History 152 Fall 2020

Essay Assignment Due: November 23

25 points Minimum 3 pages

ESSAY: Analysis of Primary Documents

There are links to several primary documents below which relate to 8 historical periods
covered in this class. You choose *one* topic and source (or set of sources). Based on
the readings, you answer indicated questions in the form of an essay. Requirements for
formal essay writing are outlined below. Points are deducted if key elements of formal
essay writing are not followed.

I. Required Essay Format (your grade is based in part on abiding by

proper essay format and requirements as indicated below. Specific points are
deducted for not complying with these basic formal essay requirements.)

Your essay is an argued response to a specific question, or set of questions, related to

your chosen novel. Your essay should be sent as an attachment, not email text; your
attachment must be in WORD format. As a formal essay it should be double-spaced
and carefully proofread. Your response must also:
* start with a clear outlining introduction paragraph indicating the novel analyzed,
make clear question(s) being addressed and *directly
* state your key points in response to the question, in other words, your thesis points.
* be structured as distinct paragraphs; each paragraph or group of paragraphs
addresses one of your key points, then you begin a new point with a new paragraph
* end with a summary concluding paragraph which restates and summarizes key
points asserted and argued in the body of the essay

Increasingly students are writing sloppy, disorganized essays (a reflection of

blogging styles perhaps) which do not include structuring introductions and conclusions
and/or have unfocused paragraphs. If you do not have a clear outlining introduction and
summary conclusion, I deduct up to 4 points.

DO NOT write in the first person (I think, I believe etc.). This is a formal analysis essay –
it should be written in the third person (e.g. one can see etc.)
If you write in the first person rather than objective third person voice, I deduct 2
points.

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All quotations taken from primary sources and novel readings must be properly cited
using MLA or Turabian format. (See HCC library guide to different citation styles.) If you
do not provide citation for your quotations, I deduct 3 points

If you have questions about these points above, let me know. I STRONGLY encourage
you to seek feedback and help with your writing by sending me early drafts.

I. TOPIC: SLAVE TRADE AND SLAVERY

Documents to Read: Excerpts from Slave Narratives
http://www.vgskole.net/prosjekt/slavrute/primary.htm These are narratives from those
enslaved as well as those who carried out the slave trade.
 
Essay Question
Choose a minimum of 4 out of the 46 personal narratives of slaves or slave traders.
After reading these stories, describe what one learns regarding conditions and lives of
slaves and/or their responses to these conditions e.g. treatment and conditions slaves
experienced, how slaves reacted and felt, and/or what responses slaves used to cope
with their conditions.

* Discuss four separate insights gained, four examples of what one learns from these
narratives regarding experiences of and/or responses of slaves to their conditions. As
part of your introduction, you must make clear which specific narratives you are
analyzing.

You must *support* your discussion with specific examples and quotations from these
documents.

II. TOPIC: REVOLUTIONARY IDEAS

Documents to Read:
1. French Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen (August, 1789)
http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/rightsof.asp
2. Declaration of the Rights of Women (1791)  Olympe de Gouges
https://pages.uoregon.edu/dluebke/301ModernEurope/GougesRightsofWomen.pdf
(Read up through Article XVII)
 
Essay Questions (address all questions in your essay):
* Describe two examples of how de Gouges' interpretations and assertions of natural
laws and rights reflect significant changes and/or additions to the wording and focus of
the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen.

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* Identify two insights indicated from de Gouges’ manifesto of the kinds of problems
women faced - injustices or inequities in how women were treated which de Gouges felt
must be changed.

You must *support* your discussion with specific examples and quotations from these
documents.

III. TOPIC: INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

Documents to Read: Parliamentary documents related to urban and industrial
conditions in Britain – read the linked documents
http://www.victorianweb.org/history/workers1.html The different documents are under
the heading ‘Contents’ – each of these titles are active links.

Essay Question
* Based on these testimonies, summarize four examples of the abusive conditions
and/or health threats workers faced in industrial jobs and/or where they lived in the
cities (e.g. sanitation problems indicated in the Chadwick report).  
 
You must *support* your discussion with specific examples and quotations from these
documents.

