Choose one of the essay prompts below, and write a 1100- to 1300-word essay. You must cite your sources, using parenthetical references or footnotes. For example:
o James Meredith became the first black man to attend the University of Mississippi (Wolf, “Social Movements”).
o Radical feminists argued that traditional marriage upheld patriarchy (“Redstockings Manifesto”).
Instructions for the essay:
● Include a word count at the top of the essay.
● Write a well-organized, analytical essay.
● In your essay, be sure to draw on and cite a variety of course sources (Lectures, other videos, the textbook and other secondary sources, and primary sources to offer specific examples that. will support your argument.) You must cite and use evidence from at least two primary sources. Do not draw on outside sources. Include a works-cited page.
Essay Prompts (choose one)
1. How and why did the United States’ position on the world stage change ca. 1890-2010? Choose at least three of the following as key turning points in U.S. foreign policy and world stature, with at least one from each column.
Spanish American War
World War I
World War II
Cold War, ca 1945-1962
End of the Cold War (1990s)
War on Terror
2. Analyze the American dream as it relates to immigrants and black Americans from 1865 to the present. What is the American dream for these groups, and to what extent were they able to achieve it?
To get you started, consider these two musings:
● The American dream is “that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement. … It is not a dream of motor cars and high wages merely, but a dream of social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and be recognized by others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position.” [James Truslow Adams, The Epic of America (1931) p. 214-215.]
● The American dream is “…to every man, regardless of his birth, his shining, golden opportunity ….the right to live, to work, to be himself, and to become whatever thing his manhood and his vision can combine to make him.” [Thomas Wolfe, You Can’t Go Home Again (1940) p. 508.]
Key Terms
UNIT 4
● Appeasement
● Rape of Nanjing
● Neutrality Acts of 1935 & 1937
● Atlantic Charter
● Lend Lease
● Four Freedoms
● America First
● Tuskegee Airmen
● Rosie the Riveter
● Double-V Campaign
● Zoot Suit Riots
● Exec Order 9066
● Exec Order 8802
● “second front”
● Manhattan Project
● GI Bill (Servicemen’s Readjustment Act)
● Bretton Woods
● United Nations
● “Long Telegram”
● Containment
● NATO
● HUAC
● Korean War
● Joseph McCarthy
● Military-industrial complex
● Truman Doctrine
● Marshall Plan
● Duck and Cover
● Berlin Airlift
● NSC-68
● Levittowns
● The Organization Man
● Bill Haley and His Comets
● “Hollywood Ten”
● Liberal consensus
● Taft-Hartley Act
● Redlining
● David Reisman
● Billy Graham
UNIT 5
● Brown v. Board of Education
● “The Southern Manifesto”
● Emmett Till
● James Meredith
● Civil Rights Act of 1964
● Bloody Sunday
● Voting Rights Act
● Greensboro Sit-Ins
● “Letter from Birmingham Jail”
● Massive resistance
● Little Rock Nine
● Stokely Carmichael
● Malcolm X
● Black Panther Party
● Chicano Movement
● Students for a Democratic Society
● Port Huron Statement
● Free Speech Movement
● Feminine Mystique
● National Organization of Women (NOW)
● American Indian Movement
● Daughters of Bilitis
● Roe v. Wade
● Title IX
● Equal Rights Amendment
● Redstockings Manifesto
● Flexible response
● Cuban Missile Crisis
● Immigration and Nationality Act
● Economic Opportunity Act
● War on Poverty
● Medicaid and Medicare
● Public Broadcasting Act
● Tet Offensive
● My Lai
● Kent State
● Pentagon Papers
● Ngo Dinh Diem
● Viet Cong
● Vietnamization
● Southern strategy
● 1968 Democratic National Convention
● Stagflation
● SALT
● Watergate crisis
● Camp David Accords
● Iran Hostage Crisis
● ACT UP
● Reagonomics
● Heritage Foundation
● War on Drugs
● Stop ERA Movement
● Iran Contra Affair
UNIT 6
● Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act (2006)
● Kyoto Protocol
● Strategic Defense Initiative
● Mikhail Gorbachev
● Glasnost
● START
● Tax Reform Act (1986)
● PATCO (Air Traffic Controllers strike)
● Freeze Movement
● Iran Contra Scandal
● Bush v. Gore
● Kyoto Protocol
● Bush Doctrine
● War in Afghanistan
● USA Patriot Act
● Hurricane Katrina
● Homeland Security Act
Capstone Milestones Benchmark Needs Significant Improvement
Thesis statement
20 points Contains a well-developed thesis statement that clearly answers the prompt, is contestable, and provides a roadmap for the paper.
Thesis is well-supported by subclaims (i.e., topic sentences).
18-20 points Contains a thesis that does not fully address the question, or is not contestable, or does not provide a roadmap for the paper.
Subclaims are weak or do not further the argument.
16-17 points Contains a thesis that does not fully address the question, or is not contestable, or does not provide a roadmap for the paper.
Subclaims very weak or nonexistent.
14-15 points Contains no thesis or the thesis does not address the question
5-13 points
Primary-source evidence/ analysis
30 points Presents effective analysis of at least two primary sources.
Analysis clearly and effectively supports an argument.
Includes quotes and/or descriptions from at least two primary sources and effectively interprets them in supporting the argument.
27-30 points Offers limited analysis of at least two primary sources.
OR
Offers effective analysis of one primary sources. Analysis supports an argument.
24-26 points Lists primary sources but does not link the evidence to the argument adequately.
Includes evidence from 0 or 1 primary sources or uses the evidence ineffectively.
21-23 points Exhibits inadequate or incorrect understanding of the question.
5-20 points
Secondary-source evidence/ context
35 points Supports the argument and historical analysis with substantial and relevant examples from the textbook, lectures, and other sources.
Analysis clearly and effectively supports an argument.
32-35 points Supports the argument and historical analysis with some relevant examples from textbook and/or lectures.
Analysis supports an argument.
28-31 points Contains little historical context or that information is inaccurate or irrelevant.
Information may be unconnected to an argument.
25-27 points Has little or no understanding of the historical context (or ignores it completely).
0-24 points
Control of Syntax and Mechanics
10 points Uses graceful language that skillfully communicates meaning with clarity and fluency, and is virtually error-free.
9-10 points Uses straightforward language that generally conveys meaning to readers. The language has few errors.
8 points Uses language that sometimes impedes meaning because of errors in usage.
7 points Uses language so poorly that it inhibits understanding.
1-6 points
Citations
5 points Correctly cites sources.
5 points May have errors in citation style.
4 points Uneven use of citation.
3 points Fails to cite sources.
1-2 points