El Paso Community College

Spring 2017 Syllabus

Course Number and Instructor Information:
SUBJECT: HIST 1302 History of the US since 1877
CRN: 24949
INSTRUCTORS NAME: Rebecca Rusek
EMAIL: rarusek@episd.org
Room: Room 111, Austin High School
Tutoring hours: 4:00-4:30pm M,T,W,Th, or by appointment
Textbook: Give Me Liberty!: An American History (Seagull Fourth Edition) (Vol. 1), Eric Foner, W.W. Norton and
Company, 2014.

Conference Period: 8th period

Website: rusekworld.weebly.com; Assignments posted to schoology.com
I.

Catalog Description:

Surveys the social, political, economic, cultural, and intellectual history of the United States from
the Pre-Columbian era to the Civil War/ Reconstruction period. United States History I includes
the study of pre-Columbian, colonial, revolutionary, early national, slavery and sectionalism, and
the Civil War/ Reconstruction eras. Themes that will be addressed in this course include:
American settlement and diversity, American culture, religion, civil and human rights,
technological change, economic change, immigration and migration, and creation of the federal
government.
II. Learning Outcomes:
a. Upon successful completion of this course, students will:
b. Create an argument through the use of historical evidence.
c. Analyze and interpret primary and secondary sources.
d. Analyze the effects of historical, social, political, economic, cultural, and global forces on
this period of United States history.
III. Text and Materials
a. TEXT: Give Me Liberty!: An American History (Seagull Fourth Edition) (Vol. 1), Eric Foner, W.W. Norton and
Company, 2014.

i. Keeping up with the required reading is necessary for success in this class. It is a
college level course, and as such, there will be more required reading than an on-level
High School class. You will be expected to have read the days assigned reading
BEFORE coming to class.
ii. Additional Readings will be assigned throughout the semester, and will be posted to
schoology.com.
b. MATERIALS:
i. Single subject notebook
ii. Kleenex/ Tissue Paper
iii. Laptops (school issued)
iv. Pencils or pens
IV. Evaluation:
a. Coursework = 50%
b. Midterm and Quizzes = 20%
c. Final = 20%
d. Discussion = 10%
e. Grade distribution:

90-100
80-89
70-79
65-69
65 and
below

A
B
C
D
F

f.

Quizzes will be given at instructors discretion Questions will come from readings,
lectures, and class activities.
g. Classwork Classwork may be completed in class or as homework depending on the
assignment length, and can include a variety of activities including notes, outlines, group
discussions, group presentations, individual presentations, etc.
h. Final Exam Final exam is comprehensive and can include anything taught within the
semester.
V. Instructors Policies:
a. Student Responsibilities: Students enrolled in this class are accepting the responsibility of a
college level course, and the accompanying expectations. It is the responsibility of the
student to come to class on time and prepared. It is also the responsibility of the student to
learn and participate in class discussions. Students are responsible for their own success in
this class.
b. Scholastic Dishonesty/ Cheating
i. For the purposes of this class, cheating includes:
1. copying another students work
2. allowing another student to copy your work (this includes work on
assignments, tests, and quizzes).
3. Copying and pasting work from online sources
4. Using unauthorized reference material (websites, notes, or textbooks) during a
test or quiz.
ii. Consequences for cheating may include any combination of the following:
1. Zero for the assignment
2. Referral
3. Parent-Teacher Conference
c. Technology - Students may only use technology during class with teachers permission.
Failure to do so will result in a warning, phone call home, and eventually loss of technology
privileges.
d. Late Work/ Absences It is the students responsibility to get assignments following an
absence. Students are expected to comply with assignment deadlines. Work submitted
after the due date may not be accepted. If it is accepted, it will be subject to grade
reduction.
VI. Calendar *** The Instructor reserves the right to make changes to the following Tentative
Schedule:
Week
1-2

Dates
January 10-20

Chapter
16

January 23-27

17

Gilded age,
westward
expansion
Populism, Jim
Crow, New
Nativism,
American
Imperialism

January 30 Feb 3

18

5
6

Feb 6-10
Feb 13-16

19
20

7
8

Feb 21-24
Feb 27-March 3

21
22

9
10
11
12
13

March 6-10
March 13-17
March 20-24
March 27-31
April 3-7

23
SPRING BREAK
24
25
26

14

April 10-13

27

15

April 17-21

28

16
17 - 18

April 24-28
May 1-5, 8-12

STATE TESTING
FINALS Week for
EPCC (May 8-May
12)

The Progressive
Era
WW1
Roaring 20s, Great
Depression
The New Deal
WW2
1950s
1950s
The 1960s
Vietnam,
Watergate,
Reagan,
conservatives Rise
Globalization,
Clinton, economic
changes
9/11, War on
Terror, Bush,
Obama
Review
FINALS

VII.Course Objectives
A. Unit One: Politics, 1877-1900
1. Discuss American domestic and foreign policies from post-Reconstruction to end of the
century.
2. Discuss the rise of the American farm movement and how political issues reflected social
and economic changes.
3. Analyze the social, political, and economic implications of the westward movement of
the United States from post-Civil War to end of the century.
4. Examine federal Indian policy from military, political, and diplomatic perspectives.
B. Unit Two Evolution of the Industrial United States, 1870-1900
1. Explain how the rise of corporations, heavy industry, and mechanized farming
transformed the American people.
2. Analyze the massive immigration after 1870 and how new social patterns, conflicts,
political philosophy and ideas of national unity developed amid growing cultural diversity.
3. Discuss the rise of the American labor movement and how political issues reflected
social and economic changes.
4. Discuss the rise of the American farm movement and how political issues reflected social
and economic changes.
5. Examine federal Indian policy and United States foreign policy after the Civil War.
C. Unit Three The Emergence of Modern America, 1900-1930
1. Analyze how Progressives and others addressed problems of industrial capitalism,
urbanization, democracy, and political corruption.

2. Describe the changing role of the United States in world affairs through World War I.
3. Explain how the nation changed from the end of World War I to the eve of the Great
Depression.
D. Unit Four The Great Depression and World War II, 1929-1945
1. Explain the causes of the Great Depression and how it affected American society.
2. Discuss how the New Deal addressed the Great Depression, transformed American
federalism, and initiated the welfare state.
3. Analyze the causes and course of World War II, the character of the war at home and
abroad, and its reshaping of the U.S. role in world affairs.
E. Unit Five The United States in the Post-World War II Era, 1945 to early 1970s
1. Examine the economic boom and social transformation of postwar United States.
2. Describe how the Cold War and conflicts in Korea and Vietnam influenced domestic and
international politics.
3. Analyze United States domestic policies after World War II.
4. Discuss the struggle for racial and gender equality, other reforms [such as
environmentalism] and the extension of civil liberties.
F. Unit Six Contemporary United States, 1968 to the Present
1. Explain recent developments in foreign and domestic politics.
2. Discuss economic, social, and cultural developments in contemporary United States