Junior Research Paper -  Essential Questions

I.Compare and Contrast – The period from 1942-1965 was a time when various groups in the U.S. were discriminated against.  They struggled in different ways to obtain rights that other Americans already had.   These groups tried to get things to change using violence, non-violence, and politics (voting, political office, etc.)
a) Civil Rights Act, and Equal Rights Amendment
b) Non-violent black movements such as the NAACP,  and SNCC and radical black movements such as:  Black Panthers, Black Muslims CORE, and Marcus Garvey’s movement.
c) Native Americans and Japanese-Americans
d) Hispanics – East Coast(Puerto Ricans) West Coast (Chicanos)
 
Your task is to choose 1of these pairs and do the following:

  1. explain the issue – why were they in this situation
  2. compare and contrast how each group went about trying to secure their rights
  3. what were the results of their efforts

II.  Analyze and React –   In the course of history certain events have occurred that may not have seemed historic at the time, but  when looking back, it’s obvious how important they were. Martin Luther King’s  “I Have a Dream” speech and the Brown v. the Board of Education decision are two of those events.  What impact have MLK’s speech OR the Brown v. Board of Education decisions had on society?
Your task is to look at ONE OR THE OTHER event and do the following:

  1. Explain the racial discrimination that African-Americans were experiencing prior to 1960.  (Use examples).
  2. Identify the most important parts of the speech/decision
  3. Include the date the event took place, the location, and the target audience
  4. Explain what the lasting effects of this event were:  In other words, are schools integrated today?  Explain.  Have MLK’s “dreams” been realized?

III.  Impact on Society – How have each of the following individuals or events made an impression on society that is still felt today?

  1. Freedom Riders
  2. Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier in major league sports (Limited to three reports per class).
  3. United Farm Workers – Cesar Chavez
  4. Little Rock Nine

Your task is to choose one of the above events/issues and do the following:

Websites for Junior Research
April 2008

Question 1:
       
African Americans
 http://memory.loc.gov/learn/features/civilrights/flash.html
Info on Little Rock 9, Rosa Parks, MLK’s speech, also great photos

        Women
http://www.equalrightsamendment.org/era.htm
http://www.wic.org/misc/history.htm

        Latino

http://www.archaeolink.com/hispanic_latino_civil_rights.htm
http://www.albany.edu/jmmh/vol3/chicano/chicano.html

Question 2:

“I Have A Dream…”
http://www.usconstitution.net/dream.html
http://changingminds.org/analysis/i_have_a_dream.htm

“Brown v Board of Ed”
http://www.nber.org/digest/dec05/w11394.html
http://www.nps.gov/brvb/index.htm
http://brownvboard.org/summary/

        Question 3:

Freedom rides
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5149667

Jackie Robinson
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4536142

United Farm Workers
http://www.pbs.org/itvs/fightfields/cesarchavez1.html