HIST 131 Essay #1
The late 1800’s to the 1920’s was a transformative time for the United States –
socially, economically and politically. Please choose one specific transformation
and analyze your transformation’s effect on the United States.
Your paper must:
– Be four pages long, about 1,000 words
– Double-spaced, Times New Roman, 12 point font with default margins
– Not waste space (proper heading, indentation, spacing…)
– Cite from at least five chapters from Unit One
– Cite at least five primary sources from Unit One
– Contain no grammatical errors
– Use third person
Inability to follow these guidelines will result in deductions from your essay’s final
grade. You must demonstrate the ability to analyze sources and place them in a
proper historical context. Please refer to the “Grading Rubric” on Cougar Courses
to understand what is expected for this essay to be successful.
If you have any issues about general essay writing, I encourage you to visit the
Writing Center: http://www.csusm.edu/writingcenter/workshops.htm
Essay Outline
Instructions: Please fill out this worksheet in its entirety. Please use complete sentences and specific page numbers when completing this outline.
Please use your own words, do not include direct quotations.
Thesis statement
(Between the late 1800s and early 1900’s, Americans and immigrants transformed America through the use of movement )
Main Topics – Please fill out the basic outline of your essay. You will need two main topics that contain two or three subtopics each. Main Topic 1 – (social/cultural impact of people movingSubtopic 1 – (factory work, urbanization )
Subtopic 2 – (African Americans, moving out of south-> racism, no jobs in the south)
Subtopic 1 – (Native Americans)
Main Topic 2 – (Political/economic impacts of people moving)Subtopic 1 – imperialism)
Subtopic 2 – (western movement for money)
Subtopic 1 – (innovation->railroads
Citations from the Textbook – Please include one specific citation from the chapters covered in the essay unit and how that citation supports your thesis statement or larger historical argument. Do not use the same chapter twice.
(“massive new companies marshaled capital on an unprecedented scale and provided enormous profits that created unheard of fortunes. But it also created millions of low-paid, unskilled, unreliable jobs with long hours and dangerous working conditions.” (page 6)This one works with my topic because it highlights how new jobs were being created, and I can tie into how the creating of crossroads meant that people could move to cites or get to these new jobs )
(“Many were … silent on the plight of African Americans, Native Americans, and other oppressed minority groups (15) This one works because it shows how we were mistreating certain types of people (for this one I’m going to string it towards isolating Native Americans) and how it was normalized. Furthermore I can tie It into other groups such as African Americans.)
(“ When British author Rudyard Kipling visited Chicago in 1889, he describes a city captivated by technology and blinded by greed” (56) This works well for my paper because it shows how the world has been changing and how it seemed to an outsider.)
(Under the leadership of President Theodore Roosevelt, the United States emerged from the nineteenth century with ambitious designs on global power through military might, territorial expansion, and economic influence”(92) this is a good example of imperialism and the U.S spreading its metaphorical wings to fly to new heights.)
(“reform opened new possibilities for women’s activism in American public life and gave new impetus to the long campaign for women’s suffrage” (115) This is an example of life in America changing as women are now being a force in the work force and other aspects of American life”
“ He encourages Mormon residents of the territory to engage in agricultural pursuits and be cautios of the outsiders who arrived as the mining and railroads indusrtries developed in their region” (31)
Citations from the Primary Source Reader – Please include one specific primary source from the chapters covered in the essay unit and how that primary source supports your thesis statement or larger historical argument. Do not use the same primary source twice.
(Lucy Parsons on Women and revolutionary Socialism (1905). I chose this one because it deals with topics that I want to use on my paper as she was a woman who was born into slavery and advocated for change in the world)
(1. Chief Joseph on Indian Affairs (1877, 1879), this one works because it deals with how America was treating Native Americans at this time and how we were forcing them off their land to do with it what we wanted)
(6. Jacob Riis, How the Other Half Lives (1890), deals with concepts such as imperialism and shows how life has changed and how people could reach new highs in the world at that time.)
(3. James D. Phelan, “Why the Chinese Should Be Excluded” (1901), shows one the impacts of people moving into American and how we responded to it. Which is similar to one of my sub topics)
(1. Booker T. Washington & W.E.B. DuBois on Black Progress (1895, 1903), an example of African American life and how it has been changing due to the changes in the world around them)