FINAL PAPER:

DUE MONDAY, APRIL 30 AT 10:00 A.M. IN THE HISTORY DEPARTMENT OFFICE, 301 MORRILL HALL.

Answer one question from each section. Each, of your total two, essays should be around five double-spaced typed pages in length (for a total 10 pages). As with your midterm papers, it is impossible to include everything you know about these topics in just a few pages. Part of the assignment therefore requires you to be selective and to present a clear and directed argument or thesis statement. You must order the material, deciding what is most important and what evidence and examples are necessary to support your case.

The assignment calls for you to write two distinct essays. Since the questions give you a good deal of leeway, you must take care not to define them in ways that overlap significantly.

We are looking for essays that present a clear well-developed thesis. You must back up your thesis with a judicious use of facts and specific examples from a variety of course readings and lectures. You should take care to footnote evidence and interpretations from the readings and distinguish your views from those expressed by Prof. Mark Kornbluh and Melanie Shell-Weiss, and the authors that you have read. As always, in these essays you should write for an intelligent but ignorant reader. In other words, your level of analysis should be sophisticated, but you must present and explain the evidence that you use. Do not assume that the reader is familiar with the course material. We expect that you will need to write at least two drafts of each paper to achieve the quality that we are looking for. Of course, you are free to consult all the material presented in this course. While you may use a limited number of outside sources, extra material is not necessary or recommended. Furthermore, this paper is a final examination, and therefore you MUST show familiarity with all the relevant course material including both lectures and readings. Please feel free to discuss this assignment with Mark Kornbluh, Melanie Shell-Weiss and/or your teaching assistant. However, you may not work on this with anyone else. The paper you turn in must represent your work and yours alone.

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PART ONE: ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTION ON POST-WWII U.S. HISTORY

1. Many prominent historians have argued the story of U.S. history after World War II has been an ``unfinished journey'' toward equality for all Americans regardless of race, class or sex. Carefully trace this journey, making sure to cover the whole time period (1945-the present), and address all of the following questions: To what extent can we say that American history since WWII has been a journey toward greater equality? What factors tended to increase equality? What factors tended to limit equality? And, finally, briefly assess where we are today. Have we, as a country, finally achieved complete equality? What have we achieved and what, if anything, remains to be done? Be sure to be specific and comprehensive in your answers.

PART TWO: ANSWER ONE OF THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:

1. In Bill Clinton's 1992 presidential campaign, the operating slogan was "It's the economy, stupid." To what extent could that slogan be used to describe American history since 1877? (This question calls for you to assess the role that economic conditions play in American history from Reconstruction through the present time. Make your chronology clear.)

2. In summing up the tempestuous course of American history since 1877, there is a tendency of historians to focus on politics. In many ways, however, the most profound changes that occurred over the last 120 years of our history lie in the realm of culture and society. Indeed, it has often been social issues that have provided the basis for the most explosive political conflicts of the period. You have the option to write an essay identifying and exploring the major changes in American culture and society over the last 120 years. (Your essay should focus on a few general themes such as the extent to which gender, racial, and/or class lines have changed. Be sure to write a historical essay that grounds your ideas in a concrete time frame. Make your chronology clear.)

3. Despite the concerted attempts of historians to argue otherwise, it is common wisdom among undergraduates that history swings in cycles. To what extent do concerns that have dominated American society and culture during previous eras come back into the forefront during later eras? If you do not see a cyclical pattern in American history during this period, do you see relative continuity in concerns over the entire period or were there one or more major dividing lines in modern American history? (This question calls for you to divide modern American history into one or more distinct periods. Make your chronology clear.)

4. Over the past 120 years, the U.S. has fought in the Spanish-American war, two major World Wars and three extended wars in Asia, has intervened militarily in struggles throughout the third world, and engaged in a protracted Cold War with the Soviet Union. International trade and global economic events, as well as immigration have been significant shaping forces and of fluctuating concern to Americans as well. To what extent have foreign affairs been the driving force of modern American history? (This question calls for you to assess the role that foreign affairs have played in American history from 1877 to the present. Make your chronology clear.)

created: April 18, 2001
last updated: April 18, 2001

Copyright 2001, Mark Kornbluh