Syllabus
The Last Best Hope, By William J. Bennett One-Year U.S. History Course Using Volume II Enhanced and Covering 1877 to the Present
I choose this text as the focal point of our American Studies II History Course for the following reasons. In this sweeping tale of human initiative, struggle and victory, Dr. Bennett captures what is unique about America. With riveting stories about presidents, senators, first ladies, and inventors, this is no ordinary textbook. Dr Bennett doesn’t just report history; he puts readers right in the middle of the action.
Dr. Bennett’s aim in writing America: The Last Best Hope, is to examine our history rightly, to present the entirety of our firmament in order to see what our Founders saw we could be, what foreigners who came here saw, and what we ourselves can—even today—see once again. Take the time to get acquainted with www.roadmaptothelastbesthope.com a supplement for the text.
Shortly after he issued a preliminary draft of the Emancipation Proclamation, Lincoln wrote to Congress saying, “We shall nobly save or meanly lose this last best hope of earth.” Bennett’s book reminds us, despite obstacles, setbacks, stupidities, and atrocities that America was, is, and we pray, will continue to be the last best hope of earth.
Semester One:
Week 1: Intro/Meaning of History
Weeks 2 and 3: Volume II E, Chapter 1, “An Age More Golden than Gilded?” (1877-1897)
Weeks 4 and 5: Volume IIE, Chapter 2, “The American Dynamo – Shadowed By War” (1897-1914)
Weeks 6 and 7: Volume IIE, Chapter 3, “America and the Great War” (1914-1921)
Weeks 8 and 9: Volume IIE, Chapter 4, “The Boom and the Bust” (1921-1933)
Weeks 10 and 11: Volume IIE, Chapter 5, “FDR and the New Deal” (1933-1939)
Weeks 12 and 13: Volume IIE, Chapter 6, “America’s Rendezvous With Destiny” (1939-1941)
Weeks 14 and 15: Volume IIE, Chapter 7, “Leading the Grand Alliance” (1941-1943)
Weeks 16 and 18: Volume IIE, Chapter 8, “America Victorious” (1943-1945)
Semester Two:
Weeks 1 through 3: Volume IIE, Chapter 9, “Truman Defends the Free World” (1945-1953)
Weeks 4 through 7: Volume IIE, Chapter 10, “Eisenhower and Happy Days” (1953-1961)
Weeks 8 through 10: Volume IIE, Chapter 11, “Passing the Torch” (1961-1969)
Weeks 11 through 13: Volume IIE, Chapter 12, “Nixon’s the One” (1969-1974)
Weeks 14 and 15 : Volume IIE, Chapter 13, “The Years the Locusts Ate” (1974-1981)
Weeks 16 and 17: Volume IIE, Chapter 14, “Reagan and Revival” (1981-1989)
Week 18: Review and Final Examination