KC Johnson

core–1970sPP

History 3005

1968 & the Struggles of the West

25 November 2014

 

1. Shocks to the System
2. 1968 (Tet offensive & rise of “credibility gap” in the United States; student protests in Paris; Prague Spring and demise of Soviet Bloc)
3. Terrorism (rise of far-left intellectual interpretations—admiration for Mao, Che; radical students in West Germany; European left terrorism—RAF, Red Brigades, IRA; Munich as turning point?; US approach—Southern Airways hijacking and airlines’ lobby; a non-US concern?)
4. Scandal (Nixon and origins of Watergate—approach to politics, personal background; cover-up, crime, and abuse of power; Post and special prosecutor, discovery of tapes; decision to resign; long-term effects)
5. Human Rights (Solzhenitsyn’s Gulag Archipelago; Ostpolitik and West Germany; Spain, Portugal, Greece—triumph of democracy in the West; Helsinki Accords—trade-off of “inviolability” of boundaries for continent-wide recognition of human rights)
6. Stagflation (OPEC boycott and gas shortages; industrial slowdown and foundations of inflation; Iran revolution: collapse of Shah, emergence of Khomeini, creation of Islamic Republic, effect on world oil prices; Japan as #1?)

 

1. The Conservative Revival
2. Thatcher and Britain (Callaghan and Trade Unions Congress; rejection of wage cut and “winter of discontent”; failure of welfare state?; Thatcher agenda—cut government spending, privatized British aerospace and telephone industries, as well as gas, electrical, and water utilities, confront unions, avoid short-term fixes)
3. Reagan and the United States (travails of Jimmy Carter; Iran hostage crisis and U.S. self-image, botched rescue mission; “Vietnam Syndrome”; Reagan agenda—tax cuts, stronger national defense, “supply-side” economics)

 

core–1960sPP

History 3005

Decolonization & Civil Rights

20 November 2014

 

I . Decolonization

1. Asia (legacy of World War II—shattering presumptions of colonial rule; U.S. commitments—Philippines; Cold War realities—Indonesia; Cold War realities—Vietnam, path to Dienbienphu, increasing U.S. commitment; ethnic tensions—Malaya, Singapore)
2. Africa (race and international relations; significance of Bandung, UN, role of Algeria; Kenyan revolt; burst toward independence; exceptions—Zaire, South Africa, Rhodesia, Portuguese colonies)

 

1. Civil Rights
2. NAACP & Legacy of Jim Crow (challenging Plessy, building precedents; broader social changes—1920s migration, World War II rhetoric; Truman and desegregation of armed forces; Brown decision and massive resistance; Montgomery Bus Boycott and significance of grassroots pressure—King, Rosa Parks)
3. Civil Rights Legislation (Kennedy era: desegregation of Ole Miss, fear of moving too fast, political concerns and filibuster, significance of King and March on Washington; Johnson era: path to Civil Rights Act, politics of Civil Rights Act, Voting Rights Act and implementing 15^th amendment; backlash: California’s Proposition 14, informal segregation, assassinations of King and Kennedy, busing issue)

 

III. Coming Apart

1 . Vietnam: Americanization of the war; who was the enemy?; use of air campaign; shattering the U.S. image: from support of “freedom” to embrace of “imperialism”; Johnson policies; increase in U.S. commitment)

2. Middle East (Arab/Israeli tensions; increased U.S.-Israeli connections; Nasser and Soviet aid; surprise attack and Israeli resistance; land for peace or immediate withdrawal?: Glassboro Summit and path to UN 242; Khartoum and “Three Nos”; emergence of Palestinian issue)

 

core–latercwarPP

History 3005

The Cold War Hardens

18 November 2014

 

 

1. Consolidating Empires
2. The Iron Curtain (Czech coup and death of Masaryk; patterns of Stalinist dictatorship—secret police, one-party state, command economies w/heavy industry—COMECON, crackdown on education—purges of teachers, professors, and students, targeting religion—creation of state churches, show trials—anti-semitism and war against “cosmopolitanism,” Slánský trial in Czechoslovakia; Orwell and “newspeak”)
3. The Western Response (NATO and formalizing U.S.-European connection; success of Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan; creation of West Germany; NSC-68 and expansion of U.S. defense budget; Korean War and transformation of U.S. society; leftward trip in European politics—triumph of Labour party in Britain, creation of welfare state; general trend, Scandinavian socialism; Western European economic growth)
4. Causes of the Cold War (postwar conditions making tension likely—creation of power vacuums; fundamentally different war aims—U.S. stress on democracy and capitalist structure, Soviet desire for empire in buffer areas; legacy of suspicion between U.S. and USSR)

