Modern U.S. History

 “Where one stands depends on where one sits.”

                                                                                                                             Anonymous       

“History,” Henry Ford declared, “is bunk.”  Many professional historians would agree, insofar as history reflects the biases and perspectives of “winners”-- kings, presidents, corporate executives and others who observe the past through the lens of their current, triumphant position.  These “winners” have influenced greatly the writing and teaching of history.

The challenge facing modern students is to recognize the importance of perspective in the study of history, and to seek wisdom through the incorporation of a diverse array of sources and standpoints. 

Upon completion of this course, students will be able to 1) explain how an evolving capitalism and international events have influenced the history of the United States; 2) assess the roles that different kinds of people (race, class, gender) have played in the development of the history of the United States; 3) integrate knowledge of how diverse men and women, collectively as well as singularly, helped to shape the changes which define the United States in the modern world; and 4) demonstrate the ability to differentiate between the often controversial nature of U.S. history and historical interpretations. 

This course carries general education credit and fulfils goals one through four of G.E. objectives.   This is also listed as an Ethnic Studies category “B” course and carries global perspectives credit. 

1.         Introduction:  The Robber Barons and the Robbed:  The Economics of the Gilded Age 

2.         Paralysis and protest: Politics in the Gilded Age          

3.         “A taste of empire”:  Foreign policy and the new imperialism.                  

4.         The paradox of progressivism.                                                                                   

5.          Neutrality and hostility:  World War I.            

6.          America and the consumer culture           

7.         “Carrying out reform (on a stretcher)”?   FDR and the New Deal.

8.         Four Freedoms, one war:  World War II.

9.         “To err is Truman?”:  America in the postwar era. 

10.       The struggle for civil rights.           

11.      Militarism and its limits:  The war on Vietnam.   

13.      Reaction

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