Essay instructions
Please read carefully, if you need any credentials let me
know.
In partial fulfillment of the course learning objectives,
you will submit one major research essay assignment. This project examines the
efficacy and significance of President Jacksons Veto Message Regarding
the Bank of the United States; July 10, 1832, (Links to an external
site.) in which Jackson said the Bank was unconstitutional because it was a
monopolya grant of exclusive privilegethat excluded most of the American
people from participation and, therefore, was a menace to the countrys liberty
and independence. https://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/ajveto01.asp
You will write a 3-5 page research essay (double spaced
format specifics below) in which you assert a thesis (argument), support it
with relevant factual information (body paragraphs), and examine its
significance (conclusion). This is a formal project requiring primary and
secondary research, annotated with proper citations (see Format Requirements
below).
Steps to Follow
Read through these instructions the first DAY of class.
Begin thinking about the direction you want to take for your
Essay immediately.
Begin your researchlook for primary and secondary
sourcesno later than week one of the course.
Check the library schedule!
You should use the lecture content from Module 9 to assist
you (and the content in The Unfinished Nation, Chapter 9 Jacksonian
America and Chapter 10 Americas Economic Revolution.)
Submit your Essay by the due day.
Reading
Read President Jacksons Veto Message Regarding the
Bank of the United States; July 10, 1832 (Links to an external site.)
(Select the article title to open the document).
Questions to Consider
Your primary task is to examine the efficacy and
significance of Jacksons Veto Message (and his Veto) through the lens of
social responsibility. Social responsibility means that individuals and
companies have a duty to act in the best interests of their environment and
society as a whole. In this case, it means that you must consider the degree to
which Jacksons Message and Veto met that criteria.
As part of your Essay, and to help you compose your thesis,
you should consider at least the following:
What was the historical context of the Veto Message?
Reflect on the meaning of Jacksons veto message as it
relates not just to the issues at hand (The Bank War) but especially how it
relates to the rise in the spirit and meaning of democracy, individualism, and
egalitarianism.
How precisely does this veto message reflect the spirit of
the Age of Jackson?
In what ways does it relate to/build on the ethos reflected
in the American Declaration of Independence?
If one story of American history is about a movement toward
greater democracy, individualism, and egalitarianism, where does the veto
message fit it?
Why did Jackson issue the Veto? What were his goals?
Who were the various individuals involved? What did they
hope to gain? Were they acting primarily in their own best interests or those
of society?
Social Responsibility requires that individuals and leaders
have a duty to act in the best interest of society. To what degree did the
following do their duty?
Jackson?
Biddle?
Others?
Are there any groups of Americans for which this veto
message might not have meaning?
If so, who are they, and why would it not have meaning?
In what ways does this Veto message (its meaning and
significance) speak to the problems and possibilities of the present?
In other words, why is this history valuable for us to
understand today?
Academic Research
In addition to the provided document, you MUST utilize at
least one (1) primary source (in addition to Jacksons Veto) and three (3)
secondary sources (you must use at least one (1) book for your secondary source
and two (2) academic articles). The best essays use more sources.
Historians rely on two types of sources: primary and
secondary. PRIMARY SOURCES are produced contemporaneously with the events or
issues being studied, often by those directly involved. Historians reconstruct
the past by locating, studying, and interpreting the evidence found in these
sources, including such documents as:
Letters
Diaries
Journals
Memoirs, even if written years later
Newspaper articles from the period
Official records
Interviews
Speeches
Each of these sources provides only a narrow perspective on
the subject, usually from a biased perspective. Only by piecing them together
and interpreting them critically can the bigger picture (history) be
constructed. You MUST utilize at least one (1) primary source (in addition to
Jacksons Veto).
SECONDARY SOURCES, by contrast, analyze and interpret events
based on the available primary sources. Secondary sources vary widely in their
purpose, validity, and quality, including printed books, e-books, articles, and
websites. As you research the secondary sources, note how the authors use
primary sources. Check their notes and bibliography to determine what sources
they are relying on and why. In the best historical writing, you will note the
historians interaction with the evidence (primary sources) and with previous
historical works (secondary sources). You MUST utilize three (3) secondary
sources (one (1) book and two (2) academic articles).
Locating Appropriate Books
The place to begin searching for books is the NCTC librarys
card catalog, which is available online. Use a keyword or subject search to
find the call number that will direct you to the work. You may also come across
titles and/or authors in your preliminary reading on the subject; look up those
titles. As you read, you will locate additional resources. If you find a book
that the NCTC library does not have, use the interlibrary loan service to get
it. Librarians will always help with this processthat is, after all, their
job!
Use academic worksmonographs or biographies written by
respected authors and published by a legitimate press. Do not use general
reference works, such as encyclopedias, textbooks, or broad surveys. Such sources are valuable for background
reading and can lead to acceptable works, but you should rely on peer-reviewed
sources in your paper (books from academic presses). Also, avoid books based on
propaganda rather than evidence or books intended for children or young adults.
Check the documentationfootnotes or endnotes and the bibliographyto evaluate
the level of scholarship, and consider the authors credentials. Do not use
sources that dont have authors. You must review many books before decid
ing on
specific works that will be useful for your purposes.
