TIME: MWF, 10:00-10:50 a.m., 28 Holden Hall,

Fall Semester 2002, Texas Tech University

Office: 49 Holden Hall

COURSE OBJECTIVES: To obtain a better understanding of the events, people, and ideas that helped shape U.S. foreign relations from the American Revolution until the election of Woodrow Wilson. More specifically, the goals of this course include:

1) To discover the importance of studying diplomatic history. Why is a course on diplomatic history even taught at Texas Tech? How will this course influence your understanding of the overall history of the United States? Why study diplomatic history when there are so many other important historical fields? You should discover answers to these questions throughout the semester.

2) To gain an appreciation for the influence of the period under study in this course on overall U.S. history. How did U.S. diplomacy influence its establishment first as a country and then as a major power? How did the Monroe Doctrine help shape the development of the United States for almost century? Why did American participation in imperialism at the end of the 19^th century have such an impact on the United States in the 20^th century? You will find answers to these questions and more in this class.

3) To recognize trends in American diplomatic history that continue to today. How did George Washington’s admonishment to avoid entangling alliances influence American foreign relations? How has it been modified? Why can some historians argue that the Monroe Doctrine still affects U.S. diplomacy? How has the drive for economic security influenced the development of the United States as a world power? You will recognize these and other trends as the course unfolds.

COURSE MATERIALS:

1) Text – Patterson, Thomas G., J. Garry Clifford, and Kenneth J. Hagan, American Foreign Relations: A History to 1920, vol. 1, 5^th ed. (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2000).

2) Supplementary Reading

a) Reuter, Frank T. Trials and Triumphs: George Washington’s Foreign Policy (Ft. Worth: Texas Christian University Press, 1983).

b) Jones, Howard. Union in Peril (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1992).

c) Marks, Frederick W. Velvet on Iron: The Diplomacy of Theodore Roosevelt (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1979).

COURSE REQUIREMENTS: Members of this class will be responsible for all material addressed in this course, including lectures, readings, discussions, and films. The final course grade will be based on the following:

1) Midterm – the midterm will cover chapters 1 through 3 in the text, the primary documents, and any material addressed in class. It will be worth 20% of your final grade.

2) 6 quizzes – 7 quizzes will be given based on your readings from the text and the primary documents. However, I reserve the right to give a quiz on any material covered in class. Your lowest quiz grade will be dropped. There will be no make-ups, except for extreme circumstances (A missed quiz will be recorded as a zero). The quizzes will be worth 15% of your final grade.

3) Two short essays – each student will be required to write two 3 to 5 page papers that focus on the supplementary readings. The two essays will be worth 40% of your final grade.

5) A final exam - the final exam will be cumulative in the sense that the study of history is based on what is already known. However, emphasis will be given to the material covered since the last test, including chapters 4 through 7 in the text, the primary documents, and any information covered in class. The exam will be worth 25% of your final grade.

Grade Schedule: A+ (98-100), A (92-100), A- (90-91), B+ (88-89), B (82-87), B- (80-81), C+ (78-79), C (72-77), C- (70-71), D+ (68-69), D (62-67), D- (60-61), F (0-59).

ATTENDANCE POLICY: Regular attendance is expected. Every absence, whether excused or unexcused, will be recorded. Any student missing between two and three weeks of classes (i.e. seven to nine class sessions) will have his/her final average automatically lowered one full letter grade. If a student misses more than three weeks of classes (i.e. ten or more class), he/she will automatically fail. A student arriving late or leaving early is subject to being counted absent.

STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES (Americans with Disabilities Act): I will make every reasonable accommodation to assist students with disabilities. It is the responsibility of the student to let me know of the disability as soon as possible and to help develop the best program for accommodating his/her needs.

TENTATIVE SCHEDULE:

8/26 – Introduction                                                                                                                 Read Patterson, Ch. 1

8/28 – Foundation of U.S. Diplomatic History

8/30 – Diplomacy during the American Revolution

9/2 – NO CLASS (LABOR DAY HOLIDAY)

9/4 – Negotiating a Peace Settlement

9/6 – Limits of Diplomacy under the Articles of Confederation                                     Read Patterson, Ch. 2

