Description
Note: Before beginning this assignment, read through information contained in the Scholastic Honesty link in the course menu to the left.
The core assignment of this course is a documented research paper (1500-2000 words in length = approx. 6-8 pages double-spaced, 12-point font).
- The paper should support a thesis statement with information gained from research or investigation.
- The paper will not be just a report presenting information but will be a paper that carefully examines and presents your own historical interpretation of the topic you have chosen and your interpretation of the information you have gathered.
- The paper may include consideration of problems and solutions, define key terms, or refute arguments against your thesis statement.
It will be important to choose a topic of interest to you.
- Approach this assignment with an open and skeptical mind, then form an opinion based on what you have discovered.
- You must suspend belief while you are investigating and let the discoveries shape your opinion. (This is a thesis-finding approach.)
- Once you have found your thesis, write the paper to support it.
You will use some of the following critical thinking skills in this process:
- Choosing an appropriate topic, limiting the topic
- Gathering information, summarizing sources
- Analyzing and evaluating sources
- Defining key terms
- Synthesizing information, comparing and contrasting sources
- Testing a thesis, making a historical argument, using refutation
- Amassing support for a position
- Documenting sources
Because this may be a longer paper than you have written before and a complex process is involved, it is recommended that you complete this paper using the following steps:
- Choose a topic related to U.S. History after 1877 (Chapters 16-28) that you would truly like to explore and that you are willing to spend some time on. Your chosen topic should be focused. Pose a question that you really want to answer. You may want to begin with more than one topic in mind.
- Do some preliminary reading on the topic(s). You may begin with the textbook, then further explore the information available. Refine your topic. Summarize your topic, your interest in the topic, the questions you want to answer, and a hypothesis you want to test.
- Gather information from a variety of sources. Use a minimum of four sources for your paper, and at least one must be a primary source.
- Examples of primary sources are ones that are used in our discussion forums 2-8.
- They are sources that are contemporary to the times under investigation.
- An example of a secondary source is our textbook, though the textbook also contains excerpts of primary sources, which you may use as a source in your paper.
- Outline the results of your research and the plan for your paper (you are not required to submit the outline).
- Write the final draft and be sure to include a Works Cited List, and use the correct MLA documentation style.
Grade Rubric
INTRODUCTION & THESIS: Includes a clear thesis statement, an assertion or position. The topic is original and manageable in a short research paper. /15
FOCUS AND DEVELOPMENT: Body of the essay focuses on this thesis and develops it fully, recognizing the complexity of issues and refuting arguments in opposition to the thesis. /20
SUPPORT AND SYNTHESIS: Uses sufficient and relevant evidence to support the thesis (and primary points), including facts, inferences, and judgments. Quotes, summarizes, and paraphrases accurately and effectively--appropriately introducing and explaining each quote. /25
RESOURCES: Shows a clear understanding of the sources; has evaluated each source and used it appropriately. Uses a wide variety of sources reflecting significant research. /10
CONVENTIONS: Uses MLA format correctly; includes internal citations and a Works Cited list; is free of errors. /15
CORRECTNESS AND STYLE: Introduces the topic in an interesting way; shows critical thinking and depth of understanding; uses appropriate tone; shows sophistication in language usage and sentence structure. /
Explanation & Answer
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Why did the US enter World War II?
Introduction
World War II is the single biggest human conflict to have ever taken place in the world.
50 million military personnel and civilians died as a result of war that spanned across six
continents and was fought on all oceans in the world. The United States was critical to ending the
war and bringing back normalcy to the world. However, the United States had remained neutral
following the events of World War I and had adopted isolationist policies that prevented the
president from sending troops abroad. However, a series of events prompted the United States to
eventually join the conflict. Though the United States had opted to remain neutral in such affairs,
actions by other countries like Germany and Japan and increased tensions meant that the US did
not have a choice but join the war.
Background
Although the war began on September 1939 following Nazi Germany’s attack on Poland,
the United States did not join the war until December 1941 after Japanese air force bombed an
American fleet in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. World War II remains to be the biggest human conflict
to have ever occurred and ravaged across six continents. At least 50 million people died during
the war. During the period that United States stayed out of the conflict, President Roosevelt
prepared Americans for conflict as he regarded it to be inevitable. In 1939, he persuaded the
Congress to repeal the neutrality law and sell weapons to France and Britain. However, France
fell in 1940 to which there was a push to support Britain which stood on its own against the Axis
powers. A lot of factors played a role in the push to join the war and support American allies.
America would later on play a key role in ending the conflict and a push to return to normalcy
and peace which remain to date.
Attack on Pearl Harbor
Attack on Pearl Harbor by Japanese bombers was just but the final straw that finally saw
America enter the war. The United States had been running an oil embargo against Japan with
the help of Britain and the Dutch. Japan was advancing towards China and also...