Signature Assignment
In an essay that is approximately 750 words in length, analyze the provided historical image and place it within its proper historical context. Your essay should contain a thesis or argument that answers the question below and use evidence from the image to support that argument. You may use your textbook and/or lecture notes in your answer.
In your analysis, answer the following question:
What does this image reveal about the time period in which it was produced?
In order to answer this question, you may consider addressing the following:
- Who produced the image?
- When was the image produced?
- Who was the intended audience?
- What is the purpose of the image? What messages does it convey?
- What is the historical context in which the source was produced and viewed?
- What unspoken assumptions does the image contain?
- What biases are detectable in the image?
Additionally, be sure to connect your analysis of the image to an ethical issue during the time it was produced or during the present day that illustrates your understanding of how this image relates to a sense of personal and social responsibility. For example, in what ways does this image reveal how individual actions and choices have affected our broader society and our nation? Devote approximately 250 of your 750 words to this exploration of personal and social responsibility revealed in the image.
2. Benjamin Franklin’s political cartoon calling for colonial unity during the French
and Indian War (used again during the American Revolution).2
2 Join or Die. Courtesy of the Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, LC-USZC4-5315.
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