Assessing Ronald Reagan

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

  1. 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?
  2. 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?

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

 

WRITING ASSIGNMENT 4A: Completing the Revolution

In some ways, the Civil War completed the American Revolution. The ideals boldly proclaimed in the Declaration of Independence, that “all men are created equal”, were now being somewhat realized. The reality was that at the end of Reconstruction the United States was still, in fact, an “unfinished nation,” and that it will be the Civil Rights era and its accomplishments that completed the revolution.

INSTRUCTIONS

In order to prepare you must complete the following readings:

  • Review and identify relevant sections of Chapters 29.
  • Review and identify relevant sections of chapters that have been covered throughout the semester.
  • Utilize at least one of the linked sources provided in this assignment to support your discussion.
  • Identify and incorporate at least one additional outside source to support your discussion. In addition to the textbook, you may use any material outside of the textbook that is recommended in the Additional Reading section at the end of each chapter. You are also encouraged to do your own research and identify relevant sources. Please keep in mind that WIKIPEDIA is not an acceptable reference.

Additional Sources:

PREPARE AND SUBMIT:

Write a well-organized essay, a minimum of 700 words (but not limited to), including supporting details from the documents/textbook/other sources in which you analyze and discuss the material that has been assigned by addressing the following question:

Discuss in what ways the United States was an “unfinished nation,” and how the accomplishments of the Civil Rights era completed the process. In your opinion, is the United States currently a “finished nation” or is there still “unfinished business” that needs to be addressed?

Reminders

  • Use Microsoft WORD to write the essays. The acceptable submission file types are .doc, .docx, and .rtf.
  • Prepare the assignment as a Word Document, double-spaced, and using a standard font of 12 points.
  • Paragraphs in an essay are not numbered. Any questions that are associated with an assigned reading are there to serve as a guide for your discussion.
  • Your discussion should incorporate all of the information from the documents and or textbook, and outside sources as one essay.
  • Students are required to research and incorporate into their discussions additional sources that relate to the content. Recommendations can be found in at the end of the textbook chapter in Additional Reading.
  • All statements must be supported and all sources must be identified and cited, and included in your reference list. This also applies to the textbook. Failure to do so constitutes Plagiarism, and the college has strict policies and penalties for failure to comply. Under the Resources, you will find links to sites that review how to format a paper or essay. I recommend that students use APA or Chicago Style to format their essay. Students should ask their instructor which format style they prefer you to use.
  • Proofread your work. Make sure that you have looked for all of the spelling and grammatical errors and corrected them, and that you have organized your work into coherent paragraphs.
  • Submit via the Dropbox as an ATTACHMENT. Any work that is submitted directly into the box will be graded as a 0.

Point Value: 100

Grading Criteria:

  • Analysis and discussion (60%)
  • Support for discussion (30%)
  • Organization (10%)

Reminder: All written work must comply with standard English rules, such as proper capitalization, grammar, and spelling. The assignment must be submitted by the deadline listed in the calendar.

Note: Even though you will see a statement giving you the option of copy/paste or file attachment, please disregard this statement. You are required to attach the assignment in MS Word format.

OR

 

WRITING ASSIGNMENT 4B: Mission “Not” Accomplished

On August 2, 1990, Saddam Hussain invaded Kuwait. The US response was swift and effective. On January 16, 1991, the U.S. and other U.N. members began daily bombing raids, and on February 23, 1991, the ground assault began. Within one hundred hours Kuwait was liberated and the first President Bush declared a cease-fire.

In his State of the Union address in January 2002, the second President Bush stated that we must “prevent regimes that sponsor terror from threatening America or our friends and allies with weapons of mass destruction.” On the night of March 19, 2003, Operation Iraqi Freedom began, and by mid- April Saddam’s statues were toppling. Swift and short, on May 1, 2003, standing before a huge banner declaring “Mission Accomplished” aboard an aircraft carrier, President Bush declared victory in the Iraq War. Was this declaration premature?

INSTRUCTIONS

  • Review and identify relevant sections of Chapters 27, 30, 31, and 32.
  • Read the following linked article www.English.Illinois.edu/maps/Vietnam/interpretations.htm
  • PBS Frontline-The Gulf War link.
  • The Whirlwind War link- The Gulf War.
  • Utilize at least one of the linked sources provided in this assignment to support your discussion.
  • Identify and incorporate at least one additional outside source to support your discussion. In addition to the textbook, you may use any material outside of the textbook that is recommended in the Additional Reading section at the end of each chapter. You are also encouraged to do your own research and identify relevant sources. Please keep in mind that WIKIPEDIA is not an acceptable reference.

