UMUC HIST461 2019 February Full Course Latest

HIST 461 6380 African American History 1865 to the Present
Week 1 Discussion
Racism and Slavery- The History of African American History
This week we are going to study racism and slavery and some of the history of African American history.  As you may realize, slavery has existed since the beginning of humankind. In the case of the United States, both came here with the earliest settlers and took a firm foothold.
1. Discuss how slavery came from Europe and became firmly embedded in the United States with the first colonists and how this led to its general acceptance.
2.  How is Vincent Harding’s perspective on African-American history different from the perspective of Carter Woodson and Mary McLeod Bethune.
 
HIST 461 6380 African American History 1865 to the Present
Week 2 Discussion
Emancipation and Reconstruction
At the end of the Civil War, the issues that most white Americans had with slaves and slavery in general did not just fade away because the North had won the War. There were those who thought that the former slaves deserved the same rights as other Americans, while others thought that just because slavery had ended that did not make the former slaves equal to whites.
While Reconstruction made it possible for some black people to partake in the political system and establish schools and churches, many lacked land on which to subsist and the Freedman’s Bureau was of little assistance. Despite the passage of the 15th Amendment and the Civil Rights Act of 1875, the Black Codes, Klu Klux Klan and the general attitude of many whites made life very difficult for the former slaves.
1. Discuss the successes and failures of reconstruction and whether you believe that overall it assisted Blacks in their search for real freedom.
 
HIST 461 6380 African American History 1865 to the Present
Week 3 Discussion
Segregation and Accomodation
After 1877, white southerners regained control of the South. Using violence and intimidation, they systematically stripped the blacks of many of the rights they should have had. Blacks were disenfranchised despite the 15th Amendment. Jim Crow laws were passed that regulated every aspect of their lives. Lynching and violence became a fact of every day life.
Yet, despite all of this, there was some progress made. Booker T. Washington and his Tuskegee Institute believed that if black people acquired skills in manual labor, they could advance themselves. However, others like W.E.B. Dubois disagreed and believed in intellectual growth to confront racial problems. Other institutions, most especially churches, are still vitally important to the black community today. They gave solace and filled a very important spiritual need.
Answer both questions below. Each response must be a minimum of 200 words.
1. Discuss what life was like for black southerners during this time period using the information above as your guideline.
2.  Discuss the difference between the ideas of Washington and DuBois. Address specifically their differences in backgrounds and methods.
 
HIST 461 6380 African American History 1865 to the Present
Week 4 Discussion
From Plantation to Ghetto
The period from the 1890s until the mid 1920s was marked by very significant events in the African American community. From the disagreement between Booker T Washington and W.E.B. Dubois concerning education, to the founding of the NAACP and the Urban League, World War I, race riots the Great Migration, the growth of the KKK and the Pan Africanism of Marcus Garvey and others, black lives changed little although there were some very positive developments. Perhaps the most interesting and significant event was the Harlem Renaissance which brought great black talents to the fore.
1. Choose two of these developments and discuss its importance to the black community and their struggle for equal rights. Each of the events must be a minimum of 200 words.
 
HIST 461 6380 African American History 1865 to the Present
Week 5 Discussion
The Great Depression and World War II
Surely two of the most significant events in American history took place between 1932 and 1945; the Great Depression and World War II. While almost all Americans suffered terribly, black Americans suffered more due to their circumstances. Despite the fact that the New Deal brought some relief, blacks were discriminated against as they had always been.
Black participation in World War II was unparalleled. Once they became part of the military, which took some time, they fought aggressively and courageously in most of the military encounters in the both the European and Pacific theaters of the War. This and other actions would eventually lead to the desegregation of the Armed Forces.
Answer both questions below. Each response must be a minimum of 200 words.
1. Discuss how the New Deal both assisted and discriminated against blacks and the effects that this had on them.
2. Discuss black participation in World War II and the challenges blacks faced home and abroad.
 
HIST 461 6380 African American History 1865 to the Present
Week 6 Discussion
The Civil Rights Cycle
Once World War II was over, the nation had to face both international and national issues of pressing importance. The beginnings of the Cold War created a climate that was both hostile and hospitable to what would become the continuing civil rights movement. The movement would continue along the path it had started, yet at the same time pave the way for a “more varied, vibrant, and successful challenge to racism.”* (Hine, Hine, and Harrold, The African American Odyssey, Vol. II, Page 560).
Answer both questions below. Each response must be a minimum of 200 words.
1. Discuss in depth some of the more important aspects of the Civil Rights movement, including their ideologies, objectives and tactics during this time and the importance of some of the major players in it.
2. How did the assassination of President Kennedy and the ascension of President Johnson to the presidency play an important role in the civil rights movement?
 
