Write a paper based on the late Howard Zinn’s book The People’s History of the United States.

Write a paper based on the late Howard Zinn’s book The People’s History of the United States.

All of these prompts require backing up historical arguments with specific examples that you’ve
learned about in class. Choose concrete examples that you think provide the best evidence and
that best illustrate your points. Be sure to provide the specific historical context that is necessary
to explaining those examples/events. Avoid making overly-broad, sweeping generalizations.

Your paper should immediately dive into addressing the prompt you are responding to. It should
have an introduction, body paragraphs, and brief conclusion.
To make your case, draw on Give Me Liberty and lectures for context, as well as primary
documents from Voices of Freedom. At a minimum, incorporate six documents from Voices of
Freedom in your paper (at least three of which should be from Chapters 11-17, and all of which
could come from Chapters 11-17), two different lectures, and three different citations from Give
Me Liberty.
Please use a 12-point font and double space with 1” margins. As with the first paper, you may
refer to the course texts and lectures parenthetically: if you use the textbook for context (Foner,
Chapter 9). In the case of Voices of Freedom documents, please cite title or author of the
document and page number—for example (Livermore, 293) if citing Mary Livermore’s
document. In the case of lectures (Marlo, Jan 7, 2024).
Please write your name and the number of the prompt you’re answering at the top of the paper.
No other heading is required.

CHOOSE 1 PROMT FROM THE 2 BELOW

PROMPT 1: In his book The People’s History of the United States, the late Howard Zinn wrote,
“What matters most is not who is sitting in the White House, but ‘who is sitting in’—
and who is marching outside the White House, pushing for change.” By this he meant
that social movements and coordinated actions of ordinary people could be more
influential in making historical change than actions of powerful political leaders. Based
on your knowledge of nineteenth-century history, take the position of agreeing with
Zinn’s statement, disagreeing with it, or writing an essay that incorporates both
agreement and disagreement.
If you agree that social movements made lasting and influential change, identify three
different movements or periods of transformative social movement activism. Make sure
to document strategies, goals, and how these people made change. (Some ideas:
enslaved people’s resistance, women’s rights, abolitionism, workers’ movements,
among others.) (****I want to agree)If you disagree and want to argue that top-down political decisions (from presidents,
Congress, and/or the Supreme Court) ultimately proved more meaningful and decisive
than what the actions of everyday people or social movements could accomplish,
choose three cases that illustrate this point over the nineteenth century.
If you wish to write an essay that takes both perspectives, select three examples that
demonstrate how social movement activism and top-down political actions were
mutually constitutive or how they both exerted influence in different specific cases

PROMPT 2: In an 1864 speech, when describing northern and southern ideals of freedom, Abraham
Lincoln asserted: “The world has never had a good definition of the word liberty, and
the American people, just now, are much in want of one. We all declare for liberty; but
in using the same word we do not all mean the same thing.”
The history of the nineteenth century could be explained as a series of debates over
different understandings of “freedom.” Choose two pivotal moments or examples from
19th century history that illustrate this point. What are several key examples of when
multiple groups clashed over definitions of freedom, what were those competing
definitions, and what resulted from these contests? Keep in mind internal debates
around freedom within different groups, and be specific about whom you’re referring
to. (For example, depending on the moment you’re writing about, the term
“Republican” might be too broad considering the internal debates within the
2
Republican party around how to define freedom. Be more specific—free soil
Republicans? Radical Republicans?)

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