The United States 1954-74

interpretations and specific and relevant evidence drawn from the readings and film clips. The trick is to make an argument that includes a thesis in your introduction and to support your argument with evidence.Please be bold and creative and be sure to address every issue raised by the “prompts”!
Feel free to inject your own politics into your answer, but be as fair as you can be, and support your opinions and interpretations with evidence from the course. For example, you might think that the Weather Underground was engaged in domestic terrorism or you might believe it was nobly trying to bring the United States back to its senses. In either case, we want you to acknowledge opposing viewpoints, and indicate why you come out as you do.

Prompt 1
Your brilliant and beloved cousin, Walt, has invented a time machine that will enable him to travel to the past. Walt grew up in LA. He is 17, white, and from an upper middle-class family that is not affiliated with any religion. “The sixties” and politics have always fascinated Walt, but he doesn’t know much about either. When his mother tells him she has heard that you have just finished a course focused on the period, Walt seeks advice from you, his favorite, older cousin.He helpfully brings with him timelines for 1968, 1969, 1970, and 1971. (See links for timelines at end of first prompt, and be sure to just include one sources from each link). Walt knows he wants to touch down in 1968, 1969, 1970 or 1971, and the time machine will allow him to pick his month and year. He asks you WHEN he should land. (Walt may or may not take your advice, but he wants to hear WHY you have chosen the month and year you have selected). He ALSO asks you a number of questions about WHAT he should do and WHY he should do it when he lands, and you need to answer ALL of them for him to make informed decisions!

If he lands in 1968,
Should he demonstrate in support of Chicano students protesting unequal conditions in the East LA schools? (White students did not do so in 1968, but Walt comes from the multicultural future!)
Should he work for the Kennedy, McCarthy, Humphrey, Wallace or Nixon campaigns?
Should he join those demonstrating outside the Democratic National Convention?

If he lands in 1969,
Should he join the Weathermen/Weather Underground?
Should he participate in the largest anti-war demonstration ever in Washington on November 15, 1969?
Should he try to get into Judge Hoffman’s courtroom to watch the Chicago 8 trial?

If he lands in 1970,
Should he attend fundraisers for the Black Panthers? (such fundraisings did occur: see Sam Tanenhaus, “Remembering those Radical Chic Evenings,” http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/03/16/remembering-those-radical-chic-evenings/)
Should he burn down Isla Vista’s Bank of America?
Should he demonstrate against the Kent State shootings and Cambodia “incursion”?

If he lands in 1971,
Should he join “the Plumbers?”
Should he try to get a job on Kissinger’s staff?
Should he call himself a feminist?

Walt will only reach a decision after you give him a talk that answers all his questions and, in the process of doing that, explains the relevant accomplishments of ALL the many different organizations, movements and individuals he is considering. Write the talk. Don’t think of trying to talk with Walt without having watched ALL the clips and done all the reading first and thinking about how you would briefly sum up the period between 1968 and 1972. That summing up should go into the talk, along with your answers to all of Walt’s questions. Feel free to inject your own politics in the talk as well.

Walt values your opinion and will listen to you and take you seriously, whether, for example, you tell him that the Weather Underground is engaged in the noblest of causes or domestic terrorism. You can certainly tell Walt not to join any of these groups/individuals/movements, but recall that Walt loves politics, and he is a joiner. He’s also not afraid of going to prison for a worthy cause. There is no right answer to this essay!

Walt’s Timelines
http://the1968exhibit.org/1968-timeline/desktop
http://www.fsmitha.com/time/1968.htm
http://www.fsmitha.com/time/1969.htm
http://www.fsmitha.com/time/1970.htm
http://www.fsmitha.com/time/1971.htm

Prompt 2
Pretend that you have just finished a course that dealt with political, cultural, social, and economic development of the United States from 1900 to the present: 1960-present. Imagine that your cousin Walt’s time machine carries you, with your head full of knowledge, back into the United States of “the sixties,” 1954-1974, and you can vote as a Democrat or Republican in the Presidential elections of 1956, 1960, 1964, 1968 and 1972. Unlike real voters, you know how things turn out! Do you vote on each occasion; how do you vote, if you do; and why? There is no downside to aligning yourself with a loser. You should support whomever you believe is the better choice. Given the domination of politics by the Democrats and Republicans, people often hold their noses and vote for the lesser of two evils or boycott elections altogether. You can do that in any election, or you can embrace your candidate, but explain why you are behaving as you do. To answer this question successfully, you must have done the reading, seen the relevant film clips, and discuss who was running and what the candidates stood for, insofar as they stood for anything; indicate Presidential accomplishments and failures with respect to foreign and domestic policy; evaluate, where relevant, why voters at the time should have been satisfied and dissatisfied with the Presidential records; and indicate why you come out as you do. Feel free to inject your own politics into your answer, but be as fair as you can be. If, for example, you believe that Goldwater represented a better choice than LBJ in 1964, make the best case you can for LBJ before showing why Goldwater pointed the way to a better future. There is no right answer to this essay, but note that since you can only vote Democrat or Republican, you can’t vote for Wallace in 1968.

PLACE THIS ORDER OR A SIMILAR ORDER WITH US TODAY AND GET AN AMAZING DISCOUNT 🙂