KC Johnson

History 3442 (spring 2026)

Postwar U.S. political history.

All documents and other primary sources, along with articles, will be e-mailed. The course is an online mix class (one synchronous meeting each week; one asynchronous session).

Requirements:

  • Final exam: 50 percent
  • Group oral presentation: 30 percent
  • Participation: 20 percent

My Contact Information:

Schedule:

Week of January 26: (1) Organizational meeting. Zoom link below:

KC Johnson is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83826897013?pwd=aLMZbhrbK4TWY4gqaa3TAa3QHpUTgS.1

Meeting ID: 838 2689 7013
Passcode: 783512

(2) Asynchronous session. Video links will be emailed and posted to Brightspace. Quiz/question needs to be emailed back to me by evening of Jan. 30.

No reading this week.

Week of Feb. 2: 1960 & the Kennedy Administration

(1) Asynchronous session. Video links will be emailed and posted to Brightspace. Quiz/question needs to be emailed back to me by evening of Feb. 5.

(2) Synchronous session: discussion (plus documents): either M at 6.30 or M at 7.15 or W at 6.30 at class Zoom link.

  • Laura Gifford, “’Dixie is no longer in the bag’: South Carolina Republicans and the Election of 1960,” Journal of Policy History
  • Lawrence McAndrews, “Beyond Appearances: Kennedy, Congress, Religion, and Federal Aid to Education,” Presidential Studies Quarterly.

Week of Feb. 9: LBJ’s First Term/1964

(1) Asynchronous session. Video links will be emailed and posted to Brightspace. Quiz/question needs to be emailed back to me by evening of Feb. 12.

(2) Synchronous session: discussion (plus documents): either M at 6.30 or M at 7.15 or W at 6.30 at class Zoom link.

  • Robert Caro, “The Transition,” New Yorker
  • Rick Perlstein, “Thunder on the Right: The Roots of Conservative Victory in the 1960s,” OAH Magazine of History (2006)

Week of Feb. 16: LBJ’s Second Term/1968

(1) Asynchronous session. Video links will be emailed and posted to Brightspace. Quiz/question needs to be emailed back to me by evening of Feb. 19.

NO Synchronous session this week: No Monday class on college academic schedule.

Week of Feb. 23: Nixon & Political Culture

(1) Asynchronous session. Video links will be emailed and posted to Brightspace. Quiz/question needs to be emailed back to me by evening of Feb. 26.

(2) Synchronous session: discussion (plus documents): either M at 6.30 or M at 7.15 or W at 6.30 at class Zoom link.

  • Kyle Longley, “Target Number One: The Nixon Administration and Foreign Policy Issues in the Efforts to Unseat Senator Albert Gore, Sr. in 1970,” Diplomatic History (2004).
  • Beverly Gage, “Deep Throat, Watergate, and the Bureaucratic Politics of the FBI,” Journal of Policy History (2012).

Week of March 2: Ford & Carter/1976

(1) Asynchronous session. Video links will be emailed and posted to Brightspace. Quiz/question needs to be emailed back to me by evening of March 5.

(2) Synchronous session: discussion (plus documents): either M at 6.30 or M at 7.15 or W at 6.30 at class Zoom link.

  • Donald Critchow and Cynthia Stachecki, “The Equal Rights Amendment Reconsidered: Politics, Policy, and Social Mobilization in a Democracy,” Journal of Policy History
  • Daniel Williams, “The GOP’s Abortion Strategy: Why Pro-Choice Republicans Became Pro-Life in the 1970s,” Journal of Policy History (2011).

Week of March 9: The Reagan Era/1980

(1) Asynchronous session. Video links will be emailed and posted to Brightspace. Quiz/question needs to be emailed back to me by evening of March 12.

(2) Synchronous session: discussion (plus documents): either M at 6.30 or M at 7.15 or W at 6.30 at class Zoom link

  • Jerome L. Himmelstein and James A. McRae, Jr., “Social Conservatism, New Republicans, and the 1980 Election,” The Public Opinion Quarterly
  • Hugh Davis Graham “The Surprising Career of Federal Fair Housing Law,” Journal of Policy History

Week of March 16: 1980s Political Culture/1988

(1) Asynchronous session. Video links will be emailed and posted to Brightspace. Quiz/question needs to be emailed back to me by evening of March 19.

