US History Since 1865 Final Exam
Please answer two
of the following questions. Each answer should be no less than three double spaced typed pages.
An acceptable answer is one that addresses each component of the question
and thus answers the question completely. Please base your answer on examples from the various texts
that we have read in the class. It is not enough to refer to specific
texts; I expect that you will quote extensively
from class materials. In addition, please cite
whatever texts you draw from and be very careful that you paraphrase and
not plagiarize.
1. Discuss and analyze similarities and differences
between the Progressive Era movements for social change and the Post World
War II movements for social change. Did activists and thinkers share
any perspectives? Did they focus on similar or different issues? How
did they envision social change?
2. Discuss and analyze two different critiques
of "American civilization" posed by writers in Talking Back to Civilization.
on what grounds are they criticizing American civilization? How
do they compare American society and culture to the societies and cultures
of Native People?
3. Compare and contrast
Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham City Jail" with Malcom
X's "Message to the Grass Roots." What different approaches do these
activists take toward making social change? Upon what grounds do they
base their arguments? Do they foresee different outcomes?
4. Choose two of the documents
from Chapter 24 and explore the ways that American people responded to the
Great Depression. Analyze the impact that this economic disaster had
on the personal lives of these people. In what ways did they try and
change their situations?
5. Choose two areas of American life that were
drastically transformed by the creation of a new national culture in the 1920's.
6. Analyze the significance of the Cold War policy
of containment. Discuss three different components of this foreign
policy. What were the implications of each one, how did they reinforce
a new US position as a super power, how did they move us further from a position
of isolationism to a position of global intervention?
7. Why was it so difficult for the US to extract
itself from the war in Vietnam? In what ways was this a quintessential
example of Cold War foreign policy? In what ways was it not? How
did observers at the time understand our involvement there?
Amy Ward
Final Exam
US Since 1865
Spring 2003
3. Compare and contrast Martin Luther King,
Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham City Jail" with Malcom X's "Message to the
Grass Roots." What different approaches do these activists take toward
making social change? Upon what grounds do they base their arguments?
Do they foresee different outcomes?
Both Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X believed that
drastic change was necessary in America for black people. They also
both agreed that change would not come on it's own, but had to be forced.
As King says in his Letter from Birmingham Jail, "We know through
painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor;
it must be demanded by the oppressed" (p. 381). Malcolm X puts a little more
blunt force into his statement in his Message to the Grass Roots by stating
"We have a common enemy.... the white man. He's an enemy to all of
us" (p 249). Malcolm sees a bickering among the black community and
feels that all blacks needed to "pose a...united front" ( p. 251).
He suggests that, "...you need a revolution" (p. 253).
They both cite the revolutions taking place in other parts
of the world, "The black revolution is sweeping Asia, is sweeping Africa,
is rearing its head in Latin America" states Malcolm X (p. 253). King
echoes this sentiment by saying that "The nations of Asia and Africa are
moving with jetlike speed toward the goal of political independence", adding
an urgency to the call for change (p. 382).
Each, however, had their own opinion of how to go about
achieving their goal, each drawing from their religious background.
Malcolm X called for violence when necessary, “Our religion teaches us to.
… Be peaceful… but if someone puts his hand on you, send him to the cemetery”
(p. 256). Which he obviously thought would be the case since,
“you don’t have a peaceful revolution” (p. 253). Yet King argued
a more peaceful movement, saying that, “… negotiation is a better path….
Nonviolent direct action…. Will inevitably open the door to negotiation”
(p. 381). King went on to say that, “human progress…. Comes through…
men willing to be co-workers with God” (p. 381).
When asking others to follow their lead, these two men
had different approaches to getting the best from their followers.
King advocated a period of self-purification where workshops were held about
nonviolence and participants, “asked [themselves] ‘[Am I] able to accept
blows without retaliating?’ and ‘[Am I] able to endure the ordeals of jail?’”
(p. 381). While Malcolm fiercely instructed, “preserve your life…if
you’ve got to give it up, let it be even-steven” (p. 257).
