History 3760 Extended Syllabus

United States, 1900-1945 American Popular Culture

UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY

Dr. Robert J. Mueller Summer Semester 2016

TABLE OF CONTENTS

SECTION A: General Course Information 1. Required Reading ...... 3 2. Course Content & Outcomes ...... 3-4 3. Course Organization ...... 4 4. Discussion Grade ...... 4-5 5. Quizzes ...... 5 6. Writing Assignments...... 5-6 7. Grade Breakdown ...... 7 8. Office Hours ...... 7 9. Academic Dishonesty...... 7 10. Sexual Harassment ...... 7-8 11. Students with Disabilities ...... 8 12. Lectures & Reading Assignments...... 8-9

SECTION B: Advice for Writing 1. Advice for Writing Good Essays...... 11-15 2. Mueller’s Pet Peeves ...... 16 3. Proper Footnoting ...... 17-18 4. Plagiarism ...... 19

SECTION C: Lecture Outlines and Word Lists ...... 21-34

SECTION D: Helpful Information 1. How to Read or Watch a Document and Use It Effectively ...... 36 2. Pop Culture Sources ...... 37

History 3760 Extended Syllabus

Section A

General Course Information

UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY History 3760 -- United States, 1900-1945 (American Popular Culture) Summer Semester 2016 Wednesdays 5:15-7:45PM (IVC)

INSTRUCTOR: Dr. Bob Mueller OFFICE: USU Tooele Regional Campus, Office #180 OFFICE PHONE & VOICE MAIL: (435) 797 9909 OFFICE FAX #: (435) 882-7916 OFFICE HOURS: Wednesdays, 3:00-5:00PM & by appt. E-MAIL: [email protected] WRITING TEACHING ASSISTANT: Maren Petersen E-MAIL: maren.petersen#usu.edu CELL PHONE: (435)

1. REQUIRED READING: George Moss, The Rise of Modern America (Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1995) [ISBN 0-13-181587-3] Frank King, Walt and Skeezix: Book One (Drawn & Quarterly, 2005) [ISBN 1896597645] Robert J. Mueller, ed., Weekly Readings on Canvas (under “Course Materials”) Robert J. Mueller, History 3760 Extended Syllabus

2. COURSE CONTENT & OUTCOMES: History 3760 is an upper division course which surveys the social and cultural history of America from the Progressive Era at the turn of the twentieth century to the end of World War II. It covers the period when America had to deal with a whole host of new problems: the dark side of industrialization, urbanization and unregulated big business; the increase in lawlessness which came with Prohibition; the horrors of the Great Depression; and the dangerous threats of the World Wars. But ironically this period also coincided with the first time when American workers had significant amounts of leisure time. Much of the course will be spent looking at how Americans filled this leisure time. Rather than focusing on such subjects as politics, government, wars and foreign policy, we will instead look at how the lives of average Americans (the so-called “common people”) changed during this period. To this end we will be examining a much greater variety of primary sources than one usually does in a traditional history course. By this I mean we will concentrate on studying the popular culture of the masses. Our reading will include the melodramatic dime novels and pulps, the incendiary writings of the muckrakers, the humor and adventure of the newspaper comic strips and the larger than life heroes of the comic book. We’ll also see how technology changed the American way of life by looking at the ramifications of new kinds of manufacturing methods, printing presses, motion picture cameras and projectors, radio, and the automobile. Finally we will rely on the visual arts to show us the changes of the period, by examining early motion pictures, documentaries, animated cartoons and even wartime propaganda films. For all of this innovative use of sources, we will still be trying to do the same thing with them that one does in a traditional history course -- understand the past. History 3760 emphasizes the examination of primary sources (visual as well as written) as a method of developing the important skill of analysis. There will be five main outcomes by the time you finish this course:

1) You will become a stronger writer. I do not use midterms and finals to test how well you understand the lectures, films, cartoons, videos and readings. Instead I ask you to write a series of three term papers and take short quizzes. In Section B of this syllabus there is a detailed discussion about writing strong papers. This semester we are also providing a writing teaching assistant, Maren Petersen, who can help you with the three papers you will be writing. 2) You will become a more critical thinker. The papers and terminology quizzes require you to use and develop the skill of analysis. Analysis is the ability to reach into a mass of material and pull out only what is relevant for a certain project or assignment. You will learn to have informed opinions backed up by evidence. 3) You will become a better communicator. I will expect you to take an active part in our weekly discussions – and that means talking in class. Public speaking may be hard for some of you, but it is a necessary and important skill for functioning in our society today. Employers want people who know how to communicate with others. So, we will talk about what we read and watch every week. I’ll ask for your opinion on things and expect you to be able to support your views with evidence. 4) You will understand important facts about American society. By studying the artifacts of popular culture, you will see how the lives of average Americans were transformed between 1900 and 1945 by various new technologies and advances, such as the rotary steam press, electricity, the automobile, radio, and the availability of easy credit. 5) You will become more knowledgeable about how Americans have been manipulated by media, either through advertising or propaganda.

3. COURSE ORGANIZATION: This course is a mixture of lecture and discussion. It is vitally important that you complete the weekly reading assignments before our class meetings. Please come to class prepared. Always bring the weekly readings which I post on Canvas, because I will often lead a discussion of these sources during the class period. These discussions are important for your understanding of the class and its outcomes. Please bring questions to class. I want to hear your opinion on the topics we discuss. These discussions help us get into the minds of working class Americans. Remember that this is a distance education course. We handle discussion a bit differently in such a class. I will ask questions of different sites during the lecture. Yes, this means I will occasionally ask you to talk, but I’m such a fun (and humble) guy that this should always be a distinct pleasure. If you are not at the site that is being questioned, please hold off answering unless I throw open the question to the whole class. Don’t worry, I’ll give all sites the chance to participate. Likewise, if you have a question during the lecture, I want you to ask it. But please wait for a pause in my lecture (I stop a lot to sip my coffee) and then ask away. Always remember to announce the following things when you address me or the class: 1) Your name, and 2) Your site.

This way I can keep track of who is talking and it gives our video technology time to turn on and focus on you. Yes, a camera will be on you when you speak in class. In this way I can see who is talking. This is also a writing-intensive class; you will have to demonstrate the analytical skills you practice in the discussions on your writing assignments.

