Description
- Write an essay responding to the following prompt. As a grader, I approach these unit essays as the equivalent of a timed in class essay in a face to face class. You received the prompt in advance so should have developed your response. You should only spend about an hour crafting the essay. I am not expecting the same quality as I would for an out of class essay like The Source Paper, which you have longer to work on.
- In chapter 3, Zinn writes: “Those upper classes, to rule, needed to make concessions to the middle class, without damage to their own wealth or power, at the expense of slaves, Indians, and poor whites. This bought loyalty. And to bind that loyalty with something more powerful even than material advantage, the ruling group found, in the 1760s and 1770s, a wonderfully useful device. That device was the language of liberty and equality, which could unite just enough whites to fight a Revolution against England, without ending either slavery or inequality.” To what extent do you agree with Zinn?
- Or to simplify this for you: How revolutionary was the Revolution? Totally, somewhat, or not revolutionary at all?Some tips for success:
- Include a strong thesis statement that identifies your argument, previews your body point, and articulates the answer to the so what question or articulates a historical significance. Why do we care?
- Use specific examples from Zinn and our lectures (Stamp Act, The Regulator Movement, Shay’s Rebellion etc). Make sure to explain the significance of all examples. The more concrete and content related examples in the essay, the higher the grade
- If I were responding to this prompt I would argue that it was somewhat revolutionary. I’d focus on religious freedom and conversations about race (i.e. Banneker), but I would show that not much changed during the period for women, people of color, or poor whites
- Course Learning ObjectivesAssignment Learning ObjectivesRelated ReadingCreate an argument through the use of historical evidence.Make a historically accurate argument about the significance of the American Revolution to the eighteenth century
- Schaller 1-8
- Gray White 1
- Zinn 1-5