American HIST

History 1301 Online - Final Essay Prompt

A major theme in this course has been effect of slavery on the development of the United States as a

nation. Your essay will address the two prompts below. Please note the rubric at the end, as it indicates

there is considerably more weighting on prompt #1 than on prompt #2.

Prompt #1 is designed to see what you’ve learned from the readings and audio lectures assigned in this

course; therefore, these are the only sources you are allowed to use to address this prompt. Remember

that copying passages, even as short as 5-6 words, can constitute plagiarism. Copying any material,

including Internet sources, can result in you failing the course, so don’t do it. I will be checking for

this. No citations are necessary. Here are your prompts:

1) Using four (and only four) specific examples, explain how the United States attempted to

resolve the slavery issue from the period of the American Revolution up to the beginning of the

Civil War. (These attempts could be things such as laws, proposed laws, court cases and/or

political party platforms.) Be sure to write this as a narrative, meaning that it should read like

a story (i.e., there should be some sort of connection as you move from one example to the

next). Do not simply write this part of the essay as a series of four bullet points. Tell your

story of how the nation tried to resolve the slavery issue in chronological order. For each of

your examples, discuss not only what was proposed regarding slavery, but also the conditions

that led to your example and the effects of your example. Use separate paragraphs for each

example.

2) In your opinion, how strongly is the nation’s history regarding slavery affecting America

today? Support your argument with a specific example.

You will be graded on the basis of the rubric below.

Grading Rubric*

Item Value

Writing clarity (grammar, spelling, punctuation, overall organization) 20%

Prompt #1: Historical accuracy and clarity of identification of 4 specific

examples. Accuracy of discussion of causes and effects of each example.

70%

Prompt #2: Clarity of argument and support with a specific example. 10%

*A detailed rubric is posted in Canvas where you turn in the assignment.

Format: typed, with double-spaced lines

Length: 800-900 words (You can write more than 900, but I will only read the first 900 words.)

Font: a standard 12 font such as Ariel or New Times Roman

Save your essay as a Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx) or Rich Text Format (.rtf) file and turn it in to the

Final Essay assignment area. (Be sure to include your last name as part of your file name.)