No Class: February 27

We will examine, through lecture and discussion, America’s rise from a regional power in the 1880s to the position of one of the world’s major powers by 1944.

At times boisterous and at other moments hesitant, the United States inexorably moves to world power status throughout the first half of the 20th century. Expansionism, isolationism, colonialism, imperialism, our ties to immigrants’ countries of origin, the original ‘America First’ movement, industrialization, and military preparedness are all aspects that contributed to our aggressive/passive relationships with the rest of the world.

Significant personalities such as Teddy Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Charles Lindbergh, Father Coughlin, Herbert Hoover, and FDR play their roles in America’s reluctant rise to greatness.