4. DISCUSSION GRADE: Fifteen percent (15%) of your grade (150 points) will be based on your participation in the discussions in this class. This does not mean simply asking a question or two. I expect you to answer questions which I ask and make substantive comments in our weekly discussions, most of which will be based on the weekly Canvas readings. I keep track of all the substantive comments you make on a control sheet, so make sure you clearly state 4 your name and site before you make your comment. That will give me time to find your name and mark it. If you contribute regularly, you will earn a good discussion grade. If you do not contribute, you could lower your overall grade by as much as an entire grade level and a half (meaning that a B+ grade on the rest of the course assignments could become a C). The take-away message here is to take part in the discussions during class time. To be able to do this effectively you need to keep up on the readings.

5. QUIZZES: There are five (5) terminology quizzes worth a total of 250 points (or 25% of your total grade). You will take a terminology quiz once every three weeks. The terms are taken from the weekly lecture outlines/word lists found in Section C of this syllabus. Each term quiz has the same format. There will be five terms given, one or two from each of the previous three lecture outlines/word lists. A good answer has two parts: 1) Identification. Identify the term in a sentence or two. Answer the questions who?, what? where? and when? as relates to the term. The more specific details you can give, the more points you will score. This part of the answer tests your memorization skills. 2) Historical significance. Tell me why the term is important for this course in a single sentence or two at most. Sometimes there is an obvious reason why a person, place, or concept is significant. Or sometimes you can tie the term to a larger theme or set of ideas in the class. This tests your analytical ability. The quizzes are taken on Canvas and are each timed for 15 minutes, so make sure you do your studying before the quiz. You may take the quizzes any time over a particular one or two day period, but you only can take the quiz one time. I will not grant any extensions or do-overs for any reason. Please consult the “Grade Breakdown” section below for the days on which each quiz may be taken. Quizzes are computerized and cannot be made up, so please make sure you take them on the days they are available. Remember that quizzes are supposed to be done from memory. Do not make use of any course materials or internet web sites when taking the quizzes.

6. WRITING ASSIGNMENTS: There are three (3) term papers required for this course. Each of the papers will be worth 200 points (20% of your overall grade) and must be on the respective topics below. For each essay you will be expected to write an essay of no less than 1500 words (about 5-6 full pages). You may write more (to a maximum of 2000 words), but papers of less than 1500 words will adversely affect your grade. I will expect formal footnotes for this paper. Please see “Proper Footnoting” on pages 17-18 of this syllabus for more information. Make sure your papers are typed, double-spaced, have page numbers, and 1" margins all around. Use a 12 pitch font which will make it easy for me to read. Please write your papers using the MSWord word processing program. This will make it easy to upload the paper into Canvas. The Logan campus, USU regional campuses and USU education centers all have computer labs loaded with this program. Do not use MSWorks, since my computer will not open papers written with this program. Only submit papers which have a file suffix of “.doc” or “.docx” (the ones used by MSWord). I cannot read files which end in “.rft” or “.odt” or any other suffix. Also, please give make the first page of your paper a cover sheet which includes the following: 1) title of the paper, 2) your name, 3) the course name and number, 4) your site, 5) and the date.

Please consult Section B of this extended syllabus, which is called “Advice for Writing,” before writing your papers. It contains suggestions on how to write a strong essay and reveals the grammatical and other errors I will penalize you for on your paper. Please consult “Mueller’s Pet Peeves” before you write each of your papers. It will give you an idea of the things I look for (or hate to see) in a well-written paper. 5

Here is a hint. One of my biggest pet peeves is a poorly proofread paper. I grade off for errors in spelling, punctuation and grammar -- and typos too. In this age of computers with spelling and grammar checkers there is no excuse for a sloppy paper. Have a friend or family member proofread your paper for you. They can often find errors that you might not see. Finally, since these are such short papers please DO NOT include any long quotations (meaning anything over one line across the page in length). Never quote or cite from an introduction to a document or from the textbook. I want to see how you make use of primary sources as evidence. This forces you to develop the skill of analysis. All of your papers should be submitted on Canvas. The “Start Here” section of Canvas contains information on how to do this. If you have problems posting your paper, please contact me. I will read your papers and offer substantive criticism using Canvas. Do not use any outside books for this paper. I expect you to only make use of course materials, mainly the textbook and documents from the weekly readings on Canvas for these papers. The point of these papers is to see how well you are able to use a limited set of sources as evidence for your views. Never, under any circumstances, should you make use of internet websites for information for your papers.

TOPIC FOR PAPER #1 (City Life Essay): Popular culture in America begins with two things: the print media and the masses of working class people. Why are living conditions in tenements and alcohol consumption considered to be two of the greatest problems faced by working class Americans in New York City in the late nineteenth century? How did the poverty of the slums affect children there? Why was working in a factory considered to be so dangerous? Please make use of specific examples from the Weeks 2, 3 and 4 Readings on Canvas as your main source of evidence for this essay. DUE DATE: Saturday, June 11 by midnight (submitted in Canvas).

TOPIC FOR PAPER #2 (Gasoline Alley Essay): The Gasoline Alley comic strip is a rich source of information about how middle class people lived in the 1920s. Using mainly the Walt and Skeezix book, write an essay which explains what “proper behavior” was in the 1920s. How were men supposed to act towards women, wives toward husbands, blacks towards whites, young people toward their elders? How important were good manners at this time? Remember to use actual examples from the Gasoline Alley comic strips as your main source of evidence. Cite the examples from the Walt and Skeezix book by the date of the strip, not the page number (because the book does not have page numbers). DUE DATE: Saturday, July 16 by midnight (submitted in Canvas).

TOPIC FOR PAPER #3 (The Cartoon Essay): This paper asks you to use both written sources and a series of animated cartoons which can be found on Canvas (under “Course Materials”) as evidence. Bradford Wright’s essay in the Week Thirteen Readings pertains to the comic book world, but many of his observations may be carried over to include comic strips and animated cartoons. These comics and cartoons deal with World War II and perceptions of the enemy Axis powers. Please write an essay which answers the following questions. How are the enemies of America portrayed in comic books and animated cartoons? What stereotypes do you see? Why was the enemy portrayed in this way? Was the purpose of these comic books and cartoons merely to entertain their audience, or was there something more going on? Please use specific examples from the Week Thirteen Readings and the animated cartoons on Canvas as the main evidence for your views. DUE DATE: Saturday, August 13 by midnight (submitted in Canvas).

