Project 6

Select one of the questions/topics from the assigned unit/era to write a 2-3 page argumentative paper on.  The questions are open to multiple answers and viewpoints so it's your job to make a persuasive argument that answers the question you have chosen.
You will need to do a little basic research on your topic to be sure that you chose an angle/viewpoint that you could make a persuasive argument to support your answer to the question/topic.

For all topics you must formulate an opened ended question. Your question must be open-ended with various possible responses and interpretations. It should also be “Non-Googleable”, meaning no one can just Google to find this answer!

Requirements:
  • 2-3 page length minimum
  • Typed, 12-point font
  • Works cited pages (not included in page length)

Unit 1 - Worlds Collide

  1. God, Glory and Gold: Which is the true motivation for exploration?
  2. Form of government or religious institutions, which of England's contributions impacted the foundations of America most?
  3. Disease or Land Loss: Which was the greater impact of colonization on Native Americans?
  4. What happened to the lost colony?
  5. Was Jamestown a success story or merely lucky?
  6. Which conquistador had the greatest impact on America?

Unit 2 - Adolescent Colonies

  1. ​​​Who had the most successful colony (John Winthrop, Roger Williams, the Dutch, William Penn, Lord Baltimore, or James Oglethorpe?
  2. Why did the Salem Witch Trials happen?
  3. The impact of colonization on Native Americans.
  4. How did religious intolerance cause religious tolerance and a freer America?
  5. How did the Great Awakening impact America?
  6. Why is Benjamin Franklin considered a founding father?

Unit 3 - Seeds of Rebellion

  1. Did the Navigation Acts cause more problems than it fixed for the British?
  2. How did the French and Indian War impact British-American relations?
  3. What was the key cause of the Revolution?
  4. Overbearing taxation or paying their fair share?
  5. How did the role of democracy help in shaping the call for revolution?

Unit 4 - Revolutionary America

  1. How and why did John Locke play such a major role in the shaping of America?
  2. Which two events and two battles were the most significant in America's fight for freedom?
  3. What factors led to the betrayal of Benedict Arnold?
  4. How and why did Role of Thomas Paine’s Common Sense play such a major role in the shaping of America?
  5. How could the Articles of Confederation have survived with minor changes?

Unit 5 - The New Republic

  1. The Constitution, the Republic and the difficulty of keeping both.
  2. What were the causes and effects of the Whiskey Rebellion?
  3. Censorship and the Alien & Sedition Acts:  Right or wrong and how it could happen again?
  4. The significance of Marbury v. Madison.

Unit 6 - Expansion and Reform

  1. How much of an impact did the cotton gin have on America and slavery?
  2. How did the rise of the Common Man in American Politics affect the overall system?
  3. The Indian Removal Act: the arguments for and against it.
  4. What causes the rise and failure of utopian communities?
  5. How did Manifest Destiny impact women in the west?
  6. Which trail (Mormon, Oregon, Santa Fe) had the greatest impact on western migration?
  7. How did the 1848 gold rush impact California?

Unit 7 - Crisis, Civil War and Reconstruction

  1. ​Comparing the views on governmental power of Lincoln and Douglas
  2. How did the Underground Railroad impact the abolition movement?
  3. What were the motivations and effects of John Brown's Raid?
  4. How did the Dred Scott decision impact the fight over slavery?
  5. How were the Union and Confederacy prepared for war before the war began?
  6. Why did Lincoln issue the Emancipation Proclamation?
  7. What were the effects of the draft riots during the Civil War?
  8. How did African-Americans play a role in the Civil War outside of the 54th Massachusetts regiment?
  9. How did women play major roles in the Civil War?
  10. Which general was the best?
  11. Comparing plans for Reconstruction: Whose was best?
  12. How much did the Freedman's Bureau impact the lives of newly freed slaves?
  13. What initial impact did the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments have of America?
  14. How did the Compromise of 1877 affect the Republican Party and America?

Unit 8 - The Great West

  1. How much of an impact did the silver discovery at Comstock Lode have on America?
  2. How did the Dawes act impact Native Americans?
  3. What impact did immigrants have on the Transcontinental Railroad?
  4. Why was the Transcontinental Railroad such a big deal?

