History 345: History of U.S. Foreign Relations
  Spring 2006

Dr. David Krugler


History 345 provides an advanced overview of the history of American foreign relations since the 1780s. With such an broad timeframe, it is not possible to examine in detail every major event in this history. Instead, the course is structured around five major themes:
1)    The rise of the US from a minor, mostly isolated nation to a global superpower.
2)    American exceptionalism and its effects on US foreign relations.
3)    The ways in which domestic politics and partisanship have molded US foreign relations.
4)    How capitalism and quests for markets, resources, and trade opportunities have affected US foreign relations.
5)    The evolving concept of “national security” and its part in US foreign relations.

By the semester’s end, students will have acquired basic factual knowledge of the history of US foreign relations, learned to write about and discuss major historical problems and issues, and be able to use their historical skills to analyze present-day US foreign relations.
       
Because this is an upper-level undergraduate course, it is assumed that each student has completed at least one college course in US history. Please know that the lectures, readings, and assignments require everyone to draw on this base knowledge.    

Books: The following texts are required and are available at the textbook center, with the exception of George Kennan, American Diplomacy, which can be purchased at Follett’s in the Pioneer Student Center.

Assignments: Your grade will be determined by evaluation of your work on the following:

 Exams: You will take a mid-term (worth 15% of your total grade) and a final (15% of the grade). The exams will be in an essay format. Study guides will be distributed before the test dates, which are listed below.

Writing: You will write two papers: a 2 page essay (worth 5% of your total grade) and a 10 page research paper (worth 30% of your total grade) on a topic of your choice. Explanations of both assignments will be distributed well in advance of the due dates. Please note that four separate due dates apply to the research paper: thesis and bibliography, progress report, rough draft and peer review, and final draft (see schedule below). Therefore, you should consider this important assignment to be an on-going project. Also note that each student must participate in the in-class editing session and that late papers will not be accepted.

Discussions: During six different classes (the dates are listed below), we will hold an in-depth discussion of shared reading about significant historical problems. Your individual participation in these discussions is mandatory and is worth 20% of your total grade. You must complete the assigned reading by class time, so be sure to set aside sufficient study time to complete the reading by the due date. The assignment schedule below indicates when you should begin reading for each discussion.

Discussion “briefs”: Briefs are short summaries that highlight the main points, contentions, and evidence of a selected text or document. Using a form that I will distribute to the class, you will write a brief for each of the discussions except the second one. You will need to bring to class two copies of your brief, one to hand in and the other to consult during discussion. Your briefs will be graded; altogether, the briefs are worth 15% of the total grade.

Recommended reading: Students who have not taken a course in 20th century US history will find it helpful to read the recommended chapters in Howard Jones, Quest for Security: A History of American Foreign Relations vol. II. (See schedule below.) This reading will provide important background information for lectures, discussions, and tests.

Attendance: Roll will be taken at random throughout the semester. Students who are frequently absent when roll is taken will have their grade lowered at the semester’s end. If you cannot attend class, please let me know ahead of time.

Grade Components:
    1 Midterm @ 15%            Short essay @ 5%                     Participation @ 20%
    1 Final @ 15%                  Research paper @ 30%      Discussion briefs  @ 15%     

Lecture & Assignment Schedule:
(Assignments and due-dates subject to announced changes.)

Week 1: Begin reading handout and web-based article for discussion 1: (the handout will be distributed in class on 1/25;
              for the article, click here. (You will need Adobe Acrobat to read the file.)
              Discussion brief
Mon. 1/23: Introduction to course and definition of important themes and concepts.
Wed. 1/25: Diplomacy of the American Revolution.

Week 2: Finish reading handout.
Mon. 1/30: The new nation and the Great Powers.
Wed. 2/1:   Disc. #1: Federalist and Jeffersonian diplomacy. Lect.: From Federalist to Jeffersonian Diplomacy.  

Week 3: Begin reading McDougall, Promised Land, 1-98.
Mon. 2/6: The War of 1812.
Wed. 2/8: The US and the Western Hemisphere.

Week 4: Finish reading McDougall, 1-98.
Mon. 2/13: Manifest Destiny and the Mexican-American War.
Wed. 2/15  Short essay due. Disc. #2: The American “Bible” of foreign affairs: the Old Testament. Lect.: The diplomacy of slavery and the Civil War.

Week 5: Begin reading Kennan, American Diplomacy, 1-65. Recommended reading: Jones, Quest for Security, chapter 11.
Mon. 2/20: US and the world during industrialization.
Wed. 2/22: Spanish-American War and American imperialism.

Week 6: Continue reading Kennan, American Diplomacy, 1-65. Recommended reading: Jones, Quest for Security, chapter 12.
Mon. 2/27: Midterm exam.
Wed. 3/1:   Teddy Roosevelt’s new world order.

Week 7: Finish reading Kennan, American Diplomacy, 1-65. Recommended reading: Jones, Quest for Security, chapter 13. Paper thesis and bibliography due; schedule appointment with instructor.
Mon. 3/6: Wilsonian idealism.
Wed. 3/8:  Disc. #3: Kennan’s analysis of the “turn” in US diplomacy, 1898-1919. Lect.: World War I.
                   discussion brief

3/11-3/19: Spring Break: Begin reading Levering, Debating the Origins of the Cold War, 1-62, 85-151.

Week 8: Continue reading Levering, Debating the Origins of the Cold War, 1-62, 85-151. Recommended reading: Jones, Quest for Security, chapters 15-16.
Mon. 3/20: No-risk empire? US and the world in the 1920s.
Wed. 3/22: Depression diplomacy and America’s troubled neutrality, 1935-1941.
 
Week 9: Finish reading Levering, 1-62, 85-151. Recommended reading: Jones, chapter 18.
Mon. 3/27: Wartime diplomacy.
Wed. 3/29: Debate between Professors Rowley and Krugler on the origins of the Cold War. Disc. #4: Russian and American perspectives on the Cold War.
                discussion brief

Week 10: Begin reading handout. Recommended reading: Jones, chapter 20.
Mon. 4/3: Progress report on paper due. Containment tested: The Korean War.
Wed. 4/5: A New Look.

Week 11: Finish reading handout. Recommended reading: Jones, chapter 22.
Mon. 4/10: Kennedy as Cold Warrior.
Wed. 4/12: Disc. #5: The U.S. and the Middle East during the 1950s & 1960s. Lect.: US and Latin America in the 1960s.
                   discussion brief
Week 12: No reading.
Mon. 4/17: America and Vietnam.
Wed. 4/19: Papers due and in-class peer review.

Week 13: No reading.
Mon. 4/24: Vietnam, continued.
Wed. 4/26: Revised papers due. Lect.: Détente under Nixon and Kissinger.

Week 14: Begin reading McDougall, Promised Land, 101-222. Recommended reading: Jones, chapter 26.
Mon. 5/1: US and the Middle East during the 1970s.
Wed. 5/3: Cold War renewed under Reagan; the US and Latin America during the 1980s.

Week 15: Finish reading McDougall, 101-222. Recommended reading: Jones, chapter 27.
Mon. 5/8:  End of the Cold War.
Wed. 5/10: Disc. #6: The American “Bible” of foreign affairs: the New Testament. Lect.: The Gulf Wars and the search for a post-Cold War foreign policy.
                    discussion brief
 
Final exam: Monday, May 15, 3-4:52pm

Note: Graduating seniors must take the exam.