Civil Rights Essay Guildlines

For the past several weeks we have been studying the Cold War as a context for understanding how and why African Americans obtained (or began to obtain) full citizenship when they did. In your next essay, you will discuss the Civil Right's Movement. You will demonstrate your understanding of this movement--its roots, its successes and its limitations. You will also demonstrate your understanding of the historic context, including development of the Cold War.

In this essay you must include evidence obtained from the following sources:

a) Howard Zinn - "Or Does it Explode" and "A People's War"
b) Franklin, John Hope - "Fighting for the Four Freedoms", "African Americans in the Cold War Era", "The Black Revolution"
c) Who Built America - "The Rights Conscious 1960s" pgs 607-630 **(this book is only available in class and you must use class time to take your notes)
d) Gosse, Van - Movements of the New Left - Introduction

Your essay should respond to the Essential Questions:

a) Why then? Why did the endeavor for this reform get underway when it did?

b) What gains were won? What gains were sought but not won?

c) If this reform was only partially achieved, what limited its attainment?

An A paper will:

--answer all of the questions, either as past of one contiguous essay or in three separate sections; the thrust of the essay should be behind answering the a) why then? question
--contain a sophisticated, provocative thesis, supported by 3 arguments
--contain 3 cogent and sophisticated arguments that support the organizing
idea/thesis
--argue well developed, original ideas and illustrate new understanding
of the topic
--persuasively use evidence from Zinn, Franklin, Who Built America; contain at least five or six quotes from Franklin and five from the other readings
--discuss both the authors' and primary source perspectives about events
--persuasively use evidence from an outside source
--be well organized, containing a clear introduction that presents the thesis in a highly engaging,compelling manner, followed by smooth transitions from one idea to the next, with a conclusion that synthesizes the different strands and arguments
--demonstrate a clear understanding of the historical time period and demonstrate the cause and effect relationship between significant events
--conform to the conventions of grammar, spelling and punctuation, and be thoroughly proofread and include the signature of one adult to whom it was read aloud