Project Description: Choose a moment or situation from American history (in any time period) when many people in the United States cooperated with each other for the sake of the common good. It could be a specific crisis (like a war, natural disaster, economic depression, epidemic, etc.). It could also be another kind of project that required the cooperation of many people (like the creation of a major building, governmental organization, community group, scientific investigation, technological innovation, cultural shift, economic development project, etc.). Try to pick a topic that is personally meaningful to you. Perhaps it could be related to the career you want to have, to your family’s story, to your neighborhood or town, or to the entertainment media you like to consume. Do some research and write an essay about this topic, keeping three questions in mind: 1. What made it possible for Americans in this situation to come together and cooperate? 2. What obstacles to cooperation did they have to overcome? 3. What legacy did this moment have in American culture afterward? (How did people remember and interpret that moment in art, literature, music, etc.? Or how did they interpret it in popular culture at the time it was happening? Or how did they forget it or misinterpret it later, if that’s what happened?) Your research should be based on at least three substantial historical “secondary” sources that you can obtain online or at home (these may include history books, articles, podcasts, and documentary films; they should not include encyclopedia articles) and one cultural “artifact” (like a short story, movie, song, painting, photograph, etc.) related to the topic, which you can use to talk about the topic’s legacy in American culture. You may use more sources than this; it is a minimum number, not a maximum. Important Guidelines: o This essay should make a main point of its own. A good research essay does not simply restate what other authors have said. It has its own thesis statement, based on your reflection on the research you have done. o You must cite all the sources you consult in your research, whether you quote directly from them or not. (A formatting guide will be posted on Canvas with examples of how to do this.) This is important for avoiding accusations or suspicions of plagiarism. o You may quote no more than two sentences from each of the sources you use. The rest of the essay should be in your own words. “In your own words” includes what you write when you summarize, paraphrase, describe, or analyze the sources—in other words, when you write about the sources—without quoting them.