HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES SINCE 1865
HISTORY 109
Lexington Community College
Spring 2004
DR. RICK SMOOT, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR
OFFICE: Moloney Building 238, Lexington Community College
(859) 257-4872, extension 4155
OFFICE HOURS: 1-1:50, Monday through Friday, or by appointment.
CONTACT ME: There are several ways to reach me, such as (a) by calling my office phone: 257-4872, extension 4155, leaving a voice-mail message, or (b) by e-mail SMOOT@UKY.EDU , or (c) at my WEBPAGE address www.bluegrass.kctcs.edu/LCC/HIS/rick.html (note: this address is CASE SENSITIVE, so capitalize as shown, use small case letters as shown), or (d) by leaving me a written note on my Office door, Moloney Building 238, or by writing same and putting it in my mail slot in the Moloney Building office suite 226 (where my office is located), or (e) visiting during my office hours, or (f) by making an appointment with me before or after class. YOU ARE ENCOURAGED TO CONTACT ME REGARDING YOUR CONCERNS!
If you feel it necessary for any reason, you may contact the LCC area coordinator for History courses, Prof. Nelda Wyatt, in the Moloney Building Room 231 or by calling 257-4872, extension 4156.
GENERAL COURSE DESCRIPTION AND COURSE OBJECTIVES
This course traces the nation’s development since the Civil War. It is designed to meet the demands for a general understanding of American history. One of the goals of this course is to acquaint you with the political, economic, social, and religious forces that shaped this country’s development, from the Civil War to the present. This course fulfills the requirements for the elementary teaching certificate. This American History survey is a continuation of American History 108.
All assignments are designed to develop certain skills and create a greater knowledge base for all students. By doing so, you will become better at CRITICAL THINKING. Knowing about the past helps people make more intelligent decisions and judgements.
PROGRAM-APPROVED OBJECTIVES: Upon completion of this course, a student should be able to: (1) read and evaluate historical resources critically, and (2) demonstrate an understanding of cultural, economic, political, religious, and social values related to the period covered by this course.
This course requires the learning of a substantial amount of factual information, developing knowledge of other people who lived in the past and, perhaps, a greater knowledge of your self. You also are expected to develop strong communication skills (writing, listening, discussion, etc.), all skills that help forward professional and career objectives.
REQUIRED TEXTBOOK: Davidson, et al., Nation of Nations, vol. 2: A Concise Narrative 3rd ed. (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2002).
Required ancillary readings:
Harold Livesay, Andrew Carnegie and the Rise of Big Business 2nd ed. (New York: Longman, 2000).
George C. Herring, America’s Longest War: The United States and Vietnam, 1950-1975 4th ed. (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2002).
EXAMINATIONS AND GRADING: You will have two regular exams, two book exams, and a comprehensive final exam in this class. Your two regular exams will be valued at 50 points apiece. Your final exam will be valued at 100 points. Your first, essay-form book exam will be valued at 100 points, and your second multiple-choice book exam will be valued at 50 points. Regular multiple-choice examination scores are CURVED, with the size of that curve to be determined at my discretion. The written book test is NOT curved.
Examination questions come directly from my lectures and from any assigned readings. THUS, IT IS VERY IMPORTANT FOR YOU TO ATTEND CLASS AND TAKE EXTENSIVE NOTES! The final 50 points in this course are for class attendance, class participation, timeliness, and required good conduct. My ATTENDANCE POLICY is simple: three unexcused absences are grounds for lowering your final grade a full letter. Additional unexcused absences compound per absence. If you miss seven classes unexcused, you will fail the course.
Thus 400 points are possible, barring any quiz I might choose to require.
