HIS330: United States Between the Wars

Jacob Lawrence, “Migrants soon learned that segregation was not confined to the South” (1940-1)

 

Paper #2

Due                 Wednesday, October 25th

 

Form               6-8 pages.  Papers must be typed, double-spaced, and have page numbers. 

 

Topic              During the 1920s Race and Ethnicity were at the center of challenges that confronted the United States.  For non-white peoples in the United States the challenge was at least two-fold: (1) how the ensure greater inclusion in the political, economic and social life of the nations, and (2) how to preserve identity within the nation.  These two challenges have, at their center, a question of what defines “community” in a national context.  These issues are complicated in all cases, but the African Americans and Immigrants (and their children) were two groups that experienced particularly intense challenges during this period.

 

                        What were the goals and experiences of “hyphenated Americans” during the 1920s?  What were the conflicts and paradoxes of cultural self-expression and the goal(s) of “integration”?  How was the challenge of inclusion and identity perceived by main stream Americans and “nativist” groups?  To what extent were non-white groups central to the larger debates about the future of American society, economy, and political life? 

 

                        Remember that the 1920s saw a more general interest in individual identity in terms of both “self-expression” and a “retreat into the self.”  The struggle for identity construction in the rapidly changing social experience of the ‘20s was complicated for everyone, and therefore the struggle of hyphenated America was made that much more complicated.

 

                        Use as many sources as possible.  Consider the following: The Jazz Singer, The Breadgivers, readings from presentations on the Harlem Renaissance (including all those assigned) and The American Earthquake, course pack readings relating to Asian, Mexican, and other immigrant groups, readings on the KKK, The Modern Temper, and any other relevant material.

 

Form               Make sure that you have a clear topic-question (which is to say that you must take the above “prompt” and make a more specific question), a clearly stated thesis (something more specific than “hyphenated Americans had a hard time achieving their dual goals,” but includes an explanation), a structured argument, a clear relationship between evidence and your argument, articulated transitions between your points, and a conclusion that does not repeat your introduction. 

 

                        Two petty requirements of this essay: (1) you must have an interesting title, and (2) your thesis statement must include a defining metaphor or analogy.