Category: American history

This is the second of two assignments that ask students to not only convey their understanding of a particular political episode in American history, but also transmit the central arguments of a scholarly article.  One of the central objectives of the course curriculum is to ensure that students are able to comprehend academic research—essentially understand information that is professionally researched, peer reviewed, and intended for the “academic discourse.” For this essay, students will illustrate their capacity for comprehension and then express that comprehension in a short, explanatory piece of writing.   
The essay will focus on the Filene article, “An Obituary for the Progressive Movement.”
Filene’s article is found in the course module.  As he explains, for decades historians have debated the significance of the Progressive Movement.  When historians write books/articles they are usually in response to other historians’ books/articles.  Historians either argue against each other, add to the cumulative knowledge of the “conventional wisdom” surrounding the historical topic, or on rare occasions offer breakthrough, novel interpretations.  Filene reviews the different scholarly perspectives on Progressivism. Your task is to effectively transmit the contents of Filene’s article, but also indicate a clear understanding of Filene’s argument and speak to the pieces of historical evidence that Filene raises to prove his argument.  
Here are some ideas/questions that should help you complete the assignment:
Identify the author, title, and year of publication.  Remember the Filene article is your focus.
Situate the topic in its historical context, based on what you know from the textbook and other sources in this class.  Take some time to illustrate your understanding of progressivism. 
Identify and summarize the author’s thesis in YOUR OWN WORDS.  Demonstrate your ability to read and comprehend a published article and effectively summarizing the main idea(s) of the author in a concise summary.  This is the main point of the assignment.  State and explain the author’s supporting ideas and evidence.  Explain the underlying meaning or goal of the article, not simply the superficial details. 
To be sure, your paper should address the following items:
There are a few tasks associated with the assignment.
Illustrate an understanding of Progressivism in American political history.
Transmit Filene’s argument.
In the final section of the paper, use your understanding of the topic to identify one Progressive measure that you would have supported (explain why) and one Progressive measure that you would have opposed (explain why). Progressive reforms are identified in the Filene article or Chapter 20 in the American Yawp. They are more explicitly identified in the “Progressive Party Platform” noted below.
The entire paper should be about 3-4 pages.  
Resources:
These resources can be incorporated into your essay to meet the reference/source requirement for the assignment.
Secondary Sources:
-The American Yawp offers a section on Progressivism in Chapter 20.  This should help with context.  The entire chapter is dedicated to American Progressivism so there is not really a need to consult outside secondary sources.   
-As a primer to Filene, read Brinkley’s review of Hofstatder’s Age of Reform.  This will help you better understand the broader literature surrounding turn-of-the-century reform movements.  Brinkley’s review is posted to the course module.  You must incorporate Brinkley’s review into your discussion of Filene’s article.  
Primary Sources: 
The American Yawp, Chapter 20 has 9 primary source documents at the end of the Chapter that relate to Progressivism. https://www.americanyawp.com/text/wp-content/uploads/yawp_v2_open_pdf.pdf
“A Sociologist Studies Working-Class Saloons in Chicago,” 1900, Johnson, Reading the American Past, Document 21-3.
“Marie Jenney Howe Parodies the Opposition to Women’s Suffrage,” Johnson, Reading the American Past, Document 21-4.
“The Progressive Party Platform,” (1912) https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/progressive-party-platform-1912Links to an external site.
Writing Standards
The essay will be 3-4 pages long.  Make sure you fulfill items 1-3 above.
Standard margins.
12 point times new roman font.
In-text parenthetical citations.  For example: (Johnson, 25).
The essay needs to reference/cite the Filene and Brinkley articles.  The essay also needs to reference at least two of the sources from the module 2.  So, the essay must reference four sources. 
All essays need to be submitted to turn-it-in, through canvas.  I will not grade the essay if it’s not submitted to turn-it-in.
Proofread the essay.  If I can’t understand the writing, the grade will be penalized. 
The rubric is posted on the course portal.
Every essay needs a formal works cited page.  Remember to cite each individual source.  MLA format for works cited page.
There is no need to consult outside sources.  All of the information needed to complete this essay is found in the module.  If you do consult outside sources, understand that “progressivism” gets some people very excited and many have drawn connections to more contemporary American politics.  In other words, some of the writing on “progressivism” is politically charged.  This assignment does not deal with “twenty-first-century Progressivism.”

