History

History 1301 Analysis Paper- “Equality Then and Now”

One of the most cherished ideals of U.S. history comes from the Declaration of Independence, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” An important part of American history is the nation’s attempts to live up to this ideal of treating people fairly. In this assignment, you will analyze how well the U.S. lived up its ideal of fairness during the early national period, and then compare it to how well the nation is adhering to this principle today. Here is your prompt:

Write a two-part essay discussing how well the U.S. has lived up to the ideals of the Declaration of Independence. In Part I, using specific examples from the period of the American Revolution through Andrew Jackson’s presidency, discuss:

• Achievement of equality for white men.

• Achievement of equality for Native Americans.

• Achievement of equality for African Americans (slave and free).

Conclude Part I by ranking on a scale of 1-10 (with 10 being the highest), how well the nation lived up to its “all men are created equal” ideal during this period of U.S. history.

In Part II, do the same analysis for America in the 21st century. Discuss how well the nation is doing today in living up to the Declaration of Independence, ranking this period on a 1-10 scale. Be sure to support your view with specific examples. Conclude the essay with a paragraph comparing your rankings of the 2 periods. (In other words, summarize why you ranked one period over the other.)

Sources: For Part I, you are to use information/examples from assigned course materials (i.e., course readings and/or lectures). No other sources are to be used, as the purpose of his essay is to determine how well you’ve learned assigned readings and lectures in the class. For Part II, you may use articles obtained from the SIRS Researcher or America’s News databases, found in the college’s library. Here is a link to a short video explaining how to access these databases.

Format: Type double-spaced in MLA format, using in-text citations (If you are unfamiliar with this format, click on this link for guidance and examples.) Include a Works Cited page.

Font: a standard 12 font such as Ariel or New Times Roman

Length: 1200-1400 words (body of the paper) If you write more than 1400 words, I will only grade the first 1400. Per the rubric below, I suggest you balance your paper as follows:

• Part I: about 750-850 words

• Part II: about 300-400 words

• Conclusion: about 150 words

Save your essay as a file in Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx) or Rich Text Format (.rtf) and turn it in to the appropriate Canvas Turnitin item. (Include your last name as part of your file name.) I encourage you to use Turnitin to ensure that you do not accidentally plagiarize, and you can also use it to check for grammar errors. You are welcome to revise and resubmit your essay to Turnitin as often as you’d like prior to the assignment deadline. I will grade your last submission.

Use direct quotes sparingly; I am much more interested in your descriptions and analysis. Overuse of direct quotes will reduce your grade. As a rule of thumb, target your paper to be no more than 15% non-original text, as noted in the Originality Report generated by Turnitin.

Plagiarism can result in a failing grade for the course (see syllabus). I WILL be checking for plagiarism, so don’t do it!