CHA 3U1 – Grade 11 University Preparation American History:
Argumentative Research Term Paper (10%) Assignment Description
You will be required to complete an
extensive Research Based
Argumentative Essay that you will
have close to THE ENTIRE
SEMESTER to complete. As part of
your essay, you will be required to
complete a Process Package in order
to ensure that you remain on track
over the course of the writing process
before handing in the final product at
the end of the semester. Your final
essay will be expected to be in the
neighbourhood of 6-8 pages of
written text, complete with references
and in-text citations to your research.
Essays that fail to provide ANY
references will receive a mark of zero in the appropriate sections (see Final Essay Evaluation Rubric).
REMEMBER, the aim of your essay is to provide an opinion on a subject and be able to support that
opinion with facts from your research. You are NOT being asked to merely provide a narrative of
past events or to write a biography on an American personality or historical figure! Students will be
required to select a topic from one of the options provided and complete ALL aspects of the Process
Package including a Teacher-Student Conference (Please review individual evaluation rubrics for each
stage of the Process Package).
Selecting your Research Topic
Go through each of the topics and conduct some preliminary research regarding the issue which is of most
interest to you. Be sure to select something that you are interested in or want to know about so that you
can ensure that your research is meaningful and purposeful. Only one student per topic, so be sure to
select your topic as soon as possible in order to avoid disappointment!
The Process Package
Throughout the semester, you will have to complete several components before the final writing of your
essay. Over the course of the term, you will be responsible for completing the following parts of the
writing process. Detailed descriptions of each section along with All due dates and the Evaluation Rubrics
with the criteria you will be graded on for each section are readily available on the class website:
TERM ESSAY TOPIC SELECTION and THESIS PROPOSAL
Use the template provided to explain which topic you have selected. Do some preliminary research on
your topic and explain why you chose this particular subject. Come up with a potential thesis for your
essay. Be sure to select a topic that you are interested in!
ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY
You will be responsible for conducting intensive, in-depth research before beginning the writing process
of your term essay. List the sources you consulted using proper APA format and provide a brief
explanation of how each of those sources will be utilized in the writing of your final product.
ROUGH NOTES, ESSAY SKELETON AND TEACHER-STUDENT CONFERENCE
Use your research from the sources you collected to create rough notes to write your essay. Use the Essay
Skeleton Template provided to organize your thoughts and to create an outline of what you plan to discuss
in the body of your essay. Be sure to bring both your Rough Notes and your completed Essay Skeleton to
your Teacher-Student Conference and make certain that you are prepared to discuss the direction of your
essay with your teacher.
ROUGH DRAFT AND PEER EDITING
At this stage, your rough draft complete with in-text citations, should be complete. Bring it in to class on
the scheduled date in order to have it peer evaluated by your classmates.
FINAL ESSAY
Complete your final draft by using the following guidelines…
Expectations for your Final Essay:
- 6-8 pages of text (not including title page or your bibliography/Works Cited page)
- Essay must be word processed (hand written essays will not be accepted)
- Double-spaced.
- APA format
- Size 12 size font using only Times New Roman, Arial or Verdana
- 1 inch margins.
- All pages numbered in top right hand corner of page.
- Works Cited page provided at the end of the essay with ALL sources used and referenced
throughout body of essay listed in alphabetical order.
- You must include a Title Page at the beginning of your essay that follows APA format guidelines. It
must include a header on the top left hand side of the page that includes the title of your essay.
Also, your name, date, course code, and teacher’s name should be centred on the page.
ESSAY TOPICS – American History
A. AMERICAN INVOLVEMENT IN WORLD WAR II (1941-1945)
1.
Hiroshima and Nagasaki - Was the decision to use the bomb on these two cities an action to save
American lives or a decision that had other motives behind it?
2.
“The problem with Nuremburg was that it repeated the age-old principle of the victors trying the
vanquished.” Should the Allies have also been on trial at Nuremburg for considered neglect of
Jewish lives?
3.
To what extent was the impact of World War II responsible for “liberating” American women?
4.
Pearl Harbor was an unprovoked and unjust attack on the United States. Dispute this statement.
5.
Executive Order 9066 – An outrageous form of discrimination or a sensible military strategy?
Japanese Internment in the United States.
B. COLD WAR
6.
Argue for or against the contention that Joseph McCarthy, alone, should assume full responsibility
for House Un-American Activities Committee’s (HUAC’s) excesses.
