U.S. HISTORY TERM PAPER ASSIGNMENT
Discussion: In “The Sand Pebbles,” the last words of the American sailor Holman is “What the hell happened?” shortly before he is fatally shot and before the closing picture of the gun boat San Pablo steaming down the Yangtze River never to return.
Assignment: You are to write a term paper which answers Holman’s question about “ what happened” to America in China during the period 1930-1972. The paper must be typed (standard font, double-spaced, foot-noted, with bibliography, maps, cartoons, and pictures: to be discussed in detail in class later). The paper’s value is 200 points and is due ____May 11 (deadline 100 points contents 100)______.
Historical background: Using your textbook as well as other sources, you are to describe the American experience in China from 1930 (just before the invasion of Manchuria, p. 532) to the “normalization” of relationships in 1972.
Suggested structure: Your essay should contain at least five strong paragraphs that each contain a topic sentence, supporting evidence, analysis, and concluding sentence. In addition, quotations also support your work. Quotations should be from primary sources, such as leading political or historical figures of the time.
Some elements of your paper may contain the following topics for consideration:
Paragraph 1: should give the historical context of why China has been an important economic and political goal of the United States. Since the “Sand Pebbles” begins in the year 1926, what were some of the reasons why it had become so important to America’s belief in manifest destiny and imperialism? What happened to China in 1911?
Paragraph 2: What was the situation in China in 1930. What was the conflict between the Kuomintang led by Chiang kai-shek and the Communist Party led by Mao Tse-Tung? What were these men’s backgrounds? Did the Americans choose sides? What led to the Japanese invasion of Manchuria? How did the American policy of isolationism contribute? Who were the leaders of the U.S. at this time?
Paragraph 3: What was the relationship between the U.S. and China during WW2? What happened in China after the war that led to the events of 1949? What is the difference between “Communist China” and “Nationalist China?” Whose side were the Americans on?
Paragraph 4: What were the roles which the “two Chinas” played during the Cold War? How did the wars in Korea and Vietnam affect American-Chinese relations? When did China become a nuclear power? What was the Cultural Revolution? How did China get along with the Soviet Union?
Paragraph 5: How did the United States and Red China re-establish political and economic relations? What is the significance of ping-pong and pandas? What did the U.S. hope to gain from better relations? What did China want to gain? What happened to Nationalist China?
Paragraph 6: (suggested): What do you think the future relationship will be between the Chinese and the Americans? Is China a force for good or are they in it just for themselves? Are they our friends, rivals, or possible enemies? What has been the effect of expanded trade with China? What is the “Wal-Mart Effect?” Do you think that it is only right that China, the most populous country on Earth and once its most powerful, should once again become the most powerful country on Earth?
Bibliography: A bibliography is a list of books or others sources you have used to research your paper and also serves as a reference should you use quotations in your paper. You may use books other than your textbook for your bibliography as I assume you have already used your textbook. A typical bibliographic should read as:
Author’s last name, first name. title of book, (in italics or quotation marks); city of publication: publisher, year of publication
Example:
Jones, Joe. I Love History; Los Angeles: Glynn Books, 2015
Footnotes: Should you decide to quote something someone said or wrote, you need to show the read where you found the quote otherwise the reader can believe that you simply made it up in your head. So when you do use a quotation, put the author’s name in parentheses at the end of the sentence and the page in the book where you found it such as:
“Thanks to Mr. Glynn’s amazing teaching methods, I became a genius (Jones, p. 10).”
Pictures: you should have some pictures with captions explaining the significance of your pictures.
Maps: You should have at least one map with a key or legend explaining its significance.
Political cartoon: Google “images” and search “Chinese-American relations political cartoons” or some other variant, use a date if necessary. Try to make it funny but explain what’s going on in the cartoon.
Title page with your name and period on the front cover. Make it look good.