History Homework Questions

Answer ONE of the following questions in five double-spaced typed pages in Times New Roman Font 12.

Please provide citations if you use a source other than the class text (outside sources are neither required nor expected). Any direct quotes must be properly attributed (with full citation).

Though my emphasis will be on content (80%), also considered will be grammar, spelling, and writing skills (20%).

1) Stoessinger emphasizes the importance of the personalities of leaders and their (mis)perceptions rather than the “broad forces of history.” Do you think he makes a strong case? Do you think his theoretical approach works better for some of the cases than for others? Support your arguments with specific examples.

2) In the Vietnam chapter, Stoessinger introduces the idea that the “weak” sometimes have an important power over the “strong”. What is Stoessinger’s argument? Do you find it compelling in the Vietnam case? Does this argument have any relevance in the other cases we have studied?

3) One might divide the cases we have looked at into three groups: World Wars, Cold War Wars, and Post-Cold War Wars. How have the cases differed in these three eras? Do you see any common themes that might form the basis for a general understanding of war?

4) It is often said that “those who do not learn from history are condemned to repeat it.” Looking across the wars we have discussed, what sorts of “lessons” seem to be learned from war? To what extent have these lessons been “helpful”? Do leaders learn the “right” lessons from war and if not, why not?