HISTORY 2341
U.S. Military History
#17966 NRG
#17969 RGC

Dr. Allan Purcell











COURSE OBJECTIVE: This course will acquaint the student with the basic facts of United States Military History from 1607 to present using a textbook, classroom exposition, outside readings, and audio-visual techniques. Although the coverage of the material is primarily military, there will be also an emphasis on political, constitutional, and economic history.
 

COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course is a survey of American military policy from the 17th century to the present.
 

COURSE RATIONALE: This course offers the student the opportunity to examine in depth American military policy from 1607 to present.  It provides interested students the ability to fulfill the Legislative Requirement in  U.S. History with an alternative to the survey courses and provides an elective for History majors and other transfer curriculum students.
 

COURSE METHODOLOGY:  This is a lecture course with opportunity for student discussion.
 

COMMON COURSE OBJECTIVES: http://www.austincc.edu/history
 

TEXTBOOK: Allan R. Millett & Peter Maslowski, For the Common Defense: A Military History of the United States of America.  (Revised & Expanded Edition, 1994.)

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
1. The material in For the Common Defense  is to be read and studied according to the attached schedule.
2. Punctual and regular attendance is required.  Any student accumulating three (3) or more UNEXCUSED absences MAY be dropped from this course.  This is at the discretion of the instructor.
3. The quality and quantity of the work done by the student determines his/her final grade:
  For the grade of "A", the student must complete all four unit exams with an overall average of 90 or above AND write two analytical book reviews (at least one of which must be graded "EXCELLENT" and the other at least "ACCEPTABLE") AND pass the course map test.
 For the grade of "B", the student must complete all four unit exams with an overall average of 80 or above AND write one analytical book review (which must be graded at least "ACCEPTABLE") AND pass the course map test.
 For the grade of "C", the student must complete all four unit exams with an overall average of 70 or above AND pass the course map test.
 For the grade of "F", the student who fails to take all four unit exams or who fails to maintain an overall average of 70 on these four unit exams or who fails the course map test or who commits any act of scholastic dishonesty will earn the grade of "F".
 For the grade of "I", the student must have a medical excuse certified by a physician. All "Incompletes" must be completed within the first four weeks of the following semester.  There are no exceptions to this policy.

 


UNIT EXAMS: Each of the four unit exams may be taken twice.  The first time will be in class on the day mentioned in the attached semester schedule.  If the student wishes to retest, they may take the exam one more time in the Testing Center.  However, there are two restrictions on the retest: first,  the HIGHEST GRADE POSSIBLE ON THE RETEST IS 70 and second,  THIS RETEST MUST BE TAKEN WITHIN ONE WEEK OF THE TIME THE UNIT EXAM IS GIVEN IN CLASS. The higher of the two grades will be the one recorded for the student for that unit exam.  (If a student misses the unit exam in class for good cause- as determined by the instructor- they may then take the unit exam in the Testing Center for the first time with no restrictions on the grade.)  The unit exams consist of multiple-choice questions covering the textbook material and classroom exposition as highlighted by the learning objectives issued for each chapter.
 

 There is no comprehensive final exam in this course.

AL'S SPECIAL DISPENSATION: If I have scheduled my exam on a day on which you already have one or more other exams scheduled, you may take my exam a day or two later, provided you tell me before the test day.

MAP TEST: Because United States military history is shaped and influenced by the geography of the continents, it is imperative that the student knows the basic facts of United States military geography.  Therefore the student will be required to pass a geography map test.  This test will require the student to locate on outline maps of the United States and the world twenty of the features named on the attached list.  A passing score is 80. The test will be taken in class on the same day as Unit Exam #1.  This map test must be passed by the mid-semester point.

ANALYTICAL BOOK REVIEWS:

Rationale: This analytical book review will critically examine an important scholarly book covering some aspect of United States Military History from 1607 to present.
The purpose of this review is twofold: first, to acquaint the student with a classic volume of historical scholarship and second, to allow the student to think critically about an important facet of American history and then to organize your thoughts in clear, cogent prose.  You should not view this simply as a hurdle which you must overcome in order to earn a grade of "A" or "B" in this course, but rather approach it as an opportunity to expand your creativity in thinking and writing, two very important aspects of any individual's necessary life skills.  Therefore, be advised that I consider this a VERY important aspect of this course and your reviews will be read and graded VERY carefully.