9/9 – Class Discussion #1 of Readings/Documents

9/11 – Starting from Scratch and Always Setting a Precedent

9/13 – The XYZ Affair and the Quasi-War with France

9/16 – Avoiding European Troubles

        Due Paper 1 on Reuter’s Trials and Triumphs

9/18 – Caught in the Middle of the European Wars

9/20 – Class Discussion #2 of Readings/Documents

9/23 – America’s Emergence as a world power                                                             Read Patterson, Ch. 3

9/25 – Settling boundaries

9/27 – The Monroe Doctrine

9/30 – Manifest Destiny and American Diplomacy

10/2 – Questions concerning the Northern Boundary

10/4 – Class Discussion #3 of Readings/Documents

10/7 – Texas Revolution and Texas Diplomacy

10/9 – Annexation of Texas

10/11 – Mexican-American War

10/14 – Test 1                                                                                                                         Read Patterson, Ch. 4

10/16 – No class

10/18 – No class

10/21 – Diplomacy in the 1850s

10/23 – Civil War Diplomacy

10/25 –     "       "         "                                                                                                         Read Patterson, Ch. 5

10/28 – Annexation of Alaska and Westward Expansion

        Due Paper 2 on Jones’ Union in Peril

10/30 – Emergence of U.S. Economic Power

11/1 – Class Discussion #4 of Readings/Documents

11/4 – Cuba, Canada, and Possibilities of U.S. Expansion

11/6 – Economic Depression and Calls for New Markets                                             Read Patterson, Ch. 6

11/8 – The Spanish-American War

11/11 – American Imperialism

11/13 – Annexation of the Philippines

11/15 – Class Discussion #5 of Readings/Documents                                                     Read Patterson, Ch. 7

11/18 – Roosevelt’s Big Stick Diplomacy

11/20 – Roosevelt’s as Peacemaker

11/22 – Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine

11/25 – Taft’s Dollar Diplomacy and Intervention in Latin America

11/27-12/1 – NO CLASSES (THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY)

12/2 – Class Discussion #6 of Readings/Documents

12/4 – Setting the Stage for War

Paper 1: Trials and Triumphs

Directions: Frank Reuter argues, "Indeed, the first President’s great legacy in foreign affairs was that he had gained sufficient time for his country to establish its government, strengthen its unity, secure its borders, and promote its commerce." (230) You need to analyze his conclusion in your paper. What major foreign policy issues did Washington address to gain time and was he successful in doing so? Does Reuter adequately support his conclusion? Explain.

Due Date, Rough Draft, and Format:

General Format:

1) The paper is due in class on Monday, September 16.   In addition, you must turn in a typed rough draft with handwritten editing. Any final paper not containing a typed and edited draft will be penalized 5 points. Any paper turned in after the due date will be assessed a ten point penalty for each day it is late, including weekends.

2) The paper should be typed, doubled-spaced with margins on each side of approximately one inch, and be between 3 and 5 pages in length.

3) Please see Professor Snead’s web site at www3.tltc.ttu.edu/snead for tips on writing your essay. With very few exceptions, the best essays in this class will be the ones that undergo several revisions. You will only have to turn in one rough draft, but I expect that you will make several. In your revisions, check for grammatical errors, organizational problems, and the persuasiveness of your arguments. Papers failing to meet the minimum standards presented on the website will be graded accordingly.

4) If you have any questions and/or problems at any stage of this assignment, it is your responsibility to seek assistance from me.

Paper 2: Union in Peril

Directions: Identify Howard Jones’ arguments in Union in Peril and evaluate how successfully he makes them. Be sure to include examples of his arguments as well as specific facts in your analysis.

Due Date, Rough Draft, and Format:

General Format:

1) The paper is due in class on Monday, October 28.   In addition, you must turn in a typed rough draft with handwritten editing. Any final paper not containing a typed and edited draft will be penalized 5 points. Any paper turned in after the due date will be assessed a ten point penalty for each day it is late, including weekends.

2) The paper should be typed, doubled-spaced with margins on each side of approximately one inch, and be between 3 and 5 pages in length.

3) Please see Professor Snead’s web site at www3.tltc.ttu.edu/snead for tips on writing your essay. With very few exceptions, the best essays in this class will be the ones that undergo several revisions. You will only have to turn in one rough draft, but I expect that you will make several. In your revisions, check for grammatical errors, organizational problems, and the persuasiveness of your arguments. Papers failing to meet the minimum standards presented on the website will be graded accordingly.

4) If you have any questions and/or problems at any stage of this assignment, it is your responsibility to seek assistance from me.

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