 

1. The High Cold War
2. Spies and Demagogues (“Cambridge Five” spy ring; Rosenbergs and American espionage; HUAC inquiries; Hiss and Pumpkin Papers—rise of Nixon; McCarthyism on the domestic front; McCarran legislation and long-term effects)
3. Cold War Confrontations (beyond Stalin: late paranoia, “Doctor’s Plot,” death and succession struggle; new leaders on both sides—Eisenhower and attempt to limit budget; Khrushchev and moving beyond Stalinism; 1956 secret speech; Hungarian uprising and Soviet intervention—death of Nagy; Berlin crisis and danger of war, East Germany in Soviet system, Khrushchev decision to build Berlin Wall; Cuban Missile Crisis—Castro comes to power, embracing Marxism, nuclear weapons in the modern world, path to missile crisis, effect of resolution)

 

 

core–earlycwarPP

 

Core 1220

Coming of the Cold War

13 November 2014

 

1. Coming of the Cold War
2. The World the War Created (Europe: devastation Germany and Italy; Red Amy Liberation EE; French and British economic devastation; Allied joint occupation of Germany; Nuremberg and war crimes trial—development of crime of “genocide,” denazification—gaps between Soviet and Western zones; differing denazification programs elsewhere—Austria, France; Netherlands, Belgium, Norway—Quisling; Beneš Decrees in Czechoslovakia, expulsion of Germans from Poland; more ethnic homogeneity; 90M displaced)
3. Beyond Europe (creation of UN, question of Security Council’s power, human rights guarantees; East Asia: pressure for decolonization—SE Asia, Vietnam, Indonesia, India; Chinese Civil War; nuclear weapons; Middle East—Northern Tier, Palestine question, British indecision and UN involvement)

 

1. Spiraling Tensions: 1945-8
2. (consolidation of the Soviet Empire: Ukraine and Baltic States; Poland, Bulgaria, Romania; third way?;Truman reliance on State Department and contrast from FDR; importance of Kennan—Long Telegram and interpretation of Soviet behavior; role of European allies—ties among official classes; pulling US in—Churchill and Iron Curtain speech, Monnet and EC, Adenauer and German politics; crisis atmosphere: diplomatic stalemate; Soviet espionage; from Iran crisis to Greece, Turkey and announcement of Truman Doctrine, Marshall Plan and origins of US foreign aid program)
3. Cold War Arrives (U.S. structural change: National Security Act—creation of Department of Defense, Joint Chiefs of Staff, CIA, NSC; establishment of national security state; Ulbricht and Stalinization of East Germany; Hungarian coup and Czech difficulties; Czech coup and death of Masaryk; Berlin airlift and creation of Stalinist East Germany; Finland/Yugoslavia as third ways?;)

 

 

core–wwiiPP

 

History 3005

World War II

11 November 2014

 

1. Total War
2. Path to War (1940 conditions; German decision to move East; Balkan interlude: Greece, Yugoslavia, role of Mussolini; Operation Barbarossa; FDR decision to extend Lend-Lease; Japanese decisions and US embargo; Pearl Harbor)
3. The Global Alliance (FDR’s grand strategy: focus on Europe, decision to launch North African campaign, Darlan Deal & backlash, El Alamein; war in East: Leningrad, Stalingrad, tensions between Hitler and general staff, increasing prominence of SS; Stalin demand for second front, Western reluctance: Allied invasion of Italy and collapse of Mussolini’s government; effect of war on domestic front: mobilization of U.S. economy, path to internment—domestic pressures, anti-Japanese racism, Korematsu decision)
4. War in Europe (diplomatic crises: role of communists in postwar states; Teheran conference; fate of Poland—Katyn & Soviet-Polish relations: 1944: war in West—D-Day landing, battle of Bulge, DeGaulle and Free French, bombing campaign—Dresden; war in the East—Red Army advance, Balkan state reversals; 1945: Yalta Conference and what constitutes a “friendly state?; race to Berlin and collapse of Nazi regime)

 

1. Beyond the War
2. War in the Pacific (Singapore, Philippines, and early Japanese victories; Japanese difficulties in sustaining empire; FDR and island-hopping strategy; China and American imagination; MacArthur and liberation of Philippines; postwar issues—how to deal with colonial empires?; atomic weapons—Manhattan Project and U.S. government; FDR death; Truman and use of atomic bombs)
3. United States & the Holocaust ( “resettlement” plans and path to “Final Solution”—SS and death camps; sympathy with Hitler—France and Vichy regime, puppet states—Croatia, Slovakia; controversy over role of Pope; but also Finland, Denmark; U.S. response—slowness of identification, dealing with Vichy, tardiness of creating WRB; separation of military from humanitarian missions—significance in Hungary: Horthy, Wallenberg, and fate of Hungarian Jews; domestic anti-semitism—HUAC, nature of postwar immigration policy)

