John Malsberger 
Professor of History, Emeritus
Ettinger 300C
484-664-3327
Education:
A. B., History Temple University 1972
Ph.D., History Temple University 1980
Teaching Fields:
20th-century U. S. Economic/Political/Diplomatic History
My teaching and research interests are the political and economic history of the United States. In all my courses I view history as a means to promote analytical thinking and writing. My courses emphasize close reading of primary source materials, historians’ conflicting interpretations, and frequent writing assignments that encourage students to develop their own interpretations of the past.
My current research project explores the often difficult political partnership of Dwight D. Eisenhower and Richard M. Nixon.
Courses Taught:
Introduction to History: Democracy in America
Introduction to History: Movie-Made America
20th Century America to 1945
Recent US History Since 1945
America Confronts a Revolutionary World: Foreign Policy Since 1890
American Economic History
Alternative Americas: The Loser’s History of the United States
Reading Seminar: FDR & the New Deal
Research Seminar: FDR & the New Deal
Reading Seminar: Richard Nixon & the 20th Century
Research Seminar: Richard Nixon & the 20th Century
Recent Publications:
The General and the Politician: Dwight Eisenhower, Richard Nixon, and American Politics, NY: Rowman & Littlefield, 2014.
“An Ailing Ike: How Eisenhower’s Health Affected his Role in the 1960 Election,” Prologue: Quarterly of the National Archives and Record Administration, 44 (Fall, 2012), 28-34.
“Dwight Eisenhower, Richard Nixon, and the Fund Crisis of 1952,” The Historian, 73(Fall 2011), 526-547.
The American Economic History Reader: Essays and Documents, James N. Marshall co-editor. New York: Routledge, 2008.
“Senator Robert A. Taft, ” in Paul Finkelman, ed., Milestone Documents of American Leaders: Exploring the Primary Sources of Notable Americans, Volume 4, Dallas, TX: Schlager Group, Inc., 2009.
“Richard M. Nixon’s ‘Smoking Gun Tape, ’” in Paul Finkelman, ed. Milestone Documents in American History: Exploring the Primary Sources that Shaped America, vol. 4: 1956-2003. Dallas, Texas: Schlager Group Inc., 2008. pp. 1895-1905.
