HIS 152 Paper
Sclar – Fall 2018
Paper due date: November 19
The 4-5 page paper is a study into American history (Civil War to the present). The assignment is to choose two primary documents from Shi/Mayer, For the Record (you may use more documents if you wish) and make an argument about American history. Use the documents to focus your paper as you explain what the documents tell us about the historical period in which they are from. While you should spend time analyzing the document, it is important to place it into historical context. As you read a document, carefully think about the social, cultural, economic, racial, political, religious, and gender contexts (at least those are relevant) in which it was written. You should include quotes from the documents in the paper since these strengthen your argument and analysis. Have a clear thesis in the introduction with a well-developed argument throughout the paper.
You can use any documents you want and analyze them as you wish, but make sure you make your argument with solid historical background. As an example of a paper idea regarding changes in African-American life, you may want to compare Booker T. Washington’s The Atlanta Compromise (chapter 19) with Stokely Carmichael, Black Power or Malcolm X’s The Black Revolution Speeches (both from chapter 34). Some questions to consider in this context: what did each individual say and why? What were their goals? How did they view the relationship between African-Americans and whites? Once you have these answers, ask why Carmichael and/or Malcolm differed so greatly from Washington. W...
