Source: http://www.discoveringhistory.org/1718-hh250-assignments.html
Timestamp: 2019-04-23 03:54:54+00:00

Document:
Write a one-paragraph (8-10 sentence) response to the following question: “What is freedom​?” Post your response here (submission link on Canvas). This task will be worth 5 points and will be graded for thoughtful completion of 8-10 sentences.
View Crash Course U.S. History #6: “Taxes & Smuggling - Prelude to Revolution” (12 minutes; this video is embedded to the right).
What happened between 1760 and 1776 that caused the thirteen colonies to declare independence from Britain?
What important broader transformations occurred in the colonies during this time?
​Your copy of Eric Foner, Give Me Liberty!
Read Caesar Sarter, “Essay on Slavery,” (Newburyport, Mass., 17 August 1774) in Gary Nash, Race and Revolution (Madison: Madison House, 1990), 167-170. (Google Doc).
What were the 2-3 most important concepts in this passage? How does the author describe the relationship of people of African versus European descent to each of these concepts?
Can you describe the author’s argumentative strategy? How does he hope to persuade his reader of his position?
Please remember the 30-minute rule!
A copy of the text (printed or digital).
Read “The Coming of Independence” in Foner, 149-155 (a PDF scan of this passage can be downloaded here for those who have not yet to purchase the textbook).
Thinking and writing: Think of the best and worst group discussions you’ve ever been involved in. What things happened that made these conversations so satisfying or difficult? In your journal, identify at least two positive and two negative aspects in your journal.
Read and annotate “The Declaration of Independence” in Foner, A2-A4 (in the Appendix).
Copy the SOAPSTone Analysis Template (Google Doc) to create your own Google Doc.
Complete a SOAPSTone analysis of the Declaration of Independence.
Submit your SOAPSTone analysis here (link to Canvas assignment).
How did the revolution shape the structure of the post-revolutionary Confederation government?
What were some of the problems that emerged under the Articles of Confederation?
With the time you have remaining, begin reading and annotating the Constitution as passed in 1787 (Foner A5-A11).
Please bring Foner and a charged laptop to class.
Finish reading and annotating the Constitution as passed in 1787 (Foner A5-A11). Please be prepared to discuss the document in detail.
Read and take Roman Numeral outline-style notes for “Winthrop on the Anti-Federalist Argument” (PDF). If needed, reference “Outlining for Reading” on Discovering History for further explanation and examples on the outlining process. Please post your outline here (link to Canvas). This assignment is worth 10 points.
To what provisions of the Constitution does Winthrop refer in arguing that the new government will endanger liberty?
Why does Winthrop claim that the “leading principle of the revolution” is violated by the new Constitution?
A copy of Winthrop (printed or digital).
Read Foner, “The Bill of Rights,” 214-15.
Read and annotate the “Bill of Rights,” A12 in Foner. Note the Bill of Rights consists of amendments I-X.
Aside from the First Amendment, identify an Amendment in the Bill of Rights that you think is most significant for safeguarding civil liberties?
Use your own words to briefly explain what the question is asking. You and your partner may choose to do this either independently or with the partner you met with above. Post your response here (link to Canvas).
Your copies of Sarter and Winthrop.
Locate evidence that corresponds with the sections you have identified.
A clearly defined argument that addresses the essay prompt.
Identify your organizational strategy (i.e. your main supporting arguments).
Any supporting material you might need to work on your paper.
Finish gathering evidence and completing initial batch of Noodle Tools notecards.
Revise your thesis statement as needed (revised thesis statements can be written directly into Noodle Tools).
This assignment will be graded for meaningful completion of the three above components out of 20 points. Submission is automatic if your NoodleTools project has been shared with your teacher.
All parts of your paper responds to the essay prompt and are logically organized to support your thesis statement.
Your writing is clear and free of obvious spelling or grammatical mistakes.
You have cited all of your sources and appended a bibliography at the end of your essay.
Review the rubric to self-assess your progress and identify areas that you might focus on during the revision process.
A digital copy of your polished draft that can be shared with a classmate.
Revise your polished draft in response to feedback gathered during the peer review process.