WRITING ASSIGNMENT # 2A: American Imperialism
In the late
nineteenth century, the United States showed a heightened interest in
establishing an overseas empire. The example of European nations and
Japan, which were seizing colonies in Asia and Africa, stimulated this
expansionism. As a result, America’s territorial boundaries will extend
beyond its borders, and its territory will include colonial possessions.
Read the linked articles and use at least one of them for your essay to support your 
discussion:
War and the Yellow Press
https://history.state.gov/milestones/1866-1898/yellow-journalism
De Lôme Letter
https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/delome-letter
Platt Amendment 1903 –  
https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/platt-amendment
Links to an external site. transcript
Identify and incorporate at least one additional outside source
to support your discussion. In addition to the textbook, you may use
any material outside of the textbook that is recommended in the
Additional Reading section at the end of each chapter. You are also
encouraged to do your own research and identify relevant sources. Please
keep in mind that WIKIPEDIA is not an acceptable reference.
PREPARE AND SUBMIT:
Write a well-organized essay, a minimum of 700 words
(but not limited to), including supporting details from the
documents/textbook/other sources, in which you analyze the assigned
readings and address the following question:
Discuss the
economic, strategic, and ideological factors that contributed to
American interest in overseas expansion in the latter part of the
nineteenth century, and how the U. S. achieved this expansion. As part
of your analysis and discussion identify the arguments of both critics
and supporters of imperialism, evaluating, and explaining who had the
strongest arguments.
Reminders
Use Microsoft WORD to write the essays. The acceptable submission file types are .doc, .docx, and .rtf.  No Pages documents.
Prepare the assignment as a Word Document, double-spaced, and using a standard 12-point font.
Paragraphs in an essay are not numbered. Any
questions that are associated with an assigned reading are there to
serve as a guide for your discussion.
Your discussion should incorporate all of the information from the documents and or textbook, and outside sources as one essay.
Students are required to research and incorporate into their discussions additional sources that relate to the content. Recommendations can be found at the end of the textbook chapter in Additional Reading.
All statements must be supported, and all sources must be identified and cited, and included in your reference list. This also applies to the textbook. Failure to do so constitutes Plagiarism,
and the college has strict policies and penalties for failure to
comply. Under the Resources,  you will find links to sites that review
how to format a paper or essay. I recommend that students use APA or Chicago Style to format their essays. Students should ask their instructor which format style they prefer you to use.

Below are the exact instructions provided by my instructor. I will also attach the sources which he is referring to. I was unable to attach chapter 15 but it can be easily found only , the name is “ The American Yawp” chapter 15. Please feel free to contact me if you have questions. I truly appreciate it. In the introduction to our reading on Reconstruction, it is argued that the Reconstruction Era (1863-1877) “witnessed perhaps the most open and widespread discussions of citizenship” since the founding era. The era was, in the words of the chapter’s contributors and editor (Nicole Turner), a “moment of revolutionary possibility and violent backlash.” Drawing on a selection of primary sources included in “Files>Assignment 1-Primary Sources”, your reading of Chapter 15, and our lecture and discussions on the Civil War and Reconstruction, explain the extent to which you agree with Turner et al’s assessment of the Reconstruction era. Be sure to draw on multiple sources in your assessment. You may also use any of the sources included in American Yawp’s readerLinks to an external site., in addition to those posted on Canvas. You do not need to cite every single source – select those that are most applicable to the arguments you make. Structure: Include a short introduction and conclusion.
Citations: You may use Chicago or MLA style.

Utilize footnotes when needed and provide a bibliography with correct citations. Make the thesis arguable.

