Readings:Alexander, The New Jim Crow, Introduction (187-203)Walker, Drugs in the Western Hemisphere, Pt. 6 Intro and Ch. 46 (195-7; 229-249)Reading Questions:1. According to Michelle Alexander, how has the War on Drugs served to create a new racialized caste system in the United States? What role does the U.S. criminal justice system play in upholding this system?2. According to William Walker, how did narco-diplomacy promote U.S. hegemony over the Andean nations of Bolivia, Peru, and Colombia in the 1980s? What domestic challenges led the leaders of the Andean nations to accept U.S. aid and intervention? What strategies did they pursue in the 1990s to break free from U.S. hegemony?Note: "Hegemony" is basically a fancy academic word for "power." However, in contrast to the term "domination," hegemony operates by garnering consent among those over whom power is wielded. In other words, hegemony requires the participation of the subordinate group (in this case leading members of Andean nation states) in their own subordination, even if that participation is half-hearted or resentful. Hegemony is often maintained either by ideology (adherence to the moral authority of the hegemonic power) or by affording certain compensating advantages (recognition on the part of the subordinate group that rejecting the authority of the dominant group would entail greater pains than accepting it).

week 4,) How well do art, theater, and Disney communicate history? While the scenes painted may be inspiring and patriotic, do they need to also be historically accurate? Reflect on such contemporary pieces as the play Hamilton and the painting of Washington crossing the Delaware by Emanuel Leutze and explain the advantages or disadvantages of such portrayals. Emanuel Leutze | Washington Crossing the Delaware | American | The Metropolitan Museum of Art (metmuseum.org)===================================================================================wk 5,) =======================================================Industrialization began a slow but steady process of changing American society. What were the major changes, good and bad, for society? Who did industrialization help or hurt? How did Industrialization shape the middle class and its values? What were middle class values and how did they differ from others?===============================================================================w=================wk6===================================John O'Sullivan coined the phrase "Manifest Destiny" in 1845. What did he mean by the phrase and is there any difference between then and now in how historians apply the term? Did the term have an effect on settlers traveling to the West? What were the motivations and/or philosophy of settlers in the westward expansion?=================================================================================================wk 7,)Religion has played a major role in American society since 1619. Consider the Second Great Awakening and transcendentalism; in what ways did they reflect antebellum society's concerns? What was the Second Great Awakening's influence on abolition, women's status, and the poor?===============================================================================================wk8) The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments are often referred to the as the "Civil War Amendments." Explain the connections between the Civil War and these three amendments. What is the purpose of each? Consider how effectively each amendment was implemented and whether or not the 1877 presidential election influenced their implementation.