NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS COLLEGE
COURSE SYLLABUS
COURSE AND INSTRUCTOR INFORMATION
Course title: United States History II
Course prefix, number, and section number: HIST 1302 0870
Semester/Year of course: Spring 2025
Semester start and end dates: 12 January 2026–9 May 2026
Modality: Face-to-face
Class meeting location, days, and times: NHS Room 8, M/W/(F), 8:44–10:01
Semester credit hours: 3
Course description: A survey of the social, political, economic, cultural, and intellectual history of the United States from the Civil War/Reconstruction era to the present. United States History II examines industrialization, immigration, world wars, the Great Depression, Cold War and post-Cold War eras. Themes that may be addressed in United States History II include: American culture, religion, civil and human rights, technological change, economic change, immigration and migration, urbanization and suburbanization, the expansion of the federal government, and the study of U.S. foreign Policy.
Course prerequisites: None
Required course materials: Brinkley, Alan. The Unfinished Nation: A Concise History of the American People. 10th edition. 2022. McGraw-Hill. ISBN 978-1264853830
The textbook for this class is inclusive with your tuition. See this instructional video for instructions on access: http://video.mhhe.com/watch/xUs68jEUwVnAB2K64eWMgc?
Barnes and Noble Lion Book Bundle gives immediate access to the textbooks from the first day of class by adding a charge to your initial tuition that was applied to cover this expense. While the Lion Book Bundle is designed to help NCTC students easily obtain their course materials at a discounted price, it may not fit every student. If you do not wish to participate in the program, you must opt out each semester. You can change your program status 30 days before the semester begins.
Name of instructor: Michael B. Connell, MA
Office location: NHS Room 8
Telephone number: 940.825.3264
E-mail address: mconnell@nctc.edu
Office hours for students: M–Th 10:00–11:00
SYLLABUS CHANGE DISCLAIMER
The faculty member reserves the right to make changes to this published syllabus if it is in the best interest of the educational development of this class. Any such changes will be announced as soon as possible in person and/or in writing.
SUMMARY OF COURSE ASSIGNMENTS
|
Number
|
Assignment
|
Percentage of Final Grade
|
|
17
|
Reading Quiz
|
10%
|
|
10 (top 8)
|
Map Activity
|
5%
|
|
14 (top 12)
|
Primary Source Activity
|
5%
|
|
4
|
Source Analysis
|
20%
|
|
1
|
Term Paper
|
30%
|
|
4
|
Exams
|
30%
|
Chapter 15:
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Reading Quiz (Sunday, 1/18)
-
Map Activity (Tuesday, 2/10)
-
Primary Source Activity (Tuesday, 2/10)
Chapter 16:
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Reading Quiz (Sunday, 1/18)
-
Map Activity (Tuesday, 2/10)
-
Primary Source Activity (Tuesday, 2/10)
Chapter 17:
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Reading Quiz (Sunday, 1/25)
-
Map Activity (Tuesday, 2/10)
-
Primary Source Activity (Tuesday, 2/10)
Chapter 18:
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Reading Quiz (Sunday, 2/1)
-
Primary Source Activity (Tuesday, 2/10)
(Primary) Source Analysis 1: (Sunday, 2/1)
Chapter 20:
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Reading Quiz (Sunday, 2/8)
-
Map Activity (Tuesday, 2/10)
-
Primary Source Activity (Tuesday, 2/10)
Chapters 16–18 & 20 Exam (Gilded Age & Progressive Era): (Wednesday, 2/11)
Chapter 19:
(Primary) Source Analysis 2: (Sunday, 2/15)
Chapter 21:
-
Reading Quiz (Sunday, 2/22)
-
Map Activity (Tuesday, 3/3)
-
Primary Source Activity (Tuesday, 3/3)
Chapter 22:
(Secondary) Source Analysis 3: (Sunday, 3/1)
Chapters 19 & 21–22 Midterm Exam (US as World Power & Roaring 20s): (Wednesday, 3/4)
Chapter 23:
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Reading Quiz (Sunday, 3/15)
-
Primary Source Activity (Tuesday, 3/31)
Chapter 24:
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Reading Quiz (Sunday, 3/15)
-
Map Activity (Tuesday, 3/31)
-
Primary Source Activity (Tuesday, 3/31)
(Secondary) Source Analysis 4: (Sunday, 3/15)
Chapter 25:
-
Reading Quiz (Sunday, 3/22)
-
Map Activity (Tuesday, 3/31)
-
Primary Source Activity (Tuesday, 3/31)
Chapter 26:
-
Reading Quiz (Sunday, 3/29)
-
Map Activity (Tuesday, 3/31)
Chapters 23–26 Exam (Great Depression, WWII, & Cold War): (Wednesday, 4/1)
Chapter 27:
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Reading Quiz (Sunday, 4/5)
-
Primary Source Activity (Tuesday, 5/5)
Chapter 28:
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Reading Quiz (Sunday, 4/12)
-
Map Activity (Tuesday, 5/5)
-
Primary Source Activity (Tuesday, 5/5)
Term Paper: (Friday, 4/16)
Chapter 29:
-
Reading Quiz (Sunday, 4/19)
-
Primary Source Activity (Tuesday, 5/5)
Chapter 30:
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Reading Quiz (Sunday, 4/26)
-
Map Activity (Tuesday, 5/5)
-
Primary Source Activity (Tuesday, 5/5)
Chapter 31:
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Reading Quiz (Sunday, 5/3)
-
Primary Source Activity (Tuesday, 5/5)
Chapters 27–31 Final Exam (Civil Rights, Malaise & Morning, Contemporary US): (Wednesday, 5/6)
No additional/extra credit will be offered.
