Week 10

Week 10

World War II and the Cold War

Monday: Going to War
Wednesday: Mobilizing for War
Friday: From Hot War to Cold War

DISCUSSION SECTIONS: The Bomb and the Origins of the Cold War

READINGS:

1.Martin J. Sherwin, "The Atomic Bomb and the Origins of the Cold War" (1975).
2.Robert L. Messer, "New Evidence on Truman's Decision" (1985).
3.Gar Alperovitz, "More on Atomic Diplomacy (1985).
4.Documents: Roosevelt's Infamy Speech (1941); Executive Order No. 9066; The Yalta Protocol of Proceedings (1945); Harry S. Truman, Announcement of Atomic Bombing (1945); Harry S. Truman, The Truman Doctrine (1947); and Dwight D. Eisenhower, The Eisenhower Doctrine (1957).

ADDITIONAL INTERNET RESOURCES:

1.Women at War: http://www.redstone.army.mil/history/sus_women.html
2.Web Resources on Japanese-American internment: http://www.geocities.com/Athens/8420/main.html
3. Museum of the City of San Francisco, Internment of San Francisco Japanese: http://www.sfmuseum.org/war/evactxt.html

***Second Midterm Due Monday, March 26 at 10:20 am at Lecture***

WEEKLY ASSIGNMENT:

We are going to consider the use of the Atomic bomb in WWII and the origins of the Cold War in section this week. AFTER you complete this week's readings, your written assignment is to write a one-page outline that you could use in a debate on whether America should have used the bomb or not. Your outline should support one position, but be cognizant of arguments on the other side.

SECOND MIDTERM PAPER

Answer ONE of the following questions:

Progressivism has sparked many lively discussions among historians who have long debated every aspect of the movement. Evaluate the impact of Progressivism on early-20th century-America. In your answer you want to address the following questions: How do you define Progressivism? What was most important about the reforms of the early 20th Century? How did Progressivism change America? What was its lasting legacy on how we fought WWI, Immigration Reforms, and responded to the Depression? (Be sure to address the full range of changes and reforms including political, social and cultural. In answering this question, be sure to be specific and give concrete examples from the full range of course materials, including lectures, documents and readings.)
Americans are used to associating ``big government'' with the ``Welfare State'' of the 1960s. In fact, however, from 1896 to 1945, the federal government grew enormously in size and power, and its role in daily life expanded to unprecedented levels. How and why did government change during the first part of the 20th century? In what ways did big government touch the lives of all Americans and prospective Americans (immigrants)? Was ``big government'' inevitable? (If your answer is yes, explain why you think so. If you think not, what alternatives were there to the road we took?) In answering this question be sure to discuss the challenges posed in times of peace AND war. Be sure to support your answer with specific references to course materials (both lectures , documents, and readings).
The lives of ordinary Americans were shaped by tremendous social and cultural changes over the late 19th and early 20th centuries as the nation road the roller-coaster of prosperity, depression and war. Write an essay explaining how American life changed during this period by describing the life stories of three different and distinct individuals (either fictional or real) who lived through this period of time. You must be specific when describing these individuals. Provide them with a clear identity - a name, gender, age, occupation, ethnicity, race and geographical locale (e.g. a Black tenant farmer from the Deep South, an urban woman who later worked in a tank factory, a Republican businessman from a Midwest city, an auto worker from an Italian immigrant family, etc.)
Describe how the lives and consciousness of each of the three was changed between 1896 and 1945, using their story as a window onto how the larger forces that were shaping modern America affected individuals'9 lives. Explain how the experience of each was ``representative'' or ``unusual.'' Be sure to cover the experience of your ``main characters'' during the Progressive Era, the first World War, the Roaring Twenties, the Great Depression, and the Second World War. We are looking for coherent essays that link together the three people in an analytical context. Be sure to support your answer with concrete examples and specific references to course materials.

INSTRUCTIONS:

We expect well-written and typed essays around five pages in length. The paper is due at the beginning of lecture on Monday, March 26. You could write much longer essays on each of these questions so it is important to focus carefully on what is being asked. You MUST support your main points with evidence. BE SPECIFIC and utilize both lecture and reading material throughout your essay. (Additional material beyond course material can only be used as a supplement. You must demonstrate your mastery of the course material.) Refer directly to your sources and use formal footnotes or endnotes. Be sure to distinguish your views and those of the authors and lectures clearly. These essays, like all college essays, should be written for an intelligent but ignorant audience. That means that you must explain your references and examples clearly as if the reader of the essay is unfamiliar with the material that you are writing about.

Good writing is important in these essays. Essays are not just a collection of sentences. How you express your ideas counts. We can only judge how well you understand the material by how well you can express yourself on paper. Your essay should have a clear thesis, a logical structure with good transitions from paragraph to paragraph, and a resounding conclusion. In a history essay what follows what is important since you are usually writing about causation and change over time. Use formal writing avoiding slang and contractions. Spelling and grammatical errors are unacceptable. Whether you write your essays in first person or third is a matter of personal style, but these must be coherent essays with thesis paragraphs and conclusions (even for the third question which gives you more creative leeway.)

You should not work on this with anyone else. The paper you turn in should represent your work and yours alone. You are encouraged to be analytical, creative, and above all independent in your answers.

created: February 10, 2000
last updated: February 28, 2001