Discussion

Purpose: 

For this assignment, you must select one theme, event, or concept from this lesson's lectures or articles (NOT the textbook readings and NOT the Crash Course history videos).  You will then compare your selection to an ongoing social, political, cultural, or economic issue in the United States today, explaining how events and phenomena from the past influence or shape the present.  Whereas the quizzes are designed to test your empirical knowledge of U.S. history, this discussion post is designed to evaluate your ability to make broader, analytical connections from the past to contemporary events.  Your discussion post should reflect your critical analysis of the course materials.  

 Lecture 2 (Jeno Kim) - Gilded Age and Railroads to the West : https://youtu.be/LMjQvpgC6k0

Directions: 

1. Watch the lecture and read the scholarly article in their entirety.  Select one of the materials which interests you the most. 

2. From one of those materials, determine what the main argument is.  In other words, all academic lectures and articles have a key point that is being supported by evidence, which is what we call the argument.  Figure out what that key point is.  

3. In your discussion post, explain the argument by analyzing the evidence. As you are explaining the argument, you should discuss how that argument is significant for U.S. history.  In other words, tell me why this topic is important for U.S. history.  

4. Next, make a connection between the topic and any political, social, or cultural issue that we face today in the United States.  You should explain how and in what ways the past informs or have shaped the present.  

5. Your discussion post should reflect how you interpret the past and connect it to present events. 

6. Please, be creative; be bold!  There is no right or wrong answer! I will evaluate you based upon the quality of your analysis. 

Guidelines and Requirements: 

1. A minimum of 350 words. By all means, feel free to write more.  

2. Use formal, well-written English.  You will be penalized points if your discussion post is sloppy and incomprehensible.  

3.  Read other students' posts.  Give a "Like" to those students who you feel have done an exceptional job (please, don't arbitrarily "Like" all posts). Feel free to -- politely and respectfully -- comment on other student's posts.  Nodding your head in agreement to everyone's post can be quite boring.  Argument -- in a respective and intelligent language -- is a bit more fun =), so please, feel free to debate.