Documenting United States History

518 CHApTEr 2 2 | a ConSerVatiVe tenor | period nine 1980 to the present putting it all together^519519

Pu TTing iT All TogeTher

revisiting the Main Point

•   

Choose three documents from this chapter that characterize the United States’

changing role in the world between 1975 and 2013. In what ways do these

documents represent broader shifts in the country and the rest of the world?

•   

During this period, how did international concerns shift on the part of the

United States? What were the primary economic and political causes of this

shift? In what ways did science play a role?

•   

Compare US foreign policy before and after the 9/11 attacks by using four

documents from above.

•   

Choose three documents that characterize changes in the American economy

during the last quarter of the twentieth century—and into the twenty-first

century. What broader economic changes do these documents represent?

•   

Characterize changing migration patterns in the United States during this

period by analyzing at least three documents and explaining the ways in

which they characterize these changing migration patterns.

rethinking audience and Voice in Primary

documents

Incorporating primary documents into historical argument gives your argument

credibility. You can bolster that credibility by showing some understanding of

the voice behind the document and its intended audience. By noting the point of

view, you can contextualize the document and are better situated to understand

how this document responds to other documents.

For example, consider the following two documents from this chapter:

Document 22.12, George W. Bush, On Iraq, 2003

Document 22.17, Barack Obama, Speech on the Middle East, 2011

Both the voice and the audience for either speech reflects differing political

ideologies. Bush’s press conference on Iraq features this language:

buil Ding AP®

writing sKills

These are not the actions of a regime that is disarming. These are the actions

of a regime engaged in a willful charade. These are the actions of a regime that

systematically and deliberately is defying the world. If the Iraqi regime were

disarming, we would know it, because we would see it. Iraq’s weapons would

be presented to inspectors, and the world would witness their destruction.

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