Form: Each book review will be approximately 1500 words long, although this is a general guideline and not an absolute requirement.  The main objective of this analytical book review should be to comprehensively cover the three sections of the following book report outline:
 Part I: This is a brief outline of the contents of the book.  In the space of one or two paragraphs you should be able to convey the parameters of the book's contents.  DO NOT simply reproduce the book's table of contents.
 Part II: Here is the place for a careful summary of the author's thesis.   The thesis is the primary idea the author is trying to prove and convince the reader to accept.  You must first identify the thesis and then show how the author either substantiates or fails to substantiate this thesis.  This will undoubtedly take you a page or two to do a good job.
 Part III: This is the most important part of your book review.  Here is where you describe your reaction to the book.  Some of the questions you must answer include: Do you agree or disagree with the book's conclusions?  Why?  Did the book support or contradict what you read in your textbook on the same subject? (You MUST quote some of the relevant passages from both books.)  Did you detect any biases on the part of the author?  What was the author's background and why did he or she write the book?  How in your opinion could the book have been improved?  You must be specific and keep in mind there are NO perfect books.  Did you enjoy reading the book? Why or why not?  Would you recommend it to others?
Grading: The book reviews will be graded "EXCELLENT", "ACCEPTED", or "NOT ACCEPTED". The second book review, required only of those seeking the grade of "A", must be graded "EXCELLENT".   The first book
review, required of those seeking the grades of "A" and "B", must be graded at least "ACCEPTED".  Any "NOT ACCEPTED" book reports will be returned to the student to be rewritten.
 
 

Due Dates: The first analytical book review is due at mid-semester.
The second analytical book review is due one week before the end of the semester.
 

Books: The following books may be read for the analytical book review.  If you wish to substitute another book for one of these, YOU MUST RECEIVE THE INSTRUCTOR'S PRIOR APPROVAL.

