AMERICAN MILITARY HISTORY History 300 Syllabus James Madison University, Fall 2011 1. Introduction.

Welcome to History 300, American Military History. This syllabus explains the scope, themes, objectives, and requirements of the course, methods and standards of evaluation, and provides a course schedule. 2. Scope. HIST 300 surveys major developments in American military history from the Seven Years War to the present. The course consists of four blocks. The first block, "From Rebels to Regulars", examines the transition of Americans from frontier militia to revolutionaries and finally into a professional army. The second block, "The Death and Rebirth of Decision", traces the increasing prominence of firepower during the American Civil War and World War I emphasizing the failure of military thought to keep pace with the industrial and organizational revolutions. The third block, "World War II; Widening the Scope of War", encompasses the return of mobility to battle with special attention to coalition warfare and the logistical requirements of a global struggle. The final block, "Cold War and a New World Order" examines the impact of nuclear arms and the reemergence of limited war. 3. Course Objectives. Upon completion of HIST 300, you should have successfully mastered the following learning objectives: a. By performance in class, during examinations, and in the writing requirement demonstrate that you can: 1) Develop an understanding of the evolution of warfare in the United States from the colonial period to the present. Further, assess how democratic institutions in the U.S. have shaped a distinctive American War of War. 2) Assess the impact of political, economic, and cultural factors on the growth of military institutions and professionalism. 3) Explain how industrial and technological developments affected the course of modern war. You must explain the concept of a military revolution and how technological innovations sparked significant changes in strategy, operations, and tactics. 4) Analyze how the experience of combat changed for both the leader and the common soldier. b. Beyond these specific objectives, HIST 300 should increase your ability to apply historical reasoning to the solution of complex problems and develop a sense of historical perspective vital to courses in the social sciences and humanities. 4. Course Themes. HIST 300 requires you to address lengthy time periods and complex military and cultural developments. The course themes address historical trends in the art of war and will facilitate your grasp of those developments by providing you with continuity between lessons and focal points to study. The themes also provide a guide for the formulation of each major examination. a. Grand Strategy: 1) Describe how political considerations shaped national policy. Specifically, explain how George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Franklin Roosevelt defined national objectives and how the war aims of each evolved during the course of their wars.

2) Analyze the dynamics of coalition warfare from the Franco-American alliance during the American Revolution to the Gulf War coalition of 1991. 3) Compare the strategic choices made by national leaders to the operational decisions made by military commanders and to the tactics adopted on the battlefield. 4) Evaluate the impact of domestic political concerns upon U.S. military action. b. Civil Military Relations: 1) Analyze the importance of civilian control of the military with special emphasis on the U.S., Germany, and the Soviet Union. 2) Assess the impact of leaders on the wars they fought. In particular, examine the influence of Washington, Grant, Marshall, Churchill, and Ho Chi Minh. 3) Analyze the development and implications of revolutionary warfare as seen in China, Vietnam, and Afghanistan. c. Technological Advances: 1) Explain the revolution in firepower, its consequences, and wartime and efforts to find doctrinal, technical, and strategic remedies. Specifically, address the impact of the rifle and improvements in artillery that allowed the defensive to dominate during the Civil War and World War I. 2) Describe the developments in mobility that allowed armies to breakout of the trenches of World War I and to conduct a war of maneuver on the eastern and western fronts during World War II. 3) Analyze the relationship between the introduction of aircraft and the return of mobile warfare. Similarly, how did the use of aircraft carriers and submarine fleets alter the foundations of naval thought? 4) Explain the military revolution brought about by the introduction of nuclear weapons and its impact on strategy, defense policy, and military doctrine. In particular, analyze the relationship between nuclear weapons and limited war. 5) Analyze the importance of logistics as industrialized nations undertake campaigns on a global scale. d. Experience of Combat: 1) Describe leadership and human behavior as exemplified by Saratoga in 1777, the Wilderness in 1864, the Somme in 1916, and Ia Drang in 1965. 2) Analyze the totality of warfare in 1864, 1917, 1945, and 2007. Evaluate where each conflict fits on Clausewitz's continuum between armed surveillance and total war. 3) Evaluate the importance of culture upon the war that leaders, soldiers, and civilians were willing to fight. In particular, examine the impact of Japanese, German, and American military traditions during their campaigns of conquest. 5. Historical Geography Exercises: a. Geographic relationships are often crucial to understand an event's historical importance. Locating places and events that you have read about will enable you to gain a better appreciation for distances, locations, and spatial relationships.

