What were some of the conditions that African Americans faced in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries? How did African Americans respond to these conditions?

Assignment: Short Paper #1

Based on the readings,* write a paper of at least four pages that answers the following questions, elaborating with evidence and detail from the readings as necessary.  You must use at least three of the readings.

What were some of the conditions that African Americans faced in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries?  How did African Americans respond to these conditions? 

Other Considerations

Papers should be at least four pages, with no more than one-inch margins, double-spaced, in twelve-point font.  Do not “double-double space” between paragraphs.  Papers should have introduction and conclusion paragraphs and use proper grammar and spelling.  Cite your sources using any standard system of citation, providing the following information: author (when available), title of document, and page number.

You must use evidence from the sources to support your points.  For example, if you argue that African Americans faced violence from white southerners in the early twentieth century, you could use evidence from the reading by Ida B. Wells to demonstrate this point.  Similarly, if you argue that African Americans responded to violence from white southerners by protest and/or by using of the media, you could also use the reading by Ida B. Wells.  Be sure to focus on using the actual text of the documents and not the editor introductions.

Submit your paper as a Word document or PDF (not in Pages).

*Readings

“African Americans During Reconstruction”

“White Southerners’ Reactions to Reconstruction”

“Work Under Sharecropper and Labor Contracts”

“African American Protest”

“Letters from the Great Migration”

“The Harlem Renaissance”