Instructions – READ ALL INSTRUCTIONS CAREFULLY
Write essays on three (3) of the following four (4) questions. Each essay should be about
750 words (roughly 3 typed, double-spaced pages). Combine all three essays into one file
and submit on Blackboard.
You need to have your own thesis as well as supporting evidence for your thesis. And
present your ideas in a clear, well-organized essay.
In writing your essays, be sure to refer to specific PRIMARY SOURCE documents
whenever possible. Your essays will be graded on your ability to explain clearly by
synthesizing your understanding of what you have read in the textbook with the
primary source documents we read each week. In order to get a good grade on this
exam, you must refer to and discuss the documents. I do not want a simple summary
of the textbook.
Do not plagiarize!!! This means: do not buy, steal or borrow someone else’s words. If
you use another writer’s words, put them in quotation marks and cite them properly
(make sure I know where you got them). You should feel free to quote from the
textbook or other sources, but make sure to give credit where it is due. If you have any
questions about plagiarism, check your student handbook or contact me directly.
Remember: using another’s words without proper citation – even if you didn’t mean
to!!! – is plagiarism and will result in – at least – a failing grade on the exam, possibly
even for the course.
It is your responsibility to demonstrate to me that you have done the work in writing
your essays. SAVE all notes, citations, drafts, library call-slips, book orders, downloads,
weblinks, etc. to show the work you have put into writing the papers. If you simply
purchase a paper called something like “The Columbian Exchange” or copy from a
website, you will fail the course and be reported to the Dean of Students.
You may use any sources you like, including my comments and your classmates’ words
from our discussion board. Again: just give credit when you use someone else’s words.
The Questions – CHOOSE THREE (3):
Use these questions as starting points for essays of your own construction, with your
own thesis.
1. One of the current controversies in our nation concerns how we memorialize our
past. How should we remember Columbus and the history of the arrival of Europeans in
the Western Hemisphere? What should we do about statues and holidays? Write an
essay making an argument for a historical memorial to this period. Be sure to discuss
specific people, events, and readings.
2. Why did the English colonize the New World after 1600? What was going on in
England in the late 16th- and early 17th centuries? What social and economic changes
were occurring which fostered colonization? What religious and political issues were at
stake?
3. Discuss the experiences of the English in the New World in the 17th century.
Compare the lifestyles of the American Indians, the Chesapeake colonists and the New
England settlers in the seventeenth century. Discuss also the relations between
European settlers and Native Americans in North America using specific examples. How
did things change by the middle of the 18th century?
4. Discuss the labor situation in the New World from the beginning of English settlement
to the middle of the eighteenth century. What problems did investors and settlers
(both voluntary and coerced) face, and how did they solve them? Why did African-
American slavery emerge as the dominant form of labor in the colonial south?
For all the questions you must use PRIMARY SOURCES as evidence!
http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/active_learning/explorations/1492/1492_menu.cfm
http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/era.cfm?eraID=1&smtID=2
http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/era.cfm?eraID=2&smtID=2
http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/1492/
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1520cortes.html
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/aztecs1.html
https://www.historytoday.com/kate-wiles/map-tenochtitlan-1524
http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/era.cfm?eraID=2&smtID=2
http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtID=11&psid=3789
http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtID=11&psid=3790

Essay Prompts:
1) How has social justice evolved from the Progressive Era to the Civil Rights era? Identity three
different groups of people or organizations and how they worked toward civil rights and
equality during this period? What were some of the shortcoming and benefits of these
movements? Provide specific examples in your response using readings, lectures, and the
documentaries.  
2) 
From American Imperialism to the Cold War there have been many technological
advancements in weaponry. Describe 3 or more different technologies that were used for
combat and power-projection. Why were these technologies developed? How was the
technology utilized for war? What were the effects of these technologies in warfare? Provide
specific examples in your response using readings, lectures, and the documentaries.

Write a two/ three page essay on the following topic: Leaders of minority groups struggling to achieve freedom and equality in modern American
society – for example, African Americans and women – have often disagreed among themselves
about the best strategy to adopt: a gradual effort to reform U.S. society from within or a radical
approach seeking drastic social transformation. Choosing ONE group or MORE, describe how
this debate has progressed in the period from the late 1800s to the present. In your view, which
approach – the gradual or the radical – has proved more successful for your group(s), and why?
Remember to provide evidence in support of your argument.
In the essay the group i mainly want to focus on is the hispanic minority group, but you can also include any other group you find fitting. 
I will provide the link to the textbook used in class, and the grading rubric for the essay. you may use outside sources you find fitting, please include citations (footnotes/endnotes and a list of works cited/bibliography)
Textbook link: https://openstax.org/details/books/us-history
The paper should be typed, double-spaced, and have 1” margins. Please put at the top of page one: title of assignment (“Final Exam”), your name, the date, the course number, and the number of the question you have chosen to answer (question 4).

you will identify the specific focus / thesis for your research paper topic. This assignment must include: (1) a Chicago Style paper outline, (2) a working thesis statement, (3) two primary sources from your eText, and (4) at least one secondary source formatted in Chicago Style to support our thesis.
must use “Lincoln’s second Inaugrual address” from Roy P Basle, ed. The collected Works of Abraham Lincoln (new Brunswick, NJ; Rutgers Unversity Press, 1953) vol 8 pp 332-333
also can use Lincolns Speech at springfield (primary source)
i’ve attached the research paper outline example for the format as well.

A thorough plagerism free research paper on the reagan revoltuion era and all its information described. utilizing most univeristy level books and the book = ( A people’s history of the united states ) reference it and reference viable sources and sources that are not used often by other researchers for authenticity.

