Saturday, December 5, 2009
Friday, November 13, 2009
Connection between USSR and US?
As we know, 11/10 marked the anniversay of the Berlin Wall coming down. The Daily Show did a great segment about this. The connections between the USSR and US were really funny and really well done. Click here to see the entire video- the particular segment I'm speaking about beings at the 9:30 mark.
Friday, November 6, 2009
Gerald Ford's "Whip Inflation Now" Speech
A couple of students asked last night about Ford's "Whip Inflation Now" campaign. Here is the speech in which he unveiled the program.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Saturday, October 10, 2009
midterm review terms
The midterm will contain 12 ID terms from the following list:
"A Cross of Gold"
George B. Cortelyou
"Muckrakers"
Great White Fleet
Underwood Tariff
Henry Cabot Lodge
A. Mitchell Palmer
The Dawes Plan
The Wagner Act
The "Court Packing Crisis"
Robert Oppenheimer
Berlin Airlift
NSC-68
"The New Look"
Guatemala, 1954
"A Cross of Iron"
Strategic Hamlets
It will also include an essay on one of the following themes.
Essay Topics:
Compare and contrast the foreign policy initiatives of Woodrow Wilson and Franklin D. Roosevelt, and assess the effectiveness of each.
Analyze the concept of the the "Liberal Consensus" and describe its evolution during the first two decades of the Cold War (1945-65).
"A Cross of Gold"
George B. Cortelyou
"Muckrakers"
Great White Fleet
Underwood Tariff
Henry Cabot Lodge
A. Mitchell Palmer
The Dawes Plan
The Wagner Act
The "Court Packing Crisis"
Robert Oppenheimer
Berlin Airlift
NSC-68
"The New Look"
Guatemala, 1954
"A Cross of Iron"
Strategic Hamlets
It will also include an essay on one of the following themes.
Essay Topics:
Compare and contrast the foreign policy initiatives of Woodrow Wilson and Franklin D. Roosevelt, and assess the effectiveness of each.
Analyze the concept of the the "Liberal Consensus" and describe its evolution during the first two decades of the Cold War (1945-65).
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Thursday, September 24, 2009
precident for heckling the president
Slate has a piece on Joe Wilson's "outburst," and whether and when this sort of thing has happened before.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Course Syllabus
HI476 THE AMERICAN PRESIDENCY
R.S. Deese
Boston University Metropolitan College
Fall 2009
rsdeese@gmail.com
Course Description
This course will focus on the changing institution of the presidency during the twentieth century. As it examines such pivotal administrations as those of TR, Wilson, FDR, LBJ, Reagan, and Bush (I & II), this course will pay special attention to the constitutional parameters of presidential power and the evolving concept of the “imperial presidency" over the past century. We will also consider how changes in our political culture, driven by the rapid evolution of new communication technologies, have affected the office of the presidency.
Attendance at all lectures is mandatory. Unless you have a documented medical or family emergency, you need to come to every lecture.
Required Course Materials
Secondary Sources
Brinkley Reader's Companion to the American Presidency, 00 (HM), ISBN 978-0-3-9578889-9
Gould Modern American Presidency, 03 (U PR of KS), ISBN 978-0-7-0061330-4
Primary Sources
Mailer Miami and the Siege of Chicago, 08 (Ingram), ISBN 978-1-5-9017296-4
Basic Ground Rules
1. Turn off all cell phones, MP3 players, etc. before all class meetings begin.
2. Always come on time to all class meetings, and participate in all discussions. Please don’t be shy about speaking up in class discussions, and don’t be afraid to ask questions. Virtually all original scholarship begins by posing questions that others have overlooked or dismissed as simply not worth asking; therefore, the very question you might be afraid to ask because it seems naïve or unorthodox could well be the most interesting and groundbreaking question that anyone could raise. Don’t hesitate to ask it. Also, please remember that I am more than happy to field your questions and address your concerns via email, telephone, and during my regular office hours.
3. Always come to class prepared to discuss all readings for that week. When you do the assigned reading each week, be sure to underline passages that you see as important, and write down questions that you would like to raise in our section meetings and in my office hours.
Grade Breakdown
Attendance & Participation 25%
Midterm 30%
5-6 Pge Primary Source Paper 25%
Final Exam 30%
Midterm and Final Examinations
To prepare for these exams, be sure to review the assigned readings and your notes from lectures and discussion sections. Feel free to contact me via email or during office hours concerning any questions you might have. A portion of the class prior to the midterm will be devoted to review, and I will also a hold review session prior to the final exam. Please bear in mind that these review sessions will be most profitable to those who have prepared for them by thoroughly studying the material at hand.
