The counterfactual is a tool of the historian’s trade. “What if something had or had not happened…” Looking at the United States since 1876, how might the nation be different today had Reconstruction succeeded rather than having been abandoned? How might the treatment of immigrants, Native Americans, and other minorities have been different? Read your text to provide greater context for your answer. Identify at least three significant economic, political, social, and/or cultural factors that would have been affected or might have developed differently. This is a broad enough topic for each student to generate appreciably different discussion answers. Make sure your work is not too similar to that of another student who posted before you.

Research the lives of Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois. Compare and contrast the approaches to understanding and resisting racism given the contexts of their lived experiences. Include the primary source material provided for each man (Atlanta Compromise and Souls of Black Folk) in your analysis.