 

 

History 3005

The Path to Total War

6 November 2014

core–late30sPP

 

1. After Munich
2. Fascism Radicalized (Italy, Germany, and signing of Axis Pact; East Asia: Japan and China, “rape of Nanking,” FDR and “quarantine” speech, limited European response; Kristillnacht and radicalization of Nazism; St. Louis, Palestine, and international anti-semitism; demise of Czechoslovakia; “peace in our time”)
3. Outbreak of War (Chamberlain and Daladier reversal—guarantees to Poland, Yugoslavia, Romania; Polish difficulties—Beck and fear of USSR; tentative outreaches to Soviet Union; Nazi-Soviet Pact and invasion of Poland; tentative Western response; blitzkrieg and dismemberment of Poland)
4. War in the East (aftermath of the purges: could the USSR be treated as a great power?; Soviet treatment of Baltic States: from “military bases” to outright annexation; Winter War: Soviet-Finnish tensions, start of fighting, Mannerheim Line and Finnish resistance; what does this say about Red Army strength?; British & French aid to Finland? Soviet regrouping and imposed peace)

 

1. World at War
2. The Early War (French attitudes 1939: confidence in superiority over Germany, heavily bureaucratic structure, defensive tendencies—fear of loss of life, Maginot Line; “Phoney War”—fronts in Scandinavia, Balkans?; Scandinavian invasion and Churchill to prime ministership in Britain)
3. The Fall of France (Hitler and strike on Western Front—War Plan Yellow, German war games and decision to strike through Ardennes; French military, political, bureaucratic failure; fall of France and creation of Vichy; Dunkirk and saving of British army; the blitz on London & German-British air war)

 

History 3005

Response to the Depression: New Deal

4 November 2014

core–new dealPP

 

 

1. The Election of 1932
2. Democratic Race (FDR and national politics; FDR gubernatorial record—Frankfurter, appeal to progressives—regulation, taxation, public power; challengers—Smith, Garner, Baker; FDR, agriculture, and South)
3. Creating the New Deal Coalition (1920s and changing nature of Democratic Party—role of ethnic Democrats; South, Depression, and poverty; FDR and intellectuals—Frankfurter connection, NYC and DC journalists; black migration and Democratic outreach to African-Americans—from DePriest to Mitchell in Chicago; Hoover weakness, flexibility of FDR vision—“balanced budget”; Democratic triumph)
4. Depression, New Deal, and the Origins of the American Welfare State
5. FDR and New Deal Ideology (the FDR cabinet; FDR as administrator; 100 Days; three early New Deal tracks—federal spending programs—PWA, WPA, CCC; anti-monopoly revived—regulatory impulse, decline of business’ political clout, FDIC, SEC, “New Dealers” and legal realists, TVA, Glass-Steagall; associationalism—AAA and NRA; effects: 1933 GNP-2.1%; unemployed 24.9%; 1934 GNP+7.7%; unemployed 21.7%)
6. Critics Left and Right (Huey Long and share-the-wealth; Charles Townsend and old-age pensions; old progressives and reconciling to new era; Smith and Liberty League; role of race)
7. Second New Deal? (gearing up for 1936; Long assassination; tackling the public utilities issue; Social Security, Wagner Act, and establishment of modern American welfare state; limits of FDR vision—temporary nature and Morganthau, eclectic management style)
8. The Court-Packing Scheme (1936 and limitations of FDR agenda; poor preparation and political coalition; proposal and opposition—significance of Wheeler defection; judicial fallout: West Coast Hotel v. Parrish (1937); role of Roberts)

 

History 3005

Depression & the 1930s

30 October 2014

core–1930sPP

 

1. The Depression & Its Effects

 

