History
296.03: Modern American Presidents
Fall, 1999
The Syllabus
Seminar: Thursdays, 5:30 - 8:00
p.m.
Place: Ward 107
Click on these to navigate the web site for
History 296:
ABOUT THE COURSE:
The goals of this course are as follows: 1) to provide students with an
increased understanding of the history of the modern American presidency,
from Franklin D. Roosevelt to William Jefferson Clinton; 2) to help students
develop research skills that will allow them to continue to learn from
the past, a goal that includes increasing their familiarity with the AU
Library, the world wide web and other sources; 3) to help students learn
to better communicate their knowledge -- orally, in writing, and through
the medium of the world wide web; and 4) to help students develop an informed
understanding of historical practice -- the interplay of history and memory,
the role of evidence, how history is created or "constructed" by journalists,
historians, museum curators, film makers and many others.
Requirements: The
course is based on extensive readings, discussion, use of the AU library
and the world wide web. You will be expected:
-
to attend class regularly
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to keep up with all assigned readings
-
to complete all class assignments in a timely
manner
-
to actively participate in class discussion
-
to actively participate in the creation of a major
Team Project
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to take a final examination
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For more details, click on Assessment.
The Class Format:
1. Before each class, you will
be expected to complete the required readings and prepare a brief written
assignment. (For details, click on The
Assignments.) Your assignment should be posted to your Lotus
Notes Discussion Group no later than the Sunday preceding Monday's class.
(For details on how to do this, click on Using Lotus
Notes.)
2. At the beginning of each class we
will attempt to place the president under study in broad historical perspective:
his early life, how he came to power, the challenges he faced, his major
accomplishments, etc. During the second half of the class, we will
discuss one or more major issues facing that president.
Two Important Notes:
1)
The class will require some use of computers: the syllabus is posted on
"the Web"; the class will utilize the virtual group discussion features
of Lotus Notes; the final Team Projects will take the form of web sites.
You do not need to be a computer expert to succeed in this course.
You do need to be willing to work hard and learn how these new technologies
can assist classroom learning.
2) The class will involve some group
work: the class will be divided into teams, each of which will be responsible
for two class presentations and one final Team Project. Collaborative
work can sometimes be very demanding and not all students enjoy working
in teams. You don't have to be a social butterfly to do well in group
settings; you do need to be prepared to work hard on both the course content
and the dynamics of your group.
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to top of Syllabus
REQUIRED
READING:
Michael P. Riccards, The Ferocious Engine of Democracy:
A History of the American Presidency, Theodore Roosevelt Through George
Bush
This is the second volume of a history of the presidency.
Each week, you will read a chapter from it for background and context on
the particular presidency under study.
Robert Griffith (ed.), Major Problems in American History since 1945
(1992), various articles.
You are NOT required to purchase this book.
Only six chapters from it will be assigned. Individual chapters will
be made available through the AU Library's Electronic
Reserve.
Various articles and chapters from books will also be made available
on reserve.
RECOMMENDED READING:
Paul S. Boyer, Promises to Keep: The United States since
World War II (2nd edition, 1999). An excellent survey textbook
that covers the broad history of the United States since 1945.
William Leuchtenberg, In the Shadow of FDR: From Harry Truman
to Ronald Reagan (1983)
See also the suggestions for further reading at the end of the assigned
chapters from Major Problems in American History since 1945,
as well as the lists of recently published studies posted with many of
the individual assignments.
THE
SCHEDULE
Click here to navigate the Schedule:
Thursday, September 2:
Introduction to the Class
Thursday, September 9: Franklin
D. Roosevelt
Lecture: Franklin Roosevelt and the
Origins of the New American Order
Discussion: Roosevelt and the New Deal
For an outline, click on Franklin
D. Roosevelt and the New Deal.
Assignment
One: Due Wednesday, September 8. For details, click on About
Assignments.
Required Reading:
Michael P. Riccards, The Ferocious Engine of Democracy,
pp.
127-150.
William Leuchtenberg, The
Legacy of Franklin D. Roosevelt -- an essay by one of the nation's
most distinguished Roosevelt scholars.
Recommended Reading:
William Leuchtenberg, Franklin
D. Roosevelt and the New Deal
Patrick Maney, The Roosevelt presence :
a biography of Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Steve Fraser and Gary Gerstle (eds.), The
Rise and Fall of the New Deal Order
Links: Guide
to Web Resources
Return to Top of Schedule
Thursday, September 16:
Franklin D. Roosevelt (II)
Lecture: Franklin Roosevelt and World
War II
Discussion: Roosevelt and WWII
Assignment
Two: Due Wednesday, September 15.
LOTUS
NOTES NOW READY. You may now post your papers to the Lotus Notes
Discussion Groups. For a reminder of how to do this, click on About
Lotus Notes.
Required Reading:
Riccards, The Ferocious Engine of Democracy,
pp.
