Essay #1: Be your own historian

“He who controls the past controls the future. He who controls the present controls the past” – George Orwell,1984

“History is written by the victor”- Anonymous

For centuries, there has been an intellectual battle in academia between scholars who adhere to objectivity (writing the history of the past as it actually was), and those who write history for their own benefits, and/or the benefit of those in power. In this essay you will challenge the latter, by becoming your own historian. Students will pick up a historical topic related to US History, and use an evidenced based approach by writing an essay on that topic and documenting their sources. In investigating the specific historical topic, essays must answer the following questions:

1/ Why is this particular topic important to study?

2/ Why is it important to question the way history is told to the public?

Be sure to be specific in your discussion and use examples from outside sources.

Nuts and bolts of the paper assignment:

Content:

1/ Thesis Statement – Begin your essay with a clear and identifiable argument

2/ Structure– The essay should have an introduction and conclusion as well as a clear logical sequence of topics discussed in each paragraph

3/ Source – For this assignment please restrict your sources to up to three outside sources. These sources should be academic in nature – For example, coming from sites that has addresses that ends in .edu or org. instead of .com. Do Not use sources like Wikipedia, blogs, no video site, etc.

4/ Make sure to use your own words

5/ Include a works cites page (bibliography) to cite your sources ( this is the sixth paper page)

Quoting/Citing:

. Use at least 2 quotations to support your argument

. Cite parenthetically, e.g. “ I do not like them Sam-I-am. I do not like green eggs and ham “ (Foner 3)

Or “ I do not like them Sam-I-am. I do not like green eggs and ham.” (seuss.edu)

. Include a works cited page (this will be the sixth page of the assignment)

. For the citation page please use either MLA format or Chicago Manual of Style 

Please provide an essay about the “Great Depression”.