When you have completed your paper, please submit here (link to Canvas).
Read Foner, 215-16 (“National Identity” and “Indians in the New Nation”).
What was the nature of Jefferson’s “democratic vision”? Why—and for whom—was the American nation being constructed?
View and take notes on this excerpt from the A&E Biography “Lewis and Clark: Explorers of the New Frontier Corps,” embedded to right. The link is set to start at 1:29. Please stop at 33:12.
Read “Andrew Jackson’s Speech to Congress on Indian Removal, December 6, 1830” in the Course Reader, 23-24.
What were President Jackson’s main arguments in favor of Indian removal? How did he suggest these policies would benefit white Americans? How did he suggest these policies might benefit Native Americans?
Read and annotate “Memorial of the Cherokee Nation, 1830” in the Course Reader, 25-27.
How might the Cherokee understanding of "sovereignty" differ from that of President Jackson—and, perhaps, other Americans?
Conduct review of assignments #203 and #204 as well as your notes from homework and discussion.
Your preparation should be submitted on Canvas before the start of class as a Word document or PDF using this link.
Identify one thing you did well during your role play. (1-2 sentences).
Identify one thing you might have done differently or expanded on if you had more time for your role play. (1-2 sentences).
How does your character’s view on Indian removal compare to your own view of the policy’s legality? Why? (2 sentences).
Shifting the question slightly, do you think Indian removal in the southeast part of the United States was ultimately a good policy? If yes, why? If not, why and what alternative would you have proposed in 1830? (2-4 sentences).
Read Foner, 259-64 (Market Society, Commercial Farmers, The Growth of Cities, The Factory System, The "Mill Girls," and The Growth of Immigration).
Watch "Crash Course History #12: The Market Revolution" (see embedded link to right).
What are some ways the Market Revolution was likely to influence life in Salisbury, Connecticut? (Consider links to the documentary we watched in class).
Identify two examples your own life has been impacted by the consequences of the Market Revolution.
Read selections from Jack Larkin, “The Secret Life of a Developing Country (Ours)” American Heritage September/October 1988, Volume 39, Issue 6.
Copy of the reading (Foner and the Course Reader are not needed).
Read and annotate Bixby letters in the Course Reader, 35-38.
Given that most northern states had abolished slavery by the 1830s, why might it be useful to think of slavery as a national—rather than regional—economic and political system?
Although some poor southern whites resented the dominance of the “slavocracy,” most supported the institution and accepted the power of the planter class. Why did the “plain folk” continue to support slavery in the south?
How did the planters’ paternalism justify the system of slavery? How did it hide the reality of life for the slaves?
Read David Walker, selections from Appeal to the Coloured Citizens of the World” (1830).
Read Frederick Douglass, selection from "What, to the American slave, is your Fourth of July?" (1852) in Foner, 361.
How might have various groups of Americans (e.g., white Southerners, white Northerners, black Americans) responded differently to David Walker’s question: "Now, Americans! I ask you candidly, was your sufferings under Great Britain, one hundredth part as cruel and tyrannical as you have rendered ours under you?"
What might Frederick Douglass hope to accomplish by accusing white Americans of injustice and hypocrisy?
A copy of Walker (digital or printed).
Foner or a copy of Foner page 361.
Read Sojourner Truth, “Ain’t I a Woman?” in the Course Reader, 33.
Why do you think Sojourner Truth was invited to speak to feminists in Akron, Ohio, in 1851? Why do you think that it is considered one of the most important speeches in the early women’s rights movement? Are the answers to these two questions the same or different?
A copy (digital or printed) of the Harriet Jacobs reading.
Tuesday 11/28 is a grace day, so we will complete this work together in class.
Read Foner 387-88 (“ ‘Bleeding Kansas’ and the Election of 1856”).
Read Foner 391, 394 (“John Brown at Harpers Ferry”).
Review the timeline and read documents A-C in the Stanford John Brown Documents (PDF).
How might you argue that John Brown should be viewed as a “hero”?
Alternatively, how might you argue that John Brown should be viewed as a “misguided fanatic”?
Printed or digital copies of the Stanford John Brown Documents.
