Critical Essay on the book "Coxey's Army' by Benjamin Alexander
Prompt: Alexander concludes his book by asserting that “while in some ways Coxey, with his ideas and methods, stood years ahead of his time, in some other key ways he and his army fit right into it [meaning his own era]” (p. 128). Explain what he means by this. In doing so, argue whether you believe Jacob Coxey’s “petition in boots” was, on balance, a success or a failure.
I attached a file of the requirements below
CRITICAL ESSAY QUESTION #2 HST 106 – Spring 2021 Dr. Fain CRITICAL ESSAY QUESTION #1 BENJAMIN ALEXANDER’S COXEY’S ARMY As you address the following questions, carefully consider Benjamin F. Alexander’s Coxey’s Army: Popular Protest in the Gilded Age and pages 641-647 of Schaller, et. al., American Horizons: Alexander concludes his book by asserting that “while in some ways Coxey, with his ideas and methods, stood years ahead of his time, in some other key ways he and his army fit right into it [meaning his own era]” (p. 128). Explain what he means by this. In doing so, argue whether you believe Jacob Coxey’s “petition in boots” was, on balance, a success or a failure. In order to receive a passing grade your two-page essay must: 1) be critical and analytical, not merely a summary of the book 2) articulate a thesis which serves as the organizing principle of the response 3) cite specific evidence from Alexander and Schaller, et. al. in support of your arguments Note: no formal footnotes are necessary; page references will suffice, for example (Alexander, 75) 4) contain a clearly defined introduction, body and conclusion. The introduction should spell out your thesis, the body should develop your argument(s), and the conclusion should recapitulate your main point. 5) avoid vagueness and generalization in its arguments (Be clear and precise in your writing) 6) pay close attention to paragraphing and contain succinct topic sentences 7) use active verbs and avoid the passive voice 8) be consistent in the use of verb tenses 9) contain no mistakes in spelling or grammar (Note: please use the spell check function on your computer! There are no excuses for spelling or grammatical errors in college level work) 10) avoid personal expressions such as “In my opinion…” or “I believe that…” 11) never refer to this work of non-fiction as a novel! **Formatting: All papers must be 500-600 words in length. They must be double-spaced and written in 12-point Times New Roman font. Margins must be one inch top and bottom and no wider than 1.25 inches left and right. This paper is to be submitted by noon on Monday, February 15. It must be e-mailed to Dr. Fain as a Microsoft Word attachment. Late papers will be penalized half a letter grade for each day they are late.