KC Johnson

This course will explore the history of the American presidency from George Washington until the present day.

Requirements

• Research Paper: 50%
• Participation: 30%
• Study Questions/Supplementary Reading: 20%

Books

• Joyce Appleby, Thomas Jefferson
• Jean Baker, James Buchanan
• Lindsay Chervinsky, Making the Presidency
• John Milton Cooper, Jr., Woodrow Wilson
• Robert Dallek, Lyndon Johnson
• David Herbert Donald, Lincoln
• John Farrell, Nixon: The Life
• David Garrow, Rising Star
• Kevin McMahon, Reconsidering Roosevelt on Race
• Brooks Simpson, The Reconstruction Presidents
• James Traub, John Quincy Adams

Contact:

email: kcjohnson9@gmail.com

cell: 207-329-8456

course zoom link:

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87473218683?pwd=93qxFtmegCKVIVVvAOy6Pg8nQf3rsI.1

Schedule

Week 1: Introduction

Week 2: Early Presidency

Chervinsky, Making the Presidency

Constitution-Era Documents

Week 3: Jefferson

Appleby, Jefferson

Week 4: J.Q. Adams

Traub, John Quincy Adams

Supplementary: HW Brands, Andrew Jackson, pp. 363-528 only

Week 5: Buchanan

Baker, James Buchanan

Supplementary: Walter Bornman, Polk

Week 6: Lincoln

Donald, Lincoln

Week 7: Reconstruction

Simpson, Reconstruction Presidents

Supplementary: William McKinley

Week 9: Wilson

Cooper, Woodrow Wilson

Supplementary: Jean Yarborough, Theodore Roosevelt and the American Political Tradition

Week 10: FDR

Kevin McMahon, Reconsidering Roosevelt on Race

Supplementary: Lash, Roosevelt and Churchill

Week 11: LBJ

Dallek, Lyndon Johnson

Week 12: Nixon

Farrell, Nixon

supplementary: Lou Cannon, Reagan

Week 13: Obama

David Garrow, Rising Star

supplementary: Tim Naftali, George H.W. Bush

Week 14: Presidency in the Contemporary Era