Both Malcolm and King recognized the hardships felt and endured by black
Americans and they called on those painful times as illustrations for their
cause. King related in his letter of how, “no motel will
accept you…your first name becomes ‘nigger’ and your middle name becomes
‘boy’…and…your wife and mother are never given the respected title ‘Mrs.’…you…never
quite [know] what to expect next…forever fighting a degenerating sense of
‘nobodiness’” (p. 381). Malcolm stressed that the whites were trying
to weaken the blacks and turn aside the growing tide of force and action:
“It’s just like when you’ve got some coffee that’s too black,
which means its too strong. What do you do? You integrate
it with cream, you make it weak. But if you pour too much
cream in it, you wont’ even know you ever had coffee. It
used to be hot, it becomes cool. It used to be strong, it
becomes weak. It used to wake you up, now it puts you to
sleep. This is what they did with the march on Washington.
They joined it. They didn’t integrate it, they infiltrated it.
They joined it, became a part of it, took it over…it became
a circus” (p. 260).
No doubt that both King and Malcolm X both hoped for success.
At this time Malcolm wanted, not to be equal with the whites, but to be independent
from them, shown by his statement that, “A revolutionary wants land so he
can set up his own nation, an independent nation” (p. 254). King
explained that equality is what should be worked towards as, “our beloved
Southland [has] been bogged won in the tragic attempt to live in monologue
rather than dialogue” (p. 381). But both fear that peace will not come
soon, but rather more pain. Malcolm sees the black leaders being mislead
and “dummied down” because, “Reuther and those other three devils should
get an Academy Award for the best actors because they acted like they really
loved Negroes and fooled a whole lot of Negroes. And the six Negro
leaders should get an award too, for the best supporting cast” (p. 261).
Meanwhile King says that there is, “a development that will lead inevitably
to a frightening racial nightmare” among the various camps of the civil rights
movement (p. 382). Yet he holds onto his hope that, “the dark clouds
of racial prejudice will soon pass away and the deep fog of misunderstanding
will be lifted from our fear-drenched communities and in some not too distant
tomorrow the radiant stars of love and brotherhood will shine over our great
nation with all of their scintillating beauty” (p. 382).
References
King, M. L. Jr. Letter from Birmingham Jail (1963). “Selected Historical
Documents to Accompany America’s History Volume 2: Since 1865. 4th
Edition”. Redford St. Martin’s. 2001. P. 380-382.
X, M. Message to the Grass Roots. “The Eyes on the Prize Civil Rights
Reader”. Penguin Books. 1991. P. 248-261.
4. Choose two of the documents from Chapter 24
and explore the ways that American people responded to the Great Depression.
Analyze the impact that this economic disaster had on the personal
lives of these people. In what ways did they try and change their situations?
These two selections are truly amazing. They both
shed volumes of light upon the unfortunate lack of understanding stemming
from miscommunication between the sexes during the Great Depression.
It could be seen as Komarovsky’s selection is a snapshot of the issue and
then Sueur gives a scenario where the subtleties are acted out for further
explanation.
Sueur says that women, “are now alone, some have men who are out of work…the
man leaves to hunt for work. He doesn’t find it. He drifts on”
(p. 247). Which seems like the man is simply abandoning his family
in an effort to save himself, whereas Komarovsky shows this picture in a
different light by saying that the unemployed man feels, “humiliation within
the family…[it] makes him feel very useless to have his wife and daughter
bring in money…while he does not contribute a nickel” and that, “He often
wonders what would happen if he put himself out of the picture, or just got
out of the way of his wife” (p. 246). In that we see the man
as being deeply hurt by his apparent inability to provide for his family
as he’s supposed to according to his idea of societal norms and feels that
perhaps everyone would be better off if he just left. Perhaps this
is why when the destitute women in Sueur’s account approach men for help,
they are able to, “sleep in men’s rooms for the night on a pallet without
molestation and be given breakfast in the morning” (p. 249). Perhaps
this is a man who, because of the times, feels that he can redeem himself
by helping one girl this one moment.