PREPARE AND SUBMIT:

Write a well-organized essay, a minimum of 700 words (but not limited to), including supporting details from the documents/textbook/other sources in which you analyze and discuss the material that has been assigned by addressing the following question:

Compare the Gulf War with one of the following wars: the Korean War, Vietnam, or the Iraq War, identifying and discussing similarities and differences that may explain why the US “won” the Gulf War, but did not “win” the other. In your opinion, are these valid comparisons?

Reminders

  • Use Microsoft WORD to write the essays. The acceptable submission file types are .doc, .docx, and .rtf.
  • Prepare the assignment as a Word Document, double-spaced, and using a standard font of 12 points.
  • Paragraphs in an essay are not numbered. Any questions that are associated with an assigned reading are there to serve as a guide for your discussion.
  • Your discussion should incorporate all of the information from the documents and or textbook, and outside sources as one essay.
  • Students are required to research and incorporate into their discussions additional sources that relate to the content. Recommendations can be found in at the end of the textbook chapter in Additional Reading.
  • All statements must be supported and all sources must be identified and cited, and included in your reference list. This also applies to the textbook. Failure to do so constitutes Plagiarism, and the college has strict policies and penalties for failure to comply. Under the Resources, you will find links to sites that review how to format a paper or essay. I recommend that students use APA or Chicago Style to format their essay. Students should ask their instructor which format style they prefer you to use.
  • Proofread your work. Make sure that you have looked for all of the spelling and grammatical errors and corrected them, and that you have organized your work into coherent paragraphs.
  • Submit via the Dropbox as an ATTACHMENT. Any work that is submitted directly into the box will be graded as a 0.

Point Value: 100

Grading Criteria:

  • Analysis and discussion (60%)
  • Support for discussion (30%)
  • Organization (10%)

Reminder: All written work must comply with standard English rules, such as proper capitalization, grammar, and spelling. The assignment must be submitted by the deadline listed in the calendar.

Note: Even though you will see a statement giving you the option of copy/paste or file attachment, please disregard this statement. You are required to attach the assignment in MS Word format.

OR 

 

WRITING ASSIGNMENT 3A: The New Deal and Minorities

Roosevelt called his program to reform the nation’s economy during the Great Depression the New Deal. Not only did it bring about major reforms, and introduce tougher regulation of big business, it also set a precedent for greatly expanded federal government involvement in the economy and society. Some of the programs that were initiated had a lasting impact while others were struck down by the Supreme Court. Just as the depression impacted people differently, so did the reforms that were passed during the New Deal.

INSTRUCTIONS:

In order to prepare you must complete the following readings:

  • Review and identify relevant sections of Chapters 23, 24, and 25.
  • Transcript of Roosevelt’s 1936 radio address discussing the New Deal
  • Utilize at least one of the linked sources provided in this assignment to support your discussion.
  • Identify and incorporate at least one additional outside source to support your discussion. In addition to the textbook, you may use any material outside of the textbook that is recommended in the Additional Reading section at the end of each chapter. You are also encouraged to do your own research and identify relevant sources. Please keep in mind that WIKIPEDIA is not an acceptable reference.

Additional Sources

PREPARE AND SUBMIT:

Write a well-organized essay, a minimum of 700 words (but not limited to), including supporting details from the documents/textbook/other sources, in which you analyze and discuss the material that has been assigned by addressing the following question:

Analyze and discuss how women, blacks, Hispanics, and Native Americans, were impacted by the Depression and New Deal. As part of your analysis and discussion, you must address the long-term legacies of the New Deal and major historical assessments that have been made of it, and if you agree or disagree with these assessments.

Reminders

  • Use Microsoft WORD to write the essays. The acceptable submission file types are .doc, .docx, and .rtf.
  • Prepare the assignment as a Word Document, double-spaced, and using a standard font of 12 points.
  • Paragraphs in an essay are not numbered. Any questions that are associated with an assigned reading are there to serve as a guide for your discussion.
  • Your discussion should incorporate all of the information from the documents and or textbook, and outside sources as one essay.
  • Students are required to research and incorporate into their discussions additional sources that relate to the content. Recommendations can be found at the end of the textbook chapter in Additional Reading.
  • All statements must be supported and all sources must be identified and cited, and included in your reference list. This also applies to the textbook. Failure to do so constitutes Plagiarism, and the college has strict policies and penalties for failure to comply. Under the Resources, you will find links to sites that review how to format a paper or essay. I recommend that students use APA or Chicago Style to format their essay. Students should ask their instructor which format style they prefer you to use.
  • Proofread your work. Make sure that you have looked for all of the spelling and grammatical errors and corrected them, and that you have organized your work into coherent paragraphs.
  • Submit via the Dropbox as an ATTACHMENT. Any work that is submitted directly into the box will be graded as a 0.

