AMH 2020/2042: United States History since the Civil War

Professor Dan Royles, Spring 2016

TTh 6:25-7:40, Chem & Physics 145
Course Description: This course is designed to introduce you to the outline of United States
History since the end of the Civil War. This period witnessed dramatic, sweeping changes to
American politics, culture, and society. As we will see, over the last century and a half, the very shape
of the United States changed,from the reunification of North and South following a bloody
conflict, to westward expansion, the acquisition of an overseas empire,and the growth of U.S.
military power around the world after World War II and again after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
At the same time, the United States grew in economic might, and by the middle of the twentieth
century had become an affluent society. In the aftermath of World War II, the United States led
the world in gross domestic product (GDP), and enjoyed a standard of living previously unheard of
in human history. However, the countrys growing might as a political and economic superpower
came at a price, and the benefits of this status were not shared evenly. As we will also see, territorial
expansion came at a priceto indigenous peoples, to the people already living overseas, and to the
landscape itself. At the same time, many Americans were excluded from the political and economic
benefits of citizenship, from the voting rights to home ownership. Hence, we will also learn about
the ways that diverse groups of people called on the founding ideals of life, liberty, and the pursuit
of happiness to claim their own rightful stake in the American project.
During the semester we will:

Learn about and be able to explain some of the key developments in United States History
from 1865 to the present.
Become more experienced in understanding, analyzing, and evaluating written arguments.
Learn and apply the techniques of writing an argumentative, thesis-driven and evidencebased paper as we construct our own written arguments.

This course fulfills your historical foundations core requirement (for history majors) and the
University Core Curriculums Humanities in Writing requirement (for all students). In order to meet
these requirements, you must achieve a grade of C or better; not C-! To help you meet this goal, we
will practice writing frequently this semester and writing will make up a significant portion of your
grade. Please note that you must complete ALL THREE paper assignments in order to receive a
passing grade in this course.
Clear, concise communication through writing is not only integral to the work of historians but also
key to success in college and in any profession!
Instructor:
Professor Dan Royles, Department of History
droyles@fiu.edu

Office: DM 385b
Office Hours: TTh 3:00-4:30 PM

Before contacting me by email, please see the Communication policy for this course below.
Teaching Assistants:
Sven Kube, Department of History
skube001@fiu.edu

Office: DM 370
Office Hours: Tuesday 7:40-9:40 PM

Paul Burkart, Department of History

pburk002@fiu.edu

Office: DM 392
Office Hours: Thursday 3:00-5:00 PM

Sven Kube and Paul Burkart will serve as the teaching assistants for this course. They will be grading
the writing assignments for this course, and will also assist me in leading class.
Required Materials
This course REQUIRES a textbook and associated document reader. You may purchase electronic
versions of these titlesif you do, be sure to use the strategies for screen reading that Maria
Konnikova outlines in Being a Better Online Reader. (see Week 1 readings)

Eric Foner, Give Me Liberty!: An American History, Volume 2 (ISBN 978-0393920314)

Eric Foner, Voices of Freedom: A Documentary History, Volume 2 (ISBN 978-0393922929)

Grade Components
Thesis-Driven Papers: This course contains three multi-week paper assignments.Each of these
assignments will ask you to practice thinking like a historian; that is, you will read primary sources
and interpret them to make an argument about a particular event or phenomenon in United States
history. These assignments will become more challenging as the semester progresses and you
become a stronger writer. Papers work will be submitted to Turnitin via Blackboard.
Paper deadlines are as follows:

Paper #1: Friday, February 19th at 11:59 PM

Paper #2: Friday, April 1st at 11:59 PM
Paper #3: Friday, April 29th at 11:59 PM

Your lowest paper score will not count toward your final grade. Hence, the two remaining paper
scores will each contribute 30% of your final grade. However please note again that you must still
complete ALL THREE paper assignments in order to receive a passing grade in this course.
Descriptions of each paper and rubrics for evaluation will be distributed later in the course.
Syllabus Quiz: One of your first assignments will be a Syllabus Quiz, covering the policies and
major deadlines for this course. The goal of this assignment is to make sure that everyone is familiar
with these, to help you all be successful in this course. You will take the Syllabus Quiz in Blackboard,
and you may attempt it up to three times; only your highest score will count toward your final grade.
The Syllabus Quiz will be available in Blackboard by noon on Thursday, January 14th, and you will
have until 11:59 PM on Saturday, January 30th to complete it.
Reading Quizzes: Each week, I will post a reading quiz of 3-5 questions to Blackboard for the
following weeks readings. You will have an hour to complete this quiz, and must do so by 6:00 PM
on the Tuesday of each week. The purpose of this assignment is to help you stay on track with
readings, so that you can participate effectively during class meetings. Your lowest FOUR reading
quiz grades will be dropped from your final grade.

