Course Outline for History 8
U.S. History Since Reconstruction

Effective: Fall 2019
SLO Rev: 12/05/2018
Catalog Description:

HIS 8 - U.S. History Since Reconstruction

3.00 Units

A survey of United States history from 1877 to the present with a special emphasis on the interaction amongst and the experiences of diverse racial/ethnic (African Americans, European Americans, Native Americans, Chicano/Latino Americans, Asian Americans, and Middle Eastern Americans), gender and socioeconomic groups in American History. Includes analysis of (1) the U.S. Constitution as a living document in the context of historical change, and (2) significant issues related to California state and local governments.
2205.00 - History
Letter Grade Only
Type Units Inside of Class Hours Outside of Class Hours Total Student Learning Hours
Lecture 3.00 54.00 108.00 162.00
Total 3.00 54.00 108.00 162.00
Measurable Objectives:
Upon completion of this course, the student should be able to:
  1. explain the causes of the expansion of industrial capitalism, economic transformations of the 20th century, and analyze the effects of economic changes, major social and cultural developments, and their effects on women, gender roles, working class relations, racial/ethnic minority groups, U.S diplomacy, and their historical significance;
  2. demonstrate an understanding of the crisscrossing dynamics of race, ethnicity, gender, religion, class and other analytical categories in American society, and assess the impact of these dynamics on U.S. political institutions, laws, and electoral politics;
    A. outline and discuss contributions and experiences of racial/ethnic, gender, and social groups in the development of U.S. political, economic, cultural and social institutions; discuss interactions among these groups; evaluate the role of geography in the context of economic and political change;
    B. identify and analyze the major periods of social change from Reconstruction to the present; evaluate the roots of reform and any long-term consequences for U.S. society;
    C. trace the evolution of U.S. foreign policy and its impact on U.S. society and the world;
    D. discuss the power and limitations of federal court decisions in advancing civil rights of women, racial and ethnic minorities, and gender groups, and in redefining citizens' due process rights,
    E. evaluate 20th Century amendments to the California state Constitution and state legislation which have had a significant impact on both California and national policies;
  3. demonstrate an understanding of America's geographic growth, and growing influence and power, in global context;
  4. explain the major economic, technological and scientific developments and their historical significance;
  5. identify and analyze the major trends in politics, political attitudes and conflicts, through both mainstream events and reform movements, and explain their historical significance;
  6. analyze the relevance of history in today's world;
  7. demonstrate the ability to interpret primary and secondary sources and to compose an argument which uses them, as appropriate, for support.
Course Content:
  1. The Emergence of Modern America, 1865-1900
    1. The rise of industrial capitalism and corporate America; the effects of economic transformation on various socioeconomic classes, racial/ethnic minorities, and women
    2. The rise of the city and the creation of a national urban culture
    3. Immigration: the experiences and contributions of diverse Europeans, Asians and Latinos in various geographic regions of the U.S.
    4. Challenges to government and corporate power, resistance and reform; the Chinese in California, African American leadership & protest, Native American resistance in the West, revolts in the workplace, women reformers, the populist revolt and its effect on the U.S. and on California state and local government
    5. U.S. imperialism and the Spanish-American-Cuban-Filipino War; critics of imperialism
  2. Progressivism at Home/Colonial Competition and Revolution Abroad, 1900-1929
    1. The Progressive era: migration and immigration from southern/eastern Europe, Mexico, and Asia; Chinese Exclusion Act; reform and radical politics; progressive amendments to the California state constitution; women suffrage movement; expansion of national power
    2. The upheaval of war and revolution abroad; the U.S. and World War I; domestic consequences of mobilization and participation; the Great African American Migration; expanding workplace roles for women
