History Question

Essay 3: American Populism

This is the first of two assignments that ask students to not only convey their understanding of a particular political episode in American history, but also transmit the central arguments of a scholarly article.  One of the central objectives of the course curriculum is to ensure that students are able to comprehend academic research—essentially understand information that is professionally researched, peer reviewed, and intended for the “academic discourse.” For this essay, students will illustrate their capacity for comprehension and then express that comprehension in a short, explanatory piece of writing.   

The essay will focus on Turner’s article, “Understanding the Populists.”

Turner’s article is found in the course module.  As Turner explains, for decades historians have debated the significance of the Populist Movement.  When historians write books/articles they are usually in response to other historians’ books/articles.  Historians either argue against each other, add to the cumulative knowledge of the “conventional wisdom” surrounding the historical topic, or on rare occasions offer breakthrough, novel interpretations.  Turner reviews the different scholarly perspectives on Populism. Your task is to effectively transmit the contents of the Turner article, but also indicate a clear understanding of Turner’s argument and speak to the pieces of historical evidence that Tuner raises to prove his argument.  

Here are some ideas/questions that should help you complete the assignment:

Identify the author, title, and year of publication.  Remember the Turner article is your focus.

Situate the topic in its historical context, based on what you know from the textbook and other sources in this class.  Take some time to illustrate your understanding of populism. 

Identify and summarize the author’s thesis in YOUR OWN WORDS.  Demonstrate your ability to read and comprehend a published article and effectively summarizing the main idea(s) of the author in a concise summary.  This is the main point of the assignment.  State and explain the author’s supporting ideas and evidence.  Explain the underlying meaning or goal of the article, not simply the superficial details. 

To be sure, your paper should address the following items:

Illustrate an understanding of Populism in American political history.

Transmit Turner’s argument.

In the final section of the paper, use your understanding of the topic to identify one Populist measure that you would have supported (explain why) and one Populist measure that you would have opposed (explain why). Populist reforms are outlined in the Omaha Platform listed above.