Hist. 0847 AMERICAN MILITARY CULTURE

Hist. 0847 AMERICAN MILITARY CULTURE Section 003 A General Education Course GenEd Area: U.S. Society

CRN: 23262, M, 5:30 – 8:00 205 Anderson Hall Spring Semester 2014

Credit Hours: 3

Instructor: Thomas A. Reinstein Office: 955 Gladfelter Hall

Office Hours: 2:00-3:10 P.M., Tuesday; 10:20 A.M.-12:10 P.M., Thursday; or by appointment.

Office Telephone Number: 215-204-9875 E-Mail: [email protected]

Course Description: “American Military Culture” examines the various cultural forces that have produced the American armed forces, the most powerful and most expensive military establishment in the world. This course challenges the impression that the American military is an objective response to national security threats, and shows how it is actually an expression of the strengths and weaknesses of American society. It traces the evolution of a defense system originally based on the idea of universal military obligation to an all-volunteer military that reflects the fragmentation of American society and increased outsourcing to mercenary (contractor) security forces. “American Military Culture” also explores the dysfunctional effects of inter-service rivalry and civil- military tensions in a military establishment that is supposedly unified and subject to civilian control.

Goals and Objectives:

Knowledge Based Skills: 1) Track Transitions; 2) Multicultural and Multi-Gender Americanism; 3) Impact of Technology; 4) Importance of Politics in Civil- Military Relations; 5) Evolution of American Way of War; 6) Impact of Differing Service Traditions and Inter-Service Relations; 7) Capabilities and Limitations of Violence as a Political Tool; 8) Changing Relationship between Military Service, Patriotism, and Citizenship; 9) Recognition of Primary Sources.

Skill-Based Goals: 1) Spatial Awareness; 2) Writing Proficiency; 3) Appreciation for Historical Context; 4) Improved Reading Comprehension; 5) Sequential

1 Logic; 6) Analytical Thinking; 7) Preparation for a Lifetime of Learning; 8) Research Skills; 9) Computer Literacy.

Required Course Texts

Martin, James Kirby, and Mark Edward Lender. A Respectable Army: The Military Origins of the Republic, 1763-1789. 2nd ed. Wheeling, Illinois: Harlan Davidson, Inc., 2005.

Gerald K. Linderman. Embattled Courage: The Experience of Combat in the American Civil War. New York: Free Press, 1989.

Jennifer Keene. Doughboys, the Great War, and the Remaking of America. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2003.

Thomas E. Ricks. The Generals: American Military Command from World War II to Today. New York: Penguin Books, 2013.

Semester Grade: The student’s final grade will be based on the total number of points earned in two exams (100 points apiece, or 200 points, total), two reflective essays (100 points apiece, or 200 points, total); attendance and class participation (100 points), and two quizzes (50 points apiece, or 100 points, total) – a grand total of 600 possible points. The professor reserves the right to fail any student who misses more than one class without prior permission or valid excuses. It is up to any student who misses a test or quiz to schedule a make-up session with the instructor. Students who do not provide valid excuses for missing the dates on which these exercises were originally scheduled can expect a late penalty. The longer it takes to make up such exercises, the greater that penalty can be. In such cases, students can expect to lose one letter grade for every class day that passes before the missed exercise is completed. If opportunities arise, the class will be able to earn extra-credit points by attending films, lectures, or other educational events relating to the content of the course.

First Reflective Essay: Drawing on Martin and Lender, A Respectable Army, plus what you learned in our class lectures and any optional reading, analyze how the Continental Army’s membership, culture, and structure changed over the course of the American Revolutionary War, and how civil-military relations changed as well.

In writing this essay, you should think about the following: Why did the Army almost fall apart towards the end of 1776, and how did Washington and the Continental Congress reconstruct it? Why did people enlist in the Continental Army from 1777-onward? How did they relate to civilians in the young United

2 States during the war and the years that followed? What aspects of military life do you think had the most lasting impact on the evolution of the Continental Army?

Your essay should be five to seven pages long – typed, double-spaced, and in 12- point font.

Second Reflective Essay: Summarize the primary arguments in Thomas Ricks, The Generals. Feel free to draw on what you have learned in class, as well as any of your optional reading, as you critique the book.

According to Ricks, what characterized the Army’s command culture during World War II, and how did this culture contribute to the Army’s effectiveness in battle? What values did the Army’s culture stress as most important, and how did American commanders reinforce these cultural precepts? Which commanders does Ricks identify as being particularly important in molding the Army’s culture? How did this culture begin to change, and why? What were the long-term effects of this cultural shift for American military readiness and performance? What values did the Army emphasize in the 1950s and 1960s? What values does it emphasize today? How did those cultural values affect American military performance in Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan?

Do you think that Ricks’ argument is incomplete? Are there other possible explanations for the Army’s relative ineffectiveness in Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan outside of the command culture?

Your essay should be at least seven pages long – typed, double-spaced, and in 12- point font.

Class Participation: The participation portion of the grade will be determined both by the frequency of one’s participation in and the quality of one’s contributions to our classroom discussions. Class participation will be graded as follows:

A (100%): You come on time and participate frequently. Your comments make many intelligent insights, and demonstrate an excellent command of the reading or awareness of the discussion.

