Middle School History Project

September 10, 2007 5:22 PM

My 13 year old daughter asked for help in coming up with ideas for a paper she needs to write for her history class. She needs to write about any historical event or figure that can be used to illustrate both conflict and compromise. I am trying to come up with a topic that would be fun for her to research but not so common that 1/2 the class will be writing about the same thing. Any ideas?
posted by superduperfly to education (33 comments total)

The Treaty at Versailles is an example where the lack of compromise had catastrophic results.
posted by alms at 5:24 PM on September 10, 2007

The selection of Aaron Burr as Thomas Jefferson's Vice President. Right on target.
posted by yclipse at 5:25 PM on September 10, 2007

Slavery in the West?
posted by rob511 at 5:25 PM on September 10, 2007

i don't know how much this is "compromise" but i got a real kick out of hearing about the christmas truce the first time.
posted by sergeant sandwich at 5:31 PM on September 10, 2007

the division of berlin.
posted by thinkingwoman at 5:32 PM on September 10, 2007

The appeasement of Hitler, which assured that the 1940s would be a peaceful era for Europe. I don't know though whether that will be a popular pick or not; depends on what the class has been studying, I suppose.
posted by rolypolyman at 5:32 PM on September 10, 2007

Michael Collins, Eamon DeValera and the Irish Rebellion, partition, subsequent civil war, civil rights movement in Belfast and ultimately the troubles. She'll definitely be original!
posted by fshgrl at 5:35 PM on September 10, 2007 [1 favorite]

Well, the Missouri Compromise is a great, but somewhat obvious choice.

The Cold War and doctrine of Mutually Assured Destruction is a much less obvious but creative choice that illustrates the way that 'compromises' (of a sort) can prevent a conflict from getting completely out of control.

Somewhat related, the larger subject of what happens after wars end is fascinating. Examples of compromises that follow conflicts include things like the Marshall Plan and the creation of demilitarized zones (DMZs) between former adversaries. In fact, now that I think about it, DMZs could be a really fun and unusual topic.
posted by googly at 5:40 PM on September 10, 2007 [1 favorite]

The Pig War between the US and British Columbia is one of my favourites.
posted by acoutu at 5:42 PM on September 10, 2007

How about Anwar Sadat? He both went to war with Israel and became the first Arab leader to visit Israel (and of course the signed the first Arab-Israel peace agreement).
posted by jk252b at 5:49 PM on September 10, 2007

I was also popping in to suggest Ireland's War of Independence and its "end" in partition.
posted by jamesonandwater at 6:00 PM on September 10, 2007

Cherokee Missionary Samuel Worcester. He and a number of other missionaries stayed in New Echota, continuing their work with the Cherokees, despite Georgia state law prohibiting white men from living in Indian country without a license from the state. His actions led to Worcester v. Georgia, one of the trilogy of cases laying the groundwork for tribal sovereignty in federal Indian law. He ultimately moved to Tahlequah after removal of the Cherokees.
posted by Dr. Zira at 6:03 PM on September 10, 2007

The history of women's suffrage (particularly in Britain) is a great illustration of this.
posted by winna at 6:08 PM on September 10, 2007

Second thinkingwoman, from above. There was a lot of compromising during WWII if I'm not mistaken, and Berlin was divided among the participants (it's been a long time since I've had a US hx class, but vaguely remember a few points)
posted by uncballzer at 6:22 PM on September 10, 2007

I'll supply two obscure British ones.

Firstly.. reasonably dull, but good because of its name and it ticks conflict and compromise boxes.. the Cod War.

Significantly more interesting is the Principality of Sealand and the main parties involved with it. Prince Roy of Sealand is as historical as anyone else, I guess, despite still being alive. There's a reasonably interesting angle on the rather unspoken compromise of the British government on this one.
posted by wackybrit at 6:25 PM on September 10, 2007

Wow! My daughter is actually excited about this assignment now. Thank you all so much.
posted by superduperfly at 6:30 PM on September 10, 2007

Malcolm X, as a member of the Nation of Islam preached militant separatism between the races. Later in life he changed his views significantly and preached brotherhood between the races.
posted by sneakin at 6:37 PM on September 10, 2007

I would research union's and there negotiations with big business and how the issues were eventually resolved. Ultimately, business and its workers need each other but there is always the inherent conflict of how to split the pie.

