Please write a paper one of the topics below. Papers should be 4-5 pages long. They will be due on Friday, September 22, at 5:00 PM (you can turn in papers in class or in my mailbox in BH 240). Please type, double-space, and proofread your papers. These papers should make an argument using evidence from class readings (in this case, both of the books we have used so far ó Link & McCormickís Progressivism and Frederick Lewis Allenís Only Yesterday, as well as the reserve readings).

Questions

1.     Write an essay assessing the lasting impact of Progressive-era reform in the 1920s -- how did progressivism change American society and did it generate the results that were anticipated?
        Progressivism is a broad topic; a good essay needs to define what aspect or aspects of Progressive-era reform it intends to address. It also needs to discuss progressivism both before 1920 and what became of it or its goals afterward (and therefore draw on material from both Progressivism and Only Yesterday).
 

2.     Frederick Lewis Allenís Only Yesterday, written in 1931, suggests that the priorities of the American public were vastly different in the 1920s than they were in the previous two decades. Looking backward, we have more perspective than Allen did. Do you still agree with him? Do you see more fundamental continuities or changes between the years following World War I (1919-1929) and the "progressive era"? Why?
        Write an essay answering these questions one way or the other, discussing at least two specific issues such as (a) presidential politics, (b) mainstream (i.e., white middle-class) responses to immigrants / labor / radicals, (c) the roles and opportunities available to women (d) the relationship of government and business, (e) behavioral & moral standards, (f) social reform, (g) prohibition, or (h) other issues of your own choice.
 

3. Write an essay on topic of your own choosing, but please discuss it with me no later than Wednesday, September 20.
 

Various Policies:

I am happy to talk with students about ideas for their papers and to provide feedback on rough drafts. If you would like me to read a draft or an outline, please give it to me at least two days before the paper is due.

All papers will be due on the date stated. On any paper submitted after that date, one full letter grade will be subtracted from the final mark for each day that the paper is late. Weekends count as one day.

Your paper should be your own original work. You should cite your sources when you use direct quotations, but also when you adopt ideas, use statistics, or paraphrase other authorsí material. You should not paraphrase so closely that you essentially say the same thing as the author.
 

Criteria for Evaluation and Grading:

I evaluate papers on your ability to present a coherent argument and to substantiate that argument with materials and examples from pertinent readings and class discussions. To evaluate papers, I ask myself a series of questions. These questions include:

Does the paper make sense?

Does the paper make an interpretive argument? Papers should try to take a position & demonstrate a point or a sense of purpose. Without a point, writing does not explain much & is often not coherent.

Does the paper address the question?

Does the paper use evidence to support its argument? A reasonable balance of interpretation and evidence is important to writing good history.

Does the paper demonstrate knowledge of relevant course material? While itís routine, showing knowledge of relevant course material is one of the ways that you can demonstrate that you are keeping up in the class & learning the material.

Does the paper convey ideas clearly? Is it reasonably well-written? You should try to convey ideas as clearly & concisely as possible.

Are grammar, spelling, & style OK? I mark down very little on these issues, but sloppy presentation reflects poorly on the overall quality of writing & in this era of computer spell-checking, thereís no excuse for most misspellings.
 

Some of My Pet Peeves

1. Use past tense to write about events that took place in the past. In general, papers for history classes should be written in past tense.

2. Use active verbs. Active verbs allow you to express thoughts more directly. Avoid passive sentences constructions such as "It was Ö" or "There was Ö" These sorts of sentences are both dull and imprecise.

General Style:

On issues of style and presentation, historians follow The Chicago Manual of Style (available at Hunt Library). For this and most history classes, it is acceptable and more convenient to Diana Hacker, A Pocket Manual of Style, (available in the CMU bookstore).

Correct notes according to The Chicago Manual of Style, 13th Edition (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1982), 485-510.

For initial references:

BOOKS:

1. Arthur S. Link and Richard L. McCormick, Progressivism (Arlington Heights, Ill.: Harlan Davidson, 1983), 27.

PART OF A BOOK:

2. Carey McWilliams, "What We Did About Racial Minorities," in While You Were Gone: A Report on Wartime Life in the United States, ed. Jack Goodman (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1946), 89-111.

For subsequent references:

3. Link and McCormick, Progressivism, 27.

4. McWilliams, "What We Did About Racial Minorities," 100.