Richard P. Ironfield

700 Metacom Ave. apt 127 • Warren RI 02885 • (401) 245-45-9937

Experience

Adjunct Faculty                                                            2004 to present
University of Massachusetts,
Dartmouth                                                   Dartmouth, Massachusetts

The courses that I teach at the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth are United States History to 1877, United States History from 1877, World Civilization to 1500 and World Civilization from 1500.

Adjunct Faculty                                                           1991 to present
Bristol Community College                             Fall River, Massachusetts

The courses that I teach at Bristol Community College are United States History to 1877, United States History from 1877, American Government, Urban Government and Politics, American Civilization and Ancient History

Adjunct Faculty                                                               1985 to 1991
Mohegan Community College                               Norwich, Connecticut

The classes that I taught at Mohegan Community College were United States History to 1877 and United States History from 1877.

Adjunct Faculty                                                                          1990
Bryant College                                      North Smithfield,  Rhode Island

The classes that I taught at Bryant College were United States History to 1877 and United Sates History from 1877.

Adjunct Faculty                                                                           1985
Eastern Connecticut State College                    Willimantic, Connecticut

The class that I taught at Eastern Connecticut State College was United States History from 1877.

Education

Ph. D. 2002
Providence College Providence, Rhode Island
The title of my dissertation  was The Constitutional Reform Movement in Rhode Island from 1895 to 1905.  
My advisor was Reverend Robert Hayman.  The other members on my committee were Dr. Paul O' Malley and Professor Robert Deasy

Masters                                                                                     1985
Providence College                                      Providence, Rhode Island

Bachelor of Arts                                                                           1982
Providence College                                    Providence, Rhode Island

Brief Statement:

I am interested  in the field of United States History.    My research interest is the constitutional reform movement in Rhode Island at the turn of the century.  It is an examination of the effect that the government that was controlled by  Charles Brayton had on Rhode Island politics.  It is also a study of how the Constitution of Rhode Island was used as a device to limit participation in the government, to maintain an unequal method of representation within the state, and to maintain the Governor as a figurehead. 

Current Syllabi:

United States History from 1877
Spring Semester 2006
Richard Ironfield, Ph. D

Course Description:
A survey of the American Experience from 1877 to the present.  This course will focus on the forces, personalities, events and institutions that have shaped modern America since Reconstruction.  Major topics and themes covered will be continued evolution and implementation of the national Constitution, industrialization, immigration, urbanization, westward expansion and America's global role in the twentieth century.

Required Text:
Pauline Maier: A History of the United States: Inventing America
                       Volume 2
Upton Sinclair: The Jungle

Course Requirements:
Subject Tests
There will be three subject tests during the semester.   Makeup exams will be given only if the student had  a genuine emergency.  I reserve the right to give a different test when giving a make up.  Each test will be worth 25% of the final course grade.  If school is cancelled on the day a test is scheduled, the test will be given during the following class.
Book test
In addition to the three tests on subject matter, students are required to take a test on The Jungle.  The test will be worth 25% of the final course grade.
 

Calender Notes:
Monday                         February 20                     Presidents' Day  – no classes
Tuesday   &nnbsp;                     February 21                     Follow Monday's schedule
Monday-Friday              March 20 - 25                  Spring Vacation - no classes
Friday                            April 14                           Last day to withdraw from classes
Monday                         April 17                            Patriots' Day - no classes
Tuesday                         May 16                            Classes end 
Thursday -Wednesday    May 24                            Final Exams

Tentative Exam Dates:
First Test: Friday, March 3

Second Test: Wednesday, April 12
      
Final Exam: to be determine
 
Book Test: Monday, April 3
 

Teaching Procedure:
Lectures and class discussions

Evaluation Criteria:
The recalling and understanding of important ideas and factual information from the assigned readings and class lectures and discussions.
Students must be insightful and clearly express their ideas in their book test.

Office Hours:
Group I Room 311
Phone: (508) 999-8379
email: Rironfield@umassd.edu
Please use e-mail as your first form on communication  
Office Hours: Monday, Wednesdays and Fridays: 9:00 - 9:50

Attendance:
Attendance will be taken every class.  Students are permitted a total of two absences.  If a student is not in class for the entire period, the student will be marked absence.  Excessive cuts will mean withdrawal from the course.  Students must come to class to share in the learning process fully.  Students will be responsible for material covered in class that is not covered in the textbook.

Conduct:
It is expected that students are here to learn and share in the learning experience.  Therefore a student is expected to respect other students and the subject matter of the course.  Also if it is possible, please shut off cell phones before coming into class.
While I hope classes will be lively and discussion informal, I will not tolerate disruptive or distracting behavior.  If this happens I will speak to offenders after class and withdraw them from the course if it happens again.

General Course Goals:
1. To encourage a greater awareness and understanding of the history of the
    United States.
2. To give the students an understanding of the changes that developed in the
    United States in
     the areas of social values and government.
3. To give the students an awareness of the historical interpretation of the people
    and the events  that will be studied.
4. To encourage students to think analytically and critically of America's history
    and culture.

