Assignment 1:  Dealing with Diversity in America from Reconstruction through the 1920s For History 105: Dr. Stansbury’s classes (7 pages here) Due Week 3 and worth 120 points. The formal deadline is on Monday morning at 9am Eastern Time; this is the next day after Week 3 ends. Watch announcements, emails, and postings for exact dates and any holiday notes that sometimes arise. [NOTE ON ECREE: The university is adopting a tool called ecree for helping and doing writing assignments in many classes. In our History 105 class, we will be using the ecree program only for EXTRA CREDIT as a tool for doing work on your rough draft of the paper. We hope this approach encourages more rough drafting and revision work by students as well as makes students familiar with this useful new tool. For Assignment 1, in the Week 3 unit, you will see the link “EXTRA CREDIT: ROUGH DRAFT….”—that is where you can get up to 5 points of extra credit. Instructions will be posted there in the early days of the summer course. If you try this option, you will be able to use the file developed in ecree as a rough draft; you will then download that draft and edit it further. Then, once your paper is fully polished and finished as you see fit, you will then submit it at the next link in the Week 3 unit, which says “ASSIGNMENT 1: DEALING WITH DIVERSITY….”. ] BACKGROUND FOR THE PAPER: This is a 5-paragraph paper based on research in designated sources. It is a position paper in which you support a thesis statement by reason and historical examples. After the Civil War, the United States had to recover from war, handle western expansion, and grapple with very new economic forms. However, its greatest issues would revolve around the legacies of slavery and increasing diversity in the decades after the Civil War. In the South, former slaves now had freedom and new opportunities but, despite the Reconstruction period, faced old prejudices and rapidly forming new barriers. Immigrants from Europe and Asia came in large numbers but then faced political and social restrictions. Women continued to seek rights. Yet, on the whole, America became increasingly diverse by the 1920s. Consider developments, policies, and laws in that period from 1865 to the 1920s. Examine the two statements below and drawing from provided sources, present a paper with specific examples and arguments to demonstrate the validity of your position. [Don’t use this background paragraph in your paper] Topic and Thesis Statement—choose one of the following as your Thesis Statement: · THESIS STATEMENT 1: Political policies in the period from 1865 to the 1920s generally tried to promote diversity and “the melting pot” despite the strong prejudices of a few. · THESIS STATEMENT 2: Political policies in the period from 1865 to the 1920s generally tried to hinder or restrict diversity and “the melting pot”, in part because of widespread prejudices. · Plan to make that thesis statement the last s ...

1. Assignment 1: Dealing with Diversity in America from
Reconstruction through the 1920s
For History 105: Dr. Stansbury’s classes (7 pages here)
Due Week 3 and worth 120 points. The formal deadline is on
Monday morning at 9am Eastern Time; this is the next day after
Week 3 ends. Watch announcements, emails, and postings for
exact dates and any holiday notes that sometimes arise.
[NOTE ON ECREE: The university is adopting a tool called
ecree for helping and doing writing assignments in many
classes. In our History 105 class, we will be using the ecree
program only for EXTRA CREDIT as a tool for doing work on
your rough draft of the paper. We hope this approach
encourages more rough drafting and revision work by students
as well as makes students familiar with this useful new tool.
For Assignment 1, in the Week 3 unit, you will see the link
“EXTRA CREDIT: ROUGH DRAFT….”—that is where you can
get up to 5 points of extra credit. Instructions will be posted
there in the early days of the summer course. If you try this
option, you will be able to use the file developed in ecree as a
rough draft; you will then download that draft and edit it
further. Then, once your paper is fully polished and finished as
you see fit, you will then submit it at the next link in the Week
3 unit, which says “ASSIGNMENT 1: DEALING WITH
DIVERSITY….”. ]
BACKGROUND FOR THE PAPER: This is a 5-paragraph
paper based on research in designated sources. It is a position
paper in which you support a thesis statement by reason and
historical examples. After the Civil War, the United States had
to recover from war, handle western expansion, and grapple
with very new economic forms. However, its greatest issues
would revolve around the legacies of slavery and increasing
diversity in the decades after the Civil War. In the South,
former slaves now had freedom and new opportunities but,
despite the Reconstruction period, faced old prejudices and

