Major Debates in U.S. Foreign Policy, 1789-2003 · PDF fileand trends in U.S. foreign policy from the 1790s until the 1920s. ... and use not only government documents and policy papers,

Major Debates in U.S. Foreign Policy, 1789-2003

www.history327.wordpress.com History 327 – Fall 2017 PLC 112, T & Th, 12:45-2:25 Professor Christopher Wilkins [email protected] Office: Marston Hall, Room 303 Office Hours: T 2:45 - 4:30, Th 2:30-3:30

This course analyzes some of the most significant debates in the history of U.S. foreign policy, ranging from the early republic to the recent past. The first section of the course surveys key events and trends in U.S. foreign policy from the 1790s until the 1920s. We begin our study in the eighteenth century as a way of emphasizing one of this course's central themes: to understand the present and attempt to predict the future of U.S. foreign policy, one must have a deep understanding of the longer-term characteristics that define the United States' relationships with the rest of the world. In the second section, we immerse ourselves in the debate that occurred in the United States during the 1930s and up to December 1941 concerning the proper response to the rise of fascist militarism, especially in Nazi Germany. In the third section, we briefly examine the origins of the Cold War before moving on to an extended investigation of the United States' involvement in wars in Vietnam from the end of World War II until the mid-1970s. In our analysis of these various debates, we will examine discussions that took place within the U.S. government and in the larger public sphere, and seek to explain how and why certain factions won the various debates we will analyze. Our

investigation of these issues will be wide in its scope, and use not only government documents and policy papers, but also sources including propaganda posters, personal diaries, radio and television reports, newspaper articles, photographs, and music. Course format Each class period will feature lecture and discussion. Because student participation is a central element of the course, you must complete all readings and assignments and be ready to contribute to discussion in every class period. Required texts George C. Herring, From Colony to Superpower Learning objectives This course is designed to improve students'

[1] knowledge of fundamental aspects of the history of U.S. foreign policy

[2] critical thinking skills, especially the ability to evaluate and analyze different ideas, arguments,

and competing perspectives on historical questions and issues

[3] understanding of fundamental principles and theories of historical analysis

[4] ability to write carefully, correctly, and persuasively

[5] historical research skills, using both primary and secondary sources

[6] competence and confidence in making oral presentations and participating constructively during

class discussion

[7] ability to use historical perspective to better understand present-day American society

Students will demonstrate the extent to which they have made progress on these objectives by their performance on exams, essays, and presentations. Assignments % of final grade Due date [1] Introductory memo .5%* August 31

[2] Introductory meeting .5% By September 7

[3] Writing and Historical Analysis exam 5% September 8

[4] Memo for WWII-era essay 4%* October 10

[5] Presentation for WWII-era essay 2% October 17 or 19

[6] Extra credit vote for best WWII-era essay presentation .5% October 21

[7] WWII-era essay 22.5%* October 24

[8] Extra credit vote for best WWII-era essay .5% November 2

[9] Memo for Vietnam War essay 4%* November 28

[10] Presentation for Vietnam War essay 2% December 7 or 12

[11] Exit memo .5%* December 7

[12] Extra credit vote for Vietnam War essay presentation .5% December 14

[13] Vietnam War essay 26.5% December 15

[14] Class participation 10% December 7 or 12

[15] 21 reading responses 21% Grading scale: [A] 100-94, A- [93-90], [B+] 89-87, [B] 86-83, [B-] 82-80, [C+] 79-77, [C] 76-73, [C-] 72-70, [D+] 69-67, [D] 66-63, [D-] 62-60, [F] anything below 60. Final grades will not be rounded up. If you earn an 89.99%, your final grade is a B+. *Bring a printed copy of this assignment to class in addition to emailing me a copy. Unless otherwise noted, no credit will be given for these assignments if they have only been emailed to me or have only been submitted as a printed copy. You must do both. Schedule Section 1 - Introduction to major themes in U.S. foreign policy, 1793-1930 August 24 [Th] - Introduction to the course

August 26 [T] - Academic Success, History as a discipline, Writing Well

August 31 [Th] - U.S. foreign policy debates, 1793-1860 [Intro Memo due]

