History of the United States, 1861-1960
HI 204, Spring 2001
Professor Kathryn Morse Professor Jacqueline Campbell
Munroe 307, x2436 Munroe 304, x3429
kmorse@middlebury.edu jcampbel@middlebury.edu
http://www.middlebury.edu/~kmorse Office
Hours: TBA
Office
Hours: M,W 2:30-4 p.m.
and by appointment
This course traces the development of modern America, with an emphasis on the social, political, and cultural forces that shaped the experience of diverse Americans. We will focus on the broad themes of the changing meanings of freedom and individualism, the challenges of industrial capitalism, and the meanings of modernity, from the Civil War to the election of John F. Kennedy to the Presidency. Our goal is to connect the experiences of individual Americans to the broader themes of this time period, in preparation, specifically, for the final research paper which will focus on forging such connections in the students’ own families and histories.
Texts: All of the books for the weekly reading are available at the college bookstore and are on reserve at Starr Library. There is also a textbook, Alan Brinkley, The Unfinished Nation, vol. II (hereafter UFN). It is NOT a required text and we will not discuss it in class, but it is recommended as a supplement to the lectures and assigned readings.
Requirements:
1) Discussion Sections. The course meets for two weekly lectures and a small group discussion of the weekly reading assignment, film, and weekly discussion questions. Discussions and films are required, and section participation will be a factor in the determination of final grades.
The success of this course depends in part on the community of students in your discussion sections, and your ability to learn from each other in section. Therefore, once you are assigned to a weekly discussion section, you MUST attend THAT discussion section EVERY week. You many NOT attend a different discussion section taught by your discussion professor, OR a discussion section taught by another discussion professor, as a replacement. If you are not in YOUR discussion, you will be considered absent for that week.
2) Films: Our film time, Monday evening at 7:30 in Warner Hemicycle, is a required part of the course, though we will not see a film every week. All films will be available at the Sunderland Media Library, if you cannot attend the class viewing in Warner Hemicycle. You are required to see the assigned films, either with the class or on your own at Sunderland Video Library.
3) Exams: There will be a mid-term examination on March 21st in class, and a final examination on May 15 at 9 a.m-12 noon in Dana Auditorium.
4) Papers: Non-college-writing students will complete one short paper (3-5 pp.) on one of several assigned questions, due at the beginning of discussion section the THIRD week of classes (Feb 28, March 1, or March 2). They will also complete a longer research (6-10 pp.) paper due the last day of classes, Friday May 11, by 5 p.m. For the second paper, students will pick and discuss individual topics with their professor by Friday April 13 at 5 p.m., the end of week 8.
College Writing Students will write the final research paper as well as four other short papers, with due dates and required re-writes as specified by Prof. Morse. College Writing students do not have to take the mid-term examination.
5) Final grades: Non-College-Writing Final grades will be determined according to the following formula:
Mid-term examination: 15%
Final examination: 30%
First paper: 10%
Research paper: 25%
Section participation: 20%
For College Writing students, papers will constitute 55% of their final grade, with the final examination worth 25% and section participation 20%.
Final Grades will be converted to letter grades according to the equivalencies below:
94-100=A 87-89=B+ 77-79=C+ 60-69=D
90-93=A- 83-86=B 73-76=C
80-82=B- 70-72=C-
6) Late papers: Policies for late papers be set by individual professors in discussion section.
Week 1: Feb. 12-16
Read: James McPherson, What They Fought For, 1861-1865 (complete)
Feb. 12: Lecture #1: Introduction
Film: Glory
Feb. 14: Lecture #2: The Civil War
Week 2: Feb.
19-23
Read: Charles Eastman, From the Deep Woods To Civilization (complete, including Introduction); UFN, ch. 15-16.
Feb. 19: Lecture #3: Reconstruction
Film: Geronimo and the Apache Resistance
Feb. 21: Lecture #4: The West, Federal Government, and Indian Policy
Week 3: Feb.
26-March 2
Read: Edward Bellamy, Looking Backward (complete); UFN, 17-18.
Feb. 26: Lecture #5: Industrialization, Organization, and Technology
No Film This Week
Feb. 28: Lecture #6: Immigration and Labor
Paper #1 Due in Discussion Section
Week 4: March
5-March 9
Read: Theodore Rosengarten, All God’s Dangers: The Life of Nate Shaw (Part I: Youth: pp. 5-20; 24-36; 48-52; 72-83; 91-94; Part II: Deeds: pp. 107-128; 143-170; 188-197; 212-228; 264-269; 282-293; 295-316 + Appendix; 324-330; 335-343); UFN, ch. 19.
March 5: Lecture #7: Populism and Sectional Protest
Film: Mr. Sears’ Catalogue
March 7: Lecture #8: Race and the Social Order
Week 5: March
12-March 16
Reading: I Came a Stranger: The Story of a Hull-House Girl (pp. 5-163; 179-186); UFN, ch. 20-21.
March 12: Lecture #9: Immigration and Cities
Film: Island of Hope—Island of Tears
March 14: Lecture #10: Labor and Crisis
Week 6: March
19-March 23
NO READING ASSIGNMENT
March 19: Lecture #11: Progressivism I
Review Session during Film Time, 7:30, Warner Hemicycle
March 21: In-Class Mid-Term Examination
DISCUSSION SECTIONS WILL MEET—film in class
________________________________________________
SPRING BREAK
________________________________________________
Week 7: April
2-April 6
Reading: Theodore Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt: An Autobiography (Chapters 1,7,10,13 plus a chapter of your choice); UFN, ch. 22-23
April 2: Lecture #12: Progressivism II
Film: America and Lewis Hine; brief clip
from TR
April 4: Lecture #13: Wilson and WWI
Week 8: April 9-April 13
Reading: John Kasson, Amusing the Million (complete); UFN, ch. 24.
April 9: Lecture #14: A New Age
Film: Modern Times
April 11: Lecture #15: Modern Mass Culture
Assignment: By the end of week 8, by April 13
at 5 p.m., you should have discussed your final paper topic with your
discussion Professor either in person or over email.
Week 9: April 16-April 20
Reading, F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby (complete); UFN, ch. 24.
April 16: Lecture #16: The 20s’ and Suffrage
Film: 20s film TBA
April 18: Lecture #17: The 20s, Culture, and Economy
Week 10: April
23-April 27
Reading: Studs
Terkel, Hard Times: An
Oral History of the Great Depression, (Foreword; in
Book One, “The Song”; “Bonnie Laboring Boy”
“Three Strikes”; in Book Two, “Old Families”; and
“The Farmer is the Man”; all of Book Three;
Epilogue. Plus anything
else, as you flip through the book, that looks interesting.)
April 23: Lecture #18: Depression I
Film: The River; Power and the Land
April 25: Lecture #19: Depression II
Week 11: April
30-May 4
Reading: John Dower, War Without Mercy, pp. 3-73; PICK ONE CHAPTER in PART II, 4,5,6, or 7; 309-317; UFN, ch. 27-28.
April 30: Lecture #20: WWII
Film: A Family Gathering
May 2: Lecture #21: WWII
Week 12: May 7-May 11
Reading: Elaine Tyler May, Homeward Bound: American Families in the Cold War Era (complete); UFN, ch. 29-30.
May 7: Lecture #22: The 50s
Film: Eyes on the Prize: Awakenings, 1954-1956
May 9: Lecture #23: The Gathering Revolt
Final Examination: Tuesday, May 15, 9 a.m.-12 p.m., Dana Auditorium