Yeshiva College
Spring Term 2004
Professor Ellen Schrecker
Spring Semester, 2004
Mon/Wed. 3:00-4:15

History 2510 -- History of American Foreign Relations

SYLLABUS

Office Hours:

Yeshiva, Furst 326, ext. 320, Mon-Wed. 4:15-5:00 or by appointment.
Home phone (212) 316-4072, e-mail: schreckr@ymail.yu.edu

Course Description:

            This course will explore the foreign relations of the United States from the American Revolution to the beginning of World War II. We will be examining the process through which a former colony that began as a very minor player in international affairs became a major world power. Throughout the semester we will be pondering the questions that continue to trouble historians and other observers of American foreign relations. Was and is the United States an imperial power? Was the United States isolationist for most of its history? Does idealism or self-interest drive American foreign relations? Among the topics to be covered are: the diplomacy of the American Revolution, War of 1812, Monroe Doctrine, Indian Removal, Western Expansion, Mexican War, diplomacy of the Civil War, imperialism, World War I, International Economics, Isolationism and Intervention in World War II.

Assigned Texts: (available in paperback at the bookstore)

            Thomas Paterson, et al. American Foreign Relations, 5^th ed., vol. 1

            Dennis Merrill and Thomas Paterson, Major Problems in American Foreign Relations, 5^th

ed., vol. 1

            Akira Iriye, The Cambridge History of American Foreign Relations, Volume III:

The Globalizing of America, 1913-1945

            Additional readings may be Xeroxed and handed out in class.

Course Requirements:

            It is important to attend class regularly, participate in the discussions, and keep up with the readings (which should be done before the class at which they are assigned). Students who have more than three unexcused absences will be penalized 1/3 of a grade.

            There will be 8 short quizzes (some may be take-home), a midterm, and a final.  There will also be an optional research paper. Students who get a B+ or higher on the first 3 quizzes and obtain the permission of the instructor have the option of writing a 10-page research paper instead of the midterm.

            Grades will be determined in accordance with the following criteria:

NOTICE ON PLAGIARISM:

            Plagiarism is the cardinal sin of academic life. It will not be tolerated in this class. It is expected that all the work you submit will be your own. Thanks to the internet, it has become easy for an instructor to detect plagiarism and students who hand in plagiarized papers will get an "F" on that assignment and may get an "F" in the course. In addition, students who plagiarize risk disciplinary action.

CLASS SCHEDULE

Please complete the readings before the class at which they are assigned. Bring Major Problems to class.

          Students may not get up and go out of the room during class. Any student who does so will not be allowed back in class.

1. Jan. 19         Introduction to American Foreign Relations

2. Jan. 21         Diplomacy of the American Revolution

                        Paterson, 1-36

                        Major Problems, 30-60

3. Jan. 26         The Great Debate of the 1790s

                        Paterson, 41-59

                        Major Problems, 62-93

                        Quiz 1

4. Jan. 28         Isolation and Expansion in the New Nation: The Louisiana Purchase

                        Paterson, 59-66

                        Major Problems, 95-126

5. Feb. 2          The War of 1812

                        Paterson, 66-80

                        Major Problems, 128-163

                        Quiz 2

6. Feb. 4          The Monroe Doctrine and American Expansion

                        Paterson, 85-105

                        Major Problems, 165-189

7. Feb. 9          Expansion and the American Indians

                        Major Problems, 191-224

8. Feb. 11        The Mexican War

                        Paterson, 105-124

                        Major Problems, 226-264

                        Quiz 3

9. Feb. 16        Expansion, Sectional Conflict, and Civil War

                        Paterson, 128-156

10. Feb. 18      The Origins of Overseas Expansion I

                        Paterson, 161-196

                        Major Problems, 459-461

11. Feb. 23      The Origins of Overseas Expansion II

                        Major Problems, 309-343

                        Quiz 4

                        Prospectus for Optional Research Paper Due

12. Feb. 25      The Spanish-American (Cuban-Filipino) War

                        Paterson, 201-220

                        Major Problems, 346-377

13. Mar. 1        The United States Takes an Empire

                        Major Problems, 379-419

14. Mar. 3        The Open Door: American Policy in East Asia

                        Paterson, 221-229

                        Major Problems,  297-306, 420-454

                        Quiz 5

15. Mar. 8        Progressivism and Expansion in the Caribbean and Central America

                        Paterson, 232-251, 255-262

                        Major Problems, 456-491       

16. Mar. 10      Midterm

17. Mar. 15      World War I and American Neutrality

                        Paterson, 268-286

                        Major Problems, 493-501

                        Iriye, (1-18), 9-38

18. Mar. 17      The United States in World War I

                        Paterson, 286-89

                        Major Problems, 501-533

                        Iriye,  39-57

19. Mar. 22      Peace-Making and the Treaty of Versailles

                        Paterson, 289-303

                        Iriye, 58-72

                        Quiz 6

                        Outline and Bibliography for Optional Research Paper Due

20. Mar. 24      Diplomacy and Revolution after World War I

                        Iriye, 73-87

21. Mar. 29      Diplomacy and Economics in the 1920s

                      Iriye, 88-102

22. Mar. 31      The Search for Peace in the 1920s

                        Iriye, 103-115

                        Quiz 7

Passover Recess

23. Apr. 19      Isolationism and Neutrality

                        Iriye, 116-130

24. Apr. 21      The United States, Appeasement, and the Beginning of World War II

                        Iriye, 131-48

25. Apr. 28      The Arsenal of Democracy

                        Iriye, 149-69   

                        Quiz 8

26. May 3:       Toward Pearl Harbor

                        Iriye, 170-190

                        Optional Research Paper Due

Reading Period

Final Exam: Friday, May 14, 2004, 12 pm

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