7. GRADE BREAKDOWN: Terminology Quiz #1 50 pts Take on Canvas on either May 26 or 27 (Wks 1-3) Terminology Quiz #2 50 pts Take on Canvas on either Jun 16 or 17 (Wks 4-6) Terminology Quiz #3 50 pts Take on Canvas on either July 07 or 08 (Wks 7-9) Terminology Quiz #4 50 pts Take on Canvas on either July 28 or 29 (Wks 10-12) Terminology Quiz #5 50 pts Take on Canvas on either August 11, 12 or 13 (Wks 13-14) Paper #1 200 pts Saturday, June 11 by midnight (submitted on Canvas) Paper #2 200 pts Saturday, July 16 by midnight (submitted on Canvas) Paper #3 200 pts Saturday, August 13 by midnight (submitted on Canvas) Participation & Discussion 150 pts ------1000 pts

Your scores for the three papers and the final course grade will be calculated based on the following scale:

Paper Scores Course Grade A 186-200 930-1000 pts A- 180-185 900-929 B+ 174-179 870-899 B 166-173 830-869 B- 160-165 800-829 C+ 154-159 770-799 C 146-153 730-769 C- 140-145 700-729 D+ 134-139 670-699 D 126-133 630-669 F 000-125 000-629

8. OFFICE HOURS: I hold regular weekly office hours, on Wednesday afternoons from 3:00 to 5:00PM, which I encourage you to attend, e-mail or call into. Their purpose is to provide you with the time to meet with me to discuss any aspect of the course, whether it be advice on the papers, study suggestions for the quizzes, or questions about the readings or my lectures. Remember, I'm a resource at your disposal. Use me. If my regular hours aren't convenient, make an appointment for a time which is better for you. Students at distance sites should feel free to contact me by e-mail at any time if they have questions. The e-mail system in Canvas is a good way to get in touch with me quickly.

9. ACADEMIC DISHONESTY: It is a sad commentary on our times but it must be said in advance, I expect you to do your own work. Please read the section on plagiarism in Section B of this syllabus. You are responsible for correctly citing your sources in your three papers. If you are caught cheating on a quiz or turning in work which is not your own, you may fail the course. You will also be reported to the Judicial Officer on the Logan campus of USU and may face expulsion from the university. Face it, it's just not worth the risk to your future.

10. SEXUAL HARASSMENT Sexual Harassment is defined by the Affirmative Action/Equal Employment Opportunity Commission as any “unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual

7 nature.” If you feel you are a victim of sexual harassment, you may talk to or file a complaint with the Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Office, located in Old Main, room 161, or call the office at (435) 797-1266.

11. STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES The Americans with Disabilities Act states: “Reasonable accommodation will be provided for all persons with disabilities in order to ensure equal participation within the program. If a student has a disability that will likely require some accommodation by the instructor, the student must contact the instructor and document the disability through the Disability Resource Center, preferably during the first week of the course. Any request for special consideration relating to attendance, pedagogy, taking of examinations, etc., must be discussed with and approved by the instructor. In cooperation with the Disability Resource Center, course materials can be provided in alternative format, large print, audio, diskette, or Braille.”

12. LECTURE TOPICS & READING ASSIGNMENTS: Listed below are the reading assignments for the course. The weekly readings can be found on Canvas under the section labeled as “Course Materials.” Please have all the reading done before our weekly class meeting. I will plan discussions based on this material.

WEEK ONE May 11 Topic: America in the Nineteenth Century Reading: None

WEEK TWO May 18 Topic: The Dime Novel Reading: Moss, Chapter 1; Canvas, Week Two Readings.

WEEK THREE May 25 Topic: Magazines and Muckrakers Reading: Moss, Chapter 2; Canvas, Week Three Readings. TERMINOLOGY QUIZ #1 on May 26 or 27 (On Weeks 01-03 terms)

WEEK FOUR Jun 01 Topic: Popular Newspapers & the Comic Strip Reading: Moss, Chapter 3; Canvas, Week Four Readings.

WEEK FIVE Jun 08 Topic: Motion Pictures Reading: Canvas, Week Five Readings. Watching: Early Motion Pictures; The Great Train Robbery (1903); Charlie Chaplin shorts. PAPER #1 DUE Saturday, June 11 by midnight (submitted in Canvas).

WEEK SIX Jun 15 Topic: The Impact of the Automobile on America Reading: Moss, Chapter 5; Canvas, Week Six Readings. Watching: Henry Ford – Tin Lizzie Tycoon. TERMINOLOGY QUIZ #2 on June 16 or 17 (On Weeks 04-06 terms)

WEEK SEVEN Jun 22 Topic: The Roaring Twenties - Part I: Prohibition Reading: Chapter 6; Canvas, Week Seven Readings. Watching: The Prohibition Era documentaries (The Dry Crusade and The Roaring Twenties).

WEEK EIGHT Jun 29 Topic: The Roaring Twenties - Part II: Prosperity Reading: Canvas, Week Eight Readings. Watching: The Prohibition Era (The Road to Repeal).

WEEK NINE Jul 06 Topic: Sports in the 1920s Reading: Canvas, Week Nine Readings. Watching: Ken Burns’s Baseball documentary (Inning III: 1920-1930). TERMINOLOGY QUIZ #3 on July 07 or 08 (On Weeks 07 - 09 terms)

WEEK TEN Jul 13 Topic: The Great Depression - Part I Reading: Chapter 7; Canvas, Week Ten Readings Watching: The Great Depression documentaries (“The Great Shake-up” and “Face the Music”). PAPER #2 DUE Saturday, July 16 by midnight (submitted in Canvas).

