US History II Honors Mr. Terry

US Imperialism: Discussion & Writing Assignment

“What should the role of the US be in the World?”

Discussion Assignment:

Preparation: - Frame a thesis that responds to the question - Be prepared with at least 3 primary sources and 1 secondary source to back up your position. You can use the ones provided to you in class, or that you wish to find independently. These sources also do not need to be limited to text-based documents, but should be from legitimate sources.

Contributing to the discussion [see rubric for further clarification]: - Add to the discussion with your own self-developed points - Back up your points with evidence from the texts - Be prepared to listen to the points of your classmates’ and highlight their points by either adding to them or critiquing them - Be respectful of your classmates and be willing to “share the space”!

Writing Assignment:

The writing assignment serves as a natural extension of the discussion assignment. All of the work and preparation you put into the discussion should be simultaneously reflected in your paper. Think of it this way…

- Go into the discussion with a “rough draft” of your paper.

- Allow the discussion to critique or highlight the main points of your paper. Your “final draft” will include what you had for your rough draft, plus recognition of how the classroom discussion either offered a counterclaim to your ideas or helped support them. The final draft should include the 3 primary sources, 1 secondary source, and recognition of points raised during classroom discussion.

- Final paper should be 2-4 pages. US History II Honors Mr. Terry

Resources from Class:  Book: Lies My Teacher Told Me  Reading: Origin of the Idea of Race  American Pageant textbook readings (Chapter 27)  Hawaii: sources used for your and others’ presentations  Revolts in Cuba: speeches/writings from Cleveland and McKinley  “Manifest Destiny Continued”: McKinley on the Philippines  Document packets from Philippines debate  U.S. in the Philippines: political cartoons  Roosevelt’s “Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine”  Panama Canal documentary (PBS)  Notes from class activities  Notes from our class discussion  Your brain   If you do use additional sources, choose your sources wisely. (for example, no 24-hour network news stations are allowed as sources, such as CNN, FOX, MSNBC, etc.)

Basics on Chicago Style:  Margins should be set at 1”.  Typeface should be Times New Roman or Palatino.  Font size should be 12 pt.  Text should be consistently double-spaced.  Page numbers begin in the header of the first page of text with Arabic number 1.  You should have a bibliography page (called “works cited” in MLA) For anyone who wants to get a jumpstart and familiarize themselves with Chicago Style, please visit the Purdue OWL (Online Writing Lab) at https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/717/01/. Tip: if you are typing in a newer version of Microsoft Word, under “Document Elements” you can find “References,” choose Chicago Style when you are ready to cite a resource, and Word will format the parenthetical citation and generate your bibliography. Feel free to play around with and try out this resource!

Words worth sharing: Look at this as assignment as practice developing your individual ability to reason, to draw conclusions from multiple, and at times conflicting, sources, and to articulate your thoughts and opinions in well constructed, educated ways. Take this assignment seriously, but do not stress yourself out over it. This is a work in progress, something that we will be working on throughout the year. Please be aware, however, that expectations will go up as we work through the process and you receive feedback along the way. Show me what you got!