Participation: During every class you should also listen actively by taking notes on lectures, film
viewings, and discussions. Every class meeting will involve some kind of writing activity, whether
individually or in groups. You will get 4 points for contributing to the writing activity. You may earn
an additional point by participating during classby asking a question about the material (not
course policies), answering a question, making a relevant comment, or otherwise advancing the
discussion. This will earn you a colored slip of paper, which you will write your name on and hand
back to me at the end of class. This means that everyone can earn up to 5 POINTS per class
meeting, for a total of 140 points over the course of the semester. However, to give everyone a
cushionand to account for the occasional absencethese grades will be calculated out of 120
points. I reserve the right to withhold points for writing activities and participation for late arrival,
early departure, or violation of the course policy on electronics (see below).
Grade Distribution:
Papers: 60% (2 at 30% each; lowest of 3 scores will be dropped)
Syllabus Quiz: 5% (highest score of three attempts)
Weekly Reading Quizzes: 20% (10 at 2% each, lowest 4 scores of 14 dropped)
Participation: 15%
Grading Scale:
Letter Grade

Range

Letter Grade

Range

Letter Grade

Range

Above 93

B-

81-83

D+

67-70

A-

91-92

C+

77-80

64-66

B+

87-90

74-76

D-

61-63

84-86

C-

71-73

< 61

Support
Both the history department and the university offer specific resources to help improve your writing.
I will grant a two-day extension on any paper deadline to students who submit documentation that
they visited either the History Tutors or the Center for Excellence in Writing and received help with
their paper for this class. Please submit this documentation to Sven Kube, the TA for this class.
The History Tutors: There are several history graduate students working in the history department
main office (DM 390), whose job is to tutor students in history classes. They are experienced upperlevel history majors and graduate students who can help with papers, preparing for exams, or
keeping on top of class in general. To set up an appointment, please visit their website:
history.fiu.edu/tutoring
The Center for Excellence in Writing: The Center for Excellence in Writing staff can help you
with all aspects of writing, from approaching the question and brainstorming to techniques for
editing. For more information visit their website: writingcenter.fiu.edu
Class Policies

Attendance: Learning is a social activity, so it is necessary for you to come to class, and be ready to
participate. Excused absences will be granted for legitimate, verifiable reasons. These include illness
or emergency, religious holidays, military service, and legal requirements such as jury duty.
If you are absent from class, whether excused or unexcused, you are responsible for finding out
what we did that day FROM A CLASSMATE. Dont email me to ask, What did we do? Can I
have your notes? or Did we do anything important? Instead, talk to your classmates about what
we did, and ask to see their notes. Of course, this is no substitute for being present in class.
Classroom Behavior: Please arrive on time and stay until the end of class. This is a matter of
respect for me and for your classmates. If you must arrive late or leave early, please do so with as
little disturbance as possible. While I understand that emergencies may arise, please use the
bathroom before class to avoid leaving in the middle. In accordance with the Student Code of
Conduct (pg. 11), you have the right to agree, disagree, challenge, and question the opinions and
comments of others, including myself. However, you may not disrespect othersincluding myself
or act in a way that makes others uncomfortable. It is against FIU policy to harass and/or
discriminate against any student, faculty member, or employee on the basis of age,color, disability,
gender, marital status, ethnic/national origin, race, religion, sexual orientation, or other legally
protectedcategories. For more information or to make a complaint, please contact the FIUOffice
of Equal Opportunity and Diversity.
**NOTE**: This room can be quite cold. If this bothers you, please plan to dress in
layers. Being cold is not an excuse to leave in the middle of class.
Cell Phones and Electronics: Please silence your cell phone and keep it put away during class.
This means no checking e-mail, no checking social media, no texting, and no taking phone calls. If
your phone rings during class or I catch you using your phone to do one of the above, I will call
you out, and you risk losing your attendance and participation points for the day.
Some of you may wish to bring a laptop or table to class in order to take notes, or to refer to
electronic copies of the reading. [NB: You may not use your smartphone to access the readingthe
screen is too small.] If you do so, please show respect to me, your classmates, and your own learning
by not checking e-mail and social media, or browsing the Internet during class. Research on
electronics use in the classroom <goo.gl/ipyyR>shows that this not only detracts from your
learning, but from the learning of the people around you.If I catch you doing the above during
class, you risk losing your attendance and participation points for the day.
Communication: I prefer to be addressed as Professor Royles or Dr. Royles. If you would like
to be addressed using a different name than the one listed on the roster, please let me know.
Please feel free to come to me during office hours if you have questionsabout the course, about
history as a discipline, or about life in generalor would like to continue our discussions from class.
If you cant make it to my office hours but would like to set up an appointment, please send me an
email with at least three (3) specific times that you are available to meet.
Otherwise, the best way to reach me is by email, at droyles@fiu.edu. During the week I will respond
to emails within 24 hours; over the weekend I will respond to email within 48 hours. Please allow
this much time for a response before sending a follow-up email. Before you email, please also

