TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
HIST 106I.100 \ TTH 2:20 - 3:35 p.m. \ SCTS 214
History of the United States since 1865
[International Section]
Spring Semester, 2003
Dr. Baum
Required Reading:
- Irwin Unger, These United States: The Questions of Our Past
(Concise Edition * Volume 2: Since 1865 - Second Edition)
- Select one of the following three books: Upton Sinclair, The Jungle; or Abraham Cahan, The Rise of David Levinsky; or Ole Edvart Rolvaag, Giants in the Earth
The Unger textbook has been "packaged together" with The Jungle for sale in the bookstore in the basement of the Memorial Student Center. The books by Sinclair, Cahan, and Rolvaag have been placed on the reserve shelf on the first floor of the Evans Library Annex. Used paperback copies of these books can be purchased on the internet at: http://www.amazon.com.
Lecture Topics and Reading Assignments:
Jan. 14 - 16: Reconstruction: What Went Right and What Went Wrong?
Reading: These United States, Chapter 16.
Jan. 21 - 23: The Triumph of Industrialism: What Were the Causes and What Were the Costs?
Reading: These United States, Chapter 17.
Jan. 28 - 30: The Gilded Age City: What did Big Cities Offer? And to Whom?
Reading: These United States, Chapter 18.
Feb. 4 - 6: 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. 11 - 13: Republicans and Democrats: What made Gilded Age Politics Work?
Reading: These United States, Chapter 20.
Feb. 18 (Tuesday): FIRST EXAM
[These United States, Chapters, 16 - 20.]
Feb. 20 - 25: The American Empire: Why Did the United States Expand Overseas?
Reading: These United States, Chapter 21.
Feb. 27 - Mar. 4: The Progressive Movement: What were the Roots and Accomplishments of Progressivism?
Reading: These United States, Chapter 22.
Mar. 11 - 13: No Class {Spring Break}
Mar. 6 - 18: World War I: Idealism?, National Interest? or Neutral Rights?
Reading: These United States, Chapter 23.
Mar. 20 - 25: The 1920s: Happy Adolescence of Decade of Stress?
Reading: These United States, Chapter 24.
Mar. 27 - Apr. 1: The New Deal: Too Far or Not Far Enough?
Reading: These United States, Chapter 25.
Apr. 3 (Thursday): SECOND EXAM
[These United States, Chapters 21 - 25.]
Apr. 8 - 10: World War II: A Decision in the National Interest?
Reading: These United States, Chapter 26.
Apr. 15 -17: Postwar America: Why So Security Conscious?
Reading: These United States, Chapter 27.
Apr. 22 - 24: The 1960s: Why Protest in the "Great Society?"
Reading: These United States, Chapter 28.
Apr. 29: The Uncertain 1970s and the Reagan Years: "Why a Crisis of Confidence?"
Reading: These United States, Chapters 29 and 30.
May 7 (Wednesday at 1 - 3 p.m.): FINAL COMPREHENSIVE EXAM
[These United States, Chapters 16 - 30, and one of the following books: Upton Sinclair, The Jungle, entire; or Abraham Cahan, The Rise of David Levinsky, entire; or Ole Edvart Rolvaag, Giants in the Earth, entire.]
Examinations:
The exams will consist of identification (i.e., identify and state the importance or significance in United States history of a person, event, law, or policy) and essay questions (listed below) directly related to the class lectures and assigned readings. 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.............30% each, totalling 60%
Final comprehensive exam.........................................40%
Make-up exams 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. 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. For the definition of an "authorized" absence, see the Texas A&M University Regulations 2002-2003. Unless otherwise arranged, all make-up exams will be given on May 1 (Thursday) at 4:10 - 5:25 p.m. in SCTS 214.
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. For the sole 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.
Definition of an “International Student” at Texas A&M University:
In order for Dr. Baum to submit a grade for you in this course, you must be an “international student.” This means that you are attending Texas A&M University on a non-immigrant visa, and that you are thus not a citizen or permanent resident of the United States of America.
Office Hours:
Dale Baum: 210-A History Building [HIST] (located in front of Evans Library)
Tuesdays and Thursdays: 3:45 - 5:15 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/
Special Requests:
Your classmates will appreciate your coming to class on time, bringing no more food or beverages into the classroom than absolutely necessary, refraining from using tobacco products, and turning off your cell phone.
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. 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?
14. What was the "Reagan Revolution?" And what did it accomplish?
15. [On the final exam there will be a choice of one of the following three questions on The Jungle, Giants in the Earth, and The Rise of David Levinsky.]
1. The Jungle is much more than an expose of the abuses in the meat packing industry during the Progressive Period. It tells us a great deal about the problems faced by many "newer" immigrants who found jobs as unskilled wage earners in the large industrial cities in the early twentieth century. Include in your essay on Sinclair's novel a discussion of the following: [a] Why did Jurgis Rudkus and his family find themselves on a treadmill of poverty? [b] What happened to Jurgis's wife? to his young son? to some of the other members of his family? [c] Why was the local saloon so important in the working class neighborhoods? [d] Why did the labor unions have difficulty organizing the workers in the meat packing plants? [e] How did Jurgis's careers as a criminal, migrant farm worker, political party hack, and strikebreaker enable him to believe that he was "beating the system?" [f] To what "great cause" did Jurgis finally become committed? Why?
2. Write an essay analyzing the novel Giants in the Earth as an historical source by stating what it reveals about pioneer life on the Great Plains in the late nineteenth century. Include in your essay a discussion of the following questions: [a] What lured the Norwegian immigrants to the Dakota plains? [b] How did Per Hansa adjust to his new and strange surroundings? (Compare his general attitude with that of some of the other Norwegian settlers.) [c] Why did Beret find more suffering in the Dakota prairie than in Norway? (What events or conditions pushed her to the verge of insanity?) [d] How was Beret finally able to pull herself together and face life? [e] Did the book end on a sad or hopeful note? Why?
3. The Rise of David Levinsky, written by the legendary founder and editor of the Jewish Daily Forward newspaper, is an early Jewish-American classic. Write an essay that answers the following questions: [a] How did David's studies in Russia prepare him for success in America? [b] What influence did his mother have on him? [c] Once in America as a Jewish "greenhorn" immigrant, how did he rise from the depths of poverty to become a millionaire garment merchant? [d] What did his success reveal about the culture of the American business world during this era? [e] In what ways did David discover the unbearably high price of his assimilation into American culture?
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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