Office Hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 9:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m., and by appointment

Please Note: It is my pleasure to do what I can to help you meet your goals in this class. If you find yourself having trouble, please send me e-mail, use my office hours, or set up an appointment to see me.

Teaching Assistant: Ms. Nagel (amanda.nagel@vandals.uidaho.edu) Please feel free to e-mail Ms. Nagel for assistance with the course material and for questions regarding grades.

COURSE DESCRIPTION

This course will survey major developments in American history since the conclusion of federal Reconstruction in 1877. We will concentrate on trends in social and political history. The themes most commonly discussed will be the relationships and tensions between various groups and individuals, in particular representatives of various races, ethnicities, genders, and classes; the growth of the American system of government and its influence throughout the globe; and the changes in American culture. We will consistently consider the American ideals of liberty, equality, and democracy and evaluate how well Americans have put those values into practice at home and abroad. In the process, we will learn much about the development of the American past, and we will hone our skills of critical thinking. Thus, this class will teach content (i.e., American history) and skills (i.e., the ability to analyze, think, and communicate critically).

ASSIGNED BOOKS

I have asked the UI Bookstore to order the following books. You may find them cheaper elsewhere.

· Eric Foner, Give Me Liberty: An American History, second edition, vol. 2

· Eric Foner, ed., Voices of Freedom: A Documentary History, second edition, vol. 2

· William Strunk, Jr., and E.B. White, The Elements of Style, fourth edition (highly recommended and useful guide to writing that will help in this class and others)

· Other reading assignments may be placed on reserve or found on the web.

ASSIGNMENTS AND GRADES

Exams (2 midterms * 20% + 1 final * 30% = 70%): There are three exams you will take. The first two are midterms that are based on the Parts 4 and 5 of the textbook (Give Me Liberty) and the associated chapters in the reader (Voices of Freedom), along with lectures, discussions, videos, or other materials from class. The final exam will include a section on Part 6 of the textbook and the associated chapters in the reader, along with lectures, discussions, videos, or other materials from class. In addition, the final exam will include a section that asks a cumulative question or questions that cover the entire scope of the class. These exams will be short and long essays.

Quizzes (30%): We will proceed in a regular order for this course, alternating a textbook chapter with a chapter of primary documents associated with the same period and topics. For each set, you will take a short quiz on the day when the documents are assigned (because this is a regular scheduled quiz, I have not marked them in the schedule below). These quizzes will be designed to keep you reading and understanding the information along the way. This will allow you to see where you are having trouble and allow you to solve that before moving too far forward. These quizzes will rely primarily on true-false, multiple-choice, fill-in-the-blank, and short answers, along with identifications and interpretations of the primary sources. The two lowest quiz scores you receive will be dropped.

POLICIES

Make-Up Work Policy: You must be in class to take the weekly quizzes and midterm exams. You may not make up a quiz or an exam unless you provide me with a legitimate and documented excuse, or unless you arrange for the absence ahead of time.

Grade Challenges: I am willing to entertain grade challenges provided they are submitted in writing and that you wait 48 hours after the assignment is returned before you hand in your objection. You will then need to set up an appointment with me to discuss the assignment and grade. You must initiate this process within one week of the time the assignment was returned to the class.

Plagiarism: To plagiarize is to present someone else’s work as your own. To present someone else’s work as your own means to use someone else’s information, ideas, or writing without explicitly acknowledging with quotation marks and/or citations that the ideas and/or writing are not your own. You may be plagiarizing even if you are not directly quoting. Plagiarism is a serious offense and I will give a 0 to the first assignment in which a student plagiarizes. If a student plagiarizes again, I will fail that student in the course. If you have ANY questions or confusions about plagiarism, please let me know before you turn in your work. It is essential to be using others’ ideas and information; however, you just must provide credit where credit is due. You may find additional information about Academic Honesty (and dishonesty) as part of the Student Code of Conduct: (http://www.students.uidaho.edu/default.aspx?pid=56182).

Accommodations: Reasonable accommodations are available for students who have a documented disability. Please notify me during the first week of class of an accommodation(s) needed for the course. Late notification may mean that requested accommodations might not be available. All accommodations must be approved through Disability Support Services located in the Idaho Commons Building, Rm. 333, 885-7200, or dss@uidaho.edu.

SCHEDULE OF READINGS AND ASSIGNMENTS

Please have the assigned reading read before coming to class on a given day. Course participation depends on your willingness to have read and considered the readings before classes. If changes to this schedule are needed, they will be announced in class and posted on the website.

WEEK ONE

Thursday, January 10

Read: Syllabus

WEEK TWO

Tuesday, January 15

Read: Give Me Liberty, Ch. 16 (Note: this is not the first chapter in the book)

Thursday, January 17

Read: Voices of Freedom, Ch. 16 (Note: this is not the first chapter in the book)

WEEK THREE

Tuesday, January 22

Read: Give Me Liberty, Ch. 17

Thursday, January 24

Read: Voices of Freedom, Ch. 17

WEEK FOUR

Tuesday, January 29

Read: Give Me Liberty, Ch. 18

Thursday, January 31

Read: Voices of Freedom, Ch. 18

WEEK FIVE

Tuesday, February 5

Read: Give Me Liberty, Ch. 19

Thursday, February 7

Read: Voices of Freedom, Ch. 19

WEEK SIX

Tuesday, February 12

Read: Review all previous readings

MIDTERM #1

Thursday, February14

Read: Give Me Liberty, Ch. 20

WEEK SEVEN

Tuesday, February 19

Read: Voices of Freedom, Ch. 20

Thursday, February 21

Read: Give Me Liberty, Ch. 21

WEEK EIGHT

Tuesday, February 26

Read: Voices of Freedom, Ch. 21

Thursday, February 28

Read: Give Me Liberty, Ch. 22

WEEK NINE

Tuesday, March 4

Read: Voices of Freedom, Ch. 22

Thursday, March 6

Read: Give Me Liberty, Ch. 23

SPRING BREAK

WEEK TEN

Tuesday, March 18

Read: Voices of Freedom, Ch. 23

Thursday, March 20

Read: Review previous readings

MIDTERM #2

WEEK ELEVEN

Tuesday, March 25

Read: Give Me Liberty, Ch. 24

Thursday, March 27

Read: Voices of Freedom, Ch. 24

WEEK TWELVE

Tuesday, April 1

Read: Give Me Liberty, Ch. 25

Thursday, April 3

Read: Voices of Freedom, Ch. 25

WEEK THIRTEEN

Tuesday, April 8

Read: Give Me Liberty, Ch. 26

Thursday, April 10

Read: Voices of Freedom, Ch. 26

WEEK FOURTEEN

Tuesday, April 15

Read: Give Me Liberty, Ch. 27

Thursday, April 17

Read: Voices of Freedom, Ch. 27

WEEK FIFTEEN

Tuesday, April 22

Read: Give Me Liberty, Ch. 28

Thursday, April 24

Read: Voices of Freedom, Ch. 28

WEEK SIXTEEN

Tuesday, April 29

Read: Review or Make Up

Thursday, May 1

Read: Review or Make Up

FINAL EXAM

Friday, May 9, 7:30 a.m. – 9: 30 a.m.

For additional expectations and course learning outcomes, see website.