1. The Causes of the Depression (instability in U.S. economy: protectionism, consumer spending, agricultural problems, poor regulation, esp. of Stock Market; market bubble and drying up of loans to Germany—rise of unemployment; crash and credit crunch—failure of Kreditanstalt in Austria; rise of exclusive trading blocs—Britain, France, U.S.)
2. The Fall of the Weimar Republic (decline of “Weimar coalition”; Bruning appointment and deflationary program; 1930 election and rise of extremes; Hitler and Nazi ideology–bases of appeal: demagoguery, nationalism, anti-semitism, right-wing populism; 1932 and creation of “negative majority”; rise of political violence; Hitler to power—Reichstag fire, banning of KPD, Enabling Law and death of German democracy)
3. The Fall of the Versailles System (Japan and 1920s world—Washington Treaties and Wilsonianism in East Asia; common front and Chinese nationalism—emergence of KMT; economic downturn and Japanese politics—growth of militarism; Manchurian Incident and League response; Japanese withdrawal; U.S., Stimson, and FDR)

 

 

1. The Path to War

 

1. Hitler Expansionism (bases of totalitarian state—control of media, control of schools, secret police, use of plebiscites; immediate program—massive defense spending, persecution of Jews, corporatist structures, coopting religion—role of German Catholic Church; suppressing internal dissent—SA and Night of Long Knives; Nuremburg laws and racialization of state; creation of first concentration camps; remilitarization of Rhineland and Western response; Nazi Olympics; how popular was Hitler?)
2. Stalin and the Depression (attraction of communism to European left—emigration from U.S. and European states; industrialization and new Five Year Plan; show trials, purges, and decimation of Red Army; essence of totalitarianism)
3. Instability (weaknesses in Britain and France—early reactions to Hitler and repulsion at prospect of another war; 1934, Austria, and Mussolini; Stresa Front to Ethiopia; searching for additional allies—Stalin and Popular front idea, alliances with France & Czechoslovakia; British approach—Baldwin, Chamberlain, and Treasury concerns with defense spending; Italy, Germany, and signing of Axis Pact; Spanish Civil War and international polarization)

 

History 3005

Imperialism III: The Middle East

28 October 2014

core–middle eastPP

 

1. Imperialism & The New International Order
2. Onset of War (growth of “Berlin-to-Baghdad” concept & growing German-Turkish ties; Turkish instability and rise of Young Turks—difficulties with minorities)
3. The War Develops (German-Turkish secret treaty—Aug. 1914; Turkish decision for war—Oct. 1914; Turkish war aims—attack on Black Sea ports; Russia, the Czar, and appeals to Armenia—failed Turkish invasion; Churchill, Britain, and the Middle East: strategic questions—maintain integrity of OE?, role of the Hejaz, Gallipoli campaign & effects on Commonwealth)
4. The Decline of the Turks (development of the Middle East front: Sykes-Picot and British-French diplomacy, Suez and British strategic desires, expansion from Iraq as war aim to Iraq and Palestine; nationalism and general Allied policy—Thomas Lawrence & encouragement of Arab revolt)

 

1. The War’s Effects
2. The United States and the Armenian Genocide (U.S. approach to war—Wilson & unrestricted submarine warfare, America as neutral arbiter; Young Turks and onset of genocide—legacy of tension, Russo-Turkish War, scapegoat for military difficulties international reaction: Turkish fears, German recalcitrance; Allied declaration of “crimes against humanity”; Wilson concerns—international law, fate of American missionaries and religious colleges, role of Lansing; Morgenthau response; collapse of relationship)
3. Wilson, the Middle East, and the War (fate of Turkey: U.S. strategic ambiguity—decision not to declare war against OE; Ottoman Empire in 14 Points; late developments in war; Allenby military pressure & increased German reinforcements; British land offensive 1917-8; Bolshevik revolution, successor states in east, and last-ditch Turkish offensive; collapse of Turkey)
4. Jewish & Armenian Minorities (international environment of era—Czechs, Balts, other ethnicities; Herzl and founding of Zionist movement—rise of late-19th century anti-semitism, nationalist environment; Palestine in OE; road to Balfour Declaration: significance of Lloyd George; US response to Balfour Declaration—weakness of movement, importance of Brandeis, Wilson and self-determination; Palestine in Sykes-Picot agreement; Armenians; strategic weaknesses—from Transcaucasian Republic to “independent” Armenia, Treaty of Batur; Wilson mandate concept; linkage with Sykes-Picot proposed boundaries & peace conference agreement)
5. From Sèvres to Lausanne (anti-Turkish alliance & dismantling of Ottoman Empire; Mustafa Kemal & revival of Turkish nationalism; crushing of Dem. Rep. of Armenia and path to Treaty of Kars; pressure against Italians; Greek-Turkish war & path to Treaty of Lausanne; significance of Lausanne: annulling Sèvres, population transfer & new approach to minority rights; oil diplomacy: Red Line Agreement and Saudi Arabia)

 

 

 

History 3005

The Postwar World

14 October 2014

core–1920sPP

1. War & Aftermath

 

