History
Wesley Borucki, Ph.D., a native of
Detroit, Michigan, is in his
16th year as an Associate Professor of
American History at Palm Beach Atlantic
University. His specialties are the
Antebellum South, the Civil War and
Reconstruction. In 2002, he received his
Ph.D. in American history from the
University of Alabama, where he edited the annual journal
“Southern Historian.” Professor Borucki has published two
biographies for Nova Science Publisher’s “First Men, America’s
Presidents” series: “Ronald Reagan: Heroic Dreamer” was
published in 2014 and “George H.W. Bush: In Defense of
Principle” was published in 2011. Professor Borucki received
his master’s degree in American history from the University of
Massachusetts, Amherst (1994) and his bachelor’s degree in
history from Michigan State University (1992).
The American Presidency and Its Development
This course will show how the men who have held the
office of President of the United States have changed the
office and have molded its growth from its limited role
in the Early Republic to its far more powerful scope in
recent decades.
Four Lectures
- The Earliest Presidents and the Belief in Limited Government: George Washington to John Quincy Adams - The earliest presidents established customs and traditions
of the presidency while maintaining a decidedly antiparty
mentality. While political parties became a reality,
they were regarded as a necessary evil within republican
government and these presidents oversaw a federal
government small in size within a political culture
concerned about a rise of tyranny in the aftermath of the
Revolutionary War.
- The Mid 19th Century Presidents as Party Leaders and Moral Crusaders: Andrew Jackson to Chester Arthur - Presidents saw themselves as having a new role with
the 1830s. Parties were perceived by that time as positive
goods that energized debate and the exchange of ideas
and presidents beginning with Andrew Jackson
began to see themselves as crusaders behind certain
issues that would energize their partisan constituencies.
The power of the presidency increased overall over time
despite the difficulties Andrew Johnson had with
Congress over Reconstruction.
- The Late 19th Century and Early 20th Century Presidents: Using the Presidency to Drive Economic Objectives: Grover Cleveland to Franklin Roosevelt - In the aftermath of the Civil War, two main issues divided
the major political parties, the Republicans and
Democrats: namely, tariff rates and the basis of the
nation’s currency. As party leaders, the presidents of this
era had strong ideas on such economic issues to try to
address boom-and-bust cycles, the bigger
conglomerations of capital with the Second Industrial
Revolution, and the emergence of a more active national
labor movement.
- The Modern Presidency Since World War II: Massive Expansion of the Executive Branch for National Security - As presidents became the “leaders of the free world”
with the advent of the Cold War and strived to address
inequality at home that persisted even with postwar
prosperity, the bureaucracy of the executive branch
grew tremendously, and the extent to which presidents
governed through executive orders and established
task forces to advance their own reform-minded initiatives
also grew.
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| Course # F4T2 — Last 4 Weeks
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| Place: | Room 151 (Annex), Lifelong Learning Complex, Jupiter Campus |
| Dates: | Tuesdays, November 8, 15, 22, 29 2016 |
| Time: | 9:30 - 11 AM |
| Fee: | $34 / member; $54 / non-member |
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Register Now
Who Was the Real General George Armstrong Custer?
Is His Historical Reputation Justified?
The recent biography by historian T.J. Stiles has
revived popular fascination with General George
Custer. Since his death at the Battle of the Little
Bighorn in 1876, his reputation has been one of a
reckless general — sometimes not above atrocities
and the use of Native American civilians as
hostages — and a blunderer; the fact that he
graduated last in his West Point class with a record
number of demerits compounded that reputation. But
he enjoyed success as a brigade and division
commander during the Civil War, playing a
prominent role in the Shenandoah Campaign and at
Appomattox and he also stood up to corruption in
President Ulysses S. Grant’s administration. His
prominent wife wrote much to clear her husband’s
reputation. What adjectives exactly fit George
Armstrong Custer and was he to blame for the defeat
and massacre at Little Bighorn? In this single lecture,
we shall examine primary documents from the 1870s
to consider these questions.
Register Early! There is a $5 charge for registering on the day of a one-time lecture or event.
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| Course # F1R6 — One Time Event
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| Place: | Room 151 (Annex), Lifelong Learning Complex, Jupiter Campus |
| Dates: | Thursday, December 1 2016 |
| Time: | 9:30 - 11 AM |
| Fee: | $25 / member; $35 / non-member |
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Register Now
