Did the American war on Communism at home and overseas, and the many civil rights movements expand or limit freedoms, at home and abroad?

Learning Goal: I’m working on a history writing question and need an explanation and answer to help me learn.

Write a 750-word response to the following prompt:

since 1945, the United States has been described as “the leader of the free world” during the Cold War as it fought AND WON the ideological/economic/military battle against Communism. In an essay of at least 750 words, tell me if you think this statement is true and why? You will need to use at least three separate examples from 1945 to 1992 from our many Textbook Readings and Lectures, which you should all be very familiar with by this point.

Based on evidence drawn from international events (Korean War, Vietnam War, build-up of nuclear weapons, establishment of NATO, Cuban Missile Crisis, among others) or from domestic events (Civil Rights movement, treatment of women, homosexuals, and immigrants, McCarthyism, anti-war protests, among others) … was the United States the leader of the free world? Or did the many denials of freedom at home and abroad make that a false claim?

Did the American war on Communism at home and overseas, and the many civil rights movements expand or limit freedoms, at home and abroad? Which groups saw an expansion of freedom during the Cold War, 1945-1992? Which groups saw limitations placed on their freedom?

In formulating your answer, choose three different individuals/groups that we have discussed during the Cold War. Explain how each of them experienced freedom in the post-1945 U.S. How did the foreign policy imperatives of the Cold War and its aftermath affect notions of freedom for each group? You should also compare these contrasting views of freedom. Were their experiences similar or different? Did the Civil Rights movement detract from America’s war on Communism?

Instructions:

LATE PAPERS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED !!! This is a Final Exam.

Be as specific as possible in your examples and answers, and be sure to use the assigned readings to defend your answer and arguments.
Essays that do not meet the minimum word requirement of 750 words will lose a letter grade before grading begins.
Your answer must quote and cite at least three different documents from the required readings from this class.(attached doc) IMPORTANT NOTE: When getting an exact quote from one of the Documents, use the EXACT PAGE NUMBER or two of where you found that quote. Give me the quote, but keep that quote to three lines or less, then give me the exact page number after the quote in parentheses like this (567) or (567-568). Do not give me the Document number, or the year the document was published, or the entire page range of the document – Just the exact page or two of where you found your quote. You can do the same thing with one of the lectures by just putting a short reference of which lecture you are citing as a source like this (Birth of the Cold War) or (JFK and LBJ) or (The Reagan Revolution).
Your answer will be checked for plagiarism using Turn-It-In.
Your answer should be based on material covered in class lectures and in the assigned reading for this course. DO NOT CONSULT OTHER SOURCES. I do not want to know what Google tells you about this topic. All the information you need to answer this question can be found in the assigned reading and in your class notes.

SOME TIPS ON FORMATTING AND LENGTH:

750 words is not much! It’s about three double spaced pages (1” margins, 12 point font).
Be brief, especially in your introductory paragraph. Get right to your argument, don’t waste words describing everything we’ve covered in the course. There’s no need to make sweeping statements like “Since the beginning of U.S. history….”
The prompt asks several different (but closely related) questions. You do not need to answer each and every one of them, but you should try to address most of them (at least in passing) in your essay.
Suggested format:
- 75 words: Introductory paragraph that ends with a clear thesis statement (that is, your argument and your answer to the question asked in the prompt).
- 200 words: body paragraph 1, which should contain your first example and a quotation from your first document.
- 200 words: body paragraph 2, which should contain your second example and a quotation from your second document. A transition paragraph between paragraphs should address the similarities/differences between your first and second example.
- 200 words: body paragraph 3, which should contain your third example and a quotation from your third document. A transition paragraph between paragraphs should address the similarities/differences between this example and your first two examples.
- 75 words: a concluding paragraph that compares your three examples and reiterates (not word-for-word!) your thesis from the introduction.
You MUST introduce and contextualize your quotes. We’ve read dozens of documents this term. You must tell your reader what document you’re quoting.
- GOOD: Southern African Americans had their own definition of freedom. “We claim freedom as our natural right,” black residents of Nashville stated in a petition, “and ask that in harmony and co-operation with the nation at large, you should cut up the roots the system of slavery.” As these petitioners noted, the work of freedom remained incomplete, even after emancipation.
- BAD: Southern African Americans had their own definition of freedom. “We claim freedom as our natural right, and ask that in harmony and co-operation with the nation at large, you should cut up the roots the system of slavery.”
  The second example is extraordinarily confusing for your reader. Who are you quoting? Are these your words? Introduce your quotes, and then explain them in your own words.

You should also try to avoid extended quotations. In almost all circumstances, you shouldn’t be quoting more than one or two sentences at a time. When you’re trying to quote a longer passage, intersperse your own words as necessary. When I see paragraph-length citations I start to worry that you’re just trying to fill up space…

Historians use Chicago Manual of Style, Humanities format. Use footnotes, not parenthetical/in-text citations.

CITE THE DOCUMENTS FROM ERIC FONER’S VOICES OF FREEDOM AS FOLLOWS:

Elizabeth Cady Stanton, “Home Life,” in Eric Foner, ed. Voices of Freedom, Vol. 2, 6th Edition (New York: W.W. Norton, 2020), 14-17.

(You should replace Stanton’s name, the document title, and the page number with the appropriate information from the document you are quoting).
You do not need to cite my video lectures. Consider these to be common knowledge shared by the class.

SUBMISSION DETAILS:

Submit your document as a Microsoft Word file – or a similar word processing file. Do not convert the file to a PDF.
I will warn you again … NO LATE PAPERS WILL BE ACCEPTED.
Please include a word count on your paper.

Answer preview for Did the American war on Communism at home and overseas, and the many civil rights movements expand or limit freedoms, at home and abroad?

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