Allan MacNeill HSPC 210 (314)968-7489 fax: 968-7403 macneiam@webster.edu http://www.webster.edu/~macneiam

Course Description: That the 20th century was a period of tremendous growth for the U.S. economy is beyond dispute, yet many scholars disagree on the nature, consequences, and causes of this growth. Indeed, current political debates in Washington D.C. are to a large degree conflicts over different interpretations of economic history--such as the legacies of the New Deal and Reaganomics. This survey of recent economic history will provide students with a more critical understanding of both changing economic conditions and the ideas that influence policy decisions.

Texts/Readings:

James T. Patterson, America's Struggle against Poverty in the Twentieth Century.
    Cambridge: Harvard University Press. 2000

John Kenneth Galbraith, The Great Crash, 1929.

Additional readings will be handed out in class.

Course Requirements:

Papers:  There are four papers required on the Patterson text. The first three will be short (2-3 pages) critical analyses of designated chapters. The final paper (6-8 pages) is a critical analysis of the entire book. The final paper can incorporate parts of the previous papers.  On days when the papers are due the entire class time will be devoted to discussing the chapters and student papers.

3 papers@10% each.............30%
final paper..............................20%

Exams: There will be two exams during the semester and a final exam.

2 midterm exams@20% each......40%
final exam....................................10%

Attendence & Participation: Regular attendence in class is required and participation in class discussion is expected.

Academic Dishonesty: It is the policy of the instructor that any student caught cheating or committing plagiarism will receive a failing grade for the course and may be subject to further disciplinary action.

Plagiarism: What it is and How to Recognize and Avoid it (Indiana University)
Avoiding Plagiarism (Hamilton College)

Cell Phones, Pagers etc.: All annoying electronic devices must be turned off during class.

Course Outline and Schedule:
 

Week 1: Introduction The Legacy of the 19th C.

Daniel H. Borus, "Edward Bellamy's Utopia in His Time and Ours." Introduction to Edward Bellamy, Looking Backward 2000-1887. New York: St. Martins Press.1995. Patterson, Ch. 1

Looking Backward--web version of book, but not the Borus introduction
 

Week 2: The Rise of Large Corporations

Walter Licht, "The Rise of Big Business." in Industrializing America. Baltimore:   Johns Hopkins Press. 1995 "Our Hidden History" Reclaim Democracy. (available on electronic reserve) "Fixing Corporations Part 1--The Legacy of the Founding Parents"

Reclaim Democracy website
 

Week 3: The Progressive Response No Class Monday, Sept. 2

Patterson, Ch. 2 Alice Kessler-Harris, "Protective Labor Legislation," in Out to Work. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 1982 (available on electronic reserve) PAPER #1 DUE (Chs. 1, 2)

Week 4: Urbanization, Modernity, & Migration

Jon C. Teaford, "The Century Begins, 1900-1919." in The Twentieth Century American City. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. 1986 (available on electronic reserve) Jackson Lears, "The New Basis of Civilization," in Fables of Abundance: A Cultural History of Adverting in America. New York: Basic Books. 1994 Jacqueline Jones, "Separate Ways: Deep South Black and Appalachian White Migrants to the Midwest." The Dispossessed. New York: Basic Books. 1992 (electronic reserve)

Week 5: Money, Panics & The Federal Reserve

William Grieder, "Democratic Money" and "The Great Compromise" in Secrets of the Temple: How the Federal Reserve Runs the Country. New York: Touchstone. 1987 (electronic reserve) Hugh Rockoff, "The 'Wizard of Oz' as Monetary Allegory," in Robert Whaples and Dianne Betts, Historical Perspectives on the American Economy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1995 (electronic reserve) EXAM #1

Week 6: Boom: The 1920s

Galbraith, The Great Crash, Chs. 1-4

Weeks 7& 8: Bust: The Great Depression No Class October 2 Webster Works Worldwide

Patterson, Chs. 3-5 Galbraith, Chs. 5-9 Oct. 4, PAPER # 2 Due (Chs. 3-5)

Fall Break

Week 10: J.M. Keynes & The New Deal

Robert Heilbroner and Aaron Singer, "The New Deal."(electronic reserve) Iwan W. Morgan, "The Making of the Modern Budget, 1933-1945." Deficit Government. Chicago: Ivan R. Dee. 1995 (electronic reserve)

Week 11: World War II & The U.S. in the World Economy

Fanny Christina Hill, "Rosie the Riveter" in Marcus and Burner, eds. (electronic reserve) Mike French, "The United States in the World Economy." U.S. Economic History Since 1945. Machester: Manchester University Press. 1997 (electronic reserve) EXAM # 2

Week 12: Post-War Economic Policy

Patterson, Chs. 6-9 Tom Lewis, "A Grand Plan." Divided Highways. New York: Penguin. 1997 (electronic reserve)

Week 13: The Crisis of the 1970s

Patterson, Chs. 10-12 Robert Bartley, "The Malaise Decade." The Seven Fat Years. New York: Free Press. 1992 Heilbroner & Milberg, "The Golden Age Comes to an End" The Making of Economic Society. 11th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. 2002 PAPER #3 Due

Weeks 14 & 15: Reaganomics & the 1980s

Patterson, Chs. 13, 14 Paul Craig Roberts, "The Spreading Revolution" and "Reagan's First Months." The Supply-Side Revolution: An Insider's Account of Policymaking inWashington. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. 1984 Thomas I. Palley, "The Triumph of Wall Street: Finance and The Federal Reserve." Plenty of Nothing: The Downsizing of the American Dream and the Case for Structural Keynesianism. Princeton: Princeton University Press. 1998. (electronic reserve) Michael Meeropol, "The 'Revolutionary Offensive,' 1979-84" and "Seven Fat Years or Illusion?" Surrender: How the Clinton Administration Completed the Reagan Revolution. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. 1998. (electronic reserve)

Week 16: A New Economy?

Patterson, Chs. 15, 16 Michael Meeropol, "The Republican Triumph and the Clinton Surrender." FINAL PAPER DUE, Dec. 6

Week 17: FINAL EXAM