Instructor: Christine Cook Cross Class meetings: T, Th 11:30-12:50
Usual Office Hours: T, Th 1-2 pm in BMH 202
Edmond Casey Rm. 226
Office phone: 452-0422
email: ccross@unb.ca

Course Description
This course is an introduction to the history of the United States from the era of Reconstruction (after the Civil War) to the beginning of the 21st century. We will study political, economic, social and cultural developments through readings, film, lectures, class discussions and group work. This class is constructed in part to recognize historical variety within American society: people of different races and ethnicity, of different classes and regions, and of both genders saw their own place in history from different perspectives. We will be looking at their struggles to define themselves and their country. You can expect at least two hours of work outside of class for each hour spent in class.

Course Objectives
- Students will learn a basic chronology of events.
Like any subject of study, history has its own vocabulary. In this case our vocabulary consists of particular people, events, trends and ideas pertaining to U.S. History. You will be required to learn who did what, when they did it, and what resulted from such actions. In other words, you will become fluent in American history.

- Develop the skills to think historically.
Very simply, the past is the past. "History" is what we think and write about the past. We will be studying people and events in the "life" of the United States, and in the process we will come to recognize that people in the past thought and acted differently than we do today. By learning to think historically we will be able to make sense of their actions and ideas.

- Develop the skills to argue about what the facts mean.
Historians do more than just verify facts; they argue with one another about what such facts mean. Therefore students will be asked to look at pieces of historical evidence such as literature, letters, political documents, art, film, and written records from the 19th and 20th centuries, and try to analyze their meanings and significance. Portfolio writing assignments and exam essay questions will require that students make their own arguments about how we should understand aspects of the U.S. since Reconstruction.

Class Expectations
PREPARATION for this class will require you to do at least 2 hours of work outside of the classroom for every one hour spent in the classroom. Since this class includes discussion and debate, you are responsible for doing the required reading before coming to class. If you have not come prepared, you will not succeed in this course. During discussions, unprepared students may be asked to leave the class.

ATTENDANCE is expected and will be monitored. Lateness will be considered the same as an absence. Since all quizzes and some journal assignments will be completed in-class, failure to attend such classes will result in zero grades. If you know you must miss a class, speak to me in advance to see whether I will allow you to make up any missed work. After the fact, only documented medical or emergency excuses will be recognized. I reserve the right to withdraw you from this class or deduct marks from your final grade in the case of excessive absences.

ALL WORK must be submitted to pass this course. Failure to submit any component of the assigned work will result in a failing grade for the entire course. Keep all work until you have received a final grade.

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY is essential to real learning. As a result I employ an honour code in this class in which you are responsible for the consequences of your own academic conduct. To this end, academic misconduct (such as cheating or plagiarism) will result in a grade of zero on the assignment or course component, and may result in a zero for the course, or even suspension or expulsion from the university. Plagiarism -- the taking of other people's ideas and words without giving them proper credit -- is a form of theft. If you are not sure how to credit your sources properly please talk to me or consult a style manual. See STU calendar, Section Four, Part F for explanation and definitions of academic misconduct, and university procedures.

Required Book:
Alan Brinkley, The Unfinished Nation: A Brief, Interactive History of the American People, Vol II: From 1865. (New York: McGraw Hill, 2005).
This book comes with a CD-Rom of primary source material. There are no used copies of this book available as it is brand new.

Reading Schedule
Most class discussions that involve the readings will take place on Thursdays, so reading assignments and identification terms from the chapter(s) should be completed no later than the Thursday of the week for which they are assigned. If you do the assignments much earlier than then, spend at least 15 minutes prior to Thursday's class reviewing the readings and your terms as you will be expected to be familiar with them during discussion.

