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Step 1: Begin this assignment by reading this article available through JSTOR. Roger Cushing Aikin, “Paintings of Manifest Destiny: Mapping the Nation, “American Art, Vol. 14, No. 3 (Autumn, 2000), pp. 78-89.
In this article, the author states the artist responsible for the painting American Progress said of his potential audience that they would “prefer a heroic fantasy to what he perceived to be the uninteresting facts of the real experience (of the West and westward migration.) Think about this idea—that history is a construct that is often seated in fantasy.
Step 2: Review this article David Thelen, “Memory and American History,” The Journal of American History, Vol. 75, No. 4 (Mar., 1989), pp. 1117-112.
Here is a quote from the article, “The fresh possibilities in the historical study of memory begin with two starting points, deeply embedded in historians’ narrative traditions, that are now being hailed as major discoveries in other disciplines. The first is that memory, private and individual as much as collective and cultural, is constructed, not reproduced. The second is that this construction is not made in isolation but in conversations with others that occur in the contexts of community, broader politics, and social dynamics. Before we can explore further implications for historians in these starting points, we need to look at their origin in recent scholarship in other fields that has forced a reconsideration of traditional assumptions about the workings of memory.” (p. 1119) Think about this: how has memory shaped the writing and teaching of history?
Step 3: Choose a topic related to Manifest Destiny (see the bottom of this sheet for ideas) and look at it from the perspective of its “history” being both grounded in fantasy and constructed from potentially false memories. How can you see where this might be the case? Through art? Literature for the masses (non-academic works)? Film? Poetry? Speeches by politicians? Present your argument in a paper as to how the cultural history of this topic veers into fantasy and myth and how this has been created through community-created memories. Your paper should be three pages of content and be structured as follows: Paragraph One: Introduce your topic. This might be in art, film, or speeches, or something else that is available to the mass of people. State your thesis regarding the ways in which you have found your topic has veered into fantasy and myth and memory. Paragraph Two, Three, and Four: Present your analysis that demonstrates the ways in which your topic has been manipulated over time to create something “other” than the facts of history. Use concrete examples of of how the mythologized event is used to justify certain actions or romanticize or create a story around a person, an event, or an action. What does this tell us about the people who have created this “historical” myth? What does this tell us about the American public and its desire to have such fantasies? Paragraph Five: Conclude your paper. Wrap up and reiterate your main points. You can include images, lines of poetry or text, or speeches, or still shots from films or even a URL that links to a film or speech. Show me your topic and evidence!
Possible ideas, though you are not limited to these. You might choose one, like Louisiana Purchase
Lewis and Clark Expedition,
Donner Party,
Trail of Tears,
Oregon Trail,
Battle of Alamo,
Texas Independence,
Gasden Purchase,
John L. Sullivan,
Turner Thesis,
Mexican-American War,
Henry David Thoreau,
Slaves in the West,
Homestead Act,
Laura Ingalls Wilder,
Indian Removal,
Josiah Strong,
Protestant Missionaries,
Native Indians,
Oregon boundary dispute,
Gold Rush,
California Independence
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