Documenting United States History

422 ChapTEr 1 8 | iSolateD no More | period Seven 1890 –1945

Putting it All togEthER

revisiting the Main Point

•   

Compare the ways in which Presidents Woodrow Wilson (Doc. 18.5) and

Franklin Delano Roosevelt (Doc. 18.10) characterize the conclusions of the

First and Second World Wars, respectively. How does each characterization

view American identity?

•   

In what ways did the period between 1890 and 1945 represent an era of ful-

fillment of the ideals of the Declaration of Independence (Doc. 5.6) and the

Gettysburg Address (Doc. 12.8)?

•   

In what ways did technological advances during this era influence three to

five of the documents above? You may need to refer to Chapters 16 and 17

and your textbook to help you answer this question.

implications in Historical argument

As your study of history covers a wider arc, your ability to discern implications

means that you can draw conclusions based on patterns that can be traced over

longer periods of time. Like ripples in a pond, implications suggest a far-reaching

causation and allow for creative and original historical argument.

Consider the following prompt:

In what ways did the period between 1890 and 1945 represent an era of

fulfillment of the ideals of the Declaration of Independence (Doc. 5.6)

and the Gettysburg Address (Doc. 12.8)?

This task—unlike any other that you have seen in this textbook—spans

nearly two hundred years. Further, the implications of a key document—such

as the Declaration of Independence or Gettysburg Address—represent a body of

thought and action that is representative of an era. Coincidentally, both of these

documents were products of war.

One helpful metaphor to bear in mind when thinking about implications

is “windows and mirrors.” A document serves not just as a mirror of its time,

reflecting events as they were, but also acts as a window—as a gateway through

which, in retrospect, hints of the future might be discerned. For example, the

Declaration of Independence is a reflection or mirror of its times, and it also

serves as a window through which we can trace countless events that have shaped

BuIlDIng AP®

wRItIng sKIlls

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