HIST 1301 PBE: Mastery Assessment 3 Essay Prompts
Prompt One: The Constitution
The U.S. Constitution was the work of a committee of many individuals with different ideas. Its existence is credited to compromise. Despite compromise its ratification was never certain. James Madison (left image) argued for ratification in Federalist Paper No. 10. Patrick Henry (center image) and George Mason (right image) argued against ratification in Virginia. Read these works related to ratification and use them, plus those sources you find on your own, to write an argumentative essay.
1. Should the Constitution have been ratified? Use this question to develop your argument statement. Your argument answers this question. One paragraph.
2. Use evidence from the primary sources provided and a secondary source of your choosing to support your argument. 4-5 paragraphs.
3. Finally, write your warrant (conclusion). Explain why your evidence supports your argument. One paragraph.
Sources: These should be cited as an article on a website.
James Madison: Federalist Paper No. 10
Patrick Henry and George Mason: Arguments against Ratification
Prompt Two: Women’s Rights
The relationship between men and women is a topic of great interest, and many of the issues we face today had roots in earlier eras of American history. Explore the issues facing women in mid-Nineteenth Century America by reading the anti-slavery pamphlet by Harriet Jacobs (right image) and the “Declaration of Sentiments” by Elizabeth Cady Stanton (left image) from the Seneca Falls Convention. Read their arguments and use these sources, plus those you find on your own, to write an argumentative essay calling for women’s rights and gender equality
1. How were men and women treated differently in the 19th Century and why should they be equals within our society? Use this question to develop your argument statement. Your argument answers this question. One paragraph.
2. Use evidence from the primary sources provided and a secondary source of your choosing to support your argument. 4-5 paragraphs.
3. Finally, write your warrant (conclusion). Explain why your evidence supports your thesis.
Sources: Citation information is on the title page at the top of the link.
Declaration of Sentiments by Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Trials of a Girlhood by Harriet Jacobs
Prompt 3: American Independence
Colonial calls for independence from Great Britain were political, economic, and often personal. Samuel Adams (left image) of Boston, MA and Patrick Henry (right image) of Virginia were leaders of the independence movement. Read their arguments and use these sources, plus those you find on your own, to write an argumentative essay calling for American independence.
1. Should the English colonies seek independence from Great Britain? Use this question to develop your argument statement. Your argument answers this question. One paragraph.
2. Use evidence from the primary sources provided and a secondary source of your choosing to support your argument. 4-5 paragraphs.
3. Finally, write your warrant (conclusion). Explain why your evidence supports your thesis. One paragraph.
Sources: These should be cited an article on a website.
Samuel Adams: “On American Independence”
Patrick Henry, “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death”
