History Essay Topics for Major Essay - Writing Guide with Chicago Style Footnotes

Instructions for Writing a History Essay in Formal Academic English

It is to be written in formal academic English and it MUST have Chicago style academic footnotes that include page numbers and are placed are either the bottom of the page or the end of the essay.Look at the History Essay Grading Guide at the end of this course outline. For your sources make sure that you have at least three real books (not including your textbook). Make sure you read your text book on the topic. Hint: use the index at the back of the textbook and look at the footnotes at the back of the book. The librarians love it if you ask them for help finding books. Do not use Wikipedia or the class lecture notes as a reference. Your double spaced rough draft showing signs of editing is to be stapled underneath your final draft. Your final draft is to be double-spaced in 12-point type and have a cover page and a bibliography as well as Chicago style footnotes. Your cover page is to have the title of your essay, your name, student number, course and section number, date submitted, your professor’s name (Prof. Howard Hisdal), and the word count. Please note: in history essays people die; they do not “tragically pass away”. List of Essay Topics for the Major Essay:

1. Devise your own topic and talk it over with your professor.

2. Have small arms reached their peak of development? What is next?

3. Are airborne forces deployed by parachute still militarily viable?

4. Why have so many armies gone to wheeled armoured personnel carriers?

5. How have military helicopters evolved since 1945?

6. Are main battle tanks still a viable weapon of war?

7. How did the British win the war against the Irish Republican Army?

8. What did Stalin do to the Soviet Partisan units at the end of the Second World War?

9. Is poison gas a viable weapon of war? Is it a weapon of mass destruction?

10. Why did the Soviet Union lose the war in Afghanistan?

11. How have drones evolved since the Second World War?

12. What are the differences between police special weapons assault teams and military commando units?

13. What were the strengths and weaknesses of General Douglas MacArthur?

14. What was Mao Zedong’s role in the Chinese civil war and the Korean War?

15. What was General Matthew B. Ridgeway’s role in the Korean War?

Requirements for Sources and Formatting

16. How well did General Creighton W. Abrams preform in Vietnam?

17. How did General Vo Nguyen Giap contribute to the victory of North Vietnam?

18. Why is the Main Battle Tank still part of the inventory of modern armies?

19. What are the origins of the B52 bomber and why is it still in service?

20. How effective were the “sky cavalry” infantry units in Vietnam?

21. What is the utility of the nuclear powered submarine?

22. What were the roles of the Irgun Zvai Leumi and the Stern Gang in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War?

23. How was the new state of Israel able to win the 1948 Arab-Israeli War?

24. How well did the Anglo-French forces perform in parachute drop in the 1956 Arab-Israeli War?

25. What was the meaning of the attack on the USS Liberty in 1967?

26. How were the Israelis able to win the Six-Day War of 1967?

27. How can Egyptian President Anwar Sadat be considered the winner of the Yom Kippur War of 1973? How well did the Egyptian military perform?

28. How did the Israeli military perform in the Yom Kippur War of 1973?

29. How were prisoners of war treated in the Korean War by each side?

30. What was the role of United Nations forces in Congo, 1960-1964?

31. Which nuclear disarmament and control activities were successful?

32. How was Greece able to defeat communist guerrilla forces 1946-1949?

33. What are the similarities and differences between Japanese Kamikaze operations in 1945 and modern Islamic terrorist suicide bombers?

34. How did the Munich Olympics of 1972 change the way the German police force worked? How did it change future Olympic Games such as the 1976 Montreal Games?

35. How useful were airstrikes in Kosovo in 1999 and Libya in 2011? Did they help in regime change?

36. How were the “Troubles” with the Irish Republican Army in Northern Ireland finally ended?

37. What was the nature of the guerrilla war in Colombia and how was it ended?

38. How were the Soviet forces defeated in Afghanistan?

39. Compare and contrast the Gulf War of 1991 with the Invasion of Iraq in 2003. What lessons were learned?

40. In what ways did Osama bin Laden achieve his goals?

41. What did Canada’s Mission in Afghanistan, 2000-2014, achieve?

42. How have female suicide bombers changed things in Palestine?

43. Has the war against ISIS succeeded?

44. What is “lone wolf” terrorism and can it be prevented?

45. How were the FLQ in Canada defeated?

46. Compare and contrast the First and Second Intifadas.

47. Compare and contrast he first and second terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. In what ways was there a paradigm shift?

48. How was the fall of the Taliban in Afghanistan in 2001 accomplished? 49. Why did the experience of the Iran-Iraq war not help the Iraqis in 1991?

50. Why were the British able to win in the Falklands in 1982 even though out numbered by the Argentinians?

51. How useful have naval forces been since the Second World War?

52. Examine the wars between Indian and Pakistan and compare them with the Arab-Israeli wars.

53. How effective have the terrorist groups fighting for an Islamic Kashmir been?

54. What has happened to military conflict between India and Pakistan since both sides have obtained nuclear weapons?

55. Why was Operation Bluestar launched by Indian Security forces in 1984, and what were its consequences?

56. Is the Babbar Khalsa likely to achieve its goal of an independent Khalistan?