U.S. History Final Essay

Choose one of the following prompts to answer:

OPTION 1: The U.S. has been involved in continuous war since 1950 – from Korea and Vietnam to Iraq and Afghanistan, and various covert operations in between. How have geopolitics and the global economy shaped U.S. military and foreign policies, and how have U.S. wars shaped U.S. domestic policy? (Provide examples from at least four different decades)

OPTION 2: Compare the radical movements of the 1960s and 1970s (e.g., SDS, Black Panthers, SNCC, Young Lords, AIM, radical feminists, LGBTQ Liberation, etc.) with the radical movements of the 21st century (e.g., Occupy Wall Street, Movement for Black Lives, immigrant rights, New Abolitionists, the Red Nation, disability justice, etc.).

Choose at least three movements from both eras. How did they attempt to deepen and transform U.S. democracy? What inspired these movements and what tensions existed between them? Where did they succeed and how were they defeated? (Pay attention to differences in historical contexts and conditions.)