September 5 [T] - U.S. foreign policy debates, 1865-1912

September 7 [Th] - The Great War, League of Nations, and the 1920s [Last day for 1-on-1 meeting]

September 8 [F] - [Writing and Historical analysis exam due] Section 2 - Road to World War II September 12 [T] - Noninterventionism, 1930-1937

September 14 [Th] - FDR and U.S. foreign policy, 1933-1938

September 19 [T] - Neutrality and its supporters, 1938-1939

September 21 [Th] - Intervention and its supporters, 1938-1939

September 26 [T] - FDR and Edward R. Murrow

September 28 [Th] - America First

October 3 [T] - Committee to Defend America by Aiding the Allies

October 5 [Th] - 1940 Election and Defense Buildup

October 10 [T] - Lend-Lease, Atlantic Charter, and 'Shoot on Sight' [WWII essay research memo due]

October 17 [T] - Presentations for WWII-era essay

October 19 [Th] - Presentations for WWII-era essay

October 21 [S] - [Presentation extra credit vote due]

Section 3 - The Wars in Vietnam October 24 [T] - The Post-War World, Cold War, & Global Containment [WWII-era essay due]

October 26 [Th] - Truman, Eisenhower, and Southeast Asia

November 2 [Th] - JFK, 'Bear[ing] any Burden' & 'Wars of National Liberation'

[WWII-era extra credit vote due]

November 7 [Th] - LBJ and escalation

November 9 [Th] - 1966 and 1967 - Resistance

November 14 [T] - 1968 and the Tet Offensive

November 16 [Th] - Nixon and Kissinger, part 1

November 21 [T] - Nixon and Kissinger, Part 2

November 28 [T] - Ending the War [Vietnam War research memo due]

November 30 [Th] - Alternate histories / legacies of the Vietnam War

December 5 [T] - Concluding the course, considering the future of U.S.F.P.

December 7 [Th] - Presentations for the second essay [Exit memo due]

December 12 [T] - Presentations for the second essay

December 13 [Th] - [Vietnam War essay presentation extra credit vote due]

December 15 [F] [Vietnam War essay due]

Course policies and notes on assignments

Asking for help/meeting with me I strongly encourage you to seek assistance from me if you have questions about any subject we cover in the course. My standards for this course are high, but I am committed to doing as much as I can to help those students who are willing to work hard to succeed. Note: I will meet with students to discuss essay drafts, but will not do so during the week the essay is due. For example, for the first essay due on 10/24, the last available day to meet with me to discuss an essay draft is 10/19. For the second essay, the last available day to meet with me to discuss an essay draft is 12/7. I will not provide comments for essay drafts sent to me over email, you must meet with me in person.

To sign up for a meeting with me, go to the course website, select the 'office hours' page and follow the instructions listed there. Completing assignments and following instructions To succeed in this course, you must completely follow the instructions for each assignment. If you do not understand them, it is your responsibility to seek guidance from me prior to the assignment’s due date. A lack of understanding of instructions does not provide an excuse for failing to meet the terms of the assignment. Regarding class discussion, as an incentive to complete readings for each class period, if I ask a student one of the reading questions (which I will provide to you) and he/she cannot answer the question to my satisfaction, the student's final grade will be reduced by .25%. You must do the readings and be prepared for discussion to succeed in this course. Extra credit There are several ways to earn extra credit. First, if you meet with me one-on-one to receive feedback on your first essay, you will receive a .5% increase in your final grade. Second, if you meet with me one-on-one to receive feedback on a draft of your second essay that is at least six pages long, you will receive a .5% increase in your final grade. Third, the student who earns the most "best presentation" votes for the WWII-era essay presentation will receive a .5% increase in his/her final grade, and likewise for the Vietnam War essay presentation. Fourth, the student who earns the most "best essay" votes their work on the WWII era essay will earn 1% extra credit. Fifth, in every class session, the student who writes, in my view, the best reading response will earn .25% extra credit added to his/her final course grade. Classroom behavior Be civil, constructive, and professional in class discussion. Listen respectfully to your classmates. Avoid side conversations while someone else is speaking. If you demonstrate a lack of respect for your classmates or me, I will deduct a substantial percentage of your final grade and reserve the right to remove you from class that day. If this problem happens repeatedly, we will discuss your withdrawal from the course. Writing William Jewell students should be able to write grammatically correct essays that contain very few writing errors. Your essays will be evaluated in part on your adherence to the rules of proper grammar and the care you demonstrate in your writing. I will hold you accountable for meeting my writing standards by reducing your grade if your essays contain grammatical mistakes and/or typos. For every page in an essay that contains more than three writing errors, your essay grade will decline by 1/3 of a letter grade. During class time and in assigned readings, I will explain clearly the rules I expect you to follow while writing. I recommend reading the following websites (and I encourage you to review them whenever you have writing questions): Purdue Online Writing Lab https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/section/1/5/ Andrea Lunford, “The Everyday Writer”