151-203.
Richard W. Steele, "Franklin D. Roosevelt and His Foreign Policy
Critics," in Political Science Quarterly (Spring, 1979), 15-32.
Robert Dallek, "Franklin Roosevelt as World Leader," American
Historical Review (December, 1971), 1503-1513. (A review article.)
John W. Jeffries, "The 'New' New Deal: FDR and American liberalism,
1937-1945," Political Science Quarterly (Autumn, 1990), 397-418.
NOTE: All three journal articles may be read in the Library, or on-line
via the AU Library's JSTOR Database.
Recommended Reading:
Robert Dallek, Franklin D. Roosevelt
and American Foreign Policy, 1932-1945
Frank Freidel, Franklin D. Roosevelt
Warren F. Kimball, Forged in War: Roosevelt, Churchill, and the
Second World War
Gerhard L. Weinberg, A World At Arms
John Blum, V Was For Victory
Roger Daniels, Prisoners Without Trial
Links: Guide
to Web Resources
Return to Top of Schedule
Thursday, September 23:
Harry S. Truman
Lecture: Harry S. Truman, the Cold War and the Origins of
the National Security State
Discussion: Harry Truman and the Atomic Bombing of Japan
Assignment Three: Due Wednesday,
September 22
Required Reading:
Riccards, The Ferocious Engine of Democracy,
pp.
205-236.
Griffith, Major Problems in American History (chapter 2 and
chapter 3). (Available by clicking on the Library's Electronic
Reserves.)
Recommended Reading:
Alonzo Hamby, Man of the People
Michael Hogan, A Cross of Iron: Harry S.
Truman and the Origins of the National Security State, 1945-1954
Melvyn P. Leffler, A Preponderance of Power:
National Security, the Truman
Administration and the
Cold War
Links: Guide to Web
Resources
Return to Top of Schedule
Thursday, September 30: Dwight
D. Eisenhower
Lecture: Truman, Eisenhower and the Forging of Postwar
America
Discussion: Eisenhower and the Corporate Commonwealth
For an outline, click on American
Politics, 1945-1960.
Assignment Four: Due Wednesday,
September 29
Required Reading:
Riccards, The Ferocious Engine of Democracy, pp.236-258.
Griffith, "Forging America's Postwar Order: Domestic Politics and
Political Economy in the Age of Truman," in Lacey (ed.) , The Truman
Presidency (chapter 2); and Griffith, "Dwight D. Eisenhower and the
Corporate Commonwealth," in the American Historical Review (1982),
87-122.
(Both articles are available by clicking on the library's Electronic
Reserves) A slightly abridged version of the Eisenhower article is
available in Griffith, Major Problems in American History since 1945,
pp. 177-197. It can also be accessed through the AU Library's JSTOR
data base.
Recommended Reading:
Steven Ambrose, Eisenhower: Soldier
and President
Fred I. Greenstein, The Hidden-Hand Presidency:
Eisenhower As Leader
Herbert Parmet, Eisenhower and the American
Crusades
Links: Guide to Web
Resources
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Thursday, October 7: John
F. Kennedy
Lecture: John F. Kennedy and the New Frontier
Discussion: Kennedy, Cuba and the Cuban Missile Crisis
Assignment Five: Due Wednesday,
October 6
For background on the Cuban Missile Crisis, click on The
United States and Latin America.
Required Reading:
Riccards, The Ferocious Engine of Democracy,
pp. 258-278.
Griffith, Major Problems in American History since 1945, chapter
6. (Available by
clicking on the Library's Electronic
Reserves.)
Recommended Reading:
James N. Giglio, The Presidency
of John F. Kennedy
Mark White (ed.), Kennedy: The New Frontier
Revisited
For books on the Cuban Missile Crisis, see
above, Major Problems,
pp. 302-303. For recently published
books, click on Recent Books on Cuba and the Cuban
Missile Crisis.
Links: Guide to Web
Resources
Return to Top of Schedule
Thursday, October 14:
Lyndon Baines Johnson (I)
Lecture: Lyndon Johnson and the Great Society
Discussion: Lyndon Johnson and the Great Society
Assignment Six: Due Wednesday,
October 13
Required Reading:
Riccards, The Ferocious Engine of Democracy,
pp.
278-286.
Griffith, Major Problems in American History since 1945, chapter
7. (Available by
clicking on the Library's Electronic
Reserves.)
Recommended Reading:
John A. Andrew, Lyndon Johnson
and The Great Society
Robert Dalleck, Flawed Giant: Lyndon B.
Johnson, 1960-1973
Bruce J. Schulman, Lyndon B. Johnson and
American Liberalism
For additional reading, see Major Problems,
pp. 351-352, and Recently Published Studies
on the Great Society and the Welfare State.
