US History II

Unit 3 will be all about the Depression and the New Deal – EH Chapter 25.

There will be an online quiz open from Monday, 2/27 to Friday 3/2 on Chapter 26. Don’t forget to take it! I had a couple of people who’ve let these slip a little. Please make sure to take the quiz online in Blackboard.

Mon 2/27 our class will combine the culture and economics of the Depression. Reading is EH Ch 25, pp. 687-697. The syllabus had “reading TBA” for Wednesday but we’ll drop that reading because…

There will be no class on Wednesday, Feb 29th. I am taking another class to visit a US Citizenship Naturalization ceremony in Worcester and we have to leave early to get there, so I won’t be in class.

Friday, March 2 will also be a special day: instead of our usual class, we will attend a lecture by a guest professor of Political Science, Alexandra Filindra, at 10:30 am in the Student Center Blue Lounge. She will be speaking about the eugenics movement, a timely topic since we just finished the unit on that. Attendance will be taken, same as if it were a regular class day, and I will collect the SkillBuilder #3 papers due that day at the event.

Because of the lecture, we will push our “Primary Source Workshop” day to Monday the 5th; we’ll meet in our classroom as usual. If you want to get started on that paper before the workshop day, please do so; the guidelines are posted under the “PS Paper” tab above, and the books are all on 2-hour course reserve at the circulation desk in the library.

Monday 2/20: No class, Presidents Day

Wednesday 2/22: Constitutions and Women’s Suffrage. Reading: Amar, “How Women Won The Vote” (PDF)

Friday 2/24: Workshop Day for the 1930s. Reading: EH 680-684 and bring your curiosity!

This week we’re finishing up our unit on the 1920s with class sessions on cultural conflicts and politics of the decade.

Monday 2/13: Read EH Ch 24, 670-676 and 683

Wednesday 2/15: Read EH Ch 24, 677-680

Friday 2/17 = Exam #2 in class, on Ch 22 and 24. Download the study guide here (PDF)

Film clip for Wed: “Two Americas,” from PBS Ken Burns, Prohibition

Watch Hyperpartisan Politics Two Americas on PBS. See more from Ken Burns.

During today’s class, you’ll rotate through four stations to explore aspects of 1920s culture and the economy.

Station 1: Jazz Music of the 1920s
Listen to as many as you can and talk about what you’re hearing with the rest of your group
Link: redhotjazz.com (requires RealPlayer)
Handout: A VERY Short History of Jazz

Station 2: The Sentencing Statements of Sacco and Vanzetti
Read and discuss what Sacco and Vanzetti said as they were sentenced to death in 1927, and talk about Edna Saint Vincent Millay’s “Justice Denied in Massachusetts”
Link: overview of the case, if you need a refresher
Handout: S&V’s statements, “Justice Denied” poem

Station 3: Investigate the 1920s Economy
From the list of links below, explore why the economy was both booming AND weak in the 1920s. The first one contains further links to newspaper and magazine articles of the time.
Link List:
Boom and Bust in the World Economies (Source: 1920-30.com)
Blog of 1920s articles/ search by category or keyword (Source: 1920-30.com)
“The US Economy in the 1920s” (Source: EconomicHistory.net)
“Slouching Toward Utopia?” Bradford DeLong, UC Berkeley 1997 lecture for Econ 161
“Prosperity and Thrift: The Coolidge Era and the Consumer Economy 1920-1929” (Source: Library of Congress)

Station 4: Poetry and Art of the Harlem Renaissance
The online link takes you to a web gallery of images and sculpture created by artists of the Harlem Renaissance. In addition, you have a small packet of poems – read and discuss a few with your group.
Link: Art Focus on Harlem Renaissance (PBS African American World)
Handout: HR Poem Packet

Start of class: we’ll screen this clip as a demonstration of what jazz is and what to listen for – it’s a master class of the great jazz trumpeter Winton Marsalis, riffing on “Happy Birthday.”

The week of 2/6 we will start a new unit, on the 1920s. Our main focus in class will be EH Ch 22 on Progressivism and Ch 24, “The New Era.” The online quiz for this unit will cover chapters 21 and 23.

Mon 2/6 – Progressivism. Progressivism is a word (like Reconstruction) that encompasses not only a time period but also a complex social movement and political transition. Read EH Ch 22 for background before class.

Also, the next online quiz will open on Monday by noon. It will cover chapters 21 and 23 and be open until midnight on Friday, Feb 10th. As before, you can take it up to three times and Blackboard will record your highest grade.

Here’s a shorter version of the slideshow from Monday. I know some of the text is small in the embedded version, so click on the “fullscreen” icon in the lower right corner of the mini-player to bring it up larger on your screen.

Wed 2/8 – The Roaring Economy. Reading is EH Ch 24 p. 657-665

Fri 2/10 – Workshop Day on the economy and culture of the 1920s. Reading is EH Ch 24 p. 665-670.

Reminder: bring your laptop on Friday to the workshop day.