Final grade scale: A–F (100–0)
Late work policy: Late work will not be accepted.
SEE CANVAS FOR THE COMPLETE COURSE CALENDAR, OUTLINE, DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF GRADED WORK, AND OTHER RELATED MATERIAL.
COURSE POLICIES
Academic Integrity Policy: See Student Handbook.
Attendance Policy: See Student Handbook. Students exceeding four absences are subject to removal from the course.
Withdrawal Policy: A student may withdraw from a course on or after the official date of record. It is the student’s responsibility to initiate and complete a Withdrawal Request Form.
Last day to withdraw from the course with a “W” is: Monday, 7 April
Student Learning Outcomes:
At the successful completion of this course the student will be able to:
Create an argument through the use of historical evidence.
Analyze and interpret primary and secondary sources.
Analyze the effects of historical, social, political, economic, cultural, and global forces on this period of United States history.
Core Objectives:
Critical Thinking
Communication
Personal Responsibility
Social Responsibility
STUDENT HANDBOOK
Students are expected to follow all rules and regulations found in the Student Handbook.
ADA STATEMENT
NCTC will adhere to all applicable federal, state and local laws, regulations and guidelines with respect to providing reasonable accommodations to afford equal educational opportunity. It is the student’s responsibility to contact the Office for Students with Disabilities to arrange appropriate accommodations. See the OSD Syllabus Addendum.
STUDENT SERVICES
NCTC provides a multitude of services and resources to support students. See the Student Services Syllabus Addendum posted in the Files section of this course on Canvas for a listing of those departments and links to their sites.
THE OFFICE FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES
The Office for Students with Disabilities (OSD) provides accommodations for students with disabilities. OSD counselors and advisors also provide strategies for academic success; individual, career, and academic counseling services; referrals to campus and community services; and assistance with admission and registration.
Students with disabilities do not need to disclose their disabilities to college officials if they are not requesting any accommodations.
OSD is federally funded through the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Federal Grant.
NCTC is committed to making its degree and certificate programs accessible to all qualified persons in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, ADA Amendments Act, and The Rehabilitation Act (1973), Section 504.
REQUEST SERVICES
New Students
Accommodations require preparation in advance. Please make your request before the semester begins to ensure complete coverage for the entire semester. You can certainly request accommodations after the semester starts, but please be aware that accommodations are not retroactive.
Accommodations begin when OSD approves them. In other words, the sooner, the better.
*Documentation is required before any accommodations can be provided. Depending on your diagnosis, this documentation should come from a medical doctor, psychologist, or other licensed or properly credentialed professional.
Current Students
Contact the OSD at the beginning of each semester well in advance of registration.
Contact Us
Please reach out to us to schedule an intake or if you have questions or concerns.
Wayne Smith, OSD Manager, kwsmith@nctc.edu, (940) 498-6207
Yvonne Sandmann, OSD Advisor, ysandmann@nctc.edu, (940) 668-3300
https://www.nctc.edu/osd
LIBRARY
NCTC has brick-and-mortar libraries on the Gainesville, Corinth, Flower Mound, and Bowie campuses that are staffed by credentialed librarians wanting to help you succeed in your college career. All students are welcome at any library.
On campus? Visit our website www.nctc.edu/library.
Off-campus? Our research databases are now available in OneLogin.
For Virtual Assistance from a librarian, please use https://www.nctc.edu/ask-a-librarian or schedule a virtual appointment in Upswing, accessed through OneLogin
Please visit www.nctc.edu/library for the operating hours, phone number, and email of thelibrary nearest you.
AI STATEMENT
Absent a clear statement from a course instructor, use of or consultation with generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) or other similar technologies shall be treated analogously to assistance from another person, agency, or entity. In particular, using generative AI tools to substantially complete an assignment or exam is not permitted. Students should acknowledge the use of generative AI (other than incidental use) and default to disclosing such assistance when in doubt.
When students use generative AI to replace the rigorous demands of personal engagement with their coursework, it runs counter to the educational mission of the college and undermines the heart of education itself. Artificial Intelligence, large language models, and other such technologies hold promise for deploying knowledge in service to others and accelerating the discovery of new knowledge. However, such technology poses new challenges to pedagogy and to integrity. Within the context of the teaching mission of the college and consistent with the Student Code of Conduct, the authority to define the appropriate use, study, and deployment of these technologies rests with the faculty.
Individual course instructors, in coordination with their divisions, set policies regulating the use of generative AI tools in their courses, including allowing or disallowing some or all uses of such tools. Course instructors will set such policies in their course syllabi and clearly communicate such policies to students. Students who are unsure of policies regarding generative AI tools are encouraged to ask their instructors for clarification.
QUESTIONS, CONCERNS, or COMPLAINTS
The student should contact the instructor to deal with any questions, concerns, or complaints specific to the class. If the student and faculty are not able to resolve the issue, the student may contact the chair or coordinator of the division. If the student remains unsatisfied, the student may proceed to contact the instructional dean.
Name of Chair/Coordinator: Charles Adams
Office location: Flower Mound Campus, room 107
Telephone number: 972-899-8424
E-mail address: cadams@nctc.edu
Name of Instructional Dean: Mary D. Martinson
Office location: Gainesville Campus, Room 1409
Telephone number: 940-668-4209 ext. 4377
E-mail address: mmartinson@nctc.edu