consult this short guide to emailing professors <goo.gl/ynZBnA> to make sure that you come
across as professional and responsible in your correspondence.
I will also use email to communicate important information about the course, including updates to
the reading schedule. Please check your FIU email at least once a day to make sure you receive these.
Late Policy: Papers submitted after the deadline will be graded down by a full letter grade for every
24 hours (or fraction thereof) that it is late. Hence, a brilliant, flawless paper submitted at 12:01 AM
on the Saturday following a due date will receiveat besta B+. I will not accept work that is more
than a week late. This means that if one of your papers is more than a week late, you may not
pass this course. Exceptions to these rules may be granted in the form of a deadline extension. If
you need a deadline extension due to extenuating circumstances, please contact me with as much
advance notice as possible. I will also grant deadline extensions and offer a make-up midterm for
legitimate, verifiable reasons. These include illness or emergency, religious holidays, military service,
and legal requirements such as jury duty.
Scholastic Dishonesty: According to the FIU student handbook (p. 11) In meeting one of the
major objectives of higher education, which is to develop self-reliance, it is expected that students
will be responsible for the completion of their own academic work. Academic dishonesty will not
be tolerated in this class. Scholastic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, plagiarizing and
cheating on assignments or quizzes. For the purposes of this class, the following will be treated as
scholastic dishonesty:

submitting a piece of work written by anyone else as though it were your own
copying text into an assignment from a book, journal article, or Internet resource
drawing ideas or information from sources without attribution
giving or receiving correct answers to a reading quiz to or from a classmate

I take cheating and plagiarism very seriously, and any of these will result in a penalty ranging from a
zero on the assignment to failure in the course and reporting to the University. If you have any
questions about what constitutes academic dishonesty or plagiarism, see me.
Note to Students with Disabilities: If you have or believe you might have a disability-related need
for modification or reasonable accommodations in this course, contact the Disability Resources
Center (drc.fiu.edu). I am very happy to work with you and with them to accommodate you in the
best way possible.
Even if you do not need accommodation, I highly advise you to let me know if you have a disability
that might affect your performance in this class.
Accommodations: If you foresee any possible problem meeting any of the requirements of this
courseincluding attendance and prompt submission of assignmentsplease see me as soon as
possible. It is easier for everyone to address an issue before it becomes a problem.
Florida International University is a community dedicated to generating and imparting
knowledge through excellent teaching and research, the rigorous and respectful exchange
of ideas, and community service. All students should respect the right of others to have an
equitable opportunity to learn and to honestly demonstrate the quality of their learning.
Therefore, all students are expected to adhere to a standard of academic conduct, which

demonstrates respect for themselves, their fellow students, and the educational mission of
the University. All students are deemed by the University to understand that if they are
found responsible for academic misconduct, they will be subject to the Academic
Misconduct procedures and sanctions, as outlined in the Student Handbook.
Finally, I reserve the right to change the syllabus to facilitate better learning.
Course Schedule (Subject to change! Double-check Blackboard for the latest version!)
**BRING A COPY OF EACH WEEKS READINGS WITH YOU TO CLASS TO BOTH
CLASS MEETINGS DURING THAT WEEK**
Week 1: Introductions (January 12th and 14th)
Jan 12 (T): Introduction to the Course
Jan 14 (Th): Read the following:
Peter N. Stearns, Why Study History? <goo.gl/mTmAsg>
Maria Konnikova, Being a Better Online Reader, New Yorker (July 16, 2014) <goo.gl/
jOiUxt>
Active Reading Strategies <goo.gl/ZZ94Mq>
Listen Actively and Take Great Notes < goo.gl/3PebGZ>
Week 2: Civil War and Reconstruction (January 19th and 21st)
READINGS:
Chapter 15 in Give Me Liberty!
Patrick Rael, How to Read a Primary Source <goo.gl/P2jDBv>
from Chapter 15 in Voices of Freedom:
Petition of Black Residents of Nashville (1865)
Petition of Committee on Behalf of the Freedmen to Andrew Johnson (1866)
Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Home Life (ca. 1875)
Frederick Douglass, The Composite Nation (1869)
Week 3: Gilded Age, Westward Expansion (January 26th and 28th)
READINGS:
Chapter 16 in Give Me Liberty!
from Chapter 16 in Voices of Freedom:
Andrew Carnegie, The Gospel of Wealth (1889)
William Graham Sumner on Social Darwinism (ca. 1880)
A Second Declaration of Independence (1879)
Henry George, Progress and Poverty (1879)
Daniel Amsterdam, The Shortcomings of Billionaire Philanthropy, The Atlantic,
December 5, 2015 <goo.gl/IJr20F>
DUE: Syllabus Quiz (by 11:59 PM on Saturday, January 30th)

