GOVT/HIST 402 American
Economic History Fall 2003 T-Th
12:40-2:00
David W. Thornton 245 LFSB 893-1488 thornton@mailcenter.campbell.edu
COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course surveys the evolution of the American economy from its colonial origins to the present day, including developments in agriculture, commerce, industry, technology, and infrastructure. Also addressed are trends in banking and finance, as well as patterns of demographic change and immigration as they have affected the labor force and consumer behavior. Particular emphasis is placed throughout on the role of government institutions and policies—including legislation, executive action and court rulings--in shaping economic development and social change.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS: Students
are evaluated on their demonstrated understanding of material covered in the
assigned readings and lectures, as well as on the satisfactory completion of a
written assignment. The attached course schedule provides a description of
topics and corresponding readings, and includes dates for scheduled
examinations. The written assignment described below will be discussed
thoroughly in class. The course requirements are designed to provide the means
of accomplishing the course objectives. Failure to take these requirements
seriously or to complete assignments on time will result in performance less
than satisfactory to both student and teacher. Any questions or problems with
course objectives, requirements, assignments or evaluation should be addressed
promptly and fully in consultation with the professor. Please feel free to
speak with me during posted office hours or schedule an appointment for your
convenience.
GRADING & EVALUATION: Course grades are based on a variety of criteria,
including performance on quizzes, the midterm and the cumulative final
examination, as well as class attendance and participation, and the written
assignment. The midterm and the final are assigned the following weights in the
calculation of grades:
Midterm. 20%. Tuesday 9 October.
Final. 30%. Date TBA.
Class participation accounts for 20%
of your grade. This will include in-class discussion based on materials I will
provide to guide your reading, as well as performance on unannounced quizzes
drawn from the reading and lecture material. Failure to attend class regularly
will adversely affect your performance in all aspects of the course. Please
consult the Campbell University Bulletin concerning official University
attendance policy. I understand
that policy to mean that students are not given a certain number of
"cuts" during the semester; rather, absences from class should occur
only for reasons of illness (documented by a doctor's excuse) or personal
emergency (to be explained to me)--all others will be subject to penalty.
The written assignment will account
for 30% of the final grade. Take careful note of all requirements and relevant
deadlines as described below.
REQUIRED TEXTS: Hughes, Jonathan & Louis P. Cain. American Economic History.
(6th Edition). Addison-Wesley, 2003. ISBN 0-321-08822-0
SCHEDULE OF LECTURE TOPICS AND ASSIGNED READINGS:
Week 1 (Th. 21 August). Course Introduction.
Syllabus.
Week 2. (T. 26 & Th. 28 Aug.). Pre-Revolutionary Economic Developments.
Chs. 1-2.
Week 3. (T. 2 & Th. 4 Sep.). The American Revolution: Economic Causes & Effects.
Chs. 3 & 4.
Week 4. (T. 9 & Th. 11 Sep.). Territorial & Demographic Expansion of the US Economy. Chs. 5 & 6.
Week 5. (T. 16 & Th. 18 Sep.). Physical & Legal Infrastructure of Economic Expansion.
Chs. 7 & 8.
Week 6. (T. 23 & Th. 25 Sep.). Agriculture & Slavery: Two Economic Systems in One Country. Chs. 9 & 10.
Week 7. (T. 30 Sep & Th. 2 Oct.). Ante-Bellum Industry & Finance.
Chs. 11 & 12.
Week 8. (T. 7 & Th. 9 Oct.). Midterm Exam & Fall Break.
Week 9. (T. 14 Oct. & Th. 16 Oct.). The Civil War: Economic Causes & Effects.
Chs. 13-15.
Week 10. (T. 21 Oct. & Th. 23 Oct.). Immigration, Industrialization, Urbanization.
Chs. 16-18.
Week 11. (T. 28 Oct. & Th. 30 Nov.). Trade, Finance & Labor in the Pre-WWI Era.
Chs. 19-21.
Week 12. (T. 4 Nov. & Th. 6 Nov.). The “Command Economy” of WWI & the “Normalcy” of the 1920s. Chs. 22 & 23.
Week 13. (T. 11 Nov. & Th. 13 Nov.). The Great Depression & The New Deal.
Chs. 24 & 25.
Week 14. (T. 18 Nov & Th. 20 Nov.). World War II & Post-War Prosperity.
Chs. 27-29.
