To complete this paper, you must have a deep understanding of the modern history of the United States (the time period between 1865 and 2012), because this is a historical paper, and you need to carefully complete the documents in the file I uploaded. Writing is required. When the Essay is finished you must check to avoid parts of the Essay not being written as required or parts of the Essay not being completed successfully. You have to read all the materials I give because these are course materials and my professor told us not to use external resources and asked us to use the materials we learned throughout the course. You are encouraged to use information from the textbook, the online documents, and March: Book 2. You should not draw on materials from outside of the course.
The second part of your exam consists of an essay question that asks you to draw on material you have learned throughout the entire course. You are encouraged to use information from the textbook, the online documents, and March: Book 2. You should not draw on materials from outside of the course. You are to be the sole author of this essay. It should address the following prompt: Imagine that you have been invited to speak to a group of prospective Montgomery College students on the topic of how "freedom" has been a central theme in U.S. history since 1865. You are to develop a speech that identifies six significant moments in U.S. history from Reconstruction through the 2012 elections that shaped American ideas of freedom. In order to give students a solid overview, your speech should: · . Include at least three moments between 1865 and 1930; . Include at least three moments between 1930 and 2012; . Provide a clear description of each moment, including when it happened, who was involved, what it entailed, and why it was important for understanding changing conceptions of freedom in the United States; and . Conclude with a summation that explains how knowing these events gives individuals a better understanding of how freedom has shaped the history of the United States and its people. You are free to define "significant" any way that you wish, but you should at some point explain what criteria you are using (Did the moment affect many people? Did it alter the way people lived their lives? Did it improve society? Did it limit people's liberty? Did it expand people's access to opportunity?). The essay is worth 100 points. Your essay should be at least 500 words in length. You will be assessed on your ability to use historical evidence effectively and accurately, demonstrating a strong command of the factual material and an ability to interpret its significance. You will also be evaluated on your ability to present the information in a clear and organized manner, using the principles of good spelling, grammar, and construction. You must also cite your sources properly, including a Works Cited page, using MLA format. This portion of the exam is due by Sunday, May 15, at 11:59 p.m. Reconstructing the Nation We begin our exploration of United States history in 1865, as the nation concluded the bloodiest and most divisive confrontation in its history: the Civil War. The years between 1865 and 1877 generally are viewed as the era of Reconstruction. The Union victory essentially established two facts: the Confederate states would remain part of the United States, and slavery would be abolished. However, two significant questions remained: (1) How should the Southern states be reincorporated into the Union? and (2) What would "freedom" mean for those who had been enslaved? The answers to these questions would be debated throughout the era of Reconstruction and would lead to further contests and confrontations. African Americans actively worked to achieve a new sense of economic security, political power, and familial stability in the wake of war. Many took to the open road to search for loved ones who had been separated through slavery. Others sought to relocate to areas that might provide greater job opportunities. During the first years of Reconstruction, Africans Americans helped to create schools, churches, and civic organizations that served as the foundation of new communities. Working with the Freedman's Bureau, established by Congress to protect the rights of newly freed men and women, African Americans challenged coercive labor practices, demanded justice through local courts, and fought for educational opportunities. These efforts were countered by many white Southerners who actively opposed Black Southerners' efforts to obtain land and political power. This resistance by white Southerners helped solidify the determination of Radical Republicans in Congress to create a bold agenda for Reconstruction, one that directly conflicted with President Andrew Johnson's more lenient efforts to restore the Union. Johnson, a Southerner who had remained loyal to the Union even after his home state of Tennessee seceded from the Union, sought to admit former Confederate states back into the Union as soon as they ratified the 13th Amendment, repudiated Confederate debts, and nullified the ordinances of secession. When such states returned to the Union, they reelected former Confederates to public office and passed Black Codes that severely restricted the rights of newly freed African Americans. Radical Republicans objected and sought to counter these actions by helping to secure the passage of laws that offered greater protection to the civil rights of former slaves. They also carved a more interventionist role for the federal government to ensure that Southerners adhered to those laws. The conflict between Congress and the president would ultimately lead to Johnson's impeachment. Although Radical Republicans would oversee the passage of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments, constitutional amendments that expanded citizenship and the electorate, some white Southerners actively worked to limit their impact in the South. The Ku Klux Klan terrorized those who supported the Republican agenda and who challenged old plantation ways as white Southern Democrats ("Redeemers") consolidated their political authority. Support for substantive change waned in Congress. The economic panic of 1873, along with the corruption of the Grant administration, further diverted attention from the concerns of both black and white southerners who sought to challenge a tradition of white supremacy. The age of Reconstruction came to an end in 1877, after the disputed election of 1876 resulted in a political compromise that ended direct federal intervention in protecting the rights of freed men and women. While Reconstruction officially ended, debates over civil rights and definitions of freedom would continue in the generations that followed. Reading: 1. 