Along those lines, if your daughter is into sports she could look at how revenue sharing is and salary caps are achieved in each sport. Baseball has a luxury tax as does basketball. Football has a hard cap. You might also look up Curt Flood, although I am not sure that winning a court case counts as compromise.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 7:17 PM on September 10, 2007

"The Great Compromise" which settled the debate of how to have equitable representation between large states and populous states when setting up the Constitution. It's a great topic to expand on how the conflicts between the North and South that led to the Civil War were simmering from the beginning of the Nation.
posted by saffry at 7:25 PM on September 10, 2007

You've got a lot of great suggestions. I would add that pretty much any stage in US labor history is marked by conflict and compromise. Any of the major strikes or organizing campaigns would qualify, I think. Or labor leaders such as Mother Jones or Cesar Chavez.
posted by gingerbeer at 7:30 PM on September 10, 2007

History of the women's suffrage movement in the 19th century (in the US and elsewhere) and how its leaders allied and didn't ally with leading abolitionists of the time. Eg the history leading up to the women's rights convention at Seneca Falls, what happened at the convention, who spoke and who didn't come, etc. There was a strategic, and a moral, question of whether to seek the vote for black people at the same time as seeking the vote for white women, and the leaders of the movements were divided.

(This topic re-emerges in the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s and the women's movement of the 1960s and 1970s. Who chose to ally, who chose to go it alone.)
posted by LobsterMitten at 7:32 PM on September 10, 2007

And of course, any of a dozen issues that arose when the founders were deciding how to set up the US government. The debates set down in The Federalist Papers are classic starting points, if she's interested in conflict and compromise over ideas.
posted by LobsterMitten at 7:35 PM on September 10, 2007

While the division of Berlin is more well-known, probably nobody would write about the division of Tokyo and the bizarre competing civil governments set up after the war; that's a really interesting chapter in relatively recent history.
posted by luriete at 7:35 PM on September 10, 2007

(i.e., nobody else in her class would write...)
posted by luriete at 7:36 PM on September 10, 2007

I'd try to find a subject that matches up with some other interest of hers; any topic can be deadly boring if it's disinteresting to her, conversely, you can find 'conflict and compromise' and historical examples of it in almost any field of human endeavor.

I think all the other suggestions that have been posted here so far are good ones. On the off chance that she might be a science gal, I'll throw out one more: the U.S. use of ex-German scientists in its space and rocketry programs after World War Two. I've always found the personalities involved (Verner Von Braun, etc.) to be endlessly fascinating, and it's interesting to look at both on the personal level, but also on a social/political/policy one.
posted by Kadin2048 at 8:19 PM on September 10, 2007

The Cuban Missile Crisis. The Manhattan Project. Israel's invasion of Egypt.
posted by Rykey at 8:24 PM on September 10, 2007

The history of Quebec in Canada
posted by arcticwoman at 9:12 PM on September 10, 2007

Second thinkingwoman, from above. There was a lot of compromising during WWII if I'm not mistaken, and Berlin was divided among the participants (it's been a long time since I've had a US hx class, but vaguely remember a few points)

One of the really interesting bits here would be the airlift. Berlin is physically in the eastern half of Germany, so it was in Soviet-controlled territory (DDR/GDR). The major compromise was that the Allies could have the western half of Berlin (as well as safe passage on certain transit routes in and out). The major conflict, well, the wall would be a big one. So would the Berlin Airlift, and Kennedy's statement that, "all free men, wherever they may live" were Berliners (in spirit, anyway. Certainly they weren't jelly donuts).
posted by spaceman_spiff at 9:27 PM on September 10, 2007

Thirding or fourthing Berlin!

I did something on Berlin in grade 10 and it was the first time I was excited about a history project.
posted by easternblot at 9:32 PM on September 10, 2007

The Manhattan Project ?

British rule of India and the issues regarding its struggle for independence and eventual partition, centering around Gandhi.
posted by Heywood Mogroot at 10:49 PM on September 10, 2007

Golda Meir, my first and possibly most enduring heroine. Endured conflict and compromise in her startlingly amazing life. Great woman for a middle schooler to be reading about- middle school is hard times for girls (hard times for everyone) and introducing her to more strong, bold women she can look up to is never a bad thought. . .

Of course, there are a lot of other great ideas here, too.
posted by arnicae at 12:34 AM on September 11, 2007

Free blacks who owned slaves (esp. in Louisiana, where it was more likely to be for profit than to protect family members, but either slave-holding for profit or for familial protection are a rich subjects, full of "conflict and compromise").

The legal status of free Negroes, generally, illustrates a fundamental conflict in American ideals of rule of law, of liberty, and of property: note that these three ideals are the central claims of the Declaration of Independence, and then watch how they strain against each other in the legal status and rights afforded free blacks (and in some cases slaves; in some states, it was possible for slaves to bring cases against owners).

The theocratic settlement of the New England states and the development of the Halfway Covenant when the Second Coming didn't happen.

Gradual versus immediate Abolition. Slavery as an intellectual and moral problem versus a pragmatic and political problem. (Stanley Elkins.)
posted by orthogonality at 12:47 AM on September 11, 2007

Yes Heywood, it's a strange (and ultimately tragic) story that involved lots of conflict and compromise.

If you're not familiar, The Manhattan Project was not the building of Manhattan. It was the group of USA scientists who designed The Bomb.
posted by Rykey at 6:08 AM on September 11, 2007