History 573 – U.S. 1877-1929

Syllabus and Survival Guide

Fall 2021

Wednesday 7:00 pm – 9:45 pm, 109 Sagebrush Hall

 

 

Instructor

 

Dr. Thomas W. Devine

Email: tom.devine@csun.edu

Campus Office: 624 Sierra Tower

Office Hours: Mondays 2:00-3:00 (via Zoom), Wednesdays 2:00-3:00 (via Zoom and face to face), 5:30-6:30 (face to face) and by appointment gladly given.

 

Reading

 

The following books – listed in the order in which we will read them – can be purchased on line or borrowed from either the campus library or the Los Angeles Public Library. Any other readings will be posted on the web syllabus. To to save yourself some money, you should consider buying used copies of the books. You are likely to find copies at significantly lower prices at the following websites: www.bookfinder.com or www.amazon.com.

 

·         Glenn Porter, The Rise of Big Business, Third Edition

·         Charles Postel, Equality: An American Dilemma, 1866-1896

·         Jon Grinspan, The Age of Acrimony: How Americans Fought to Fix Their Democracy, 1865-1915

·         Edward L. Ayers, The Promise of the New South: Life After Reconstruction*

·         James Barrett, The Irish Way: Becoming American in the Multiethnic City

·         Rosanne Currarino, The Labor Question in America: Economic Democracy in the Gilded Age

·         Janet M. Davis, The Circus Age: Culture and Society Under the American Big Top

·         Frederick E. Hoxie, Talking Back to Civilization: Indian Voices from the Progressive Era

·         Benjamin Heber Johnson, Revolution in Texas: How a Forgotten Rebellion and its Bloody Suppression Turned Mexicans into Americans

·         Natalia Molina, Fit to be Citizens?  Public Health and Race in Los Angeles,1879-1939

·         David Von Drehle, Triangle: The Fire That Changed America

·         Christopher CapozzolaUncle Sam Wants You: World War I and the Making of the Modern American Citizen

·         Kevin Boyle, Arc of Justice: A Saga of Race, Civil Rights, and Murder in the Jazz Age

·         Linda Gordon, The Second Coming of the KKK: The Ku Klux Klan of the 1920s and the American Political Tradition

·         Joshua Zietz, Flapper: A Madcap Story of Sex, Style, Celebrity, and the Women Who Made America Modern

 

* It is fine to purchase the condensed version of this book: Edward L. Ayers, Southern Crossing: A History of the American South, 1877-1906

 

Spirit of the Course

 

This course will offer an interpretive survey of political, economic, cultural, and social trends in the United States between 1877 and 1929. If all goes according to plan, you will leave in December with a broader and deeper knowledge of the events of this period and their significance in shaping present day U.S. society. It is my hope that you will also finish the course with something more: a rich sense of the “fabric” of this era – a feel for how people lived their daily lives, the tragedies they suffered, and the triumphs they celebrated; an appreciation for the ideas, ideologies, fads, and follies that intrigued and seduced them; an understanding of the problems and tough decisions that confronted both everyday people and top policy makers; and, perhaps most importantly, a recognition of the contingencies of history and an empathy for the historical actors who benefited from or fell victim to these contingencies.

 

I have made a special effort to assign readings that represent the latest (if not always the most widely held) views on various topics. You will notice that the readings throughout the course come from various ideological and political perspectives. I encourage you to be critical of both the readings and what I say in class when you find the arguments expressed to be unpersuasive.

  

Themes

 

Though we will be covering a wide variety of topics, there are certain themes that we will be revisiting throughout the course of the semester:

 

·         the effects of industrialization, immigration, and urbanization on the nation’s economic and political development

·         the changing relationship over time between government and individual citizens

·         changing attitudes regarding race, gender, and the rights of the individual versus the rights of the group

·         the effect of social crises such as war and depression on American life

·         the ongoing struggle to balance liberty and equality within a democratic context

·         the factors accounting for the rise and fall conservative and progressive social movements

·         disputes among Americans over what constitutes a “good society”

 

You will also have the opportunity to follow the historiography that has developed around the topics we will explore. Though the emphasis of the course will not be on historiographical issues, I will introduce and we will all discuss scholarly controversies where appropriate.

 

Grading & Deadlines

 

Class Participation                                                   --30%

Oral Presentation                                                    --10%

Analytical Essay 1                                                    --15%

Option A [due Saturday, Sept. 25th]

Option B [due Saturday, Oct. 30th]

Analytical Essay 2 [due Saturday, Dec. 12th]           --15%

Semester Project                                                      --30%

Draft [due November 28th]

Final [due December 20th]

 

Note that written assignments are not due on the days we meet in class. They can be sent to me as email attachments.