Point Value: 100

Grading Criteria:

  • Analysis and discussion (60%)
  • Support for discussion (30%)
  • Organization (10%)

Reminder: All written work must comply with standard English rules, such as proper capitalization, grammar, and spelling. The assignment must be submitted by the deadline listed on the calendar.

Note: Even though you will see a statement giving you the option of copy/paste or file attachment, please disregard this statement. You are required to attach the assignment in MS Word format.

economy ‘consumerism’

During the late 19th and early 20th century the United States witnessed an explosion in industry and production.  More production, meant more goods being produced, which, in turn, meant more products being available to the American public. It also fueled a reliance on wages and money. Industrialization created thousands of new urban (at that time) jobs to create these consumer goods. These new goods needed to be marketed and sold, so urban Americans became much more reliant on currency instead of trade. We call this new economy ‘consumerism’ and it has been a staple of the industrialized world for nearly 150 years.

Think about how our economy works today. If you have a job, why do you work? To make money. Why do you need money? To buy the things you need and want. Why do companies want your money? To make the things we we want and need so they can produce more. So, we work to make money, give that money to businesses to make more products, who market and sell their products, so we will buy the products, so they can make more products, so we work more to make more money… and on and on. That is the consumer economy (consumerism). Consumerism was substantially augmented (increased) by industrialization during the Gilded Age and the early 20th century. The reasons are simple: factories make more products than the traditional hand-made industries of the 18th and early 19th centuries. If you make more products, you have to sell more products, etc.

Consumerism led to enormous changes in transportation (moving materials to produce and sell), communication (you need to know what to produce and sell), education (you need an educated workforce), innovation (there is a constant demand for better products), advertising (you need to market your goods), and daily-life (people want and need newer, better ‘stuff’, plus entertainment).

This is a rather simplistic summary of how industrialization and consumerism relate to each other. For this discussion, I want you to take one major change or new product that came about during the late 19th and early 20th century (1877 – 1920) and discuss it. Limit your response to the above paragraph. You may choose transportation, communication, education, innovation, advertising, or daily-life. Explain how it relates to industrialization and consumerism historically. Then, explain how your choice may or may not affect our lives today. You may be general or specific here. In other words, you may choose transportation as a category and explain it overall OR you may be more specific by discussing, say, the automobile in particular (please don’t all choose the automobile…).

Just to clarify, your initial response needs to go over the history of your choice and its current or modern effects. There is no min-max length, but I imagine most good responses will be 2-4 paragraphs in length. I don’t want you to write a novel, but neither do I want you to be vague. Also, if you use any historical facts (and you should!) please cite where you got the information. A simple parentheses and short citation will work, e.g. (Give Me Liberty, pg. 681)

After posting an initial response you must reply back to another post. The reply for this first discussion is simple: find a post that mentions something different from your own and add to it. In other words do not just write, ‘I agree’ or ‘I did not think of that.’ Instead add something to either/both the historic changes and the modern effects.

The point breakdown will be:

35 points max for the initial response

15 points max for the reply

Grade breakdown:

A: 45-50 – well-reasoned and explained response and reply

B: 40-44 – decent response and reply, but needed more argument or fact

C: 35-39 – completed the assignment but only a satisfactory response and/or reply

D: 30-34 – simplistic or irrelevant information; little argument or fact

F: 0-29 – you know why you got this

Chinese American non-fiction narratives.

Chinese American non-fiction narratives.

  1. Please go over today’s materials (three pdf documents in this email attachment) on 322Part9189-210
  2. Prepare a critical essay based on the readings of the four pieces of non-fiction writings in the Class Reader:
    In Kingston’s “No Name Woman” and “Grandfather of the Sierra Nevada Mountains,” What is Kingston views on Chinese family culture and Chinese American history in building the Transcontinental Railroad?
  3. Paper Due day:  May 5 (Wednesday)

A Traveler Describes Life Along the Erie Canal, 1829

A Traveler Describes Life Along the Erie Canal, 1829

Roughly half of your  Discussion grade (40 points) comes from making an original thread post of at least 300-words. This post should feature your answer to the question(s). It should include at least a thesis statement, and two or three relevant pieces of evidence from the primary source documents to support to support your argument.

 

You should also cite the documents in your discussion posts (simple in-text citations are fine). I recommend using quotes from the documents as evidecen to help support your point/argument.