Paper
You are required to write an 5-6 page position paper analyzing three primary source documents. In this paper, you will be required to develop an original thesis that relates the three primary sources to each other and to their historical context. Late papers will be penalized 5% each day past the due date.
Regulations Against Plagiarism
Needless to say, the work you present must be entirely your own and all sources must be diligently credited in your footnotes and bibliography. Any attempt at plagiarism, representing the work of another person as your own, will be result in failure in this course and severe disciplinary action by Boston University.
IMPORTANT: Please read the Academic Conduct Code to understand policy of Boston University regarding plagiarism. The punishment for any form of plagiarism at this institution is, as it should be, very severe. As you are writing your term papers, please don’t hesitate to contact me beforehand if you have any questions concerning the proper citation of source materials.
MET HI476 Schedule of Readings Prof Deese
Fall 2009
September 3 Introduction
McKinley and the Birth of the Modern Presidency
Brinkley 93-109; 187-201; 277-287
September 10 The Activist Presidency of TR
Woodrow Wilson's Domestic and International Agendas
Brinkley 289-303; 317-332
Gould 1-55
September 17 No "Return to Normalcy": The 1920s from Harding to Hoover
FDR's First Hundred Days
Evolution of the New Deal Consensus
Brinkley 356-385
Gould 56-99
September 24 "Dr. New Deal" Becomes "Dr. Win the War"
Harry Truman and the National Security State
The Cold War and the Rise of the “Imperial Presidency”
Brinkley 387-401
Gould 100-124
October 1 Eisenhower’s “Modern Republicanism”
“Superman at the Supermarket” JFK and Postwar Political Culture
“The Great Society”: LBJ’s Domestic Agenda
Brinkley 403-446
Gould 125-148
October 8 A TVA on the Mekong Delta: LBJ’s Foreign Policy
Fracture: The Election of 1968
The Rise, Fall and Second Rise of Richard Nixon
Brinkley 449-463
Gould 149-169
Mailer ALL
October 15 Midterm
October 22 “The Southern Strategy” Nixon’s Domestic Agenda
Nixon’s Foreign Policy Agenda
“There you go again.” 1980 and Return of the Imperial Presidency
Brinkley 465-487
October 29 Inflation, Debt, and Reaganomics
Reagan and Gorbachev
How long was “the Age of Reagan”?
Gould 191-212
Sean Wilentz HANDOUT
November 5 GHW Bush’s Domestic Agenda.“A Kinder, Gentler Nation”
From “The End of History” to “Operation Desert Storm”
Brinkley 507-517
November 12 The Election of 1992
Bill Clinton’s Domestic and Foreign Policy Agendas
Brinkley 519-539
Gould 213-238
November 19 PAPER DUE
Impeachment
The Election of 2000
Wilentz Handout
Thanksgiving Break
December 3 George W Bush’s Domestic and Foreign Policy Agendas
Cheney, Rumsfeld, and the “Unitary Executive”
The Politics of National Security Before and After 9/11
Charlie Savage Handout
December 10 The Presidency & Party Politics in the U.S. 1948-2008
The Future of the Presidency & the U.S. Constitution
December Final Exam
R.S. Deese
Boston University Metropolitan College
Fall 2009
rsdeese@gmail.com
Course Description
This course will focus on the changing institution of the presidency during the twentieth century. As it examines such pivotal administrations as those of TR, Wilson, FDR, LBJ, Reagan, and Bush (I & II), this course will pay special attention to the constitutional parameters of presidential power and the evolving concept of the “imperial presidency" over the past century. We will also consider how changes in our political culture, driven by the rapid evolution of new communication technologies, have affected the office of the presidency.
Attendance at all lectures is mandatory. Unless you have a documented medical or family emergency, you need to come to every lecture.
Required Course Materials
Secondary Sources
Brinkley Reader's Companion to the American Presidency, 00 (HM), ISBN 978-0-3-9578889-9
Gould Modern American Presidency, 03 (U PR of KS), ISBN 978-0-7-0061330-4
Primary Sources
Mailer Miami and the Siege of Chicago, 08 (Ingram), ISBN 978-1-5-9017296-4
Basic Ground Rules
1. Turn off all cell phones, MP3 players, etc. before all class meetings begin.
2. Always come on time to all class meetings, and participate in all discussions. Please don’t be shy about speaking up in class discussions, and don’t be afraid to ask questions. Virtually all original scholarship begins by posing questions that others have overlooked or dismissed as simply not worth asking; therefore, the very question you might be afraid to ask because it seems naïve or unorthodox could well be the most interesting and groundbreaking question that anyone could raise. Don’t hesitate to ask it. Also, please remember that I am more than happy to field your questions and address your concerns via email, telephone, and during my regular office hours.
