TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
HIST 106H.100 \ MW 5:45 - 7 p.m. \ SCTS 216
History of the United States since 1865
[Honors Section]
Spring Semester, 2004
Dr. Baum
Required Reading:
- Irwin Unger, These United States: The Questions of Our Past.
(Concise Edition * Volume 2: Since 1865 - Second Edition)
- [Matthew Gaines articles] Baum, "A Statue to an Ex-slave on the A&M Campus?" The Touchstone IV (Summer 1994): 1-5 [http://www.rtis.com/touchstone/gaines.htm or http://www.tamu.edu/gaines/sb276.html]; "Black Lawmarkers and the Establishment of the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas" (speech given at the BGSA Courtney Awards Ceremony, TAMU, April 13, 1996) [http://www.tamu.edu/gaines/bgsa.html]; "'Vision 2020' and the Matthew Gaines Memorial "[http://www.tamu.edu/gaines/ mission.html]; and "The Matthew Gaines Debate at TAMU" [http://www.rtis.com/reg/bcs/pol/touchstone/summer01/03GAINES.HTM].
- Ole Edvart Rolvaag, Giants in the Earth.
- Upton Sinclair, The Jungle.
- [Alex Haley], The Autobiography of Malcolm X.
Used paperback copies of the Rolvaag, Sinclair, and Haley books can be purchased on the internet at: http://www.amazon.com.
Lecture Topics and Reading Assignments:
Jan. 21 - 26: Reconstruction: What Went Right and What Went Wrong?
Reading: These United States, Chapter 16; and [Matthew Gaines articles], all.
Jan. 28 - Feb. 2: The Triumph of Industrialism: What Were the Causes and What Were the Costs?
Reading: These United States, Chapter 17.
Feb. 4 - 9: The Gilded Age City: What did Big Cities Offer? And to Whom?
Reading: These United States, Chapter 18.
Feb. 11 - 16: The Trans-Missouri West: How Did the Settlement of the Last American Frontier Impact the Nation's History?
Reading: These United States, Chapter 19.
Feb. 18 - 23: Republicans and Democrats: What made Gilded Age Politics Work?
Reading: These United States, Chapter 20.
Feb. 25 (Wednesday): FIRST EXAM
[These United States, Chapters, 16 - 20.]; and [Matthew Gaines articles], all.
Mar. 1 - 3: The American Empire: Why Did the United States Expand Overseas?
Reading: These United States, Chapter 21.
Mar. 8 - 10: The Progressive Movement: What were the Roots and Accomplishments of Progressivism?
Reading: These United States, Chapter 22.
Mar. 15 & 17: No Class {Spring Break}
Mar. 22 - 24: World War I: Idealism? National Interest? or Neutral Rights?
Reading: These United States, Chapter 23.
Mar. 29 - 31: The 1920s: Happy Adolescence or Decade of Stress?
Reading: These United States, Chapter 24.
Apr. 5 - 7: The New Deal: Too Far or Not Far Enough?
Reading: These United States, Chapter 25.
Apr. 12 (Monday): SECOND EXAM
[These United States, Chapters 21 - 25.]
Apr. 14 - 19: World War II: A Decision in the National Interest?
Reading: These United States, Chapter 26.
Apr. 21 -26: Postwar America: Why So Security Conscious?
Reading: These United States, Chapter 27.
Apr. 26 (Monday): TERM PAPERS [due at beginning of class]
Apr. 28 - May 3: The 1960s: Why Protest in the "Great Society?"
Reading: These United States, Chapter 28.
The Uncertain 1970s and the Reagan Years: "Why a Crisis of Confidence?"
Reading: These United States, Chapters 29 and 30.
May 7 (Friday at 7:30 - 9:30 a.m.): FINAL COMPREHENSIVE EXAM
[These United States, Chapters 16 - 30; and [Matthew Gaines articles], all.