For this discussion you need to read: “A Traveler Describes Life Along the Erie Canal, 1829” and  “James Madison Asks Congress to Support Internal Improvements, 1815” in the  American Yawp Reader. Then in your main post you should analyze the two primary source documents by connecting the description of life along the Erie Canal with James Madison’s call for internal improvements. Be sure to discuss how these two documents help you understand how the real the lived experience of historical people during the 1820s related to political policies and technological developments. You will likely want to refer to other topics you have read about in class — such as the Industrial, Market, and Transportation Revolutions as well as debates over the commercial and agricultural futures of America. Finally, it may be worthwhile to contemplate what other primary sources or information you think would help you better understand this period of U.S. history.

David Gutiérrez, “The ‘New Normal’?

ARTICLE: David Gutiérrez, “The ‘New Normal’? Reflecting on the Shifting Politics of the Immigration Debate,” International Labor and Working-Class History, Fall 2010

In this article Gutiérrez writes about what policy makers in Washington fail to see (most likely because they are blinded in their discussions about things like family reunification, what to do about “illegal” immigration, DACA, and things of that nature). The real issue, writes Gutiérrez, is “the ongoing destructive trend of the hyper-exploitation of all workers in an increasingly integrated global economy, regardless of citizenship of specific workers – and therefore, also, the erosion of the institution of citizenship as a source of political power and guarantor of rights” (121).

On the first page of the article, Gutiérrez writes that discussions about things like expulsion of “illegal” immigrants and who gets to be a citizen (“paths to citizenship”) obscures the underlying issue of “capitalist economic development.”  He expands on his argument about capitalist economic development when he writes that “the driving dynamic in today’s political economy is the constant pressure on American employers to find sources of labor from which they can wring profits at a rate comparable to foreign employers”(120). Which foreign employers does he mean? And what does he mean in his last sentence in the paragraph — “In this world a worker is a worker however you dress her up.” – and what is the only logical conclusion?

How Trump Radicalized ICE

ARTICLE: Franklin Foer, “How Trump Radicalized ICE,” The Atlantic, September 2018

Remember, these are reading/discussion questions. I am not asking you to answer each question as though it is a quiz. Rather, I want to see evidence that you have not only READ this article before class, but thought about the article and its implications.

This article is about ICE during the Trump administration. Recall the New Yorker Radio Hour podcast that we listened to several weeks ago. The reporter said that dismantling Trump’s immigration policies at the border will not be easy. What did the judge say to the mother who fled Honduras with her daughters (after her husband had been murdered and her eldest daughter had been raped by local authorities in Honduras). We know from reading Rosas (Monday) that the CPB is responsible for enforcing immigration laws at the border; while ICE is responsible for enforcing laws in the interior of the country. Even though some cities are Sanctuary Cities, ICE operatives are still roaming the streets spreading fear among the immigrant residents.

Foer writes about a Mauritanian refugee community in Ohio. How did the people who created this community end up in Ohio? How does Foer describe them and their community? Why didn’t they become citizens? What changed for them after 2016?

In 2016 Trump railed against the “deep state” when he was campaigning for president. What is the deep state and how was it relevant to his deportation policies?

Why did ICE, a segment of the deep state, support Trump in 2016?

ICE relies heavily on private contractors. What, according to Foer, is the problem with this?

Foer describes ICE as a “shot-gun marriage” between two branches of immigration services that don’t get along with each other. What are those two branches and why don’t they get along?

Foer follows an undocumented immigrant named Ismael into his regularly scheduled appointment with ICE. What does he discover? What does Ismael’s experience tell us about the culture of ICE?

Remember, these are reading/discussion questions. I am not asking you to answer each question as though it is a quiz. Rather, I want to see evidence that you have not only READ this article before class, but thought about the article and its implications.

David A. Gerber, American Immigration

BOOK: David A. Gerber, American Immigration: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford U Press, 2011)

CHAPTER 6 TO END ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS

 

Gerber begins by discussion a highly-influential book by political scientist Samuel P. Huntington that came out in 2004. What was Huntington’s concern, according to Gerber? What does his concern have to do with assimilation and anxieties about “perceived unwillingness of immigrants to become Americans?” Who is Gerber talking about? Who is anxious?

Huntington’s pessimism, according to Gerber, rests on a mistaken assumption about American history. What is that assumption? Why is it wrong? How does the history that we have studied in this class undermine Huntington’s assumption? Think of the immigrants in the 1840s and the Chinese workers who built the transcontinental railroad; as well as those who were working in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in 1911 when it burst into flames? There are many more examples as well. How do these three examples prove Huntington’s thesis wrong? What kinds of contributions have these immigrants made to the growth and wealth of the United States?

