Us history Reaction Paper

Week 7: Reaction Paper

For this week's reaction paper, you have two options to choose from. Address the questions for ONE of the options below:

Option 1: Select three terms from this week's list of terms. Write five well-developed sentences per term. Include everything you consider important about this term in your own words and explain its historical significance (or why it is worth studying). You should use information only from the video lessons and the American Yawp online textbook. Do not copy anything from the Internet.  Your response should be 12-font, single-spaced. You need to write a minimum of one page. 

• Compromise of 1850


• Kansas-Nebraska Act


• Dred Scott Supreme Court Decision


• The American Party in the 1850s


• The Republican Party in the 1850s


• John Brown's Raid on Harpers Ferry


• 1860 Election


• Secession Crisis


• Second Wave of Secession

Option 2: For historical context watch the videos on Bleeding Kansans and John Brown's Raid at Harpers Ferry in this week's lesson.  Then, read the article, "John Brown: Villain or Hero?"

Address the questions using examples from the article. Your response should be 12-font, single-spaced. You need to write a minimum of one page. 

1. What evidence does the author give to support the argument that John Brown was a hero?

2. What evidence does the author give to support the argument that John Brown was a villain?

3. In your final assessment, was John Brown a villain or hero? 

Format of the assignment:

On the top of the page, type: "Week 7-Reaction Paper." Type Option 1 (or Option 2 depending on your choice). Then type the first question or term, and then your answer right under it. Then, type the second question or term, and your answer under it. Your paper should be 12-font, single-spaced. You need to write a minimum of one page. There is no limit on maximum pages. Note: if you have chosen option one, it is acceptable to go slightly under a page. You still need to have a minimum of five well-developed sentences per term. 

Expectations for Option 2:

You need to use at least two specific examples per answer. Each topic sentence needs to be a mini-thesis statement, and the examples have to support it and be relevant to it. Use quotation marks when citing directly from the sources and include the author's last name and page number in parenthesis next to the quotation. (This is an MLA style of citation.) You should be able to address the questions just using information from the provided readings. If you are consulting external sources, please provide a reference at the end of the paper. 

Type your paper in your text-editing program, save it on your computer, and upload your file. I will accept the following file formats: .doc, docx, .pdf