Political Science Question

Signature Assignment

Instructions:

In an essay that is approximately 750 words in length, answer a historical question using one or more primary sources from the relevant portion of the primary source readers. Your essay should contain a thesis or argument that answers a historical question and should use evidence from the source to support that argument. You may use your textbook and/or lecture notes in your answer.

Your analysis of the primary source(s) should include the following information:

• What type of source is this?
• Who produced this source? When?
• What was the context in which the source was created?
• What biases or agendas do you see influencing the source?

Demonstrate how the source provides evidence to support your answer to the question. In addition, excellent essays will make broader connections between the social or ethical issues presented in the sources and those of other historical periods, including the present. Your essay must include documentation of the sources within the essay. Your instructor will provide further clarification about the type of documentation they require.

Questions:

You may answer any of the following questions using a chapter from The American Yawp and a source (or sources) from the corresponding chapters in one of the two readers. For instance, if you chose to write about The Great Depression (chapter 23 in the textbook), choose a source (or sources) from chapter 23 in The American Yawp Reader or from Containing Multitudes.

Chapters 16-20

• During this period immigration to the United States significantly increased, while imperialist policies expanded the size of the US territory. How did government officials and others propose to treat these new citizens or potential citizens? Using the documents and your other course materials, what anxieties, beliefs, or prejudices did these considerations reveal?
• This period encompasses the rise of the labor movement in the US, industrialization, urbanization, and the rise of a new class of wealthy capitalists. These developments led to debates over who the government should represent and what groups should have the most power. Using the document(s) describe and analyze some of these arguments.
• What are the different meanings of the term “civilization” presented in these documents? How was this term used to justify cultural, political, military, or economic policies or interventions?

Chapters 21-25

• How and why has the size, scope, and responsibility of the federal government changed over time? Using the documents and your other course materials, asses what factors drove these changes.
• What do the primary sources reveal about the experience of people of color in the US, particularly in moments of crisis?
• How are ideas such as Americanism, freedom, liberty and rights depicted in this/these documents? How does the author(s) define, describe, and/or challenge these concepts? What does this reveal to you about the time in which the document(s) were created?

Chapters 26-30

• Describe and analyze what the authors of your chosen document(s) believe the role of the United States is in the world. How do the author(s) justify their beliefs and what agendas or biases underlie these opinions?
• What were the goals and/or achievements of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s? Contextualize these goals either within 1960s or from 1865 onwards.
• How has the role of women, or attitudes about the role of women, changed over time? What seem to be the main debates about women’s social, political, and/or economic status after World War II?
• How did the war on terror change American society and/or politics in the 1990s and 2000s?

Sample Essay Question: Chapter 16:

If you chose to use chapter 16, for instance, you could use the following prompt: This period encompasses the rise of the labor movement in the US, industrialization, urbanization, and the rise of a new class of wealthy capitalists. These developments led to debates over who the government should represent and what groups should have the most power. Using the document(s) describe and analyze some of these arguments.

Using Primary Sources in Your Answer:

To answer the above questions, your essay must analyze at least one of the following primary sources you've read and viewed this semester:

1. Document 16.1: Mary Elizabeth Lease Encourages Women's Participation in the Farmers' Alliances, 1891
2. Document 16.2: National People's Party Platform, 1892
3. Document 16.3: William Jennings Bryan Warns Against a Cross of Gold, 1896
4. Document 16.4: Eugene V. Debs Describes How He Became a Socialist, 1902
5. Document 16.5: Illustration of Battle during Chicago Railroad Workers' Strike, 1877
6. I. IntroductionLinks to an external site
7. II. The March of CapitalLinks to an external site.
8. III. The Rise of InequalityLinks to an external site.
9. IV. The Labor MovementLinks to an external site.
10. V. The Populist MovementLinks to an external site.
11. VI. William Jennings Bryan and the Politics of GoldLinks to an external site.
12. VII. The SocialistsLinks to an external site.
13. VIII. Conclusion

    Unit 6: Discussion Response

    Expectations

    The discussion responses you submit for each Discussion Post should all follow the same format and style. These should be 250-350 words, and are meant to be written in a "blog style," as opposed to more formal writing. The intention behind this is to map the process of learning and analyzing history--therefore it should have a tone of personal reflection in addition to analysis. Reflect on the content you've learned in this unit. Then, consider your position/experience and how you relate to this material (yes--you can use first-person). Though there is an overall informal tone to these posts, your answers should employ critical thinking (as opposed to regurgitating material) and effectively apply reading and media sources from the unit's module within your overall analysis. Include several specifics from course material, offering really simplistic citations in parentheses such as: (name of textbook chapter), (name of primary source), (name of historian video).

    Background

    Activists were attempting to address pressing societal issues with a wide range of progressive reform in this era. However, not all issues were addressed in a positive way, and some issues were neglected altogether. Drawing on this unit's material, write a 250-350 word post considering the below questions in your response.

    Questions

    1. Discuss 1-2 positive reforms pushed forward by Progressive activists.
    2. How were some conservationists misguided in their environmentalist efforts?
    3. How did racial justice factor into the Progressive agenda?
    4. Why is it important to acknowledge both the positive and negative impacts of reform movements like the Progressive Era? Unit 6 references and recommended reading