WEEK ELEVEN Jul 20 Topic: The Great Depression - Part II Reading: Chapter 8; Canvas, Week Eleven Readings. Watching: Modern Times (1935 – Charlie Chaplin)

WEEK TWELVE Jul 27 Topic: Animated Cartoons Reading: Canvas, Week Thirteen Readings. Watching: History of Animation – Parts 1 and 2 (YouTube) Early Cartoons Cartoons Go To War documentary. Superman, Disney and other war cartoons. TERMINOLOGY QUIZ #4 on July 28 or 29 (On Weeks 10 - 12 terms)

WEEK THIRTEEN Aug 03 Topic: World War II: Part I - Pop Culture and Propaganda Reading: Moss, Chapter 11; Canvas, Week Fourteen readings. Watching: Why We Fight propaganda film.

WEEK FOURTEEN Aug 10 Topic: World War II: Part II - On the Home Front Reading: Moss, Chapter 13; Canvas, Week Fifteen readings. PAPER #3 DUE Saturday, August 13 by midnight (submitted in Canvas). TERMINOLOGY QUIZ #5 on August 11, 12 or 13 (On Weeks 13 - 14 terms)

History 3760 Extended Syllabus

Section B

Advice for Writing

Advice for Writing Good Papers

The Essay

An essay is a formal piece of writing that has some specific rules, just as haiku poetry has rules as to the number of lines and syllables per line. If you do not follow the rules then you are not writing an essay. The first thing to remember is that at its core an essay is an argument. It is supposed to prove something. An essay is not just an excuse to repeat a lot of the stuff you’ve been reading in the course materials or hearing in the lectures. A good essay is analytical, meaning it argues a point. You should avoid writing a narrative, which merely retells a story. In the writing assignments, I’m not testing your memory, but rather I’m seeing how well you are learning the skill of analysis.

Formal essays have a simple but definite three-part structure. First, they begin with an introductory paragraph which introduces the reader to a problem or topic. It also tells the reader exactly what the writer intends to prove. The second part is the body of the essay, where the writer presents his or her evidence in an organized fashion. The final part of an essay is the conclusion. In a conclusion the writer does not present any new evidence or interpretations of evidence. Instead he or she sums up the argument they have just presented in the body.

To write a good essay you must be selective about what you discuss. Focus on the topic question(s) which you were given. They are your roadmap to constructing a good argument. Make sure you address each of the questions and answer them fully. Do not go off on tangents and talk about things not covered in the topic question(s). Bringing in irrelevant information detracts from the core of your argument and distracts the reader. It does not earn you any extra points, so it just wastes your (and your instructor’s) time. Make sure you know exactly what topic you are supposed to write on. A good general rule of thumb is to read the topic question(s) three times in succession before you start writing. Even if you think you know what the instructor wants after the first reading, make yourself read them three times.

PART ONE: The Introductory Paragraph

As the term suggests the introductory paragraph is the first paragraph of your essay. Many students have difficulties in composing an introductory paragraph, usually because they do not understand the purpose of the introduction to an essay. On this we should be clear. The purpose of the introduction is tell the reader what you intend to prove in the essay. It explains briefly how you intend to answer the topic question(s). It is important to understand that a good introductory paragraph contains specific information. How do you write an introductory paragraph that is both strong and effective? Let us examine this systematically.

Structure

There is no one way to construct an introductory paragraph. But let me suggest a simple two- part structure that will work for most history essays. 1) Background: First, give a small amount of background information so the reader will 11 understand the context of the problem or issue you are exploring. How much you write will vary with the complexity of the issue or questions with which you are dealing. If you are answering a question on one topic, you may not need much background information. However, a longer series of questions may call for more information. The key is to provide the minimum amount of background that your reader will need to understand your argument. For example, if you are asked to explain why Lucretia, the legendary ideal of Roman womanhood, was so important as a role model to early Romans, your introduction might begin with a very short description of how the Romans of the sixth century B.C. were ruled not by their own leaders but by Etruscan kings. You might also mention that Lucretia’s story helps explain why the Romans overthrew the monarchy and instituted a new form of government called the republic. This background material will make your core argument more understandable to the reader. 2) Thesis: Second, tell the reader exactly what you intend to prove in the essay. This is delivered in a thesis statement, a clear and concise declarative sentence (or set of sentences) which outlines the general argument that you will make.

The Thesis Statement

The thesis statement is considered by many to be the single most important part of an essay. Many students come to the university thinking they know how to write a thesis statement because they follow a simple rule they learned in high school. That rule is to take any question asked and turn it into a statement. For example, you are asked, “why was Lucretia considered such an important role model for early Roman women?” The typical high school strategy would be to turn this question into a statement like, “Lucretia was considered to be an important role model to early Roman women.” But look at how weak a statement this is. It tells the reader nothing. The question asked you to explain why Lucretia was a role model. Your reader is expecting you to give some specific reasons. For a thesis statement to be effective you need to give some specific examples which help answer the question(s) asked. These examples do not need to be long or drawn out or include anything from the actual documents you intend to use as evidence – that is the purpose of the body of the essay. But you do need to provide some short specific examples.

Another common mistake made by some students is to tell the reader what they will do in the essay, instead of what they will prove. For example, they might include a statement which says, “In this essay I will show why Lucretia was considered to be such an important role model for early Roman women,” or “By examining documents from the sourcebook it will be shown why Lucretia was a role model for Romans.” The problem with both of these statements is the same as the one mentioned in the paragraph above; they do not say anything specific. You need to provide some actual specific examples to make your thesis statement effective. Let’s look at some possible thesis statements and judge their strengths and weaknesses.

Examples of Thesis Statements

1) Below Average Thesis: “Lucretia was seen as a role model because she was a good housewife and because she killed herself after being violated by a man.”

This is a below average thesis because it is so vague. While it does give two reasons why Lucretia was a role model, it does not explain them or give any specific details. It poses more questions than it answers. Why was being a good housewife important? What made her a good housewife? Why was 12 her death significant?

2) Average Thesis: “Lucretia was seen as a role model because she let herself be raped to protect her family honor. This led her husband and his friend to use her as a reason why the Romans should overthrow the king.”

This is an average thesis because it is limited and a bit vague. It gives one reason why Lucretia was seen as a role model, but only one. It also does not include much detail for the reader about why honor might be significant. Nothing at all is said about Lucretia’s importance as an example of duty towards the family.

