MIAMI AMH2020 2022 April Discussions Latest (Full)

AMH2020 American History II: History of the United States since 1877

Discussion 1

The Declaration of Independence

The tensions that arose between Great Britain and her North American colonies as a result of taxation and other measures following the Seven Years' War culminated in war, a movement for independence and the establishment of a new nation. The ideals that fueled the Revolution were grounded in Enlightenment Era thought. These same ideals still shape our vision as we continue to define American Democracy.

To prepare for this post, please review the links below to support your discussion:

Enlightenment Thought

The Declaration of Independence

After you have completed the readings answer ONE of the following questions:

1. How did Enlightenment Era thought influence the Declaration of Independence? In your answer, be sure to address how political thought evolved during the Enlightenment Era and how those shifts are represented within the Declaration of Independence.  

2. Are Enlightenment ideals still relevant as a guiding force in current American society?  How so? In your answer, please be sure to address current events and issues.

 

AMH2020 American History II: History of the United States since 1877

Discussion 2

Reconstructing the Nation

The Civil War ended on April 9, 1865, and the original goal of the North to preserve the Union was accomplished. The task that lay before Lincoln and Congress was to reintegrate the rebellious Southern states into the Union. For many white southerners "Reconstruction was a vicious and destructive experience - a period when vindictive Northerners inflicted humiliation and revenge on a pro-state South."

In order to prepare for this discussion forum:

Review and identify the relevant sections of Chapters 17  and 18 that support your discussion.

Review and identify relevant information on the linked PBS American Experience site, Reconstruction The Second Civil War

White Men Unite

State by State: Reconstruction timeline

This link will direct you to the full transcript of the Wade-Davis Bill.  What does it suggest about the prevailing Reconstruction sentiments in Congress?

 

AMH2020 American History II: History of the United States since 1877

Discussion 3

The late 19th-century self-made man.

Industrialization brought great wealth to America, but the price was quite high. The growing extremes of poverty and wealth that were being exhibited at the end of the 19th century, caused some to seek ways to make possible a just and humane society, while others sought justification for the emerging social order. The promise of success was made, promoting the idea that America was the land of opportunity and that hard work led to success. Social Darwinism was used to provide a scientific explanation for why some acquired great wealth while others barely survived. Rags-to-riches stories presented a picture of the opportunities that were available to all, and the success of the self-made man.

 

AMH2020 American History II: History of the United States since 1877

Discussion 4

American Imperial Expansion

The Republican victory in 1896 gave heart to proponents of prosperity through foreign trade.   McKinley sought neither war nor colonies, but many in his party wanted both. Called "jingos," they included Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Theodore Roosevelt; John Hay, the ambassador to London, and senators Albert Beveridge and Henry Cabot Lodge.  Britain, France, and Germany were seizing territory around the world, and jingos believed the United States needed to do the same for strategic, religious, and economic reasons.

In order to prepare for this discussion forum::

Review and identify the relevant sections of Chapter 21 that support your discussion.

Read the linked document, taken from an article by Senator Henry Cabot Lodge (R-MASS), in the 1895 issue of Forum magazine. What motives for imperialism are reflected in Lodge's article?

After you have completed your readings post your response to only ONE of the following questions.

Several reasons are proposed explaining why the United States decided to join the "Imperialist Club".  Which argument was the strongest, and which argument was the weakest?  Explain your position.

Is there any evidence to support Kristin Hoganosn's argument regarding the role of gender and the Spanish-American War? (Suggestion:  students might want to review the previous chapter for a discussion on this topic).  Discuss if you agree or disagree with her argument.  Make sure to support your position.

In your opinion, do Lodge's arguments support the need for the United States to acquire an imperial empire?  Explain your position.

 

AMH2020 American History II: History of the United States since 1877

Discussion 5

How progressive was the Progressive Era?

The Progressive era stands out as a time when reformers sought to address social ills brought about by a rapidly changing society. Debates surrounded issues such as political corruption, the regulation of business practices, racial equality, women's suffrage and the living conditions of impoverished immigrants overcrowded into urban slums.

In order to prepare for this discussion forum:

Review and identify the relevant sections of Chapter 22 that support your discussion.

Read Booker T. Washington's speech The Atlanta Compromise

Read W.E.B. Du Bois The Niagara Movement

The Niagara Movement's "Declaration of Principles" by W.E.B.Du Bois

The Women's Suffrage Movement

Excerpt from How the Other Half Lives by Jacob Riis and the photography of Jacob Riis.

