You may choose either of the two prompts for your paper topic.
Prompt 1: America’s Founding Fathers took great inspiration from the Medieval and Early Modern British inheritance as they forged the nation’s founding documents—including the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. I want you to summarize and discuss this inheritance. From the Magna Carta, the Petition or Right, the writings of John Locke to the English Bill of Right 1689, I want you to look at the primary documents and highlight how they influenced the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution using specific examples from the primary documents and details. Minimum requirements: one primary document, one article from a scholarly history journal, and one book. You may also use material from acceptable websites.
Prompt 2: You will choose one of the presidents from Washington to Grant to assess how he shaped and influenced the identity of the nation AND/OR whether the nation’s identity shaped and influenced his presidency. We will be discussing this question of national identity throughout the course as part of this larger idea of “American Exceptionalism,” so you should be keeping this assignment in the back of your mind throughout the semester. Minimum requirements: one primary document (i.e., a Presidential speech, piece of legislation, diary entry, etc.), one article from a scholarly history journal, and one book. You may also use material from acceptable websites.
This essay is due on June 21st at 11:59pm. It is to be 3-5 pages in length, Times New Roman font with standard margins. I want you to use Chicago Manual of Style to document your sources and use footnotes in doing so. I have posted word .doc versions of the primary documents in your resources section on Canvas for ease of reference and sourcing. Good Luck.