Focus on that part of the book that relates to your specific
topic. For example, use the table of contents and/or the index to focus on your
specific topic.
Locating Appropriate Academic Articles
Do not rely on a Google/Bing/Yahoo/Etc. search to locate
academic journal articles. You must use
peer-reviewed sources, and it is difficult for a beginning researcher to
determine whether a journal article found through a general search meets this
requirement. Do not use such sources as Wikipedia, ask.com, history.com,
SparkNotes, cliff notes, etc. Instead, make use of the NCTC librarys database
subscriptions. If you are not familiar with these resources, the homepage
provides an easy tutorial, and librarians will also guide you through the
process.
Two good places to start are JSTOR and Academic Search
Complete. (When using Academic Search Completes search function, be sure that
you check the box that limits the search to peer-reviewed sources.)
If you find an abstract (summary) of an article that sounds useful, but the
text is not available online, the librarian can probably get it for you through
interlibrary loan. You may want to take the library course available on Canvas
to develop research skills. The course should appear on your Canvas page; if
not, contact the library to be enrolled. When you finish the course, you will
receive a congratulations page.
While what happened in the past cannot change, our
understanding of it does. Therefore, it is best to use reasonably current
sources (within the last 30 years) to take advantage of the most up-to-date
secondary sources.
Finding and Using Primary Sources
Your paper should also incorporate at least one primary
source. Fortunately, locating primary sources is much easier than in times
past. You may start just by looking at the bibliographies in your secondary
sources and locating those documents. Many are collected in print sources that
our library will either have or be able to get on interlibrary loan.
But the most convenient way to find primary sources is
online, as a concerted effort is being made to make vast amounts of material
widely available. Evidence that used to require long-distance travel and many
hours searching through indexes and boxes in libraries is now available with
the click of a computer key. Unfortunately, it is also much easier to post
bogus material, so you MUST be sure that the websites sponsor is legitimate.
Documents are sometimes selectively edited, taken out of context, or even
forged, especially when the organization posting has a political agenda. Before
you rely on a document, you must identify what organization, individuals, or
individual posted it and why. If you cannot readily identify who produced the
website, DO NOT USE IT! Check the credentials of individuals associated with
the site. If the publisher is an organization, determine what its purpose is
and who its organizers are.
The NCTC library subscribes to many databases that include
primary sources. Another major source for documents is the Library of Congress
website. Documents posted by universities and museums are also generally
reliable.
NCTC Ask-a-Librarian
NCTC Librarians are now available for virtual appointments
using Upswing! Search for Library under the subject listing, and
schedule an appointment with an available librarian. Upswing can be found by
logging into OneLogin (https://nctc.onelogin.com/ (Links to an external site.))
.
If you need an answer to a straightforward, factual
question, or assistance with an NCTC research assignment, fill in the form at
NCTC Ask a Librarian (Links to an external site.). They will provide you with
an answer (and references to relevant sources) via e-mail in at least 24 hours.
If you are submitting on a weekend (or during a college holiday), expect a
reply on the following Monday (or normal workday).
Essay Format
After you have carefully read the document, conducted your
research, contextualized the content with lecture, the textbook, you will write
a 3 to 5-page Essay considering the above questions.
The format of your Essay is as follows:
Introduction
Your Essay must include an introductory paragraph that describes
the argument you intend to make in your paper. This introduction MUST include a
thesis statement, which clearly outlines what you intend to prove/argue in the
body of your writing. Your introduction MUST also summarize the main points of
evidence you will use in your Essays body paragraphs. Your papers direction
and flow are primarily driven by the quality of the thesis and outline that you
present in your introduction; so, be sure that you have a clear and focused
thesis accompanied by a list of your main points of evidence.
Body Paragraphs
Write supporting paragraphs that support the argument
presented in your thesis. These supporting paragraphs MUST use the source
document, Jacksons Message, and your additional primary and secondary sources
to support your argument. There is no maximum to the number of supporting
paragraphs that you can use to make your argument; however,
be sure to keep your paper focused on your argument and do not fill it with
irrelevant material.
Conclusion
Write a conclusion (can be more than one paragraph) that
re-frames your argument and sums up the overall Essay. This paragraph is the
obvious location for you to consider why it might be vital for us to understand
this history.
Instructions/Paper Requirements:
Essays REQUIRE assertions supported with best evidence,
paragraphs, proper spelling, grammar, punctuation, and citations.
Your Essay must be submitted as an MS-Word file attachment.
You MUST use this Sample Essay-1301.docx Download Sample Essay-1301.docx(select link)
to compose your answer:
In the Sample File:
In the header:
Replace Lname, Fname with Your last name and first name.
Replace Class with Your class name.
Replace the Latin dummy text with your answer.
Replace Lname in the page 2 header with your
last name.
Add MLA in-text citations as required.
For citation information, see MLA Basic In Text Citation
Rules.pdf Download MLA Basic In Text
Citation Rules.pdf (select link).
Replace Works Cited example page with your Works Cited
information. See MLA Citation Forms A Short Guide.pdf Download MLA Citation Forms A Short
Guide.pdf (select link). Do NOT forget
to cite the Veto Message!
This Essay MUST be submitted by the due date through
Turnitin in the Canvas portal by 11:59 pm on the due date.
Late Essays will not be accepted.