Phillips 305 E-mail: brazinsk@gwu.edu
George Washington University TAs: Greg Domber & Terrence Rucker
U.S. Diplomatic History—20th Century
Spring 2005 Semester
Tuesday and Thursday 5:00-6:15 p.m.
Summary:
This course will examine American foreign relations in the twentieth century. It will pay particular attention to the emergence of the United States as an imperial power; World War I; the world role of the supposedly isolationist United States in the interwar years; World War II; postwar "hegemony"; the Cold War; and American relations with Europe and the Third World. In approaching these developments we will examine the development of American state power, the nature of foreign policy elites, the cultural elements informing their views of the world and the institutional contexts in which they worked. We will also explore the interconnections between American foreign policy and domestic society. Students will be encouraged to consider how the lessons of the past century of U.S. foreign relations might usefully guide future American diplomacy.
Requirements:
Although I cannot take attendance in lecture, attending lectures will be vital for performing well on the exams. The amount of reading for this class is very limited so the only way to prepare for the exams is to come to lecture regularly and absorb all of the important points made in class. There will be an in class mid-term examination and a final examination, which will be scheduled during exam week. A short (5-6 page) paper assignment will be distributed in March and due at the end of the semester. All examinations, papers, and other graded work products and assignments are to be completed in conformance with The George Washington University Code of Academic Integrity. Grades will be determined according to the following formula:
Mid-Term Examination: 30%
Paper Assignment: 30%
Final Examination: 40%
Office Hours:
As indicated above, I will be available in my office on Tuesdays between 2:00 and 3:30 and on Thursday between 6:15 and 7:00. Students are welcome to show up without an appointment. Students wishing to meet with me who cannot attend regular office hours should e-mail me to set up an appointment. The T.A.s Greg Domber and Terrence Rucker will also be holding office hours at a time to be announced later. Technical questions regarding deadlines for pass/fail, add/drop, registrations, forms, credit etc., should be directed to the History Department secretary’s office in Phillips 335 at 994-6230.
Assigned Texts:
Walter LaFeber, The American Age: American Foreign Policy at Home and Abroad 1750-present.
In addition to the textbook readings, I have posted readings on Blackboard for every session of this class. These documents can be found by going to “course outline” and selecting the appropriate session. These readings are, for the most part, primary sources. Students are responsible for both reading all of the documents contained on Blackboard prior to each class and bringing copies of the documents with them to class. As the semester progresses, I may post additional readings and materials on Blackboard that are not currently on the syllabus. It is the student’s responsibility to check Blackboard regularly for such readings. Such additions will consist of at most one or two more documents per class. They will be posted on Blackboard at least one week before the class for which they have to be read. These documents will be discussed in class and I will ask students for their opinions about the meanings and significance of individual documents.
Classroom Etiquette:
Talking in class, except when permitted by the instructor, is strictly prohibited. All cell phones should be turned off during lecture. Although I may not stop during the lecture to chastise those who are having conversations, I often see and remember students who do so consistently. In such cases I will deduct points on the mid-term or final exam.
Class Schedule:
Introduction/Overview
Tuesday, Janurary 25: The Origins of American Foreign Policy.
Assigned Readings: LaFeber, The American Age, Chapter 1.
On Blackboard: John Wintrhop, City Upon the Hill Sermon; Ezra Stiles, The United States Elevated to Honor and Glory.
Thursday, January 27: Isolationism and Expansionism 1789-1865.
On Blackboard: James Madison, The Federalist #10; George Washington, The
Farewell Address, John L. O’Sullivan, Manifest Destiny.
Tuesday, February 1: Laying the Foundations of Empire, 1865-1898.
Assigned Readings: Skim LaFeber, The American Age, Chapters 5-6.
On Blackboard: Josiah Strong on Anglo-Saxon Predominance; Alfred Thayer
Mahan on Sea Power; Richard Olney on American Jurisdiction in the Western Hemisphere.
Thursday, February 3: The Spanish-American-Cuban-Philippines War.
Assigned Readings: LaFeber, The American Age, Chapter 7.
On Blackboard: Albert Beveridge, The March of the Flag; William Jennings
Bryan, Two Speeches; Henry Cabot Lodge, For Intervention in Cuba.
Tuesday, February 8: The Open Door Policy.
On Blackboard: Richard F. Hinton, “The Race for Commercial Supremacy in Asia;” Charles Denby, “America’s Opportunity in Asia;” Rev. Judson Smith, “The Awakening of China.”
Thursday, February 10: Theodore Roosevelt and World Order.
On Blackboard: The Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine; Roosevelt’s Case for Supporting the Revolution in Panama; Theodore Roosevelt, The Strenuous Life; Theodore Roosevelt, Speech at Charleston: Roosevelt’s Letter to Cecil Rice.
Tuesday, February 15: Dollar Diplomacy.
Assigned Readings: LaFeber, The American Age, Chapter 8.
On Blackboard: William Howard Taft, Dollar Diplomacy; William Howard Taft,
Loan Convention for Honduras; Loan Convention for Nicaragua.
Thursday, February 17: Wilson, Revolution and War.
Assigned Readings: LaFeber, The American Age, Chapter 9.