 

Explanation of Requirements

 

Completing the Reading

There’s no getting around it – this class requires a lot of reading.  But, as a Masters level seminar, it is supposed to. To succeed in this course, you will need to complete the reading, but you will also need to have given it some thought. Read with a pencil in hand – take notes in the margins. Record terms that are unfamiliar to you or concepts that you don’t understand, points that you find interesting or surprising, arguments with which you strongly agree or disagree, methods of research or analysis that seem especially creative or insightful (or misguided and unpersuasive), or ideas that connect to things we’ve talked about in previous classes. Also, read smart – don’t read every single word of the first 4 chapters and nothing thereafter because you ran out of time. If you catch the argument the author is making, don’t sweat all the details or supporting examples – skim over them and get on to the next major point. It is more important to get a good sense of an entire book than to master every aspect of the first one-third of it.

 

Participation in Discussion

This is a seminar-style course in which active participation in the weekly discussions is crucial to the class’s success. Our meetings will be conversations – free, open, and informal exchanges of ideas based on the assigned readings – and I expect everyone to take part. I will do my best to insure each student has ample opportunity to contribute, but, ultimately, it will be up to you to make certain that you remain an active participant rather than a passive observer. I evaluate participation based on quality, not quantity. At times, recounting an anecdote or a personal experience can shed light on a concept covered in the reading, but be aware that it is easy to overdo this. “Quality” participation demands keeping your comments grounded in the reading.

 

Leading Discussion

One person will be responsible for leading the discussion each week. That person will compose a list of 8 questions that address the major themes and issues raised each of the assigned readings for the week. Well-formulated questions will open up discussion and allow for various points of view. They should not intrude the questioner’s own opinion or quiz people on specific facts to which there is only one answer (“guess what I’m thinking questions”). Each discussion leader should meet with me briefly to go over his or her questions. (This exchange can also be done via email or Zoom.) The discussion leader should submit his/her questions to me at least 24 hours before the seminar meets so I can distribute them to everyone via email attachment. Your leading of discussion will not receive a grade per se, but will be taken into account in the calculation of your participation grade. As leader, you must do more than simply read each question aloud and let others talk. Rather, take an active part in facilitating the discussion by indicating how various comments are related, occasionally summarizing what has been said, and reminding the class how the various comments contribute to answering your original question. When necessary, guide everyone back to the text and the question at hand if you believe the discussion has gone on a tangent. You should also be “reading” the room – make sure everyone gets a chance to speak and, when recognizing people, favor those who have not spoken yet ahead of those who have already contributed. Resist the urge to answer your own questions since that is the fastest way to shut down discussion. If you believe the class has missed pertinent points, phrase follow-up questions that are likely to extract these points without tipping your own hand. If you have never led a discussion before, or would like some helpful tips on doing so, I encourage you to meet with me ahead of time. Though it would be helpful if you had already formulated some of your questions before we met, this is not necessary.

 

Précis

One person will be responsible for producing a single-spaced 2-3 page précis of the readings for each week. Please adhere to this page limit. Your précis should be a summary rather than a review – focus on what the book says and how it says it rather than giving your own assessment. Your précis should identify the book’s central arguments, briefly note how it is organized, indicate the kinds of sources employed and how the author uses them, and summarize the main points of each chapter (or group of chapters, if that seems more appropriate). The person who writes the précis should email me a copy 24 hours in advance of the seminar. I will look it over, make any appropriate edits, and send it to the rest of the class the night before we meet. This assignment, too, will not receive a grade per se, though in calculating your participation grade, I will take into account the quality of and amount of effort you appear to have put in to your précis. If there are readings beyond the main book, you should summarize them as well.

 

Oral Presentation/Written Critique

One person will be responsible for producing a 1500-word critique of the assigned reading each week. This may be handled in one of four ways:

1) a summary of the book’s critical reception and your own assessment of it

2) a historiographical review that explains where the assigned book or articles fit within the existing secondary literature (you might counter pose the assigned reading against a book or article that takes a contrary point of view).

3) a brief essay that focuses on a particular theme or argument in the week’s reading that you found especially interesting and wanted to explore further in other sources.

4) a report grounded in primary sources in which you discuss whether the sources you examined led you to the same kinds of interpretations that the author offers.

 

I can provide you with both primary source suggestions and historiographical background, so don’t hesitate to ask. At some point during class, usually right after the break, you will have the floor to present your findings and field questions from the class. Please do not read your critique verbatim or read to the class the text you have put on a series of Powerpoint slides. That said, you should feel free to include an audio-visual component if you think it would enhance your presentation. Your presentation should last 15 minutes. I will not allow you to go beyond 20 minutes, so be sure you know ahead of time how long your presentation will run. The written critique will be due a week from the date of your presentation. Your grade will be based on the written product (2/3) and the quality of your oral presentation (1/3). The quality of an oral presentation is judged on how organized, informative, and prepared you are in your delivery. The written critique will be graded the same as any paper. 

 

Analytical Essays

These two 1500-word assignments will give you the opportunity to respond to a specific question in a concise, tightly argued essay. You will have several topics from which to choose. I will distribute the topics ten days before the paper is due. If you wish, you may do both first paper options and I will count the higher grade. Please submit the paper to me via email on the day it is due.

