Posted: May 1st, 2025

Health & Medical Question

Write a response to the following prompt:

The period between 1865 and 1918 is known by many names, including Reconstruction, the Gilded Age, the Progressive Era. In this essay, you will offer a new name for this period. If you were writing a textbook or teaching a college course, what would you call this era in U.S. history? Your new terminology should be applicable to the entire 1865-1918 period (or at least as much of it as possible).

After introducing your alternative term for the period, the majority of your essay should focus on explaining and defending your choice, using primary sources from class as your evidence. In formulating your answer, you should address the experiences of three different individuals/groups from the first third of this course (modules 1-4). Be sure to explain how your new term for the 1865-1918 period relates to the historical experiences of each of these individuals or groups.

Be as specific as possible and be sure to use the assigned readings to defend your answer. Your answer must quote and cite at least three different primary documents from the required reading for Modules 1 through 4.

Your answer must quote and cite at least three different documents from the required reading for Modules 1 through 4.

Be as specific as possible, and be sure to use the assigned readings to defend your answer.

Answers that are too short or too long (more than 50 words in either direction) will lose points.

Your answer will be checked for plagiarism using Turn-It-In.

Your answer should be based on material covered in class lectures and in the assigned reading for this course. DO NOT CONSULT OTHER SOURCES. I do not want to know what Google tells you about this topic. All the information you need to answer this question can be found in the assigned reading and in your class notes.

Be brief, especially in your introductory paragraph. Get right to your argument, don’t waste words describing everything we’ve covered in the course. There’s no need to make sweeping statements like “Since the beginning of U.S. history….”

The prompt asks several different (but closely related) questions. You do not need to answer each and every one of them, but you should try to address most of them (at least in passing) in your essay.

AMH 2020 – American History II
Essay Exam 1 Prompt
Write a 750-word response to the following prompt:
The period between 1865 and 1918 is known by many names, including Reconstruc on, the
Gilded Age, the Progressive Era. In this essay, you will o er a new name for this period. If you
were wri ng a textbook or teaching a college course, what would you call this era in U.S.
history? Your new terminology should be applicable to the en re 1865-1918 period (or at least
as much of it as possible).
A er introducing your alterna ve term for the period, the majority of your essay should focus on
explaining and defending your choice, using primary sources from class as your evidence. In
formula ng your answer, you should address the experiences of three di erent individuals/
groups from the rst third of this course (modules 1-4). Be sure to explain how your new term
for the 1865-1918 period relates to the historical experiences of each of these individuals or
groups.
Be as speci c as possible and be sure to use the assigned readings to defend your answer. Your
answer must quote and cite at least three di erent primary documents from the required
reading for Modules 1 through 4.
Instruc ons:
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Your answer must quote and cite at least three di erent documents from the required
reading for Modules 1 through 4.
Be as speci c as possible, and be sure to use the assigned readings to defend your
answer.
Answers that are too short or too long (more than 50 words in either direc on) will lose
points.
Your answer will be checked for plagiarism using Turn-It-In.
Your answer should be based on material covered in class lectures and in the assigned
reading for this course. DO NOT CONSULT OTHER SOURCES. I do not want to know what
Google tells you about this topic. All the informa on you need to answer this ques on
can be found in the assigned reading and in your class notes.
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Some ps on forma ng and length:
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750 words is not much! It’s about three double spaced pages (1” margins, 12 point font).
Be brief, especially in your introductory paragraph. Get right to your argument, don’t
waste words describing everything we’ve covered in the course. There’s no need to
make sweeping statements like “Since the beginning of U.S. history….”
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The prompt asks several di erent (but closely related) ques ons. You do not need to
answer each and every one of them, but you should try to address most of them (at
least in passing) in your essay.
Suggested format:
75 words: Introductory paragraph that ends with a clear thesis statement (that
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is, your argument and your answer to the ques on asked in the prompt).
200 words: body paragraph 1, which should contain your rst example and a
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quota on from your rst document.
200 words: body paragraph 2, which should contain your second example and a
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quota on from your second document. A transi on paragraph between
paragraphs should address the similari es/di erences between your rst and
second example.
200 words: body paragraph 3, which should contain your third example and a
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quota on from your third document. A transi on paragraph between paragraphs
should address the similari es/di erences between this example and your rst
two examples.
75 words: a concluding paragraph that compares your three examples and
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reiterates (not word-for-word!) your thesis from the introduc on.
You MUST introduce and contextualize your quotes. We’ve read dozens of documents
this term. You must tell your reader what document you’re quo ng.
GOOD: Southern African Americans had their own de ni on of freedom. “We
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claim freedom as our natural right,” black residents of Nashville stated in a
pe on, “and ask that in harmony and co-opera on with the na on at large, you
should cut up the roots the system of slavery.” As these pe oners noted, the
work of freedom remained incomplete, even a er emancipa on.
BAD: Southern African Americans had their own de ni on of freedom. “We
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claim freedom as our natural right, and ask that in harmony and co-opera on
with the na on at large, you should cut up the roots the system of slavery.”
The second example is extraordinarily confusing for your reader. Who are you
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quo ng? Are these your words? Introduce your quotes, and then explain them in
your own words.
You should also try to avoid extended quota ons. In almost all circumstances, you
shouldn’t be quo ng more than one or two sentences at a me. When you’re trying to
quote a longer passage, intersperse your own words as necessary. When I see
paragraph-length cita ons I start to worry that you’re just trying to ll up space…
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Historians use Chicago Manual of Style, Humani es format. Use footnotes, not parenthe cal/intext cita ons.
Cite the documents from Eric Foner’s Voices of Freedom as follows:
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Elizabeth Cady Stanton, “Home Life,” in Eric Foner, ed. Voices of Freedom, Vol. 2, 6th Edi on
(New York: W.W. Norton, 2020), 14-17.
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You do not need to cite my video lectures. Consider these to be common knowledge
shared by the class.
Submit your document as a Microso Word le – or a similar word processing le. Do
not convert the le to a PDF.
Late papers will lose 1/3 of a le er grade per 24 hours (i.e. A- becomes B+, C+ becomes
C).
Please include a word count on your paper.
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