Please message me with your monument idea prior to starting the essay so I can provide you with some links to topics discussed in the course material which you should include in the essay.

Consider this:

What one remembers is as important as what one wishes to forget.  Current debates about history and memory, memorialization, and the removal of certain monuments demonstrate this.  Recently, historian Stephanie McCurry stated that it is not just about taking things down: We have to put things upWe have to mark a different and richer history on the landscape.

Essay question:

Consider the building of new monuments in public spaces.  What person, group, act, event, etc. would you choose to commemorate?

Defend your choice, using your best historical and critical perspective. Contextualize it and discuss its historical significance.  Then, discuss why you believe it would have significance today.  Be thorough and use specific historical detail to support your argument.

These are the requirements:

Your choice must be from the United States during the period 1876 to the present.
Your choice must not glorify an evil act or its perpetrator(s).
Contextualization is important. You must discuss the historical context of your subject.  Draw on important events or people.
You should describe specific historical evidence and examples to support your claims.
Discuss the historical significance of your subject. Why did you choose it over others which came to mind?  What did your subject represent, symbolize, achieve, call for?
Your essay must demonstrate historically defensible content knowledge. The historical content used to advance your argument must be accurate.
Expected length: 6-8 paragraphs should allow you to develop your ideas with a good level of historical perspective and detail.