Herkimer County Community College
College Now
American History II
HCCC Course # SS 122 3 Credits (3,0)
Spring Semester 2012
Syllabus Instructor: Mr. Henry http://TeacherWeb.com/NY/Laurens/Henry
Laurens Central School
Third Period 9:35- 10:15AM M-F
Room 117
e-mail: thenry@laurenscs.org
Course Description: This course is designed to examine the reconstruction of
the South, the effects of industrialization, the reform movements of the
Twentieth Century and the emergence of the United States as a world power.
Texts:
Brown and Shi. America: A Narrative History (Seventh Edition) (Volume One)
Ayers de la Teja, Schuzinger, and White. American Anthem
Stich. United States History & Government
Foresman. American Voices: A History of the United States
Barron’s. Let’s Review: U.S. History and Government (Optional)
Unlike traditional college classes the student will not have to purchase the
textbooks used in coursework. However, your textbook is your responsibility;
at the end of the year you will be responsible for turning in the textbook
that was assigned to you. The Foresman and Stich texts will not be signed out
but instead will be shared in the classroom from time to time. Please do not
take textbooks out of the class without permission. The Barron’s Review book
is often purchased to facilitate studying for the New York State Regent Exam.
It is an optional purchase and is not supplied by Laurens Central School. It
is an excellent practice and review book to be used all year long if so desired.
Web Page: The U.S. History and Government web page may be found at
http://TeacherWeb.com/NY/Laurens/Henry. The web page contains my schedule, the
HCCC American History II SS 122 Syllabus and more to come as I update it.
Course Subject Information
A variety of instruction methods shall be employed including, but not limited
to: textbook reading assignments and associated definition and questioning;
research and writing assignments; classroom lecture; group learning projects;
reading, evaluation and analysis of primary documents; evaluation and analysis
of songs and song lyrics that relate to U.S. history; evaluation and analysis
of movies that relate to U.S. history; evaluation and analysis of poetry and
literature that relate to U.S. history; evaluation and analysis of current
events; delivery of PowerPoint presentations; creation of PowerPoint
presentations by the student to instruct classmates, and more.
Grading Policies
Homework: Assignments will include homework from the text, worksheets, and
other various sources.
Quizzes Exams and/or Presentations: Quizzes, exams and presentations will be
given with appropriate notice and will include (but not be limited to)
multiple choice, True-False tests, essays, and other forms of assessment.
Details of presentations, group and/or individual, will be forthcoming.
Movie Review: Two critical movie reviews will be a segment of the course
assessment. The critical movie review will count as a test grade. Please refer
to the movie review handout for specific details.
“Not-so” Current Event: HCCC American History I students will periodically be
assigned “Not-so” Current Event research/essay assignments. This assessment
will count as a test grade and is carefully scrutinized according to the
Academic Honesty policy. The essay content will be assigned, and a specific
formatted paper will be provided to the student to prepare their work on. This
essay will be assigned approximately once a month.
No extensions will be given for assignments except for the extraordinary,
documented reasons. Late assignments will lose 25 grade points for each
class-meeting period they are late. All submissions will be in pencil or black
or blue ink. A penalty of 25 points will be given for noncompliance.
Grades:
Your grades will be determined as follows:
Homework and class work 40%
Quizzes, Exams, presentations, and movie reviews 40%
Final Exam 20%
Grade Scale: LCS % Grade = HCCC Letter Grade
100 A+
97 A
91 A-
88 B+
85 B
81 B-
78 C+
75 C
71 C-
70 D
Final Exam: The Final Exam will be assessed in the last week of the LCS Fourth
Quarter and will count as 20% of the final grade. There are no exemptions from
the final exam.
Course Calendar
All assignment dates are approximate and subject to change due to weather and
scheduling delays.
HCCC Week 1: Introduction to course and syllabus. Strategies of Reconstruction.
Southern post-war economy/carpetbaggers, scalawags. Election of 1876/end of
Reconstruction. Reconstruction Exam.
HCCC Week 2: Post Civil War Manifest Destiny/Westward expansion and its effect on
the American Indian. RR growth, transcontinental RR, new inventions
and influence, Edison.
HCCC Week 3: The Gilded Age: Giant corporations emerge. Monopolies, robber
baron/captain of industry. Teddy Roosevelt and influence of. Not-so CE
Quiz/essay.
HCCC Week 4: Imperialism: justification for expansion. Spanish American War,
yellow
journalism. Post Civil War/Gilded Age/Imperialism Unit test.
HCCC Week 5: Problems in Mexico, WWI: reasons that led to-America’s neutrality to
conflict.
HCCC Week 6: American home front in WWI: propaganda, financing, affect on
minorities.
HCCC Week 7: Wartime Constitutional issues: Selective Service Act, Eugene Debbs,
Schenck v. U.S., Abrams v. U.S., Wilson’s 14 Points and Treaty of Versailles.
