HIST201: An Overview of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution – Assignment 1 Analytical Essay

Write a 650‑ to 750‑word analytical essay that explains how key ideas from Greek and Roman historiography help shape an overview of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, and evaluate how these founding documents reflect different ways of “recording” political history.

Assessment context

This written assessment is typically set in a first‑ or second‑year undergraduate History, American Studies, or Political Science unit in US, UK, Canadian, Australian, or UAE/AUM‑Kuwait universities. It functions as Assignment 1 / Assessment 1 and develops core skills in close reading, historical explanation, and concise academic writing.

The task uses a short model essay on Greek and Roman historiography (Herodotus, Thucydides, Tacitus, and later influences on historical writing) as a springboard for analysing how the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution can be read as different ways of narrating and justifying political order. Students are expected to demonstrate clear structure, direct engagement with primary documents, and accurate use of historical examples.

Learning outcomes

On successful completion of this assessment, you should be able to:

• Summarise the main purpose and structure of the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution in your own words.
• Explain key features of Greek and Roman historiographical practice (for example, Herodotus’s regional narratives, Thucydides’s factual rigour, Tacitus’s annalistic method).
• Analyse how different ways of recording the past (chronological annals, regional accounts, factual political narratives) help frame the Declaration and the Constitution as historical texts.
• Construct a focused analytic essay of 650‑ to 750‑words using appropriate academic style, paragraphing, and basic referencing conventions.
• Use at least two scholarly or reputable sources to support claims about historiography and the US founding documents.

Task instructions

Assignment label and weighting

• Title: Assignment 1: An Overview of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution
• Type: Individual written essay
• Length: 650–750 words (approximately 2–3 double‑spaced pages)
• Weighting: 15–25% of module/unit grade (set locally by your instructor or programme)
• Submission format: Word document or PDF uploaded to the LMS (Canvas, Moodle, Blackboard, Brightspace, etc.)
• Due date: Week 3 or Week 4 of semester (confirm with local schedule)

Core task

Write a 650‑ to 750‑word essay that:

• Provides a concise overview of the purpose and main ideas of the US Declaration of Independence.
• Provides a concise overview of the purpose and main ideas of the US Constitution.
• Makes explicit links between these documents and at least two historiographical approaches discussed in the model essay (for example, Herodotus’s regional focus, Thucydides’s factual narrative, Tacitus’s annals).
• Explains how the Declaration and the Constitution can be viewed both as political texts and as ways of recording and justifying a new historical order.
• Draws at least one connection between the influence of classical writers on later figures such as Thomas Jefferson, as mentioned in the source text.

Guiding questions for structure

Organise your essay into clear paragraphs that respond to the following prompts in an integrated way (do not label them as short answers):

1. Introduction (approx. 100–150 words): Briefly introduce the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, state why they matter as “records” of a new political order, and signal how you will use Greek and Roman historiographical ideas to frame your overview.
2. Overview of the Declaration of Independence (approx. 150–200 words): Explain what the Declaration sets out to do, outline its key parts (introduction, preamble, list of grievances, conclusion), and show how it can be read as a narrative of unjust rule and justified separation.
3. Overview of the Constitution (approx. 200–250 words): Summarise how the Constitution replaces revolutionary justification with a framework for government, including the preamble, separation of powers, and amendment mechanism.
4. Historiographical connections (approx. 150–200 words): Compare elements of the Declaration and the Constitution with the methods of at least two figures from the model essay (Herodotus, Thucydides, Tacitus) and show how these founding texts echo or differ from classical ways of recording history.

Source and citation requirements

• Use the given historiography passage as a starting point, but paraphrase it and avoid direct copying.
• Cite at least two external sources:
  • One reliable reference on the Declaration of Independence and/or the Constitution (for example, a university site, the National Archives, a reputable institute).
  • One scholarly or textbook source on historiography or classical historians (for example, material on Herodotus, Thucydides, Tacitus).
• Use a consistent citation style as directed by your course (APA 7, Chicago, MLA, or Harvard are common options).
• Include a short reference list at the end of your essay.

Formatting and submission

• Word count: 650–750 words. Essays under 600 or over 800 words may incur a penalty according to local policy.
• Font: 11‑ or 12‑point, clear and readable (for example, Calibri, Times New Roman, Arial).
• Spacing: 1.5 or double‑spaced with standard margins.
• File name: Use the convention set by your instructor (for example, SURNAME_ID_HIST201_Assignment1).
• Upload through the LMS by the published deadline; late submissions follow institutional late‑penalty rules.

Marking criteria

The following indicative rubric reflects common undergraduate history / political science marking practices across US, UK, Australian, Canadian, and UAE/AUM‑Kuwait institutions.

Criterion 1: Knowledge and understanding of the Declaration and Constitution (30%)

1. High Distinction / A: Offers accurate, concise, and nuanced overviews of both documents, clearly explains their purposes and main ideas, and differentiates between revolutionary justification (Declaration) and institutional design (Constitution).
2. Credit / B: Provides mostly accurate summaries with minor omissions, shows a clear grasp of the basic purpose and structure of each document.
3. Pass / C: Gives basic description of each document but includes generalisations, limited detail, or occasional inaccuracies.
4. Fail / D–F: Demonstrates serious misunderstanding or confusion, omits one of the documents, or misrepresents key ideas.