Sueur claims that women may have originally wanted to
marry and have children, but now having seen things as they are, “sees what
happens to her married friends, left with children to support, worn out before
their time….she stays single” and faces the hardships on her own (p. 248).
It is easier for women to take hardships on themselves and do it silently
if, “she has [no] dependents” and will “go for weeks verging on starvation…shut
up in terror in her misery… It’s no wonder these young girls refuse to marry,
refuse to rear children” (p. 249).
Komarovsky reports that, “Mrs. Patterson [thinks] they
have not … changed their way of living so very much…. She and her daughter
try to forget troubles” (p. 246). Sueur portrays the opinions given
that’ “No one saves their money…when you get a bit of money, a kind of madness
[takes over]. You don’t care. A lust takes hold of you” (p. 248).
But still with both stories, the need for a light heart and enjoyment of
fun activities stays true. Komarovsky reports that they, “have a good
time once in a while” and Sueur says the, “young girls, to forget the hunger…try
to [go] to a ten-cent show” (p 246, 249).
The blame for individual circumstance falls differently from one selection
to the other. Komarovsky shows both husband and wife blaming the fact
that, “he neglected his opportunities when he was young…a proper education”
(p. 246). Mrs. Patterson certainly recognizes that her husband does
try to, “run around and try his very best to get a job” but that “he has
changed for the worse…[becoming] irritable and very hard to get along with”
(p. 246). But in all stories there is that overhanging, “kind of humiliation”
that keeps people worn down (p. 247).
There is a tension between husband and wife that Komarovsky
insinuates as a lack of affection as the husband gives voice, “When you are
not bringing in any money, you don’t get as much attention…when I tell her
that I want more love, she just gets mad” and a sympathy for his great burden
of sorrow grows (p246). For those without a mate, things also
become tense as some make the ultimate sacrifice as Sueur believes, “it’s
very difficult and humiliating to sell one’s body” (p248). Yet,
for these women Sueur offers this honor, “You don’t see women lying on the
floor at the mission in the free flops. They obviously don’t sleep
in the jungle or under newspapers in the park. There is no law…against
their being in these places, but the fact is they rarely are”
(p249).
So where are they? A key is offered by Sueur who
confides that, “we sit hour after hour, day after day, waiting for a job
to come in…. our faces are all familiar to each other, for we wait here every
day…[in the] domestic employment bureau” (p247). A testimony
to the woman’s determination to do everything she can with every last ounce
of strength, and then some more. Is there a whispered secret in both
selections about the stronger underlying strength of women to go above their
‘normal’ call of duty to make things work out happily? Surely women
during this time did stretch even farther in their roles, men having to accept
their limited effectiveness in traditional realms. Some of the men
were even being sent back “into the kitchen”, a woman’s strongest presence
in the home (Komarovsky, 247).
Yet why does no one question? Komarovsky’s story
is of acceptance and sorrow. Only Sueur briefly wonders, “Is there
any place else in the world where a human being is supposed to go hungry
amidst plenty without an outcry, without protest, where only the boldest
steal or kill for break, and the timid crawl the streets, hunger like the
beak of a terrible bird at the vitals?” (p247). And I am left to wonder,
why is it that in such a time of need, when everyone is struggling, why is,
“the lone girl…under suspicion by the virgin women who dispense charity”
(Sueur, 249). If, “it is even harder to try to sell one’s self,
more humiliating” as Sueur purports, how can these charitable women judge
single women, not knowing what they face, or even if their activities are
such (p. 249)?
These are lessons that can truly be taken to heart in
today’s society. We must learn from our past to improve our future.
References
Komarobsky, M. Mr. Patterson (1940). “Selected Historical Documents
to Accompany America’s History Volume 2: Since 1865. 4th Edition”.
Redford St. Martin’s. 2001. P. 246-247.
Sueur, M. L. Women on the Breadlines (1932). “Selected Historical Documents
to Accompany America’s History Volume 2: Since 1865. 4th Edition”.
Redford St. Martin’s. 2001. P. 247-250