Download World War II Project Assignment

World War II Term Paper
This assignment requires you to write about and expand on the key points of one of the topics at the bottom of this
assignment sheet. To do well on the paper, you will need to demonstrate the following elements:
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Completeness of assignment
Critical thinking
Solid, eleventh grade-level writing skills
An understanding of the material you are writing about, not just an ability to manipulate text or put together
a few paragraphs
Failure to show any of these will result in the grade being reduced.
This assignment is due on Tuesday, March 31, 2015. You will submit the paper electronically to
www.turnitin.com, and you will also hand in a printed copy to your instructor. After that date (by the end of your
class period), incomplete or missing projects will have their available points reduced to 70% of the original point
value. After 5 school days available points for the assignment will be reduced to 50% of the original point value.
The paper must be at least 5 (five) full pages worth of text, written in 12-point type; the text must be double-spaced
and in paragraph form. The paper should not exceed 8 full pages of text. Handwritten papers will not be accepted.
You also must turn in a “Works Cited” of all the sources you cited in your research, listed on a separate sheet at the
end of the paper. (No, the resource page does not count as a page!)
You must use a minimum of six resources for this paper. The following restrictions will apply:
 You must consult a minimum of two primary sources (either print or e-book formats)
 You must consult a minimum of four scholarly websites, drawn from the databases maintained by or
subscribed to by the school library
 You may NOT use the following resources:
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Wikipedia articles
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Blogs or social networking websites
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The American Anthem textbook
What Information?
In your essay, you should include the following points about your topic, in paragraph form:
 An introduction that engages the reader and explains why your topic is important to the Great Depression
or World War II
o A thesis statement in your introduction that explains what argument your paper will make and
indicates the main points you will make
 A summary of your topic and the key events involved in it – for instance, what happened, how it happened,
and where it happened if that is relevant (this should be a summary that lasts no more than a page of text)
 A well-developed paragraph for each of your main points that uses using appropriate historical evidence or
quotations, and that assesses the validity of that historical evidence
 A conclusion that summarizes the main points of your paper, ties in your topic with events of today (if
possible), and gives the reader something to think about by posing unanswered questions that are
relevant/applicable to the topic
Point Values
Essay: 50 points
Bibliography (at least six sources listed in proper bibliographical form, consistent with the restrictions listed above):
10 points
Total Points Possible: 60
Resource Documentation
Your resources must be documented using MLA format (examples of this are available on the Research Paper
guide). See me if you have questions about how to cite a source.
Please remember: Films, newspapers, magazines, and sound recordings are perfectly acceptable resources for this
paper. See me if you need help in finding information. Don’t just look online or in our school library – and don’t
give up if you run into trouble!
Reminder
This project must be your own work; that is, it must NOT be plagiarized or heavily paraphrased. Please don’t try
either of these techniques; you will receive a ZERO on your paper and will be reported to the school administration.
If you’d like to do a paper on a topic not listed here, see me and we will discuss it.
Key Dates
March 11-12 Outline Due – must include thesis statement, topic sentences, arguments and evidence
March 18-19 Introduction and Conclusion Due
March 25-26 Optional Rough Draft Due
March 31, 2015 Paper is due
Paper Topics/Writing Prompts
1. Make a case for why the Lend-Lease Program did or did not lead to the inevitable participation of the
United States in the war in Europe.
2.
The men and women who volunteered with the Abraham Lincoln Brigade and went over to Spain to fight
on the side of the Republic in 1937 did so in violation of US “neutrality” at the time. Discuss exactly who
they were, what they did, and why. Were they right to participate in the war in Europe before the US
government declared war in 1941? Why or why not?
3.
Could the attack on Pearl Harbor have been prevented, or was it a completely unexpected and unavoidable
event?
4.
“The D-Day Invasion was unnecessary. If the Allies had either attacked Hitler some other way or done
nothing but defend the British, the Nazis would have lost the war anyway.” Evaluate this statement and
either defend it or disprove it.
5.
