This discussion revolves around the events covered in Alfred Young’s The Shoemaker and the Tea Party: Memory and the American Revolution.
In preparation for this assignment, you will each be named to a team comprised of about ten members. Over the course of the discussion, each team will be debating over two competing propositions:
1. The decline in class inequality in America – that’s what stands out most about the Revolutionary era.”
2. “The persistence of class inequality in America – that’s what stands out most about the Revolutionary era.”
Debate “position” assignments:
If the last two digits of your birth year are ODD, you take #1 debate position.
If the last two digits of your birth year are EVEN, you take #2 debate position.
The debate will go through two phases:
First Phase
For the first phase, each member of your team will have posted a statement of 300-350 words, making the case in support of their proposition.
Second Phase
For the second phase of the discussion, each participant should post two further statements of 200-250 words, each responding to an argument made by a team member from the opposing side.
In formulating your replies, illustrate your points with examples from Alfred Young’s The Shoemaker and the Tea Party: and, where pertinent, from other assigned readings on the Revolutionary period.