3) Above Average Thesis: “Lucretia became a role model for Roman women because of her concern for duty and honor. She was hardworking in the home, weaving clothes and maintaining the customs of hospitality. She was willing to die rather than let the king’s son sleep with her, and let him violate her in order to prevent him from dishonoring her family.”

This is a good thesis because it provides two clear reasons, but it is still vague about the linkages between duty and hard work in the home and between honor and the rape.

4) Excellent thesis: “The story of Lucretia, although a myth, gave the Romans a role model for ideal female behavior. She showed the importance of duty to the family through her careful attention to household management. She worked hard at weaving late into the night alongside her servants, when the wives of other men were out partying. Lucretia also exemplified the importance of the Roman virtue of honor by submitting herself to rape at the hands of the king’s son rather than see her family dishonored. She also maintained her honor by killing herself after the rape so her example could not be used as an excuse by women of loose morals to justify their own infidelities.”

This is an excellent thesis because it offers two specific reasons why Lucretia was seen as a role model and provides many specific details.

A strong, clear thesis is essential in any essay. It tells the reader exactly what you intend to prove. Your reader will judge your entire essay by how well or how poorly you defend this thesis. The defense of your thesis is done in the next section of your paper.

PART TWO: The Body

The second part of an essay is the “body,” where you support the argument laid out in your thesis by presenting evidence in an organized fashion. This is by far the longest part of the paper. Here you methodically prove your thesis, not just by making general statements, but by presenting specific evidence from various sources. What exactly do I mean by evidence? Well, if you make a statement about a person, idea or event and do not back it up with some form of proof, then you are simply expressing a personal opinion. It may be right or it may be wrong. Without evidence your reader cannot tell the difference. And frankly, opinions are a dime a dozen in our world today -- just look at the huge number of talk shows or news programs with pundits expressing their often contradictory views. Any uninformed person can have an opinion. One purpose of a college essay is to help you develop informed opinions. What makes an opinion informed? It is when it is based on an analysis of 13 evidence. You perform this analysis in the body of the paper. How do you organize this section? Again, there are many ways to do so, but let me offer some suggestions.

First, focus on the topic question(s) and let them guide the organization of your essay. Think about what the instructor is asking you to prove. In most college courses there is not just one correct answer to the topic question(s). There are often different approaches to the same question(s). For a history essay most instructors want to see how well you use evidence to back up or support an argument. There are two kinds of evidence. a. Primary source evidence involves documents (letters, government papers, books, paintings and illustrations, etc.) from the time you are studying. It is the strongest form of evidence because it involves the actual words, thoughts, ideas and interpretations of the people of that period. b. Secondary source evidence includes the writings of people who came well after the time you are studying. They are usually written by scholars who used primary source documents to form their interpretation of people and events from the past. Textbooks are a good example of a secondary source. So are the introductions to the documents found in most sourcebooks and document readers. They are considered inferior to primary sources because they involve a certain degree of guesswork or opinion by the writer. Two different scholars can look at the exact same documents and sometimes reach widely different interpretations of what they mean or how significant they are. That is why you should always rely on primary sources first when you are arguing your thesis. Do not just rely on what some contemporary person has said. When grading your use of evidence I give most credit for your use of primary source documents and very little for use of secondary sources, like the textbook or the introductions to documents. For the essays required in this course secondary source information is considered so weak that you should avoid making much use of it. And never, ever, for any reason, should secondary sources be quoted in your papers.

Before you write the body of your paper it is a good idea to make an outline of the main points of your argument. Consider the evidence you want to use to support these points. Remember to focus on primary source evidence. Try to make the best use possible of your documents. Some students seem to think that a document is only good for one specific example. This is not true. In fact, some documents, especially lengthier ones, are filled with multiple examples which will support your argument. Use them. This may be through presentation of direct quotations. If you do quote, keep your quotations short. Do not include quotations over one line in length. They do not have to include a whole sentence. You may quote just certain phrases or short sections of a sentence. When you quote please remember that the quotation must be set off with quotation marks. You will sometimes encounter specific examples that are too long to quote, in which case you need to briefly paraphrase the example, meaning put it in your own words. Be careful in how you paraphrase. Just changing a few words in a quotation is not paraphrasing. Most paraphrases summarize and condense a long example into a sentence or two.

Every point you make in your argument should be supported by specific evidence. Look at the documents in your sourcebook, reader or weekly readings for examples which illustrate the point you are trying to make. Be selective. Include strong examples which support your thesis. Don’t just include paraphrases. An essay filled with only paraphrases is extremely boring to read. If there is a short quotation from a document that really expresses your point, put it in the essay. And by short I mean nothing over one line across the page in length.

Very importantly, after you present your evidence, you must cite your source for it. This is 14 called giving a citation. It does not matter whether you are using a quotation or just paraphrasing an author’s ideas. If you use an idea which is not your own, then you must cite the source from which you took it. There are three common forms of citation: a footnote (which appears at the bottom of a page), an endnote (which appears at the end of the essay) or a parenthetical note (which appears in parentheses directly after the evidence is presented). For this course I will ask you to use only footnotes in all of your papers. Students often ask me how many citations they should have in a paper and if every paragraph has to have some citations. My answer is that I cannot say how many you will need. It is completely dependent upon how much evidence you present. The more specific examples you can show to support your argument, the more citations you will need. And since every paragraph (except for your introductory paragraph and concluding paragraph) is supposed to be presenting evidence, then each one must contain citations showing where your evidence comes from. In this way a reader can check out your sources if they so choose. If you do not cite your sources, then you are guilty of the academic crime of plagiarism, passing off someone else’s ideas as your own. See the final page of this section on writing for a more detailed explanation of plagiarism.

As I suggested earlier, take the time to outline your argument. The best way to organize the body of your essay is to use a wonderful device called the paragraph. Use a separate paragraph for each main point you wish to make. This does not mean that every single idea should have its own paragraph. Rather, all the ideas related to each main point should be organized in distinct paragraphs. Remember to include primary source evidence to support your point. Don’t be afraid of paragraphs which may be long, even a page in length. But avoid one and two sentence paragraphs. They usually show sloppy thinking or demonstrate that you have not fully developed that particular point.

