Goal:
 Analyze and evaluate a historical time period/event using multiple sources
 Create a PowerPoint presentation based on your analysis
 Present your findings to the class in an engaging, 40-60 minute presentation
Required elements:
 Marked up copy of article to prove you read the entire thing (one per member)


PowerPoint presentation sent to teacher 24 hours prior to presentation
In-text Citations and Works Cited (failure to Cite information will result in NO CREDIT)
Research: (25 points)
 Marked up copy of the article to prove it was read in its entirety
– awarded individually (5 pts)
 In-text Citations and Footnotes on slides to show sources used
(see back of sheet for explanation) (10 pts)
 Works Cited with all sources used (at least five); sources are credible and “AP worthy” (10 pts)
Presentation: (45 points)
Content:
Delivery:
 Group members share responsibilities for speaking equally
 Members speak with good volume, eye contact, delivery speed
(not too fast!), and enthusiasm
 Information is well organized and clear; transitions smooth
 All members demonstrate depth of knowledge (minimal use of notecards/reading off slides)
 Presentation is long enough to deliver content (40-60 minutes)
Creativity & Activities:
 Variety of activities used throughout the presentation to include the class in the learning process and engage students
 Discussion/Activities well managed and involve all students
 Activities promote high-level thinking skills and analysis
PowerPoint:
 Good balance of words and images (not too many words)
 Fonts are easy to read; backgrounds/pictures enhance analysis
 Slides are well organized and visually pleasing, contributing to the overall analysis of topic and engagement of students
 PowerPoint is turned in early to the teacher (5 pts)
(80 points)
Understanding:
 All members show full understanding of the assigned
 article/topic; each member can explain and elaborate if asked
Includes substantial outside information
Analysis/Argument:
 Group goes beyond mere recitation of facts to analyze the meaning of the evidence
 At the beginning of the presentation group includes 1) the question(s) analyzed during this presentation and 2) a preview slide showing how they will organize their information
Engages the audience in thinking about/analyzing the evidence  and how to use it in a FRQ/DBQ
Historiography:
 Presentation includes thoughtful analysis of how historians have viewed this topic
Total
Project:
/25 pts
/10 pts
/20 pts
/15 pts
/30 pts
/40 pts
/10 pts
/150 pts

Topic:
1. Was the Civil
War
Inevitable?
1
2. Freedmen:
View from the
Bottom Rail 2
Date: Short Description of topic:
Mon
11/28
Thurs
12/1
This presentation will explore the causes of the Civil War and whether or not any of them could have been dealt with in a way other than war (ex. slavery, economic & cultural differences between North and South, role of radicals, states’ rights). (Note:
Reading asks “Repressible or Irrepressible?”)
This article tries to recreate a sense of what life was like for slaves, but also discussion the historian’s struggles with reconstructing the past. Who can we trust to learn about everyday life under slavery? Slaveowners? Travelers to the South? Slave narratives?
Former slaves interviewed in the 1930s? Sources are a problem when trying to see history from the “bottom up.” How are oral histories valuable as well as problematic?
Questions this project will answer:
 What caused the Civil War?
 Was the Civil War inevitable?
 Historiography: How have historians’ views regarding the causes of the
Civil War changed? Why?
 What was life like for African
Americans under slavery?
 Historiography: How do historians reconstruct the past given the bias and inaccuracy of sources? How have views regarding slavery changed? Why?
3. Was
Reconstruction a Success?
3
(2 articles)
Mon
12/5
Reconstruction was at its most basic an attempt to put the nation back together after the Civil War. Depending on whom you talk to it was a time of great corruption and abuse for the South, a time of great change and progress, or an “unfinished revolution” that accomplished little. To what extent is each true?
4. The American
Businessman:
Industrial
Statesman or
Robber Baron?
4
(2 articles)
5. Jacob Riis &
“Truth” in
Photography 2
6. U.S.
Imperialism:
Altruism or
Aggression?
4
(2 articles)
8. Were the
1920s an Era of
Rebellion?
3
Tues
12/13
Mon
12/19
Thurs
1/5
7. Was the
Progressive
Movement Elitist or Democratic?
(2 articles)
5
Wed
1/11
Wed
1/18
During the Gilded Age (1870-1900) the U.S. economy developed rapidly into the most powerful in the world. But this development caused the creation of extremes of wealth and poverty in our nation. Tracing these two narratives, two new kinds of history evolved: business history (looking at the economic and cultural contributions of business leaders) and labor history (focusing on the plight of workers in often unsafe, abusive conditions). Whose story of the Gilded Age is better supported by the evidence?
Jacob Riis was a pioneering photojournalist who wanted to bring the reality of the New York slums to those who would never otherwise see them. But to what degree are his shots “truth?”
How accurately do the images capture the lives of the urban poor?
What value can pictures of various types (such as family photographs) be for historians?
During the late 19 th century American began to acquire foreign territories on the European model: the Philippines, Guam, Hawaii,
Puerto Rico, etc. Were our motivations to acquire these territories primarily economic and aggressive, or altruistic and idealistic? Did we seek territories for resources and as a market for US goods, or to share our democracy, capitalism, and “superior” culture? Were we “helping” and what were our motivations?
In response to the excesses of big business in the late 19 th century many Progressives sought to use government as a tool to “clean up” society, businesses, and even the government itself. Was this movement made up of regular people challenging the elites? Or was it about placing power in the hands of professional bureaucrats at the expense of lower and middle classes?
(Remember Ms M’s reform lecture and social control?) How were voter turnout and democratic participation impacted?
The twenties are known as a fun time of flappers, speakeasies, and jazz. Were these social developments signs of true rebellion or merely window dressing for a time more motivated by materialism and economic? To what extent were social norms changing, or were conservative, traditional values more dominant?
 Was Reconstruction a success?
 What impact did Reconstruction have on various parts of the country?
 Historiography: How have historians’ views on Reconstruction changed?
Why?
 Were the leading businessmen of the gilded age more “Captains of
Industry” or “Robber Barons”?
 Whose version of this age, business or labor historians, does a better job of telling the story?
 Historiography: How have historians’ views on the Gilded Age changed?
Why?
 What can we learn from Jacob Riis’s photography?
 Historiography: How can photographs be manipulated to present a “truth”? Given this, how useful are photographs for historians?
 Was US Imperialism of the late 19 th century primarily motivated by a desire for economic expansion
(greed) or for altruistic purposes?
 Historiography: How have historians’ views on U.S. imperialism changed?
Why?
 Was the Progressive Movement primarily elitist or democratic?
 What reforms were attempted?
Why? How successful were they?
 Historiography: How have historians viewed Progressivism? How have the views changed? Why?
 Were the 20s an era of social and cultural rebellion?
 Historiography: How have historians’ views on the 1920s changed? Why?
1 Couvares, Francis G., et al. Interpretations of American History: Patterns & Perspectives, 7 th Edition .
New York: Free Press, 2000.
2 Davidson, James W., and Mark H. Lytle. After the Fact: the Art of Historical Detection, 6 th Edition . New
York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 2010.
3 Madaras, Larry, and James M. SoRelle. Taking Sides.
New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 1997.
4 Grob, Gerald N., and George A. Billias. Interpretations of American History: Patterns and Perspective ,
Vol. II, Since 1865. New York: Free Press, 1967.
5 Couvares, Francis G., et al. Interpretations of American History: Patterns and Perspectives , 8 th Edition.
Boston, MA: Bedford/Martin’s, 2009.