Your assignment is to construct an essay in response to one of the following questions. The length requirement for this essay is 1250 words minimum, 1500 words max. This essay is worth 250 points, or in other words, 25% of your overall grade in this course.

Your paper must be based entirely on course material from weeks 1-7. Therefore, you are expected to utilize the podcasts and course readings (the Davidson textbook and the primary sources in The American Yawp Reader). NO OUTSIDE SOURCES!!!!(I’VE INCLUDED ALL NECESSARY SOURCES TO USE) For this assignment, as with all written assignments in this class, you must follow the citation guidelines listed on the course syllabus (for your convenience they are also listed below). You do not need to include a works cited page since you are utilizing only course materials for this assignment. Your paper must be double-spaced, with standard 12-point font and normal margins.

The expectations and grading criteria for this assignment are stipulated in the grading rubric. This is a formal essay assignment. It will be marked based on the strength of your argument, your analysis of relevant course materials, and the quality of your writing. Papers must draw from a variety of course sources assigned between weeks 1-7 of this class, and are expected to incorporate close analysis of at least two primary documents from The American Yawp Reader (WILL FIND IN CH. 16-22), at least two different podcast episodes (INCLUDED EPISODE 1-7, FOR YOU TO CHOOSE), and at least two different chapters from the Davidson textbook (PICK FROM CH. 18-24); furthermore papers must incorporate at least one brief direct quote from each type of source (in other words a quote from one of the podcasts, a quote from one of the textbook chapters, and a quote from one of your chosen primary sources). As with any essay you would write in university, we expect to see: a strong thesis statement which communicates your core argument; a well-structured and organized body of the paper that advances your argument via analysis of course materials; and a formal conclusion that not only ties the argument together, but elaborates on its significance.

QUESTION THAT NEEDS TO BE ANSWERED: The labor movements, the Populists, and the Progressives were all responding, in their own different ways, to the challenges presented by the rise of big business. Write an essay focusing on these three groups. What were the specific problems they confronted, what were the various solutions they put forward, and how successful were each of these groups in achieving their goals?

Citation Guidelines:

As all written assignments in this class are based entirely on course-assigned sources, students are directed to use the following parenthetical-style citation method. You are expected to cite your sources whether directly quoting material or paraphrasing.

• When citing your textbook, cite the lead author and page number. For example: (Davidson, 338). Please be aware of the distinction between this books page number and the PDF section number of the e-book. For example, page 338 of the Davidson textbook leads you to a section in Chapter 18 that begins with the heading The Southern Burden. This section (#146 of 475) includes pages 338-341 of the textbook. But your citation must be to the appropriate page or pages of the textbook. If your intended citation includes quotes and paraphrasing from this entire section, then the correct citation format would be: (Davidson, 338-341).
• When citing The American Yawp Reader, cite the initials of the book title in italics, followed by the chapter number and document number. For example: (AYR, ch 16, doc 3). This example points us to the document entitled Andrew Carnegies Gospel of Wealth (1889), which is the 3rd document in Chapter 16 of The American Yawp Reader.
• When citing the course podcasts, cite the podcast number and the timestamp within the episode that corresponds to the beginning of where the concept being quoted or paraphrased is mentioned. For example: (Podcast 1, 18:52). This example points to the section of podcast 1 that discusses vertical integration during the Second Industrial Revolution.