading,
discussions, and lectures, and relay other information you think helps enhance
your participation in class. Creating
and maintaining a blog site for this course will entitle you to extra credit on
each assignment. Particularly well-done
blogs will receive additional credit as well.
ACCOMMODATION FOR STUDENTS WITH
DISABILITIES
In accordance with Title 5, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and
the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, reasonable accommodation will be
provided to any student who has followed the College's procedures as outlined
in the current Academic Bulletin. It
is best to begin this process by contacting the disability services
coordinator, Fayne Pearson (455-3246) at the beginning of the semester.
Once the need for accommodations has been officially established, the student
should consult with the instructor to insure that the student's needs may be
met as effectively as possible.
Specific documents selected from the Shi reader to be read for each
class discussion will be announced as we go along. All additional due dates for
papers and other assignments will be announced in class. It is your responsibility to contact
the professor if you miss class in order to find out about these due
dates. Any other changes in the course
will be announced in class. Please be
sure to bring your reader and the other books (but not necessarily the
text) with you for each meeting.
Week 1 –
Jan. 26, 28 “Let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the
nation’s wounds”
Course Introduction; The Aftermath of War and
Reconstruction
Reading:
Text,
ch. 18
Shi,
ch. 18-19 (selections)
Week 2 – Feb 2, 4 “The frontier has gone”
The Old West, the New
South, and the Gilded Age
Reading:
Text,
ch. 19-20
Shi,
ch. 19-22 (selections)
Week 3 – Feb 9, 11 “Chicago will be ours! CHICAGO WILL BE OURS!”
Immigrant America and the Search for a New Life and a New
System; Growth and Discontent in Industrial America
Reading:
Text,
ch. 21
The
Bomb, all
The Bomb WRITING ASSIGNMENT DUE
Week 4 – Feb. 16, 18 “My friends, in this
land of the free you need not fear that a tyrant will spring up from among the
people”
The Panic of 1893 and the “psychic crisis”; The New
Empire; Progressive Reform
Reading:
Text,
ch. 22-23
Shi,
ch. 22-23 (selections)
Week 5 – Feb. 23, 25 “We must make
the world safe for Democracy”
Wilsonian Morality, and Republican Reaction
Reading:
Text,
ch.24-6
Shi,
ch. 24-26 (selections)
Week 6 – Mar 1, 3 “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself”
The Great Depression and the New Deal
Reading:
Komer, Waiting for Nothing, and other selections
Text,
ch. 27-8
Shi,
ch. 27-8
Week 7 – Mar 8, 10 “I am
Become Death, the Shatterer of Worlds”
World War II
Reading:
Text,
ch. 29-30
Shi,
ch. 29-30
*****MIDTERM EXAM
March 10*****
Week 8 – Mar 15, 17 SPRING BREAK
ENJOY!
DURING
VACATION START READING Hard Times Cotton Mill
Girls
Week 9 – Mar 22, 24 “The free peoples of the world look to us.”
Truman, Postwar Politics, and Cold War
Reading:
Text,
ch. 31-32
Shi,
ch. 31-32
Week 10 – Mar 29, 31 “A conspiracy so
immense”
Ike and the Fitful Fifties
Reading:
Text,
ch. 33
Shi,
ch. 33
Hard Times paper due
Week 11—April 5, 7 “There are just laws,
and there are unjust laws”
The Myths of Camelot and the Realities of the
Sixties
Reading:
Text,
ch. 34
Shi,
ch. 34, 36 (selections)
Week 12 – April 12, 14 “Ten long years and not one domino shall fall”
Vietnam
Reading:
NAM, ALL
NAM WRITING ASSIGNMENT DUE
Week 13 – April 19, 21 “The long national
nightmare is over”
Nixon and the Politics of the Silent Majority
Stagflation and National Malaise
Reading:
Text,
ch. 35
Shi,
ch. 35 (selections)
Week 14 – April 26, 28 “Mr. Gorbachev, tear
this wall down!”
