Assignment Requirements:
Your responses need:
This essay must be 3-4 pages minimum
The essay must include a thesis statement. Make an argument that needs facts to support it.
Each essay must rely on evidence from classroom lectures, our revel textbook, and the OER textbook. YOU MAY NOT USE OUTSIDE SOURCES LIKE THE INTERNET!
Click here for Revel Textbook https://socket.pearsoned.com/uiservice/dashboard/bb26dc77-21ff-4a07-856a-246bfc049c66
Click here for the link to the OER textbook. ( https://openstax.org/details/books/us-history?Book%20details ) I will also provide access to the lectures and textbook after being hired.
You must use a primary and secondary source. There are two documents uploaded to show the difference between Primary and Secondary sources. Lectures do not count.
You must cite where you got each piece of evidence [For Example: “Hitler annexed Austria in 1938” (Created Equal) or “African Americans were often forced to take bogus literacy tests before they were outlawed in 1965 (“Voting Literacy Test 1965” in Created Equal) or “The Union Stockyards are an example of Gilded Age industrialism” (Gilded Age Lecture)]
Use in-text citations.
Essays should ONLY include topics that happened between 1492 and 1877.
Submit essays in Word doc
Follow the question prompts carefully. If a question asks you to give five specific examples, give five examples. If the question asks you to discuss the cause and effects, please discuss both.
The number one thing that students do wrong in these essays is over-generalize. Be very clear and very explicit. Do not tell me, for example, that the lives of women changed in the 20th century because “they got more freedoms.” That will not receive a passing grade. Instead, you should talk about things like the 19th Amendment or the specific things feminism did for women.
Please choose ONE question for your essay
1. Today, the American Revolution seems inevitable. But for colonists, the decision to revolt was fraught with indecision. Explore the viewpoints of those who were loyal to the crown. Were those viewpoints justified? Please cite at least four examples while being specific in your response using evidence from your textbook, primary source readings, lectures, and videos to support your argument.
2. Explain the development of a National Economy beginning with the First Industrial Revolution and ending in the Antebellum Period. Please cite at least four examples while being specific in your response using evidence from your textbook, primary source readings, lectures, and videos to support your argument.
3. Explore the concept of Religion in US History: Your response should include four specific examples of how religion has influenced the United States. You might find examples of how religion influenced the founding of the United States, politics, military actions, or economy. Your examples should happen between 1492 and 1877. Your responses must be based on historical records and primary source evidence. It should avoid your own personal feelings about religion and not make value-based judgments regarding a particular faith (i.e. you should not make statements regarding which religions are “right” or “wrong” or that it is a “good” or “bad” thing that the country follows a particular faith. )
4. The country grew tremendously during the 19th century (1800-1899). Explore how 19th-century Americans decided who was “American” and who wasn’t. Discuss four examples where the qualifications and/or characteristics of Americanism were discussed and debated in the readings.
5. Throughout history there are clear divisions between urban and rural geographies and cultures. Pick two specific eras discussed in this course and describe how urban and rural Americans had very different experiences. Be specific in your response using evidence from your textbook, primary source readings, lectures, and videos to support your argument.
6. How did the issue of slavery cause the Civil War? (move beyond simplistic answers like the North wanted to end slavery and the South didn’t.) Please cite at least four examples being specific in your responses. Please use evidence from your textbook, primary source readings, lectures, and videos to support your argument. Be flexible in your thinking, as answers are everywhere.