WWI examination.
HCCC Week 8: Post WWI social unrest, inflation, strikes, red scare,
anti-immigrant
sentiment, racial tensions. 1029s America- KKK, fundamentalism v. science,
prohibition. Critical movie review/test due.
HCCC Week 9: 1920s woman's suffrage, supply and demand economics and the plight
of the American farmer in the 1920s. The affect of electricity, automobile,
and consumer products. Growth of advertising, pro sports
and film. Harlem Renaissance.
HCCC Week 10: Compare/contrast philosophies of government of Harding and
Coolidge. Peace efforts: Washington Conference, Kellogg Briand Pact. Tea Pot
Dome scandal. Laissez faire economy. 1928 election. Not-so CE Quiz/essay.
HCCC Week 12: The Great Depression: reasons for, Stock Market crash of 1929.
Hoover’s attempts to end downturn, Bonus Marchers. FDR and New
Deal legislation, first 100 days.
HCCC Week 13: Critics of the New Deal. Characteristics of organized labor in
the 1930s.
Lasting impact of New Deal legislation on America.
HCCC Week 14: WWII: isolationism to involvement. WWII geography- affected areas.
Allies v. Axis. Hitler, FDR, and Churchill. D-day invasion. Women’s
rights, Rosie the riveter.
HCCC Week 15: WWII atrocities of war: Holocaust, Rape of Nanking, Japanese
Internment camps, Korematzu v. U.S. Conclusion of WWII & outcome.
Conferences, U.N., alliances, debate of use of atomic weapon.
HCCC Week 16: Cold War: Causes, new geography, borders, spheres of influence.
Containment foreign policy-Greece and Turkey. Truman Doctrine, Marshall Plan,
division of Germany, alliances, Korea, Berlin Airlift, Vietnam, domino theory,
1948 election, fair deal, peacetime prosperity. American home front: “duck and
cover”, bomb shelter, McCarthyism, Not-so CE Quiz/essay.
HCCC Week 17: 1950s domestic policies, suburbanization, Eisenhower foreign
policy,
massive retaliation, John Foster Dulles, space race, Nixon Khrushchev, Kitchen
debate.
HCCC Week 18: 1960 election, TV debate, Kennedy Inauguration and “New Frontier”.
JFK assassination, 25th amendment. LBJ and the Great Society, Vietnam, Nixon
and 1968 election, silent majority, Watergate. Ford pardons Nixon. Critical
movie review/test due.
HCCC Week 19: 1970s: Carter and Camp David Accords, energy crisis, Iran hostages.
1980s: Regan, “the great communicator”, Reganomics, Star Wars defense.
Important Supreme Court Cases, the Warren Court. Review of themes of course
studies.
HCCC Week 20: 1990s: Bush, Clinton to current day. Preparation for Final Exam.
Cumulative Final Exam.
Classroom Policies
Attendance and Participation: The HCCC/LCS student is to be seated and
prepared for instruction when the late bell sounds per LCS policy found in the
Student Handbook. Late arrival may result in disciplinary action per the LCS
Student handbook guidelines. Students will hand in class work at the beginning
of each class, and be equipped with textbook, pen/pencil, and notebook. An
assignment is considered late if it is not turned in at the BEGINNING of
class. (Unless there is an acceptable reason.) Reading assignments are
essential for success in this class, and students must be ready to be involved
in class discussions, and demonstrate effort and attention in course work.
Administrative withdrawal/failure policy: Instructors may withdraw a student
for excessive absence, which is defined as failure to attend 20% or more of
the scheduled class sessions. Instructors who wish to withdraw students from
classes prior to the deadline for dropping full-semester classes will report
the grade of AW (administrative withdrawal.) Instructors who wish to withdraw
students from classes after the deadline for dropping full-semester classes
will report the grade of AF (administrative failure.)
Academic Honesty: You will be expected at all times to adhere to policies
concerning academic honesty outlined in the Laurens Central School Handbook.
HCCC Academic Honesty Policy states: “Academic honesty includes securing
information about the content of am examination prior to the scheduled time of
the examination; giving or receiving assistance during an examination; and
presenting as one’s own in reports, term papers, or other projects, any
expressions, quotations, or creative work of others without giving due credit.
Plagiarism and cheating are violations of the HCCC Student Code of Conduct.
The maintenance of academic honesty is the responsibility of both instructors
and students. Any written assignment submitted by a student must be of
original authorship. Representation of another work as his/her own shall
constitute plagiarism. Any charge of plagiarism shall be substantiated either
by a direct correlation between the original and the alleged plagiarized copy
or “clear and convincing.” Cheating shall be considered a violation and I
subject to the same penalties.
Penalties for Academic Dishonesty: Any plagiarized submission will receive an
automatic zero and absolute forfeiture of the grade percentage of the
assignment. Further action may or may not be taken including detention and
parental notification.