Category: History

in America: From Plessy v. Ferguson to the Civil Rights Acts

Posted on | by Kelvin

The Civil Rights Act (1964), the Voting Rights Act (1965), and the Fair Housing Act (1968)

Briefly describe how Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) impacted civil rights and liberties in the United States among minority groups. What did the social fabricate look like?
Contrast the social forces that rose in opposition to combat legal segregation. Who were some of the main leaders, and what did they advocate?
Differentiate the main arguments of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 from the Voting Rights Act (1965) and Fair Housing Act (1968).
Analyze how the Civil Rights Act of 1964 affected and improved conditions for minority groups within American society.
Assess significant milestones achieved to span Civil Rights to make America inclusive and uphold diversity.

 

 

The Role of Slavery in the Outbreak of the Civil War

Posted on | by Kelvin

 

You may refer to the textbook, primary source documents in the textbook, and lecture notes when composing your answer. Parenthetical citations (e.g.: (American Horizons, p.32)) will be fine. If you reference works from outside the class, please provide full citations.

Be sure to frame your response as an argument. You should have a thesis and should support your interpretation with evidence. Answer one of the following questions in no more than 5 pages. Your essay should be double-spaced with 12 pt font and 1 margins. Preferably you should save the file you upload to Moodle as a Microsoft Word document (.doc). If you do not have Word, please save the file in rich text format (.rtf). ** A paper that does not cite primary sources from Moodle cannot receive a grade higher than a “C.”

Slavery caused the Civil War. Defend or reject that statement. If you agree, explain what role slavery played in the sectional conflict that led to the Civil War. How did northerners and southerners view the institution and how did those views drive them to blows in 1861?
If you disagree, explain what did cause the Civil War. What forces or events in American life (other than slavery) drove people to divide and make war? war?

 

Reflection on Hammurabi’s Code: A Contemporary Analysis

Posted on | by Kelvin

 

Although there are numerous attributes one could argue’ are necessary to creating a “civilization; having some form of representative written language seems to be a common and arguably essential aspect. Written language allows for the codification of thought. By doing so, it creates a singular, objective, and shared experience of the world. There becomes an official “right” and “wrong” which can be enforced over large and diverse areas and is (arguably) not open to interpretation; In the ancient world, this stabilization of thought solidified power and perpetuated ideas in a permanent format.
In our exploration of Hammurabi’s 282 laws, we can detect the values of Babylonian culture under the rule of Hammurabi. We get a sense of what was important to the various empires of Mesopotamia by discovering what they were compelled to protect through “official” written laws that were applicable and enforced throughout the growing Babylonian Empire.
For our Reflection this week, take some time to digest Hammurabi’s code and then analyze it with an eye towards our own contemporary view of government and written law. After reading through the code, select two laws you believe are still relevant today, and possibly even still enforced in some fashion. What is the spirit of these laws? What do they protect and what do they teach us about the Babylonians? What was important to them? What did the Babylonians value?
Do not focus on the punishment for breaking each law, as it was often death. Instead focus your attention on what was being protected: Family? Property? Personal freedom? the Environment? Pets?
Required Quotations / Citations: You must cite Hammurabi’s code primary source ( PDF posted in Canvas)

Response to Elvis Presley’s Popular Songs

Posted on | by Kelvin

 

1. After reading the primary source, “,” post a 150-200-word response indicating the extent to which the document supports the following statement: What was Elvis Presley’s most popular songs?

“Following the Civil War, newly emancipated freedmen believed that freedom, above all, meant paid jobs and political equality with whites.”

2. Read both sources, “,” and “.” Then post a 200-250-word answer to the following question:

What does the sharecropping contract reflect about the realities of freedom for former enslaved people, and how does that compare to what those former enslaved people wanted from freedom?