12 Aug Things are sweeter when they’re lost.
Choose one prompt that you want to answer! We want to hear your interpretations, and we want you to support your essays with specific and relevant examples from the readings (including at least one primary source); required film, where relevant; lectures; and section discussions. The trick is to make an argument that includes a thesis and to use your evidence wisely and well. Please be sure to address every issue raised by each prompt! Please limit your answer to 1000-1200 words. You don’t need to use footnotes unless you are citing a source from outside the syllabus. ( Just say, e.g., As Foner says…).
- In 1922, F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote, “Things are sweeter when they’re lost. I know–because once I wanted something and got it. It was the only thing I ever wanted badly…and when I got it turned to dust in my hand.” How do the 1920s reflect this statement? Were the 1920s a time of social, political, and economic advancement and growth? Or a time of limitations, stagnation, and culture wars? Be sure to consider how race, class, and gender affected people’s ability to advance, as well as the positions of Americans at the beginning and the ending of the decade.
- The United States has experienced many economic downturns since the War for Independence. What made the Great Depression historically unique, or “Great?” Does it have to do with the circumstances leading up to the Great Depression, its scale, or the response?Or do you think it was some combination and, if so, explain?Support your answer with primary source evidence. Hint: In order to do well on this question, you must address the circumstances leading up to the Great Depression, its scale (impact on different groups), and the government’s response (in terms of implementing a program of relief, recovery and reform that guaranteed economic security for all Americans), as well as explain to us exactly what made the Great Depression “Great.”
- Eric Foner and other historians argue thatWorld War II laid the groundwork for the modern civil rights movement. At the same time, civil liberties were dramatically suspended during the war in the name of national security. Discuss the competing legacies of World War II for civil liberties and civil rights. What gains and losses did African Americans, Mexican Americans, women, Chinese Americans, and labor experience? How do we reconcile the gains and losses with the treatment of Japanese Americans during the war? Should the war ultimately be remembered as a “Good War” for the American people?
- How did the dropping of the atomic bomb and the tensions of the Cold War shape domestic life, relationships between Americans, and foreign policy between 1945 and 1960? Be sure to consider how Americans lived, the experience of women and minorities, the role of consumer culture, and the impact of the Cold War on civil liberties and civil rights at home, as well as on American actions abroad.