Examinations:
The exams will consist of: (1) identification questions (i.e., identify and state the importance or significance in United States history of a person, event, law, or policy); (2) essay questions (listed below) directly related to the class lectures and assigned readings in the Unger textbook, and possible short essay questions covering "newspaper research questions" (see below) announced in class by the instructor. Students must purchase and bring to the exams four large-sized [11.5 X 8.inches containing 8 sheets (16 pages)] Exam "Blue" Books. (One blue book will be needed for each of the two semester exams, and two blue books will be required for the final exam.) It is recommended that students bring a wrist watch in order to apportion adequately their time in writing various parts of the exams. Failure to bring on the days of the exam the required blue books will result in a penalty of minus twenty points for each blue book supplied by the instructor.
Grading:
Grades will be given in accordance with the standard university system:
Excellent is 90-100, the letter being A;
Good is 80-89, the letter being B;
Satisfactory is 70-79, the letter being C;
Passing but not satisfactory is 60-69, the letter being D;
Failing is 0-59, the letter being F.
The calculation of the final course grade will be as follows:
First and second exams.............20% each, totalling 40%
Final comprehensive exam.........................................30%
Term paper..................................................................20%
Participation in class discussions...............................10%
Make-up Exams and Term Paper Extentions:
Make-up exams or term paper extensions will be given to only students with authorized absences. Students must notify Dr. Baum or the Department of History by the end of the next working day after the absence in order to ensure full rights to take the make-up exam or to be given a term paper extension. Students are responsible for providing satisfactory evidence to the instructor within one week of their returns from being absent to substantiate the reason for missing the exam or due date. Discussion of university-approved excuses is found in the TAMU Student Handbook online (http://student-rules.tamu.edu), but includes illness, medical appointment, appearing in court, and conflict due to religious holy days. For any absence to be valid, it must be supported in writing, for instance with a letter from a doctor or clinic; letter from a judge or clerk of court; a religious holy day listed on the official University calendar; letter from the Athletic Department if a student is on a team that represents the University at a sporting event. Unless otherwise arranged, all make-up exams will be given on May 5th (Wednesday) 5:45 - 7 p.m. in SCTS 216.
Class Attendance:
Attendance is an individual student responsiblity. Because class lectures do not merely repeat material in the reading assignments, regular attendance and note-taking in class is highly recommended. In addition, students skipping many classes will injure their grades for participation in class discussion (see below). For the purposes of helping the instructor to learn names of students, monitor examinations, and pass back exams, a seating chart will be made for all students to sign. By the end of the first week of class, students should thus be occupying the seat of their choice.
Office Hours:
Dale Baum: 210-A History Building [HIST] (located in front of Evans Library)
Mondays and Wednesdays: 2 - 4 p.m. and by appointment.
Telephone: 845-7184. Or messages for me may be left at: 845-7151. Or if the matter is urgent, you may call me at my home: 695-1132.
Email: d-baum@tamu.edu
Homepage: http://www.tamu.edu/baum/
The Term Paper:
Students will write a term paper of at least twelve, but no more than fourteen, typed double-spaced pages answering the following question based on their reading of the Rolvaag, Sinclair, and Haley books:
Compare and contrast the problems and difficulties faced by Per Hansa, Jurgis Rudkus, and Malcolm Little in their respective adjustments to life in America. [Some historians describe black newcomers to the urban north during the post WWI "Great Migration" as the last of the immigrants." In the case of Malcolm Little, is this justified? Why or why not? Were the dissimilartities of the problems he encountered and his adjustments he made so great as to prevent comparison with experiences or problems faced by Per Hansa and Jurgis Rudkis? Explain.]
Class Discussion and Newspaper Questions:
Besides being prepared to discuss the assigned reading in the Unger textbook for each week's topic, students will be given reseach assignment questions to answer by consulting the newspapers (listed below) in one of the following three areas of the county:
1. Boston and New York: Boston Evening Transcript, Christian Science Monitor, and the New York Times.
2. Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.: Philadelphia Inquirer or Tribune, and the Washington Post or National Republican.