(2) Synchronous session: discussion (plus documents): either M at 6.30 or M at 7.15 or W at 6.30 at class Zoom link

  • WJ Rorabaugh, “Critical Perspectives: Did Prosperity Contribute to the South’s Abandonment of the Democratic Party?,” Journal of Policy History
  • Norman Graebner, “The End of Liberalism,” Journal of Policy History

Week of March 23: From Bush to Clinton/1992

(1) Asynchronous session. Video links will be emailed and posted to Brightspace. Quiz/question needs to be emailed back to me by evening of March 26.

(2) Synchronous session: discussion (plus documents): either M at 6.30 or M at 7.15 or W at 6.30 at class Zoom link

  • Stephen Borrelli, “Finding the Third Way: Bill Clinton, the DLC, and the Democratic Platform of 1992,” Journal of Policy History.

Week of March 30: Political Tumult/2000

(1) Asynchronous session. Video links will be emailed and posted to Brightspace. Quiz/question needs to be emailed back to me by evening of March 31.

NO Synchronous session this week: No Wednesday class on college academic schedule.

Week of April 13: 9/11 and American Politics/2004

(1) Asynchronous session. Video links will be emailed and posted to Brightspace. Quiz/question needs to be emailed back to me by evening of April 16

(2) Synchronous session: discussion (plus documents): either M at 6.30 or M at 7.15 or W at 6.30 at class Zoom link

Week of April 20: The Obama Years/2008

(1) Asynchronous session. Video links will be emailed and posted to Brightspace. Quiz/question needs to be emailed back to me by evening of April 23.

(2) Synchronous session: discussion (plus documents): either M at 6.30 or M at 7.15 or W at 6.30 at class Zoom link

  • Heilemann and Halperin, Game Change (2nd excerpt)
  • Kevin Donnelly and David Rochefort, “The Lessons of ‘Lesson Drawing’: How the Obama Administration Attempted to Learn from Failure of the Clinton Health Plan,” Journal of Policy History (2012).

Week of April 27: The Trump I Era/2016

(1) Asynchronous session. Video links will be emailed and posted to Brightspace. Quiz/question needs to be emailed back to me by evening of April 30.

(2) Synchronous session: discussion (plus documents): either M at 6.30 or M at 7.15 or W at 6.30 at class Zoom link

Week of May 4: The Biden Era/2020

(1) Asynchronous session. Video links will be emailed and posted to Brightspace. Quiz/question needs to be emailed back to me by evening of May 7.

(2) Synchronous session: discussion (plus documents): either M at 6.30 or M at 7.15 or W at 6.30 at class Zoom link

Week of May 11: Group presentations

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Learning objectives for this course include: (1) ability to read and interpret key historical sources, including primary sources, court cases, and congressional debates; (2) ability to determine how important themes in U.S. political history change over time; (3) ability to present key historical arguments orally. Item (1) will occur throughout the course; item (2) will occur in the final examination; item (3) will occur in the presentation.

The faculty and administration of Brooklyn College support an environment free from cheating and plagiarism. Each student is responsible for being aware of what constitutes cheating and plagiarism and for avoiding both. The complete text of the CUNY Academic Integrity Policy and the Brooklyn College procedure for implementing that policy can be found at this site: http://www.brooklyn.cuny.edu/bc/policies. If a faculty member suspects a violation of academic integrity and, upon investigation, confirms that violation, or if the student admits the violation, the faculty member MUST report the violation.

In order to receive disability-related academic accommodations students must first be registered with the Center for Student Disability Services. Students who have a documented disability or suspect they may have a disability are invited to set up an appointment with the Director of the Center for Student Disability Services, Ms. Valerie Stewart-Lovell at 718-951-5538. If you have already registered with the Center for Student Disability Services please provide me with the course accommodation form and discuss your specific accommodation with me (which will, of course, be granted).

State law regarding non-attendance because of religious beliefs can be found in the Bulletin