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HIST 1500 Syllabus Overview
Spring 2018

Course
Description
 This course in American history examines the major political,
cultural, economic, and social developments from Reconstruction
to the present. We will pay close attention to the institutions,
culture, and social composition that defined these eras in
American history. Additionally, students will learn about history
as a discipline. How do historians look at America in a different
fashion than anthropologists, sociologists, psychologists, or
political scientists? How do we use primary sources, memoirs, and
works of historical scholarship in combination to better
understand the past, as well as how our lives in early twenty-first-
century America are contingent upon those developments? Rather
than looking at history as a long string of facts to memorize, we
will move beyond the details we learn from the textbook to focus
on analyzing, interpreting and understanding how different
developments have produced the society we live in today. As a
broad, survey-level introduction to the history of the United States
from the period of Reconstruction to the present day, this class is
intended to help you explore and think about vital issues and
themes in our nation’s past as well as to develop your historical
empathy about the choices faced by actors in the past.

COURSEGOALS
andLEARNING
OUTCOMES
 Skills:
 ✴ Connect primary sources to historical context using reference material and historical arguments
 ✴ Evaluate historical arguments by reading scholarly work
 ✴ Identify arguments about and articulate changes over time
 ✴ Manage time and plan for deadlines efficiently and effectively with minimal supervision
 Content Coverage and Big Questions:
 ✴ America's changing role in global affairs
 ✴ The evolution of politics, the presidency, and the state
 ✴ Cultural identity and change
 ✴ Economic growth and crisis and the changing experiences of work, exchange, technology, and consumption
 Citizenship:
 ✴ Consider how Americans have interacted with laws and government institutions from the local to national levels
 ✴ Evaluate the connection and contradictions among democracy, citizenship, and cultural pluralism
 ✴ Consider the relationship between domestic affairs and international relations
 ✴ Apply historically derived definitions of liberalism and conservatism

Required
Books
 Purchase all materials through Persuall using the
instructions below, or using a code that can be purchased
from the bookstore.
 Go to perusall.com, click Login, and then either log in using
your Facebook, Twitter, or Google account, or create an
account using your email address and password.
 Select I am a student and enter the course code JEWELL-
4355.
 You will be prompted to purchase the book for this course the
first time you try to access the book or a reading assignment
from the book. You can purchase access online using a credit
card.
 Materials will include a textbook and nine Bedford
Document Collection short readings.

Academic
Honesty
 Citation, writing clarity, and grammar are important
in making your argument effective and
understandable. I suggest you visit this site to review
writing skills and techniques and also that you make
use of FSU’s Writing Center to review your work,
particularly if you have concerns. Please note that
ignorance is not an excuse for plagiarism. Students are
responsible for understanding and adhering to the
university’s policies regarding plagiarism and academic
integrity. The consequences for violation are severe,
including failure of the course and potential expulsion.

Communication
 Email: is the best way to reach me. Please be aware
that it may take me up to 24 hours on weekdays and 48
hours on weekends to respond. If you do not hear back
from me, it is likely that the answer is available on the
syllabus. If your email issue takes more than a
paragraph to explain, please come see me in my office
hours.

OnlineBehavior
 The discussion forums will by-and-large be informal
spaces. Do not mistake this informality and creative
space as a license to be unprofessional. Your fellow
students are your colleagues and I expect you to
conduct yourself as if you are sending business
communication, even if our content is at times
controversial, emotional, or provocative. Timeliness is
another way to demonstrate your professionalism;
submitting your work on time makes it easier for your
fellow students to complete their own assignments
(evaluation posts, etc.).

Importantto Know
Late Policy: Late papers and
assignments will only be
accepted by prior arrangement.
Late work will receive a penalty
of one-third grade deduction per
day late (i.e. an A becomes an A-
after one day, and so on).
Grading: All grading is done
using FSU’s 4.0 scale. If you
receive a numerical/percentage
grade (e.g. 88%), it will be
calculated using the
corresponding GPA (3.3). Online
assignments have a 90-minute
grace period for late work.