1. Thursday Jan 6 -- Chapter 15, "Reconstruction & the New South"
Terms from textbook (identify & explain significance in portfolio)
" Wade-Davis Bill
" Restoration/Presidential Reconstruction
" Radical Reconstruction
" Enforcement Acts
" Plessy v. Ferguson
Primary sources from CD (answer questions in portfolio)
" Interview with Susan Hamilton
" Davenport account

2. Thursday Jan 13
Chapter 16, "The Conquest of the Far West"
Terms from textbook (identify & explain significance in portfolio)
" Chinese Exclusion Act
" Homestead Act (1862)
" "Rocky Mountain School"
" "Ghost Dance"
" Dawes Severalty Act (1887)
Primary sources from CD (answer questions in portfolio)
" no primary sources for this chapter

Chapter 17, "Industrial Supremacy"
Terms from textbook (identify & explain significance in portfolio)
" "scientific management"
" Standard Oil
" Social Darwinism
" The Gospel of Wealth
" Horatio Alger
" Haymarket bombing
No primary source assignment. Instead, carefully answer the questions for the documentary Andrew Carnegie (to be given in class) for your portfolio.

3. Thursday Jan 20
No new reading for this week.

4. Thursday Jan 27
Chapter 18, "The Age of the City"
Terms from textbook (identify & explain significance in portfolio)
" American Protective Association
" Daniel Burnham
" William H. Tweed
" National Consumer's League
" Mount Holyoke
Primary sources from CD (answer questions in portfolio)
" How the Other Half Lives
" Examine all of the Jacob Riis photos (as you scroll over each item with your mouse and pause, a box with a brief description will show up. There are 6 Riis photos). Pick one and answer the questions about it.

5. Thursday Feb 3
Chapter 19, "From Stalemate to Crisis"
Terms from textbook (identify & explain significance in portfolio)
" Interstate Commerce Act
" Farmers' Alliances
" "Cross of Gold" speech
Primary sources from CD (answer questions in portfolio)
"

Chapter 20, "The Imperial Republic"
Terms from textbook (identify & explain significance in portfolio)
" Queen Liliuokalani
" Yellow Press
" Boxer Rebellion
Primary sources from CD (answer questions in portfolio)
" no primary source assignments for this chapter

6. Thursday Feb 10
Chapter 21, "The Rise of Progressivism"
Terms from textbook (identify & explain significance in portfolio)
" The Shame of the Cities
" Hull House
" Triangle Shirtwaist Fire
" W.E.B. Du Bois
" Wobblies
Primary sources from CD (answer questions in portfolio)
" Woman Suffrage (map)

Chapter 22, "The Battle for National Reform"
Terms from textbook (identify & explain significance in portfolio)
" United Mine Workers Strike (1902)
" "New Freedom"
" Roosevelt Corrollary
Primary sources from CD (answer questions in portfolio)
" Upton Sinclair/Roosevelt correspondence (long document)

7. Thursday Feb 17 Note: the readings for this week will not be covered in the optional midterm
Chapter 23, "America and the Great War"
Terms from textbook (identify & explain significance in portfolio)
" Trench Warfare
" Espionage and Sedition Acts
" Marcus Garvey

Primary sources from CD (answer questions in portfolio)
" none

Chapter 24, "The New Era"
Terms from textbook (identify & explain significance in portfolio)
" "welfare capitalism"
" Margaret Sanger
" F. Scott Fitzgerald
Primary sources from CD (answer questions in portfolio)
" Ku Klux Klan (1920s)
" I also handed out two primary sources in class, on the automobile in Middletown, and the "City Negro." Answer the questions in your portfolios.

9. Thursday March 3
Chapter 25, "The Great Depression"
Terms from textbook (identify & explain significance in portfolio)
" Dale Carnegie
" Bonus Army

Primary sources (answer questions in portfolio)
" primary sources will be handed out in class

Chapter 26, "The New Deal"
Terms from textbook (identify & explain significance in portfolio)
" Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)
" Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)
" Indian Reorganization Act of 1934

Primary sources from CD (answer questions in portfolio)
" FDR's New Deal (1936)
" Documenting the Depression (short documentary)

March 7-11 Spring Break

10. Thursday March 17
Chapter 27, "The Global Crisis, 1921-1941"
Terms from textbook (identify & explain significance in portfolio)
" Neutrality Acts
" "Lend-Lease"