AMERICAN HISTORY II

Unit 9 - Immigration and Industrialization

  1. Were they Robber Barons vs Captains of Industry?
  2. Was the Gilded Age an accurate description for the era?
  3. What is the lasting legacy of political machines?
  4. What motivations caused the passing of the Chinese Exclusion Act?
  5. What is the lasting legacy of labor conflicts and unionization?
  6. Were 19th century immigrants in a "Melting Pot" or a "Salad Bowl"?

Unit 10 - The Progressive Era

  1. How have muckrakers impacted our modern age?
  2. What factors leads to women's suffrage?
  3. How did Theodore Roosevelt create the modern presidency?
  4. Who was the better trustbuster: Roosevelt or Taft?
  5. Washington vs DuBois: Education or equality? Which method should be first?
  6. The legality of Plessy v. Ferguson:  How did it become law?
  7. Is the Federal Reserve necessary?

Unit 11 - The American Empire

  1. Yellow journalism and the role of the media at the turn of the 20th century.
  2. How has America been involve in Cuba from the mid-19th century to the mid-20th century?
  3. Was America's response to the Philippine insurrection justified?
  4. The Spanish-American War or World War I: Which war transformed America more?
  5. Was Wilson's 14 Points a success or failure?
  6. Should the US have joined the League of Nations?

Unit 12 - Prosperity and Depression

  1. How was the Red Scare possible?
  2. Prohibition: Can government enforce morality?
  3. How did the Sacco and Vanzetti case impact America?
  4. Which economic factor led most to the Stock Market Crash of 1929?
  5. How much did the Harlem Renaissance impact the live and perception of African-Americans?
  6. How did the New Deal affect American recovery efforts?
  7. How did the Dust Storm impact migration in the American west?

Unit 13 - World War II

  1. Why was the Bombing of Pearl Harbor inevitable? 
  2. How did women play a role during the war?
  3. Why were the Navajo Code Talkers so important?
  4. How did the Japanese Internment Camps impact Japanese-Americans?
  5. How did segregation affect the U.S. Army during the war?
  6. The Impact of the Manhattan Project.
  7. The killing of civilians: was the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki justified?
  8. Why was the Marshall Plan essential for America as much as for Europe?

Unit 14 - Cold War Tensions

  1. The case against the Rosenbergs: What were they really guilty of?
  2. How did McCarthyism affect the social and political climate of America?
  3. Diplomacy: Kennedy's response to the Cuban Missile Crisis.
  4. How has Kennedy affected the modern world?

Unit 15 - Conflicts and Resolutions

  1. Jackie Robinson and sports' role in Civil Rights.
  2. 60+ years later: how of and impact was Brown v. Board of Education ruling?
  3. How did the March on Washington impact the Civil Rights Movement?
  4. Why was the Warren Court's role in Civil Rights so important to the movement?
  5. How did the Black Panther movement impact the Civil Rights Movement?
  6. How did Cesar Chavez improve the rights of immigrants?
  7. Which act between the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965 had a bigger impact?
  8. How effective was the containment policy to American foreign policy?
  9. Why was the Vietnam War so heavily protested and what impact did it have on the war?
  10. The social impact of the Vietnam War
  11. How has Silent Spring impacted America environmentally and economically?
  12. Watergate's impact on American politics.

Unit 16 - Modern America

  1. Carter, Reagan and the Iran Hostage Crisis.
  2. How did Reagan's policies affect outcome of the Cold War?
  3. Evaluating glasnost and perestroika: why was America important in these events?
  4. How effective was the War on Drugs?
  5. The effects of 9/11 on America at home.
  6. The effects of 9/11 on American foreign policy.
  7. The Patriot Act and Civil Liberties: How much control should the government have in our lives?
  8. How successful has the War on Terror been?
  9. Global Warming vs Economic Development: Who wins and why?
  10. How far have LGBT rights advanced and why?
  11. How have 24-hour news cycles impacted Americans involvement in their democracy?
  12. Why is social media having such an effect on government and politics?