Choose ONE of the two options to create your final exam essay. You will need to create a thesis driven, four-five page essay on the prompt below. To earn the highest marks you must: 1) answer the prompt in its entirety, 2) draw on the points of view of the authors of the documents you have researched, 3) use in-text citation of all documents you paraphrase, 4) provide clear insight by explaining the topic and elaborating on your thesis.
Essay Prompts:
Option 1) Explain how the Vietnam War developed as one of America’s most divisive conflicts in the history of the nation. To do so you will need to explain the gradual escalation of the war, the role of the media, and the effect of the Tet Offensive and the My Lai Massacre on Congress’s and the American public’s perception of the war. You will need to explain how the war effected public support for the war by analyzing the anti-war movement and how the escalation of the conflict affected the momentum of the Civil Rights Movements of the 1960s.
Option 2) Explain to what extent did the Civil Rights Movement improve racial equality in the United States during the 1960s. Discuss the key pieces of civil rights legislation, the goals of key civil rights leaders, and emphasize which of these goals were not achieved and why. In your analysis discuss how the escalation of the Vietnam War affected the momentum of the Civil Rights Movement.
*No outside sources may be used. You are to rely on the primary sources, the course textbook. supplementary audio and visual aids in the Course Content to develop your analysis. A work cited page is required. Students are to cite their work using Turabian or MLA/APA style format for all parenthetical citations.