Primary sources from CD (answer questions in portfolio)
" FDR on War Powers (audio file)

Chapter 28, "America in a World at War"
Terms from textbook (identify & explain significance in portfolio)
" The St. Louis (picture)
" Zoot Suits

Primary sources from CD (answer questions in portfolio)
" none

11. Thursday March 24
Chapter 30, "The Affluent Society"
Terms from textbook (identify & explain significance in portfolio)
Primary sources from CD (answer questions in portfolio)

Chapter 31, "The Ordeal of Liberalism"
Terms from textbook (identify & explain significance in portfolio)
Primary sources from CD (answer questions in portfolio)

12. Thursday March 31
Chapter 32, "The Crisis of Authority"
Terms from textbook (identify & explain significance in portfolio)
Primary sources from CD (answer questions in portfolio)

13. Thursday April 8
No readings

Evaluation (a grade of zero will be given to any assignment or exam a student misses without prior consent or fails to provide a valid excuse for in the case of an emergency)

Participation 10%
Portfolio 30%
Quizzes 20%
Exams* 40%
Total Course 100%

*There will be an optional midterm. Unless you are very confident in your ability to write essay exams, I strongly suggest you take the midterm. If you do choose to write the midterm, it and the final exam will be equally weighted at 20% each.

Extra credit work is not available for this course, but I would be happy to talk with you at any time about your progress.

Participation -- 10% of total mark -- While I don't give you marks for just keeping the seat warm, sustained and active participation will serve you well. You will have to contribute to this class through active discussion and daily participation over the entire semester. The best way to feel confident about what you're saying is to know the readings inside-out. Since much of our class time will be devoted to discussion, good participation is essential to your success in understanding the material. However, your participation mark shouldn't come at someone else's expense: no hogging the conversation.

Regular, on-time attendance is crucial to doing well in this course. Portfolio assignments will be announced throughout the semester, often at the beginning of class. If you must miss a class, or are late, be sure to get notes from a reliable source. NOTE: I teach each class once. It is your responsibility to find out what you missed from other students (including photocopying any handouts), then you are welcome to come to me for clarification of any points you do not understand. But I do not respond to questions of "what did I miss?" or "did I miss anything important?"

Portfolio--20% of total mark -- to be comprised of a variety of assignments.

Identification terms: for each textbook chapter and each lecture, I will give you a list of terms to identify in your portfolio (no more than 10 each week). For each term you should note the date (depending on the term, this will be a specific date, year, decade, or more general time period); a brief description of the term; and most importantly, the significance of the term. More detailed instructions will be given in class.

Other assignments: will be announced throughout the semester and will include a variety of assignments, including analyses of the primary documents on the textbook's CD-Rom. Some assignments will be prepared in-class, without prior announcement. Get a "duo-tang" folder to use exclusively for your journal-do not keep class notes or lots of extra paper in the portfolio. Typing for out of class assignments is very much appreciated, but not mandatory (but if I can not read your handwriting, I can not give you credit for your ideas). Keep all assignments together and submit the entire portfolio when I collect it. I will not accept portfolios that are not in thin, duo-tang type folders.

I will collect each student's portfolio once during the semester to give you comments on your work, and then will assign a final numerical mark at the end of the semester. I will make qualitative comments on the assignments in your portfolios, which will indicate to you how to revise each assignment should you choose to do so. Comments such as "excellent", "very nice" and "outstanding" indicate superior work, while lukewarm comments such as "OK" or "pretty good" indicate merely average work. I may collect some assignments individually to get an idea of how the class is doing and then give general comments to the entire class.

Quizzes - 20% of total mark. There will be four quizzes given in class, with prior announcement, on assigned textbook readings. The quizzes will be objective (ie, multiple choice, fill in the blank, etc).

Exams -- 40% of total mark -- the optional midterm and the final exam will each be comprised of two parts; an in-class essay question and some short-answer "identification" questions. The "identification" questions will be based on the list of vocabulary words you've been keeping in your portfolios.