Read Selections from President Lincoln's First Inaugural Address (Google Doc).
How do Lincoln and Stephens each understand “freedom”? How are their visions similar and different?
Read Foner, 410-16 (“Slavery and the War,” “Steps toward Emancipation,” “Lincoln’s Decision,” and “The Emancipation Proclamation”).
President Lincoln is careful to argue that he has the Constitutional authority to issue the Emancipation Proclamation. Which part of the Constitution might support this argument?
What possible strategic benefits might the Union enjoy by issuing the Emancipation Proclamation? Are any of these mentioned in the document?
Take about 5 minutes to view a selection of the images in the Casualties of the Civil War photo gallery. You are welcome to view these at your own pace and focus on either the images or the text as you see appropriate.
Copies (physical or digital) of the Gettysburg Address and Whitman.
What challenges complicated the early process of emancipation for former slaves?
What tensions do you see shaping early efforts at Reconstruction?
In 1865, former Confederate general Robert Richardson remarked that “the emancipated slaves own nothing, because nothing but freedom has been given to them.” Would this still be an accurate assessment of Reconstruction twelve years later in 1876?
What steps did the newly-reformed Southern state governments take to limit right for black Americans? How did the federal government respond?
When did the Presidential and Congressional phases of Reconstruction begin and end? How would you characterize the difference between two?
What national issues and attitudes combined to bring an end to Reconstruction in 1877?
How did the failure of Reconstruction policies impact black Americans?
Neither Foner nor our Course Reader will be needed for next class. Please do bring a charged laptop.
Identify connection points you can locate between the timeline and the two videos above.
A copy (printed or digital) of the timeline.
In the Course Reader, read Andrew Carnegie, “The Gospel of Wealth,” 79-80.
Explain George’s central contention, that “the great majority of those who suffer from poverty are poor not from their own particular faults, but because of conditions imposed by society at large.” If the poor are not to blame for poverty, what, in George’s view, causes poverty?
Do you think George’s arguments are still relevant today? Why or why not?
View the Jacob Riis gallery (external link) from the International Center of Photography.
A copy (digital or printed) of George.
Read Foner 500-506 (“Liberty of Contract and the Courts” and “Labor and the Republic”).
How might you explain the significance of the events of 1877 and 1886?
How did social reformers such as Edward Bellamy, Henry George, and advocates of the Social Gospel movement view freedom differently than the proponents of the liberty of contract and laissez-faire?
What ideas and interests motivated the United States to create an empire in the late nineteenth century?
What happened to the largest territories seized from Spain in 1898—Cuba and the Philippines? How were their fates similar and different?
What were the main arguments for and against U.S. imperialism?
Do you think it was possible to “reconcile America’s role as an empire with traditional ideas of freedom” (Foner, 541)?
Consider the questions at the beginning of each page.
A copy (physical or digital) of Kipling and Crosby.
Read “Soldiers in the Philippines” (PDF) collection of primary source documents to prepare for in-class discussion. The goal here is to familiarize yourself with the contents, not necessarily to conduct a “close read” line by line. Please budget your time so you do not exceed the 30-minutes allotted for homework.
Review the documents in the DBQ packet.
Identify any questions you have about the documents.
Find at least one pattern tying together 2 or more documents.
Propose one possible question that we might use as a prompt (note: excellent questions might be considered for use on the actual day of the DBQ!).
Continue reviewing in advance of the in-class DBQ.
View Crash Course U.S. History #27. See embedded link to the right.
Read Foner 559-65 ("The Politics of Progressivism").
Read selection from Upton Sinclair, The Jungle in the Course Reader (pages 85-86).
Please bring your Course Reader and a charged laptop to class.
Read Foner 558-59 (“The New Feminism” and “The Birth-Control Movement”).
View “Crash Course U.S. History #31: Women’s Suffrage” (13 minutes). See embedded link to the right.
​#604 WWI: "A War to End all Wars"
Read Foner 580-87, 590-91 (This selection includes “America and the Great War” and “The War at Home,” but skips the "Voices of Freedom" documents).
What connections can you find between progressive policies before World War I and the actions taken by the government during the war both at home and abroad?
