Course:  History 497 U.S. Diplomatic History, 1898-Present

Location:  SS143

Time:  TR  9:30-10:45

Office Hours:       MWF 9:00-10:00
                             TR      11:00-12:00
                             Or by appointment

Office:  SS127

Phone Number: (903) 468-3262

FAX:  (903) 468-3230

E-Mail: Nick_Sarantakes@tamu-commerce.edu
 

Course Objective:
This course will examine the history of American foreign policy over the past hundred years.  At the end of the semester, the student should have a good, in-depth understanding of the main issues which have driven America’s interaction with the world and which Americans have confronted.  The main focus of this course will be traditional diplomatic activity.  Other factors that play a supporting role in this class are economics, national strategy, domestic politics, intelligence and espionage operations, ideology, personalities, and the historical understanding of the historical actors.

Success in this class will require more than just a mastery of factual information.  Students must show analytical and critical thinking skills, which show they understand the significance of events and their connection to one another.  The most common way of expressing these skills is through classroom participation and the composition of exam answers.
 
EXCET Competencies Objectives
Another objective of this course is to prepare students to take the EXCET exam.  A passing score on this exam is required to obtain a teaching certificate in the state of Texas.  This course will provide students with information to meet the requirements of two of the 37 EXCET competencies.
 

Competency 030:  The United States as a world power
The exam taker should understand the political, economic, religious, and military motivations for late-nineteenth century U.S. imperialism; identify major U.S. interventions, occupations, and annexations; and analyze the experience of the U.S. as a colonial authority; understand the factors encouraging and discouraging  U.S. entry into foreign conflicts, recognize the political and diplomatic factors influencing U.S. participation in the world wars, evaluate the effect of each war on U.S. politics and society; and analyze the reasons for the preeminence of the United States at the end of World War II.
 
Competency 032:  Major developments since World War II
The exam taker should demonstrate an awareness of the national and international political developments, and social movements and controversies affecting the United States since 1945; identify the effects of the Cold War on U.S. politics and foreign relations; analyze the impact of the Vietnam War on U.S. domestic life and foreign policy; evaluate the economic developments such as the growth of multinational corporations, the shift from manufacturing to service, and the globalization of the U.S. economy.

Testing:
There will be there exams worth 100 points each and a fourth of the final grade for the course.  Half of each test will be an objective exam.  The other half will be an essay.  Each will be worth 50 points.  In order to allow the student to answer the questions to the best of their ability, the test taker will be allowed to take the essay portion home for two school days.  Each exam will cover a third of the course.  Questions will come from both the assigned texts and classroom discussions.
 
Research Project:
        The research project will be worth 100 points and a fourth of the final grade for the course. The purpose of this project is to give the undergraduate student here at Texas A&M—Commerce some experience in conducting historical research.  Students are to find and copy three editorial or political cartoons of Richard Nixon during the time he was President of the United States (1969-1974).  The topic of these cartoons must be some issue related to foreign policy. On a cover sheet, which you should attach to the illustration, include the exact title of the newspaper, the date, and page number on which the cartoon appeared.  The Gee Library here at Texas A&M—Commerce has a decent selection of newspapers from all or part of th
period that Nixon was in the White House, including: The Washington Post, The Dallas Morning News, The New York Times, The Christian Science Monitor, Ft. Worth Star-Telegram, Chicago Tribune, The Houston Post, Los Angeles Times, The Dallas Times Herald, The Wall Street Journal, and the New Orleans Times-Picayune.  Students may not turn in more than one cartoon from The New York Times and one from The Washington Post.
 
        Students should also include a 2 to 3 page paper on how the cartoonist(s) and paper(s) presented Nixon and critiqued his foreign policy as presented in these drawings.

