Writing Assignments for History 279
Each of you will be asked to write a short paper (about 5 pages) for each part of a course. Rather than a research paper as we understand the term, your essay should be more on the order of a summary of what you looked at, what you learned and what you thought was important to remember. In other words, it might take the form of an extended, annotated bibliography. It will be useful for you to spend more time on research and les on writing. I assume all of you know how to write papers.
For these essays I encourage you to pursue an area which you feel you would like to use in your classes. It might be related to Native Americans (hte real losers in the Revolution), the roles of women, the impact of the revolution on the lives of ordinary people, what the Constitution means to us, or perhaps biographical sketches of some of the figures you will be talking to your students about. If you want to look for some ideas, you might browse my history 121 site and the projects for parts one and two, some of which may be appropriate for you.
You can think of this in terms of preparing a module for a course you teach, or perhaps as background for a project you might assign your students, as appropriate for you grade level.
Part 1: Background and Causes
The first writing assignment deals with the background causes of the American Revolution. The most important question to ask might be, “Was the American Revolution inevitable?” A related question is, “Could independence have been achieved without war?” Note that these topics will be discussed in the forums.
The reason these questions are relevant to our times goes to an exhibit currently on display in the National Museum of American history called “The Price of Freedom: Americans at War.” The description on the Smithsonian web site states: “The Price of Freedom: Americans at War surveys the history of America’s military from the French and Indian Wars to the present conflict in Iraq, exploring ways in which wars have been defining episodes in American history.” Students who have visited this exhibit seemed to come away with the impression that freedom can be achieved only through violence, and it seems to me worthwhile to ask whether or not this is necessarily true. Perhaps you have taken or might take your classes to this exhibit. Yu could look at this assignment as preparation for such a visit.
What do you think? Here early in the 21st century are we stuck with the notion that the only way that people can become free is by other people fighting and dying? IS that what you want to convey to your classes.
(PS: Although your instructor is a retired Marine officer, he considers himself a “rational pacifist,” based on the notion of Sir Basil Henry Liddell Hart that, “If you want peace, understand war.” Liddell Hart has been studied by officers in virtually every military school in the United States. )
Part 2: The Revolution
The writing assignment for part two, the Revolution itself, goes to the question of how “revolutionary” the American Revolution really was. I have posed this question in various places, but the essence of it is this: Did the American Revolution change basic relationships between the American people and government? Did significant changes occur in American society as a result of the American Revolution? In other words, did the American revolution and achieve something significant beyond them a mere transfer of power from Great Britain to the new United States? These questions will be posted in the forum.
The American Revolution has been held up over time as an example for the rest of the world; America has been very quick to support what have been called “liberation” movements, starting with the Spanish colonies in this hemisphere, Cuba, the Philippines, and more recently countries in more remote corners of the globe. I would like you to explore the meaning of revolution and how our experience provides both lessons and warnings to other peoples seeking to be free.
Part 3: A New Republic
The w riting assignment for part three asks you to explore the nature of our constitutional government. I would like you to take a close look at a portion of the Constitution, including any of the 27 amendments. Try to examine the portion of the Constitution which you choose by looking at the Federalist papers, debates over ratification of the Constitution, anti-federalist ideas expressed in the ratifying conventions, and other commentaries on the history and evolution of the United States Constitution. You may focus on the presidency, the Congress, the courts, or any other aspect of American government about which you would like to discover more information.
As the time for work on these papers approaches I will ask you to discuss your ideas in a forum which will be established for that purpose, so that you might trigger ideas in your fellow students about ways of approaching these assignments.