Use this book:
For the Record: A Documentary History of America, Volume 1 edition 8.
How to use the documents:
Part of the assignment is determining which documents fit the question. Obviously, documents from the nineteenth century will not answer a question about the seventeenth century. However, all documents from the appropriate time period may not be relevant to the question. As you read each document, ask yourself whether or not it fits the question. Also, make sure to consider the viewpoint of the author of the document. For example, a millworker and a factory owner are likely to have different perspectives on industrialization. Make sure you take these differences into account.
How to write the paper:
In answering the question, you will be making an argument supported by the available evidence. This is how historians work. You should set out your general argument in the first paragraph. Each following paragraph should start with a thesis statement followed by the supporting evidence. Your concluding paragraph should recap your argument and present conclusions based on the evidence. In terms of style, avoid use of the first person and, in general, use the active rather than the passive voice. As you are only using one book, you will not need formal footnotes. Rather, after each direct quotation, paraphrase, or statement of fact that is not common knowledge, put the page number in parentheses at the end of the sentence.
The purpose of this assignment is to introduce the student to the process of history, that is, evaluating evidence from contemporary sources and drawing conclusions. You will only be using the documents from For the Record. You will have a limited amount of available evidence, but the evidence in any historical study is rarely complete. The essays should be 1200 words long and the language should be formal.
PROMPT: Compare the colonization efforts of the Spanish, French, and English. How did those nations differ in reasons for colonization, imperial structure, and relations with the Native Americans? What did those nations have in common?
