CLASS TIME AND LOCATION: MWF 1:30-2:50, Loew Hall 105
OFFICE HOURS: Tu 2-4, 203B Smith Hall

This is a survey course of the United States from the Reconstruction Era to the present, focusing on the relationship between state and society, economic and technological change, and struggles for civil and economic rights.  The course covers pivotal events, transformative public figures, and social and cultural forces shaping the modern U.S., its relationship with its own citizens, and its changing role in the world.

The class meets three times per week for a 50-minute lecture followed by 30 minutes of discussion, small group activities, multimedia presentations, and in-class assignments.

REQUIRED BOOKS (all in paperback; available for purchase at the Bookstore and on 2-hour reserve at Odegaard Undergraduate Library)
1. Theodore Dreiser, Sister Carrie
2. Richard Polenburg, The Era of Franklin D. Roosevelt: A Brief History with Documents
3. D.J. Waldie, Holy Land: A Suburban Memoir
4. Gene Roberts and Hank Klibanoff, The Race Beat: The Press, the Civil Rights Struggle, and the Awakening of a Nation
5. David Farber, Taken Hostage: The Iran Hostage Crisis and America’s First Encounter with Radical Islam
RECOMMENDED TEXTBOOK
1. Alan Brinkley, An Unfinished Nation, Vol. II (or any other brief textbook)

REQUIRED ARTICLES AND PRIMARY DOCUMENTS are available in electronic form on UW library e-reserves.

Readings listed for a given week are expected to be completed by the FRIDAY of the week they are listed on the syllabus, unless otherwise indicated.

ASSIGNMENTS
Your grade for the class will be based on four elements: a midterm (30%), a final (30%), a 5-7 page research paper (25%), and a set of five in-class quizzes (15%). All of these assignments will draw upon both the class lectures and the required reading material.

The midterm is a take-home exam due at the start of class on Monday, May 5. A well-prepared student will be able to complete this exam in 1.5 hours; consulting books and lecture notes is permitted. It is chiefly an essay exam, with a few identification questions. The exam questions will be distributed in class on Friday May 2.

The paper is due in the course's Collect It dropbox by the start of class on Monday, June 2. You will choose one of five news articles published in local newspapers that discuss a particular event in U.S. history since 1877. I will distribute copies of these articles in class several weeks in advance. Use the article as a starting point for a discussion of how this event reflects the broader cultural, political, or economic context of an era in modern American history. Analyze the article for how its approach and tone reveals values and opinions about particular people, groups, or institutions. Discuss local and regional aspects of the article, if any. The paper should draw upon other library sources beyond the class readings in making its argument, and you are strongly encouraged to review library microfilm collections to identify related news articles that support your analysis.

Quizzes will be given at random five times during the quarter. These will be short, containing factual questions that test your familiarity with lecture points and readings. Each counts for 3% of your grade. If you miss a class and miss a quiz, you cannot make it up.

The final exam will be given on Monday, June 9, from 2:30-4:20. It is chiefly an analytic essay exam, with some shorter identification questions.

I do not give extensions. Your grade on an assignment will be reduced by 0.3 percent for every hour it is late. Incapacitation because of illness or another crisis must be documented with a note from a doctor, employer, or similarly authoritative source.

In all assignments you are expected to adhere to the standards of academic integrity outlined by the University of Washington Student Conduct Code.

SCHEDULE
WEEK 1 – The Gilded Age
Mon March 31 World‟s Fairs and the Idea of Modern America
Wed April 2 Cities, Railroads, and Corporations
Fri April 4 The Federal Government and the West
READING: Sister Carrie, Ch. 1-23

WEEK 2 – The Progressive Era
Mon April 7 Immigration and the Challenges of Pluralism
Wed April 9 Progressive Reform
Fri April 11 Race: The American Dilemma
READING:
1. Sister Carrie, Ch. 24-47
2. W.E.B. DuBois, The Souls of Black Folk, Ch. 1 &2 (ERES)

WEEK 3 – The World Becomes Modern
Mon April 14 Imperialism and War
Wed April 16 Technology and Efficiency
Fri April 18 Leisure and Mass Culture in the Roaring „20s
READING:
1. Woodrow Wilson, “Do Your Bit for America” (ERES)
2. Sen. Norris Statement of Opposition to War Declaration (ERES)
3. “The Rev. John Phelan Assesses Movies in Toledo, Ohio, 1919” (ERES)
4. “The World‟s Greatest Migration,” 1928 (ERES)

WEEK 4 – The Great Depression and New Deal
Mon April 21 The Depression and its Consequences
Wed April 23 The New Deal and the American State
Fri April 25 Roosevelt‟s Legacy
READING: Era of FDR, 1-36 [recommended], 39-43, 68-88, 114-160

WEEK 5 – The World at War
Mon April 28 The United States in World War II
Wed April 30 Wartime Economy and the Pacific West
Fri May 2 Dawn of the Atomic Age TAKE-HOME MIDTERM DISTRIBUTED
READING:
1. Era of FDR, 184-228
2. read “Historical Context” and browse ONE of the primary document collection categories at the Japanese American Relocation Digital Archive
3. Henry Stimson to Truman, two memoranda on use of the atomic bomb (ERES)

WEEK 6 – Cold War Politics
Mon May 5 America in the World, 1945-1965 TAKE-HOME MIDTERM DUE
Wed May 7 The Cold War at Home
Fri May 9 Cold War Science and the High-Tech Future
READING:
1. NSC-68: United States Objectives and Programs for National Security (ERES)
2. Vannevar Bush, “As We May Think” (ERES)
3. Richard Kuisel, “Yankee Go Home: The Left, Coca-Cola, and the Cold War” (ERES)
4. Tracy Augur, “The Dispersal of Cites as a Defense Measure” (ERES)

WEEK 7 – The New American Landscape
Mon May 12 Urban Crisis
Wed May 14 Suburban Migration
Fri May 16 Liberals and Conservatives
READING:
1. Holy Land
2. William H. Whyte, “Are Cities Un-American?” (ERES)
START READING The Race Beat

WEEK 8 – The Fight for Equality
Mon May 19 Segregation and Integration
Wed May 21 The Great Society
Fri May 23 Vietnam and its Legacies
READING:
1. Barry Goldwater, Speech to the 1964 Republican Convention (ERES)
2. George Wallace, “Schoolhouse Door Speech” (ERES)
3. Bruce Schulman, Lyndon B. Johnson and American Liberalism, 133-166, 191-197 (ERES)
KEEP READING The Race Beat

WEEK 9 – Making Sense of the 1960s
Mon May 26 NO CLASS - Memorial Day holiday
Wed May 28 America in 1968
Fri May 30 NO CLASS - to allow time to work on research paper
READING [COME PREPARED TO DISCUSS WEDNESDAY]: finish The Race Beat

WEEK 10 – The New World Order
Mon June 2 Watergate and Beyond RESEARCH PAPER DUE 1:30PM
Wed June 4 Old Economy to New Economy
Fri June 6 New World Order
READING: Taken Hostage

Mon June 9 FINAL EXAM, 2:30-4:20PM