End of Reconstruction Assignment | Homework for You
Answer one of the following questions. Your response should be six to eight pages of doublespaced, 12-point font. Your essay must draw on (1) the relevant sections in chapters 15 to 20 of Give Me Liberty and (2) at least three of the primary documents from Voices of Freedom. All sources must be properly cited (see the next page for a citation guide).
1. In the American South, the end of Reconstruction ushered in the Jim Crow legal and social order. In the period 1877-1932, what strategies did African Americans pursue in order to resist and/or adapt to the limits placed on their freedom? What were the competing visions of freedom among African Americans in this period? Which visions and strategies became more or less appealing over time, and why? In this essay, you should refer to the ideas and/or
activities of at least two of the following four leaders: (1) Booker T. Washington, (2) W.E.B. DuBois, (3) Ida B. Wells, (4) Marcus Garvey.
2. Describe and explain the development of American foreign policy between the end of the Civil War and 1920. What do you regard as the most important events, ideas and/or strategic aims that drove the United States toward an increased global role in this period? Would you describe American foreign policy during this era as expansionist? Or would you describe it as defensive?
3. American cities grew explosively in the early decades of the twentieth century. What were the most important factors that caused urban growth? How did the rise of urban life change American culture and politics? How did gender and race affect the experience of urban life? How did the transition from a predominately rural to a predominately urban society and economy change the idea of American freedom?
Homework for You