What were the goals and methods of the Committee on Public Information during World War I?
Please bring your copy of Foner and a charged laptop to class.
Eugene V. Debs, “Speech to the Jury before Sentencing under the Espionage Act” (1918) in Foner, 588.
“War is the health of the State.” This refrain appears several times in Bourne’s essay. What does he mean by this statement?
According to Bourne, how do conditions of war alter the behavior of citizens within a democratic society?
Why does Debs relate the history of wartime dissent?
A copy of Bourne (digital or physical copy).
Read "President Woodrow Wilson's 14 Points," January 1918 in the Course Reader, 99-101.
Identify the goals of those pressing for global change in 1919, and of those who opposed them.
Describe how the ending and immediate aftermath of World War I sowed the seeds of future twentieth-century conflicts.
View “Crash Course U.S. History #33: The Great Depression” (14 minutes).
What were the main causes of the Great Depression?
What principles guided President Hoover’s response to the Great Depression, and how did this restrict his ability to tackle the economic and social challenges of the period?
Read and annotate Herbert Hoover, “Roosevelt’s New Deal Would Destroy America” (1932) in the Course Reader (107-110).
Read and annotate Franklin Roosevelt, “Fireside Chat” (1934) in Foner, 656.
Compare and contrast Hoover's and Roosevelt's visions of liberty.
Printed or digital copy of the Tignor reading.
Read the following selection from Tignor et al, Worlds Together, Worlds Apart (W.W. Norton, 2008), 830-37 (PDF). Please skip the primary source selection on page 832.
Some historians and political thinkers have argued that the Soviet Union was fundamentally similar to the fascist regimes in Germany, Italy, and Japan. How would you respond?
Preview handout “Selecting Good Secondary Sources” (Google Doc). Be prepared to apply this advice at the start of class.
Section 2 only: Complete this brief survey (Google Forms) regarding topics of interest for the class’ upcoming group presentations.
Section 12 only: Complete this brief survey (Google Forms) regarding topics of interest for the class’ upcoming group presentations.
Preview Unit 6 Assessment: Group Presentations (Google Doc).
Please submit a preliminary bibliography (with at least 6 sources) to this link to Canvas and identify the kind of visual aid your group will use in its presentation. These will be graded out of 10 points for completion, reputability of sources cited, and correct Chicago formatting. Submissions may be formatted as Word (DOC, DOCX) or PDF documents.
View clip from Ken Burns, Defying the Nazis: The Sharps War (10 minutes 41 seconds).
View clip of high school student asking then-U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power, “Did World War II and the Holocaust change how the United States and the world think about refugees?” (3 minutes 5 seconds).
​#702 World War II: U.S. entry into World War II and Roosevelt's "Four Freedoms"
Read Foner 674-78 “Good Neighbors, The Road to War, Isolationism, War in Europe, Toward Intervention, and Pearl Harbor).
Read President Franklin Roosevelt, “Annual Message to Congress,” 6 January 1941 in the Course Reader, 111-18.
Why did most Americans support isolationism in the 1930s?
What factors after 1939 led to U.S. involvement in World War II?
What were the “Four Freedoms” articulated by President Roosevelt in his Annual Message to Congress in January 1941? How might different groups within the United States have understood or experienced the Four Freedoms in different ways?
Read "Japanese-American Internment" in Foner, 692-94.
What reasons does President Roosevelt provide for interning Japanese-Americans during World War II? How is this decision similar to and different from the treatment by Nazis of Jews and other groups in Europe at the time?
Identify the strongest arguments presented in both the majority and Justice Black's dissenting opinion in Korematsu v. United States.
Read Foner, 700-03 (The End of the War, “The Most Terrible Weapon,” The Dawn of the Atomic Age, and The Nature of the War).
​Read “Atomic Bombs: Multiple Perspectives” (Google Doc).
Were atomic strikes necessary primarily to avert an invasion of Japan in November 1945?
Were there alternatives to the use of the weapons? If there were, what were they and how plausible are they in retrospect? Why were alternatives not pursued?
How did the U.S. government select targets? Why did they choose urban targets?
