HIST 2110 Survey of United States HistorySpring 2022
Online
Series Finale
Instead of doing the more traditional style of timed final
examination, this assignment will allow you a chance to think
creatively through what you have learned this semester. The
objective of this assignment is to synthesize knowledge you have
already acquired, to see connections across time periods and to
think about primary and secondary sources in an applied way. I
have called this the “Series Finale,” because in some ways, like
a television show, we are at the culmination of an epic drama
that covered the time span of American history in 7 episodes, or
modules.
For this assignment, I want you to imagine that it is the year
2024. It is presidential election season and a presidential
candidate has asked you to produce a brief document
summarizing what you think they should know about American
history to be an effective president.
You will choose five primary sources and two secondary
sources (list on page 2) that you think give the president a good
sense of who the American people are, the unique nature of U.S.
politics, what major crises they have faced, and how both
oppression and the quest for freedom have been an integral part
of the American experience. You should aim for a selection of
sources that covers the long time span of American history and
covers several themes. For instance, perhaps you think the
president should know about how abolitionists fought to create a
more equal society. You might select the Angelina Grimke
speech as a primary source and the “History in Brief: Fighting to
End Slavery” as a secondary source, and then explain why you
think the president should know about abolitionists. The
textbook can be one of your secondary sources, but you should
pick out a specific section that you think your presidential
candidate should read. The directions you can take this
assignment are practically endless. The list of the sources
assigned in this class can be found below, in order of when they
were assigned.
Papers should be approximately 800-900 words (roughly 3
double-spaced pages). You must turn in the Series Finale Paper
by Thursday, April 21 at 11:59 PM. I will be holding a live
session online on Wednesday evening where you can get your
questions about the assignment answered, and a few more ideas
about how to tackle the assignment. I’ll announce the time in
iCollege and have a link in the Final paper folder.
You must submit your paper on iCollege in the dropbox of the
module folder. Do not e-mail it to me. Microsoft Word or PDF
will be the only formats accepted I will be running a
plagiarism check, so be sure that you are turning in your own,
original work.
Source List20:23
gastate.view.usg.edu
You must submit your paper on iCollege in the dropbox of the
module folder. Do not e-mail it to me. Microsoft Word or PDF
will be the only formats accepted I will be running a
plagiarism check, so be sure that you are turning in your own,
original work.
Source List
*Bold indicates primary source, others are the secondary
sources.
U.S. History textbook
A Historian’s Take on the Columbian Exchange
History in Brief: “The Birth of Racial Slavery”
History in Brief: “A Republic, If You Can Keep It”
“Would You Have Been a Federalist or Anti-
Federalist Papers No. 51
Anti-Federalist Essay of “Philadelphiensis”
History in Brief: Justifying Slavery
History in Brief: Fighting to End Slavery
Bennett Barrow, Plantation Rules
Angelina Grimke Speech
Pro-slavery Argument from a Virginia
History in Brief: “Reconstruction Amendments”
Declaration of Secession: Georgia
Abraham Lincoln, “Emancipation
“South Carolina’s Forgotten Black Political
Slavery by Another Name
History in Brief: The Wild 1920s
Matthew Willis, “When Forced Sterilization
Stone Mountain and the Rebirth of the KKK
Claude McKay, “If We Must Die”
Langston Hughes, “Let America Be America
Ma Raine, “Jealous-Hearted Blues”
Duke Ellington, “East St. Louis Toodle-Oo”
Poetry Foundation, “An Introduction to the
Renaissance”
Martin Luther King Interview 1967
Ronald Reagan, Inaugural Address”
Federalist?”
Newspaper
Proclamation”
Jerry Falwell, “Listen America”
AIDS Crisis in the 1980s
“Greed is Good”
History in Brief: The Conservative Resurgence
1970s and 1980s
“9/11 to Now: Ways We Have Changed”
Revolution”
was Legal”
Rudy Vallee, “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime”
History in Brief: Prosperity and Protest
Franklin Roosevelt, “Fireside Chat”
“Duck and Cover”
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka
“An Appeal for Human Rights”
King, “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”
Again”
Harlem
of theAssignment Rubric
Goal
Content and Evidence
Analysis/Critical Thinking
Organization/Integration of
Sources
Mechanics
Style
Description
This is the most important goal! Paper is
supported by relevant evidence from the
iCollege documents, lectures, textbook,
and other course material. You should
only use course material, and not outside
resources without prior permission.
The paper demonstrates that you have
thought critically about the assignment
questions and have considered all aspects
of the question. Provides well-reasoned and
historically informed examples that support
your points.
Paper is organized in a logical manner by
introducing your point of view and
integrating sources in a manner that helps
illuminate your perspective.
The paper is proofread, free of grammatical
errors, answers all parts of the question,
and meets the length requirements. Your
paper includes citations for sources that
you have used.
Paper considers the style of writing
demanded by the paper options (i.e.,
letter, diary entry, etc. in this case, it
should resemble a communication to
the presidential candidate.
Mark