Reference no: EM133730731
Case: Write a response to the following prompt:
Historians sometimes distinguish between "history from the top down" and "history from the bottom up." History from the top down focuses on leaders and elites: presidents, politicians, military officers, and the like. History from the bottom up discusses the experiences of common people: average citizens, racial minorities, immigrants, workers, and families.
Which approach offers a better path for understanding the history of the United States since 1945? Who exerted a greater influence on U.S. foreign and domestic affairs - elites or common people? Do you believe that political and military elites charted a course that the nation followed? Or have broad-based social movements made up of average people exerted more influence since 1945? If you were teaching a course on U.S. history since 1945, which approach would you be more likely to emphasize?
In formulating your answer, choose three different individuals/groups that we have discussed in the third section of this course (modules 11-14). How do the experiences of each individual/group reflect the top down/bottom up divide? What sort of historical agency - that is, influence - were your individuals/groups able to exert?
Be as specific as possible and be sure to use the assigned readings to defend your answer. Your answer must quote and cite at least three different primary documents from the required reading for Modules 11 through 14.
Instructions:
Be as specific as possible, and be sure to use the assigned readings to defend your answer.
Answers that are too short or too long (more than 50 words in either direction) will lose points.
Your answer must quote and cite at least three different documents from the required reading for Modules 1 through 4.
Your answer will be checked for plagiarism using Turn-It-In.
Your answer should be based on material covered in class lectures and in the assigned reading for this course. DO NOT CONSULT OTHER SOURCES. I do not want to know what Google tells you about this topic. All the information you need to answer this question can be found in the assigned reading and in your class notes.