Week 4: Populism, Jim Crow, Imperialism (February 2nd and 4th)

READINGS:
Chapter 17 in Give Me Liberty!
from Chapter 17 in Voices of Freedom:
Ida B. Wells, Crusade for Justice (1892)
Josiah Strong, Our Country (1885)
Emilio Aguinaldo on American Imperialism in the Philippines (1899)
Rudyard Kipling, The White Mans Burden (1899)
Ben Railton, Securing Paradise at the Point of a Bayonet, Were History, January 16, 2015
Week 5: Progressivism (February 9th and 11th)
READINGS:
Chapter 18 in Give Me Liberty!
from Chapter 18 in Voices of Freedom:
Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Women and Economics (1898)
John A. Ryan, A Living Wage (1912)
The Industrial Workers of the World and the Free Speech Fights (1909)
Margaret Sanger on Free Motherhood (1920)
Week 6: World War I (February 16th and 18th)
READINGS:
Chapter 19 in Give Me Liberty!
from Chapter 19 in Voices of Freedom:
Carrie Chapman Catt, Address to Congress on Womens Suffrage (1917)
Eugene V. Debs, Speech to the Jury (1918)
Marcus Garvey on Africa for Africans (1921)
John A. Fitch on the Great Steel Strike (1919)
Ryan Green, Go Forward or Die: The Harlem Hellfighters in World War I, Were History,
February 24, 2015
Due: Paper #1 via Turnitin.com by 11:59 PM on Friday, February 19th
Week 7: 1920s (February 23rd and 25th)
READINGS:
Chapter 20 in Give Me Liberty!
from Chapter 20 in Voices of Freedom:
Andrew Siegfried on the New Society from the Atlantic Monthly (1928)
Bartolomeo Vanzettis Last Statement in Court (1927)
Congress Debates Immigration (1921)
Alain Locke, The New Negro (1925)

Week 8: The New Deal (March 1st and 3rd)

READINGS:
Chapter 21 in Give Me Liberty!
from Chapter 21 in Voices of Freedom:
Steel Workers Organizing Committee, a New Declaration of Independence (1936)
Franklin D. Roosevelt, Speech to the Democratic National Convention (1936)
Herbert Hoover on the New Deal and Liberty (1936)
Eric Rauchway, Eighty Years of Providing for the Welfare of American Citizens, Were
History, August 14, 2015
Week 9: World War II (March 8th and March 10th)
READINGS:
Chapter 22 in Give Me Liberty!
from Chapter 22 in Voices of Freedom:
Franklin D. Roosevelt on the Four Freedoms (1941)
World War II and Mexican Americans (1945)
African Americans and the Four Freedoms (1944)
Justice Robert A. Jackson, Dissent in Korematsu v. United States (1944)
Josh Zeitz, Yes, Its Fair to Compare the Plight of the Syrians to the Plight of the Jews.
Heres Why Politico Magazine, November 22, 2015.
Week 10: Cold War (March 22nd and 24th)
READINGS:
Chapter 23 in Give Me Liberty!
from Chapter 23 in Voices of Freedom:
Declaration of Independence of the Republic of Vietnam (1945)
NSC 68 and the Ideological Cold War (1950)
Presidents Commission on Civil Rights, To Secure These Rights (1947)
Susan Donaldson James, Lavender Scare: U.S. Fired 5,000 Gays in 1953 Witch Hunt,
ABCNews, March 5, 2012.
Week 11: Affluent Society, Civil Rights I (March 29th and 31st)
READINGS:
Chapter 24 in Give Me Liberty!
from Chapter 24 in Voices of Freedom:
TBA
DUE: Paper #2 via Turnitin.com by 11:59 PM on Friday, April 1st
Week 12: The 1960s, Civil Rights II, Student Activism (April 5th and 7th)
READINGS:
Chapter 25 in Give Me Liberty!
from Chapter 25 in Voices of Freedom:
TBA
Week 13: The New Right (April 12th and 14th)
READINGS:
Chapter 26 in Give Me Liberty!
from Chapter 26 in Voices of Freedom:

 TBA
Week 14: Globalization to War on Terror (April 19th and 21st)
READINGS:
Chapter 27 in Give Me Liberty!
from Chapter 27 in Voices of Freedom:
TBA
Week 15: America in the 21st Century (April 26th and 28th)
READINGS:
Chapter 28 in Give Me Liberty!
from Chapter 28 in Voices of Freedom:
TBA
DUE: Paper #3 via Turnitin.com by 11:59 PM on Friday, April 29th
Finals Week: Wrapping Up
May 5th, 5:00-7:00 PM: Final Meeting and Extra Credit Opportunity