Patrick Abbazia, Mr. Roosevelt's Navy: The Private War of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet, 1939-1942
Michael C. C. Adams, Our Masters the Rebels: A Speculation on UnionMilitary Failure in the East
John Alden, The American Steel Navy
Stephen Ambrose, Band of Brothers
Arthur E. Barbeau and Florette Henri, The Unknown Soldiers: Black American Troops in World War I
K. Jack Bauer, Surfboats and Horse Marines
_____________, The Mexican War
Richard Beringer et al, Why the South Lost the Civil War
John M. Blum, V Was for Victory: Politics and American Culture During World War II
Daniel P. Bolger, Americans at War, 1975-1986: An Era of Violent Peace
Russell Bourne, The Red King's Rebellion: Racial Politics in New England, 1675-1678
Demetrios Caralay, The Politics of Military Unification
E. Wayne Carp, To Starve the Army at Pleasure: Continental Army  Administration & American Political Culture
Richard D. Challener, Admirals, Generals, and American Foreign Policy, 1898-1914
John W. Chambers II, To Raise an Army: The Draft Comes to Modern America
Edward M. Coffman, The Old Army: A Portrait of the American Army in Peacetime, 1784-1898
__________________, The War to End All Wars: The American Military Experience in World War I
Harry L. Coles, The War of 1812
Thomas Connelly and Archer Jones, The Politics of Command: Factions  and Ideas in Confederate Strategy
Benjmain F. Cooling, Gray Steel and Blue Water Navy
Graham Cosmas, An Army for Empire: The United States Army in the Spanish-American War
Marcus Cunliffe, Soldiers & Citizens
Alexander DeConde, The Quasi-War
Jeffrey M. Dowart, Conflict of Duty: the U.S. Navy's Intelligence Dilemma, 1914-1940
Jonathan Dull, A Diplomatic History of the American Revolution
Paul D. Escott, After Secession: Jefferson Davis and the Failure of Confederate Nationalism
Herbert Feis, The Atomic Bomb and the End of World War II
John Ferling, Struggle for a Continent: The Wars of Early America
Jack Foner, The United States Soldier Between Two Wars
Robert W. Frazier, Forts and Supplies: The Role of the Army in the Economy of the Southwest, 1846-1861
Paul Fussell, Wartime: Understanding and Behavior in the Second World War
John Gaddis, The United States and the Origins of the Cold War
John M. Gates, Schoolbooks and Krags: The United States Army in the Philippines, 1898-1902
William Goetzmann, Army Exploration in the American West
Curtis T. Henson, Jr., Commissioners and Commodores: The East India  Squadron and American Diplomacy in China
George C. Herring, America'sLongest War: The United States and Vietnam, 1950-1975
D. Clayton James, A Time for Giants: Politics of the American High  Command in World War II
Francis Jennings, Empire of Fortune: Crowns, Colonies & Tribes in the Seven Years' War in America
Archer Jones, Civil War & Strategy: The Process of Victory and Defeat
Peter Karsten, The Naval Aristocracy: The Golden Age of Annapolis and the Emergence of Modern America
David M. Kennedy, Over Here: The First World War and American  Society
Lee Kennett, GI: The American Soldier in World War II
Douglas Kinnard, The War Managers
Richard H. Kohn, Eagle and Sword: The Federalists and the Creation of the Military Establishment
Lawrence J. Korb, The Joint Chiefs of Staff
A. J. Langguth, Patriots: The Men Who Started the American Revolution
Harold Langley, Social Reform in the United States Navy
Lester Langley, The Banana Wars
Douglas E. Leach, Arms For Empire
________________, Flintlock & Tomahawk
Robert Leckie, George Washington'sWar: The Saga of the American Revolution
Ronald Leewin, ULTRA Goes to War
_____________, The American Magic: Codes, Ciphers and the Defeat of Japan
Guenter Lewry, America in Vietnam
Brian Linn, The U.S. Army and Counterinsurgency in the Philippine War, 1899-1902
Timothy J. Lomperis, The War Everyone Lost- and Won
Callum A. MacDonald, Korea: The War Before Vietnam
John K. Mahon, History of the Second Seminole War
James McCaffrey, Army of Manifest Destiny: The American Soldier in the Mexican War, 1846-1848
Grady McWhiney and Perry D. Jamieson, Attack and Die
Edward Miller, War Plan Orange: The U.S. Strategy to Defeat Japan,  1897-1945
Nathan Miller, The Naval Air War
Robert Miller: Shamrock and Sword: The Saint Patrick's Battalion in the  U.S.-Mexican War
Stuart Miller, Beneveloent Assimilation: The American Conquest of the Philippines, 1899-1903
John Newhouse, War and Peace in the Nuclear Age
Dennis L. Noble, The Eagle and the Dragon: The United States Military in China, 1901-1937
John Pancake, This Destructive War: The British Campaign in the Carolinas, 1780-1782
Roland Paul, American Military Commitments Abroad
Thomas Powers, The War at Home: Vietnam and the American People, 1964-1968
John Prados, Presidents' SecretWars: CIA and Pentagon Covert Operations since World War II
Francis Paul Prucha, Indian Policy in the Formative Years
Darrett B. Rutman, A Militant New World
David Rees, Korea: The Limited War
Ronald Schaeffer, Wings of Judgment: American Bombing in World War II
Herbert Y. Schandler, The Unmaking of a President: Lyndon Johnson and Vietnam
James Sefton, The United States Army & Reconstruction, 1865-1877
Michael Shafer, Deadly Paradigms: The Failure of U.S. Counterinsurgency Policy
Michael S. Sherry, The Rise of American Air Power: The Creation of Armageddon
William L. Shy, The Virginia Militia in the Eighteenth Century
William B. Skelton, An American Profession of Arms: The Army Officer Corps, 1784-1861
J. C. A. Stagg, Mr. Madison'sWar
Harry G. Summers, On Strategy: A Critical Analysis of the Vietnam War
James Titus, The Old Dominion at War: Society, Politics, and Warfare in Late Colonial Virginia
John Toland, In Mortal Combat: Korea, 1950-1953
George Edgar Turner, Victory Rode the Rails
Robert Utley, Fronteirsmen in Blue
___________, Frontier Regulars: The United States Army and the Indian,   1866-1891
James E. Valle, Rocks & Shoals
Martin Van Creveld, Fighting Power: German and U.S. Army Performance, 1939-1945
Harry M. Ward, The Department of War, 1781-1795
Peter Booth Wiley, Yankees in the Land of the Gods: Commordore Perry and the Opening of Japan
W. J. Wood, Battles of the Revolutionary War, 1775-1781
Robert Wooster, The Military and United States Indian Policy
Donald A. Xerxa, Admirals and Empire: The United States Navy and the Caribbean, 1898-1945
 

