HI 372 Syllabus

HI 372: THE 20th CENTURY AMERICAN PRESIDENCY

Professor R. Samuel Deese Class Time: MWF 1-2PM
Department of History Location: COM 101
226 Bay State Road, Room 502
Office Hours: Wed, 2:30-4PM; Fri 2:30-4PM
Email: rsdeese@bu.edu
Tel: 353-8318


Requirements:

20% of grade Midterm, Oct. 10th
30% of grade Final
25% of grade 5-6 Page Primary Source Paper
25% of grade Attendance and Participation.

This course will focus on the changing institution of the presidency during the twentieth century. As it examines such pivotal administrations as those of TR, Wilson, FDR, LBJ, Reagan, and Bush (I & II), this course will pay special attention to the constitutional parameters of presidential power and the evolving concept of the “imperial presidency" over the past century. We will also consider how changes in our political culture, driven by the rapid evolution of new communication technologies, have affected the office of the presidency.

Attendance at all lectures is mandatory. Unless you have a documented medical or family emergency, you need to come to every lecture. Turn off all cell phones and electronic devices during lectures & discussions.


IMPORTANT: Please read the Academic Conduct Code to understand policy of Boston University regarding plagiarism. The punishment for any form of plagiarism at this institution is, as it should be, very severe. As you are writing your term papers, please don’t hesitate to contact me beforehand if you have any questions concerning the proper citation of source materials.

READINGS

Secondary Sources

Brinkley - Reader's Companion to the American Presidency, 00 (HM), ISBN 978-0-3-9578889-9
Gould - Modern American Presidency, 03 (U PR OF KS), ISBN 978-0-7-0061330-4

Primary Sources

Mailer – Miami and the Siege of Chicago, 08 (Ingram), ISBN 978-1-5-9017296-4
Reagan - Reagan Diaries, 07 (Harp Pub), ISBN 978-0-0-6087600-5
Roosevelt - Autobiography of Eleanor Roosevelt, 92 (Perseus D), ISBN 978-0-3-0680476-2

SCHEDULE

Week I

9/3: Introduction
9/5: McKinley and the Birth of the Modern Presidency
READ Brinkley: 93-109; 187-201; 277-287

Week II
9/8 The Activist Presidency of TR
9/10 Woodrow Wilson’s Domestic Agenda
9/12 Woodrow Wilson’s International Agenda
READ Brinkley: 289-303; 317-332. Gould, 1-55

Week III
9/15 No “Return to Normalcy”: the 1920s from Harding to Hoover
9/17 FDR’s First Hundred Days
9/19 Evolution of the New Deal Consensus
READ Brinkley: 356-385. Gould: 56-99. Roosevelt: 158-220.

Week IV
9/22 “Dr. New Deal” becomes “Dr. Win the War”
9/24 Harry Truman and the National Security State
9/26 The Cold War and the rise of the “Imperial Presidency”
READ Roosevelt: 221-313; Brinkley: 387-401. Gould: 100-124

Week V
9/29 Eisenhower’s “Modern Republicanism”
10/1 “Superman at the Supermarket” JFK and Postwar Political Culture
10/3 “The Great Society”: LBJ’s Domestic Agenda
READ Brinkley: 403-446. Gould: 125-148.
UPDATE:
Monday 10/6: Primary Source Paper Prospectus Due (2 Paragraphs)

Week VI

10/6 A TVA on the Mekong Delta: LBJ’s Foreign Policy
10/8 Fracture: The Election of 1968
READ Mailer: ALL
FRIDAY 10/10 MIDTERM EXAM

Week VII
10/13 HOLIDAY
10/15 The Rise, Fall and Second Rise of Richard Nixon
10/17 Guest Lecture: Courting the Youth Vote in ’72: Nixon vs. McGovern
READ Brinkley: 449-463. Gould: 149-169.


Week VIII
10/20 “The Southern Strategy” Nixon’s Domestic Agenda
10/22 Nixon’s Foreign Policy Agenda
10/24 “There you go again.” 1980 and Return of the Imperial Presidency
READ Brinkley: 465-487.

Week IX
10/27 Inflation, Debt, and Reaganomics
10/29 Reagan and Gorbachev
10/31 How long was “the Age of Reagan”?
READ Reagan: 1-290; Gould: 191-212 Sean Wilentz: HANDOUT

Week X

11/3 GHW Bush’s Domestic Agenda.“A Kinder, Gentler Nation”
11/5 From “The End of History” to “Operation Desert Storm”
11/7 Film: TBA
READ Brinkley: 507-517

Week XI

11/10 The Election of 1992
11/12 Bill Clinton’s Domestic Agenda
11/14 Bill Clinton’s Foreign Policy Agenda
READ Brinkley: 519-539; Gould: 213-238


FRIDAY 11/14 PRIMARY SOURCE PAPER DUE IN CLASS

Week XII

11/17 Impeachment
11/19 The Election of 2000
11/21 George W Bush’s Domestic Agenda
READ Wilentz: HANDOUT

Week XIII

11/24 George W Bush’s Foreign Policy Agenda
THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY

Week XIV

12/1 Cheney, Rumsfeld, and the “Unitary Executive”
12/3 Film: TBA
12/5 The Politics of National Security Before and After 9/11
READ Charlie Savage HANDOUT
Week XV

12/8 The Evolution of Party Politics in the U.S. 1948-2008
12/10 The Future of the Presidency & the U.S. Constitution



FINAL EXAM