History 200 - week 5 (sr)

Module 5 Short Responses

Developing a Thesis, Step 1

The Civil Rights Movement touched on many different aspects of American life: politics, religion, economics, culture, and the law, to name just a few. In this learning block, we're going to ask you to develop an informed point of view about one aspect of the Civil Rights Movement.

You've already had some experience in developing a thesis statement for your writing plan. In this learning block, we're going to take that process one step further, showing you how to refine your thesis into a sharper, more strongly worded statement that expresses a clear point of view.

The first step: develop a research question about the Civil Rights Movement, based on the material contained in this learning block. You should use a specific historical lens that you feel is relevant to this issue. Historical lenses can include such perspectives as political, social, religious, military, and economic history. Be sure to respond to each question in 1-2 complete sentences, using proper grammar.

To refresh your memory about historical lenses, you can return to  Module One: Approaches to History, Learning Block 1-2, Page 2 .

1) Module 5 Short Responses – Question 1

In the space below, specify which historical lens you'd like to use for this exercise.

2) Module 5 Short Responses – Question 2

Next, formulate a research question about the civil rights movement (historical time from 1954 – 1968), using the lens you've chosen.

Module 5 Short Responses

Developing a Thesis, Step 2

The second step in developing your thesis statement—which is really just another way of saying, your point of view on this issue—is to do some research into the historical evidence*. To refresh your memory about historical evidence, click on this link to return to  Module Two: Approaches to History, Learning Block 2-2, Page 3 , where you can review the graphic about primary and secondary sources. You can also use the material contained in this learning block to give you some ideas about where to conduct your research. Be sure to respond to each question in 1-2 complete sentences, using proper grammar.

3) Module 5 Short Responses – Question 3

First, go back and review the research question you developed in Step 1. For Step 2, first name two different primary sources that you might use to answer that question. Be as specific as you can. Your primary sources should be found using the Shapiro Library.

4) Next, name two different secondary sources you could use to answer your research question. Again, be as specific as you can. Your secondary sources should be found using the Shapiro Library.

Module 5 Short Responses

Developing a Thesis, step 3

Use the historical evidence you gathered is Step 2 to answer the research question you posed in Step 1. The answer to your research question is your thesis statement. Be sure to respond to each question in 1-2 complete sentences, using proper grammar. Again, the material contained in this learning block may be helpful to you as you frame a response.

5) Module 5 Short Responses – Question 5

Construct a thesis statement that provides an answer to the research question you posed in Step 1. Base your response on the historical evidence that's been presented in this course so far, as well as any research you may have done on your own.

Module 5 Short Responses

The concept of historical contingency* is all about causes, course, and consequences. (To refresh your memory about the different types of causes—including necessary causes* and contributory causes*—click on this link to return to  Module Three: Communicating Historical Ideas, Learning Block 3-1, Page 3 .) The questions below are designed to get you thinking about the causes, course, and consequences of the Voting Rights Act. Be sure to respond to each question in 2-3 complete sentences, using proper grammar.

6) Module 5 Short Responses – Question 6

Name three specific historical events that can be considered contributory causes of the passage of the Voting Rights Act. Briefly explain why you believe each of these events contributed to the passage of the Act.

7) Module 5 Short Responses – Question 7

Based on what you read about the passage of the Voting Rights Act on Page 1 of this learning block, name one event that was part of the course of this bill's passage by Congress.

8) Module 5 Short Responses – Question 8

Name three specific consequences caused by the passage of the Voting Rights Act

Module 5 Short Responses

You've just read two historical analyses of the effects of the Voting Rights Act by two highly respected scholars. Both looked at the issue through the lens of political history, yet they came to very different conclusions.

As you'll see in Module Five, Learning Block 5-4, when you're considering the validity of someone's historical analysis, it's important to think about the types of evidence that he or she used. The next two questions will ask you about the types of evidence that each of the scholars in this "debate" relied on. Be sure to respond to each question in 2-3 complete sentences, using proper grammar.

Module 5 Short Responses – Question 9

9) One of these scholars relied heavily on evidence about the substance of today's political debate. Which scholar was that? What sort of evidence did he use?

10) Module 5 Short Responses – Question 10

One of these scholars relied heavily on evidence about the political process. Which scholar was that? What sort of evidence did he use?

"The Fight Was Instilled in Us": High School Activism and the Civil Rights Movement in Charleston

The S.H. Kress & Co. building in Charleston, SC. (Click button for citation) 

"I remember people standing and staring at us like we were trouble makers and were trying to upset Charleston," Harvey Gantt, a graduate of Burke High School in Charleston, recalled of the student led sit-in on April 1, 1960. "We at least got the attention of the community. We were feeling young and gifted and ready to tear down a broken social system. We felt like we were pioneers that day," Gantt said. Gantt was one of twenty-four Burke High School students who marched to S.H. Kress & Co., a segregated five-and-dime store on King Street in downtown Charleston. The students occupied nearly one-half of the lunch-counter seats, humming, singing freedom songs, and reciting prayers. The students maintained their composure as the manager of the store asked them to leave, white patrons cleared the premises, and bystanders circulated rumors of a bomb threat. Police arrested the students, charged them with trespassing, and put them in jail. By examining the effort to desegregate public facilities through the lens of the first sit-in in Charleston, this article will illustrate how a small, committed group of local high school students and teachers played an integral, though overlooked, role in the civil rights movement.

Module 5 Short Response

Read the introduction above and answer the following questions. Be sure to respond to each question in 2-3 complete sentences, using proper grammar. When the response requires a direct quote from the introduction, you can copy and paste it into your answer.

11) Module 5 Short Responses – Question 11

1. What is the topic of this essay? Does the author make it clear in the introduction?

2. What is the author's thesis?

3. What kind of sources and evidence do you think the author will use to support his thesis?