Your first book test will be WRITTEN IN CLASS FROM MEMORY on the assigned piece by Livesay, Andrew Carnegie and the Rise of Big Business (cited above). Hence it is imperative that you read the book. Your essay should emphasize the contents of the book, in detail. Read the Livesay book analytically, in order to better summarize and discuss the materials presented. You are encouraged to take notes while reading the book, for they will come in handy when preparing for this test. This assignment will be in the form of an ESSAY EXAMINATION and will be written from your knowledge of the material read in the Livesay book, so NO NOTES OR OTHER OUTSIDE MATERIALS ARE ALLOWED to be used during the examination. If you consult and cite materials from sources other than the assigned book in your essay, you must be able to give credit to the source or sources¾from memory¾in your essay.
Your written book essay exam is expected to be WELL ORGANIZED and written on a collegiate level. ALL WORK IS EXPECTED TO BE GRAMMATICALLY CORRECT, demonstrating your ability to communicate effectively using standard written English in the fashion of an educated person. All words are expected to be SPELLED CORRECTLY. This requirement is one of the University of Kentucky and Lexington Community College. Please refer to Student Rights and Responsibilities (Revised June 6, 2000), Part 2, Section 5.2.4.3 for additional information, available at http://www.uky.edu/StudentAffairs/Code/.
This BOOK REVIEW ESSAY EXAM is worth 100 points.
PLAGIARISM is defined in Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 10th edition (Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1994), p. 888, as meaning “to steal or pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one’s own: use (a created production) without crediting the source” and also means “to commit literary theft: present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source.” Please keep this definition in mind as you prepare your book review, and for any other written assignments in my classes.
Attendance: Students will not be penalized for three (3) unexcused absences. A fourth unexcused absence will result in a grade-letter cut; a fifth unexcused absence an additional grade-letter cut, until by the seventh unexcused absence you will flunk the course. All absences that you would have counted as excused will require appropriate documentation
Work turned in late and unexcused will be penalized, the severity not less than a letter grade, up to and including a failing grade.
GRADING
Thus there are 400 points possible. Grades are based upon a 100-point scale, to wit:
90-100=A
80-89=B
70-79=C
60-69=D
Below 60 is an E, a failing grade.
RESERVING THE RIGHT TO GIVE A QUIZ AT ANY TIME, and exclusive of exercising that right, the anticipated total points possible is 600. Thus:
360-400=A
320-359=B
280-319=C
240-279=D
From 239 and below is an E, a failing grade.
In accordance with the college regulations governing Incompletes or the “I” grade at the end of the course, please note that such a grade will be given only when the student has been unable to complete a small portion of the course requirements and when, upon completion and in my judgment, the student can reasonably expect to pass the course. An “I” will never be given in lieu of a failing grade or when so much of the course has been missed that the student will have to attend the class in another semester.
CHEATING will result in the student being expelled from the class and failing the course. This includes anyone who employs PLAGIARISM in addition to any other form of cheating.
IMPORTANT NOTE: ALL assignments are REQUIRED. You must take both regular examinations, both book review exams, the Final Examination,and complete all other assignments made in order to pass the course.
WITHDRAWALS from this class may be made up the last day approved by the college. Please consult your registration materials, or the calendar of the college, for specific dates.
STUDY SUGGESTIONS: Students are advised to REGULARLY ATTEND CLASS, COPY MY OUTLINE OF THE LECTURE, TAKE GOOD NOTES, AND STUDY OUTSIDE OF CLASS. Statistics clearly show that the better the attendance, the better the grade, in most instances. Three or more absences are considered excessive in this class. Generally it is recommended that you spend about 7 to 10 hours per week studying outside of class for this course. You may record my lectures on tape, but you must also take notes if doing so. DO NOT SIT IDLY IN CLASS WHILE I LECTURE. TAKE NOTES. IT IMPROVES YOUR LEARNING OF THE MATERIAL.
Supplies should include sufficient paper, preferably in a college-ruled bound notebook, and a writing instrument, usually an ink pen, all needed for note taking. Also please purchase one examination book ("blue book"), available in the bookstore, for your book review essay test.
Please talk to me regarding any personal or family emergencies. If an illness or death or some other emergency arises that causes a student to miss a class assignment, a make-up time will be scheduled. Generally, any work to be made up must be completed in one week.