http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/everyday_writer/20errors/default.asp Patrick Rael, “Reading, Writing, and Researching for History” http://www.bowdoin.edu/writing-guides/ Hamilton College Guide to Writing a Good History Paper http://www.hamilton.edu/documents/writing-center/WritingGoodHistoryPaper.pdf William Strunk, The Elements of Style http://faculty.washington.edu/heagerty/Courses/b572/public/StrunkWhite.pdf While grading your essays, I will briefly comment on any errors (e.g., “subject-verb agreement,” “unclear antecedent,” “poorly organized paragraph – more than one major subject”), but if you are dedicated to becoming a better writer, and you wish for me to offer more detailed corrections, I encourage you to schedule an appointment to meet with me. You and I will go through your essay line-by-line and I will explain precisely what you have done well in your essay as well as what you need to correct in your writing in the future. I also suggest that all students visit the writing center. -As noted above, work that includes considerable typographical errors, misspellings, or sentence fragments will be penalized. For every page of an essay that contains more than three grammatical errors, misused words, or other typos, your essay grade will be reduced by 1/3rd of a letter grade. We all make mistakes, but make an effort to correct them or your grade will be reduced. Edit carefully. Strive for excellence and clarity in your writing. -For citations in your work, use the Chicago Manual of Style (footnotes, not in-text citations). https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/717/01/ -For formatting your essays, the text should be 12-point type. Margins should be one inch on each side (not 1.25). The body of the essay should be double-spaced. Footnotes should be single-spaced. Include page numbers. If you do not meet these requirements, your grade will be reduced. -Meet the required essay length: if the essay requires 5 pages, write 5 full pages. If you submit an essay that does not reach the required length, your essay grade will be reduced by the percentage of the essay you have not written (if your essay is 15% short, your maximum grade drops by 15%). -Include a bibliography for your essay with sources divided into primary source and secondary source sections. Attendance Attendance is crucial because the class relies substantially on your active participation. If you must miss class for an extra-curricular commitment, a medical issue, or other personal reasons, you must provide advance notice to me. If you do not explain your absence to me until after the class has been missed (or if you provide no explanation at all), your absence is unexcused. -If you are absent without prior notice (barring a genuine emergency), your final grade will be reduced by -1% for each unexcused absence.

-If you have provided advance notice that you will be miss class, to receive credit for the class session you must write at least three double-spaced pages for your reading response. If you fail to do so, your absence becomes unexcused. If you miss more than three classes, I reserve the right to begin reducing your class participation grade. Note: you will receive a confirmation email from me after you submit your make-up reading response answers. If you do not receive a confirmation email from me, it means I have not received the answers, and you will be penalized for an unexcused absence. -I may require students to provide documentation demonstrating that an absence should be excused. Feedback For your writing exam, research memos, and research essays, I will provide feedback on your work as quickly as possible. It is your responsibility to read that feedback and apply it on your future assignments. If I highlight problems with your writing or research on one essay, and you make the same mistakes or do not address my comments while writing the following essay, your work will be penalized. For the reading responses, I will not provide feedback until your mid-semester grade report and then your grade update in early December. Electronics I encourage you to bring your laptops/ipad for every class. Using your cellphone is not permitted. Late work Students are expected to complete assigned class work on time. If you turn in an assignment later than the due date and time, I will reduce your grade for the assignment by 25%. The assignment's grade will then drop by 25% for each following 24-hour period it is late. If you have a genuine emergency, I will negotiate an extension. Documentation may be requested. If you have an unexcused absence on the day of a presentation/exam, you will receive a zero on the assignment, and no make-up assignment will be offered. Students needing learning accommodations William Jewell College pursues a non-discrimination policy with regards to all education programs and employment. William Jewell is committed to the full inclusion of students, faculty, and staff in the life of the Jewell Community in accordance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Americans with Disabilities Act and Amendments Act of 2008 (ADA and ADAAA), and the Fair Housing Act. To prevent discrimination on the basis of disability, reasonable and appropriate accommodations, academic adjustments, and/or auxiliary aids and services are determined on a case-by-case basis for otherwise qualified individuals who have a demonstrated need for these services and can provide appropriate documentation. Please visit the Disability Services webpage at www.jewell.edu/disabilityservices or use the enrollment code CJN-ECR-CRA to enroll in the new iTunes U course entitled “Disability Services” for step-by-step instructions on requesting accommodations. Please contact the 504 and Compliance Coordinator for additional information regarding accommodations: Mrs. Missy Henry, Gano Chapel- Room 200, Phone (816) 415-7556, Fax (816) 415-5093, email [email protected]. Academic integrity

