You must answer two questions, one from each pair below. Each essay should be in the 3-4 page range, for an exam total of 6-8 pages. You’re expected to draw on the assigned readings for the course (including the textbook, the readers,and any documents,vi
You must answer two questions,
one from each pair below
. Each essay should be in the 3-4 page range, for an exam total of 6-8 pages.
You’re expected to draw on the assigned
readings for the course (including the textbook) the readers, and any documents,
video worksheets, or other reading assignments I’ve handed out in class and your class notes as
sources of information in putting together your essays.
No other source is expected OR PERMITTED.
Be sure to identify which question you’re answering
for each pair.
.
Your essays should be typed and double
–
spaced, with one
–
inch margins on all sides. Any material directly quoted from
the text
book
or readers
should be cited using parent
hetical references in the text
:
just write
(
Author
, pg. X)
directly
after
the quoted material. No bibliography necessary.
Your essays are due at the last class meeting of the semester. Good luck!
PAIR ONE
1A.
Reconstruction was a time of great promise
and opportunity for black Americans, and a chance for America to
achieve the kind of equality it had always held out as the basis of our society. To what extent did Reconstruction reach
(or at least come near to) its goals of equality and freedom, and to w
hat extent did it fail to do so? In your answer, be
sure to consider both the short
–
term and the long
–
term impact Reconstruction had on African American life.
1B.
One of the major themes of African American history between the Civil War and World War II
is that of
migration. Concentrated largely in the South prior to the Civil War, African Americans spread quickly across all parts
of the nation after 1865. Discuss the impact this migration out of the South had on both the United States and on the
black
community between 1865 and 1940. You might want to consider economic, political and social trends in your
answer; be as broad and yet as specific as you can in considering this important aspect of black history.
PAIR TWO
2A.
Consider the history of the Ci
vil Rights Movement since 1945. Pick two events from
each
of the 1950s and 1960s
that you think were turning points in this drive for racial and social justice, and write an essay in which you make the
case. Your essay should include a brief discussion of
what you define as a “turning point,” how the four events meet
that definition, and how your choices are linked together in time and impact. In short, I want you to write a kind of
“greatest hits” history of the CRM and explain your choices.
2B.
How would
you assess the effect
African Americans have
had on
American culture since 1900?
Has it been
stronger in some areas than others? Are there common threads to the impact black America has had on the larger
culture throughout this time period? Is there anything today that we can fairly call “African American” culture that is
distinct and
separate from “American” culture, or have the two become mostly conflated? I’m interested here in
having you not just
describe
the cultural influences of African Americans over the last 100
–
plus years
and how they
may have changed (or not) over time
, but i
n having you
assess
it: its significance, its impact, its effect.