In a single-spaced block, please type your name, the date and History 17B at the top of the page. Be sure to include page numbers. No need to include a title page. Please double space your answer. When saving your document be sure to include your name in the title: For example: (Tamai_ReflectionEssay3.docx).
Answer the following question in essay form. Make sure that your essay answers all parts of the question, contains a clearly stated thesis, considers alternative perspectives, draws on evidence and examples from a wide variety of sources from the course, and is organized to support its thesis. Incorporate class concepts and key terms (see the end of each chapter in the textbook) to anchor your analysis. Be sure to engage the ideas and information presented in class, in the readings, and the films for this course. No need to do outside research, use the course materials.
Essay Prompt
During the mid-twentieth century and since World War II, the U.S. acquired a new position in the world as an international super power. The use of atomic bombs in warfare, the mounting possibility of nuclear war, and growing anti-communist sentiment fueled the logic and the fear of the Cold War. Wartime rationale of distrust, McCarthyism, and the need for loyalty to the U.S. operated as the inertia of the Cold War marched into the 1960s and 1970s. In the post-war period, affluence in the U.S. was widespread, and the U.S economy grew by leaps and bounds. Women joined the workforce during the war, and continued to work outside of the home for wages. The Civil Rights Movement sped up the urgency to fight for equality in the U.S., and showcased African American organizing, activism, and brought much-needed national and international attention to the reality of a racially segregated America.
Focusing on the experiences of groups that we have discussed in class, choose three of the following: African Americans, Japanese Americans, women, laborers, Northerners, Southerners, or Vietnamese refugees to the U.S., and discuss how World War II and the Cold War affected their civil liberties in the U.S. at this time. How did the policies during Cold War expand or limit their freedoms? Tell the reader the event and also its significance. Be sure to use a primary source document for each group you analyze (in addition to the primary sources “Voices of Freedom” from Foner, you may also use the films, “The Rabbit in the Moon,” “Freedom Riders,” and Thi Bui’s book, The Best We Could Do in your analysis).
Checklist:
Is the thesis clearly stated and clearly identifiable?
Is the essay organized to support the thesis?
Does the essay present strong generalizations?
Does the essay support its generalizations with references to specific people, ideas, and events, drawn from the readings, lectures, class discussions, and films?
Does the essay address all parts and all implications of the question and consider alternative perspectives?
Yes. Cite anything that is not common knowledge to give credit to the sources. Use parenthetical citations or footnotes, particularly if you are citing a direct quote. Alternatively you can also write, “As stated in x source” within the sentence. If you include a page number, that is even better. Citations should look this (Martin Luther King, 966). Or when a quote happens from (Bui, 9). Cutting and pasting quotes from the internet or lifting quotes from the readings without citation is considered plagiarism. Not citing or plagiarizing sources will result in a grade of F for the assignment.
Is a bibliography required?
Yes. If you are unsure how to format the bibliography, see the links on the Writing Resources section of the course website.
What citation style should I use?
Choose any citation style of your choice. Just be consistent throughout the essay. If using parenthetical citations, cite anything that is not common knowledge, always cite when using direct quotes and when paraphrasing.
USE Foner 6th ed Ch 15 Reconstruction. AS SOURCE #1 “
AND THEN ANY OF THOSE FOR THE #2 Voices of Freedom” from Foner, you may also use the films, “The Rabbit in the Moon,” “Freedom Riders,” and Thi Bui’s book, The Best We Could Do in your analysis).