PART THREE: The Conclusion

The conclusion is usually the last paragraph of your essay. Its purpose is to remind the reader of your thesis and how you proved it. You should not introduce any new evidence or information in the conclusion. Use it to summarize your argument. Explain the main points of your thesis and remind the reader briefly what your evidence for each point was. Because you are not introducing any new evidence, it is very uncommon to find a footnote in a conclusion.

As I mentioned above, this is not the only way to write an essay. Rather it is just one model, but one which has proven to be effective for many students. If you are unfamiliar with writing essays for a history course, I very much suggest you make use of this model. It will help you write an essay which is organized and focused on primary source evidence.

Mueller’s Pet Peeve’s

Before submitting your papers please proofread them. Use this checklist.

1) Make sure you have a strong thesis statement which says what you will prove in the essay.

2) Make sure you have a conclusion which sums up your argument.

3) Make sure your sources are cited properly after using a quotation or a paraphrase.

4) Do not use contractions.

5) Do not ask rhetorical questions.

6) Do not use colloquial phrases.

7) Beware of run-on sentences.

8) Beware of sentence fragments.

9) Spell out all numbers under 100.

10) No one or two sentence paragraphs.

11) Do not use quotations over one line in length.

12) Never, ever quote from a textbook or the introduction to a document.

PROPER FOOTNOTING

First, let’s go over a little terminology. A footnote refers to a note in an essay or paper which appears at the bottom of a page. An endnote is a note which appears at the end of a paper. Because most word processing programs (such as Microsoft Word) make it easy to construct either kind of notes, and since footnotes are far easier to follow when reading a paper, I will ask you to include footnotes (and not endnotes) in your paper(s) for this class. Historians use a particular kind of footnoting, popularized by the University of Chicago in its Chicago Manual of Style. It is sometimes known as Turabian style, after Kate Turabian who wrote a famous book, A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, which condensed the original 900+ page book into a mere 300 pages. My goal is to further condense these rules down to just a few pages, including only the most common rules for citation of sources.

There are two main kinds of footnotes: 1) Reference footnotes: These are used to identify one’s source for a quotation or idea used in a paper or to make cross-references. These are the most common kind of footnotes expected of college students. 2) Content footnotes: These are used to make less significant comments on the argument or on a particular source which are seen as important but might detract from the main argument if left in the text. They are also used to acknowledge individuals who have assisted the author in his or her research. You do not need to include these kinds of footnotes in your papers for this course.

REFERENCE FOOTNOTES

The basic rules of reference footnoting are relatively simple. A reference footnote should be used any time a writer uses a quotation from another author or a paraphrase (the putting into one’s own words) of an idea, concept or story from another writer. In essence, whenever you use the intellectual property of someone else, either a quotation or a paraphrase, you should use a reference footnote immediately after the quotation or idea. This is known as giving a citation or “citing one’s sources.” There is a particular style for correctly giving a citation. The first time you make use of a source in a footnote you should give a full citation. This includes the author’s name, the title of the work, publication information and the page or pages on which the quotation or information is to be found. Every time afterwards when you cite this source you should give a short citation. This includes only the last name of the author and the page number, if this is the only work of that author which you are using in your paper. If you are using two or more works by the same author then you must distinguish between them by also including a short version of the title. Let’s look at a few examples of proper citation for sources from books and articles.

EXAMPLE #1: (For a book with a single author)

Full citation: George Moss, The Rise of Modern America (Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1995), 247.

Short citation: Moss, 247.

EXAMPLE #2: (For a book with a single author, an editor and no page numbers)

Full citation: Frank King, Walt and Skeezix, 1921-22, edited by Chris Ware (Montreal: Drawn & Quarterly, 2005), May 30, 1921. 17

Short citation: King, May 30, 1921.

Nota bene: Always remember to include the year in the citation of this book. It includes two year’s worth of comic strips.

EXAMPLE #3: (For an article found in readings on Canvas )

Full citation: Roland Marchand, “The Culture of Advertising,’” in History 3760 Week Eight Readings (Logan, Utah: Utah State University, 2015), 7.

Short citation: Week Eight Readings, 7.

Nota bene: Please use the pagination of the course readings, not the original article, in this footnote.

EXAMPLE #4: (For a selection from a book found in readings on Blackboard)

Full citation: Jacob A. Riis, How the Other Half Lives, in History 3760 Week Three Readings (Utah State University, 2015), 5.

Short citation: Week Three Readings, 5.

Nota bene: Please use the pagination of the course readings, not the original article, in this footnote.

EXAMPLE #5: (For an animated cartoon)

(There is no need for a footnote citation for an animated cartoon. Simply refer to the cartoon by its title in the text of your paper.)

Plagiarism

A writer’s facts, ideas and phraseology should be regarded as his/her property. Any person who uses a writer’s facts, ideas or phraseology without giving due credit is guilty of plagiarism. Information may be put in a paper without a footnote or other form of citation only if it meets all the following conditions: 1. It may be found in several books on the subject. 2. It is written in the words of the student. 3. It is not paraphrased from any particular source. 4. It therefore belongs to common knowledge.

Generally, if you write while looking at a source or even while looking at notes taken from a source, a citation should be given. Whenever any idea is taken from a specific work, even when you write the idea entirely in your own words, there must be a footnote giving credit to the author. Of course, methods of documentation vary, and it is possible to cite a source in the text itself or in an endnote instead of a footnote. For the short essays you encounter in my course, citation by means of a page reference in parenthesis is recommended. The point is that you should give credit when due and that the credit be given in a manner specified by the instructor.

You are entirely responsible for knowing and following the principles of paraphrasing. You should never retain a sentence pattern and substitute synonyms for the original words nor retain the original words and alter the sentence pattern. In other words, paraphrasing means changing both the words and the sentence pattern. Frequently, a source should be cited even if no words are put in quotation marks.

All direct quotations should be footnoted. Even when you use only one unusual or key word from a passage, that word should be placed in quotation marks and cited. When using sources, remember that the very act of using a book or an article should be considered as a pledge that the material will be used according to the principles stated above.