Class etiquette:
1. Please turn off all cell telephones, beepers, and any other similar items that might interrupt my lecture, class discussion, etc.
2. No eating in class.
3. Please raise your hand to ask a question.
4. Please respect your classmates and your professor.
5. Please do not talk while I am lecturing.
6. If you come to class late, DO NOT walk in front of your professor; take the first seat available in the class nearest the door.
Thank you.
Code of Student Conduct
All rules and regulations set forth in the current edition of the Students Rights and Responsibilities (Revised June 6, 2000) of the University of Kentucky and Lexington Community College will be followed in this course. It is the student’s responsibility to obtain a copy of the Students Rights from the LCC Admissions Office, Oswald Building 211.
Reasonable Accommodation
If you have a special need that may require an accommodation or assistance, please inform the instructor of that fact as soon as possible and no later than the end of the second class meeting.
EOA
The University of Kentucky is an Equal Opportunity Institution.
COURSE OUTLINE AND TENTATIVE LECTURE SCHEDULE:
The course outline is basically chronological with some more topically oriented lectures interspersed where I think it appropriate to promote a clearer understanding of the American story. For the most part, the course outline and lecture schedule follows the chapter outline in your Davidson, et al., textbook, Nation of Nations, volume 2. You should read the textbook chapters that correspond to the lectures, preferably in advance of the lecture covering that material.
TENTATIVE LECTURE SCHEDULE:
RECONSTRUCTION (textbook Chapter 18)
INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION (Chapter 20)
LABOR AND THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
AGRICULTURE AND THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
POLITICS, 1865-1900 (Chapter 22)
FOREIGN AFFAIRS, IMPERIALISM, AND WAR, 1865-1901 (Chapter 23)
THE WIZARD OF OZ MEETS WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN (Chapter 24)
PROGRESSIVISM
THEODORE ROOSEVELT, 1901-1909
WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT, 1909-1913
THOMAS WOODROW WILSON, 1913-1921
FOREIGN POLICY, 1900-1917
WORLD WAR I (Chapter 25)
POLITICS, 1921-1929 (Chapter 27)
SOCIETY OF THE ROARING TWENTIES (Chapter 26)
HERBERT HOOVER, THE GREAT DEPRESSION, 1929-1933 (Chapter 28)
FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT AND THE NEW DEAL
FOREIGN AFFAIRS, 1921-1941 (Chapter 29)
WORLD WAR II, 1941-1945 (Chapter 30)
COLD WAR, PART I, 1945-1974 (Chapters 31, 32, 33, 34, 35)
DOMESTIC AFFAIRS, 1945-1974
DISILLUSIONMENT, ECONOMIC UNCERTAINTY, 1974-1981
RONALD WILSON REAGAN, 1981-1989 (Chapter 36)
IN ADDITION. . . . . . .
ALWAYS FEEL FREE TO ASK ME QUESTIONS, BEFORE, DURING, OR AFTER CLASS, IN MY OFFICE, OR ELSEWHERE. I WANT YOU TO LEARN IN THIS CLASS. PLEASE KNOW THAT YOU ARE WELCOME AND THAT I WISH YOU A PLEASANT AND SUCCESSFUL EXPERIENCE IN THIS CLASS! GOOD LUCK!
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GENERAL EDUCATION COMPETENCIES
Strong reading and writing skills are necessary for successful completion of all the history courses offered at Lexington Community College. Students are expected to have, and to continue to develop, the ability to learn new ideas, to process them in relation to current knowledge, and to recombine them to form new ideas, products, or processes.
Learning experiences in this course therefore will provide students with opportunities to acquire and develop the following basic skills:
· Writing: communicating effectively using standard written English
· Reading: analyzing, summarizing, and interpreting a variety of texts
· Integrated Learning: thinking critically and making connections in learning across the disciplines
· Creative Thinking: elaborating upon knowledge to create new thoughts, processes, and/or products
· Ethics/Values: demonstrating an awareness of ethical considerations in making value choices
· Heritage/Humanities: recognizing the impact of decisive ideas and events in human heritage.