7.
Assess the American decision to become involved in Vietnam. Was this a genuine attempt to
preserve freedom in South Vietnam or a war of self-interest using Vietnam as a backdrop?
8.
The Bay of Pigs Invasion.
9.
Never before or since the Cuban Missile Crisis has the world been placed on such alert for
potential nuclear disaster. Assess the causes of the Cuban Missile Crisis with a focus/perspective
of Russian and Cuban relations with the United States.
10. Evaluate American policy in regards to communist China. Is this policy more of an example of
pragmatism or a policy that is hypocritical and inconsistent with its goal of destruction of
communism abroad?
11. Why did the Vietnam War divide American society, and with what effect s on the politics of the
1960s and early 1970s?
12. The Rosenbergs – Traitors or Heroes?
13.
Did the United States win the Cold War?
C. THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT
14. “The 1960s: A turning point where history that failed to turn.” Choose an organization, e.g. The
Black Panthers, the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), the Weathermen, the YIPPIES (Youth
International Party Members), etc., and assess this group’s success in effecting change in the
United States.
15. Examine the two approaches to Civil Rights embodied by Malcolm X and Martin Luther King and
evaluate which approach seems to have had a greater impact in the short and long term.
16. “Music and Sports were the most important catalysts in breaking down the colour barrier in the
United States.” Support or refute this statement. (Jackie Robinson, Muhammed Ali, Little Richard)
17. Why was white America so complacent in the 1950s and black America so rebellious?
18. “Martin Luther King Jr. failed to achieve racial equality by offering his hand in friendship, while the
supporters of black power succeeded in persuading many black Americans that they could not
expect white America to willingly grant meaningful equality.” Discuss.
19. “In a very real way, student radicalism in the 1960s said more about the hollowness of American
Life in the 1950s than it did about the real issues of poverty and inequality in 1960s society.
20. The Port Chicago Mutiny – Disloyal action or principled stand?
D. AMERICA AND THE MIDDLE EAST
21. “Americans require an external villain to move them beyond their isolationist tendencies.” Assess
the accuracy of this statement by examining the role of the demon/bogeyman in American
history.” Use of one of the following world figures could be the basis of your investigation:
Noriega, Gadafi, Khomeini, Hussein, Castro, Allende, Ortega, Aidid, Milosevic, Bin Laden.
22. Discuss the impact of OPEC policies and control over oil production in the Middle East on foreign
policies of the United States.
23. Describe the historical roots of the Arab-Israel conflict in the Middle East and comment on
American involvement and interests in this area.
24. Assess the causes of the Persian Gulf War.
25. Analyze American involvement in Middle East Affairs and comment on its importance to the
terrorist attacks against the United States.
E. AMERICA SINCE 1945: SELECTED TOPICS
26. “America’s addiction to obsolescence will be responsible for its environmental demise.”
Determine whether this statement accurately reflects the United States of the post-war period.
27. Construct an argument regarding an issue or event that has significantly altered or impacted the
course of American women’s history since World War II.
28. “The CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) is in danger of destroying the very democracy it has been
mandated to protect.” Support or refute this statement by examining CIA activities in the last fifty
years.
29. Were the self-confident or pessimistic strains in American culture more powerful in the in the
1970s?
30. “The Democratic and Republican parties have stood basically for identical sets of policies since the
1970s”. Discuss.
F. AMERICAN PRESIDENTS SINCE 1941
31. Support or refute the contention of the Warren Commission that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in
the assassination of John Fitzgerald Kennedy.
32. Assess a presidency from Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) to George W. Bush. Determine how
this presidency will be judged by historians.
33. “American cynicism regarding politics has its roots in the Watergate Scandal.” Support or refute
this statement.
34. Assess the effectiveness of John F. Kennedy during his time as President of the United States: Myth
or Reality?
G. AMERICAN CULTURE AND COMMERCIALISM
35. Hollywood goes to War – Do Hollywood movies ultimately pay history a service or a disservice?
36. Choose an American industry and examine and evaluate how this business has impacted American
culture and American history.
37. Examine the accuracy of a filmmaker in interpreting a modern historical issue.
38. Assess the impact that satirists and comedians have had on the American consciousness.
39. Historically analyze the American prison population with this question in mind: Does American
Justice serve the “American Dream”.
40. Choose an American author or artist and evaluate their contribution to American society.
41. A topic of your choice. You require permission from your teacher before
beginning.