Journal 1, Entry #1, Selections 1 and 2
Please read Part I entitled “A Troubled Peace.” According to the first selection in the book, what rights did blacks seek after gaining their “freedom”? What are examples of the “agency” of blacks from the reading? In what ways did southern whites attempt to block these freedoms? What was the Reconstruction policy of Andrew Johnson and in what ways did it circumvent the efforts of blacks? According to selection 2 by Eric Foner, what was the original intent of the 14th Amendment? What has been “checkered” about the history of the 14th Amendment? How did white Southerners use it to uphold segregation? When did the 14th Amendment become “valid?” Explain your answer.
Journal 1, Entry #2, Selections 3 and 4
Please read Part II entitled “Conquest of the West” (pp. 27 – 52). According to the selection by Robert M. Utley, what were the specific American policies toward Native Americans following the Civil War? What was this irony of this policy in the context of Congress’s handling of African Americans following the Civil War? What were the responses of the various Indian tribes, particularly the Sioux? What was most striking or shocking about this selection to you? Explain your answer. Describe the events of the “murderous blizzard” of 1888 as described by David Laskin. Where did the blizzard occur? What was the estimated death toll? What role did the element of surprise play in the death toll? What was the psychological impact for families who had migrated to the West in search of a better and more prosperous life? Explain your answer
Journal 1, Entry #3, selections 5 and 6
Please read chapter 3 entitled “The New Industrial Order” (pp. 53 – 79). According to Robert Heilbroner, what was a captain of industry (versus a robber baron). Explain by briefly discussing Cornelius Vanderbilt and John D. Rockefeller. In what way did Andrew Carnegie exemplify the American dream of the self-made man and the Horatio Alger myth? Was Carnegie more of a “captain of industry” or a “robber baron.” Support and explain your answer. According to the selection by David McCullough, what was the significance of the Brooklyn Bridge? How and why was it built? What has been its impact? According to the selection by David Boroff, how did the “other side” live? What was life in America and the United States in general like for Jewish immigrants? Explain your answer.
