Posted: December 9th, 2014

How and why did the ideas of an American empire change from the 1790s to the 1850s? Did the definition of "American Exceptionalism" change as well?

How and why did the ideas of an American empire change from the 1790s to the 1850s? Did the definition of “American Exceptionalism” change as well?

Order Description

Overview

In this assignment you will write an essay based primarily upon Units 3 and 4 materials. You will upload the assignment through the link at the bottom of this page.

Worth up to 100 points, or one letter grade (10%) of your semester grade.

Details: 2-3 pages, double spaced, 12 pt type, 1 inch margins. Grammar, logic, and clarity count. Specific and detailed evidence required.

You will pull together skills learned in the three previous Reactions in this assignment. All students MUST

use primary documents (you MUST utilize the Manifest Destiny book documents and you may chose to use other assigned documents) in this assignment
consider change over time
utilize Rule of Three organization

This is an individual assignment – do not work on it with others
Assignment Prompt

How and why did the ideas of an American empire change from the 1790s to the 1850s? Did the definition of “American Exceptionalism” change as well?

Be sure to use the Rule of Three in this assignment. You should have an intro with thesis statement, at least three paragraphs in the body (one for each point of the

thesis) and a conclusion. The best way to organize is to use political, economic, and social as your thesis points.

This essay must use documentary evidence from the Manifest Destiny and American Territorial Expansion book.
THE “RULE OF THREE”

You will need to use an analytical writing style in this class. The basic form of analytical writing utilizes the “Rule of Three.” Simply, there should be at least

three key points/pieces of evidence in a piece of writing introduced by a strong clear thesis.

This is a 2-3 page essay length assignment. Your paper should begin with an Introduction which sets the prompt in the historical context, the LAST sentence of the

intro paragraph is the thesis statement which lists the (minimum of) three points (X,Y,Z) that will be more fully developed in the paper. The first paragraph of the

body (paragraph 2) would discuss key point X (this paragraph would have its own thesis as the first sentence, followed by three pieces of evidence/analysis in

support), then a paragraph on Y, and finally one on Z. An essay ends with a conclusion paragraph – which sums up the argument you made and ties X, Y, and Z together.

The conclusion is NOT the place to introduce new arguments or evidence.

Another way of thinking about it is that an essay is comprised of three paragraphs in the body of similar composition to the one paragraph you wrote in the Reaction 1

exercise.

So Rule of Three means three key points in a thesis, a body with three paragraphs (one for each of your key points), each paragraph has a thesis supported by three key

pieces of evidence. Followed by a conclusion.

Important notes

All information you need to respond to the prompt is contained within the materials assigned in the 1311 course module. I want you to react to the assigned materials.

DO NOT DO OUTSIDE RESEARCH or seek your answer on the internet.

I also want to know what YOU think, therefore DO NOT DIRECTLY QUOTE SECONDARY SOURCE MATERIALS. Most students use quotes as fillers, this is unacceptable in a college

history course and does not reflect upon YOUR understanding of the topic at hand. The only acceptable use of a quote is a short (phrase or sentence) quotation from a

primary source document (properly identified and cited) that you immediately discuss and is part of your analysis.

PRIMARY SOURCE = Something produced in the historical era under study

SECONDARY SOURCE = Something produced at a later date. A history textbook, a documentary film, etc.
How the Assignment is Graded

The assignment is worth up to 100 points. The following factors are taken into account when I grade:

THESIS – Do you have a well thought out and clear thesis?

EVIDENCE – You must have solid evidence for each point you raise in the thesis. Evidence is not simply a statement, there must be an explanation of how that evidence

supports the thesis statement. You must provide a MINIMUM of THREE pieces of evidence in support of your argument.

Example: If you were writing a paragraph on the causes of the Cold War, you might use the Baruch Plan as an example. Simply writing “the Baruch Plan was a cause of the

Cold War” in your paragraph would not be enough to earn a point. However, the following sentences would earn a point:

“One cause of the Cold War was the failure of the United States and the Soviet Union to agree upon a plan for nuclear disarmament after World War II. The Baruch Plan,

presented by the US, would maintain the American atomic weapon advantage for the foreseeable future. This played into Stalin’s suspicions of the Americans’ true

motivations toward the USSR.”

You should have a minimum of three pieces of evidence in support of your thesis (each point of the thesis needs at least one piece of evidence in support). There are

three possible points here, one for each piece of evidence.

HISTORICAL ACCURACY, CLARITY, AND LOGIC

Is your argument clear and does it make sense? Is it historically accurate? Does your evidence prove your point?

PROPER CITATION

Have you properly cited? Have you used the format required in this course (modified Turabian). You must also FOOTNOTE (see information about creating a footnote in

Word given at the beginning of the course). Parenthetical cites are NOT allowed. No research allowed, so no outside sources.

GRAMMAR AND SPELLING

Is the journal entry up to college standards for grammar and spelling?

Grade Scale:

A = 90-100. Exceptional in all aspects noted above

B = 80-89. Above average in most of the aspects noted above

C = 70-79. Average work

D = 60-69. Below average work

F = 0-59 Unacceptable college level work

UNIT 3 OVERVIEW – THE EARLY REPUBLIC

During this period the young United States will:

secure its independence from Britain
fail at its first attempt at forming a national government
develop a political two-party system (with failures along the way)
expand the franchise for voting (universal adult white male suffrage)
double in size (after the Louisiana Purchase)
fight another war with the British
see a socio-economic transformation with the rise of a national marketplace, the middle class, and a factory system (which is fueled by King Cotton)
undergo an expansion of slavery and increased sectionalism between North, South and West
enjoy another period of religious revival/democratization (the Second Great Awakening)
and see the rise (and sometimes fall) of great American political figures, many of whom are on your money (Jefferson, Madison, Hamilton, Jackson, Clay, and others)

UNIT 4 OVERVIEW

In this unit America expands and then falls apart at the seams:

The Age of Jackson sees the development of “white man’s democracy” (universal white male suffrage). The West will play an increasingly important role, as will the

common man, in the affairs of the nation.
We see the rise of the modern Democratic Party and the Whig party and the development of a strong Two-Party system
As the country expands westward, we go through the period of trying to balance slave and free states to maintain status quo in Congress, concern before 1850 is more

about power than abolition.
The era of Manifest Destiny in the 1840s sees the dreams of a continental nation take shape. Annexation of the Republic of Texas, war with Mexico and diplomacy with

Britain will create the familiar shape of the modern “lower 48.”
The Gold Rush in California will bring about a new crisis as the territory gains enough population for early statehood. The last great compromise to allow California

statehood leads to more northerners becoming abolitionists.
In the 1850s the center cannot hold, the national government fails to effectively govern, and the country edges closer to disunion. There is violence in Kansas as the

country begins breaking apart. The two party system fails and a new, regional party – the Republican party – gains strength in the North.
The election of a “regional” Republican president will lead to the secession of many deep southern states; the decision by this president to fire on Ft. Sumter leads

to civil war and the secession of more southern states.

PLACE THIS ORDER OR A SIMILAR ORDER WITH US TODAY AND GET AN AMAZING DISCOUNT 🙂