Follow the honor code, which can be found in the student handbook. Additionally, History department policy defines academic misconduct as:

Academic misconduct includes, but is not confined to, plagiarizing; cheating on tests or examinations; turning in counterfeit reports, tests, and papers; stealing tests or other academic materials; knowingly falsifying records, documents, or others’ signatures; and turning in the same work to more than one class without the permission of the instructors involved. Violations can result in failing the assignment, failing the course, and/or Honor Code charges.

Each of you should read Irving Hexham’s essay “The Plague of Plagiarism.” Ignorance regarding what constitutes plagiarism will not excuse you from meeting standards for submitting only your own work and citing your sources. These policies may be changed at the discretion of the instructor.

Assignment #1 - Introductory Memo - due August 31 - .5% of final grade On August 31, bring to class a printed copy of your answers to the questions listed below. To receive credit for this assignment, you must also email me a copy by class-time on August 31. Note: if you choose to meet one-on-one with me prior to August 31, email me your memo prior to our meeting. Provide this information: -Your major(s) and minor(s) -Your hometown -Your year in school (first-year, second-year, etc.) -A list of history courses and political science courses you have taken in college, if any -Any books or movies you have read/watched that contain at least some attention to U.S. foreign policy during the 1930s and up to December 7, 1941, and any books or movies relating to the Vietnam War

-Any subjects that you find particularly interesting concerning (1) U.S. foreign policy during the 1930s and up to December 7, 1941 and (2) the Vietnam War -Your current plans for your career after graduation (if you feel comfortable sharing this information)

-How confident are you in your ability to write research essays? What are some areas in your writing that you will focus on improving in this course? _________________________________________________ Assignment #2 - Introductory Meeting - complete prior to September 7 - .5% of final grade Each student will meet one-on-one with me for 10 minutes at the beginning of the semester to discuss his/her introductory memo. Students must reserve a meeting time by going to the 'Office Hours' section of the course website and following the instructions provided there. Read the list of available meeting times, choose a time that you wish to meet, and then either email that information to me or scroll down to the bottom of the office hours page until you see the text box that reads 'Enter your comment here.' In that space, claim your time and state your name. Do not wait until September 6 to sign up for a time; if all the meeting times on September 7 taken, and you are unable to meet with me, I will not provide additional times, and you will not receive credit for the assignment. Along the same lines, if you reserve a meeting time with me, and then do not show up for the meeting, there will be no make-up opportunity, and you will not receive credit for the assignment.