On Blackboard: Woodrow Wilson on Latin America Policy; Robert Lansing on Intervention; Woodrow Wilson, Peace Without Victory; The First Lusitania Note; Woodrow Wilson, Declaration of Neutrality; Woodrow Wilson’s War Message.
Tuesday, February 22: Wilson, Versailles and the League of Nations.
Assigned Readings: LaFeber, The American Age, Chapter 10.
On Blackboard: Woodrow Wilson’s Fourteen Points; Woodrow Wilson’s League
of Nations Speech; Lenin, Imperialism: The Highest Stage of Capitalism.
Thursday, February 24: The Internationalism of the 1920s and 1930s.
Assigned Readings: LaFeber, The American Age, Chapter 11.
On Blackboard: Herbert Hoover on Foreign Trade; Calvin Coolidge’s Speech on
the Dawes Plan; Charles Evan Hughes on Naval Disarmament.
Tuesday, March 1: American Entry into World War II.
Assigned Readings: LaFeber, The American Age, Chapter 12.
On Blackboard: FDR, Message to the Nations of the World; FDR Address at
Chautauqua, FDR, Quarantine Speech; FDR, Arsenal of Democracy Speech.
Thursday, March 3: World War II and the Peace Settlement.
Assigned Readings: LaFeber, The American Age, Chapter 13.
On Blackboard: The Atlantic Charter; FDR, Broadcast to the Nation; Bretton
Woods Decisions; Dumbarton Oaks decisions.
Tuesday, March 8: In-Class Midterm.
Thursday, March 10: Origins of the Cold War.
Assigned Readings: LaFeber, The American Age, Chapter 14.
On Blackboard: George Kennan’s Long Telegram; The Truman Doctrine; Winston Churchill’s Iron Curtain Speech; NSC 68: Conclusions and Recommendations.
March 14-20: Spring Break No Class
Tuesday, March 22: The Cold War in Asia.
On Blackboard: George C. Marshall on the Situation in China; John Leighton Stuart, Report on Mao’s Overture; William Knowland, Argument against the Recognition of China; Film: Our Job in Japan.
Thursday, March 24: Eisenhower’s New Look and Nuclear Diplomacy.
On Blackboard: Eisenhower on the Dangers of a Military Industrial Complex; John Foster Dulles on Massive Retaliation; NSC 158.
Tuesday, March 29: The Korean War.
Assigned Readings: LaFeber, The American Age, Chapter 15
On Blackboard: Dean Acheson’s Defense Perimeter Speech; Intelligence Memorandum #302; Translation of Kang Man’gil, Isip segi uri yoksa.
Thursday, March 31: Dealing with Cold War Crises.
On Blackboard: Address at Helsinki; NSC 174; NSC 5811.
Tuesday, April 5: Eisenhower and the Third World.
Assigned Readings: LaFeber, The American Age, Chapter 16.
On Blackboard: Indonesian President Sukarno at the Bandung Conference; The Eisenhower Doctrine; Secret History of the Coup in Iran; The CIA in Guatemala.
Thursday, April 7: Modernization and Kennedy’s Cold War.
On Blackboard: Rostow and Millikan, A Proposal; JFK on the Creation of the
Peace Corps; JFK’s Inaugural Address.
Tuesday, April 12: The Cuban Missile Crisis and the Alliance for Progress.
Assigned Readings: LaFeber, The American Age, Chapter 17.
On Blackboard: The Cuban Problem; JFK’s Speech on the Alliance for Progress; Interview with Fidel Castro; USAID Program for Nicaragua.
Thursday, April 14: Nation Building and War in Vietnam.
On Blackboard: Ho Chi Minh Declares Vietnamese Independence; Eisenhower’s Domino Theory; Counterinsurgency Plan in Vietnam, The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution.
Tuesday, April 19: Nixon, Kissinger and Detente.
Assigned Readings: LaFeber, The American Age, Chapter 18.
On Blackboard: Henry Kissinger on the National Interest; NSC Options Paper on Chile; Nixon’s Speech Explaining the Global Centers of Power.
Thursday, April 21: The End of Détente.
On Blackboard: Zbigniew Brzezinski, Excerpt from Memoir; U.S. Memos on
Afghanistan; Interview with Jimmy Carter; Carter-Brezhnev Exchange of Letters.
Tuesday, April 26: Reagan and the End of the Cold War.
Assigned Readings: LaFeber, The American Age, Chapter 19.
On Blackboard: Ronald Reagan’s Star Wars Speech; Ronald Reagan’s Evil Empire Speech; The Reagan Doctrine Speech.
Thursday, April 28: Bush I, Clinton and the New World Order.
On Blackboard: George HW Bush Press Conference on Panama; George HW Bush Thanksgiving Day Address; George HW Bush Press Conference at Kennebunkport; George HW Bush Declares A New World Order; Clinton Speech at the WTO; Clinton State of the Union Address 1999.
Thursday May 5: George W. Bush and the War Against Terror.
On Blackboard: Excerpt from 2000 Presidential Debate; George W. Bush Address at West Point; Excerpt from 2004 Presidential Debate; George W. Bush Press Conference with Tony Blair.