2. rapidly forming new barriers. Immigrants from Europe and Asia
came in large numbers but then faced political and social
restrictions. Women continued to seek rights. Yet, on the whole,
America became increasingly diverse by the 1920s. Consider
developments, policies, and laws in that period from 1865 to the
1920s. Examine the two statements below and drawing from
provided sources, present a paper with specific examples and
arguments to demonstrate the validity of your position. [Don’t
use this background paragraph in your paper]
Topic and Thesis Statement—choose one of the following as
your Thesis Statement:
· THESIS STATEMENT 1: Political policies in the period from
1865 to the 1920s generally tried to promote diversity and “the
melting pot” despite the strong prejudices of a few.
· THESIS STATEMENT 2: Political policies in the period from
1865 to the 1920s generally tried to hinder or restrict diversity
and “the melting pot”, in part because of widespread prejudices.
· Plan to make that thesis statement the last sentence in your
introductory paragraph. The general subject is DIVERSITY and
policy in that period of history. You may moderate the wording
slightly to fit more precisely the position you wish to take.
This is NOT a simple statement of a topic; it is a statement of a
position you are taking about that topic. p.s.—Valid arguments
and “A” papers can be made with either thesis. So, you choose
the one you think is the stronger position. [continued on next
page]
After giving general consideration to your assigned readings so
far and any research (using sources listed on this sheet), select
one of the positions above as your position—your thesis.
(Sometimes after doing more thorough research, you might
choose the reverse position. This happens with critical thinking
and inquiry. Your final paper might end up taking a different
position than you originally envisioned.) Organize your paper as
follows with the four parts below (see TEMPLATE also),

3. handling these issues:
1. Part One—one paragraph. INTRODUCTION AND THESIS
STATEMENT. The position you choose will be the thesis
statement in your opening paragraph; make it the last sentence
of the paragraph.
2. Part Two—two paragraphs normally. THREE EXAMPLES.
To support your thesis, use three (3) specific examples from
different decades between 1865 and 1930. The examples should
be specific and clearly support your thesis. You may narrowly
focus on race or gender or immigrant status, or you may use
examples relevant to all categories. In these paragraphs one
generally must have in-text citations to support your specific
examples and to show where the information was found. Spread
out the examples—different decades (tip—and different
chapters of the class text). Make the examples SPECIFIC. The
FORMAT SAMPLE paper can also help on this part.
3. Part Three—one paragraph normally. DEALING WITH THE
OPPOSING VIEW. The opposing view is the thesis statement
you did NOT choose. Identify that opposing view and explain
why the opposing view is weak in comparison to yours. No new
research needed; just one paragraph of critical thinking
suggesting why your thesis/position is stronger than that
different view. Approach it this way: You adopted a thesis
statement. The opposing view is the thesis statement you did
NOT adopt. You might start this paragraph by saying “Some
may disagree with my thesis and argue that ------- .” THEN—
you spend 3 or 4 sentences giving a reasoned argument why
your thesis is stronger than the opposing view.
4. Part Four—one paragraph: LEGACY TODAY AND
CONCLUSION: Consider your life and work today in relation
to DIVERSITY issues and current “policies” and practices.
Also consider your major. In what way does the history you
have shown shape or impact diversity issues in your workplace
or desired profession? This will work as the conclusion
paragraph. Be succinct—consider how these diversity issues
covered in your paper impacted later laws and regulations and

4. hiring rules—and yet some of the problem issues keep
resurfacing in different ways. The FORMAT SAMPLE paper
has good suggestions for this part also.
After the fourth part concluding the paper, be sure you have the
numbered list of sources at the end. And be sure each source
listed is also used and cited clearly in the body of the paper.
The FORMAT SAMPLE paper illustrates this.
Length: The paper should be 500-to-750 words in length. 500 is
a minimum. 750 is a guideline as a maximum. This word-count
does not include any title page or sources list. [instructions
continue on next page]
Research and References: You must use a MINIMUM of three
sources; the Schultz textbook must be one of them. Your other
two sources MUST be drawn from the list provided below on
this instruction sheet. This is guided research, not googling.
Source list for Assignment 1: Some sources listed below are
“primary” sources from the time period being studied. Some
sources below can be accessed via direct link or through the
primary sources links on Blackboard. For others, they are
accessible through the permalink to the source in
our online library: Sources below
having libdatab.strayer.edu as part of the URL have
a permalink to that source in our
university’s online library. Learn to use those.
SWS Form for the textbook:
Kevin M. Schultz. 2018. HIST: Volume 2: U.S. History
since 1865. 5th ed.
Choose sources relevant to the subject of diversity and the
position you are taking:
Y. Abu-Laban & V. Lamont. 1997. Crossing borders:
Interdisciplinary, Immigration and the Melting Pot in the
American Cultural
Imaginary. http://libdatab.strayer.edu/login?url=https://search.e
bscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=392542&sit
e=eds-live&scope=site
C. L. Bankston & D. A. Hidalgo. 2006. Immigration in US

