Holton 316 (Office) Holton Rm 341 (Class Meeting)

Dr. Glen Jeansonne (414) 837-6566 (preferred) Holton 316 (Office) [email protected] Holton Rm 341 (Class Meeting) Meets Wed., 4-7 p.m. Office Hrs. Wed.. 3-4 and by appt.

HISTORY 900, SPRING, 2015

SEMINAR IN RECENT AMERICAN HISTORY: The Great Depression and World War II Personal Website: http://historyJeansonne.com

History 900 will consist of preliminary classes on methodology, discussions, and films, followed by a series of debates. The class will be divided into opposing debaters (one on one) who will lead the affirmative and negative positions at each class meeting. The debate assignments will be made at the first meeting. Students will have some choice in the assignment of topics and affirmative and negative positions. In the event of insufficient students to pair off for each debate, we will go around the table and ask each student’s opinion on the evening’s topic.

Common readings will be used for the entire class for each meeting. After opening statements and rebuttals the entire class will be invited to participate in the debate.

A research paper of 15-20 pages is required. The paper should use at least some primary sources and must be footnoted. The paper may be written on the student’s debate topic or on another topic approved by the professor. For example, a student might choose to write on a topic related to their thesis or dissertation, so long as this is approved by the professor.

Grades will be based on the research paper (60%), the oral debate (20%) and class participation (which includes attendance) (20%). Students are expected to come prepared to discuss the topic of each class by reading the assigned reading before class. Excused absences are accepted but attendance is most essential on the class meeting at which the student is a debate leader.

The two students leading the debate for each class should bring to class a one-page preliminary bibliography on the debate topic, with sufficient copies to be circulated to the class. We will review the bibliography prior to the debate. The bibliography should be expanded while writing the final paper.

Freedom of expression and open discussion are encouraged. We will make efforts to accommodate handicapped students and students needing to be absent for religious holidays.

Royalties from books written by the author are donated to Habitat for Humanity. 2

The following books should be purchased at the university bookstore. Copies of books owned by the library will be placed on reserve.

David M. Kennedy, FREEDOM FROM FEAR: THE AMERICAN PEOPLE IN DEPRESSION AND WAR, 1929-1945 (single volume edition)

Glen Jeansonne, MESSIAH OF THE MASSES: HUEY P. LONG AND THE GREAT DEPRESSION

Glen Jeansonne, WOMEN OF THE FAR RIGHT: THE MOTHERS MOVEMENT AND WORLD WAR II

David Engel, THE HOLOCAUST: THE THIRD REICH AND THE JEWS

Beth L. Bailey, FROM FRONT PORCH TO BACK SEAT: COURTSHIP IN 20TH CENTURY AMERICA

CLASS MEETINGS

1. JAN. 28: Introduction of professor and students. Overview of the course. Making of seating chart. Assignment of debate topics.

2. FEB 4: Overview of Methodology. Students will be asked to describe how they select topics and write papers. Professor will guide the discussion with appropriate suggestions.

Reading: Begin work on papers

3. FEB. 11: Discussion of writing skills.

Reading: No assignment

4. FEB. 18: Debate 1:

Blaming the Great Depression on Herbert Hoover would be comparable to blaming the law of gravity on the apocryphal apple that landed on Isaac Newton’s head. In fact, Hoover did all he could do to prevent the depression and more than any previous President to correct one. He does not deserve to be ranked as a weak or incompetent President. This myth was in part perpetuated by his political opponents who found it politically convenient to make him a scapegoat.

Yes: No: 3

Reading: Kennedy, Chaps. 1-4.

5. FEB 25: Debate 2:

FDR, raised essentially as an only child, was driven by ambition, perhaps the most ruthless President of the twentieth century. No man without a colossal ego would have run for President four times. His New Deal failed to end the depression and the jobs created were temporary, destined to end when the project ended or the appropriation expired. FDR is overrated as a Depression era President. His electoral victories were facilitated by the vast patronage and control of jobs created by the New Deal.

Yes: No:

Reading: Kennedy, Chaps 5-12.

6. MAR 4: Debate 3:

America has long been an isolationist nation and retains a streak of isolationism, thrust into world leadership reluctantly, striving to avoid shedding American blood at virtually any cost. In the years leading to Pearl Harbor, American diplomacy was tentative, even after the rise of Mussolini, Hitler, and the Japanese war lords. American actions came too late to prevent war and nearly too late to avoid losing it. American diplomacy during the 1930s aimed primarily at avoiding war, actually made war more imminent.

Yes: No:

Reading: Kennedy, Chaps. 13-15.

7. MAR. 11: Debate 4:

Franklin D. Roosevelt owes his reputation as a Great President more to World War II than to his leadership during the Great Depression. Under some other President, the U.S. might have faltered during the stress of the war. His inspirational leadership, direct role in strategic decisions, and plans for mobilization on the home front made a decisive difference. Few other Presidents in our history could have performed so well during these dark hours.