B (85%): You come on time and participate, either commenting on the work under discussion or asking intelligent questions about it. You are trying and contributing useful information to our class dialogue.

C (75%): You come to class on time but do not participate.

3 F (50%): You are unprepared, disrespectful, and/or disruptive. All absences will also result in an F (if you are not in class, you cannot participate in those discussions!).

At times during the semester, the instructor will offer students a chance to complete extra credit assignments. These assignments will increase class participation grades (including past 100% if applicable).

Academic Honesty Statement: Students are expected to do their own work on all exams, quizzes, and other exercises. Anyone caught cheating in class and/or plagiarizing will receive a failing grade in the course. The American Heritage Dictionary defines plagiarism as: “1. To steal and use the ideas and writings of another as one’s own. 2. To appropriate passages or ideas from another and use them as one’s own.”

Americans with Disabilities Act Statement: Temple University adheres to the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act. If you need an accommodation under this Act due to a disability, you must immediately contact Disability Resources and Services at 215-204-1280 or 11280 and register. You may also access Disability Resources and Services at this web site: http://www.temple.edu/studentaffairs/disability/. After you are duly registered, you must make an appointment with the instructor to discuss the academic accommodation that your disability requires. If you are entitled to additional time for completing quizzes and exams, you need to e-mail an electronic version of a Test Administration Request Form. Be sure to fill out the student section. The instructor will complete the rest of the form and then send electronic copies to you and Disability Resources and Services. Do not hesitate to request the accommodations guaranteed you by law. This is not a matter of preferential treatment; it is a matter of justice.

Statement on Student and Faculty Academic Rights and Responsibilities: Freedom to teach and freedom to learn are inseparable facets of academic freedom. The University has a policy on Student and Faculty Academic Rights and Responsibilities (Policy #03.70.02), which can be accessed through at the following URL: http://policies.temple.edu/PDF/99.pdf.

Course Schedule

Unit I. ORIGINS OF THE AMERICAN MILITARY SYSTEM, 1600- 1783

27 January 2014 WEEK 1: INTRODUCTION

4 Reading: Adrian R. Lewis, The American Culture of War: The History of US Military Force from World War II to Operation Iraqi Freedom, pages xvii-36 (Blackboard)

3 February 2014 WEEK 2: SHORT-TERM SOLUTIONS, 1607-1776

Reading: Martin and Lender, A Respectable Army, Ch. 1-2

10 February 2014 WEEK 3: TOWARD A STANDING ARMY, 1776-1783

Reading: Martin and Lender, A Respectable Army, Chs. 3-5

Unit II. RELEARNING THE SAME LESSONS, 1783-1898

17 February 2014 WEEK 4: THE ARMY OF THE CONSTITUTION, 1783-1800

Readings: Martin and Lender, A Respectable Army, Ch. 6 First Reflective Essay Due (Martin and Lender, A Respectable Army)

24 February 2014 WEEK 5: REGULARS, MILITIA, AND VOLUNTEERS, 1800-1860

Reading: Linderman, Embattled Courage, Chs. 1-5

3 March 2014 SPRING BREAK (No Classes)

10 March 2014 WEEK 6: AMATEURISM AND SLAUGHTER, 1861-90

Reading: Linderman, Embattled Courage, Chs. 6-12 Quiz on Linderman, Embattled Courage

UNIT III. AMERICA’S DRAFTEE WARS, 1917-1973

17 March 2014 WEEK 7: PROLOGUE: THE PROFESSIONALIZATION OF THE AMERICAN OFFICER CORPS

Reading: Keene, Doughboys, the Great War, and the Remaking of America, Chs. 1-4

5 24 March 2014 WEEK 8: WORLD WAR I AND WORLD WAR II, 1917-1945

Mid-Term Exam (24 March) Reading: Keene, Doughboys, the Great War, and the Remaking of America, Chs. 5-8 and Epilogue

31 March 2014 WEEK 9: THE EVOLUTION OF AMERICAN COMMAND CULTURE, WORLD WAR II

Reading: Ricks, The Generals, Chs. 1-8

7 April 2014 WEEK 10: AMERICAN COMMAND CULTURE IN THE KOREAN WAR, 1950- 53

14 April 2014 WEEK 11: VIETNAM AND ITS AFTERMATH, 1964-73

UNIT IV. THE ALL VOLUNTEER MILITARY AND AN ERA OF PERPETUAL WAR, 1990-PRESENT

21 April 2014 WEEK 12: THE MILITARY REMODELS ITSELF, 1973-89

Reading: Ricks, The Generals, Chs. 22-23 Quiz on Ricks, The Generals

28 April 2014 WEEK 13: AMERICA AND ITS MILITARY: WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?

Reading: Ricks, The Generals, Chs. 24-30 and Epilogue Second Reflective Essay Due

6-7 May 2014 STUDY DAYS

8-14 May 2014 FINAL EXAMS 6 Final Exam, Monday, 12 May 2014, 5:45 – 7:45 P.M.