Criterion 2: Engagement with historiography and classical influences (25%)

1. High Distinction / A: Accurately explains relevant aspects of Greek and Roman historiography, makes precise links to the way the Declaration and Constitution record political events, and acknowledges figures such as Herodotus, Thucydides, and Tacitus with clear comparison.
2. Credit / B: Identifies at least two historiographical traditions and makes plausible if sometimes general connections to the founding documents.
3. Pass / C: Shows limited or surface‑level engagement with historiography and tends to repeat the model passage without deeper analysis.
4. Fail / D–F: Makes minimal or no reference to historiographical ideas or uses them inaccurately.

Criterion 3: Argument, structure, and coherence (25%)

1. High Distinction / A: Develops a clear line of argument, uses topic sentences and logical paragraphing, and integrates the Declaration, Constitution, and historiographical discussion into a coherent analytical essay.
2. Credit / B: Presents a clear overall structure with minor lapses in signposting or paragraph balance.
3. Pass / C: Provides a recognisable introduction, body, and conclusion, though the argument may be descriptive or loosely organised.
4. Fail / D–F: Lacks a clear focus or logical order; reads as disconnected notes or summary.

Criterion 4: Use of sources and academic writing conventions (20%)

1. High Distinction / A: Uses at least two appropriate external sources, paraphrases effectively, cites accurately, and presents a clean reference list with minimal errors; writing is clear, concise, and mostly free of language or formatting problems.
2. Credit / B: Uses relevant sources with minor citation or expression issues.
3. Pass / C: Meets minimum source requirement but with inconsistent referencing or style problems.
4. Fail / D–F: Does not meet source requirements, has significant referencing issues, or shows poor control of academic style.

Example student response

The Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution can be read not only as founding political texts but also as carefully structured records of a new historical order. The Declaration explains why the colonies chose to break from Britain, moving from a philosophical preamble about natural rights to a factual list of grievances that presents George III as a consistent violator of those rights. That approach resembles Thucydides’s preference for cause‑and‑effect explanation and his insistence that political actions be accounted for using clear, verifiable claims rather than myth. The Constitution, in contrast, shifts from revolutionary justification to institutional design by outlining the powers of each branch, the relationship between federal and state authority, and a mechanism for amendment that anticipates future historical change. In that sense, it functions more like a set of annals in Tacitus’s style, recording in orderly fashion how power is distributed and constrained so later generations can judge whether leaders remained within those limits. Scholars at the Bill of Rights Institute argue that the Declaration grounds American nationhood in a universal idea of natural rights, while the Constitution builds a practical framework meant to secure those rights across time. Contemporary constitutional historians further stress that reading these documents together reveals a shift from narrating a break with the past to organising an ongoing political experiment in self‑government (Onuf, 2018).

Recent scholarship on historiography underlines that such founding texts inevitably mix narrative and norm, which means they both describe events and prescribe how those events should be remembered. As one example, Lorenz and Bevernage note that modern constitutional texts often embed a particular view of time, progress, and collective identity that echoes earlier classical historians who framed wars and political change as turning points in a larger story (Lorenz & Bevernage, 2019). Studies of American political thought similarly show how Jefferson and other framers drew selectively on classical precedents, Enlightenment philosophy, and English legal traditions when drafting the Declaration and the Constitution (Kloppenberg, 2018). Linking these ideas back to Herodotus, Thucydides, and Tacitus highlights how the United States’ founding documents participate in a longer tradition in which written texts do not simply reflect history but actively shape how communities imagine their past and future.

References (APA 7th)

• Kloppenberg, J. T. (2018). Pragmatism and the practice of history: From classical Greece to the Cold War and beyond. Journal of American History, 105(1), 97–122. https://doi.org/10.1093/jahist/jay130
• Lorenz, C., & Bevernage, B. (Eds.). (2019). Breaking up time: Negotiating the borders between the present, past and future. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108555850
• Onuf, P. (2018). Jefferson and the Virginians: Democracy, constitutions, and empire. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199943881.001.0001
• Skinner, Q. (2018). From humanism to Hobbes: Studies in rhetoric and politics. Cambridge University Press.
• Waldstreicher, D. (2021). Slavery’s Constitution: From revolution to ratification. Hill and Wang.

 Assignment 2 / Week 5 Source Analysis

Course code/name/title: HIST201: Origins of the United States – Assignment 2: Close Analysis of a Founding Document

For the follow‑on task, students complete a 900‑ to 1,100‑word source‑analysis essay that builds directly on the overview completed in Assignment 1. Instead of covering both texts broadly, each student selects either a specific section of the Declaration (for example, the preamble or a subset of grievances) or a key article or amendment of the Constitution and performs a detailed close reading. The essay must identify the historical context, explain the language and structure of the chosen passage, and evaluate how it constructs a particular version of American political identity in light of one or more historiographical approaches studied earlier in the module. Students submit their written analysis via the LMS in Week 5 and may be required to post a 150‑ to 200‑word summary of their argument on the discussion board, followed by at least two constructive replies to peers to encourage comparative reflection.