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Course Requirements for U. S. History since 1865 - Patrick Reed - Office LR 306

Office Hours - MR 8:45-9:30a, MR 1:45-2p, W 10:30-11a

(703) 450-2528 - www.nvcc.edu/home/preed

1. Attend class. Attendance and class participation will account for 25% of your final grade. After two absences, each missed class reduces the final grade by one point. You are expected to arrive for class on time or to slip into class as unobtrusively as possible if late arrival is occasionally unavoidable. Cell phone must be turned off, and laptops may be used only for class purposes. Because of the large class size, you should be recognized before making comments or asking questions. Students are required to print, and bring with them to class, course outlines from the instructor's website. No food or beverages are allowed in the classroom unless all debris and recyclables are removed to appropriate receptacles. The "W" grade is not an option after March 26th, and if you remain on the roll after that time, non-completion of the course will earn you an "F" (except in case of an emergency certified as such prior to April 29th). The "I" grade will be given only to a student who has made every effort to complete assignments and requests special consideration on or before April 29th. An "I" grade must be changed before the end of the next semester.

2. Read the assignments listed below. Class activities are planned with the assumption that students are familiar with the following readings from Volume II of Eric Foner’s Give Me Liberty ! (2nd edition) and Volume II of Oates and Errico's Portrait of America:

Week #1 - Uncivil War, chapter 14 in Liberty! (review this chapter in Vol. I if available to you).

Week #2 - Reconstructing Reconstruction, pp. 520-555 in Liberty!; pp. 1-25 in Portrait.

Week #3 - Guilt in the Gilded Age, pp. 556-568, 579-599, 617-624 in Liberty!; pp. 50-87 in Portrait.

Week #4 - An Old and New West, pp. 568-579, 599-616 in Liberty!; pp. 26-38 in Portrait.

Week #5 - Imperialism, pp. 624-636 in Liberty!; pp. 87-99 in Portrait; then first test, on pp. 520-636 in Liberty! and pp. 1-99 in Portrait.

Week #6 - Progressivism on Main Street, pp. 637-677 in Liberty!; pp. 100-112, 126-134 in Portrait.

Week #7 - Progressivism, in Woodrow Wilson's World, pp. 678-718 in Liberty!; pp. 134-150 in Portrait.

Week #8 - "Normalcy" in the "Roaring Twenties", pp. 719-748 in Liberty!; pp. 112-125, 151-177 in Portrait.

Week #9 - The (First?) Great Depression, pp. 748-755 in Liberty!; pp. 178-190 in Portrait.

Week #10 - Second test, on pp. 624-748 in Liberty!; pp. 100-190 in Portrait.

Week #11 - A New Deal, pp. 756-795 in Liberty!; pp. 190-201 in Portrait.

Week #12 - The World at War, pp. 796-837 in Liberty!; pp. 202-239 in Portrait.

Week #13 - Containment and Contentment, pp. 838-896 in Liberty!; pp. 240-278 in Portrait.

Week #14 - Civil Wrongs and Rights, pp. 896-956 in Liberty!; pp. 279-330 in Portrait.

Week #15 – Globalization, pp. 957-1070 in Liberty!; pp. 331-395 in Portrait; also papers (optional unless you have missed a test) due.

Week #16 - Third test, on pp. 748-1070 in Liberty! and pp. 190- 395 in Portrait.

3. Take at least two of the three tests, which will include a choice of essay questions as well as a number of objective questions.  Each of the tests will account for 25% of a student's final grade. Students opting to turn in a paper (see guidelines below) may drop their lowest test score or miss a test. No make-up tests will be given, so anyone missing a test must turn in a paper by April 29th. Students can also expect in-class quizzes on readings from Portrait of America. Grades on these quizzes will count toward the Attendance/Participation portion of the final grade. Again, no make-up quizzes will be given, and after two missed classes with quizzes, absences will count double.

4. Write a(n optional) paper. Although a major theme of this course will be the increasing complexity of American society, America's history remains an intensely personal one, because it is the sum of the experiences of all its people. To test the validity of this idea, you are urged to write an American history, i.e. - a short story about a late nineteenth or twentieth century American, living or dead, real or fictional. Note well: your subject should not be someone famous, whose story is well-known, but rather someone to whom you have special access.

Be sure to describe your character: distinguish him or her from the rest of humanity by appearance, accent, mannerisms, and/or interests, as well as experience, so that your reader can identify with or create a mental image of your character. If possible, relate your subject's experience to some of the broader, contemporaneous issues of American history, but remember, even in lives sheltered from events covered by history texts or the Washington Post, there is drama. Your subject's day-to-day existence may seem insignificant from some perspectives, but to him or her, it mattered. Furthermore, that experience reflects and to some extent effects American history. Your challenge is to find a unifying theme in this character's experience, some quest or "American Dream" that has inspired or directed your character, whether or not it has been realized, then to determine the extent to which your subject's experience was or is representative of those of his or her contemporaries.

Because you or your subject may be sensitive about sharing your findings, you are certainly free to change names or exact dates, though you should note that you are doing so. You may even create a composite or entirely fictional character and experience, while carefully authenticating all historical information as well as the setting in which you place such a character.

Your paper should be 3-5 double-spaced, word-processed pages in length. Grammar, spelling, and neatness certainly do count. I will appreciate efforts to be creative in organizing and presenting your paper, although creativity is no substitute for precision and analysis. Formal footnotes are not required, but you must give credit, including author's name and page number for written materials, full web address for internet sources, and name, date, and place of interview for first-hand sources. Deliberately presenting someone else's work as your own is plagiarism and will earn you an "F" for the course. Do not place your work in a folder or binder. Papers are due on April 29th, and late papers will suffer a grade penalty, but those turned in early will be read, edited, and returned with a preliminary grade which may be raised if improved and resubmitted by the due date. You are also encouraged to take advantage of the services of the Writing Center , located in LR250. The paper grade will take the place of a missed test or a lower test grade.

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