In an essay that is approximately 750 words in length, answer the provided question using one or more primary sources from the relevant portion of your reader, Containing Multitudes: A Documentary Reader of the American Past, as well as any source(s) provided by your instructor. Your essay should contain a thesis or argument that answers the question and should use evidence from the source to support that argument. You may use your textbook and/or lecture notes in your answer.
Your analysis of the primary source(s) should include the following information:
Reflection Question: Using the Containing Multitudes: A Documentary Reader of the American Past, you will need to use the primary sources in Chapter 12 (Westward Expansion) to try to answer the following:
What factors drove westward expansion? What problems or tensions did this cause? What ideas or beliefs helped motivate expansion?
Your analysis of the primary source(s) should include the following information:
What type of sources are these?
Who produced these sources? When?
What was the context in which these sources were created?
What biases or agendas do you see influencing these sources?
Demonstrate how the sources provide evidence to support your answer to the question.
In addition, excellent essays will make broader connections between the social or ethical issues presented in the sources and those of other historical periods, including the present.
Your essay must include documentation of the sources within the essay. Your instructor will provide further clarification about the type of documentation required.
