National Archives Assignment

This assignment will be submitted to Turnitin®. This will be for the course of American History before 1877. For this assignment, you need to visit the National Archives DOCSTeach site. Historians typically use two types of materials, secondary source, and primary source documents. Secondary sources are typically books and articles written on a particular historical event, well after the fact. Primary source documents are usually generated by first-hand participants. Good historians rely heavily on original materials created at the time of the event. For this reason, historians spend a good deal of time at the archives. There are many types of archives, but by far, the largest in the United States, is the National Archives in Washington, D.C. The National Archives contains more than 10 billion documents, and they have collected thousands of those in the National Archives DOCSTeach site. After you have opened the above link, click on “Menu” on the upper left, and then “Documents.” In the “Keyword” box type in the subject you wish to research. Please remember that your topic should fall within the period of history covered by this course (American History before 1877). Typical keywords might be something like Jefferson, American Revolution, Madison, Civil War, Lincoln or any number of topics. After your images have appeared, you need to select five (5) of them that are relevant to your topic. In the upper right-hand corner, just above your image, there is an icon to save that image. You will also note that below each image there is some information about that document as well as full citation. Once you have collected your documents, you can use them as evidence for writing a 3-5-page essay. Naturally, you will need some other information, and you can gather that through the internet, or other books and articles. As a precaution, avoid using textbooks. Paper Option: If you are writing a paper, it must be double-spaced (Times New Roman, font size 12), and include a cover page with your name, course number and course title, instructor’s name, and date. Paper should include a thesis statement, and a narrative and conclusion that defends that argument. Paper Option Guidance: Written Assignment Guidance Written Assignment Rubric You can choose your own topic if it pertains to the subject of this course.  All information must be cited. You are welcome to use APA, or MLA.