Essay Prompt
Throughout this course, we’ve discussed national identity, land ownership, civil rights,
workers’ rights, and how some of these rights were extended to some groups, but remained limited to others. Choose one of the topics below and explain how the issue shaped American identity and citizenship by analyzing course readings and lecture content. After clearly stating your thesis, your body paragraphs should support the thesis by using direct quotes from course readings. Connect to historical content of the time including the U.S. Constitution and the Nevada Constitution.
Conclude your essay with commentary on how your topic continues to shape American identity and U.S. society by using examples of current debates.
Topics to choose from: ethnic identity (e.g., race and racism), men’s roles (e.g., the
self-made man), women’s roles (e.g., republican motherhood, women’s rights), workers’ rights, property, and land
Essay 1 Instructions and Criteria
Write a 3–5 page, double-spaced paper (750 – 1250 words) that adheres to MLA style guidelines and addresses the topic below.
Your essay must be well structured and contain an introductory paragraph with a clearly stated thesis statement (see “The Introductory Paragraph” for more information on how to write a good introduction). In addition to an introduction and conclusion, your essay must have a minimum of three fully developed paragraphs in the body (with evidence supporting the arguments raised in each paragraph). You must also use at least three separate sources, not including the U.S. or Nevada Constitution, from texts assigned to this course.
Core Objectives (COs)
Core Objective 5: History and Culture Students will be able to describe the processes by which past and present societies have been created and perpetuated through their history, ideas, and cultural products. Students will engage both historical and contemporary cultural texts through critical reading, analysis, and interpretation in the context of culture, society, and individual identity.
Core Objective 8: Constitution: Students will demonstrate familiarity with the origins, history, and essential elements of the constitutions of the United States and Nevada, as well as the evolution on American institutions and ideals.
Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs)
Students successfully completing CH 203 will be able to: 1. Express ideas clearly and persuasively, using relevant evidence to support their arguments. 2. Analyze primary source texts with attention to content, historical and cultural context, and
rhetorical techniques.
- Trace the sources and development of American intellectual traditions and cultural institutions, with attention to the diversity of experiences and voices that shaped the nation.
- Identify how significant artistic and cultural movements as well as scientific and technological developments influenced Americans’ changing sense of themselves and their society.
- Connect the beliefs, values, and actions of past generations of Americans to contemporary conditions in the United States.
- Identify the historical origins, philosophical foundations, core principles, and evolution of the United States and Nevada Constitutions.