Declaration of Independence Analysis

Essay 650-1100 words in length. (You can go over but please don’t go too far over a 10-15% overage is acceptable). – Note 650 is a minimum, a minimum length essay usually equals a minimum grade, typically shorter essays that just meet the minimum do not do very well. Please review the supplemental review guide and the overall review guide before you start reading the chapters. Also I suggest as you read you get a note sheet by your PC or book to jot down a few notes as you read. The Essay is an analysis of the Declaration of Independence and the Rough Draft of the Declaration. You need to be able to tell me why the document is the way it is, what events and ideas influenced it, and its purpose beyond just being a declaration. And you need to be able to call on individual historical examples to back up your conclusions. You also need to have a thesis with an argument and a Blueprint. A blueprint is a part of the thesis that helps layout how you plan to argue your essay, i.e. the general topics you might address such as slavery, politics, trade, etc. I also suggest you read – don’t skim – the Declaration of Independence and the Rough Draft (found in Unit 2 supplemental readings section) before you read the chapters, this way as you read the chapters when you see historical events that influenced the Declaration you are more likely to recognize them. The question/ prompt is outlined more fully in the Supplemental Unit 2 study guide, but don’t ignore the normal study guide, you need to look at both. I will also let you know 2-3 examples is not enough I expect you to engage 6-10 different examples and concepts so prep for the essay do not write it on the fly, if you write it on the fly you likely will not do well. Also do not quote too much, It is ok to quote the declaration, but quotes need to be short, in quotations, and cited (they do not count towards word limits) and do not use websites other than those I provided. (I.e. Do not use History.com or wikipedia, etc)