The Spanish-American War: Ambition or Destiny?

The Spanish-American War is a controversial topic in American History, then and now.  At the time it was seen by many as the result of the ambitions of a handful of men (Teddy Roosevelt, Henry Cabot Lodge, John Hay, Elihu Root, and Alfred T. Mahan) and their shared vision of America as a world power to be reckoned with, while it was seen by others as the fulfillment of Manifest Destiny and the natural or divine role of the United States of America in the world at large.  Both camps could and did subscribe to the observation of the historian Frederick Jackson Turner that America's rise to power and influence was due to the frontier that had always attracted explorers and pioneers, settlers and entrepreneurs.  The question was, however, with the frontier gone, what would happen to the United States of America?  Would it enter into the world through the efforts of a few or would it emerge as a major power as a matter of course?  Was America to be the consequence of ambition or of destiny?

Discuss the circumstances, persons, and consequences of the Spanish-America War with regard to the concepts of ambition and destiny.  To what extent was America's future determined by the desires of a few men or the natural course of its own sense of destiny?

Make use of the links I have provided on Edmodo regarding the Spanish-American War (uploaded Jan. 30, 2013 to APUSH), especially the PBS video Crucible of Empire and its accompanying webiste, to formulate your response.

DUE DATE: Monday, February 4, 2013 by midnight

WORD COUNT: 500 words minimum

RHETORICAL DEVICES: make sure you identify at least five rhetorical devices that you use in your own writing by identifying them by name in parentheses after each example.

The Continuous Recession: Indian Removal & The West

"We took away their country and their means of support, broke up their mode of living, their habits of life, introduced disease and decay among them, and it was for this and against this they made war.  Could anyone expect less?"  - General Philip Sheridan, United States Army (1878)


The fate of Native Americans as the United States continued to grow across the continent can be seen as one of a "continuous recession" through direct and indirect policies not only of the Federal government but also of white settlers and business interests themselves.  In reading over Chapter 26 (especially pp. 594-604, click HERE for the powerpoint), identify the major themes, individuals, and incidents that support the claim that the Native Americans were systematically, whether through actual policies or accidental consequences or both, forced further and further from their traditional ways, thereby experiencing a "continuous recession" of their cultures and their importance relative to the Federal government and the white settlers around them.  Begin with a complex-split introductory paragraph, and then provide at least one, well-developed body paragraph in which you identify and discuss the themes, individuals, and incidents that support the claim.

I have provided three additional links to more information to help you broaden your response and your understanding of this issue in American History.

DUE DATE:  Monday, January 28, 2013 by midnight

WORD COUNT:  500 words minimum

The Indian War:
http://www.history.org/foundation/journal/spring10/war.cfm

The Thirty Years War:
http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtID=2&psid=3499

Reporting the Indian Wars:
http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-2536601590.html

Radicals or Revolutionaries?

Reread the Varying Viewpoints Essay on p.529 in your American Pageant and then compose an argument that compares and contrasts the views of at least two of the historians discussed in that essay - you will need to do some research on the internet to find more specific information about each historian and work that is cited in the essay.  If you try to base your argument solely on the limited information in the essay itself, then you will end up with a VERY weak essay that may only score as high as a 2 or 3 on the 9 point scale.  Evaluate the extent to which each historian's view is potentially historically valid, and then the extent to which there are problems with that view that do not seem to fully address the significance of the Populists and the Populist Movement during the Gilded Age.  As before, identify and label at least one rhetorical device that you use in your argument (if you want to track more than one, please do so since the more practice you have at identifying and labeling your own, you will be that much better prepared for the AP Exam in May).

Historians in the Essay:
Charles and Mary Beard - The Rise of American Civilization (1927-42)
Vernon Louis Parrington - Main Currents of American Thought (1927-30)
John D. Hicks - The Populist Revolt (1931)
Richard Hofstadter - The Age of Reform (1955)
Lawrence Goodwyn - Democratic Promise: The Populist Movement in America (1976)
Edward L. Ayers - Promise of the New South (1992)
Robert C. McMath - American Populism (1993)

DUE DATE:  Monday, January 21st by midnight

Word Count: Minimum 500 words

The Gilded Age: Was It Only A Time of Corruption?

The timespan from 1872 - 1900 is characterized by a series of "Forgettable Presidents" whose administrations contended with rampant political and economic corruption by members of their cabinets, members of Congress, railroad barrons, and stock speculators to name the most prominent.  Explain the metaphor that Mark Twain coined to describe this time period, that this was the "gilded age" - what was the thin layer of value covering what depth of corruption?  In your response, explain the extent to which this time period was corrupt and in what ways it had redeemable qualities.  Use specific examples from Chapter 23 to develop your response.

Remember, too, that I am will be assessing you on your use of at least one correctly used and correctly identified rhetorical device in your response.  In order to ensure that I grade you correctly, you need to identify the device that you use by bolding it.  If you do not do this, I will not be able to give you full credit for your response.

DUEDATE: Monday, January 14, 2013

Word Count: 500 words minimum

Series of Videos on Youtube Covering Major Aspects of The Gilded Age:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0bwcppAGFc&playnext=1&list=PL67928E6ED0A35DA0&feature=results_main