S
ocial
P olitical
SPIICED
I
nternational Affairs
Seven themes will focus our study of US
I
dentity
C ultural
E
conomic
D emographic/
geography
History. These categories will provide
organization to our units of study, as well
as serve as the functional parts of essay
arguments. Being able to trace the
developments in these themes over
multiple units and eras of time is necessary
to understand our history.
Social
▪ Gender roles
▪ Family and kinship
▪ Race/ethnicity
▪ Social class
▪ Entertainment/lifestyle
▪ Nativism
Political
▪ Government structures
▪ Forms of government
▪ Empire building
▪ Nationalism
▪ Revolts/revolutions
▪ Voting/suffrage
▪ Political parties
▪ Federalism
▪ Freedom/rights/liberties
International Affairs
▪ Foreign policy
▪ Wars
▪ Colonialism
▪ Treaties
▪ International Organizations
▪ Economic intervention
▪ Competition for resources
Identity
▪ American identity
▪ Regional identity
▪ Citizenship
▪ Assimilation
▪ American Exceptionalism
Cultural
▪ Religion
▪ Belief systems
▪ Ideologies
▪ Science and technology
▪ Arts/architecture
▪ Intellectual/education
Economic
▪ Labor systems
▪ Agriculture
▪ Trade/commerce
▪ Industrialization
▪ Capitalism/Socialism
▪ Transportation
▪ Manufacturing
▪ Land distribution
Demographic/Geography
▪ Migration
▪ Immigration
▪ Native populations
▪ Climate and Natural resources
▪ Human interaction with environment
▪ Exchanges: plants, diseases, animals, etc.
What Should a Body Paragraph Address?
Below are brief descriptions of what you should be addressing in a single body paragraph in a Long Essay Question or a
Document Based Question.
Compare and Contrast (C&C)
Each paragraph should address a specific similarity or difference, related to a theme (SPICED), between the two things in
question. This should have been one of the thesis points, whether X, A, B, or C. This mean if you write a paragraph that
does not mention both “sides,” you have not compared or contrasted. The common mistake on this type of essay is to
write as much as you know about “side 1,” and then in a separate paragraph write as much as you know about “side 2,”
and then conclude by making a generic statement like “these two things were clearly different, but also similar.” Instead,
address both sides in every paragraph, and explain with specific detail how they were similar, or different.
Continuity and Change Over Time (CCoT)
My favorite! This really show you “get” history, because it will probably span multiple eras. The basis of this essay is to
explain what changed, along with what stayed the same, during a specific time. The individual paragraph should focus on
either a specific continuity, or a specific change, related to a theme (SPICED), based on a claim made in your thesis.
Explain how developments during the time illustrate how circumstances were different at the end of the era than they were
at the beginning (change) or how they were the same at the beginning and the end (continuity). If you truly embrace the
themes of the course, and understand chronology, this can be the easiest essay to write.
Causation
This is a weird one. Causation automatically implies both cause and effect, however essays will almost certainly only
focus on one. You may be asked to “explain the social and political effects of the American Revolution.” Or “explain the
causes of the rise of the Women’s Rights Movement.” That mean you only address “one thing,” whereas in the others,
there is a logical “two things” (continuity vs. change, similarities vs. differences). So, we need to “create” two sides to
make it truly an argument. We do this…by assessing importance. Your thesis formulas already reflect this. You should
be identifying 3-4 causes/effects in your thesis, claiming that one is less important than the rest (or one is most important,
this is pretty flexible). Thus, in your body paragraphs, you must prove that what you claim was a cause/effect, and the
degree to which it was or was not a major/significant cause/effect.
DESCRIPTIONS OF HISTORICAL THEMES
Social - This theme focuses on how and why systems of social organization develop and change as well as the impact that
these systems have on the broader society.
Political - This theme focuses on how different social and political groups have influenced society and government in the
United States as well as how political beliefs and institutions have changed over time
International Relations - This theme focuses on the interactions between nations that affected North American history in
the colonial period and on the influence of the United States on world affairs. (often used interchangeably with Foreign
Policy)
Identity (National and Regional) - This theme focuses on how and why definitions of American and national identity and
values have developed among the diverse and changing population of North America as well as on related topics, such as
citizenship, constitutionalism, foreign policy, assimilation, and American exceptionalism.
Cultural - This theme focuses on the how and why national, regional, and group cultures developed and changed as well
as how culture has shaped government policy and the economy.
Economic - This theme focuses on the factors behind the development of systems of economic exchange, particularly the
role of technology, economic markets, and government.
Demographic, Geography, Environment - This theme focuses on why and how the various people who moved to and
within the United States both adapted to and transformed their new social and physical environments. This theme also
includes reasons for the development of patterns of migration and settlement.