HISTORY 2050-080 Prof. Dewar MacLeod
Spring 2024
FINAL EXAM – Due Wednesday, May 15th
Save all three essays as ONE FILE in MS Word or PDF and submit through Blackboard.
Answer ALL of the following questions in essays of about 750 words (3 pages) each. Remember,
you are writing essays, not simply answering each of the questions in order. You must have a
thesis, a well-organized argument that develops your thesis, and evidence to support your
points.
BE SURE TO USE SPECIFIC PRIMARY SOURCE DOCUMENTS AS EVIDENCE AND ANALYZE AND
EXPLAIN WHAT THE DOCUMENTS TELL US. IF YOU DO NOT, YOU WILL NOT RECEIVE A GOOD
GRADE.
IN ADDITION TO USING PRIMARY SOURCE DOCUMENTS AS EVIDENCE, YOU MUST MAKE
REFERENCE TO SOME OF MY COMMENTS FROM THE DISCUSSION BOARD. Feel free to disagree
with me or emphasize other points, but you must demonstrate that you have absorbed my
notes.
You may use any sources you like, including my comments and fellow classmates’ words from
our discussion board. Again: just give credit when you use someone else’s words.
Do not plagiarize!!! This means: do not buy, steal or borrow someone else’s words. If you use
another writer’s words, put them in quotation marks and cite them properly (make sure I know
where you got them). You should feel free to quote from the textbook or other sources, but
make sure to give credit where it is due. If you have any questions about plagiarism, check your
student handbook or contact me directly. Remember: using another’s words without proper
citation – even if you didn’t mean to!!! – is plagiarism and will result in – at least – a failing
grade on the exam, possibly even for the course. You may use any sources you like, including
our discussion board. Again: just give credit when you use someone else’s words.
Please read the WPU Academic Integrity Policy at https://www.wpunj.edu/human-
resources/policies-forms-contracts/handbooks-and-contracts/faculty-and-professional-staff-
handbook/academic-integrity-policy-for-students
Again: It is your responsibility to demonstrate to me that you have done the work in writing
your essays. SAVE all notes, citations, drafts, library call-slips, book orders, downloads,
weblinks, etc. to show the work you have put into writing the papers. If you simply purchase a
paper called something like “The Causes of the Civil War” or copy from a website, you will fail
the course and be reported to the Dean of Students.
Your essays will be graded on your ability to explain clearly by synthesizing your understanding
of what you have read in the textbook with the primary source documents we read each week.
In order to get a good grade on this exam, you must refer to and discuss the documents. I do not
want a simple summary of the textbook.
THE QUESTIONS – ANSWER ALL THREE:
1. Starting with Frederick Douglass’s narrative of his life in slavery and in freedom, write an
essay addressing some of the following questions:
How did slaveowners perpetuate the institution of slavery? What did it mean to Douglass to be
slave? How did he define slavery? How did his definition differ from that of most Southerners?
Northerners? What effects did slavery have on Southern society? How does Douglass’s
narrative give us insight into the differences between North and South that led to the Civil War?
Do not try to answer each of the above questions. Use them as starting points for your thinking.
Then construct an essay with your own thesis supported by specific historical examples and
evidence from the primary sources.
2. Discuss the expansion of the United States. What was Manifest Destiny and how did
Americans use this concept to justify expansion? What were the ideas involved and what was
the impact of these ideas? Do you think that this expansion really was “destiny,” or are there
other words that better explain the process? How does this historical epoch look from various
perspectives of the differing groups who lived through it? What were some of the long-term
consequences of Manifest Destiny?
Again, do not try to answer each of the above questions. Use them as starting points for your
thinking. Then construct an essay with your own thesis supported by specific historical
examples and evidence from the primary sources.
3. In what ways was the U.S. fundamentally different in 1877 from what it had been in 1860? Or
was it?
Discuss the era of the Civil War and Reconstruction. Why were the North and the South
ultimately unable to compromise their differences? How did each side come to see the other as
engaged in a conspiracy to deprive them of their rights over the course of the 1850s? How did
the Civil War and Reconstruction reshape the U.S. politically, economically, and socially? Do you
think Reconstruction was a success or failure?
This question really calls for you to think about the era as a whole. Do not simply list events, or
causes and effects of the War. As always, do not try to answer each of the above questions. Use
them as starting points for your thinking. Then construct an essay with your own thesis
supported by specific historical examples and evidence from the primary sources.
http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/era.cfm?eraID=3&smtID=2

https://bb.wpunj.edu/ultra/courses/_36099_1/outline/edit/document/_1948235_1?courseId=_36099_1&view=content
http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/declaration_transcript.html
https://bb.wpunj.edu/ultra/courses/_36099_1/outline/edit/document/_1948238_1?courseId=_36099_1&view=content
http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/era.cfm?eraID=4&smtID=2
https://bb.wpunj.edu/ultra/courses/_36099_1/outline/edit/document/_1948242_1?courseId=_36099_1&view=content


https://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/era.cfm?eraID=4&smtID=2

https://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/era.cfm?eraID=4&smtID=2
https://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu//era.cfm?eraID=4&smtID=2
https://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu//disp_textbook.cfm?smtID=11&psid=3835