Services
 Fitchburg State encourages the full participation of
individuals with disabilities in all aspects of campus living
and learning. To support access and inclusion, Fitchburg
State offers reasonable accommodations to students who
have documented disabilities (e.g. physical, learning,
psychiatric, sensory, etc.). If you require accommodations for
this class, please provide me with a copy of your
Accommodation Agreement as soon as possible so that we
can discuss your specific needs. Any information that you
share with me will be held in the strictest confidence, unless
you give me permission to do otherwise. If you require
academic accommodations but do not have an
Accommodation Agreement, contact Disability Services
a.s.a.p. to establish your eligibility:
www.fitchburgstate.edu/disability or 978-665-4020

TipsforSuccess
Personal Responsibility:
You are responsible for
working on your own and
exerting the personal discipline
necessary to complete
assignments in a timely
fashion.
To do so, first read the
syllabus—especially the course
schedule—carefully to know
your assignments for each
week, when writing and
discussion assignments are
due, and the closing of each
grading period.
You will have to allow
sufficient time to do the
reading assignments before the
postings are due. You have to
take an active role in the
discussions.
All of this represents a great
responsibility and investment
in time and effort on your part,
especially considering the
accelerated schedule of a
summer course.
Students who have taken this
course previously report that
there is a very direct
relationship between effort and
satisfaction – the more effort
and time you put into the
course, the more you are likely
to gain from it.

TipsforSuccess:ConstantandContinualEffort
All of us have a tendency (and need, at
times) to put work until the last minute.
Doing so threatens your success in the
course. You need to work on this class
every day. Some of that work, like
reading, discussion, and thinking about
questions regarding assignments, as
well as preparing writing assignments,
will be done off-line.
Whatever you are working on, however,
you should log on to our Blackboard site
at least one a day and keep abreast of
any important messages or
announcements, and to see how
conversations about the material are
developing.

Tips for
Success
 Students often ask, “How much time should I put into this
course?” Obviously, that varies from one student to another,
and it will vary over the eight weeks we will be working
together, depending on your work and personal schedules.
Break down each reading assignment and the time required
and budget accordingly. Do the same for your writing
assignments. Create to-do lists for each assignment and think
about how much time you will need for each step, then
schedule those blocks into your calendar.

Assignments
 Perusall Participation (30%): Engagement in Perusall replicates coming to class and discussing material in
person. Regard these interactions as if you were in a classroom and reviewing the material – except
conversations happen asynchronously and over time. These will be graded using rubrics.
 15% Bedford Document Collection Participation: There are 10 document discussions over the course of the
semester that center around a question from a moment in American history. These replicate in-class
discussions and will be graded based on the frequency and quality of engagement and participation using a
simple rubric.
 Goal: to engage with primary sources – the voices and remnants of past events – to answer questions about their
significance
 15% Textbook Reading and Discussion: The chapters in the schedule below refer to the Henretta textbook,
America (Concise Edition Vol. II) that you purchase and access through Perusall. Chapters are indicated by
number. Please note that there are usually two chapters due at once, so plan your time accordingly and in
advance. See rubric in the appendix to understand how these are graded. Extra credit is available for
participating in the discussion threads listed separately on Perusall (see site).
 Goal: to engage with, think about, and interrogate past events for personal and societal meaning.
 Writing Assignments (70%): Students will submit three separate written assessments based on the textbook
readings and document collections. These will be based on the guiding questions from each chapter, part, and
document collection, and will be in formal written submissions on Blackboard.
 20% Textbook Chapter Quizzes: For the assigned textbook reading, after completing all Perusall assignments,
students will complete a set of questions related to the textbook reading.
 Goal: to develop historical knowledge from which to develop analysis and argumentation.
 30% Midterm and Final Essays: These exams will consist of 2 essays (3-4 paragraphs) based on the textbook
reading. These are available in advance on Persuall, where students may discuss possible answers with each
other.
 Goal: to use historical information, events, and sources to construct logical arguments that interpret the meaning
and causality of historical events, and evaluating historical contingencies.
 20% Final Essay: This 1200-word essay, to be submitted via Blackboard. See the prompt in the schedule of
readings and assignments below.
 Goal: to consider a wide range of sources and select information to construct a historical argument based on
evidence, communicated effectively.