Some historians have described the Battle of Midway as “the most decisive battle of the Pacific theater”
during the Second World War. Argue that these historians are or are not correct in this assertion, putting
this battle in the larger context of the war in the Pacific. You may want to speculate on what would have
happened if the battle had been lost by the Americans, OR to compare the battle to others in the Pacific.
6.
Most people have seen the statue of the American soldiers raising the flag over the island of Iwo Jima.
Why is that battle significant enough to merit such a well-known work of art?
7.
Some historians have said that the Battle of the Bulge was really a fluke; the British and Americans were
too disorganized to really have won such a critical victory. Research the battle and then either defend or
refute this statement.
8.
“The Bracero Program was purely a racist measure against Mexican-Americans.” Research the program
and explain why this statement was or was not true, in your opinion. (Hint: it will be helpful to explain
what you mean by racism.)
9.
Were the Zoot-Suit Riots of 1943 directly related to World War II, or were they purely an outbreak of
racial violence between whites and Latinos? Or, were they a combination of the two? Explain your
answer.
10. “Hitler’s Final Solution and the Jewish Concentration Camps were a sufficient reason for the United States
to have opposed Hitler and entered the war against the Nazis.” Choose two camps to focus on and explain
why this statement would or would not have made sense for the United States in the early 1940s (e.g.,
before Pearl Harbor)
11. Evaluate the contribution that the Tuskegee Airmen had on the United States military both during and after
the war, along with American society at large.
12. When the Navajo Codetalkers came home from their service in World War II, they were given practically
no recognition for their service. Should they have been given more credit at the time for helping to win the
war for the United States? Why or why not?
13. Argue that the Yalta Conference was or was not directly responsible for the beginnings of the Cold War
and Soviet domination of Europe. Use specific examples.
14. Were the atomic bomb attacks on Japan (Hiroshima and Nagasaki) really necessary to end the war? How
could the Americans have defeated the Japanese without using these bombs?
15. Some German historians have said in the past that the Nuremberg Trials were unnecessary and that
Germany needed to heal after World War II, rather than have some of its citizens subjected to an unfair
trial. Should the principles that guided the trials have applied to America both during World War II and in
subsequent U.S. conflicts? Why or why not?
16. "Did the President and Congress go beyond their war powers by implementing exclusion and restricting the
rights of Americans of Japanese descent?" Answer this question using the Korematsu vs. U.S. Supreme
Court case, as well as other relevant court cases.
17. Explain how critical the roles played by women in the war effort (e.g., Rosie the Riveter, WACs, WAVES,
nurses, etc) were in achieving victory against the Axis Powers.
18. Explain the transformation of the United States into “the arsenal of democracy” with regards to political,
social, and economic change before and during the war.
19. Examine the psyche of Americans at war during World War II. Do so by (a) examining American soldiers
through their training, their indoctrination, and the impact of the war on them when they returned home and
(b) examining civilians and how they dealt with the burdens and pains of living during wartime.
20. Analyze the effect of propaganda on Americans during World War II. Identify and analyze specific
techniques of American propaganda during the war and compare them to those utilized by either fascist or
communist nations. Through your analysis, what is your determination of the effect of propaganda in a
democratic nation like the United States?
21. How did professional sports in the United States change during WWII? What was the impact of the war on
the various leagues? How did the war change views toward professional sports, if at all? Analyze at least
two professional sports in your response.
22. Using at least 4 movies that were created during WWII (1941-1945), analyze gender and/or racial roles in
the film and make an argument for how the portrayal of those roles did/did not reinforce values on the
home front. Keep in mind, movies are a way to inform future generations about the issues, values, and
beliefs that are important to people during a certain era.
23. "Describe the various attempts made by the Allies at breaking or decoding the Axis communications
systems (e.g., ENIAC, ENIGMA, Colossus), and explain how those technologies developed into more modern
computing tools by the beginning of the 21st century. (Hint: A visit to the Computer History Museum in
Mountain View will be very helpful in fulfilling this prompt.)"