HST 202: U.S. History Since 1865

Dr. Laura Wittern-Keller Spring 2005

WitternKellerL@uncw.edu

Morton Hall, 224

Office Hours: M, W, 12:00-1:30 pm (other times by appointment)

Course Description:

This introductory course covers the transformation of the United States from an agrarian nation to an industrial giant and world power. Through secondary and primary sources, we will explore the political, social, cultural, and diplomatic evolution since the end of the Civil War. We will investigate, within their social and cultural contexts, specific topics such as immigration, urbanization, the progressive era, the Great Depression, the New Deal, the civil rights movement, and the Cold War. Course presentation will use a multi-media approach.

Required Reading:

1. Tindall, George Brown. America: A Narrative History, volume II, 6th, 2003. ISBN 0-393-92427-0 (in bookstore).

2. Finney, Jack. Time and Again (in bookstore)

3. O’Brien, Tim. The Things They Carried, Broadway (ISBN: 0767902890)

Reading is imperative for this class: Class time will not cover the basic information in the texts. Rather, we will explore certain areas in greater depth or learn about events or people not covered by the text. For a passing grade, you will need to do both the reading and take good class notes. See me at the beginning of our term if you have any concerns about note taking. I will be happy to assist you.

Grading: Attendance is required. You are permitted three absences. Each absence beyond that will result in a partial letter loss from your final grade. You are working toward a total grade of 1000 points. You will write a brief reaction paper to each documentary that we view (totaling 200). We will have pop quizzes at the beginning of class on that week’s reading assignment. Each quiz will consist of ten multiple choice questions. The lowest grade will be dropped so there will be no make-ups. These quizzes will be worth 300 points. They are designed to keep you current with the textbook reading and to give you constant feedback on your progress in the course. You will also have a midterm exam (200) and a comprehensive final (300). Final grade computation: 930=A; 900=A-; 865=B+; 830=B; 730=C; 630=D, etc.

Policy on Plagiarism: Plagiarism is a serious infraction of academic integrity. I urge you to read UNCW’s policy on plagiarism and cheating found on page 39 of the student handbook. It is your responsibility to know what plagiarism is.

Student Responsibility:

1. Arrive on time. If you must arrive late, you are to sit as near to the door as possible.

2. Remain in class unless you are physically sick.

3. Do not talk of whisper to others as it is disrespectful to your fellow students.

4. Do not zip or pack up until class is dismissed.

5. Make sure that your cell phone ringer is off.

6. Check your UNCW email account regularly.

Class Outline: assigned reading is to be done before the class under which it is listed.

Week 1: Introduction and overview

Week 2: Reconstruction
  • Read Tindall, Chapter 18. Begin reading Finney, Time and Again (it’s a novel; you’ll love it).
    •

    Further exploration: Jim Crow history http://www.jimcrowhistory.org/

    Week 3: Moving Westward and the Rise of Big Business/Organized Labor

    Read Tindall, Chapter 19 and chapter 20.Further exploration: The Conservation Movement http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/amrvhtml/conshome.html,

    Child labor http://www.historyplace.com/unitedstates/childlabor/

    Week 4: The Emergence of Urban America

    Read Tindall, Chapter 21. Further exploration: Coney Island http://naid.sppsr.ucla.edu/coneyisland/index.html

    http://immigrants.harpweek.com/

    http://memory.loc.gov/learn/features/timeline/riseind/city/city.html

    Full-text online version of Jacob Riis’s How the Other Half Lives, http://www.cis.yale.edu/amstud/inforev/riis/title.html

    Week 5: Gilded Age Politics/Imperialism

    Read Tindall, Chapter 22 and 23. For further exploration: Mark Twain http://www.boondocksnet.com/twainwww/

    Election of 1896 political cartoons http://projects.vassar.edu/1896/1896home.html

    The Columbian Exposition http://xroads.virginia.edu/~ma96/wce/title.html

    Week 6: The Progressive Era

    Read Tindall, Chapter 24. For further exploration:

    Lower East Side Tenement Museum http://www.thirteen.org/tenement/index.html

    Week 7: The First World War and 1920s Social Upheaval

    Read Tindall, Chapter 25 and Chapter 26. Further exploration: The Sacco-Vanzetti trial: http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/SaccoV/SaccoV.htm

    Week 8:The Twenties and The Shock of the Depression

    Read Tindall, Chapter 27.

    Further exploration: Scottsboro Boys trial: http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/FTrials/scottsboro/scottsb.htm

    Week 19: New Deal America

    Read Tindall, Chapter 28.

    Further exploration: The New Deal Network http://newdeal.feri.org/

    Week 10: From Isolation to Global War

    Read Tindall, Chapter 29 and 30.

    Further exploration: Posters of WWII: http://www.archives.gov/exhibit_hall/powers_of_persuasion/powers_of_persuasion_home.html

    World War II Propaganda http://www.teacheroz.com/WWIIpropaganda.htm

    Week 11: The Coming of the Cold War             

    Read Tindall, Chapters 30 and 31.

    Further exploration: McCarthyism http://webcorp.com/mccarthy/mccarthypage.htm

    Week 12: Society and Culture: The Fifties Broadly Defined

    Read Tindall, Chapters 32 and 33. Start reading What They Carried. Further exploration: Levittown http://tigger.uic.edu/~pbhales/Levittown/

    Ray Kroc and fast food: http://www.wiley.com/legacy/products/subject/business/forbes/kroc.html

    The Little Rock crisis: http://www.ardemgaz.com/prev/central/

    Week 13: The Sixties: Social and Political Ferment

    Read Chapter 34 Further exploration: Platoon, (the Oliver Stone 1986 film)

    Sixties cultural history http://kclibrary.nhmccd.edu/decade60.html

    Week 14: Civil Rights and Vietnam

    Read chapter 35

    Week 15: Conservative Insurgency: 1970s and '80s and ‘90s

    Read Chapters 36 and 37.

    Further exploration: Watergate http://watergate.info/

    Week 16: final exam: you may bring one 3x5 card with notes to the exam.

    Throughout the course we will use a broad variety of film, documentary, TV programs, audio clips, and website explorations. There are a host of fine websites that will enrich your enjoyment of our very readable text.