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HISTORY 271 (Fall '09) - United States History Since 1865 
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History 271 - United States History Since 1865 Dr. Brad Reynolds Introduction This syllabus is for you if you are taking a lecture course with Dr. Brad Reynolds called United States History Since 1865 at Cal State Northridge. (If you are viewing this online prior to the start of class, then please note that this subject to change! It does not become "official" until the first day of class!) Below is a description of this course. When you go to "Instructor" you will learn a little about Dr. Reynolds and get information on how to contact him. If you go to "Syllabus" you will find out about course texts, goals, assignments, meeting dates, policies, grading, and readings, and you will find a list of the essay exam questions. If at anytime you want to check on your grade, or have a question about the course, please contact Dr. Reynolds. If you do not hear back from him within two days, please try contacting him again, preferably via email on the third day at breynolds@csun.edu. (If that address does not work you can try breynolds1@ymail.com or drbradreynolds@gmail.com, but please do not send the same email to all three addresses at the same time. Thanks!) If you would like to talk to any of the other students in your class via the web regarding the class material, or to perhaps form a study group, you can enter the Discussion Area and do a posting. You can also use the Discussion Area to ask a question of Dr. Reynolds so other students, who might have the same question, can benefit from the answer. But don't forget that if you have a personal question for Dr. Reynolds, like something about your grade, you should email him directly. (Please note that when you go to the Discussion Area it will ask you for a password and login. So, the first thing you should do is go to www.bradreynolds1.pageout.net, click open your Course Web Site (History 271), and then click on the top left of the page where you see Student Registration. There you can create your own login and password for accessing the Discussion Area.)
Course Description
This course aims to acquaint you with the broad historical trends and the continuing controversies in American history since the end of the Civil War in 1865. It should help you realize that there are many ways to look at and respond to events. In so doing, the hope is that you will better understand the present so you can better shape the future. In order for you to understand and appreciate the course information more, you should stay current with the news of the day by regularly reading a newspaper or other news source and by attending class. You should also keep current with the reading assignments. By the end of this course it is expected that you will know why the United States failed to reconstruct the Union as a truly democratic republic following the Civil War, what the struggle has been for civil rights, why and how the West was settled during the four decades following the Civil War and what impact that had on the U.S. economy and on the people of the West (especially the Native Americans), why and how the U.S. expanded into various parts of the world in the latter half of the nineteenth century and fought a war with Spain, why and how the United States became an industrial giant at the turn of the twentieth century and the impact that has had on the American people and government, why and how the U.S. became the world’s leading military power in the early twentieth century and has retained that title, how the U.S. has dealt with rapid economic take-off and then economic depression, why the United States fought two world wars in less than twenty-five years during the first half of the twentieth century, how a hatred for communism dominated American foreign policy for over four decades, how important social changes over the last fifty years have (and are) creating forces that will either make America still stronger in the new century or will tear it asunder, and how the war on terrorism has affected American policy both at home and abroad. For a more complete list of the lecture topics for this course, please take a look at the Table of Contents in your assigned texts, which are listed below in the Syllabus section.
This class will proceed as follows. You are expected to attend lecture three hours a week to learn about the main topics covered in this class. You are then expected to read the assigned books to prepare for your exams and homework assignments which are discussed on the following pages. If at anytime you have any questions, never hesitate to contact Dr. Reynolds at breynolds@csun.edu. Welcome to the class!
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