1. Versailles and the League of Nations (Fourteen Points and Wilsonian peace plans; domestic politics: Orlando, Clemenceau, Lloyd George, 1918 elections in U.S.; disputes between secret treaties and principle of self-determination; Wilsonianism beyond Europe—Egypt, Haiti, China, Korea; self-determination and eastern/central Europe; creation of Weimar Republic—Article 231 and German reaction; League of Nations—Articles 10, 11, 12, 16; U.S. rejection)
2. Russia and the Powers (rise and fall of the Kerensky regime; Constitutional assembly and SR’s; Lenin, Trotsky, and emergence of Bolsheviks; start of Civil War; foreign intervention—Siberia, Murmansk; Russo-Polish war and death of Ukrainian separatism; why did the Bolsheviks win?—nationalism, White divisions, Red terror)

 

1. The 1920s Environment

 

1. The Democracies (Britain: decline of Lloyd George and emergence of Labour party, beginnings of welfare state—unemployment insurance, maximum workweek; distance from France; creation of independent Ireland; France: triumph of nationalists, Poincaré, push for alliances with eastern Europe; eastern and central Europe—the democratic opening: Baltic states, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria; land reform, strong legislatures, emphasis on individual rights, integration into world economy and loans from United States; minority rights)
2. Germany (Weimar and German democracy; welfare state guarantees; internal enemies—Communists, far-right parties, Hitler and Beer Hall Putsch; difficulties with reparations and path to hyperinflation; Ruhr, Dawes Plan, and stabilization; Stresseman and Locarno; reliance on U.S. loans)
3. Totalitarianism & Authoritarianism (Italy—postwar instability and extremism; essence of fascist appeal; Mussolini to power, alignment with Catholic Church, anti-leftist agenda, nationalism and cult of personality; popular image in 1920s; Hungary—from Bela Kun to Horthy; Poland and Piłsudski coup; Soviet Union—Lenin and NEP, crackdown against internal foes—Kronstadt sailors, unions, other leftist leaders; Stalin to power, Five-Year Plan and war against the “kulaks,” Comintern; essence of totalitarianism—mass political party, use of propaganda and technological change)
4. The U.S. Role (Harding and “normalcy”; Washington Conference: 4-, 5-, and 9- power treaties; the implications; US cultural and financial expansion; contradictions: role of USSR, economic nationalism—tariff and foreign debt, formal political commitments—World Court, Chemical Weapons treaty; alternatives—Kellogg-Briand, London Naval Treaty; continued imperialism in Central America—Mexico, Nicaragua)

 

Midterm essay questions. You’ll need to write an exciting, yet concise, response to ONE of these questions next week:

 

1.) What is your view of the Civil War and Reconstruction period (1860-1876) in the United States? Some historians see it as a “second American revolution,” continuing the progress of the Revolutionary and Constitutional era (1774-1791). Other historians see the period as similar to the European “wars of unification” in countries like Germany and Italy. And still other historians are that we should view the Civil War and Reconstruction as a unique era, involving different themes and issues from either the Revolution or contemporaneous events in Europe. What’s your opinion? Be sure to use examples not only from the lectures, but also at least two identified examples from the reading.

 

2.) How well does realist theory–the idea that in foreign policy, nations base their activities solely on what is perceived as advancing the nation’s strategic self-interest–explain European affairs from 1860 through 1918? Discuss, making reference to at least three of the following events: the Wars of German unification; the status of the Ottoman Empire; events in the Balkans (1878-1914); European imperialism; World War I. Be sure to use examples not only from the lectures, but also at least two identified examples from the reading.

History 3005

World War I

9 Oct. 2014

World War I PP

1. Path to War

 

1. Diplomatic Difficulties (shocks to the system: Moroccan crisis, two Balkan wars, German naval buildup; confidence in peace: Ernest Angell and economic cooperation, Socialist parties and commitment to internationalism, cultural ties in western and central Europe; difficulties: tightening of alliance system; German development of Schlieffen Plan; Serb nationalism and terrorism)
2. Start of War (archduke assassination and slow path to war; “Blank Check” and Kaiser beliefs; “use-it-or-lose-it” philosophy; why did the Austrians delay?; Russian and German mobilization; Austrian indecision and attack on Serbia; Grey and British politics; German invasion of Belgium and British entry into war; rise of nationalism on all sides)

 

1. The War

 