Links: Guide
to Web Resources
Return to Top of Schedule
Thursday, October 21:
Lyndon Baines Johnson (II)
Lecture: Lyndon Johnson and the War in Vietnam
Discussion: Vietnam
Outline: The United States and Vietnam
Assignment Seven: Due Wednesday,
October 20.
Required Reading:
Riccards, The Ferocious Engine of Democracy,
pp.
286-298.
James S. Olson and Randy Roberts, "Planning a Tragedy," Where
the Dominos Fell: America and Vietnam, 1945-1990, chapter 5. (Available
by clicking on the Library's
Electronic
Reserves.)
Recommended Reading:
Larry Berman, Lyndon Johnson's War: The Road to Stalemate
in Vietnam
Lloyd C. Gardner, Pay Any Price: Lyndon Johnson and the Wars
for Vietnam George C. Herring, LBJ and Vietnam: A Different Kind
of War
Michael H. Hunt, Lyndon Johnson's War: America's Cold War Crusade
in Vietnam
Herbert Y. Schandler, Lyndon Johnson and
Vietnam
For additional recently published books on
Vietnam, click on Recently Puablished Studies
on the United States and Vietnam.
Links: Guide
to Web Resources
Return to Top of Schedule
Thursday, October 28:
Richard M. Nixon and Watergate
Lecture: Richard Nixon and the Crisis of the Cold
War Presidency
Discussion: Nixon and Watergate
Assignment Eight: Due Wednesday,
October 27.
Required Reading:
Riccards, The Ferocious Engine of Democracy,
pp.
299-362.
Griffith, Major Problems in American History since 1945, chapter
12. (The latter is available by clicking on the Library's
Electronic
Reserves.)
Recommended Reading:
William C. Berman, America's Right
Turn: From Nixon to Reagan
Mary C. Brennan, Turning Right in the Sixties
William P. Bundy, Tangled Web: The Making
of Foreign Policy in the Nixon Presidency
Stanley Kutler, The Wars of Watergate
For additional readings, see Major Problems,
pp. 592-593. For recent works on Watergate, click on Recently
Published Studies on Watergate.
Links: Guide to
Web Resources
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Thursday, November 4:
Reagan and the "Reagan" Revolution
Lecture: Forging the New American Order
Discussion: The Political Economy of the New Era
Assignment Nine: Due Wednesday,
November 3.
Required Reading:
Riccards, The Ferocious Engine of Democracy,
pp.
362-384 (Carter) & 384-403 (Reagan)
Griffith, Major Problems in American History since 1945, Chapter
14; and
Daniel Yergin and Joseph Stanislaw, Commanding Heights, Chapter
12.
(Both available by clicking on the Library's Electronic
Reserves.)
Recommended Reading:
William C. Berman, America's Right
Turn: From Nixon to Reagan
Thomas Byrne Edsall & Mary D. Edsall,
Chain
Reaction: The Impact of Race, Rights and Taxes on American Politics
For additional readings, click on Recently
Published Books on the Presidencies of Reagan, Bush and Clinton.
Links: Guide to
Web Resources
Return to Top of Schedule
Thursday, November 11:
George Bush and the New World Order
Lecture: From Reagan to Clinton: Forging the New World Order
Discussion: The New World Order
Assignment Ten: Due Wednesday,
November 10.
Required Reading:
Riccards, The Ferocious Engine of Democracy,
pp.
403-418.
Griffith, Major Problems in American History since 1945, Chapter
15;
Thomas L. Friedman, "Manifesto for the Fast World," The New York
Times Magazine (March 28, 1999), 40-44, 70-71; and Benjamin R. Barber,
"Jihad vs. McWorld," The Atlantic Monthly (March, 1992), pp. 53-63.
(Available by clicking on the Library's Electronic
Reserves.)
Recommended Reading:
For additional readings, click on
Recently
Published Books on the Presidencies of Reagan, Bush and Clinton.
Links: Guide to
Web Resources
Return to Top of Schedule
Thursday, November 18:
Workshop on Team Projects
Tuesday's class will include workshops
in the AU Library, where you will learn to find materials that relate especially
to this course, and in the University's New Media Center, where you will
learn some of the skills necessary to produce your Team Project as a web
site. For details, click on AU
Library and New Media
Center. Attendance at these workshops is mandatory. For
details, see Team Projects.
Tuesday, November 23:
William J. Clinton and the "Post-Modern" Presidency
Required Reading: TBA
Recommended Reading: TBA
For additional readings, click on
Recently
Published Books on the Presidencies of Reagan, Bush and Clinton.
Links: Guide
to Web Resources
Return to Top of Schedule
Thanksgiving
Vacation
Thursday, December 2:
Presentation of Team Projects
FINAL EXAMINATION:
December 16: 5:30 - 8:00 WARD 107
Web page created by Robert Griffith
Last Updated, November 2, 1999
Address comments to bgriff@american.edu