Short Essay 1: Description Your first short essay should each consist of a 4-5 page description or analysis of a subject based on original source documents or on what you observe during a site visit. Do not base your essay solely on secondary material. |
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| Life in Colonial America. For this project you will look at life in Colonial America and examine the experiences of many who came to these sometimes friendly, sometimes hostile shores. | |
| Colonial Virginia Jamestown was the first permanent English colony in North America, but it came close to not surviving. This project looks at the trials and tribulations of the early Virginians. | |
| Religion in Colonial America. The Puritans were not the only religious colonists. Religion was in fact part of the fabric or every colony, and church and state were intimately tied together. This project asks you to examine religion across the colonies. | |
| The Massachusetts Puritans. The term “Puritan” immediately conjures up a picture in the minds of most Americans: a Puritan was a stolid, generally unhappy, religious fanatic, dour and unsmiling, someone afraid of pleasure. But was there more to the founders of Massachusetts Bay than that? This project invites you to examine the contributions of the Puritans to American history. | |
| The Enlightenment and America. For those who are curious about the intellectual development of the United States, an examination of the impact of the European enlightenment on American thinking during the colonial period may be of interest. Arguably, the most significant outcome of the Enlightenment—or “Age of Reason”—was the American Revolution. | |
| The Founding Congresses This Project Addresses the Colonial and Early American Assemblies, Congresses and Conventions that were Instrumental in Shaping the United States, from the Stamp Act Congress to the Constitutional Convention. | |
| The Revolutionary War Era. What was the American Revolution really about? In fact, was it really a revolution at all? | |
| American Political Parties. America has been fortunate in its political history in that the basic structure—the two-party system, which we inherited largely from the British—has led to a stable system of government which, contested elections aside, has not by its nature led to serious divisions in the country. (In the matter of political issues, of course, considerable divisions have occurred.) | |
| A Constitution Project or Bill of Rights Project. Study America's founding document, maybe the most profound political document ever written. | |
| Tocqueville's America. Alexis de Tocqueville, a French aristocrat, visited America in 1831 and 1832 and wrote what has often been called the greatest book ever written about America and the greatest book about democracy. Get to know this astute observer of America. | |
| Early Texas Project. The History of the Mexican Province of Tejas, which eventually became the independent Republic of Texas and then the 28th state of the United States, is one of the most interesting side-shows in early American history. Heroes Sam Houston, Stephen Austin and many others left an indelible mark on the state and the nation. | Alamo, San Antonio or San Jacinto Memorial |
| The Seneca Falls Project. This project asks you to address an important milestone in the history of women's rights in America. The 1848 Convention, noted for its famous “Seneca Falls Declaration,” brought attention to the status of women and argued forcefully for change. This project may also be used for a Part 3 project. | |
Projects Home | Syllabus 121 | Assignments | updated
February 18, 2008
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