You will be required to write two short analysis papers over the course of the semester. Each paper should be 500-750 words (approximately 2-3 pages) in length, and will be worth 150 points.
These short analysis papers will focus on both your understanding of particular problems in modern American history, and your development of formal, non-fiction writing skills. These papers will take a position on a pre-circulated question or topic prompt, you will create your own argument to answer the prompt, and you will support that argument with primary and secondary evidence taken from the class readings and additional posted videos.
High-quality papers should:
meet the 500-word minimum word count (title pages, headers and footers, works cited page, and restated prompt excluded);
have an introduction;
be double-spaced and written in 12-point, Times New Roman font;
have a clear thesis statement at the end of the introductions;
provide supporting evidence in the form of well-chosen and concise direct quotes;
provide proper MLA in-text (author-page style) (Links to an external site.) or Chicago Style footnote (notes-bibliography) (Links to an external site.) citations for all quoted and paraphrased evidence;
avoid plagiarizing the work(s) of others;
and, end with a solid conclusion that restates your thesis (albeit in a paraphrased form) and addresses some of the broader implications of the topic.
In his annual message to Congress in 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt proclaims four “essential human freedoms”: freedom of speech and expression; freedom of worship; freedom of want; and, freedom from fear (Voices of Freedom, pgs. 192-194). FDR’s vision for a free and democratic world, however, contrasts with the social, political, and economic realities of life for racial, ethnic, and religious minorities in the United States under segregation. This reality is underscored by the historian Charles Wesley in his essay “The Negro Has Always Wanted the Four Freedoms” (Voices of Freedom, pgs. 208-210), in which Wesley also notes that the four freedoms are denied to many other people of color in countries, empires, and colonies across the world.
Both FDR’s speech and Wesley’s essay draw lines connecting the American experience with those of other peoples across the globe. What are some of the connections that FDR and Wesley allude to? What groups of people (or nations/regions of the world) are FDR and Wesley turning their attention to? How do black Americans’ experiences foster a growing identification with non-white peoples in other parts of the world?
*You must support your answer to the prompt with your own analysis, the assigned textbook readings from Give Me Liberty!, and the assigned document readings from Voices of Freedom. I also encourage you to use evidence and information drawn from the videos posted in each week’s module outline. This material will come from Week 9 specifically, but you can briefly reference other events, ideas, and documents/source materials from Weeks 1-9 to support your argument and analysis of FDR’s speech and Wesley’s essay. No outside material should be necessary for completing this paper assignment.
