HISTORY 368

Twentieth Century America

Allan M. Winkler

Spring Term 2001

Allan M. Winkler E-mail: winkleam@muohio.edu
Office Phone: 529-5132 Office: 244 Upham Hall
Home Phone: 523-2993

Office Hours: Tues. & Thurs. 1:30-2:30 PM    and by appointment

COURSE DESCRIPTION

This course is the first half of a two-term sequence on the United States in the 20th century. Each semester can be taken separately and has no prerequisite. History 368 begins with the changes in American society at the end of the 19th century as it confronted the issues of industrialization, immigration, and urbanization. It covers the reform movement we know as the Progressive period, and examines the impact of World War I. It explores the developments that occurred in the 1920s and concludes with the stock market crash of 1929 and the Great Depression that followed. In all areas, it examines the lives of men and women in addition to political events, as we try to understand the social history of the time.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

  • Class Attendance: Tuesday & Thursday, 8:00-9:15 AM
  • World Wide Web Exercise: Due Tuesday, September 18
  • Two Mid-Term Exams: Thursday, September 27 & Thursday, November 8
  • Four-Page Paper: Due Tuesday, November 27
  • Final Exam: Wednesday, December 12, at 9:45 AM

ATTENDANCE

Attendance WILL be taken at each class. Your attendance -- and participation -- are required. If you are absent from class 4 or more times, you will not pass the course.

EXAMINATIONS

All 3 exams will be essay tests. The final exam will be comprehensive and will cover all work done throughout the term.

PAPER

The 4-page paper wil be an analysis of the novel Babbitt. It should assess the issues that the book covers and indicate how effectively it conveys a sense of the period.

WORLD WIDE WEB EXERCISE

The World Wide Web exercise will entail you going into the Web, using whatever search engines you choose, and finding materials about one of the topics covered in the course. For example, you could examine items, such as pictures, speeches, and essays, relating to Theodore Roosevel, or Jane Addams, or Robert LaFollette. Or you could look at sites about immigration, or lynching, or economic catastrophe. After you have located relevant materials, you will write a 1-2 page paper describing and assessing the best site you have found.

GRADING

  • World Wide Web Exercise -------------------------- 10%
  • First Mid-Term Exam --------------------------------- 15%
  • Second Mid-Term Exam ---------------------------- 15%
  • Four-Page Paper -------------------------------------- 15%
  • Class Participation ------------------------------------ 20%
  • Final Exam ----------------------------------------------- 25%

REQUIRED BOOKS

  • John Whiteclay Chambers, II, The Tyranny of Change
  • Ellis W. Hawley, The Great War and the Search for a Modern Order
  • Ole Edvart Rolvaag, Giants in the Earth
  • William L. Riordan (ed. by Terrence J. McDonald), Plunkitt of Tammany Hall
  • Ellen F. Fitzpatrick, ed., Muckraking: Three Landmark Articles
  • Ida B. Wells (ed. by Jacqueline Jones Royster), Southern Horrors
  • Jane Addams, Twenty Years at Hull House
  • Sinclair Lewis, Babbitt

OTHER COURSE MATERIALS

From time to time, photocopied materials will be handed out in class or provided on-line on Blackboard. These are intended for discussion, and are ingegral parts of the course.

BLACKBOARD ASSIGNMENTS

This course will use Blackboard for posting assignments and for holding on-line discussions about issues raised in class. You should get used to logging in (http://blackboard.muohio.edu/) and checking for announcements regularly. Blackboard will have a copy of the syllabus, and a variety of other materials to be used in the course.

WEEKLY ASSIGNMENTS

WEEK 1

  • August 21 - Introduction to the Course: Late 19th Century Background
    • READ: Chambers, The Tyranny of Change, Chapters 1 & 2
  • August 23 - The Business System
    • READ: Chambers, The Tyranny of Change, Chapter 3

WEEK 2

  • August 28 - Immigration & American Society
    • READ: Chambers, The Tyranny of Change, Chapter 4
  • August 30 - Immigration Discussion
    • READ: Olvaag, Giants in the Earth

WEEK 3

  • September 4 - NO CLASS -- MONDAY/TUESDAY SWITCH DAY
  • September 6 - Politics and Political Corruption
    • READ: Riordan, Plunkitt of Tammany Hall

WEEK 4

  • September 11 - Muckraking
    • READ: Fitzpatrick, Muckraking
  • September 13 - An Introduction to Progressivism
    • READ: Chambers, The Tyranny of Change, Chapter 5 (first half)

WEEK 5

  • September 18 - NO CLASS: ROSH HASHANAH
    • WORLD WIDE WEB EXERCISE DUE
  • September 20 - City and State Reform
    • READ: Chambers, The Tyranny of Change, Chapter 5 (second half)

WEEK 6

  • September 25 - The Settlement House Movement
    • READ: Jane Addams, Twenty Years at Hull House
  • September 27 - FIRST MID-TERM EXAM
    • This is Yom Kippur, and I will not be in class. If you are also observing the Jewish holiday, please let me know, and we will arrange an alternative time for you to take the exam.

WEEK 7

  • October 2 - Progressivism at the National Level
    • READ: Chambers, The Tyranny of Change, Chapter 6 (first half)
  • October 4 - Progressivism at the National Level (continued)
    • READ: Chambers, The Tyranny of Change, Chapter 6 (second half)

WEEK 8

  • October 9 - Racial Conflict
    • Discussion of the film Birth of a Nation (portions to be shown in class)
  • October 11 - Lynching
    • READ: Wells, Southern Horrors

WEEK 9

  • October 16 - The Road to War
    • READ: Chambers, The Tyranny of Change, Chapter 7
  • October 18 - World War I
    • READ: Hawley, The Great War, Chapter 2

WEEK 10

  • October 23 - World War I (continued)
    • READ: Chambers, The Tyranny of Change, Chapter 8
  • October 25 - World War I & the League of Nations
    • READ: Hawley, The Great War, Chapter 3

WEEK 11

  • October 30 - The 1920s: An Introduction
    • READ: Hawley, The Great War, Chapter 4
  • November 1 - The 1920s: Business & Advertising
    • READ: Hawley, The Great War, Chapter 5

WEEK 12

  • November 6 - The 1920s: Society
    • READ: Hawley, The Great War, Chapter 8
    • Discussion of the film The Great Gatsby (to be shown earlier)
  • November 8 - SECOND MID-TERM EXAM

WEEK 13

  • November 13: The 1920s: Anti-Radicalism & Anxiety
    • READ: Hawley, The Great War, Chapter 7
  • November 15: The 1920s: Politics
    • READ: Hawley, The Great War, Chapter 6

WEEK 14

  • November 20 - The Roaring Twenties
    • Discussion of the film The Roaring Twenties (to be shown earlier)
  • November 22 - NO CLASS: THANKSGIVING

WEEK 15

  • November 27 - The 1920s in Literature
    • READ: Lewis, Babbitt
    • FOUR-PAGE PAPER DUE IN CLASS
  • November 29 - Herbert Hoover & the Politics of Prosperity
    • READ: Hawley, The Great War, Chapter 11 (first half)

WEEK 16

  • December 4 - The Great Crash
    • READ: Hawley, The Great War, Chapter 11 (second half)
  • December 6 - The Human Side of the Great Depression
    • READ: Hawley, The Great War, Chapters 12 & 13

WEEK 17

  • FINAL EXAM - Wednesday, December 12, at 9:45 AM

Allan M. Winkler
Department of History
Miami University
Last updated: August 12, 2001
URL: http://miavx1.muohio.edu/~winkleam/hst368.htm