This assignment will encourage you to use primary source documents in an analytical essay. This assignment asks you to compare speeches by John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr. The paper is to follow the rules of good English grammar and is to be 750-1000 words in length. The instructions will be distributed by the end of the second session and the paper is due at the end of class in Week 4. This assignment is worth 100 points.
You are to use the MLA Style for citation purposes. No additional sources are needed other than the use of the assigned primary sources.
Here are the instructions:
Please read John F. Kennedy’s Inaugural Address, January 20, 1961, which can be accessed at: http://www.bartleby.com/124/pres56.html (Links to an external site.)
Please read Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I have a Dream” Speech, August 28, 1963, which can be accessed at: http://www.usconstitution.net/dream.html (Links to an external site.)
Once you have read these speeches, please write a well-organized essay in which you address the following questions:
What vision of America and goals for the future did each leader present in his speech?
Which vision of America, that of Kennedy in 1961 or that of King in 1963, do you think was the most realistic image of America in the early 1960s? Be specific.
What connections do you see between the goals of Kennedy and King for the American future? Be specific.
In 2011, 50 years on, are the goals of Kennedy and King a reality for American society? Defend your position.
Please note: you are to use the primary sources to support your ideas extensively in each essay!
