HST 1430 UMCP American Civil Rights Essay
You must pick one (1) of the essay questions below for your final exam. You should prepare this essay throughout the course of the semester utilizing your weekly studies to add to your understanding of your chosen question.
Your essay should be at least 1000 words in length and no more than 1200. It should be typed in 12-point font with standard margins.
Should you include any material directly from ANY source (textbook, lecture notes, Internet sites) you MUST put it in quotation marks and provide a complete footnote reference. I strongly encourage you to limit your use of quotations unless they are particularly appropriate for a point YOU are trying to make. This essay should be in your words, not someone else’s.
America as A World Power: America’s role in the world and the nature of its foreign policy changed drastically throughout the twentieth century. For most of the 1900s the U.S. remained isolated from world affairs but at the beginning of the 20th century. Please describe the keys reasons for and goals of this transformation.
Events/topics:
Impulse to imperialism in 1880s and forward
Spanish American War
World War I
World War II
The Cold War as the core of American foreign policy including Truman Doctrine, containment, expansion of federal government and nuclear proliferation
Korean and Vietnamese Wars
America’s current role as a world leader
The Role of Government in the Lives of Americans: In the late 1800s state and federal government played a limited role in the daily lives of Americans, especially those Americans at the bottom of the social ladder. Please describe the transformation of the role of the federal government and the debates that have accompanied those changes
Events/topics:
Late 1800s industrialization and urbanization
The Populist and Progressive Movements
The Great Depression and the 2 New Deals
Impact of World War II on American society
The Cold War’s impact on life in America (anti-communism, threat of nuclear war, civil rights)
Lyndon B. Johnson’s War on Poverty
The debate over welfare
The political battle over the size of the federal government (Republican and Democratic positions and ideas)
American Civil Rights: Despite the foundation of America on the concept of equality, our history has been filled with ongoing battles over what equality and civil rights truly mean. Please trace the ongoing battles for equality among at least three (3) groups in American history.
This should stretch back to 1860s and should include groups such as African-Americans, women, the poor and working classes, immigrant groups, as well as others should you so choose (LGBT, Native American, Latino, etc…)
Please make sure to include specific events, laws, groups/organizations and individuals that have played a significant role in these changes.
I need to see that you understand the roles that social movements play in American society and the role that state and federal governments play in this process.
I would also like to have a sense of your opinion on the changes that have occurred and whether they are helping America to fulfill the meaning of the concept of equality or whether they fall far short.