For the second exam, you must write an essay that evaluates the following statement: By the 1840s, the democratic potential of the American Revolution had largely been fulfilled. (So, you can agree with the statement, disagree, partly agree, etc.). In answering this question, your essay needs to do the following: Your essay must address the creation of the Constitution (module 6) and at least two of the following topics: slavery; women’s rights; the Whiskey Rebellion; the Alien and Sedition Acts/Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions; and antebellum politics (i.e., the election of 1828 and the emergence of the Democratic Party; the Bank War, and/or the Nullification Crisis).
It must begin with a clear introductory paragraph that establishes the topic and has a clear thesis statement; your thesis statement is your argument (which is your take on the statement in the prompt); i.e.: The statement in the prompt is problematic. Because of blah blah blah, by the 1840s the U.S. had yet to reach its democratic potential. For each topic you address, you must include at least one specific example from the module materials for that topic (such as the reading from the American Yawp, one of my lectures, a debrief, etc.) And, at least one of the sources you cite/use in the essay must be a primary source.
For this requirement, you will be evaluated on how clearly you use the the material to which you are referring and how well you explain the example in relation to your overall thesis. Your examples must be drawn from at least three different modules. You must only use course materials (do not use any other materials). You must cite your sources when referring to them – whether paraphrasing, summarizing, or quoting directly. Since you are only using course materials, you can cite using parenthesis as follows: For the American Yawp: (American Yawp, Ch # and Part #) For a document/primary source from the module: (Bacon’s Declaration, p. 2) A lecture or video: (Module 2 lecture, give approx. time stamp for reference); (“Winning Independence,” give approx. time stamp) Home work or homework debrief: (Module 1 Homework debrief, p. #) The body of the essay must consist of clear paragraphs that logically develop your argument. You will not be graded on grammar (however, I need to be able to understand your sentences, and you could lose points for excessive typos). The essay must conclude with brief concluding paragraph that reinforces the overall thesis.