IV. TOPIC: MEIJI JAPAN

Document to Read: The Constitution of the Empire of Japan, 1889 (written and

promulgated during the Meiji Period)
http://history.hanover.edu/texts/1889con.html

Essay Questions (address both questions in your essay):

* Identify and describe two examples of extensive powers given to the Emperor – in
other words, how the Emperor maintained a prominent governing role.
* Describe two examples of explicit limits on the power of the Emperor which
represented secured rights of citizens.

You must *support* your discussion with specific examples and quotations from this
document.

V. TOPIC: WORLD WAR ONE POETRY

Documents to read: Collections of World War One Poetry – read at least 3-4
poems from each of these three sites.

 Modern History Sourcebook: World War I Poetry:

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1914warpoets.html

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 Poetry from World War I:
http://history.hanover.edu/courses/excerpts/111ww1.html
 Sonnets of World War I: http://www.sonnets.org/wwi.htm

Essay Question

These poems convey the many responses of soldiers who fought in the First World War
- including initial enthusiasm, shock and anger at horrors experienced and resulting
bitterness and disillusionment about the war and their societies (anger directed at their
leaders, citizens at home promoting this war). Read over these poems, then summarize
what you learn about the emotions and attitudes of soldiers, and/or experiences they
underwent, from these poems. You need to discuss four specific points and refer
to/cite from at least four different poems.

You must *support* your discussion with specific examples and quotations from these
documents.

VI. TOPIC: FASCISM IN ITALY AND GERMANY

Documents to read: 
 Benito Mussolini, What is Fascism, 1932
http://www.fordham.edu/Halsall/mod/mussolini-fascism.asp
 The 25 Points: An Early Nazi Program (1920). (This was a list of early NAZI
party goals.). http://www.fordham.edu/Halsall/mod/25points.asp

Essay Questions (address all questions in your essay):

By reading these statements and party goals of Italian and German Fascism, what do
you learn about the fundamental beliefs and goals of Fascism? You should specifically
address the following three questions:

* What are two defining principles of Fascism according to Mussolini?

* What are two stated intentions of the early German NAZI party?
* Why do you think these beliefs and attitudes found significant popular support in Italy
and Germany during the Age of Anxiety?

You must *support* your discussion with specific examples and quotations from these
documents.

VII. TOPIC: CIVILIANS IN WORLD WAR TWO

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Sources to read/listen to:
 Voices of the Holocaust: Survivors’ Testimonies, British Library
https://www.bl.uk/learning/histcitizen/voices/testimonies/survivors.html
(These are short so you should read several – at least 8 - of the linked testimonies.)
 Terror bombing: Eye witness testimonies of bombing of Hiroshima. Read at least two
personal testimonies. http://www.inicom.com/hibakusha/
 Newspaper article describing the Japanese assault on Nanking. Read entire article:
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/nanking.asp

Essay Questions (address all questions in your essay):

* Describe three specific examples of ways civilians were targeted and suffered during this war.
* Explain how reading/hearing about these experiences from first-hand accounts impacts your
understanding of these events.

You must *support* your discussion with specific examples and quotations from these
documents.

VIII. TOPIC: HUMAN RIGHTS

Documents to read:
 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, United Nations, adopted by U.N. General
Assembly, 1948. https://www.un.org/en/universal-declaration-human-rights/index.html
This document was created as a general statement of principles. Then, in
an effort to outline how these goals were to be achieved, several more
specific conventions were adopted by the U.N. in ensuing years; two are
linked below.
 United Nations International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial
Discrimination (in particular read the preamble paragraphs and Articles 1 – 7), 1969.
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/CERD.aspx
 United Nations Convention on the Political Rights of Women, 1954
http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/instree/e2cprw.htm

Essay Questions (address all questions in your essay):

* Describe three universal human rights asserted in these declarations and conventions.
* What historical experiences do you think led to a recognized need to make explicit these
asserted universal rights?
* What are some inherent problems in actually achieving and securing these rights? (For
example, how are these rights supposed to be enforced? What forces, attitudes or agendas
stand in the way? Look closely, some obstacles are explicitly indicated in the language of these
documents as qualifications to these universal rights)

For all arguments made, *support* your discussion with specific examples and direct
quotations.