You can e-mail me if you have any questions about this material or class.
Syllabus (.pdf format)
Please complete this before class on 7 February.
A generation which ignores history has no past and no future. - Robert A. Heinlein
He who controls the past controls the future. He who controls the present controls the past. - George Orwell
Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. - George Santayana
Chronological Snobbery: "the uncritical acceptance of the intellectual climate common to your own age and the assumption that whatever has gone out of date is on that account discredited."- C.S. Lewis
Shelton State's library catalog
The University of Alabama Library catalog
Wikipedia An online encyclopedia, with articles created and edited by volunteers. Although an occasional rogue will deface an article, Wikipedia is still a great place to start your research.
I've used these books for lecture material. They're arranged in chronological order by topic.
Edward L. Ayers, et. al. American Passages: A History of the United States, Compact Second Edition (Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth, 2005). This is the course textbook. Most of the lecture materials come from this book except for materials on World Wars I & II and the Vietnam War. Those books are listed below.
James L. Stokesbury, A Short History of World War I (New York: HarperCollins, 1981).
James L. Stokesbury, A Short History of World War II (New York: HarperCollins, 1980).
Stanley Karnow, Vietnam: A History (New York: Penguin Books, 1983).
Important Dates for this class:
13 January |
Last day to drop/add |
15 February |
Midterm |
22 February |
First Essay |
7 March |
Second Essay |
13 March |
Third Essay |
11 April (18 April) |
Research Paper Due |
9 May |
Final exam 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. |
Read this before beginning and writing your first essay.
Essay 1
George Santayana said, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." Did Wilson forget his history regarding the Treaty of Versailles? Using specific examples from the lecture tonight, do you think Santayana is right? Hint: Remember the European wars we discussed tonight and their effect on the end of World War I.
Essay 2
You're Herbert Hoover, President of the United States. The country is plunging into depression. Based on the class discussions last night, how do you fix it? What do you do to pull the nation out of depression? I'm not looking for a policy paper, so you don't have to write more than the 4-page limit.
Due 7 March.
Essay 3
The U.S. played a leading role in World War II and emerged from the War as a global leader, economically and militarily. Should the U.S. have continued to play this role, or should the nation have retreated behind the oceans as after World War I? Is it beneficial that our nation continued to engage the world? Why or why not?
The following topics are approved for your research paper. The paper is to be 5 to 10 pages long and formatted MLA style.