Sunday 26 July 2015

HIS 204 WEEK 2

HIS 204 WEEK 2

The Progressive Presidents. The presidential election of 1912 was the most Progressive in US history; with the two frontrunners, Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson, both espousing Progressive philosophies (and the most “conservative” candidate, William Howard Taft, being in many ways a Progressive himself). Although both Wilson and Roosevelt were Progressive, their attitudes toward Progressivism differed, at least in theory. This paper will provide an opportunity to review the complex nature of Progressivism, and to explore how presidents’ policies while in office often differ from their rhetoric on the campaign trail.
To complete this paper, start by analyzing the primary sources listed below to uncover each president’s political principles and beliefs. Compare and contrast the two men’s principles based on their writings. Drawing from the material in the textbook, compare each presidents’ political principles with his actions while in office—how well did their actions match their rhetoric? Finally, use JSTOR or Project MUSE to find a scholarly article of at least fifteen pages in length about the Progressive politics of Roosevelt or Wilson or both. What new perspectives does the article offer on the subject? Does the author’s depiction of those politics agree with your own interpretation based on the primary sources?
Draw from the material in the following sources when writing your paper:
a. Platform of the Progressive party
b. The new nationalism
c. First inaugural address
d. What is progress?
The paper must be three to four pages in length and formatted according to APA style. Cite your sources within the text of your paper and on the reference page. For information regarding APA, including samples and tutorials, visit the Ashford Writing Center, located within the Learning Resources tab on the left navigation toolbar, in your online course.
WEEK 2 QUIZ
1. Which African American scholar called for a “talented tenth” of all African Americans to attend a university, aspire to the highest professions, and abandon a conservative approach to race relations?
2. In 1919 there was a devastating race riot in a major American city. Which city did this take place?
3. Which of the following was not a representation or an example of New Women expressing freedom and independence?
4. Who was the “modern Prometheus”?
5. Wilson sought several areas of reform during his presidency. Which was not one of them?
6. At the start of the 20th century, which group that Theodore Roosevelt eventually counted himself as a member of firmly believed that they could change society for the better, and even come close to a state of perfection?
7. Which of the following groups battled against racial segregation and discrimination?
8. The most famous of free speech case was Abrams v. United States. Which of the following Supreme Court Justices was not involved in this decision?
9. Americans had always felt the desire to grow, move, and acquire territory as expressed through the ideal of Manifest Destiny. The nation explored new areas of expansion in the 1890s for several reasons. Which of the following was not one of them?
10. In the early 20th century, taboos about sex changed, and a birth-control movement enabled women to explore sexuality without having to worry about pregnancy. Which woman was most closely associated with this movement?
The Progressive Movement. The Progressive Movement was a complicated, even contradictory, phenomenon which sometimes pushed for the expansion of popular democracy while at other times, or even simultaneously, advocated that the functions of government be placed in the hands of experts. The movement addressed some of the worst domestic problems of its time, but its mainstream largely ignored widespread and worsening racial injustices. Review the Progressive Movement of the first two decades of the twentieth century, and generalize what you take to be its core principles. Identify the specific economic, social, and political problems which the Progressives sought to address and explain Progressive approaches and policies toward those issues, at local and national levels. Describe the variations within Progressivism, including the differing agendas of white and black Progressives. Assess the success of specific Progressive policies and approaches. Consider the impact of the First World War on Progressivism, and vice versa. Summarize your responses to these prompts by answering the following questions:
a. What, in your estimation, were the key principles of the Progressive Movement?
b. What were Progressivism’s most significant successes and failings?
c. Can the First World War be regarded as a particularly Progressive conflict, or did it derail the Progressive Movement—or are both of these statements true?
When responding to these questions, draw from the material in the textbook and in the following sources:
a. The progressive era
b. How the other half lives: Studies among the tenements of New York
c. Chapter nine
d. The shame of the cities
e. The history of the Standard Oil Company
f. 1900-1930
Your initial post should be at least 200 words in length. Support your claims with examples from the required material(s) and/or other scholarly resources, and properly cite any references. Respond to at least two of your classmates’ posts by Day 7 in at least 100 words.
America’s Age of Imperialism. America’s Age of Imperialism was relatively short-lived, and somewhat anomalous in terms of overall US history. For a few brief years in the 1890s, the US aggressively pursued overseas colonies, holding on to those colonies even in the face of indigenous resistance and, unlike its handling of continental territories, offering the new colonies no pathway toward equal statehood and citizenship. The Filipino Insurrection of 1899 to 1902 provides a particularly unsettling episode in terms of how Americans generally like to remember their past. Having driven the Spanish out of the Philippines, the US ignored the Filipinos’ demand for independence, for which they had been fighting against the Spanish for several years, and instead took possession of the islands, treating the Filipinos as colonial subjects. For several years, Americans and Filipinos fought over the destiny of the Philippines in a brutal conflict which cost the lives of hundreds of thousands—perhaps even more than a million—Filipino civilians.
Drawing from material in the textbook and the video below, explain how American foreign policy generally grew more interventionist and aggressive from the 1890s into the twentieth century, identifying key moments in that development. Then, examine the specifics of the Filipino Insurrection, explaining how the conflict was perceived in the United States. Using at least three primary sources—articles written during the conflict—summarize the arguments which Americans of the time made for and against the colonization of the Philippines. Also, review one scholarly secondary article about the insurrection. Summarize its contents and explain how its depiction of the insurrection compares with what you read in the primary sources.
All outside sources for this assignment, primary and secondary, need to come from JSTOR, a database available through the Ashford University Online Library. Before beginning your research into JSTOR, review the video from Week One about the differences between primary and secondary sources, and how to find both on JSTOR:
a. JSTOR primary and secondary sources
Draw from material in the following video for a discussion of American foreign policy generally:
a. America becomes a world power
Your initial post should be at least 200 words in length. Support your claims with examples from the required material(s) and/or other scholarly resources, and properly cite any references. Respond to at least two of your classmates’ posts by Day 7 in at least 100 words.

No comments:

Post a Comment