US History II

Welcome to the final unit of our class. We start off with a look at the 1960s – 1970s, an era of liberal idealism, political activism, global conflict, and rapidly changing American society. Reminder that the Constitutions Module #3 is open until 11:59 pm on May 1.

Mon, April 15: No Class, University Holiday

Wed, April 17: Reading Ch 26, up to p. 871

Links for today:
1960 Election Map
Eisenhower’s Farewell Speech – January 17, 1961
JFK’s Inaugural Speech – January 20, 1961
Port Huron Statement from Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), 1962
1964 Election Map
1968 Election Map
1972 Election Map

Fri, April 19: Reading Ch 26, rest of the chapter

Handout: Your Questions from Wednesday, Answered

Mon, April 22: Document Workshop, The 1960s + The New Right and its Critics. Bring book to class.

Study Questions for Chapter 27

Wed, April 24: Reading Ch 27, whole chapter. PSA #7 due by classtime.

Fri, April 26: Last in-person class meeting; wrap-up on the 1970s and the rise of conservatism. From here on out, our classes will take place ONLINE ONLY.

Welcome to HI 112 US History II for Spring 2019. This course meets LASC requirements for USW or Constitutions. We meet MWF 9:30 am in Sullivan 314.

You will study broad themes in the history of modern America, including race and ethnicity, immigration, social and political reform, contested meanings of freedom, industrialization, cycles of prosperity and recession, popular culture, modernity, and rights movements.

You will improve your ability to think historically through critical analysis of primary and secondary sources; set events, documents, and people in their historical contexts; and craft your own interpretations from the “raw material” of the past.

If your prior experience in history courses involved a lot of memorization of facts and dates, then you will find this course to be very different. The goal is for you to actively DO history, not passively learn about history.

In addition to Blackboard I use this website to organize our course and its materials. Please bookmark it. Older material is from previous semesters; you can ignore anything not tagged “Spr19.”

The required textbook is Nancy A. Hewitt and Steven F. Lawson, Exploring American Histories: A Brief Survey With Sources, Volume 2 Since 1865 (Bedford / St. Martins) 2nd edition ISBN 978-1457694714. Please make sure you get Vol 2 and the 2nd Edition.

I look forward to meeting you on January 23rd. If you have questions in the meantime, feel free to reach out by email at thangen @ worcester.edu.

Exam #4 will take place on Monday, May 14 at 8:30 am in the Eager Auditorium. As before, you may bring 1 8.5×11″ notes page.

Study Guide here

Welcome back from Spring Break! This week we will study World War II (Chapter 23), and your Evidence-Based Paper is due on Friday, March 30. Next week we explore how the Cold War began (Chapter 24). The Unit 3 test is on Monday April 9 in Sullivan Room 320.

You don’t need to bring your book to class on our two Document Workshop days – I’ll have documents to hand out in class for us to work from.

Handout: Chapter 23 Questions (World War II)

Handout: Atlantic Charter / Everybody’s War (Mon, March 26) – Link to Film “Everybody’s War“. Link to “The Power of Art” about the Guernica painting

Handout: Executive Order 9066 (Wed, March 28)

Links: 99% Invisible Podcast “Manzanar” on Japanese internment camps; VE Day from BBC (1945, as read in 1995, 10 min); End of WW2 (AP Archive, 3 min); American Experience, “America and the Holocaust” (1.5 hours)

Handout: Chapter 24 Questions (Cold War)

Exam 3 Study Guide – Exam is on April 9 in Room S-320

The University will be closed on Wed, March 7 due to snow. Continue reading →

We all love a good snow day! But a snow day on the first day of class is a little disappointing since we won’t meet together in person until Friday 1/19 and I don’t want us to get too far behind. So, please – today, take care of these tasks: Continue reading →

Welcome to HI 112 US History II for Spring 2018. This course meets LASC requirements for USW or Constitutions.

You will study broad themes in the history of modern America, including race and ethnicity, immigration, social and political reform, contested meanings of freedom, industrialization, cycles of prosperity and recession, popular culture, modernity, and rights movements.

You will improve your ability to think historically through critical analysis of primary and secondary sources; set events, documents, and people in their historical contexts; and craft your own interpretations from the “raw material” of the past.

If your prior experience in history courses involved a lot of memorization of facts and dates, then you will find this course to be very different. The goal is for you to actively DO history, not passively learn about history.

In addition to Blackboard I use this website to organize our course and its materials. Please bookmark it. Older material is from previous semesters; you can ignore anything not tagged “Spr18.”

The required textbook is Nancy A. Hewitt and Steven F. Lawson, Exploring American Histories: A Brief Survey With Sources, Volume 2 Since 1865 (Bedford / St. Martins) 2nd edition ISBN 978-1457694714. Please make sure you get Vol 2 and the 2nd Edition.

I look forward to meeting you in Spring; if you have questions in the meantime, feel free to reach out by email at thangen @ worcester.edu.

In this unit, we look at the last 4 decades of the 20th century. Often the 1960s are treated as a uniquely important turbulent decade, preceded and followed by quieter times in US history. Is that accurate? As you read these chapters, keep in mind how things change — and also how they don’t! Continue reading →

Over the next two weeks, we’ll study the dramatic changes that happened in the United States between 1916 and 1932. The newly-militarized U.S. joined a global conflict and sought to be a world leader in its postwar resolution; the nation shifted towards cultural and political conservatism and xenophobic nativism partly in response to the influx of foreign-born; and it became a more “modern” nation in many new and measurable ways. Continue reading →

For Monday, Jan 30
Foner’s chapter 17 explores four interrelated movements that all happened within the last decade of the 19th century — all of which had deep and lasting consequences for the start of the 20th century: the rise of Populism; establishing Jim Crow racial segregation across the South; clashes over immigration, women’s rights, and labor; and American imperialism and war. Continue reading →