3. Texas: Houston Post, Galveston Daily News, Dallas Morning News, Austin Statesmen, Bryan College Station Eagle.
Americans with Disabilities Act:
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a federal anti-discrimination
statute that provides comprehensive civil rights protection for persons
with disabilities. Among other things, this legislation requires that all
students with disabilities be guaranteed a learning environment that
provides for reasonable accommodation of their disabilities. If you
believe you have a disability requiring an accommodation, please contact
the Department of Student Life, Services for Students with Disabilities in
Room 126 of the Koldus Building, or call 845-1637.
Essay Questions for the First Exam:
1. What went "right" and what went "wrong" in the former Confederate states during Reconstruction?
2. Who was Matthew Gaines and why should he been memorialized on the campus of Texas A&M University?
2. What were the causes of the triumphant of American industrialism and what were the costs associated with the nation's leap to industrial prominence?
3. What were the attractions of America's cities for the nation's so-called "new immigrants" and discuss how they adjusted to America's "urban wilderness?"
4. How did the settlement of the Trans-Missouri West impact and shape American History?
5. What was the basis of support for Democrats and Republicans during the Gilded Age and how was the political party system realigned by the presidential election of 1896?
Essay Questions for the Second Exam:
6. Explain the reasons for the rise of American overseas expansion by discussing the American role in China, Hawaii, the Philippines, and Latin America.
7. What were the roots of Progressivism and what did it accomplish at the state and national levels?
8. How did America become involved in World War I, and why did the conclusion of the war lead to so much disillusionment?
9. Discuss the cultural battles that raged between rural and urban Americans during the 1920s.
10. Discuss and evaluate the efforts and programs made by Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal to get American out of the Great Depression?
Essay Questions for the Final Comprehensive Exam:
[In addition to the following questions below, any essay question above that did not appear on the first or second exam could appear on the final exam.]
11. Discuss the erosion of American neutrality that lead to American entrance into the Second World War and discuss also the war's subsequent impact on the American home front.
12. Why were Americans so security conscious during the 1950s? Discuss the evolution of American foreign policy during the Truman, Eisenhower, and Kennedy administrations.
13. Despite the unprecedented prosperity of the 1960s, the nation experienced full scale revolts by children of suburban middle class parents, by African-Americans, Mexican-Americans, and women. What caused these groups to dissent?
Tips on Writing the Essay Questions:
The essay questions that will appear on the exams will test your reading comprehension of the material in the textbook and in class lectures. Even if you have prepared properly for writing an essay question, your problems are not over. During the exam, you must stay calm enough to remember what you read, you must understand the question, you must answer it directly and fully, and you must not run out of time. None of this is easy, but here are a few pointers to follow until you gain more experience to overcome these problems.
- Determine how you will answer the question and ascertain the central points you wish to make. [You might want to write these central points or even a full outline in the margin or on the first page of your exam booklet, and as you compose each sentence of your answer, make sure that it relates to one of these points. Your grader, of course, will not read or grade your outline because it is only for your benefit in composing your answer.]
- Your answer must follow the question. Be as specific or general or as concrete or reflective as the question suggests. If the question asks you to "describe" or "explain," be sure that is what you do.
- Always refer to the specific facts that support the points you are making. You must also give evidence that you have considered the question in broad terms. Your goal is to demonstrate to the grader that you understood what you read and can write with authority about the content of the book.
- Always reread and correct an answer after it is finished. The pressure of an exam can often cause you to write sentences that are not clear.
- Write legibly, or your grader will be in no mood to give you the benefits of any doubts.
- Never use slang, and avoid writing cute, irrelevant, or plaintive notes on the exam. This will prejudice the grader against you.
Remember: A well-written essay is a combination of (1) adequate knowledge of the subject of the book that you read (2) clear-thinking about the points to be covered (3) complete understanding of the question, and (4) well-constructed sentences.
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