History 2020—Spring 2005

History of the United States Since 1865

Section 001 MWF 11-11:50am Coleman 2761

Section 005 MWF 2-2:50pm Coleman 2761

Professor: Jonathan S. Coit e-mail: jscoit@eiu.edu

Office: Coleman 2576 Office Phone: 581-8575

Office Hours: 8:30-10am MW, 3-4pm F

The Course:

History is a peculiar discipline. Unlike the “social sciences,” political science, economics, and the like, historians rarely claim their studies are scientific—it is usually difficult to run a national election from a science lab, enabling the researcher to handily isolate experimental variables. We historians like our subjects messy. But unlike the related humanities disciplines of philosophy or literature, we take fact as our subject, rather than fiction or speculation. Historians like to debate what happened, but because of our precarious perch we often spend a good deal of time debating more theoretical questions. How do we (or can we) know and construct a true narrative of an event? Whose perspectives are most important? What makes certain events more important than others? What developments should we study?

This course will challenge you to simultaneously participate in two different yet fundamentally linked projects. First, we will pay specific attention to how history is constructed, by thinking critically about the kinds of documents historians use to do their work. Second, we will read, discuss, and analyze the narratives about the past, based on our knowledge of selected primary documents.

It is difficult to communicate how dramatically the nation in which we live has changed since 1865. Massive migrations have continually reshaped our cities and countryside; industrialization produced not only a massively powerful economy, but social and political problems we still grapple with; the language of rights enshrined in our Constitution—quite specifically crafted to apply only to a small elite—has been both taken up and discarded by multiple social movements, sometimes with conflicting goals; and political rights, once cherished by an overwhelming majority of Americans, have faded in importance to an equally overwhelming majority. This course will introduce you to a broad sweep of narratives, events, and people, as well as the means by which we know them.

Assigned Texts:

Both required texts for this class are available at textbook rental. The publication details of the editions provided by textbook rental may differ.

Textbook: Jacqueline Jones, Peter H. Wood, et. al. Created Equal: A Social and Political History of the United States, volume 2: From 1865. New York: Longman, 2003.

Source Reader: John Hollitz. Thinking Through the Past: A Critical Thinking Approach to U.S. History, volume 2: From 1865 (2^nd edition). New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2001.

Course Requirements and Grading:

Attendance: I require attendance at all class meetings. Failure to attend class will hurt your grade. I automatically excuse your first five absences for this course. Sixth and subsequent absences are automatically unexcused, and I penalize them by lowering your final grade 5% for each absence. Under no circumstances will I excuse a sixth or subsequent absence.

Class Participation: Participating in class discussions, in presentations on days we do group work, etc., is an important element in your grade. Participation not only helps the class as a unit by providing a variety of perspectives; it also helps individuals learn and retain information.

Writing Assignments: Most weeks during the semester I will assign written work. In addition, I assign a longer paper (5-7 pages) due later in the semester. All written assignments must be typed, double-spaced, in a 12-point font, with standard (1” top and bottom, 1.25” sides) margin settings.

All written assignments must be your own work. The University awards severe penalties for plagiarism, including expulsion from school for multiple offenses. The entire conduct code can be found on the EIU website. Plagiarism is the unintentional or intentional act of submitting someone else’s work as your own. The easiest way to avoid unintentionally plagiarizing others’ work is to cite the sources which provide evidence for your points. As a general rule, websites are poor resources for the papers I will ask you to write, and their use often leads (intentionally or unintentionally) to plagiarism.

Late Work and Makeup Exams: I only accept late assignments on two conditions. First, the absence must be excused. Second, the assignment must be handed in the class meeting after its original due date. If either or both of these conditions are not met, I will not accept a late assignment. It is the student’s responsibility to do what is necessary to make up missed assignments.

Makeup exams are at my discretion. Please note exam 2 is scheduled for March 11, 2004, the last course day before Spring Break.

Elements of Your Grade:

Class Participation: 15%

Weekly Writing Assignments: 20%

Paper: 30%

Exams: 45% (15% each exam)

Disability Issues

If you have a documented disability, please let me know as soon as possible so we can make any arrangements that need to be made.

Reading Assignments: All reading assignments are due the dates listed below.

Date Subject	Created Equal	Thinking Through the Past
1/12 Reconstruction	ch. 15: In the Wake of War: Consolidating a Triumphant Union, 1863-1877	ch. 1: Historians and Textbooks: The “Story” of Reconstruction
1/19 Industrialization and Monopoly Capital	ch. 16: Standardizing the Nation: Innovations in Technology, Business, and Culture, 1877-1890	ch. 2: Using Primary Sources: Industrialization and the Condition of Labor
1/26 Race and Labor in the Gilded Age	ch. 17: Challenges to Government and Corporate Power: Resistance and Reform, 1877-1890	ch. 3: Evaluating Primary Sources: “Saving” the Indians in the Late Nineteenth Century
1/31 The First Great Depression and Social Conflict at Century’s End	ch. 18: Political and Cultural Conflict in a Decade of Depression and War: the 1890s	ch. 4: Evaluating a Historical Argument: The Populist Appeal in the 1890s
Exam I: Review: 2/4 Exam: 2/7
2/9 The Progressive Era	ch. 19: The Promise and Perils of Progressive Reform	ch. 5: The Problem of Historical Motivation: The Bungalow as the “Progressive” House
2/16 World War I and the (Re)Birth of American Anti-Communism	ch. 20: War and Revolution, 1912-1920
2/23 Modernity	ch. 21: The Promise of Consumer Culture: The 1920s	ch. 6: Ideology and History: Closing the “Golden Door”

3/2 The Second Great Depression and the New Deal	ch. 22: Hardship and Hope in the 1930s: The Great Depression	ch. 7: History “From the Top Down”: Eleanor Roosevelt, Reformer
Exam II: Review: 3/9 Exam: 3/11
3/21 Total War at Home and Abroad	ch. 23: Global Conflict: World War II, 1937-1945	ch. 8: History “From the Bottom Up”: The Detroit Race Riot of 1943
3/28 The Cold War: The (Re)(Re)Birth of American Anti-Communism	ch. 24: Cold War and Hot War, 1945-1953	ch. 9: Popular Culture as History: The Cold War Comes Home
4/4 Complacency and Conflict on the Cold War Homefront	ch. 25: Domestic Dreams and Atomic Nightmares	ch. 10: History and Popular Memory: The Civil Rights Movement
4/11 Worlds Together, Worlds Apart: Colonialism and Liberation in the Era of the Vietnam War	ch. 26: The Nation Divides: The Vietnam War and Social Conflict, 1964-1971	ch. 11: Causation and the Lessons of History: Explaining America’s Longest War
4/18: Paper Due—No Class
4/20 Revolution and Reaction in the 1970s	ch. 27: Reconsidering National Priorities, 1972-1979	ch. 12: Gender, Ideology, and Historical Change: Explaining the Women’s Movement
4/29: Final Exam Review