History 3760 Extended Syllabus

Section C

Lecture Outlines and Word Lists

Week #1 America in the Nineteenth Century

I. Introduction to the Course II. Popular vs. High Culture III. American Business in the 1800s

low culture captains of industry mass society Andrew Carnegie – U.S. Steel entrepreneur John D. Rockefeller laissez-faire Standard Oil Company Adam Smith trusts supply and demand anti-competitive “the market” big business competition company stores Agricultural Revolution tariffs Industrial Revolution immigrant labor mechanization spinning jenny power loom factory work mass production

Week #2 The Dime Novel

I. The Theme of “The West” II. Origins of the Dime Novel III. Dime Novel Stories A. Characters

James Fenimore Cooper low brow Natty Bumppo “ugly white-man” Hawkeye “saint of the forest” steam rotary press Daniel Boone serialized novels Davy Crockett newsstands George Armstrong Custer Erastus and Irwin Beadle Little Big Horn House of Beadle & Adams Sitting Bull Malaeska “Ned Buntline” Ann S. Stephens William Cody Street & Smith Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show nickel weekly Jesse James Seth Jones

Week #3 Magazines and Muckrakers

I. Cheap Magazines II. Early Social Reformers III. The Muckrakers IV. Accomplishments of the Muckrakers

------Harper’s Lincoln Steffens Scribner’s Shame of the Cities The Atlantic Monthly Ida Tarbell Frank Munsey Theodore Roosevelt Munsey’s Magazine J.P. Morgan S.S. McClure Northern Securities Corp. McClure’s Magazine Sherman Anti-Trust Act glazed paper Upton Sinclair photoengraving The Jungle (1906) Harriet Beecher Stowe Pure Food & Drug Act (1906) Uncle Tom’s Cabin John Pemberton Jacob Riis Coca-Cola How The Other Half Lives

Week #4 Popular Newspapers & the Comic Strip

I. Joseph Pulitzer II. William Randolph Hearst III. Spanish American War IV. The Yellow Kid – the first comic V. The Earliest Comics VI. Mutt and Jeff – the first daily “strip”

New York World endorsement circulation wars Buster Brown Nellie Bly WASPs San Francisco Examiner Rudolph Dirks New York Morning Journal Harold Knerr Frederick Remington The Katzenjammer Kids The Maine copyright Sunday comic supplement Winsor McCay Richard Outcault Little Nemo in Slumberland slums Bud Fisher Mickey Dugan ghosts Hogan’s Alley burlesque merchandising

Week #5 Origins of the Motion Pictures

I. Photography A. Louis Daguerre B. Eadweard Muybridge C. Thomas Edison D. Auguste & Louis Lumiere II. First Motion Pictures A. Lumiere Bros. films B. Great Train Robbery (1903) III. Charlie Chaplin A. The Tramp character ------camera obscura Lumiere Factory (1895) daguerretype cinematographe shutter narrative William Dickson “chasers” George Eastman Edwin S. Porter celluloid film Mack Sennett Fred Ott’s Sneeze (1890) Keystone Cops kinetoscope slapstick Black Maria identification Workers Leaving the character

Week #6 The Impact of the Automobile

I. Henry Ford: The Man

II. The Model T Ford

III. Impact on Society

internal combustion engine Rouge Ridge plant “efficiency” aftermarket Frederick Taylor touring car foremen vs. manager motel = motor hotel Oldsmobile Gasoline Alley Cadillac Frank King engineer assembly line Five Dollar Day

Week #7 The Roaring Twenties - Part I

I. “The Dry Crusade” A. The Problem of Drink B. Anti-Saloon League C. Prohibition

II. “The Roaring Twenties” A. The speakeasy B. Bootlegging

CarrieIII. Changing Nation Image of Women Wayne Wheeler Bill McCoy dry vs. wet “The Real McCoy” Eighteenth Amendment rumrunners Volstead Act Joseph Kennedy George Remus The Gibson Girl Warren G. Harding women’s suffrage Izzy Einstein suffragettes 21 Club the “flapper” “Two-Gun” Hart the “vamp” moonshiners necking & petting Al Capone

Week #8 The Roaring Twenties – Part II

I. “The Road to Repeal” A. Capone’s Chicago B. The Call for Repeal II. The Power of Big Business III. Changes in Advertising in the 1920s A. Listerine and “halitosis” B. Importance of hygiene

St. Valentine’s Day For Prohibition Reform Massacre oligopoly gangsters/racketeers October 17, 1929 Al Capone Stock Market Crash Big Bill Thompson easy credit Pierre Dupont installment plan Herbert Hoover admen George Johnson consumerism Eliot Ness Fleischmann’s Yeast “The Untouchables” testimonials Pauline Sabin copywriters Woman’s Organization Ballyhoo

Week #9 Baseball in the 1920s

I. The Black Sox Scandal (1919) II. The End of the Spitball III. Babe Ruth and the Home Run Game IV. The Negro Leagues

Chicago White Sox New York Yankees George Comiskey Harlem Renaissance Kennesaw Mountain Andrew “Rube” Foster Landis Negro National League “pitcher’s game” Kansas City Monarchs “hitter’s game” “The Bambino” George Herman Ruth barnstorming Ray Chapman KDKA (Pittsburgh, PA) Harry Frazee Yankee Stadium

Week #10 The Great Depression – Part I

I. “The Great Shake-Up” A. Herbert Hoover & the Crash B. The Dance Craze C. Gentlemen of the Road D. The New Deal

II. “Face the Music” A. Motion Pictures B. Radio Drama & Comedy C. Dorothea Lang D. Radio News

Black Tuesday censorship marathon dancing situation comedy hoe-boy = hobo soap opera freight-hopping Fireside Chats Upton Sinclair migrant farmers EPIC “White Angel Breadline” shovel-leaning “Migrant Mother” golddigger Florence Thompson Mae West Hindenburg Disaster Legion of Decency Orson Wells

Week #11 The Great Depression -- Part II

I. Little Orphan Annie A. Coping with Hard Times

II. Modern Times (1936) A. problem of mechanization B. leftists and labor unions

arch-conservative dehumanization self-reliance union dues “Daddy” Warbucks gamin = street urchin tramp communism bum red scare Officer Jim “talkies” Henry Morgan Punjab the “speed up”

