The Gilded Age
To complete Response 4, use the material from the Gilded Age Page https://csn.instructure.com/courses/1354732/pages/the-gilded-age. Complete all parts of the assignment.
For all the responses this semester, you may submit a formal written response appropriate for the prompt or create a video, oral response, or presentation. So long as you complete the assignment, demonstrate understanding of the course material, and cite sources, you may choose whichever format you think will help you most effectively present your learning.
Part I: Primary Source Report
Identify and analyze one primary source from this module. You may choose any of the primary sources from the module. (Primary sources are documents, images, songs, etc, from the time period under investigation. They are listed in the module under the Primary Sources heading. Please see What Are Primary Sources?) (Links to an external site.) (Links to an external site.)
Answer the following questions for your primary source:
Identify the source (Tell me which source you are analyzing)
When was this created? (Your answer should be within the time frame of the material in the module)
Who created it? ((Hint: The person who created it would have been alive during the time period of the material in the module)
What function/purpose did it serve when it was created (what is it?) and who was the intended audience?
Summarize the key points of the source.
What is the historical context for this source? What important events and issues of the time period influenced and shaped its creation?
Provide some analysis of the source: What is your interpretation of the source? How should we understand it?(Distinguish between fact and opinion in the source, discuss the reliability/bias/perspective of the author, and compare the author’s point of view with that of others included in the module)
What kinds of things can we learn about the past from this source? What is the significance of the source? (How does it help us understand the past?)
What kinds of additional information do you need about the historical context, the creators of this source, or the source itself in order to fully understand it?
Please contact me with any questions!
Part II: Briefly answer TWO (2) of the following prompts:
Part A: Briefly identify a person or movements that challenged the social, economic, and political structure of late nineteenth century Nevada. How effective was the person and/or movement? Was there much support or sympathy for people who did not fit into the cultural norms of the period? Why/why not? Explain and provide specific examples. (250-500 words)
Part B: Based on the readings, discuss and analyze how corporations and the federal government affected Nevada in the late 19th century politically, economically, socially. (Be sure to frame some of your discussion within the context of settler colonialism.) (250-500 words)
Part C: Watch The Ghost Dance video, read about Wovoka, and listen to the Ghost Dance songs. Briefly discuss what you learned from these sources, what you found interesting, and why this material is significant for understanding Nevada/American history. How does the framework of settler colonialism help us understand the Ghost Dance and the US response to the Ghost Dance? (Why did the US government deny religious freedom to Native Americans?) What connections, if any, can you make to more recent American history or the present? (250-500 words)
Part D: Watch the Chinese Exclusion Act video, read/listen to the Anti-Chinese Sentiment in the Sierra Nevada source, and examine the three images in the Gilded Age page regarding Chinese Exclusion. Briefly discuss what you learned from the these sources, what you found interesting, and why this material is significant for understanding Nevada/American history. How does the framework of settler colonialism help us understand the Chinese exclusion? What connections, if any, can you make to more recent American history or the present? (250-500 words)
Part III: Secondary Source Analysis
For this short response, you may select from either the Green, Lee, or the Ford/Hulse secondary sources included in this module.
Provide a succinct but detailed response that analyzes the following. For each response (except Title and Author), you should have at least five sentences of specific content. (Please contact me with any questions!)
Title and Author:
Summary of Argument (what was the author arguing, and how did the author make and support the argument?):
Examples of Primary and Secondary Sources the author uses (give several examples of both if possible):
Unique Contribution of Article (i.e. what is the significance? how does this help us understand Nevadan/American history? what do you get from this source that you did not know before?):
Perspective (i.e. how did this reading change what you knew about Nevadan/American history and why? What specifically did you learn from this reading?):
Three Things to Remember (What are the three most important takeaways from this reading? Hint: If you had to summarize the three key points for someone who did not read this, what would your three points be and why?):
Part IV: Question/Thesis
Based on your engagement with the sources, develop a broad and open-ended question about any aspect of Nevada during the Gilded Age . Your question should allow you to write a thesis (an argument-driven interpretation) in response. Then, develop a one-to-two-sentence historically defensible argument/interpretation (thesis statement) in response to your question(s). (See the guides to thesis statements in the course modules. Please ask me questions if you are unsure of your question and thesis)
Part V: Reflection
How did the course material and your work on this response influence your understanding of Nevada history? What is the significance of this topic and why is it important that we understand it today? How does the framework of settler colonialism help us understand this history? What connections can you make between this material and the present?
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