History 2112

United States Since 1865

Instructor: Dr. Charles Johnson

Office: 202 North Ashley Hall

Office Hours: Monday 8:30-11:30. Thursday 8-9. Other times by appointment

Phone: Office: 259-2082. Department: 333-5947

Email: ctjohnso@valdosta.edu

REQUIRED TEXTBOOKS

The following textbooks are available in the campus bookstore

Wilson, John R. Forging the American Character, Vol. II. Prentice Hall, 2000.

COURSE DESCRIPTION

This course covers the major events, themes, trends and issues in United States history from the late Gilded Age through the end of the Vietnam Era. The course will be based on the lecture/discussion method with an emphasis on discussion. The use of music and videos will also be incorporated.

EVALUATION

Your final grade will be determined by the following factors:

Test One 100 points

Test Two 100 points

Test Three 100 points

Each exam will consist of a set of multiple-choice questions drawn from the lectures and a set of short identification questions drawn from the assigned readings.

Please keep in mind the following ground rules:

1. There are NO make-up exams. Anyone caught cheating will automatically fail the course.

2. ATTENDANCE. You decide since your adults. Keep in mind that a significant portion of the material from each test is taken from the lectures so it is very hard—unless you manage to talk a friend into taking notes for you while you stay at home—to do well in this class if you do not attend the lectures. I also have been known to give “pop” extra credit assignments that are only for those who came to class that day.

3. WITHDRAWING FROM THE CLASS. If you decide this course is not for you withdraw by the midterm. I WILL NOT withdraw you from the course. If you have not come to class all semester and your name is on the final grade sheets I will give you an “F”.

4. WALKING IN LATE. If you insist on walking in late on a regular basis I will reduce your final grade by one full letter.

5. TALKING. Private conversations are out. I will ask you to leave if you feel the need to talk in class.

6. EATING and DRINKING. Eating is out. Coffee, pop are fine.

7. FINALLY. Remember that in order to be eligible to pass this course you MUST complete all the requirements. Failure to do so will result in an “I” at best or an “F” at worst for a final grade.

KEY DATES

Tuesday September 19 Exam One

Thursday September 21 No Class

Tuesday October 23 Exam Two

Thursday October 25 No Class

Tuesday December 5 Exam Three

Semester Outline

Week One: 8/16 to 8/18

Course Introduction

Week Two: 8/21 to 8/25

The Gilded Age, 1877-1901

Readings: Marsh and Stock

Week Three: 8/28 to 9/1

The Progressive Era, 1901-1914

Readings: Gordon, Milton

Week Four: 9/4 to 9/8

(Labor Day)

American Imperialism, 1880-1914

Readings: Papachristou

Week Five: 9/11 to 9/15

World War One

Readings: Milton, John

Week Six: 9/18 to 9/22

Tuesday: EXAM ONE

Thursday: No Class

Week Seven: 9/25 to 9/29

The Roaring 20's

Week Eight: 10/2 to 10/6

Depression and New Deal, 1929-1941

Readings: Manchester and Leuchtenburg

Week Nine: 10/9 to 10/13

World War II, 1931-1945

Readings: Alperovitz

Week Ten: 10/ 16 to 10/20

Cold War America, 1945-1953

Readings: Bellah

Week Eleven: 10/23 to 10/27

Tuesday: EXAM TWO

Thursday: No Class

Week Twelve: 10/30 to 11/3

Women and Civil Rights in the 1950's

Readings: Evans

Week Thirteen: 11/ 6 to 11/10

Civil Rights in the 1960's

Week Fourteen: 11/13 to 11/17

Women and the 1960's

Week Fifteen: 11/20 to 11/24

Thanksgiving Holiday

Week Sixteen: 11/27 to 12/1

Vietnam and the Counterculture

Readings: Engelhardt

Week Seventeen: 12/4 to 12/6 (Monday to Wednesday)

Tuesday: EXAM THREE

I am once more in the land of the patriot and the home of that proud bird

which steals everything it can from smaller birds, and then sits gloating

with its victorious eye fixed on a vacancy dreaming of what it will eat next

Voltairine de Cleyre (1898)

The problem of the twentieth century is the problem of the color line

William Edward Burghardt Du Bois (1900)

When a just cause reaches its flood tide….whatever stands in its way

must fall before its overwhelming power

Carrie Chapman Catt (1911)