After you have completed your readings post a response to only ONE of the following questions.

Compare and contrast the ideas of Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois. In your opinion, which of these two men had a better plan? Explain why.

 When it came to the issue of suffrage, did all women agree?  Explain. 

 Which social problem was Jacob Riis addressing through his work?  How did he communicate the severity of this problem? 

 

AMH2020 American History II: History of the United States since 1877

Discussion 6

Did America really practice isolation and neutrality during WWI?

In 1914 Woodrow Wilson proclaimed U.S. neutrality, and asked the American people to remain "impartial in thought as well as deed." At the end of the war, some members of the government pushed to expand American influence but to also remain free of any commitments, a policy its critics referred to as isolationism.

In order to prepare for this discussion forum:

Review and identify the relevant sections of Chapter 23 that support your discussion.  You might also find some of the content covered in Chapter 21 relevant to this discussion.

Read Roosevelt's Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine

Read Wilson's Joint Address to Congress leading to the declaration of WWI

Read the transcript of Wilson's  14 Points

After you have completed your readings post a response to only ONE of the following questions.

In your opinion, was U.S. policy in Asia and Latin America between from late nineteenth century to 1914 truly isolationist? Discuss and support your response.

In your opinion, did America remain neutral in "thought and deed" from 1914 to 1917? Discuss and support your response.

 

AMH2020 American History II: History of the United States since 1877

Discussion 7

Where should we place the blame for the Great Depression?

Where should we place the blame?  Economists believe the Great Depression was caused by the weaknesses in the 1920s economy, but the person whose name will be forever linked to the depression is President Herbert Hoover.  Personally blaming him for the crisis, Americans started to call the shantytowns set up by unemployed people "Hoovervilles."

 In order to prepare for this discussion forum: line-height:

Review and identify the relevant sections of Chapter 25 that address these topics and support your discussion.

Read the linked essay DEBATING THE PAST:  CAUSES OF THE GREAT DEPRESSION: Where Historians Disagree

Read America's Great Depression:  www.amatecon.com/gd/gdcandc.html

Read Digital History: Sections Why it Happened to President Hoover   http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/teachers/lesson_plans/pdfs/unit9.pdf

After you have completed your readings post your response to only ONE of the following questions.

Hoover's presidency will be forever shadowed by the Great Depression.  Is it fair to blame Hoover's actions or inaction for the Great Depression?

Should we compare Presidents Hoover and President Roosevelt's attempts to deal with the depression?

 

AMH2020 American History II: History of the United States since 1877

Discussion 8

The decision to drop the atomic bomb.

Critics have charged that the United States was morally irresponsible in using the atomic weapons against Japan during World War II. Were the United States' actions justified?

In order to prepare for this discussion forum:

Review and identify relevant sections of Chapter 26 to support your discussion.

Read the essay DEBATING THE PAST: THE DECISION TO DROP THE ATOMIC BOMB.

In 2005 a group of historians held a mock trial-Hiroshima: Truman on Trial.

After you have completed your readings post your answers to only ONE of the following questions.

What are the explanations that have been offered in support of dropping the atomic bomb? What is your response to these explanations? Make sure that you provide specific support from your readings.

What are the arguments that have been presented against using the atomic bomb? What is your response to these arguments? Make sure that you provide specific support from your readings.

Review the trial and cast your verdict. How do you find President Truman? Guilty or Not Guilty?  Discuss why you reached that decision.

 

AMH2020 American History II: History of the United States since 1877

Discussion 9

How has the automobile impacted American society?

In the 1950s the United States enjoyed a broad-based, unprecedented level of prosperity. Rising purchasing power, expanding credit, and a rapidly growing advertising industry stimulated consumerism. One industry that rapidly developed and expanded was the automobile industry. During the 1950s, Americans purchased 58 million cars. By 1960, 75 percent of American families owned one. The automobile created mobility on a scale not known before, and the automobile industry became a vital element in the economy. It became one of the world's major manufacturing industries. The automobile dramatically impacted American society, whether you owned one or not.

In order to prepare for this discussion forum:

Review and identify relevant sections of Chapters 19, 20, and 28 that address support for your discussion.

Identify and use at least one outside source for your discussion.  Sources must be cited in your discussion.  If a link is available, please provide it.

