Task 2: Causes and Effects of the American Revolution
A historian’s job is to study the past. This means that a historian must think about the causes and effects of historical events, as well as people’s reactions or interpretations of the events. For this task, you’ll need to think like a historian and research the causes or effects of a historical event. Focus your research on one of these two topics:
• How did religion play a role as a cause of the American independence movement and subsequent Revolution?
• How did the documents and ideals of the American Revolution, particularly the Declaration of Independence, speak to all people, including women and African slaves? How did these ideals clash with the reality of gender inequality and slavery?
Once you have decided on a topic, conduct research to find resources that provide evidence to support your position. A few sources have been provided for you in the Resources section below. You will use the sources you find, your notes, and your knowledge to write a short (250- to 500-word) essay that answers the question you selected.
Using what you know about researching, examine your sources. For each source, you may need to do research online to answer these questions:
• Who authored the document?
• What is the purpose of the document?
• When was the document written?
• What significant historical event or movement does the document represent?
Next, you’ll need to read each of the sources critically while thinking about these questions:
• What is the credibility of the source?
• Is there any noticeable bias?
• How does the author form his or her argument?
• What are the important themes, main ideas, and arguments presented in the document?
Finally, refer to your notes and the provided documents to write a short essaysing the author-date system, make sure you provide parenthetical, in-text citations for any information you use from outside sources. When you have finished, reread your essay to check for all of the points above, and then proofread it to be sure your work does not contain errors in grammar or spelling.