How important a factor was the atomic bombings in Japan’s decision to surrender?
Was the bombing of Nagasaki necessary? To the extent that the atomic bombing was critically important to the Japanese decision to surrender would it have been enough to destroy one city?
Was the dropping of the atomic bombs morally justifiable?
Digital or printed version of the "Atomic Bombs: Multiple Perspectives" handout to class.
No reading, viewing, or writing due before class.
Read Cold War documents (PDF).
Who was primarily responsible for the Cold War: the United States or the Soviet Union?
What are the strongest arguments for each side?
​Please bring a charged laptop to class.
View “Twentieth Century with Mike Wallace: Vietnam Protest Movement,” CBS News and A&E (24 minutes). Note that although the program is about 20 years old, it is an excellent visual overview of the major events and issues involved in the "war at home."
Please bring a charged laptop to class.
Optional: If you have a favorite protest song (from either the Vietnam War era or some other time period), you are welcome to bring it to class.
Using The Ford Library’s Historical Newspaper Databases (the The Historical Newspapers Database might be a good place to start), find an article about segregation in the United States published during the period 1945-55.
Complete this newspaper source analysis (Google Form). Your responses should be thoughtful yet focused (I have set a 1,200-character maximum on each question, which translates to about 200 words). This assignment will be graded out of 10 points for the clarity and depth of your responses/analysis.
A digital or printed copy of your article.
Read Foner 724-727 (“Postwar Civil Rights,” “To Secure these Rights,” and “The Dixiecrat and Wallace Revolts”).
PLEASE NOTE: HH250-12 SHOULD REFERENCE MY EMAIL ABOUT HOMEWORK FOR WED. 4/11.
Read Smith v. Allwright summary and excerpt.
Read Thurgood Marshall’s memo for the NAACP as lead Counsel for the NAACP’s preparations for Smith v. Allwright.
NAACP archival caption for the document: The Texas Democratic Party contended that a political party was a private association that could freely select its membership. This strategy was upheld by the Supreme Court in Grovey v. Townsend (1935). But, in United States v. Classic (1941) the Court conversely held that a primary was an integral part of the electoral process, not a private activity. Inspired by this decision, Thurgood Marshall decided to launch a new attack on the white primary. His client, Lonnie E. Smith, was a black dentist from Houston who had been denied the right to vote in the 1940 primary by Judge S.E. Allwright. On April 3, 1944, in Smith v. Allwright the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Smith, declaring the white primary void as a violation of the Fifteenth Amendment. Indicative of many of the NAACP’s early records, this memorandum reflects Marshall’s grueling travel schedule, as well as his acute sense of humor.
Do either of these texts reveal tensions that were forming within the Civil Rights Movement?
What strategy does Marshall and the NAACP outline in these documents?
Digital or printed copies of the readings (Smith v. Allwright and Thurgood Marshall’s memo).
Read Foner 754-758 (The Freedom Movement, Origins of the Movement, The Legal Assault on Segregation, The Brown Case).
Read Brown v. Board of Ed., Opinion by Chief Justice Warren in your Course Reader, 137-141.
How did the NAACP continue strategies it used in Smith v. Allwright in the Brown case?
How does the issue of states rights vs. federal authority remerge in the Brown v. Board case and the larger Civil Rights Movement?
Are laws effective without the ability to enforce them?
Read Priyanka Kumar, "What King Learned from Gandhi," The Los Angeles Review of Books (16 January 2017).
What similarities do you detect between Gandhian nonviolence, and the nonviolence advocacy of MLK?
Why did Dr. King and Gandhi advocate non-violence? Were their motivations moral? Political? Religious/spiritual?
Digital or printed copy of the Kumar article.
Read Foner, 782-85 (The Changing Black Movement, The Ghetto Uprisings, Malcolm X, The Rise of Black Power).
A digital or printed copy of the Malcolm X reading.
PLEASE NOTE: HH250-12 SHOULD PROCEED FROM #805 TO #807.
Read background information on Ella Baker (web link) from the SNCC digital archive.
What was Ella Baker’s role in the civil rights movement?