5. History. eBook.
http://libdatab.strayer.edu/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.co
m/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=156444&site=eds-
live&scope=site
M. Barone. Summer, 2016. We’ve Been Here Before.
http://libdatab.strayer.edu/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.co
m/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=117014624&site=eds-
live&scope=site
Black Testimony on the Aftermath of
Enslavement. 1866. Report of the Joint Committee
on Reconstruction. http://college.cengage.com/history/wadswort
h_9781133309888/unprotected/ps/black_testimony.htm
Chinese Exclusion Act.
1882. http://college.cengage.com/history/wadsworth_978113330
9888/unprotected/ps/chinese_exclusion_act.htm
Civil War Journeys. n.d. The Lost Cause. http://civil-war-
journeys.org/the_lost_cause.htm
J. C. Bancroft Davis. 1896. Plessy vs.
Ferguson. http://college.cengage.com/history/wadsworth_97811
33309888/unprotected/ps/plessy_ferguson_1896.htm
Fitzgerald, M. W. January, 2018. Terrorism and Racial
Coexistence in Alabama’s
Reconstruction. http://libdatab.strayer.edu/login?url=https://sea
rch.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edb&AN=127269
628&site=eds-live&scope=site
G. M. Foster. Feb. 24, 2002. The Lost
Cause. http://www.civilwarhome.com/lostcause.html
S. S. Harjo. 1996. Now and Then: Native Peoples in the United
States. http://libdatab.strayer.edu/login?url=https://search.ebsco
host.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eue&AN=507507152&site
=eds-live&scope=site
Helen Hunt Jackson. 1881. Helen Hunt Jackson’s Account of
Sand
Creek http://college.cengage.com/history/wadsworth_97811333
09888/unprotected/ps/helen_hunt_jackson_sand_creek.htm
J. Meacham. 2017. Our Historical Ambivalence about

6. Immigrants is a Great American
Paradox. http://libdatab.strayer.edu/login?url=https://search.ebs
cohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edb&AN=121093561&s
ite=eds-live&scope=site
Mississippi Black Code.
n.d. http://chnm.gmu.edu/courses/122/recon/code.html
Katy Morris. March, 2017. “More reputation than she deserves”.
Remembering Suffrage in
Wyoming. http://libdatab.strayer.edu/login?url=https://search.eb
scohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=120948598&
site=eds-live&scope=site
E. F. Parsons. Feb., 2011. Klan Skepticism and Denial in
Reconstruction-Era Public
Discourse. http://libdatab.strayer.edu/login?url=https://search.e
bscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=57671212&
site=eds-live&scope=site
Kevin M. Schultz. 2018. HIST: Volume 2: U.S. History since
1865. 5th ed.
J. D. Zahniser. Dec., 2015. “How long must we wait?” Alice
Paul Wanted Action on Votes for
Women. http://libdatab.strayer.edu/login?url=https://search.ebsc
ohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=109513499&sit
e=eds-live&scope=site
[continued on next page]
Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements
below:
· This course requires use of new Strayer Writing Standards
(SWS). The format is different than other Strayer University
courses. Please take a moment to review the SWS
documentation for details.
· If you use ECREE as a rough draft tool, the document of the

7. rough draft that you download will be single-spaced. Once you
download and save that, use your Word or other program to
double space between lines and to make other edits and
additions as necessary. [continued on next page]
· Your final Assignment 1 paper must be typed, double spaced
between lines, and use one of these font styles: Arial, Courier,
Times New Roman, or Calibri. Font size must be between 10
and 12. Try to use one-inch margins on all sides, but don’t
justify the right margin. In-text citations (in the body of the
paper) and a numbered Sources list at the end are required, and
they should follow SWS format. Check with your professor for
any additional instructions.
· Include a title page containing the title of the assignment, your
name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date you
completed the paper. (Please—on the title page—keep it fairly
plain, no fancy colors, boxes, etc.)
· The title page and the Sources list are not included in the
required assignment length.
The specific course learning outcomes associated with this
assignment are:
· Identify and discuss the different ways that the heritage of
slavery, the Civil War, Reconstruction, and segregation have
shaped America’s history.
· Specify ways that women and minorities have responded to
challenges and made contributions to American culture.
· Summarize and discuss the ways that formal policies of
government have influenced the direction of historical and
social development in the United States.
· Recognize the major turning points in American history since
the Civil War.
· Use technology and information resources to research issues in
contemporary U.S. history.
· Write clearly and concisely about contemporary U.S. history
using proper writing mechanics.
[Grading Rubric on Next Two Pages]