         Uses indexes as guides to find material.  The New York Times, The Christian Science Monitor, and The Wall Street Journal are indexed for the entire period of Nixon’s presidency, and are quite good.  The staff of  The Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, New Orleans Times-Picayune, and Los Angeles Times started indexing their papers during the second half of the Nixon presidency, but these indexes leave something to be desired.  All of these indexes are available in the reference room of Gee Library. There are several ways to find material in one of these regional papers.  You can use the Public Papers of the President series to find out when Nixon gave a speech in a particular American city, or you can pick a key date or period and make spot checks in various papers to see if a political cartoon appeared in the paper.

        The copies should be as clean, and free from dust and scratch marks as possible so that copies can be made of the photocopy.  If you make copies at the Gee Library, the cost is $.10 per copy.  The library staff makes the copy for you and requires a cover sheet with the name of the publication, title of the article, date and page number.  Students should be aware that there is a time delay in making copies, and should not wait until the last moment.  If the staff is not able to process your request in time to meet the deadline for this project, you are the one who will suffer.

        Your findings will also have an impact and contribution. Next year the results of your research and those of  other students will be compiled into a web site to be based on the history department’s web server, which will be made available to historians working on Richard Nixon.  Students that furnish items to this project will be listed on the site as contributors.
 The due date for this project is 5 p.m. on February 12.
 

Grading:
Each exam is worth a third of the final grade.  The final grade will be the average of the three exams.
There will be no final comprehensive exam in this class.  Final grades will be determined on the following basis:
  -F-  59 or lower
  -D-  60 to 69
  -C-  70 to 79
  -B-  80 to 89
  -A-  90 to 100

Makeup Exams and Late Papers:
Due to the take home nature of the exams, there will be no opportunities for makeup exams and no projects will be accepted late.

Dropping the Course:
Students will be allowed to drop the course passing, regardless of grade, if they drop within seven days after the first exam is returned.  Students must contact the instructor to make sure the proper notation is in the grade book.

Books:
The books were selected because they represent several different, often conflicting, views of some important events in American diplomatic history.  Students should read each book for both the factual information it contains, but also for its thesis.  Make sure you have the correct edition and volume for each book.
 

(LG) Lewis Gould, The Spanish-American War and President McKinley

(G) John Lewis Gaddis, Strategies of Containment

(H) George C. Herring, America’s Longest War 3rd ed.
 

(PCH) Patterson, Clifford, and Hagan, American Foreign Relations, vol. II
 

Film:
This class will use one film: “Rough Riders,” Turner Studios, 1997.  This film has a very clear message, and will be a testable item.  Students should watch the film for its interpretation of the past, rather than as an artistic or factual presentation. In watching the film, students should pay attention to dialogue, but also remember that films also convey their message other mediums, such as: actor performance, sound, lighting, camera angle, and music.
 

    Date                                                         Topic                                                      Reading Assignment

Week of January 19	War with Spain	LG 1-53
Week of January 26	“Rough Riders”	LG 55-120
Week of February 2	“Rough Riders” and Foreign Policy in the Age of the First Roosevelt	LG 121-138
Week of February 9	Wilson and The First American Crusade: World War I; Cartoon Project Due (February 12)	PCH 79-105
Week of February 16	The Versailles Peace Treaty, and Test I (February 18)	PCH 105-122
Week of February 23	The Republican Era	PCH 129-147;  172-176
Week of March 2	Foreign Policy in the Age of the Second Roosevelt	PCH 176-201
Week of March 9	The Coming of War in Europe and with Japan	PCH 147-161
Week of March 16	Spring Break
Week of March 23	The Second Crusade: Wartime Foreign Policy and Test II (March 24)	PCH 206-257; G 3-24
Week of March 30	The Long Crusade: The Origins of the Cold War	PCH 265-306; G 25-88
Week of April 6	The Origins of the Cold War in Asia and the Korean War	H 3-45; PCH 316-327; G 89-126
Week of April 13	The Ike Age: When the Cold War Got Dangerous	H 46-119; PCH 327-365; G 127-197
Week of April 20	Vietnam	H 120-201; PCH 372-417; G198-273
Week of April 27	Vietnam	H 202-283; G 274-344
Week of May 3	Ebbing and Fading: The Last Years of  the Cold War and Test III (May 6)	H 285-321