After you have completed your readings post your response to only ONE of the following questions.

Discuss how the automobile positively or negatively impacted American society. 

Do you agree or disagree with the the assessment that has been made on the importance of the automobile?

 

AMH2020 American History II: History of the United States since 1877

Discussion 10

The Struggle for Civil Rights

Throughout the 1950s African Americans in northern cities grew increasingly active in opposing discrimination and in protesting white resistance to black progress in housing, education, and employment. Martin Luther King and others embarked on a campaign of nonviolent resistance and demonstrations, which spread to the south. Some of the leadership in the Deep South responded with brutal force, taking a militant stand against change, and in defiance of federal legislation to grant African Americans their civil rights. 

In order to prepare for this discussion forum:

Review and identify the relevant sections of Chapter 29 that support your discussion.

Read the linked essay DEBATING THE PAST: The Civil Rights Movement

Review the material contained in the site Responses Coming from the Civil Rights Movement.

After you have completed your readings post your response to only one of the following questions:

Identify and list some of the factors that contributed to the success of the Civil Rights movement. Choose one, and discuss its significance to the movement, and explain why you made this particular choice.

"Ironically, the reaction of many southern whites to the civil rights activities may have actually served to help the blacks' cause." Agree or Disagree with this statement.  Make sure that you provide evidence to support your argument.

 

AMH2020 American History II: History of the United States since 1877

Discussion 11

The Fall from Grace-Watergate

Richard Nixon served as Vice-President of the United States from 1953 to 1961, and as President from 1969 to 1974.  He was the only person to be elected twice to both the Presidency and Vice Presidency.  In 1969 Americans had joined together in pride over the lunar landing and Neil Armstrong's walk on the moon.  

Yet Nixon's personality may have played a part in his eventual demise. He believed the United States faced grave dangers from the radicals and dissidents who were challenging his policies, and he came to view any challenge as a "threat to national security." As a result, he created a climate in which he and those who served him could justify almost any tactics to stifle dissent and undermine the opposition. He has been described as being a devious, secretive, and embittered man whose White House became a series of covert activities.  On August 9, 1974, Richard Nixon became the first chief executive in American History to resign, because of his role in the Watergate scandal.

Some Americans viewed this as an indication that the system worked.  They were proud of the way the US political system had weathered the crisis and peacefully transferred power. Others worried about the further erosion of popular trust and belief in their government.  Regardless, when he left office the nation remembered an administration that had been discredited by the Agnew and Watergate scandals. Watergate has come to define Nixon's presidency.

In order to prepare for this discussion forum:

Review and identify the relevant sections of Chapter 30 that support your discussion.

Read the linked essay DEBATING THE PAST: WATERGATE

Read the following excerpts from the Nixon Tapes.  As you read them to consider what the conversations reveal, about the casual use of federal agencies for political purposes.

Review the discussion on the Nixons' "so-called "imperial Presidency" at this PBS site The American President: Richard Nixon

Digital History: Restraining the Imperial Presidency

Identify one source that addresses the topic you choose to discuss.  The source must be cited in your discussion.

 

 

AMH2020 American History II: History of the United States since 1877

Discussion 12

Assessing Ronald Reagan

Ronald Reagan, the 40th president of the United States, has been described as having had a very engaging personality. Even people who disagreed with his policies, found themselves drawn to his attractive and carefully honed public image. Surrounded by tough, energetic administrators who insulated him from many of the pressures of the office, he seemed to offer general guidance but not make specific decisions. His presidency was also mired in a series of scandals, but the most damaging was the Iran-contra scandal. After a series of investigations and congressional hearings, the White House conceded that it had sold weapons to the revolutionary government in Iran, and used some of the money to illegally aid the Contras in Nicaragua. This was in direct violation of the Boland Amendment.

In order to prepare for this discussion forum:

Review and identify the relevant sections of Chapter 31 that support your discussion.

Review material on this site on the Reagan administration.

After you have completed your readings post your response to only one of the following questions

In 1983, Democratic Congresswoman Pat Schroeder described Reagan's presidency as "Teflon-coated," because scandals surrounding his presidency seem to have no effect on his individual popularity. Is this a valid assessment of Reagan and his presidency?

Should Reagan (or the policies of any past presidents) be credited with the collapse of world communism, or was the end of the Cold War more a result of internal developments within the Soviet Union and the nations it dominated?