HIST 461 6380 African American History 1865 to the Present
Week 7 Discussion
Black Power, Cultural Nationalism and White Backlash
The intervention of the federal government effectively ended the “legal underpinnings of segregation and discrimination and set in motion events that would irrevocably transform the political and social status of African Americans”*(Hine, Hine, and Harrold, The African American Odyssey, Vol. II, Page 598). Despite massive resistance by many of the Southern states, including the use of state sponsored violence, the federal government intervened at crucial moments provoked in part by non-violent confrontational strategies pursued by civil rights leaders and covered widely by the national media. At the same time, new leaders were arising in the movement with much less patience and different strategies than the traditional movement. They were in fact much more confrontational.
1. Discuss the “black power” movement including its ideologies, objectives and tactics as well as its leaders. How did they differ from the previous leadership of the civil rights movement?
Here are several well done videos on the Black Panthers
 
HIST 461 6380 African American History 1865 to the Present
Week 8 Discussion
Dawn of the New Millennium and the Election of Barack Obama
3.  The final Research paper is due by the end of the day on March 10, 2019!  NO LATE PAPERS WILL BE ACCEPTED!
The period from the 1980s on saw great gains in black political power, but inequality, particularly income inequality, remains great as does the overall sub-standard situation of many African Americans. Racism is frowned upon, but unfortunately is still a part of American life. There is a rising black middle class (many of whom were financially devastated by the Great Recession), while at the same time an increasing number of young black children have no fathers or are being raised by grandparents. Almost one third of young black men are incarcerated. Something is radically wrong with this picture.
Many Americans had hoped that the election of our nations’ first black President, and with him the appointment of high federal officials, would help the situation, but that does not seem to have been the case.
This question is to be answered with no fewer than three (3) outside resources.
1. Discuss your thoughts on the issues mentioned above as well as any others that you believe to be important. What steps do you think need to be taken to solve the racial problems, including those that are financial in nature, that appear to be imbedded in our society?
 
 
HIST 461 6380 African American History 1865 to the Present
Week 3 Thesis Statement
 Working Analytical Thesis Statement
With the approval of their instructor, students will select a topic relevant to the course title and material.  Then the student will perform preliminary research and create a working thesis, with the understanding that it may be modified later in the research process.  The thesis statement should be a minimum of 200 words and have footnotes.  Here is a web site that will be of help to you.
Selecting a topic. Visit this Website, http://polaris.umuc.edu/ewc/ChooseTopic/ChooseTopic.html, for guidance on how to select a research topic.
Developing a thesis statement. This is the main idea or central theme that you are developing, and the body of the paper should be designed to support your thesis. Therefore, the thesis should be stated at the outset of the paper, in your introduction. For example, “Should Abraham Lincoln be regarded as ‘the Great Emancipator’?” Here you provide evidence in support of this idea, as well as information to the contrary. Then you would weigh the merits of one versus the other and draw a conclusion. In the conclusion, you could take sides or decline to do so by indicating that both viewpoints have merit and why you believe that to be the case.
 
HIST 461 6380 African American History 1865 to the Present
Week 5 Annotated Bibliography
Historians base their writing of history on a variety of sources, many of which fall under the label of documents. Primary documents include official records, letters, diaries, newspaper articles, photos, posters, cartoons, music, and visual art. Historians also utilize materials to write history from secondary sources, such as books, articles, and Web sites about historical topics.
Identifying primary and secondary sources. Primary sources would be the words and deeds of Lincoln himself, and those of his contemporaries—like Frederick Douglass—while secondary sources would be what have been written about Lincoln based upon primary sources. The foundation of the paper must be primary sources, with secondary sources being used to present and/or support the thesis based on the work of other scholars.
Students will write a multi-page annotated bibliography.  This assignment will list and describe a minimum of 12 primary and secondary sources, with specific requirements detailed below, that the student may use in his or her finished paper.  You may NOT use encyclopedias or the text books as sources.  AT LEAST HALF OF YOUR SOURCES SHOULD BE USED IN YOUR PAPER!  THIS IS MANDATORY TO GET A PASSING GRADE!
The annotated bibliography should involve a variety of primary and secondary sources, including two full-length books from reputable academic presses, two primary sources, and articles from at least two scholarly, academic journals; it should not include encyclopedias, dictionaries, or non-professional websites.  Each annotation should include a full, properly-formatted Chicago citation and one to two complete paragraphs explaining the basic argument the work makes and the type of evidence used to prove the thesis.  If it is not acceptable, you will be allowed to rewrite it.  Here are 2 web sites that will be of help to you.  BE CERTAIN TO FOLLOW ALL OF THESE INSTRUCTIONS TO THE LETTER IN ORDER TO GET A PASSING GRADE!
 
HIST 461 6380 African American History 1865 to the Present
Week 7 Abstract
Students will compose an abstract of 2 double spaced full pages that sums up the main ideas and arguments he or she will be making in the final paper.  The abstract must be concise and well-structured, with sufficient detail to demonstrate that the thesis and arguments will be valid.  The Abstract must have sources and footnotes.
 
HIST 461 6380 African American History 1865 to the Present
Week 8 Final Paper
The final paper should be 8-10 double-spaced pages in length, exclusive of title page, abstract, should you wish to include it, and any end note and bibliography pages. It should be composed in Microsoft Word with one-inch margins on all sides, 10 or 12 pitch, Times New Roman font. Check the Course Schedule for the due date.
The finished paper will use both primary and secondary sources to demonstrate the plausibility of a clearly-stated, analytical thesis.  It will be carefully structured, composed, and proofread, with all required components included in the correct order.  Please use footnotes and not end notes in your citations.
Thesis Statement. Your paper will start with the thesis statement and introduction which should be a well-developed paragraph.
Body of the Paper. The finished paper will use both primary and secondary sources to increase the plausibility of the clearly stated, analytical thesis. It will be carefully structured, composed, and proofread, with all required components included in the correct order.   You need a minimum of 7 sources to be eligible for a grade of C; 10 sources to be eligible for an A.  Note the specific requirements for primary and secondary sources.
 
Conclusion. The end of the paper should indicate what conclusion you have come to after having researched and written about the subject. It should also demonstrate how or why you have arrived at a particular conclusion.
Bibliography. The works—both primary and secondary—that are used in your paper should all be listed in your bibliography.