b. Historical geography exercises may be included on exams. 6. Writing Requirement: You will prepare a research paper that analyzes a significant aspect of a twentieth century American campaign or battle. An oral interview conducted by you should serve as a key component in the project. The topic will be determined in coordination with the instructor. The paper will be approximately 1012 pages in length and is due 28 November. a. As a matter of good scholarship, your paper must be a product of your own effort. Any ideas or assistance obtained from other sources must be properly documented. Full and free discussions with others (e.g. fellow students and teachers) of the paper is encouraged, but must be properly documented. b. Document your work using either footnotes or endnotes. Turabian's A Manuel for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations should serve as a guide. c. Additional guidance will be found at Enclosure 1. 7. Grading System: a. I will report your progress as follows: an "A" indicates genuinely outstanding work, mastery of the subject, near flawless exposition, and incisive interpretation; "B" means well above average achievements in mastery of the subject, exposition, and interpretation throughout the course; "C" means comprehension of the basic concepts, competent exposition and interpretationYou have learned the subject at the university level; "D" means unsatisfactory but still barely passing. An "F" indicates failure either from a substandard level of achievement or a failure to complete the minimum course requirements. 93-100 90-92 87-89 83-86 80-82 A AB+ B B77-79 73-76 70-72 67-69 Below 67 C+ C CD F

b. There are 1000 possible points in HIST 300, distributed as follows: Midterm Online Quizzes Veteran Interview Research Paper Final Exam 250 100 100 300 250 25% 10% 10% 30% 25%

c. The Final Exam is an important measure of your performance in the course. A grade of less than 50 percent on the final may result in failure of the course regardless of your overall average. Furthermore, the failure to complete any requirement, particularly the writing requirement, may also result in course failure. 8. Administration a. This course will be an interactive undertaking. You must read assignments prior to class in order to participate in the discussions, small group activities, and role playing exercises. b. Regular attendance and participation is crucial. Absences may be excused with a legitimate reason, if I am informed prior to the absence. Otherwise, work missed cannot be made up. c. I encourage you to contact me if you have questions via e-mail at dillarpd@jmu.edu or by phone at (540) 568-3757. I will hold office hours on Monday and Wednesday from 1:303:30 and on Tuesday from

11:0012:00 in Jackson 211. Mr. Josh Webster will be assisting me with the course and can be reached at websteja@dukes.jmu.edu. d. Students are responsible for registering for classes and for verifying their class schedules on ecampus. The deadline for adding a Fall semester class without instructor and academic unit head signatures is Tuesday, September 6, 2011. Between Wednesday, September 7, 2011 and Thursday, September 15, 2011, instructor and academic unit head signatures are required to add a class for Fall Semester 2011. No student will be allowed to register for a Fall semester class after Thursday, September 15, 2011. No exceptions will be made to these deadlines.

9. Course Bibliography: 1. 2. 3. Bill Mauldin. Up Front. New York: W. W. Norton & Co. 1946. Fuchida, Mitsuo. Midway: The Battle That Doomed Japan. Naval Institute Press 2001. Powell, Colin. My American Journey. New York: Ballantine Books; 2003.

4. Grimsley, Mark. The American Civil War: The Emergence of Total Warfare . Lexington, MA: D.C. Heath, 1996.

Research Paper Instructions American Military History Dr. Philip D. Dillard

1. Purpose: The research paper is designed to measure your attainment of the following course goals: a) To synthesize facts and concepts in a logical manner and to analyze historical events and ideas to support a historical argument. b) To communicate ideas clearly and convincingly, orally and in written form. 2. Topic: You will prepare a research paper that analyzes a significant aspect of a twentieth century American campaign or battle. An oral interview conducted by the student should serve as a key component in the project. The topic will be determined in coordination with the instructor. 3. Form: You will submit several preliminary pieces as well as the final paper. You must meet these deadlines in order to avoid a 10% reduction per date: a) b) c) Topic/Tentative Bibliography Thesis Paragraph/Outline Paper Due 30 Sep 14 Nov 28 Nov

4. Administration a) The research paper is your major writing requirement and thirty percent of your grade for HIST 300; therefore, you should plan your effort accordingly. b) Your research paper must incorporate research conducted in both primary and secondary sources. You must use a minimum of three primary and five secondary sources in preparing this paper. The Oral Interview may serve as one of your primary sources and is absolutely essential to the project. c) Your paper should be between ten and twelve pages in length not including notes and bibliography. d) The format for the paper is that of an argumentative essay and should include a strong thesis statement, historical evidence that directly supports your thesis, and analysis that explains how and why that historical evidence supports your argument. Merely listing facts or relating events is not enough. You must convince the reader that the evidence substantiates your argument. A good conclusion should drive home your argument. e) As a matter of good scholarship, your paper must be a product of your own effort. Any ideas or assistance obtained from other sources must be properly documented. Full and free discussions with others (e.g. fellow students and teachers) of the paper is encouraged but must be properly documented. f) Document your work using either footnotes or endnotes. Turabian's A Manuel for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations should serve as a guide.