Yes: No:

Reading: Kennedy, Chaps 16-22 and Epilogue. 4

March 16-22—Spring Recess

8. MAR. 25: Debate 5:

FDR once said that Huey P. Long was “one of the two most dangerous men in the country.” (Who was the other?) This might have been hyperbole but it is likely to have been literal truth. There was a realistic possibility that if the Kingfish had lived he could have been elected President in 1936 or 1940. The New Deal had failed to end the Depression and the masses were restless. Long was a political mastermind, had amassed more power in Louisiana than any governor in history, was utterly ruthless, inspired the masses, and could out-promise Roosevelt. FDR was less vigorous physically and mentally than Long, who possessed a brilliant, imaginative, manipulative mind. Roosevelt had never faced an opponent so formidable as Long.

Yes: No:

Reading: Jeansonne, Messiah of the Masses

9. April 1; FILM : “Edgar Cayce: The Beautiful Dreamer.” Discussion by the entire class. Was Cayce a legitimate prophet and seer? Where did he obtain his information? What is his place in American/world history? Was he the father of holistic medicine. What was his degree of success in healing. From where did he obtain the information he revealed while in trances?

Reading: None (work on papers)

10. April 8: Debate 6.

The millions of women who joined the mothers’ movement opposed World War II on the grounds America was fighting the wrong enemy. Comprised entirely of women, in both their members and leadership, they attracted millions of members. This demonstrates that women might be as susceptible as men to movements of the far right, such as Nazism, and also as prone to violence or at least violent rhetoric. Yet the women claimed to be, and were, advocates of women. Were they feminists? Anti-feminists? (It might depend on your definition of feminism). Were they genuine peace advocates, perhaps forerunners of later women activists? Argue one of the following:

1. Feminists who advocated women’s causes such as peace 2. Anti-feminists who did not espouse women’s causes

Both sides and class: Comment on the personalities and beliefs, including religious beliefs, of the leaders. Does American historiography have a genre into which they fit? Can you think of other women’s groups of the right or left who might be similar? 5

What role did religion play in this movement? In other women’s movements?What is their place in history? How do they fit into the history of anti-Semitism and racism? Were they the largest such movement in history—they claimed 10 million members, including 50,000 in Milwaukee.

Reading: Jeansonne, Women of the Far Right

11. April 15: Debate 7

Here are two alternative explanations to the Holocaust in Europe. Select one explanation, defend it, and identify weaknesses in the other position.

A. The Holocaust was primarily due to the fanaticism, charisma, and perverse determination of Adolf Hitler and a few obsessed followers. They gained control of the government and successfully covered up the plan to exterminate the Jews and manipulated the ordinary people, rendering them incapable of preventing it.

B. The Holocaust involved more than the depravity of one man and a few of his fanatical followers. Involved was something darker and deeper in German history, including a psychological element and a desire to scapegoat Jews for all of Germany’s problems, including defeat in World War I. Certainly the German people, at least many of them, were complicit in letting it happen.

Identify the strengths in the argument you choose to defend and the weaknesses in the opposing argument. Both sides may also deal with the following.

Was Hitler insane? Was the Holocaust intended all along, while the Nazi Party planned to take power, or was it a later development derived partly from expediency? Throughout history, why have Jews frequently been singled out as scapegoats?

Yes to Part A Yes to Part B

Reading: David Engel, The Holocaust (all)

12. APRIL 22: Debate 8

Led by one student or a pair of students depending on the number in class. Based primarily on an overview and review of Freedom From Fear.

The Great Depression and World War II are often considered the two most important events in the twentieth century, especially because of the number of people affected. Which is more important and caused more long-term change? One might argue that the depression caused the war and that the war ended the depression. It might be argued that the depression brought lasting political reform and that the war brought a wider and more equitable distribution of income and enormous new opportunities for minorities and 6 women. The debate could be extended into many areas, for example the affect on sexuality and the family, environmentalism, and the power of government. In weighing the relative importance of historical events, one must weigh both their positive and negative impacts, not solely their positive impacts.

1. The Depression was more important 2. The war was more important

Is it possible that both are equally important? How are our lives today still affected by these events?

Reading: Review and analyze Kennedy, Freedom From Fear You might want to make notes.

13. April 29: The Sexual Revolution in America

Roundtable class discussion.

Reading: Beth Bailey From Front Porch To Back Seat: Courtship in 20th Century America

14. May 6: Last day of class: All Papers Due.

Wrap-up party. Treats. Student evaluations. Research papers are due at class time. Submit two copies and a 9 x 12 envelope. The graded copy will be mailed to you if you leave your address (don’t address the envelope).

In the Fall of 2015 Professor Jeansonne will teach History 456, open to Graduate and undergraduate students, in which students read and discuss biographies of famous Americans and write their autobiography and the biography of a famous American.

Professor Jeansonne will also teach History 418 in the Fall of 2015. This is A U/G course which fulfills requirements as a graduate elective. It covers U.S. history, 1890-1945 and is taught in discussion format. Grades are based on a mid- term and final exam, a brief research exercise, and class participation.

Enjoy the summer. It’s the best time in Wisconsin.