History 427
Fall, 2005

QUESTIONS FOR FOURTH PAPER

 Choose one of the following questions and write a 4-6 page (1200-1800 word) paper in answer to it. All papers must be word-processed, double-spaced, WITH A LARGE12 POINT FONT and written in the best possible English that you can muster. Papers should include pagination and a word count. Follow the guidelines provided in the handout, "Writing Papers." Your answers should be drawn from the readings, lectures, and online materials. MAKE SURE THAT YOU USE ALL OF THE READINGS AND INTERNET RESOURCES PERTINENT TO THE QUESTION, MAKING SPECIFIC REFERENCE TO THE AUTHORS. 

1.      A retired admiral tells Studs Terkel the "World War II changed everything." What were the major differences between the United States in 1941 and the nation in 1945?   Be sure to address changes for women and minorities as well as the overall national trends.

2.  Paul Edwards tells Terkel, "To many people, the war brought about a realization that there ain't no hidin' place down here. The world is unified in pain as well as opportunity...  We had a great reaching out. We took fifteen, eighteen million men overseas. for the first time they saw pain and poverty in dimensions they had never known before.  At heart, Americans had a period of unbelievable generosity toward the rest of the world, of which they knew little... World War II?  It's a war I would still go to."  Discuss the validity of the this assessment using specific examples from Terkel's book.

      3.  In naming his book, Studs Terkel puts the phrase "the Good War" in quotations.  What does he mean by this and how valid is his critique of the United States during World War II?
 

4.  In discussing the homefront during World War II, John Kenneth Galbraith told Studs Terkel, "Never in the history of human conflict has there been so much talk of sacrifice and so little sacrifice."  Discuss the ways in which the United States government mobilized support on the home front during World War II and to what extent Galbraith's assessment is correct and incorrect.  Be sure to include a discussion of women and minorities in your assessment.

PAPERS ARE DUE December 19.
      Late penalties will be assessed on all papers handed in after that date.
      Papers that are of excessive length will also be penalized.
      You may give the papers to me or place them in my mailbox in Science 276.
      Be sure that you keep a copy of the paper.
      If you wish to have the paper returned to you along with your final grade, please include a self-addressed stamped envelope. If you only wish to be informed of your final grade, include a self-addressed stamped postcard. BE SURE TO INCLUDE YOUR E-MAIL ADDRESS ON YOUR FINAL PAPER.