1. Foner, Ch. 15 2. Online Documents: · . Mississippi Black Code (http://www.americanyawp.com/reader/reconstruction/mississippi-black-code-1865/) . Testimony of Ku Klux Klan Violence in Georgia (http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/6225) Need to Know: After reading this material, you should be able to: · . Describe what freedom meant for African Americans in the postwar South and how their vision differed from that of many white people. . Define the term "Radical Reconstruction" and identify specific acts and programs advanced by it. . Discuss how campaigns for women's rights fared during Reconstruction. . Analyze the impact of Radical Reconstruction policies on the South. . Explain why Reconstruction ended in 1877. Overview: Gilded Age America Even before Reconstruction had ended, Americans began a Second Industrial Revolution that allowed their nation to became the largest manufacturer in the world by the early twentieth century. The expansion of industry and the rise of corporations raised the standard of living for many Americans, who could now purchase an array of packaged foods at a local A & P grocery, use electric lighting to brighten their parlor in the evening, or take a train into the city to enjoy its many commercial entertainments. However, the era also saw the development of a factory system that deskilled labor and distributed wealth unequally, sowing the seeds of social discontent. Industrialization also spurred the development of the western United States. The development of the railroad expanded the population in the West, but it also intensified contests over land. Individual farmers, ranchers, and miners gave way to corporations, which used the resources of the rural west to fuel the industrial growth of the urban East and Midwest. As this process unfolded, Native Americans actively fought to maintain their autonomy in this region against federal armies and relocation strategies. This, then, was the setting for what Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner labeled "The Gilded Age," a period with a gleaming golden surface that concealed a core of corruption. Many Americans embraced the new industrial society and promoted the idea of limited government, believing that an unregulated economy would allow the strongest and brightest to succeed. Others expressed concern that the unchecked power of corporations had produced an unequal society, and they demanded that the government take action to defend opportunities for ordinary Americans. The debate that unfolded between champions of "laissez-faire" and advocates of expanded regulation would erupt periodically in violence during the Gilded Age, as displayed in the Haymarket Square Affair. The philosophical divide that provoked such antagonism in the past continues to resonate in today's world. Reading: 1. Foner, Ch. 16 2. Online Documents: · . Testimony of William Graham Sumner (http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5729) . Preamble of the Constitution of the Knights of Labor (http://sageamericanhistory.net/gildedage/documents/KofLaborConst.html) Need to Know: After reading this material, you should be able to: · . Explain how the United States developed as an industrial power in the late nineteenth century . Describe how different groups transformed the West . Identify specific ways in which the U.S. government tried to remake Native American society . Explain the influence of corporate interests on the political system in the Gilded Age . Analyze different responses to the problems of late nineteenth century industrial society Chapter 17 Overview: Questions of Freedom at Home and in the Empire Top of Form Bottom of Form Page 4 of 12 Overview: Questions of Freedom at Home and Abroad The social, economic, and political changes initiated by industrialization continued to unfold during the 1890s, inspiring different responses throughout the nation. Rural Americans felt isolated from and betrayed by an industrial society they believed monopolized transportation routes, capital, and property. Building on the cooperative efforts of the Farmers' Alliance, a People's Party emerged by 1890 to challenge the individualism of Gilded Age politics. The Omaha Platform crafted by the Populists offered an alternative vision for the future of the United States, where the interests of the average American were protected from the greed of corporations. While the party won some political victories, it lost its power after it unified behind the losing Democratic Party presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan in 1896. The defeat of Bryan by Republican William McKinley squelched Populist efforts to limit the worst excesses of industrial capitalism. The failure of the Populists to form an effective interracial coalition in the South enabled the Redeemers and their racist politics to become more firmly entrenched in that region. Building on the advances they made following the end of Reconstruction, white governments in Southern states passed a series of segregation laws that codified distinct conditions for whites and African Americans. The Plessy v. Ferguson decision in 1896 gave federal legal sanction to Jim Crow practices and initiated a period of even greater restriction of African American rights. Black leaders such as Ida B. Wells fought directly against racist policies and the violence they inspired, while others such as Booker T. Washington emphasized economic self-sufficiency as the path to improved conditions. As some Americans sought to establish clear boundaries between black and white as well as native-born and immigrant at home, the United States sought to become a significant world player in the international arena. Through warfare and other means, the United States acquired the Hawaiian Islands, Puerto Rico, the