Chapter Themes and Objectives:
Chapter 18: The Rise of Big Business and the Triumph of Industry: 1870-1900
Objectives:
1. The students will understand the impact the railroads had in the development
    of the United  States.
2. The students will examine the lives of the leading industrialists in America.
3. The students will learn about the rise of Industry in the United States.

Chapter 19:  An Industrial Society: 1870-1910
Objectives:
1. The students will understand the impact that the polices of the United States
     government had in  the transformation of Native American Society.
2. The students will understand the development of the farming in the west.
3. The students will learn about the effects that mining and ranching had in the

     transformation of the west.
4. The students will understand how the rise of industry affected society.
5. The students will learn understand the philosophy of Social Darwinism in the United

    States.
6. The students will learn how the growth of the city changed the urban landscape of the

    United States.

Chapter 20: Politics and the State: 1876-1900
Objectives:
1. The students will learn about the formation of labor unions in the Gilded Age.
2. The students will understand the key political issues of the Gilded Age.
3. The students will understand the political differences between Democrats and

     Republicans in the Gilded Age.
4. The students will understand the rise of the grange movement in the United States.
5. The students will learn the philosophy of the Populists.

Chapter 21: A New Place in the World: 1865-1914
Objectives:
1. The students will learn the reasons that the United States expanded their influence into

    other countries.
2. The students will examine the Spanish-American War.
3. The students will understand the foreign policy philosophy of Presidents Theodore

    Roosevelt, William Taft and Woodrow Wilson.
4. The students will examine the building of the Panama Canal.

Chapter 22: The Progressive Era: 1900-1917
Objectives:
1. The students will examine the urban problems that developed with the rise of the city.
2. The students will learn from which countries did the new immigrants come from.
3. The students will learn about the effects of immigration
4. The student will learn how the concept of government changed during the Progressive

    Era.
5. The students will understand how Theodore Roosevelt transformed the office of the
     Presidency.
6. The students will learn of the social, economic and political changes in the Progressive

     Era.

Chapter 23: War, Prosperity, and the Metropolis: 1914-1929
Objectives:
1. The students will understand the causes of World War One.
2. The students will examine Woodrow Wilson's response to the War in Europe.
3. The students will understand way the United States rejected the treaty of Versailles.
4. The students will understand the reasons for prosperity in the 1920's.
5. The students will examine the culture of the 1920's.

Chapter 24: The Great Depression and the New Deal: 1929-1940
Objectives:
1. The students will learn the reasons for the Great Depression.
2. The students will understand the reasons why Franklin Delano Roosevelt instituted the
    concepts of the New Deal.
3. The students will examine the presidency of Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
4. The students will understand the concepts of the New Deal.
5. The student will understand how the concepts of the New Deal government changed the

    role of Government in the United States.

Chapter 25: Whirlpool of War: 1932-1934
Objectives:
1. The students will learn how World War II developed in Europe.
2. The students will examine Franklin Delano Roosevelt's response to the war.

Chapter 26: Fighting for Freedom: 1942-1945
Objectives:
1. The students will examine the leadership of Franklin Delano Roosevelt during the War.
2. The students will learn the military strategy that brought victory in 1945.
3. The students will learn the economic and social impact that World War II had in America.

Chapter 27: From Hot War to Cold War: 1945-1952
Objectives:
1. The students will examine the effect the Yalta conference in defining the world after the

    War.
2. The students will learn of the reasons for the Cold War between the United States and

    the Soviet Union.
3.The students will understand the goals of the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan.
4.The students will understand how the perception of communism played a role American
    politics after World War II.

Chapter 28: Korea, Eisenhower, and Affluence: 1950-1956
Objectives:
1. The students will examine Harry Truman's reasons for engaging in the Korean War.
2. The students will examine the growth of the military-industrial complex and its effects

    upon the economy and society.
3. The students will learn of the conservative movement of the 1950's.

Chapter 28: Renewal of Reform: 1956-1968 
Objectives:
1. The students will understand the New Frontier liberalism of John F. Kennedy.
2. The students will understand the civil rights movement in the areas of segregation and

    voting.
3. The students will understand the role that Martin Luther King in leading the Civil Rights
    movement.
4. The students will understand learn the success and failures of the Kennedy and Johnson
     administrations in the area of civil rights

Chapter 30: Years of Rage: 1964-1974
Objectives:
1. The students will examine America's involvement in the Vietnam War.
2. The students will examine the anti-war movement in the United States.
3. The students will examine the presidency of Richard Nixon.

Chapter 31: Conservative Revival: 1794-1980
Objectives:
1. The students will examine the election of 1976.
2. The students will examine President Carter's administration.

Chapter 32: The Reagan Revolution: 1980-1988
Objectives:
1. The students will examine the reasons for the conservative movement in the 1980's.
2. The students will examine the administration of President Ronald Reagan.