3. Always come to class prepared to discuss all readings for that week. When you do the assigned reading each week, be sure to underline passages that you see as important, and write down questions that you would like to raise in our section meetings and in my office hours.
Grade Breakdown
Attendance & Participation 25%
Midterm 30%
5-6 Pge Primary Source Paper 25%
Final Exam 30%
Midterm and Final Examinations
To prepare for these exams, be sure to review the assigned readings and your notes from lectures and discussion sections. Feel free to contact me via email or during office hours concerning any questions you might have. A portion of the class prior to the midterm will be devoted to review, and I will also a hold review session prior to the final exam. Please bear in mind that these review sessions will be most profitable to those who have prepared for them by thoroughly studying the material at hand.
Paper
You are required to write an 5-6 page position paper analyzing three primary source documents. In this paper, you will be required to develop an original thesis that relates the three primary sources to each other and to their historical context. Late papers will be penalized 5% each day past the due date.
Regulations Against Plagiarism
Needless to say, the work you present must be entirely your own and all sources must be diligently credited in your footnotes and bibliography. Any attempt at plagiarism, representing the work of another person as your own, will be result in failure in this course and severe disciplinary action by Boston University.
IMPORTANT: Please read the Academic Conduct Code to understand policy of Boston University regarding plagiarism. The punishment for any form of plagiarism at this institution is, as it should be, very severe. As you are writing your term papers, please don’t hesitate to contact me beforehand if you have any questions concerning the proper citation of source materials.
MET HI476 Schedule of Readings Prof Deese
Fall 2009
September 3 Introduction
McKinley and the Birth of the Modern Presidency
Brinkley 93-109; 187-201; 277-287
September 10 The Activist Presidency of TR
Woodrow Wilson's Domestic and International Agendas
Brinkley 289-303; 317-332
Gould 1-55
September 17 No "Return to Normalcy": The 1920s from Harding to Hoover
FDR's First Hundred Days
Evolution of the New Deal Consensus
Brinkley 356-385
Gould 56-99
September 24 "Dr. New Deal" Becomes "Dr. Win the War"
Harry Truman and the National Security State
The Cold War and the Rise of the “Imperial Presidency”
Brinkley 387-401
Gould 100-124
October 1 Eisenhower’s “Modern Republicanism”
“Superman at the Supermarket” JFK and Postwar Political Culture
“The Great Society”: LBJ’s Domestic Agenda
Brinkley 403-446
Gould 125-148
October 8 A TVA on the Mekong Delta: LBJ’s Foreign Policy
Fracture: The Election of 1968
The Rise, Fall and Second Rise of Richard Nixon
Brinkley 449-463
Gould 149-169
Mailer ALL
October 15 Midterm
October 22 “The Southern Strategy” Nixon’s Domestic Agenda
Nixon’s Foreign Policy Agenda
“There you go again.” 1980 and Return of the Imperial Presidency
Brinkley 465-487
October 29 Inflation, Debt, and Reaganomics
Reagan and Gorbachev
How long was “the Age of Reagan”?
Gould 191-212
Sean Wilentz HANDOUT
November 5 GHW Bush’s Domestic Agenda.“A Kinder, Gentler Nation”
From “The End of History” to “Operation Desert Storm”
Brinkley 507-517
November 12 The Election of 1992
Bill Clinton’s Domestic and Foreign Policy Agendas
Brinkley 519-539
Gould 213-238
November 19 PAPER DUE
Impeachment
The Election of 2000
Wilentz Handout
Thanksgiving Break
December 3 George W Bush’s Domestic and Foreign Policy Agendas
Cheney, Rumsfeld, and the “Unitary Executive”
The Politics of National Security Before and After 9/11
Charlie Savage Handout
December 10 The Presidency & Party Politics in the U.S. 1948-2008
The Future of the Presidency & the U.S. Constitution
December Final Exam
Friday, September 4, 2009
NPR commemorates William Jennings Bryan's 1896 "Cross of Gold" speech
NPR writers made one mistake in this piece: William Jennings Bryan did not have a micrphone at the 1896 Democratic Convention.
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