American reaction to what became known as the Holocaust

The specific goal of this second exercise is to build upon the first. In the first you located one newspaper article. Now we are asking you to locate and compare and/or contrast two articles from different newspapers.

How to Get to Databases:

Go to the library web site and look for the “All Library Databases” link in the right hand column. Click on it. At the top of the page that comes up you will see a menu bar with drop-down options. Choose “History” from the “All Subjects” menu and “Newspapers” from the “All Database Types” menu. The newspapers are listed in alphabetical order. Select articles from two of these newspapers:

Chicago Tribune (1849-1986)

Los Angeles Times (1881-1987)

New York Times (1851-2006)

Washington Post (1877-1996)

What to Look For

This time we will be looking American reaction to what became known as the Holocaust. We will discuss this topic toward the end of the course, so you will have to do a little research on your own to identify the necessary search terms. THE REQUIRED DATE-RANGE IS FROM 1943 TO 1944.

We want to examine if there is any difference in the way different newspapers treated this issue. One thing to note is the location of the articles. Are they on the front page or further back in the paper where fewer people look.

As with the first assignment, the key thing is that you have to have some patience and must try several different combinations of words in order to find the best articles. The determination of the right search terms and dates continues to be a challenging part of the exercise. The term “Holocaust” was not widely used at the time, so you will not find acceptable articles using it during the prescribed time frame. Ideally, you should view a number of articles at least briefly before determining ones that are best for your purposes. Articles come in various sizes, but for this exercise an article should consist of at least four paragraphs.

What To Submit

Your paper should be approximately 2 to 3 pages in length (450-650 words). This time you need not describe the selection process (the subject of the first paragraph of your first assignment). Instead, the whole assignment will be devoted to comparison and contrast of the articles. Your introduction should indicate the basic differences and/or similarities between the two articles. The rest of the paper should then discuss these differences and similarities in more detail. In addition, you should also print out and attach the articles that you are discussing, including a clear indication of where they came from (for example, Los Angeles Times, March 26, 1943).

Final Advice

This assignment is somewhat more difficult than the first one. Accordingly, you will have an opportunity to rewrite the assignment for a new grade based on your teaching assistant’s comments. If you do not devote the necessary effort to this first draft, there will be less on which to comment, and your second draft will be weakened. The second draft is optional. If you received a grade you are happy with on the first draft, you need not submit a second draft. However, there will be a penalty for skipping the first draft and submitting only the second draft. The second draft must be accompanied by the first draft with the articles discussed and the rubric with the teaching assistant’s comments.

Good luck!

CORRECTION POINTS

Paper’s contents

Good accounting of each article’s position and details —— 20

Indicated what type of article each was —— 10

Good comparison and/or contrast of the articles —— 20

Paper’s style

Good introduction —— 10

Paper well organized —— 10

Good transitions between sentences and paragraphs —— 10

Overall impression of the paper —— 20

SUB-TOTAL POINTS —— 100

Points deducted

Both articles were not attached —— -10

One or both articles were not at least 4 paragraphs —— -10

One or both articles are not within designated time periods —— -15

The essay was not proof-read —— -15

TOTAL POINTS —— 100