Case study

Required Resources

Read/review the following resources for this activity:

• Textbook: Chapter 28, 29, 30


• Lesson


• Minimum of 1 primary source


• Minimum of 4 scholarly sources (in addition to the textbook)

Optional Resources to Explore

Feel free to review the library guide for scholarly sources and videos at the following link:

• Link (website): History Library Guide (Links to an external site.)

Introduction

The purposes of each case study assignment include the following:

• To hone your abilities to research using scholarly sources


• To advance critical thinking and writing skills


• To compile a response to the prompts provided


• To explore a historical topic and make connections to change over time

Instructions

Pick one (1) of the following topics. Then, address the corresponding questions/prompts for your selected topic. Use at least one (1) documented example of the corresponding primary source in your writing.

Option 1: McCarthyism and Anti-Communist Campaigns

The Cold War brought about an irrational fear of communism and communist activities in the United States. As we are learning this week, one of the most vocal instigators of this paranoia was Senator Joseph McCarthy. McCarthy delivered a speech about the imminent threat of communism on February 9, 1950. Perform a search on the internet and locate and read Joseph McCarthy's speech given in Wheeling, West Virginia on February 9, 1950. Copy and paste the following keywords into your Google search bar: "Joseph McCarthy, Wheeling, West Virginia." The speech is also referred to as "Enemies from Within."

Construct the case study by responding to the following prompts:

• Explain how Senator Joseph McCarthy defined communist nations within the speech. What specific threats did these nations pose?


• Assess if Senator Joseph McCarthy charges were accurate.


• Analyze anti-communist sentiments during the Cold War era, were these sentiments valid. If so, how? If not, why not?


• Explain if there are other examples of events similar to the Red Scare that have occurred throughout history and modern day.


• Examine what happened to people who invoked the Fifth Amendment, refused to appear or were found in violation of the law as defined by the Congressional Committee.

Option 2: The Civil Rights Movement

Using the Internet, locate and read Martin Luther King Jr's "I Have a Dream" speech given in Washington D.C., August 1963. Copy and paste the following keywords into your Google search bar: "I Have a Dream by Martin Luther King, Jr." Feel free also to locate and incorporate additional scholarly sources to respond to this case study, including information on the Civil Rights Movement.

Construct the case study by responding to the following prompts:

• Explain if the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s effectively changed the nation.


• What effect would the Civil Rights Acts have across the continent on minority groups?


• Do you think that the tactics and strategies that civil rights activists used in the 1960s would apply to today's racial and ethnic conflicts? Why or why not?


• Do the ideas of the 1960s still have relevance today? If so how? If not, why not?


• Analyze how the Civil Rights Movement would impact diversity in America today.

Option 3: American Domestic and Foreign Policies (1953-1991)

Complete a search either in the Chamberlain Library or internet for domestic and foreign polices of four (4) of the following Presidents. Please incorporate at least one primary source of either a policy or act that you have chosen to write about.

• Eisenhower


• Kennedy


• Johnson


• Nixon


• Ford


• Carter


• Reagan

Then, compare domestic and foreign polices of your four (4) presidents by answering the following prompts:

• Explain how your selected presidents worked to improve the United States economically and socially. Give at least one example of each president.


• Assess if the policies of your choice of presidents strengthen or weaken the United States.


• Explain how you see your choice of presidents served the public interest and further the cause of democracy.


• Determine if it is constitutional for the United States to fight preemptive wars.


• Determine if human rights and morality should be the cornerstones of United State foreign policy.

Writing Requirements (APA format) 

• Length: 4-5 pages (not including title page and references page)


• 1-inch margins


• Double spaced


• 12-point Times New Roman font


• Title page


• References page


• In-text citations that correspond with your end reference