Week #12: Animated Cartoons

I. Early History of Animation II. Early Cartoons A. Winsor McCay B. Walt Disney C. Leon Schlesinger – Warner Bros. III. Animation and World War II

J. Stuart Blackton Pat Sullivan – Otto Mesmer Humorous Phases of Funny shorts Faces (1906) Oswald the Lucky Rabbit stop-motion animation Mickey Mouse Little Nemo (1911) Steamboat Willie (1928) Gertie the Dinosaur (1914) Bugs Bunny – Daffy Duck John Bray Cartoons Go To War backgrounds Chuck Jones gray tones propaganda celluloid – cel Private Snafu assembly line animation Ted Geisel (Dr. Seuss) Felix the Cat

Week #13: WWII: Part I - Pop Culture & Propaganda

I. What is Propaganda? A. Goals B. Techniques II. Why We Fight series A. “Prelude to War” (1942)

Uncle Sam bandwagon saboteurs demonization fifth column flag-waving neutrality name-calling emotional response stereotyping derogatory terminology ------dehumanization Frank Capra villianizing Office of War Information ------indoctrination ad hominem slave world appeal to fear free world

Week #14 WWII: Part II - On the Homefront

I. Women in the Workforce A. How to Get Women into War Industries B. Male-Female Relations on the Job

II. Rationing A. Origins B. Rationing Programs C. Advertising the Programs

“essential industries” Administration) cultural conditioning WPB (War Production stigma Board) Rosie the Riveter synthetic rubber Geraldine Hoff Doyle price controls/ceilings sex typing point rationing gender roles red stamps/blue stamps war production Ration Board Victory Gardens hoarding quotas total war OPA (Office of Price 34

History 3760 Extended Syllabus

Section D

Helpful Information

HOW TO READ OR WATCH A DOCUMENT AND USE IT EFFECTIVELY

The essays you will in this course will test your ability to use primary source documents as evidence. Primary source documents are written works, including letters, religious writings or any kind of government paperwork, which come from the actual time we are studying. They also include video footage, animated cartoons and motion pictures from the time. For History 3760 our primary sources are found in the weekly Canvas readings and the video materials we watch in class. Primary sources are crucial to the study of history because they are the strongest evidence a historian can use to interpret a period of time. Why? Because these documents are like windows which look out into another time. They let us hear the voices of the people of the past. Historians have to read documents and understand what is important in them before they can use them to write about a person, event or period of time. Since historians are individuals, sometimes they disagree about what a document means or what in it is important. This is why different historians can read or watch the same documents and sometimes come up with a different interpretation, or explanation, of why things happened. History is not written in stone; there is no one right interpretation of history, only stronger or weaker arguments. What makes a particular argument strong or weak? The answer is evidence. The strongest arguments make the best use of primary sources as evidence.

How can you learn to make good use of primary sources? The secret is to know how to read or watch a document effectively. The best way to do this is to answer four questions about it:

1) Author? Who wrote or produced the document? Was the author one person or a group of people? Who was the author? Was it a man or a woman, a slave or a free man, a rich person or poor? Answer these questions and you may begin to learn why they wrote or produced what they did.

2) Audience? Who was the document written or produced for? Was it for one person or a particular group of people? Knowing the audience helps you understand why the document was written or produced in the way it was, and why it says certain things and not others.

3) Purpose? Why was the document written or filmed? This is a much harder question to answer. You need to know the author and the audience to have a chance to answer this one. Sometimes the document comes out and tells you the reason, but often you have to speculate (a fancy word for “guess”) on the purpose. The more you know about the document, the better chance you have of guessing the purpose for its being produced.

4) Importance? Why is this document important? What is the most significant thing it tells us? This is the hardest question of all to answer because different documents have different importance to different people. The key here is to discover what is most important about the document so YOU can use it for your purposes. In the case of the documents in our sourcebook you need to understand what they tell you about the main themes (or objectives) of this course. Answering the first three questions helps you determine the answer to this last one.

Remember, the goal is to really understand the documents in this course. Ask the above four questions about each one of these documents. Write down your answers before you begin writing your paper. Then think about how you can arrange your evidence in a carefully constructed argument which will answer the topic questions I give you. Each document will contain multiple examples which you can use as evidence. Make sure you use each document and use it fully -- pull more than one example from it.

POP CULTURE SOURCES

If you enjoy the comic strips, comic books, pulp stories, radio programs, films or other materials we examine in this course, you might want to look at these publishers:

1) Bud’s Art Books: Bud’sArt Books.com (Bud Plant operates the largest mail order business for comic art, nostalgia books, popular culture books, comic strip collections, etc.)

2) Fantagraphics Books: www.fantagraphics.com (Fantagraphics publishes a wide array of new non-superhero comic books. It is one of the few publishers in America still producing comic strip collections, including the Complete Peanuts of Charles Shulz, Prince Valiant of Hal Foster and Krazy Kat by George Herriman.)

3) Pacific Comics Club (Tony Raiola): www.pacificcomics.com (Tony Raiola has been assembling collections of popular comic strips for year; in fact, I was buying from him when I was back in high school. He publishes inexpensive collections for around $9.50, like Little Orphan Annie, Dick Tracy, The Phantom and a lot more.)

4) Comics Revue: www.io.com/~norwoodr/ (Rick Norwood has been publishing America’s only regularly published magazine (six times a year) devoted to classic comic strips for years now. This is a fantastic magazine, a rare gem. I’ve been subscribing to it for years. Subscriptions run $45.00 for 12 issues, $90.00 for 25 issues. Currently he is reprinting the following strips: Little Orphan Annie, Alley Oop (a caveman strip), Steve Canyon, Casey Ruggles (a western), Gasoline Alley, Flash Gordon, Tarzan, Buz Sawyer, Krazy Kat, and Modesty Blaise (a British secret agent strip).

5) Radio Spirits: www.radiospirits.com (Website sells old-time radio programs on cassettes or CD. Huge selection.)

6) Amazon.com: www.amazon.com (They are the largest bookseller in the world. They sell mostly new books (at between a 25% and 35% discount) but they allow you also to buy used books from third party vendors. They have access to lots of popular culture items including comic book and comic strip collections, pulp novels, movies, radio programs and much more.)