Homework: Post-Civil War America Description
How would you describe America after the Civil War?
Earlier in the course, you developed a lesson plan to describe early and mid-Nineteenth Century America using primary sources. You used synthesis to create an argument on the Confederate monuments, Now you use synthesis of primary sources to describe America after the Civil War and into the early twentieth century. Some of the sources are artistic: poetry, drama, literature, photography. We can use the arts to understand a time period.
Directions
Select THREE different primary sources below. Just as with the lesson plan homework, four of the choices have multiple items within them: there are several Angel Island poems, several Hines photographs, and two extracts each from Sinclair's novel and Zangwill's play. You can pick any of these but your other two sources must be from different categories. For example, you can discuss one Angel Island poem, one Hines photograph, and one excerpt from Sinclair or Zangwill. You should pick diverse sources to better explain the whole time period. Several of the sources are introduced by an editor. The introduction can help you understand the source, but you need to focus on the actual primary source, not the editor's introduction. Any quotations must be from the primary source, not the editor's introduction
a. Go through each of your three sources and identify key points to support your description of Post-Civil War America. Think about how they can combine to describe the time period.
b. Organize your paper by topic, not by source. Use the matrix format we learned about in the Nevada Constitution homework or another outline format. You should have at least three topics and each of your three sources should support what you say for at least two of the topics.
c. Write the synthesis paper, describing America after the Civil War. You are submitting only the synthesis paper.
Format your homework according to the give formatting requirements:
a. The answer must be double spaced, typed, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides.
b. The response also includes a cover page containing the title of the homework, the course title, the student's name, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required page length.
c. Also include a reference page. The references and Citations should follow APA format. The reference page is not included in the required page length.