CTCD- HIstory Research Paper

 

Note: Before beginning this assignment, read through information contained in the Scholastic Honesty link on the course menu to the left.

The core assignment of this course is a documented research paper (1200-1700 words in length, approx. 4-6 pages double-spaced, 12-point font).

• The paper should support a thesis statement with information gained from research or investigation.
• The paper will not be just a report presenting information but will be a paper that carefully examines and presents your own historical interpretation of the topic you have chosen and your interpretation of the information you have gathered.
• The paper may include consideration of problems and solutions, definition of key terms, or may refute arguments against your thesis statement.

It will be important to choose a topic of interest to you.

• Approach this assignment with an open and skeptical mind, then form an opinion based on what you have discovered.
• You must suspend beliefs while you are investigating and let the discoveries shape your opinion. (This is a thesis-finding approach.)
• Once you have found your thesis, write the paper to support it.

You will use some of the following critical thinking skills in this process:

1. Choosing an appropriate topic, limiting the topic.
2. Gathering information, summarizing sources.
3. Analyzing and evaluating sources.
4. Defining key terms.
5. Synthesizing information, comparing and contrasting sources.
6. Testing a thesis, making a historical argument, using refutation.
7. Amassing support for a position.
8. Documenting sources

Because this may be a longer paper than you have written before and a complex process is involved, it is recommended that you complete this paper using the following steps:

1. Choose a topic related to chapters covered in The American Yawp, (Chapters 1-15) that you would truly like to explore and that you are willing to spend some time on. Your chosen topic should be focused. Pose a question that you really want to answer. You may want to begin with more than one topic in mind.
2. Do some preliminary reading on the topic(s). You may begin with the textbook, then further explore the information available. Refine your topic. Summarize your topic, your interest in the topic, the questions you want to answer, and a hypothesis you want to test.
3. Gather information from a variety of sources. Use a minimum of four sources for your paper, and at least one must be a primary source.

   Primary sources are contemporary to the times under investigation.
   An example of a secondary source is our textbook, though the textbook also contains excerpts of primary sources, which you may use as a source in your paper.

4. Outline the results of your research and the plan for your paper (you are not required to submit the outline).
5. Write the final draft and be sure to include a Works Cited List, and use the correct MLA documentation style.

Grade Rubric

INTRODUCTION & THESIS: Includes a clear thesis statement, an assertion or position. Topic is original and manageable in a short research paper. /15

FOCUS AND DEVELOPMENT: Body of the essay focuses on this thesis and develops it fully, recognizing the complexity of issues and refuting arguments in opposition to the thesis. /20

SUPPORT AND SYNTHESIS: Uses sufficient and relevant evidence to support the thesis (and primary points), including facts, inferences, and judgments. Quotes, summarizes, and paraphrases accurately and effectively–appropriately introducing and explaining each quote. /25

RESOURCES: Shows a clear understanding of the sources; has evaluated each source and used it appropriately. Uses a wide variety of sources reflecting significant research. /10

CONVENTIONS: Uses MLA format correctly; includes internal citations and a Works Cited list; is free of errors. /15

CORRECTNESS AND STYLE: Introduces the topic in an interesting way; shows critical thinking and depth of understanding; uses appropriate tone; shows sophistication in language usage and sentence structure. /15

Chapter One: The New World

I. Introduction

II. The First Americans

A. Migration histories

i. Bering Strait land bridge

B. Rise of agriculture

i. Mesoamerica

ii. North American river valleys

iii. Eastern Woodlands

C. Cultural practices

i. spiritual practices

ii. kinship ties

iii. matrilineal

iv. communication patterns

D. Diverse Societies

i. Puebloan

ii. Cahokia

iii. Lenapes

iv. Coast Salish

III. European Expansion

A. Motivations

i. economic

ii. religious

B. Early encounters

i. Guanches

ii. Taino

C. Extermination

i. Bartolome de Las Casas

ii. epidemic disease

IV. Spanish Exploration and Conquest

A. Mayans

B. Aztecs

i. Tenochtitlan

ii. empire

C. Incas

D. Conquest

i. Hernan Cortes

ii. Montezuma

iii. Francisco Pizarro

ii. encomienda

iii. repartimiento

E. Early Colonial Society

i. Peninsulares

ii. Criollos

iii. Mestizos

iv. Indios

F. Expansion to North America

i. St. Augustine, Florida

ii. Southwest

Chapter Three: British North America

I. Introduction

II. Slavery and the Making of Race

A. Enslavement of Native Americans

i. war captives

B. legalization

C. Middle Passage

D. “seasoning”

E. gendered labor division

III. Turmoil in Britain

A. English Civil War 1640s

i. Oliver Cromwell

ii. colonial loyalties

iii. Navigation Act of 1651

B. Glorious Revolution 1688

i. Dominion of New England

ii. William & Mary

IV. New Colonies

A. Maryland 1634

i. Quakers & Puritans

B. Connecticut 1636

i. New Haven Colony

C. Rhode Island1644

i. Roger Williams

D. New York 1664

i. Duke of York

E. New Jersey

F. Pennsylvania

i. William Penn

ii. Quakers

G. Carolina 1670

i. Lords Proprietor of Carolina

V. Riot, Rebellion, and Revolt

A. Pequot War 1637

i. “Sword of the Lord”

B. King Philip’s War 1675

i. Metacom

ii. Great Swamp Fight

C. Salem Witch Trials

C. Bacon’s Rebellion 1676

i. Susquehannock War

ii. William Berkeley

iii. Nathaniel Bacon

D. Pueblo Revolt 1680

i. friars

ii. Popé

E. Yamasee War 1715

i. Cherokee

F. Pennsylvania

i. Native Delaware

ii. Walking Purchase of 1737

Chapter Five: The American Revolution

I. Introduction

II. Origins of the American Revolution

A. British imperial view

i. “patriot Whigs”

B. Colonial rights

i. Samuel Adams

ii. ideology of republicanism

iii. John Locke

iv. George Whitefield

v. Anglicization

III. Causes of the American Revolution

A. Change in colonial policy and enforcement

B. 1764 Sugar Act

i. smugglers tried by vice-admiralty Courts

C. 1765 Stamp Act

i. Stamp Act Congress

a. “Declaration of Rights and Grievances”

b. virtual representation

ii. Nonimportation

iii. Sons of Liberty

D. 1766 Declaratory Act

E. 1767 Townshend Acts

i. “symbols of tyranny”

ii. Committees of Correspondence

iii. John Dickinson

F. 1770 Boston Massacre

IV. Independence

A. 1773 Tea Act

i. tea party

B. 1774 Coercive Acts

i. Boston Port Act

ii. Administration of Justice Act

iii. Quartering Act

iv. spread of Committees of Correspondence

v. First Continental Congress

vi. Continental Association

a. Committees of Inspection

C. 1775 “Battle of Bunker Hill”

D. 1775 Second Continental Congress

i. Continental Army

E. Common Sense

F. 1776 Declaration of Independence

V. War for Independence

A. Early strategies

i. Lord Dunmore

ii. “Ethiopian regiment”

B. Trenton

C. 1777 Battle of Saratoga

D. 1778 Treaty of Amity and Commerce

E. Yorktown

F. Effects of the war in the colonies

VI. Consequences of the American Revolution

A. State constitutions

i. “popular sovereignty”

B. Articles of Confederation

C. End of mercantilism

D. Westward expansion