8. GRADING RUBRIC for Assignment 1: Grading for this
assignment will be based on answer quality, logic / organization
of the paper, and language and writing skills, using the
following rubric. (2 pages here)
Points: up to 120
Levels of Achievement for--- Assignment 1: Dealing with
Diversity in America from Reconstruction through the 1920s
Criteria
Exemplary
100% A
Proficient
85% B
Fair
75% C
Meets Minimum Expectations
65% D
Unacceptable
0% F
HIS105-A1-1
1. Clearly introduce your paper with your thesis.
Weight 10.00%
100 %
Thoroughly and clearly introduced your paper with your thesis
statement chosen from the list provided.
85 %
Satisfactorily introduced your paper with your thesis statement;
chosen from the list provided.
75 %
Partially introduced your paper with your thesis statement.
65 %
Insufficiently introduced your paper with your thesis statement.
0 %
Poor or no introduction. No thesis statement used from those
provided.
HIS105-A1-2

9. 2. Discuss three specific examples from different decades
(between 1865 and 1930) to support your thesis. Be persuasive
and coherent with sound reasoning; have examples based on
solid research.
Weight 30.00%
100 %
Thoroughly and coherently discussed three clear examples from
the proper time frame. The discussion is persuasive and with
sound reasoning and good support.
85 %
Satisfactorily discussed three clear examples from the proper
time frame. Examples are based on good research and are
relevant to the thesis.
75 %
Partially discussed three examples from the proper time frame.
The examples might not be as relevant or as well researched as
they should be.
65 %
Insufficiently discussed three examples from the right time
frame. The examples might not all have clear relevance to the
thesis or strong support from research and reason.
0 %
Did not submit or incompletely discussed three examples from
the correct time period. The examples covered are not supported
by research and reason.
HIS105-A1-3
3. Explain clearly and persuasively why the opposing view to
yours would be in error or would be a weaker view.
Weight 20.00%
CONTINUED NEXT PAGE
100 %
Thoroughly and clearly explained why the opposing view to
yours would be in error or would be the weaker view. Used
persuasive reasoning or clear examples.

10. 85 %
Satisfactorily explained why the opposing view to yours would
be in error or would be the weaker view.
75 %
Partially explained why the opposing view to yours would be in
error or would be the weaker view. The reasoning or examples
might be flawed.
65 %
Insufficiently explained why the opposing view to yours would
be in error or would be the weaker view. The reasoning or
examples might be flawed.
0 %
Did not submit or incompletely explained why the opposing
view to yours would be in error or would be a weaker view.
4. Discuss effectively the ways that the history you have
covered shapes or impacts issues in your workplace or desired
profession.
Weight 20.00%
100 %
Thoroughly and effectively discussed how the history you have
covered shapes or impacts issues in your workplace or desired
profession.
85 %
Satisfactorily discussed how the history you have covered
shapes or impacts issues in your workplace or desired
profession.
75 %
Partially discussed how the history you have covered shapes or
impacts issues in your workplace or desired profession
65 %
Insufficiently discussed how the history you have covered
shapes or impacts issues in your workplace or desired
profession.
0 %

11. Did not submit or incompletely discussed how the history you
have covered shapes or impacts issues in your workplace or
desired profession.
5. Used the MINIMUM of three references, drawing from the
list provided. The class text is one of the sources used.
References are listed at the end and matching in-text citations
are used.
Weight 10.00%
100 %
Meets at least the minimum number of required references; all
references high quality choices. Sources are listed at the end
and also cited in the body of the paper. Solid research is
evident.
85 %
Meets minimum number of required references; most references
come from the list provided.
75 %
Does not meet the required number of references; some
references poor quality choices or not from the list provided.
65 %
Does not meet the required number of references; Insufficient
on the reference list or in-text citations. .
0 %
No references provided
6. Writing and Presentation:
Used good grammar. Presentation shows clarity, reason, and
critical thinking with proper writing mechanics. SWS format is
used for reference entries, in-text citations, paper layout, and
organization. Instructions followed.
Weight 10.00%
100 %
0-2 errors
85 %
3-4 errors
75 %
5-6 errors

12. 65 %
7-8 errors.
0 %
More than 8 errors present
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