Due Date:

Sunday, May 3^rd, 2026 at
11:59pm EST

Topic:  Freedom:

→ Research Question: Over the course
of early American history (and other comparative histories we’ve studied),
how has the definition of freedom of changed over time? How has freedom been
defined/won/lost/challenged?

→ Considerations:
Focus
on either political, social, or economic history. 

 Political: Consider
the nation’s founding fathers, their documents, policies, laws, practices,
systems they created in order to help guide your thinking. Also, consider the
juxtapositions surrounding these: States Rights vs Federal Power; landmark
court cases; political campaigns; political propaganda; and early debates
around freedom. 

 Social: Examine the
factors that have pushed racial/ethnic groups, citizens, immigrants and new
American citizens, genders, classes, and the powerful and the powerless
towards and away from one another. Then, examine how social occurrences have
influenced those interactions. You may lean on ideas/events/interactions that
showcase how freedom has been defined through cultural movements and other
everyday efforts to be or become American. 

 Economic: Consider the
ways that American Business leaders have historically sought to define
freedom along the lines of them being allowed/encouraged by the federal
government to increase/change trade, banking, agriculture, industries,
investments, and labor policies – to ensure profits. Then, juxtapose these
ideologies with attempts from the federal government and the American people
to leverage their power against industries, to keep them from gaining a large
amount of control of society.

Examine the
push and pull between these two factors. 

Word Count: 1,000 Word minimum; 4 pages; 12-point font;
double spaced.

Submission Info: Submit under the link in the “Final Materials” Module in
Canvas. 

Reminder: Read your
requirements thoroughly. Remember to answer all questions. 

Guidelines:

→ 1) State a
thesis statement: Between the years of 1590 – 1985 in US (and other
comparative) History, how has freedom been defined, challenged, won, or lost?

 Remember to
focus your selections thematically: choose to focus on political, economic,
or social history. 

 Remember to
include brief outlines of what you will argue about the
events/people/polices/etc. you will discuss in your thesis statement. 

→  2) Provide
4 specific examples in the body section to
support your thesis.   You may choose
4-5 KA posts to help you achieve this. However, you will need to reconfigure
the KA’s to support your overall argument/thesis. 

 In each
paragraph, examine how each example supports your thesis statement. 

 Do
not just provide a summary of what the example is; analyze how freedom was
contested, won, lost, and/or defined. 

 At least one of
your examples needs to include a comparison of US history to another nation
(think back to our comparison on revolutions, etc.). 

→ 3) Provide a strong conclusionary
paragraph. 

 Consider how you have examined
freedom. 

 Consider how
the ways that freedom has been defined, won, lost, or challenged have
influenced freedom today. Then, restate your argument.

→ 4)
Include a bibliography page. Cite utilizing the Chicago Manual style. See the
link below.

 Sources you may
use: Textbook; digital archives from Canvas; Film Reviews (cite the film);
and any other scholarly articles. Lean on the sources I have given to you in
each KA – you do not need to reinvent the wheel here. You’ve got this. 

 You should have at least 10 sources. 2
– 3 sources per example. 

 Citation guide :

https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide/citation–guide1.html