Week 15. (T. 25 Nov.). The Political Economy of Globalization.
Chs. 30 & 31.
Beyond its basic division into agriculture, industry and services, the huge and complex American economy is comprised of innumerable sub-sectors that provide an immense variety and quantity of products, goods and services. This assignment asks that you examine in detail one such sector, tracing its development from its earliest origins to its present-day status.
Your description and analysis of the sector should entail 3 main elements:
1) An account of its historical development, including
Individuals (inventors, entrepreneurs, labor leaders) having a prominent role in shaping its technological, organizational or financial features
Major firms and their importance to the sector’s evolution
Governmental policies important to its development, whether in the form of legislation, (de)regulation or court rulings
Events (local, national or global) having a substantial effect (positive or negative) on the sector’s development
2) A description of its current business activities, including
The types of the good or services produced and sold
Its scope and scale, including…
geographic dimensions and dispersal
physical volume and financial value of output
number and size of major firms and their relative importance to the sector
number of people employed and financial value of their compensation
3) An assessment of its significance in relation to the rest of the economy, including
The sector’s contribution to national economic activity in terms of employment, share of GDP, trade balance, tax revenue, etc.
Its importance in terms of supplying or purchasing components, products or services crucial to the existence or performance of related sectors
The degree to which the sector is significant to US connections with the global economy
The current status and probable future of the sector in terms of its overall health, vitality and prospects for growth or decline
Requirements
and Deadlines
In order to
complete this assignment in a satisfactory and timely fashion, you will need to
work on it diligently throughout the semester. Adherence to the schedule below
will encourage you to do so. Take careful note of all requirements and
deadlines, as I will evaluate your performance on the entire project, most
especially the final product. I will discuss the project in class, and will be
available in my office throughout the semester for consultation.
While the exact
length of each of the 3 main sections of the project will vary according to
topic, they probably will require on average 1500-2000 words apiece. Therefore,
I imagine that completed papers will turn out to be of similar size;
approximately 4500-6000 words excluding the bibliography and supporting
materials such as maps, charts, etc…
Factors such as font size, line spacing, margins, etc., affect the exact
translation of words into pages, but a rough guide is 250-300 words per page.
Topic
Selection due: Thursday 28 August.
Examples of
possible topics include:
A primary
activity, such as agriculture (pick a specific crop or commodity), mining (pick
a specific metal or ore), or oil extraction and refining
A manufacturing
industry, such as steel, automobiles, commercial aircraft, machine tools…
A service, such
as construction, banking, insurance, communications, entertainment (live shows,
movies, music)
Preliminary
Bibliography due: Thursday 18 September.
Provide in proper bibliographic form a list of
all sources identified that you have good reason to believe will be relevant to
your topic. Include in it books, articles in scholarly journals, magazines,
newspapers, government documents or other official reports, documentary film or
video, etc. If internet sources are used, please submit to my email address an
electronic copy containing active hyperlinks to the sources.
Annotated
bibliography due: Thursday 16 October.
Provide in
proper bibliographic form a complete typewritten list of sources to be used in
the paper. After each entry, give evidence that you have actually located and
consulted each source on the list, indicating clearly and explicitly the
relevance of all sources to the paper. If internet sources are used, please submit
to my email address an electronic copy containing active hyperlinks to the
sources.
Rough Draft
due: Thursday 6 November.
This draft
should be as close as possible in form and content to the final product. Spare
no effort to insure that this typewritten draft contains no errors of fact and
is correct in grammar, syntax, spelling, etc. Include a complete list of
sources, provide all charts and figures, number all pages and attach a title
page. Do not lose or destroy this draft, you are asked to submit it along with
your final product.
Final Draft
due: Tuesday 25 November.
This version of
the paper should be completely free of errors of any kind, and incorporate all
changes requested on the rough draft; include the rough draft along with the
final product. This last draft represents the fruits of your work over the
entire semester, and should be as near to perfection as you possibly can make
it.
NOTE: THE FINAL DRAFT OF YOUR PAPER MUST BE GIVEN BY YOU TO ME
PERSONALLY, OR WILL BE COUNTED AS NOT SUBMITTED. PAPERS MAY NOT BE:
TURNED IN BY ANYONE BUT YOU; PUT IN MY MAILBOX OR UNDER MY DOOR; GIVEN TO THE
SECRETARY OR STUDENT WORKER, ANOTHER PROFESSOR; ETC.