1. Failure of the Schlieffen Plan (creation of the Western Front and the “race to the sea”; beginning of trench warfare & massive casualties; Eastern front & monumental Russian failures; Balkan front and two-stage invasion—Turkish and Bulgarian decisions to enter war, fighting in Armenia; new fronts: Gallipoli campaign in Turkey, Treaty of London, Italian entrance, and opening of Italian front)
2. The Horrors of War (Western front: trench warfare and machine guns, futility of French strategy, Britain and the lost generation, Verdun & Somme, introduction of poison gas; Eastern front: Russian military incompetence and supply issues, Czar takes control, rising anti-semitism and domestic unrest; Austrian front: Czech Legion and nationalist difficulties, fighting in Italy, Romanian entry into war and Austro-German capture of Balkans; Middle East: path to Armenian genocide, British into Arabia; U.S.: unrestricted submarine warfare and Woodrow Wilson)
3. The War Ends (military changes: introduction of tanks, airplanes, resuming sub warfare; political changes: de facto military rule Germany; de facto German rule Austria, collapse of Tsar’s regime in Russia; diplomatic changes: U.S. 1916 election, entrance of United States into war, Treaty of Brest-Litovsk; final battle on Western front)

History 3005
Imperialism II, Latin America
7 October 2014
Imperialism II PP

1. War and Aftermath
2. The Cuban Revolt (Cuba and the Spanish empire; transformation of Cuban economy—abolition of slavery, dramatic expansion of U.S. investment; earlier revolt and U.S. policy; racial and economic issues within Cuba)
3. The U.S. Involvement (1893: renewed conflict and effects; Spanish response—Weyler strategies; Venezuela: Olney manifesto and more assertive U.S. role in hemisphere; Cuban junta and U.S. public opinion; economic pressure from business interests; sinking of the Maine; McKinley and decision for war—Teller amendment; war and U.S. public opinion; McKinley decisions [Cuba, Philippines, and Puerto Rico] and debate; road to the Platt amendment)

 

1. Imperial Rivalries in the Western Hemisphere
2. The Panama Canal (TR Reputation & muscular image; pre-presidential background and succession of McKinley; demise of Clayton-Bulwer Treaty; Panama—French canal company’s failure, re-emergence of interest after Spanish-American War; negotiations with Colombia; breakdown and decision to sponsor rebellion; violation of Bidlack’s Treaty; poisonous effects on hemisphere)
3. The Venezuela crisis (Latin American regimes and reliance on foreign capital; Poyais affair; foreign investment and diplomatic leverage; Castro government and foreign loans; German-British-Italian intervention; U.S. response; decision from The Hague: international law in the pre-World War I era)
4. Alternatives to Intervention (2^nd Cuban intervention; Dominican Republic and customs receivership—model for future?; demographic and economic trends Latin America—population shift Argentina)
5. Mexican Revolution and Imperialism (after Juarez: the Diaz dictatorship, the scientificos and foreign investment; 1900-onwards concern with excessive U.S. investment and opening to Europe; Britain and Mexican oilfields; Madero rebellion, Diaz ouster, and continued instability; U.S. policy and importance of Henry Lane Wilson; British policy and significance of agents; Germany and the hemisphere; U.S. and the coup)
6. Woodrow Wilson and Imperialism (contradictions in Wilsonianism—bold rhetoric, emphasis on peace and internationalism; racism, paternalism; interventions in Haiti and Dominican Republic: American colonialism?)

 

 

History 3005

The Balkans

30 Sept. 2014

core–balkansPP

1. The Decline of the Ottoman Empire

 

1. The Crimean War (Napoleon III and illusions of grandeur; dispute over control of Holy Land; indecisiveness by Sultan; Russian decision to attack; technological developments; British-French intervention; nature of fighting—military firsts; Russian defeat; postwar settlement—how to handle Balkan areas on Turkish frontier?, strategic importance of Romania, Russian destruction Black Sea fleet)

 

2. The Russo-Turkish War (Russian expansionism and central Asia; search for warm-water port—Dardanelles as preferred option; Russian excuses—Lebanon crisis, Crete crisis, treatment of Christians in O.E.; uprisings in Montenegro, Serbia, Bosnia; Bulgarian “massacres” and international attention—development of human rights law; Serbian war and Russian support; Turkish passivity and Russian victory—dual front war; from San Stefano to Congress of Berlin)

 

1. New Alignments

 

1. Prussian Diplomacy (Bismarck and role of diplomacy—isolate France; pacifying Austria; Triple Alliance—OE, Italy, A-H; Reinsurance Treaty with Russia; Kaiser displacement of Bismarck; increasingly erratic nature of German diplomacy)

 

