The Erechtheon was a temple on the north side of the Acropolis in Athens dedicated to  both  Erechtheus, a king of Greek myth and the legendary founder of the city of Athens, and also the god Poseidon. The temple was built circa 421 to 407 BCE, near the end of Pericles’s Golden Age and his massive building program that transformed the city of Athens. In the courtyard outside the temple grew the city’s sacred olive tree. The porch on the north side of the temple, as seen here, is considered by many to be one of the best examples of columns of the ionic order. The porch on the south side was supported by six maiden figures (the six caryatids). In the nineteenth century Lord Elgin–of the Elgin Marbles infamy–carted off one of the caryatids to his home in Scotland and destroyed another one in the process. Thus, only four remain in the Acropolis Museum. (See below for the Porch of the Maidens. Some of the caryatids are reproductions.) Photos credit C. Wayne and Dorothy Miller.

Read the Pericles Funeral Oration (along with the document background information and the study questions) and answer the following question in a paragraph:Citing specific evidence from the Funeral Oration (not the textbook), what were the main features of Athenian democracy according to Pericles?Some Suggested Websites for further study on this assignment:

• The Greeks: Crucible of Civilization is an excellent site that accompanies the PBS series.  See, for example, the page on Pericles.
• See the extra credit assignment with material on Thucydides.
• Dr. J’s Illustrated Pericles’ Funeral Oration by Janice Siegel, Illinois State University, is a rather interesting take on Pericles.
• Pericles’ Funeral Oration — Hear and Read the Full Text (also a Greek version)
• The Funeral Oration, Context and Meaning; Text and Translation

Your paragraph should be about one-half page in length, double-spaced with one-inch margins, font size 10 or 12; it should contain a concise topic sentence (sentence 1) that directly responds to the assigned question (no need to define terms or cite a dictionary), and you should use direct, quoted material to support your points.  Your last sentence should be a conclusion. You may consider sending a draft of your assignment to your instructor for feedback before submitting the assignment for a grade.

Please take a moment to review all of my support materials in Charlie’s History Writing Center for additional information on the writing requirements for the assignments in the course.

Your assignment should be submitted on Blackboard.

At the following link, view all 6 parts of the History Channel Documentary: “The Mexican American War”=

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsDvxhXWT1KWe0O5OFNZ4Ra1c1xbZAWHe

To comply with ADA requirements, a companion pieces of the film can be accessed at the following site:

http://www.history.com/topics/mexican-american-war

You are also required to read the following primary documents at the provided links, presenting pros and cons for entering a War with Mexico: 

1.  Rep. Joshua Giddings, Debate on the Mexican War, House of Representatives, Washington, May 13, 1846 (complete)

2. President James K. Polk, To the Congress of the United States: A Special Message Calling for a Declaration of War against Mexico, Washington, May 11, 1846 (complete)

 Answer the following study questions in a 600-word minimum essay, quoting the film, YOUR TEXTBOOK, and the primary documents at least once each in your essay to help support your conclusions. (4 quotes total required). Do not answer in bullet points or in a numbered list, but write at least 3 full paragraphs in answering these questions posed. At the end of your essay YOU MUST post a study question of your own for your fellow students to consider and answer in their response posts.  

1. Provide full identification of your sources, film, textbook and documents, with their description, dates, names, producers, publishers, places, purposes, etc.

2. What were the arguments, both for and against, the United States entering into a war with Mexico?

3. How did the War with Mexico further the notion of Manifest Destiny in the minds of the American people?

4. What role did the socio-political aspects of the institution of Slavery in the USA play in forming the provisions of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo?

5. What comparisons, both similar and different, can you make between the historical information in your textbook, in the documentary, and the primary documents concerning the US War with Mexico?