  

Semester Project

Select a topic from the period covered in the course that you find to be of interest and familiarize yourself with the secondary literature that has been written on it. You should choose a topic narrow enough that you are able to master a good deal of the scholarship over the course of 8-10 weeks. For example, “World War I” is too broad; “Reasons for U.S. entry into World War I” is more manageable. “Nativism and Immigration” is too broad; “Origins and Legacy of the 1924 Immigration Act” is better. I recommend drawing on a variety of book chapters and articles. When you have completed your reading, write a 3500-word essay (approximately 12 pages) in which you indicate how historians have treated the topic – what have been the main areas of emphasis and/or contention among scholars who write on your topic? To what extent have historians’ views on your topic changed over time? How has the scholarly conversation on your topic proceeded and what factors have caused historians to come to differing points of view or to reach some sort of consensus or “conventional wisdom”? In addition to addressing the historiography of your topic, you should provide your own assessment of the scholarship. After reading the literature pertinent to your topic, what conclusions do you draw?  Which scholars’ work is most compelling to you and why?  How would you synthesize the various scholarly views you have read to present your own interpretation? The more sources you incorporate, the more thorough your essay will be. So as to prevent you from putting this assignment off until the last moment, we will approach it in a three-step process.  At week five (September 29), I will ask for a tentative annotated bibliography and a one-page status report which you offer your early impressions on how scholars have approached your topic and what some of the emphases and issues of contention have been. During weeks nine and ten, I will hold extra office hours so each student can meet with me to discuss his or her topic. At this point, you should have completed nearly all of the reading for your project and be well on your way toward completing a first draft. I highly recommend submitting a complete draft on November 28th. Though this is not required, having the chance to respond to my comments is likely to improve the finished product. 

 

Surviving History 573… 

 

Attendance

Since class meets only once a week, it is important, and it is expected, that you will be at every session. Inevitably, an occasion may arise when you are unable to attend. To make up for a missed class, you may submit written responses to any four of the eight discussion questions (the total of the four responses not to exceed 1500 words). These will be due in class one week after the class you missed. Missing four or more classes will have a significant negative effect on your grade.

 

Problems

I appreciate that most CSUN graduate students are stretching themselves quite thin, often working full time or raising kids while taking classes at night. If you are feeling overwhelmed, find yourself falling behind, or are having any problems outside of class that are adversely affecting your performance in class, be sure to let me know. If you need advice on how to improve your performance, ask for it. Do not wait until the end of the semester when it will be too late. I am more than willing to work with you to insure you “survive,” but I need to know you are having difficulties.

 

Masks

In these crazy times, wearing a mask could quite literally ensure your survival in History 573. Please keep your mask on (covering your nose and mouth) while you are in the classroom.

 

Discussion Topics and Assignments

 

Schedule

 

Sept. 1           Introduction

                       

Sept. 8           The Emergence of Corporate Capitalism

                        Reading: Porter, The Rise of Big Business

David Nasaw, “Gilded Age Gospels”             

                                                     

Sept. 15         Confronting Inequality in the Gilded Age

                        Reading: Postel, Equality: An American Dilemma

 

Sept. 22         Good Government vs The Popular Will: Democratic Politics after the Civil War

                        Reading: Grinspan, The Age of Acrimony

                   

Sept. 29         The Jim Crow South – Reconstruction or Retrenchment?

                        Reading: Ayers, The Promise of the New South [or Southern Crossing]

Due in Class: Annotated bibliography and a one-page status report on your Semester Project   

 

Oct. 6             Urbanization and Immigration

                        Reading: Barrett, The Irish Way

 

Oct. 13           “What Does the Worker Want?” – Control vs Consumerism

Reading: Currarino, The Labor Question in America

William Dean Howells, “Are We a Plutocracy?” [1894]

 

Oct. 20           “The Greatest Show on Earth:” Industrialization, Modernization, and Popular Culture           

                        Reading: Davis, The Circus Age

 

Oct. 27           “Beyond Wounded Knee” – Native American Histories in the Gilded Age and Progressive Era

                        Reading: Hoxie, Talking Back to Civilization

Alexandra Harmon, “From Dispossessed Wards to Citizen Activists: American Indians Survive the Assimilation Policy Era”

                       

                        Extra office hours scheduled to discuss your semester projects

 

Nov. 3            Pluralism in the Progressive Era

                        Reading: Johnson, Revolution in Texas

                                   

Extra office hours scheduled to discuss your semester projects

 

Nov. 10          Citizenship and Public Health in the Multi-Ethnic City

                        Reading: Molina, Fit to be Citizens?

 

Nov. 17          Labor, Gender, and Working Conditions in the Progressive Era

                        Reading: Von Drehle, Triangle

 

Nov. 24          The Expansion of the American State during the Great War

                        Reading: CapozzolaUncle Sam Wants You

 

Dec. 1            “Jim Crow North” – Race and Housing Discrimination in the Rust Belt

                        Reading: Boyle, Arc of Justice

 

Dec. 8            “Normalizing Nativism” – The Tribal Twenties

                        Reading: Gordon, The Second Coming of the KKK

 

Dec. 15          Ain’t We Got Fun?” – Cosmopolitan Women in “The New Era”

                        Reading: Zeitz, Flapper