essay

Summary: History 121 First Paper Please choose one of the following essay topics and write a 3-5 page paper. More than 5 pages is fine. Your font size should be reasonable and so should your margins. Be sure your essay is addressing all the issues raised in the prompt. 1. ”Reconstruction was bound to fail. Entrusting a slave from the field in electoral politics was like turning a monkey loose in the treasure room of democracy. When the valiant embattled White Southerner tired of this mockery of justice, he at last rose up to restore the South to its position of preeminence. Do you agree or disagree with this interpretation of Reconstruction? Based on your reading and lecture notes please explain why Reconstruction failed. What was the legacy of the failure of Reconstruction? How did the failure of Reconstruction affect race relations from 1877-1964. What, if anything, do YOU think should have been done to help the program succeed? 2. Imagine the date is July 4th, 1896. The nation is celebrating its 120th birthday. People throughout the United States are making speeches. Imagine that you are one of these three characters: Nate Shaw, a Black sharecropper from Georgia, Ben McDonald, a farmer from Nebraska who is a member of the Populist Party, Ivan Stoyanvich, a steelworker and a radical labor organizer who immigrated from Poland (who is really smart and speaks English pretty well.) Congratulations! Your character has been chosen to deliver a Fourth of July speech on “America, a Golden Land of Opportunity for Everyone.” Your paper should be in the form of a speech. Your speech must be sincere. You need to discuss both the life experiences of your character as well as the visions they might have for their future and the future of the country. 3. Franklin Delano Roosevelt was a traitor to his class and to his country. His “New Deal” was a scam. If people are poor, it’s their own damn fault. Government handouts only encouraged poor people to be even more lazy and less thrifty. Wealthy successful businessmen end up paying the bills for the dregs of society who just take and take and take. All of this because Roosevelt decided to use the government to take over the economy in 1933. Do you agree or disagree with this interpretation of the New Deal? Please discuss the causes of the Great Depression. Also discuss Roosevelt and the New Deal. How big a role should the government play in regulating business and the economy? Should the government provide economic assistance for the poverty-stricken or does that just encourage people to rely upon the government?