History 202B: Spring 2013

Primary Source Assignment #8

Civil Rights Movements

1) What parts of King’s Montgomery Boycott speech received the most enthusiastic reception from his audience? (There is an error in the document I posted. The speech ends at the bottom of the left hand column on page 2. The right column is from another document, so please ignore it.)

2) In what ways does King appeal for white support for the boycott?

3) What does Johnson mean when he says, “freedom is not enough”?

4) Why does Johnson argue that “Negro poverty” is fundamentally different from “white poverty”? Do you think it is possible for there to be two different types of poverty? Explain.

5) What features of American society seem most to trouble the authors of the Port Huron Statement? How would you define the phrase “a democracy of individual participation”?

History 202B: Spring 2013

Primary Source Assignment #9

The Rise of Conservatism

1) Why does Commoner feel that most explanations of environmental problems are inadequate? What kind of human actions does he feel endanger the ecosphere?

2) What does Falwell see as the major threats to moral standards in 1970s America?

3) How does Falwell appear to understand the idea of freedom? How might his position negatively impact groups who do not fall under his definition of morality?

4) What does Watt see as the hidden motive of the environmentalist movement?

5) How does he argue that environmentalism actually threatens the natural environment of the west? What is your opinion of this argument? Explain