We will meet in my office, Marston Hall room 303. __________________________________________________ Assignment #3 - Writing & Historical Analysis Exam - due September 8 - 5% of final grade This exam will assess your knowledge of the principles of good writing and insightful historical analysis that we discussed in class on August 26. -I will email the exam to you at 5:30 PM on Thursday September 7. You must email me your completed copy of the exam no later than 5:30 PM on Friday September 8. You will receive a confirmation email from me once I have received the exam. If you do not receive a confirmation email by 5:45 PM on Friday, it means that I have not received the exam, and it is late. If your exam is late, you will receive a zero on the exam. -You are welcome to use your lecture notes, assigned readings, and any resources you can find online, but you may not seek help from anyone on the exam, your work must be your own. -You are welcome to email me with questions during the 24 hours you are taking the exam, but do not expect an instantaneous response. Even if your question is not answered to your satisfaction, or you receive no answer, you must still complete the exam on time. -As always, follow instructions carefully. If you misunderstand the instructions and provide the wrong types of answers for the questions, you will not receive credit for those answers. -The exam consists of five sections. The first asks you to identify basic principles of good writing and effective organization of paragraphs and essays. The second instructs you to fix basic writing errors. The third asks you to identify the principle of good writing (as identified in the Elements of Style, the HCG, or me) that a sentence violates, and write a corrected version of the sentence. The fourth asks you to identify the principle of thoughtful historical analysis that the sentence violates and explain precisely how the sentence fails to meet the required standard. The fifth asks you to analyze the content of several paragraphs and assess whether they adhere to the principles of good essay writing as identified by Stunk and White, the HCG, and me. __________________________________________________ Assignment #4 - Memo for the WWII era essay - due October 10 - 4% of final grade History 327 requires students to write two research essays. The first will focus on some aspect of U.S. foreign policy from the 1930s until December 7, 1941. I will provide more information regarding those questions by September 12. Once you have decided on which question to answer, you will complete a research memo that describes the primary and secondary sources you will use to write your essay. You may use the sources I have provided in class to count towards your total number of sources. Your memo should include the following information:

I. What is your topic? II. What is your research question? III. What is your tentative answer (argument) for your research question? IV. What have other scholars argued concerning your research question? V. List 10 primary sources. For each source, provide:

-The author of the source -The title of the source -The year the source was published -The URL where you found the source, if you found the source online. If it is a primary source from an archive or book, use the Chicago Manual of Style for citation information. -A two or three sentence description of the source and how it will contribute to answering your research question. VI. List 7 secondary sources. At least four of them must be from academic journals or books, and the remaining three can be from scholarly online sites.

For each secondary source, provide: The author of the source, the title of the source, the year the source was published If the source is a book, provide the publisher. If the source is an academic journal, provide the journal title and the issue number A two or three sentence description of the source and how it will contribute to answering your research question.

-Bring a printed copy of your research memo to class on October 10. You must also email me an electronic copy of the memo by class-time on October 10. If you do not submit it by class-time on that day, via email and in a printed copy, you will receive a zero on the assignment. -The assignment is worth 4% of your final grade. __________________________________________________

Assignment #5 - Presentation for WWII-era Essay - October 17 or 19 - 2% of final grade During class-time on either October 17 and 19, each of you will make a twenty-minute presentation summarizing your research essay. To earn a high grade on the presentation: -Be professional and prepared. -Your talk must be at least 15 minutes. Practice your presentation several times so that you know precisely how long it is. -Clearly identify which question you answered for your essay, your thesis, and briefly identify the sources you used to write your essay. -You are welcome to use a powerpoint presentation. __________________________________________________

Assignment #6 - Extra credit vote for WWII era presentations - due Oct. 21 - .5% of final grade Listen carefully to your classmates' presentations. Decide which one you believe was the best presentation and then write at least two hundred words explaining in precise detail why you believe it was the best presentation. Email me your vote by noon on October 21. __________________________________________________ Assignment #7 - WWII era research essay - due October 24 - 22.5% of final grade For the first research essay, you will: -Write at eight full pages of text, and no more than ten full pages. That includes footnotes. -Double-space the body of the essay, single space the footnotes. The font should be 12 point. The margins should be one inch on each side. You may include a title page, but you do not have to. -Review the Hamilton College Guide, the Elements of Style, notes from our class discussion, your writing exam, and writing requirements stated in the syllabus. Follow those guidelines for what you should (and should not) do in an essay. -Your essay should include an introductory paragraph that provides a thesis statement (your answer to the research question you chose) and a ‘road map’ identifying the major points your essay makes in support of your thesis. -Each paragraph should have a clear topic sentence that accurately describes the content of the sentences in the paragraph. -Each paragraph should focus on one major subject. If a sentence in the paragraph represents a change in subject matter from the rest of the paragraph, move it to somewhere else in the essay (or delete it). -Your essay should have very few writing errors. For any page that contains more than three writing errors, typos, etc., your essay grade will be reduced by 1/3rd of a letter grade. -Avoid freestanding quotations. Be wary of quoting more than two sentences at a time. -Write concisely. You can still write long sentences, but be sure that each word in the sentence has a purpose. -Be sure that your thesis and the majority of the essay answer your research question. -Include a bibliography. It must include 7 secondary sources. At least four of them must be from academic journals or books, and the remaining three can be from scholarly online sites. The essay must also include 10 primary sources. All primary must be sources from the time period about which you are writing. You must find them via academic institutions or scholarly organizations. Provide a full citation for each source indicating the source's author, title, date of publication, and web address (if you found it online). If you do not include a bibliography, your grade will be reduced by 1/3rd of a letter grade. -Place your citations in footnotes. Do not use in-text citations. In the footnote, include the author of the source, the title of the source, the year the source was published, and the web address where you found the source (if you found it online). -The essay is worth 22.5% of your final grade.

