Each discussion has two steps:
Choose one of the questions below and make an initial post in this discussion forum that follows the instructions by the deadline.
Reply to at least three of your peers’ posts according to the instructions by the second deadline.
Remember that your initial post must cite (mention in the post) and discuss the primary sources in the question you picked.
Choose one of the questions below and respond (for this discussion, each question can have a maximum of 5 posts). Put the question you’re responding to in the title of the post.
Remember that your answers must focus first on assigned primary source documents.
Discuss the World War II experience at home for some of the groups that had been historically marginalized or discriminated against. You may focus on some or all of the following groups: Mexican Americans, African Americans, Japanese Americans, and women. (Use at least two of the primary source documents from week 9 to support your answer).
Using FDR’s “Arsenal of Democracy” document from the Week 9 Read folder as a starting point, discuss how and why the United States shifted from isolation to intervention after WWII began.
Using your analysis of A. Philip Randolph’s document and the “African Americans and the Four Freedoms” document in the Week 9 Read folder, discuss the double-V campaign and how the war shaped the modern civil rights movement. (You may also need to consult your textbook as well).
Using Truman’s speech outlining the Truman Doctrine, NSC-68, Marshall’s remarks on European recovery (Week 10 Read folder), and relevant portions of chapter 23 in the textbook, discuss both the concept of containment during the cold war and its impact on global events. (Pay attention to how these documents frame the conflict and connect that to what the United States becomes involved in during the Cold War).
After analyzing Commager’s essay in Harper’s Magazine (Voices of Freedom document for chapter 23) and Eisenhower’s Farewell Address (Voices of Freedom document for chapter 23), discuss the issues these documents raised about the dangers the Cold War posed to Americans.
Using the Brown v. Board of Education document, MLK’s Montgomery speech, and Rosa Parks’s reflections on life in the South (all in the Week 11 Read folder), discuss the ideas and strategies the early civil rights movement implemented in the 1950s.
Using the “Southern Manifesto” document (Voices of Freedom Document for chapter 24) as a starting point, discuss how southern whites responded to the Brown V. Board of Education ruling (you may also draw on your reading of Warriors Don’t Cry and chapter 24 of the textbook).
Instructions:
When making your choice, remember that for this discussion each question can have a maximum of 5 threads (meaning that no more than 4 people can post about the same question). This setup favors those who get their work done early, so if you’re picky, don’t wait until the last minute.
Your initial posts should be more than 250 words. Your answer should do the following:
begin with a concise thesis as a direct answer to the question,
analyze the main ideas presented in the readings and videos,
and cite specific supporting details from the reading (I mean that you need to bring in specific examples from the textbook, other books, and primary source documents).
Posts should be original (can’t be something you copied and can’t be something that someone else has already said), detailed, and include specific examples to back up your points and/or quotations from the primary source readings (which must be accompanied by your analysis of that quotation).
Replies should be more than 100 words, and they must advance the conversation by replying with additional details and information from the assigned materials. In other words, you need to say something that they haven’t said yet. Think of them as a mini initial post.
For the replies, I expect that you follow a framework called “3C+Q.” You must include a Compliment (this is where you identify something specific in the original post and explain what stood out), a Comment (this is where you specifically engage the post by saying something like, “I agree/disagree that … because … ), a Connection (this is where you really move things forward. You could write something like “I also read/thought/heard/saw … and noticed this …”), and a Question (I wonder how/who/why/what/where …).
Please note that I am NOT asking you to critique the grammar, clarity, spelling, etc. of your classmates’ posts (it’s pedantic in regular conversations, and it kills any kind of good faith dialogue).
Generally, original posts receive a grade out of 16 points, and each response (3) receives a
grade out of 3 points, for a total possible score of 25 points for each discussion assignment.
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