 You will notice that the list contains no biographies or campaign studies.  This does not mean you can not use these types of books for your book reviews. It simply means they are too numerous to list here.  If you are interested in specific biographies or campaign studies, you should consult the bibliography sections of the textbook and then check with me concerning a specific title.
 
 

Course Schedule


Date Classroom Activity  Textbook Chapter



Aug 23
Introduction
Aug 25
Early Colonial Conflicts Chapter 1
Aug 30
Colonial Wars for Empire Chapter 2
Sep 6
LABOR DAY HOLIDAY

Sep 6
American Revolution Chapter 3
Sep 8
American Revolution
Sep 13
Constitutional Framework Chapter 4
Sep 15
War of 1812
Sep 20
EXAM #1
Sep 22
Indian & Mexican Wars Chapter 5
Sep 27
Civil War Chapter 6
Sep 29
Civil War
Oct 4
Civil War Chapter 7
Oct 6
Indian Wars
Chapter 8
Oct 11
Military & Naval Reform
Oct 13
EXAM #2
Oct 18
Spanish American War & Philippines
Chapter 9
Oct 20
Military & Naval reform
Chapter 10
Oct 25
World War I Chapter 11
Oct 27
World War I
Nov 1
World War I

Nov 3
Interwar Policy Chapter 12
Nov 8
EXAM #3
Nov 10
World War II Chapter 13
Nov 15
World War II
Nov 17
World War II Chapter 14
Nov 22
World War II
Nov 24
THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY

Nov 29
Cold War & Korea Chapter 15
Dec 1
Vietnam Chapter 16
Dec 6
Post Vietnam Chapter 17
Dec 8
EXAM #4

 
 

OFFICE HOURS: M W   6:30AM TO 10:30AM IN ATT 214
                                        T  H  6:30AM TO  9:00AM IN ATT 214
 

TELEPHONE: 223-3398
 

E-MAIL: apurcell@austincc.edu
 

DUE DATES:1st Book Review for "B" and "A": Oct. 13, 2004
                            2nd Book Review for "A": Dec. 1, 2004

WITHDRAWAL POLICY:  Punctual and regular attendance is required.  Any student accumulating three (3) or more UNEXCUSED absences MAY be dropped from this course.  This is at the discretion of the instructor.
 

LAST DAY TO WITHDRAW: November 18, 2004
 

COURSE COMPLETION DEADLINE: December 8, 2004

ADA:"Each ACC Campus offers support services for students with documented physical or psychological disabilities.  Students with disabilities must request reasonable accomodations through the Office for Students with Disabilities on the campus where they expect to take the majority of their classes.  Students are encouraged to do this three weeks before the start of the semester." (ACC Student Handbook)
 

SCHOLASTIC DISHONESTY:"Acts prohibited by the college for which discipline may be administered include scholastic dishonesty, including but not limited to cheating on an exam or quiz, plagiarizing, and unauthorized collaboration with another in preparing outside work.  Academic work submitted by students shall be the result of their own thought, research, or self-expression.  Academic work is defined as, but not limited to tests, quizzes, whether taken electronically or on paper; projects, either individual or group; classroom presentations, and homework."  (ACC Student Handbook)
Anyone committing these acts in this course will receive the grade of "F" for the course.
 
 

PRIVACY: The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) protects confidentiality of educational records.  Grades cannot be given over the phone, through a fellow student, or by e-mail in this course.
 

TESTING CENTER POLICY: http://www2.austincc.edu/testctr
 

ACADEMIC FREEDOM: The free exchange of information is vital to the pursuit of learning.
 

BUILDING REGULATIONS: Building regulations prohibit smoking, drinking or eating in the classrooms. These regulations will be strictly enforced in this course.