-You must email me a copy of the essay by class-time on October 24. Bring a printed copy to class as well. __________________________________________________ Assignment #8 - Extra credit vote for WWII era essay - due November 2 - .5% of final grade Listen carefully to your classmates' presentation. Decide which one you believe was the best presentation and then write at least two hundred words explaining in precise detail why you believe it was the best presentation. Email me your vote by noon on October 21. __________________________________________________ Assignment #9 - Memo for Vietnam War essay - due November 28 - 4% of final grade History 327 requires students to write two research essays. The second will focus on some aspect of U.S. foreign policy regarding the Vietnam War. By early November, I will provide more information regarding potential essay questions. Once you have decided on which question to answer, you will complete a research memo that describes the primary and secondary sources you will use to write your essay. You may use the sources I have provided in class to count towards your total number of sources. Your memo should include the following information: I. What is your topic? II. What is your research question? III. What is your tentative answer (argument) for your research question? IV. What have other scholars argued concerning your research question? V. List 10 primary sources. For each source, provide:

-The author of the source -The title of the source -The year the source was published -The URL where you found the source, if you found the source online. If it is a primary source from an archive or book, use the Chicago Manual of Style for citation information. -A two or three sentence description of the source and how it will contribute to answering your research question. VI. List 7 secondary sources. At least four of them must be from academic journals or books, and the remaining three can be from scholarly online sites.

For each secondary source, provide: The author of the source, the title of the source, the year the source was published

If the source is a book, provide the publisher. If the source is an academic journal, provide the journal title and the issue number A two or three sentence description of the source and how it will contribute to answering your research question.

-Bring a printed copy of your research memo to class on November 30. You must also email me an electronic copy of the memo by class-time on November 30. If you do not submit it by class-time on that day, via email and in a printed copy, you will receive a zero on the assignment. -The assignment is worth 4% of your final grade. __________________________________________________ Assignment #10 - Exit Memo - due December 7 - .5% of final grade On December 7, bring to class a printed copy of your answers to the questions listed below. To receive credit for this assignment, you must also email me a copy by class-time on December 7. -Did you gain valuable knowledge and learn important facts concerning the history of U.S. foreign policy during the 1930s and up to December 1941, as well as during the Vietnam War? -Did you gain valuable experience thinking critically about and analyzing different ideas and arguments and points of view regarding important questions in the history of U.S. foreign policy? -Did writing the two research essays help you make progress in writing well? -Did the oral presentation for your essay and class discussion serve as useful practice in enabling you to constructively discuss your views with others? -I strive to be an effective professor who succeeds in educating his students. If you did _not_ gain valuable experience in the areas listed above, and I did _not_ perform well as your professor in this course, what do you recommend that I do differently in the future? __________________________________________________

Assignment #11 - Presentation for Vietnam War Essay - December 7 or 12 - 2% of final grade During class-time on either December 7 or December 12, each of you will make a twenty-minute presentation summarizing your Vietnam War essay. To earn a high grade on the presentation: -Be professional and prepared. -Your talk must be at least 15 minutes. Practice your presentation several times so that you know precisely how long it is. -Clearly identify which question you answered for your essay, your thesis, and briefly identify the sources you used to write your essay. -You are welcome to use a powerpoint presentation.