2. European Tensions (Russian instability—political tensions, anti-Jewish pogroms; France—creation of Third Republic, internal divisions, path to Dreyfus Affair; Germany—Reichstag and movement toward constitutional monarchy?; Britain and expansion of franchise)

 

3. New Problems in the Balkans (Turkish instability and rise of Young Turks—difficulties with minorities; 1908 crisis and Austrian seizure of Bosnia; creation of Balkan League and path to First Balkan War; creation of Albania; Second Balkan War and decline of Bulgaria; continuing instability)

 

 

 

History 3005

Nationalism & State Formation

18 September 2014

 

core–civil warPP

1. The U.S. Civil War: Pressing Issues
2. Legacies (election of 1860; Crittenden Compromises; was there a constitutional way to avoid the Civil War?; Lincoln and executive authority—the Constitution in civil conflict: habeus corpus, martial law, draft law and its inequities; growth of federal government—Homestead Act, Land Grant College Act, Pacific RR Act)
3. The Aims of War (what were the Union’s war aims?—Emancipation Proclamation or retaining union; role of race: is the 13^th amendment enough? What is the obligation of the federal government to the former slaves?, economic vs. political rights; role of war: was the “conflict” a “war”?; role of federalism: can the Constitution survive the Civil War?, issue of military government vs. states’ rights; future of Republican Party: economic vs. ideological interests)

 

1. Reconstruction
2. From Lincoln to Johnson (interpreting Lincoln’s plan for Reconstruction; legacy of Union Party; Johnson political background and role of race; former rebels and postwar Congress; Black Codes and Southern policies; constitutional theories—national or federal government?; Freedmen’s Bureau and the limits of Washington’s power)
3. Reconstruction Agenda (overpowering the President: Civil Rights Act of 1866; going around the President—14^th and 15^th amendments; military governments—Reconstruction Act of 1867; constitutional crisis: House impeachment; Senate trial and acquittal; ramifications—weakening of Radicals, politicizing impeachment?)
4. The Failure of Reconstruction (Johnson and the weakening of the Republican coalition; the constitutional world of US Grant; implementing the 14^th amendment—Enforcement Act [1870], Ku Klux Klan Act [1871], Civil Rights Act [1875]; blueprints for a Republican South; Southern “redeemers” and massive resistance; 1876 election)

 

III. Patterns of Unification

1. Germany (development of Prussian state: bureaucracy, militarism, complicated international record; legacy of 1848 revolutions; unification through warfare—Denmark, Austria, France)
2. Italy (city-states and legacy of Renaissance; Napoleonic period and pseudo-unification; unification and republicanism; unresolved issues—monarchy, power of religion)
3. Mexico (post-independence decline; impact of war with U.S.; political battles—question of clerical power; French intervention and regrouping of Liberals; emergence of Juarez)

 

—

History 3005

Europe in 1850

16 Sept. 2014

core–world in 1850 pp

1. The Congress of Vienna
2. Dual Containment (Metternich vision—principles of realpolitik; domestic and international threats; fear of revolutions; potential problems: Austria and dangers of nationalism—ethnicities and Austrian empire, liberal tendencies in Bohemia, entrenched interests of Hungarian nobility; containing changes caused by French revolution; how to integrate Britain and Russia?)
3. Outliers (Russia: suppression of “Decembrist” revolt, continued autocracy, nationalistic, ethnic, religious challenges; creation of Pale and resolution of Jewish “problem”; Britain: desire for freer representation—Reform Act (1832) and doubling of franchise; Chartist movement and attempt for universal male suffrage; Corn Laws and effects on the masses—1846 repeal; industrialization and creation of new classes—Poor Act (1834); religious tolerance and Catholics; Irish question—religious discrimination, economic discrimination, potato famine and mass emigration)

 

1. Nationalism and Instability

 

1. Nod to Nationalism I: Greece (contradiction for anti-revolutionary Holy Alliance—support of stability or support of Christianity?; appeal in Britain, United States; significance of British support and British movement into eastern Mediterranean; U.S. issuance of Monroe Doctrine and temporary political separation from Europe)
2. Nod to Nationalism II: The Netherlands (Congress of Vienna and creation of “Kingdom of Netherlands”; problems in Belgium—differing religions, languages, culture; 1830 revolt; establishment of independent Belgium with international guarantee of neutrality—international law to protect weaker states?)
3. France (restoration of Bourbons; Charles and absolutism—1830 revolt; Louis Philippe and “people’s monarch”; path to 1848—L.P. abdication, from bourgeois to workers’ revolt—expansion of electorate, creation of Second Republic and election of Louis Napoleon)
4. The French Trigger (instability in Germany: student and press uprisings, role of Prussia; German Zollverein (1843)—continued desire for unification; 1848 and Europe: revolts in Austrian empire, German and Italian states, the Netherlands and Belgium, Russia, Spain, and Portugal—Russian intervention suppressing Hungarian revolt, departure of Metternich; long-term effects?)
5. U.S. Expansionism (legacy of divisions over slavery; Clay and path to Missouri Compromise; Calhoun, Jackson, and debates over unionism; Adams and beginning of abolitionism; power politics come to the Americas: Texas independence, 1844 election, Mexican War and debates over slavery in territories)

