us historyFor this assignment take in ALL of the material and time-periods we have looked at in our course. See the Big Picture — and its a truly BIG picture! For this assignment you will be finding Three Newspaper Articles from Three Different Periods in U.S. History that deal with Three Items of Interest that interest you. (read that again) We will define an “item of interest” as a person group event place or organization. For each item that you choose from the material covered in our course — I strongly suggest that you start this assignment by choosing three items that interest you and that correspond to the three time periods noted above. Follow what interests you. As you research your articles on these three items that correspond to the three periods above please find three articles that focus on each your chosen items — one article per item. The total number of articles you will analyze for this assignment is THREE. Again an “item” is a theme event or person that catches your interest and inspires research. Be sure that you choose ONE item of interest for each of the THREE time periods noted above. Thats important. Remember this assignment requires that you take in the Big Picture of our course and the history weve covered in it. For each item youve chosen research one newspaper article that significantly discusses it. It must significantly deal with it. HINT: As you explore trying using different search terms if little comes up using different spellings different search terms. At its best research is problem-solving. For instance look for an ‘advanced search’ option for the database youre using and learn how to work it. Browse your results and if you dont succeed at first keep trying. Research is a key part of this assignment not a secondary matter. Persistence is essential in all research and sets the good researcher apart from his peers. Part of what I will be grading for in this assignment is your research skills. After youve chosen your three newspaper articles on three items that correspond to the three time-periods noted above read each article — each primary source — carefully and then answer the following questions for each article.Answer these questions FOR EACH OF YOUR THREE ARTICLES. This is the heart of this assignment. Defining America and Americans / National Identity What does it mean to be an ‘American’? Are there distinctly American values — and if so what are they? Are Americans bound by these values? How do Americans differ from other peoples and how are they similar to them? Is there the myth of America and a reality? Rights (What is owed to you? What are your obligations as a citizen?) What is a ‘right’? Whose rights? According to whom? And what happens when rights collide? Whose rights come first — and why? Equality Equality for all? Legal equality? Racial equality? Equality of opportunities? (and by the way are we all born with equal capacities to reason and think and communicate?) Race / Ethnicity What is a race (define it)? Are all races equal in the U.S.? How have racial differences been exploited? By whom? Why? Is the history of the color line (i.e. race) the history of the U.S.? Progress / Decline What does progress look like? Progress for whom? For some? For all? Measured by what standard? City vs. Country Is there a cultural divide between urban and rural America? What is the relationship between the two? Are they unalterably opposed? Why or why not? Multiculturalism / Diversity Are all cultures equally valuable? According to whom? And why? Is Cultural Appropriation a good bad or inevitable process? Why or why not? What is diversity and is it always a good or bad feature of the U.S.? Immigration / Citizenship Do immigrants have rights in the U.S.? When and how far? Who is a citizen and what “rights” does that confer on them? Religion / Secularism What does “freedom of worship” mean? What can the state do or not do in regulating religion and religious worship? Is belief in god an American value? Can a person be an American and not be Christian? How far? And where? Patriachy / Sexism Do women have the same rights as men in the U.S.? Think of the LGBT. How has discrimination based on a person’s sex sexual orientation or gender shaped U.S. history? (Is the “Me Too” movement about sex rights power or all three?) The Community v. the Individual When do communal rights outrank the rights of individuals? And vice versa? Do we succeed or fail because of our efforts and choices or because of the “system” and long-term structural realities? The Proper Role of the U.S. Government / The Proper Role of the Citizen What IS the proper role of government? What does the Government owe its citizens and what does its citizens owe their government? For instance can it force you to health insurance? U.S. Exceptionalism Is the U.S. exceptional in the world? If so in what way? If not why the claim of exceptionalism? The Proper Role of the U.S. in the World What is the proper role of the U.S. in the World? As a city on a hill? Should it promote American values abroad? How far? When do those values contradict the interests of the U.S.? – or is that possible? Technology What has been the impact of technology on the U.S. and its history? Is technology generally good or bad? Why or why not? Do we control IT or does IT control U.S.? Democracy What does democracy mean in the U.S.? According to whom? What promotes democracy? What hinders it? Freedom (see “Rights” above) How do Americans define ‘Freedom’? Whose freedom? Under what conditions is democracy possible? When does “your freedom” violate “my rights”? Environment / Climate Who owns the water minerals and other natural resources of the U.S.? For always? And shared by all equally — or just some? According to what right or rule? “This is your land; this is my land” — but is it? Capitalism What is it? Has it made the U.S. great? At what cost? To whose profit? Is there a better system? If so what is it? Cult of the Celebrity What function do celebrities serve in U.S. culture? We live in the midst of an information revolution. You have at your fingertips the most powerful and comprehensive information repository in the history of mankind. Below are three free newspaper database websites that allow you to search for newspaper articles over several centuries. Each has a different interface and all have strengths and weaknesses. Ill leave it to you to find out what these are. This “figuring out” how databases work is a part of the challenge of doing good research: finding the best sources. Do not be limited by the three newspaper datebases below. But they offer you a solid start: Google News Archive Search https://news.google.com/newspapers#M Library of Congress – Chronicling America https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/ Elephind.com https://www.elephind.com/ USE THOSE LINKS TO FIND THE ARTICLES