    3. The 1920s and the coalescence of “modern” America; consumer culture; the decline of reform; reactionary impulses (the KKK, nativism); black nationalism; the Harlem Renaissance; development of California and the West; the alliance of business and politics
  3. Economic Depression, World War II, and Rise of U.S. Hegemony, 1929-1953
    1. Economic collapse, the Great Depression, the New Deal; migrations; the emergence of a new political coalition; the rise of the labor movement
    2. The United States and World War II; radical, reactionary and moderate responses to economic depression in the world; U.S. mobilization for war; the military-industrial complex; California and defense industries; the role of women in factories and in the war; Japanese internment; the bracero program; the Double-V campaign; moral and ethical issues of the war
    3. The roots and nature of the Cold War; global destruction and political vacuums; class conflicts; the rise of the national security state; containment; colonialism; anti-communist hysteria; “hot” wars in Greece, Korea, etc.
  4. Post-War America, 1953-1979
    1. Cold War American Culture: economic growth, baby boom, conformity; race, class, and domesticity; the “feminine mystique”; the Civil Rights movement; rebellious youth and counter culture; mobilizations for peace and the environment
    2. The Longest War: the U.S. in Vietnam; the social, political, and economic consequences; the Warren Court; the Great Society; the anti-war movement
    3. The New Left; from civil rights to Black Power; women’s liberation movement; conservative backlash
    4. The 1970s: liberation movements emerge for Chicanos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, women, and Gay/Lesbian Americans; the Black Panthers;  Cesar Chavez and the farmworkers movement; détente and Watergate; changing meanings of equality under the law
  5. A Nation of Immigrants, the Global Economy, 1979-2017
    1. The Cold War returns as Reagan revives anti-communism; Iran and Afghanistan; “Reaganomics” and attack on the Welfare State; the environment under siege; the rise of the religious Right; cultural conflict; new immigration; the Iran-Contra scandal; the U.S. as “global policeman”
    2. Post-Cold War America; decline of labor unions; growing gap between rich and poor; diversity: values in conflict; domestic terrorism; Clinton presidency v. the “Republican Revolution” 
    3. Globalization
    4. 21st Century, global war on terror, global change
Methods of Instruction:
  1. Appropriate multimedia material (various audio-visual, internet sites, film, etc.)
  2. Lecture/Discussion
  3. Diagnostic Quizzes
  4. Group Presentations
  5. Distance Education
Assignments and Methods of Evaluating Student Progress:
  1. Small group discussions an assigned topics.
  2. Keep a written journal focusing on a topic from the course content.
  3. Research internet web sites to collect information on topics within the scope of the course, and analyze the information.
  4. Write a 5-6 page critique of a film or book pertinent to the course.
  5. Quizzes and exams on textbook and lecture content.
  6. Essay exams.
  1. Class Participation
  2. Papers
  3. Exams/Tests
  4. Oral Presentation
  5. Journals
  6. Research Projects
  7. Final Examination
Upon the completion of this course, the student should be able to:
  1. synthesize factual information and historical evidence from a variety of sources and identify the connections between them;
  2. demonstrate a body of knowledge about and critical understanding of historical eras, their key events and ideas, and the process of change over time;
  3. analyze the causes and consequences of political, economic and social change.
Textbooks (Typical):
  1. Jacqueline Jones, et al (2016). Created Equal: A Social & Political History of the United States Volume II (4th). Longman.
  2. Roark, Robert et al (2017). The American Promise (7th). Bedford-St. Martin's.
  3. Howard Zinn (2010). A People’s History of the United States Harper Perennial.
  4. Unger, Irwin (2016). American Issues: A Primary Source Reader in U.S History Vol 2 (5th). Pearson.
  • As determined by instructor.
Abbreviated Class Schedule Description:
A survey of United States history from 1877 to the present with a special emphasis on the interaction amongst and the experiences of diverse racial/ethnic (African Americans, European Americans, Native Americans, Chicano/Latino Americans, Asian Americans, and Middle Eastern Americans), gender and socioeconomic groups in American History. Includes analysis of (1) the U.S. Constitution as a living document in the context of historical change, and (2) significant issues related to California state and local governments.
Discipline:
History*