How were leaders typically imagined? How did Baker challenge that conception?
What tensions that you can identify between movement leaders?
Read Foner pages 775-77 (“Kennedy & Civil Rights,” “The Civil Rights Act of 1964,” and “Freedom Summer”).
Read Foner page 780 (“The Voting Rights Act”).
Watch excerpts from Eyes on the Prize, part 6 “Bridge to Freedom” (link to 11-minute MP4 file on Google Drive). Please note: as with other clips we have watched, this includes violence and language that some may find offensive.
How might you describe the relationship between the Federal government and civil rights leaders?
Read Betty Friedan, “The Problem that has no name” (excerpt) in your Course Reader, pages 161-163.
Read Foner, pages 795-797 (“The New Movements and the Rights Revolution,” “The Feminine Mystique,” “Women’s Liberation,” “Personal Freedom”).
Keeping in mind the hallmarks for reliable source material, locate one issue or example of discrimination facing LGBTQ individuals in the United States today. You might start with the ACLU’s page on current LGBT issues, but feel free to investigate further. Please be prepared to share whatever issue you identify in class, and make note of any links or materials you consult.
What was the significance of the Stonewall rebellion to the larger gay rights movement?
What factors make Stonewall a challenging event for historians to study?
What tensions and hierarchies existed within gay rights movements in the 1960s?
Read through Unit 8 Assessment: Annotated bibliography instructions (Google Doc).
Come to class ready with 1 or 2 possible topics based on the instructions. Note: if you may be interested in writing about any of these movements for the final research paper, you may re-use this annotated bibliography in your final research paper (and receive early feedback on it!).
Continue your work on your Unit 8 Annotated Bibliography (Google Doc).
Complete work on your Unit 8 Annotated Bibliography (Google Doc). It will be due at the start of class.
​HH250-02: Library Viewing Room (next to Library Media Center).
Submit your research question by copying and pasting the text into Canvas (assignment #903). It will be graded out of 5 points for meaningful completion. We will discuss during an individual conference.
Please submit your prospectus to Canvas (assignment #904) as a Word document, PDF, or Google Doc. It will be graded out of 20 points. Detailed requirements, a student example, and rubric are available on the HH250 Research Process document (Google Doc).
HH250-12: Library Viewing Room (next to Library Media Center).
Complete your first 10 note cards before the start of class.
Begin work on your annotated bibliography.
Ford Library for individual work.
Complete your second set of 10 note cards (a total of 20) before the start of class.
Complete a total of 30 note cards before the start of class.
Your annotated bibliography should be complete before the start of next ​class.
Before the start of class, submit your annotated bibliography to this link on Canvas.
During class, begin defining your thesis statement (will be due next class) and outline (will be due in two classes).
Before class, submit your thesis statement to Canvas. Your thesis contains the main argument of the paper and lays out a roadmap of how you are going to present the material. It should be 1-2 sentences in length.
During class we will discuss your thesis statement during an individual conference. You should work to revise your thesis statement and prepare a detailed outline.
​This class period is allotted for individual work on your outline. If you make revisions to your thesis it is highly recommended you consult again with Mr. Hall to review your revisions.
​Before the start of class, please submit your outline using this link to Canvas. Be sure to review the outline assignment requirements on the Research Process document (Google Doc).
During class we will conduct a peer review (this peer review is worth 5 out of the 20 points for the assignment).
First out of four days dedicated to drafting. Suggested target: Introduction completed before the start of class.
Second out of four days dedicated to drafting. Suggested target: Introduction and first section of paper completed before the start of class.
Third out of four days dedicated to drafting. Suggested target: Introduction and first two sections of paper completed before the start of class.
Fourth (and final) day out of four days dedicated to drafting. Suggested target: Essay complete before start of class.
If you were able to complete your draft on schedule, this final evening should be dedicated only to revision.
Your draft should represent your very best work, meaning it should be free of spelling errors or obvious grammatical mistakes. It should also contain complete footnotes and a bibliography. Strong submissions will allow you to produce outstanding work on your final draft. It will be graded using the same rubric as the final paper. (40 points).
Submit using this link to Canvas.

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