If Huntington’s prognosis from the political Right is faulty, what does Gerber say about immigration analysists on the Left? To what extent is their pessimism based on faulty assumptions?

Please write NO MORE THAN ONE PAGE

Jose Antonio Vargas, Dear America: Notes of an Undocumented Citizen 

Jose Antonio Vargas, Dear America: Notes of an Undocumented Citizen

Book: Jose Antonio Vargas, Dear America: Notes of an Undocumented Citizen (Harper Collins, 2018)

For Monday, please read at least to page 114.

For the first half, instead of giving you specific reading questions to think – and write – about, I have included some themes that run throughout the narrative. These are themes for you to consider and write about in this Thread. Come up with some questions you want to ask while reading the Vargas book. If you think of additional themes, you should add them.

Homelessness

“Race”

Race and Nation and Ethnicity

Fake

Education/popular culture/perspective

Family

Master Narratives

Historical Research Paper

Historical Research Paper

Instructions

  • Your final historical research paper should include an introduction with a clear thesis statement, at least five paragraphs (probably more) that address topics that support your claims, and a strong conclusion that summarizes your argument. Attach your final bibliography (not annotated) at the end and include a cover page (in all formats) with your name, date, and the title of the paper. The title should be more than the topic and should give the reader a sense of what the paper is about. Some examples:
    • Paul Revere: Statesman and Craftsman
    • The Salem Witch Trials: Fear and Superstition on the Frontier
    • The Frontier: A Meeting of Cultures and Ambitions
  • Make sure each paragraph contains at least one quote or other supporting evidence from your research, and that you use all your sources – primary and secondary (including the scholarly journal article). Primary sources do provide the best evidence, and a variety of sources provide event better evidence than a reliance on one or two sources. Always extrapolate quotations. Follow quotes with your own analysis or comments and explain how that evidence supports your argument.
  • Quotations should be no more than two or three lines long. People tend to skip over longer quotes. All quotes must be cited as appropriate for the format you have selected – in-text citations for APA and MLA, or Notes for Chicago Style. Remember quotations also require a page number if available in all the formats. Even though quotations are important as support, the majority of your paper (roughly 85%) should by your own words of analysis.
  • You may use illustrations or photographs as sources, but these should not be included in the body of the paper. If you decide that you must include these images, they should be attached as appendices and those pages do not count toward your page length or word count.
  • The body of your paper should be 5 – 7 pages in length, double spaced, not including the cover page, or the bibliography. This is roughly 1250 – 1750 words.
  • Incorporate feedback provided by your instructor and peers on your rough draft, thesis statement and outline, bibliography, and research topic proposal. This is all important, and while you are not required to incorporate every bit of feedback provided to you, you need to consider it all and make a conscious determination as to whether to follow the advice or not. Don’t just consider grammatical and mechanic feedback, which are lower order revisions. Incorporate higher order revisions such as idea development and content suggestions as well.

(ATTACHED IS FILES FROM PREVIOUS GRADED ASSIGNMENTS WITH FEEDBACK FROM THE TEACHER – **MUST BE REVIEWED, LOOKED AT, AND FOLLOWED)

Freedom and Reconstruction

2.  Freedom and Reconstruction

In Unit I, we read about and discussed many antebellum (pre-civil war) stories, essays, and documents, primarily focused on slavery and the struggle to abolish slavery and free all African Americans. And, in 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation abolished slavery. With Unit II, we have begun to look at the stories, essays, and documents of post slavery and reconstruction after the Civil War. Then, in 1865 The Thirteenth Amendment proclaimed that “(n)either slavery nor involuntary servitude…shall exist within the United States….” In 1868, The Fourteenth Amendment proclaimed that “(a)ll persons born or naturalized in in the United States…are citizens of the United States…” and that “(n)o State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall nay State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”  In 1870, The Fifteenth Amendment proclaimed that “(t)he right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” And so ended the slavery and inequality of the previous 200 years, right? Not so, according to the many selections written from 1865 to 1919.

In at least 300-350 words, discuss what was seen as the continuing need to address abolition, even after abolition of slavery and emancipation had been made law. Name at least 3 issues that led many people to declare that slavery was not ended. Make well-developed, cited reference to at least 3 different authors. Also, what extraordinary struggle faced black women?

Remember that each time you make reference to ideas in the text, you must identify the author and the page on which that idea is stated. Also, when making reference be sure to present complete thoughts and ideas from the texts and to make clear links between what you’re saying and what the text is saying.