__________________________________________________ Assignment #12 - Extra credit vote for Vietnam War presentations - due Dec. 14 - .5% of final grade Listen carefully to your classmates' presentation. Decide which one you believe was the best presentation and then write at least two hundred words explaining in precise detail why you believe it was the best presentation. Email me your vote by noon on December 14. __________________________________________________ Assignment #13 - Vietnam War research essay - due December 15 - 26.5% of final grade For the first research essay, you will: -Write at least twelve full pages of text, and no more than fourteen full pages. That includes footnotes. -Double-space the body of the essay, single space the footnotes. The font should be 12 point. The margins should be one inch on each side. You may include a title page, but you do not have to. -Review the Hamilton College Guide, the Elements of Style, notes from our class discussion, your writing exam, and writing requirements stated in the syllabus. Follow those guidelines for what you should (and should not) do in an essay. -Your essay should include an introductory paragraph that provides a thesis statement (your answer to the research question you chose) and a ‘road map’ identifying the major points your essay makes in support of your thesis. -Each paragraph should have a clear topic sentence that accurately describes the content of the sentences in the paragraph. -Each paragraph should focus on one major subject. If a sentence in the paragraph represents a change in subject matter from the rest of the paragraph, move it to somewhere else in the essay (or delete it). -Your essay should have very few writing errors. For any page that contains more than three writing errors, typos, etc., your essay grade will be reduced by 1/3rd of a letter grade. -Avoid freestanding quotations. Be wary of quoting more than two sentences at a time. -Write concisely. You can still write long sentences, but be sure that each word in the sentence has a purpose. -Be sure that your thesis and the majority of the essay answer your research question. -Include a bibliography. It must include 7 secondary sources. At least four of them must be from academic journals or books, and the remaining three can be from scholarly online sites. The essay must also include 10 primary sources. All primary must be sources from the time period about which you are writing. You must find them via academic institutions or scholarly organizations. Provide a full citation for each source indicating the source's author, title, date of publication, and web address (if you found it online). If you do not include a bibliography, your grade will be reduced by 1/3rd of a letter grade. -Place your citations in footnotes. Do not use in-text citations. In the footnote, include the author of the source, the title of the source, the year the source was published, and the web address where you found the source (if you found it online). -The essay is worth 26.5% of your final grade.

-You must email me a copy of the essay by noon on December 15. Bring a printed copy to class as well. __________________________________________________ Assignment #14 - Class participation - 10% of final grade This course requires class participation from all students in every class period. Attending a liberal arts college with small class sizes provides an excellent opportunity to develop one's skill in presenting one's ideas in a confident, constructive manner and listening carefully and respectfully to other students and then engaging their ideas. Because I implement a teaching philosophy that strongly emphasizes the value of class discussion (and in-class presentations by students), it is important that you keep these points in mind if you wish to succeed in the course: -As noted elsewhere in the syllabus, all students must conduct themselves in a professional, respectful manner; any disrespectful, dismissive, or rude statements towards anyone in the classroom will result in a significant reduction of the offending party's course grade. -Be prepared. You must be able to discuss the readings, and answer all the reading questions I have assigned to you for that session, for every class period. If I call on you and you are unable to answer a reading question to my satisfaction, your course grade will be reduced by one quarter of one point. (.25%) Consider this an incentive to do your best to gain as much intellectual benefit as you can from this course, and to contribute to other students' ability to do the same. __________________________________________________ Assignment #15 - Reading responses - 21% of final grade For 21 of the class sessions, you will write at least two pages (double spaced) answering the reading questions I provide. You do not need to bring a printed copy to class, but you must email the response to me prior to class-time. By that afternoon, I will respond to you with a confirmation email stating that I have received the reading response. If you do not receive that email, I have not received the reading response, and you will not receive credit for writing it. Each response is potentially worth 1% of your final grade. Generally, you will receive full credit for simply writing the response, but if there are major factual errors, or you have not written a full two pages, then your grade will be reduced. I will not provide specific feedback on the reading responses until the mid-semester break, and then in your final grade summary.