History 357 Office:
UC 526
Fall 2003 Phone:
422-6231
Prof: Andrew R. Heinze Hours:
TTh 11-12
heinzea@usfca.edu and
by appointment
Topics in American Foreign Policy Since 1840
In
the “post-September 11 world” the superpower status of the United States is
more consequential than ever. This course will examine how and why the U.S.
became a world power.
Our
historical survey begins with the massive territorial expansion of the 1840s –
the era of Manifest Destiny – and takes us through the Cold War of the 1940s-1980s,
concluding with an overview of the Middle East in American foreign policy.
We will cover the following topics: Indian Removal, the Mexican-American War, the Spanish-American and Filipino-American Wars, World Wars I and II, the Korean and Vietnam Wars, the diplomacy of Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson and Franklin Roosevelt, the origins and dynamics of the Cold War, and U.S. relations with Israel and the Arab & Muslim world.
1. H.W. Brands, The United States in the World (volume 2)
2. Thomas G.
Paterson & Dennis Merrill, Major
Problems in American
Foreign
Relations (volumes 1
& 2)
3. Bernard
Lewis, What Went Wrong?
Attendance at each class meeting is
mandatory. (The only
excusable absence from any class session is for a medical or family emergency
and requires documentation.)
Five
short examinations = 50% of grade
Final
paper = 40% of grade
Class
participation = 10% of grade
The five short examinations will take place at the start of class every Tuesday from Week 3 through Week 7: Sept. 9, 16, 23, 30 and Oct. 7. Each examination will cover the work of the previous week.
The portion of
the grade devoted to class participation will include both attendance and
contributions to class discussion.
The principal
goals of History 357 are:
1) to provide the factual knowledge and
interpretive ideas necessary for
understanding major issues in American foreign affairs
2) to illustrate how historians do their
job of interpreting important events in the history of American foreign affairs
The intellectual
excitement of the class will depend largely on the dedication of each student.
Therefore it is essential that you be prepared to discuss the entire reading
assignment by Tuesday, even though I will usually devote part of our Tuesday
meetings to a short lecture. Most of the time I will lead discussions. Often I
will start class by posing questions.
3. Please do not eat during class.
4. You may bring beverages into class.
5. Do not read extraneous items (e.g. the newspaper) during class.
6. Be interested. (Your
education depends entirely on your attitude.)
1. Ask questions. There are no stupid questions. (There are lazy
questions; know the difference.)
2. Do not be afraid to question the ideas of your teacher or your
classmates.
3. When you do, be courteous about it.
Syllabus
Week 1 Aug 28
Introduction.
Week 2 Sept 2 & 4
Expansionism
and Indian Removal
Read Paterson, v.1, Ch. 7.
Week 3 Sept 9 & 11
Mexican-American
War
Read Paterson, v.1, Ch. 8.
Week 4 Sept 16 & 18
Spanish-American-Filipino War
Read
Brands,
pp. 1-21; Paterson, v.1,
Ch.11 & 12.
Week 5 Sept 23 & 25
Theodore
Roosevelt and World Power
Read Brands, pp. 21-43; Paterson, v.1, Ch. 14.
Week 6 Sept 30 & Oct 2
Woodrow
Wilson and World War
Read Brands, Ch. 8; Paterson, v.1, Ch. 15.
Week 7 Oct 7 & 9
F.D.R. and
the Origins of World War II
Read Brands, pp. 89-154; Paterson, v.2, Ch. 4.
Week 8 Oct 14 & 16
F.D.R. and
Wartime Diplomacy
Read Brands, pp. 154-179; Paterson, v.2, Ch. 5.
Week 9 Oct 21 & 23
Origins of
the Cold War
Read Brands, Ch. 11; Paterson, v.2, Ch. 6.
Week 10 Oct 28 & 30
The Korean War
Read Brands, pp. 211-220; Paterson, v.2, Ch. 8.
Week 11 Nov 4 & 6
The Vietnam War
Read Brands, pp. 270-282, 309-315, 321-326; Paterson, v.2, Ch. 11.
No Class
on Thursday
Week 12 Nov 11 & 13
The Third World & Cold War Diplomacy
Read Brands, Ch. 12, pp. 282-300, 334-357; Paterson, v.2, Ch. 13.
Week 13 Nov 18 & 20
The
End of the Cold War
Read Brands, pp. 300-309, 317-321, 326-334 & Ch. 15.
No Class on Thursday
Week 14 Nov 25
The End of
the Cold War
Read Patterson,
v. 2, Ch. 14.
Week 15 Dec 2 & 4
America in
the Age of Jihad
Read Lewis, What
Went Wrong? entire.
Week 16 Dec 9
Conclusion
Final papers are
due in my office by 5:00 P.M. on Tuesday, December 16.
If you had been
president, how would you have handled the major crises of foreign policy that
the U.S. has faced since 1940? Would you have acted similarly to whichever
president was in charge at the time, or would you have made different
decisions? Why? If you would have pursued a different course, what problems
might you have faced and how would you have coped with them?
(Basically, you
are being asked to assess how realistic and justifiable various foreign policy
decisions were.)
Organize your
paper in a way that will allow you to give the most comprehensive overview
possible of U.S. foreign policy since 1940. You will have to focus on certain
events rather than others, so you must first decide which ones you consider the
most important. (One way to do that is to ask yourself, which were the best
U.S. actions -- those that produced the greatest benefits -- and which were the
worst -- the ones that did the most long-term damage?)
You should
make it clear in your paper why you have chosen the events or policies you will
focus on (so that your choices will not seem arbitrary).
Because this is
a history paper, you are not expected to talk about current events although you
may address post-Sept. 11 policies briefly if you’d like to. You should extend
your discussion at least through the early 1990s so as to include the Persian Gulf
War, but you may devote most of your paper to the years between 1940 and 1990.
Your paper
should be 12-15 pages long, double-spaced with a 12 pt. font and normal
margins. Please make sure you double-space (i.e. do NOT use 1.5
spacing).
Your paper will
be evaluated according to the strength of your reasoning (have I explained my
position well?) and the depth of your arguments (have I supported my position
with pertinent evidence?).
This paper is
due in my office by 5:00 P.M. on Tuesday, December 16.
Good luck!
(Don’t wait until the eleventh hour to get started.)