MIDTERM
 Document-Based Short Answers
 For each of these questions, based on your reading of the primary documents provided in the
Bedford Document Collections, explain in a paragraph your argument with two examples from the
readings. Complete TWO of the assigned questions for each exam.
 What does the life of Louisa Cousselle reveal about women in the nineteenth-century trans-
Mississippi West?
 What role did convict labor play in the building of modern America during the second industrial
revolution?
 How did Populist leaders try to persuade others to join them, and who was attracted by their
appeals?
 How did the rise of Christian fundamentalism in the wake of World War I transform religious belief
and activism in the United States?
 How did World War II affect civilians on the American home front, and how did American society
change as a result of the war?
 Interpretive Essay Questions
 For each essay of 2-3 type-written, double-spaced pages using a 12-point font and 1” margins
(approx 800 words), have a clear argument that answers the question posed. In the body
paragraphs, support your answer with clear examples and analysis from the textbook. You may
also use examples from the Bedford Document Readers, but you must ONLY use these assigned
readings. NO OUTSIDE SOURCES ALLOWED.
 The transformation of the United States into an urban and industrial nation between 1877 and 1917
altered nearly every aspect of its economy, society, culture, and political life. Describe the social,
economic, and political problems that arose out of the Industrial Revolution in the United States. Use
evidence to present an argument about the extent to which reformers in the late nineteenth and early
twentieth centuries addressed such problems successfully.
 From 1890 to 1945, the United States faced new challenges domestically and internationally, and
crafted bold responses that transformed the federal government's role in the lives of Americans and in
global affairs. Using evidence, outline the U.S. government's approaches to the domestic and
international crises of this era, and construct an argument about how and why the 1920s were an
exception to these larger patterns.

Final
 Document-Based Short Answers
 For each of these questions, based on your reading of the primary documents provided in
the Bedford Document Collections, explain in a paragraph your argument with two
examples from the readings. Complete TWO of the assigned questions for each exam.
 How did school desegregation efforts differ in the North and South, and what were the
challenges that reformers faced in trying to desegregate American schools after the 1960s?
 How were accusations of extremism used in American politics during the 1964 presidential
election and to what effect?
 Who were the Diggers, and how and why did they rebel against mainstream American
society in the 1960s era?
 What do the debates surrounding the bill in 1965 indicate about the political, economic, and
social changes occurring in the United States during the mid-1960s?
 Interpretive Essay Questions
 For each essay of 2-3 type-written, double-spaced pages using a 12-point font and 1”
margins (approx 800 words), have a clear argument that answers the question posed. In
the body paragraphs, support your answer with clear examples and analysis from the
textbook. You may also use examples from the Bedford Document Readers, but you must
ONLY use these assigned readings. NO OUTSIDE SOURCES ALLOWED.
 From 1945 to 1980, the United States was defined by its emergence as the world's leading
economic and military power and by domestic prosperity, which buttressed liberalism in
U.S. politics and public policy. Using evidence from Chapters 25 through 29, explain how
the United States' role in the world shaped its domestic life in this period.
 Adopting the phrase coined in 1941 by Time magazine publisher Henry Luce, scholars have
called the twentieth century the “American Century” to characterize U.S. dominance of the
world's economy, culture, and politics. What factors account for the end of the American
Century in the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s—or do you challenge the premise that there has
been an end to American dominance? Use evidence to support your argument.

FinalPaper
 Using the primary sources in the Bedford Document Collections
from the entire semester, select three documents that reflect the
events that you feel have most shaped an aspect of American
politics, social relations, culture, or economic life since the end of
Reconstruction.
 In an essay of approx. 1200 words, (5 pages), explore through the
documents how these artifacts support your argument and focus.
Your documents should reflect the particular theme that you feel
has been most transformative.
 You may highlight certain individuals and their experiences, laws
or policies, or art, music, and photography. You might consider
themes such as ethnic experiences, political movements, the
impact of policy on individual lives, women and American society,
the experience of war or economic changes, and more.
 You should have a clear connection between the documents you
choose — DON’T simply discuss three random documents from
three separate moments that have nothing to do with one another.
Put the documents and individuals you select into conversation to
illustrate some broad change or continuity over time regarding the
development you have identified.

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