The Reagan Revolution and the “End of History”
Reading:
Text,
ch. 36-37
Shi,
ch. 37-8
Week 15 – May 3, 5 “The era of big government is over.”
The First
Gulf War; History Rattles On through the Clinton Years
THE FINAL EXAM WILL BE A TAKE HOME EXAM DUE ON MAY
11
Attendence at any or
all of the following events will count as extra credit for the class if you
write a short analysis of it. The more
your attend and evaluate, the more extra credit you will receive.
************************************************************************
Journey
Towards Democracy: Voice, Power, and the Public Good
A
National Dialogue Project
Sponsored
by The Center for Liberal Education and Civic Engagement
Hosted
by Virginia Wesleyan College with assistance from the Community
Mediation
Center of Hampton Roads
A
Project of the Association of American Colleges and Universities and
Campus
Compact
Opening
Lecture – February 3, 2004
11:00
a.m., Blocker Hall Auditorium, Virginia Wesleyan College
"The
Paleontology of Democracy: Lessons from Greece and Rome”
by Dr. Lynn Sawlavich, Assistant Professor
of Classics, Virginia
Wesleyan
College
”Is
Democracy a Dinosaur?” Dialogue Series
Each
dialogue will be from 11:00 – 11:50 a.m. and be held in the 1/3
Boyd
Dining Hall at Virginia Wesleyan College
1)
February 10 - "Is Democracy
Irrelevant?"
Dialogue
led by Dr. Dan Margolies, Assistant professor of History, and
Amber
Randolph ‘05
2) February
17 - "Democrats are Immoral and
Republicans are Uncaring:
So What
Else Do I Need to Know?"
Dialogue
led by Dr. Sharon Vaughan, Assistant Professor of Political
Science,
and Kevin Bianco ‘05
3)
February 24 - "People of a
Democratic Society: Engaged Citizens or
Dutiful
Robots?"
Dialogue
led by Dr. Craig Wansink, Professor of Religious Studies, and
Frances
McNally ‘06
4) March
2 - "Promoting Active Citizenship"
Dialogue led by Dr. Joyce Easter, Assistant
Professor Chemistry, and
Kevin Wright
‘06
************************************************************************
*******
Center
for the Study of Religious Freedom at Virginia Wesleyan College
2004
Spring Symposium
Law,
Religion, and Politics: Election 2004 & Beyond
All
programs are free and open to the public.
With the
exception of the February 12th program, all programs are held
in the
Virginia Wesleyan College Boyd Dining Hall.
All
programs are offered on Thursdays at 11:00 a.m. and are repeated
again at
7:30 p.m.
February
12, 2004
Hofheimer
Theater, 11:00 a.m. and 7:30 p.m.
"India
and the United States: Courts and Religious Rhetoric in
Elections"
Shylashri
Shankar, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral
Fellow, Center on Religion and Democracy
University
of Virginia, Charlottesville
February
19, 2004
Shafer
Room, 11:00 a.m./Boyd Dining Hall, 7:30 p.m.
"Law,
Politics and the Ten Commandments"
Paul
Finkelman, Ph.D.
Chapman
Distinguished Professor
University
of Tulsa College of Law, Oklahoma
March 4,
2004
Shafer
Room, 11:00 a.m./Boyd Dining Hall, 7:30 p.m.
"American
Jews & Election 2004: Issues and Loyalties"
Yehezkel
Landau, M.T.S.
Faculty
Associate in Interfaith Relations
Hartford
Seminary, Center for Faith and Practice
April
15, 2004
Shafer
Room, 11:00 a.m. and 7:30 p.m.
"The
Religious Right’s Hopes, Fears, and Plans"
Julie
Ingersoll, Ph.D.
Assistant
Professor of Religious Studies
University
of North Florida
April
22, 2004
Shafer
Room, 11:00 a.m. and 7:30 p.m.
"The
Black Church & Election 2004: Hopes, Fears, and Political Action
Plans"
Michael
J. Battle, M.Div., Ph.D., S.T.M.
Assistant
Professor of Spirituality and Black Church Studies
Duke
University, The Divinity School