History 2620.

007
American History from 1865
Fall 2015 TR 9:30 a.m. 10:50 a.m.
Life Science Building A304
Instructor: William C. Yancey
Office Hours: TR: 8 a.m. 9 a.m.
Phone: ext. 4678

E-mail: WilliamYancey@my.unt.edu
Office: Wooten Hall 261

Course Description:
This course seeks to familiarize students with the major events in American History from
Reconstruction through the present day. We will focus on cause and effect relationships and how
broad historical trends affected the lives of everyday people, as well as how these historical
events continue to affect us today.
Required Texts:
Text: Brands et al, American Stories, Volume 2, 3rd Edition. Pearson, 2015.
(ISBN 10: 0-205-96090-1)
Reader: HIST 2620 Reader in American History, Hayden McNeil, 2015
(ISBN 978-0-7380-7465-8)
Attendance:
Class attendance is essential. Attendance will be taken each class session by sign-in sheet.
Make-up tests will only be given at the discretion of the instructor. If you know in advance that
you will miss a test or quiz, notify the instructor before missing that class. Make-ups must be
scheduled within 48 hours of the test or quiz missed and will be administered in the History Help
Center, Wooten Hall Room 220. You will have a maximum of one week to make up any test or
quiz missed.
Disability Accommodation (ADA):
The University of North Texas makes reasonable academic accommodation for students with
disabilities. Students seeking accommodation must first register with the Office of Disability
Accommodation (ODA) to verify their eligibility. If a disability is verified, the ODA will provide
you with an accommodation letter to be delivered to faculty to begin a private discussion
regarding your specific needs in a course. You may request accommodations at any time,
however, ODA notices of accommodation should be provided as early as possible in the semester
to avoid any delay in implementation. Note that students must obtain a new letter of
accommodation for every semester and must meet with each faculty member prior to
implementation in each class. For additional information see the Office of Disability
Accommodation website at http://www.unt.edu/oda. You may also contact them by phone at
940.565.4323.

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Tests:
There will be three exams including the final. The first three exams will be worth 100 points and
will consist of a combination of multiple choice, identification/significance and essay questions.
The final exam will be comprehensive and will be worth 200 points. I will drop your lowest test
grade, provided that grade is at least 30. Test questions will be based mainly on the lectures and
the reader. The dates for each test are listed in the course calendar below.
Make-up Policy:
Make-up exams will consist of all ID/SIG and essay questions. There will be no make-up exam
for the final. Any problems or issues with tests must be addressed by one week from the date the
test or quiz is returned. After that time has passed for each test or quiz, no adjustments will be
made.
Grading:
Test 1 100 points
90% = 360 points = A
Test 2 100 points
80% = 320 points = B
Test 3 100 points
70% = 280 points = C
Final Exam 200 points
60% = 240 points = D
500 Possible Points
239 points or less = F
(but one test will be dropped & grade is based on 400 points.)
Course Schedule:
This is an outline of our schedule with the corresponding readings for each lecture. This
schedule can be amended at any time.

Date

Lecture Topics

Chapters in American Stories

August 25, 2015

August 27
September 1
September 3
September 8
September 10
September 15
September 17

Introduction to Class
Reconstruction
Reconstruction, cont.
Industrialization, Urbanization & Labor
Industrialization, cont.; Taming the West
Gilded Age Politics & Rural Revolt
Gilded Age cont.; Jim Crow & Racism
Catch-up Day & Review for Test

Chapter 16
Chapter 16
Chapter 18
Chapters 17 & 18
Chapter 20
Chapters 19 & 20

September 22

Test 1 (Lectures Reconstruction

through Jim Crow & reader chapters
1 5)
Imperialism
The Progressive Era
Progressives, cont.; World War I & its
Aftermath
WWI cont.; The 1920s

September 24
September 29
October 1
October 6

Chapter 21
Chapters 22 & 23
Chapters 23 & 24
Chapters 24 & 25

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October 8
October 13
October 15
October 20
October 22
October 27
October 29
November 3
November 5
November 10
November 12
November 17
November 19
November 24 & 26
December 1
December 3
December 10

1920s, cont.
The Stock Market Crash, Great
Depression & New Deal
New Deal, cont.
Test 2 (Lectures Imperialism through
New Deal & reader chapters 6 10)
World War II
WWII, cont.
WWII, cont.; The Cold War
Cold War, cont.
Cold War, cont.; Post-War Adjustment
Post-War cont.
Catch-up Day & Test Review
Test 3 (Lectures WWII through PostWar Adjustment & reader chapters
11 15)
The Turbulent Sixties
NO CLASS
Sixties, cont.; Shaken to the Roots
Shaken, cont.; The Reagan Revolution
FINAL EXAM (Comprehensive over
lectures and reader chapters 16 20)
8:00 A.M. 10:00 a.M.

Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 26

Chapter 27
Chapter 27
Chapters 27 & 28
Chapter 28
Chapters 28 & 29
Chapter 29

Chapter 30
Chapters 30 - 31
Chapters 31 - 32

American History 2620 Student Learning Outcomes

1. Course Goal: Students will demonstrate an understanding of the facts and
chronology of the United States history from 1865 to the present.
1.1 Students will identify and understand the major eras in the United States
from 1865 to the present and describe their defining characteristics. By the end
of the semester students taking History 2620 will:
1.1.1. Identify the social, cultural, economic, and political changes and their
consequences in the United States during the Reconstruction era.
1.1.2. Identify the social, cultural, economic, and political changes and their
consequences in the United States during the New South era.
1.1.3. Identify the social, cultural, economic, and political changes and their
consequences in the United States during the Gilded Age.

1.1.4 Identify the social, cultural, economic, and political changes and their
consequences in the United States during the Progressive Era.
1.1.5 Understand the effects of reform and third-party movements and changes in
the United States political system.
1.1.6 Explain causes and consequences of late 19th century and early 20th century
economic modernization and expansion.
1.1.7 Understand the contribution of labor and immigrant groups to economic
modernization during the late 19th and early 20th century.
1.1.8 Explain the causes and consequences of U.S. imperialism and the nations
rise to world power status.
2.1. Students will know the significant events, individuals, and the social,
political, and economic changes that occurred in the United States from 1877
to the present. By the end of the semester students taking History 2620 will:
2.1.1. Understand the United States entry into World War I.
2.1.2. Identify the social, cultural, economic, and political changes of the 1920s.
2.1.3. Explain the causes and consequences of the Great Depression and New
Deal.
2.1.4 Understand the domestic and international impact of U.S. participation in
World War II.
2.1.5. Identify the significant events that occurred due to the United States entry
into the Korean War and Vietnam War.
2.1.6. Understand the impact of significant national and international decisions
and conflicts in the Cold War that affected the United States.
2.1.7 Trace the historical development of the Civil Rights Movements from 1877
to the present and understand the impact of the American Civil Rights
Movement.

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2.1.8

Identify the social, cultural, economic, and political changes and their
consequences in the United States during the late 20th century.

3.1. Students will demonstrate critical thinking and communication skills by

analyzing, synthesizing and evaluating historical information from multiple
sources. By the end of the semester students taking History 2620 will:
3.1.1. Students will apply historical methods to evaluate critically the record of
the past and how historians have interpreted it.
3.1.2. Students will organize and express their thoughts clearly both in written
and oral communication.