History 3005

New Political Patterns

4 Sept. 2014

 

 

core–amrevPP

core2014–2

History 3005

Western Hemisphere Colonization

2 September 2014

 

1. Iberian Empires
2. Spain in 1492 (Spain in Middle Ages; reunification and battle against Moors; anti-semitism and Spanish nationalism; rivalry with Portugal; weakness of monarchy and sponsorship of Columbus)
3. Colonization Process (Columbus and failure of Dominican Republic colonization—long-term effects; Aztecs and Incas—appointment of Pizarro and Cortes, success of Spanish conquest: role of technology, disease, internal divisions among Indian empires; consolidation of control—creation of Viceroyalties of Peru and Mexico, importance of bureaucracy; gold & silver economy, role of mita; development of hacienda system and Spanish agriculture; Catholic Church and república de los indios; acceptance of Indians’ common lands)
4. Portuguese Empire (commercial expansion and development of spice trade; importance of Africa outposts; Treaty of Tordesillas and Brazilian opening; British alliance and waning of Portuguese power; Spanish invasion [1580] and gradual decline; Dutch and Brazil; creation of Brazilian sugar colony—importance of slavery in Portuguese structure)

 

1. North American Empires
2. France (development of French state; importance of land power; three-pronged approach to colonization: strategic outposts [Quebec, Montreal, Detroit, New Orleans]; role of church; economic impetus—fur trading; underpopulation and Indian alliances; role of Haiti in French empire)
3. Britain (peripheral power in 16^th century Europe; strengthening of British monarchy, growth of British commerce; British approach to empire—decentralized state, mercantilism in theory, not in practice—non-enforcement of Navigation Act; empire as cooling-off point for dissenters—Puritans, Quakers, Catholics, prison advocates; Jamaica, Barbados, and slave colonies; development of Atlantic World—commerce, slave trade)
4. Failed Colonizers (emergence of Netherlands and creation of new European economy; Dutch and development of northeastern Brazil; “New Netherlands” and Dutch settlement of New York; limits on Dutch empire—Portuguese/British alliance and collapse of Dutch; “New Sweden” and Swedish W. Hemisphere efforts)
5. Decline of the Spanish Empire (dangers of imperial overstretch—Spanish budgetary and governance difficulties; British targeting; European wars; limits of mercantilism—Peace of Utrecht and origins of asiento)

 

 

opening PP

History 3005

Introduction

28 August 2014

http://kc-johnson.com

 

1. Course Requirements

 

1. Time Periods

 

1. Colonization and Revolutions (Initial Expansion: The Columbian Exchange, Colonialism, and Slavery; Enlightenment thinkers—new approaches to politics; Revolutions—United States, France, Latin America)
2. The European Century (Industrialization and its effects; European diplomacy in the 19^th century; nationalism and state formation—United States, Italy, Balkans; imperialism in East Asia, Africa, and Latin America)
3. World in Turmoil (World War I—causes & effects; communism and postwar settlement; depression, fascism, Stalinism; path to World War II and conflict)
4. The Postwar Era (Cold War and its hardening; decolonization; 1960s challenges; globalization and the post-Cold War world)

 

III. Surveying the World Order

 

1. Age of Empires (Chinese domination, peculiarities of worldview; rise and fall of Mogul Empire; African states; Islamic world—emergence of Ottoman Empire; Latin America—rise and fall of Mayans, Aztec and Inca Empires; European weakness—intellectual, economic, military)
2. Why Did Europe Come to Predominate? (significance of nation-state system: political rivalries, national security as economic driver, openness to risk-taking—differing approaches to government, differing economic theories, importance of international trade; religious rivalries—stimulation of intellectual development, creation of rival elites; luck—Spanish & Portuguese colonization schemes)
3. Development of Nation-States (transition from feudalism; role of religion; emergence of major empires in Central and Eastern Europe; course of Thirty Years War; Treaty of Westphalia & beginning of international law)