United States History Lesson 12
Ensuring the Best Essays Possible, Beginning Compromise
Monday, September 14th, 2015
Essential Question:
1) In what ways has the United States succeeded and struggled at being a model of democracy?
Objectives: Today we will edit our written work a bit before beginning “compromise”. Before you leave
class today, you should:
1) Have multiple “tests” or tools to use when evaluating the analytical level of your own work.
2) Have a “game plan” for editing your essay one last time.
3) Consider the overall strengths and weaknesses of compromise as a decision making plan.
4) Identify the terms and strengths/weaknesses of the Missouri Compromise and the Compromise of
1850 (and, if time were to allow, the Compromise of 1854)
Activities:
1) Let’s begin with a quick look at what we submitted last night and what made it more or less
effective?
2) Let’s apply our first tool, or test, to your writing. Copy and paste your topic paragraph onto a
separate document, then leave that paragraph ONLY on your screen and pass it to a neighbor.
(or just insert spaces until only your intro is showing.)
Neighbor: Please try to address the following four questions:
a) Name at least one, specific way the author believes the founding of the United States WAS
democratic.
b) Name at least one specific way the author believes the founding of the United States WAS
NOT democratic.
c) How many body paragraphs are in this essay, and what ARGUMENT is the focus for each
one (not what topic, what ARGUMENT).
d) Is there a hint of where the author is going in his or her conclusion?
3) Take 10 minutes or so and revise your introduction until all four of these questions are easy to
answer.
4) 2nd tool: How analytical is your structure?
a. Open up a new document, and paste the following five or six sentences in order:
i. Your thesis statement
ii. The topic sentence (which should be the first sentence) of each body paragraph.
iii. ONE sentence of your choosing from your conclusion.
b. Now read those five, perhaps six sentences, aloud to yourself.
i. If they make sense together, forming one paragraph of argument with no specific
examples, then your essay probably has a logical, analytical structure.
ii. If they sound silly or foolish together, then your essay may not have a logical,
analytical structure.
c. Rewrite these sentences, especially the topic sentences, until you have a logical argument.
Then repaste them into your original essay.
5) 3rd tool – the highlighter test
This is a visual tool for seeing how effectively you balance argument, evidence and other. Use
one color highlighter (often green) and highlight every sentence or portion of a sentence which is
YOUR OWN ARGUMENT, your thinking.
Use a second color highlighter (often yellow) and highlight all the facts which are used to
support your arguments. Not direct narration, but specific events used to illustrate the argument
made in your topic sentence.
Use a third color (often pink) and highlight whatever is not argument or evidence – transition,
narration which is not used to prove arguments, etc.
Ultimately, you want paragraphs to open with green, followed by mostly yellow with, possibly,
more green mixed in. While pink is not automatically useless, it is neither argument nor
evidence, so it is style, not substance. You are not convincing the reader with “pink,” so it
should not be a focus for you.
6) If you have completed all three tests, and like your results, please feel free to submit an edited
essay to Turnitin before 10:00 p.m. tomorrow (Tuesday) evening.
7) New concept – compromise. What was the best one you ever made, and why was it so good.
Worst one you ever made? Why was it so bad? Good compromises lead to successful futures.
Bad compromises do not. The definition of a successful future can differ.
8) So – here’s what we’re skipping:
a. Louisiana Purchase, War with Mexico (next semester), removal of Native Americans.
b. Country looks VERY different (1803 vs. 1850)
c. Cultural and regional differences abound
d. POLITICAL tension is over slavery, and the perceived solution is a balanced Senate.
9) What are the terms of the three compromises in the chart, what makes each one a positive or less
than positive decision?
Event
Missouri
Compromise
Compromise of
1850
Date
What Happened?
How is it a success or
Struggle for democracy.
Kansas Nebraska
Act
HW:
Continue with independent reading, which will be next week’s “surprise” quiz.
Date
Monday, September 14th
Lesson
3 Compromises leading into war.
Wednesday, September 16th
The election of 1860 and
Secession
Two famous – and misunderstood
– documents.
Lincoln gets reelected…and
assassinated.
Reconstruction – whose job is
this? Should we punish…or
reconcile?
Reconstruction fails…and the
union is saved. Is this successful
Compromise?
In class essay
Tuesday, September 22nd
Thursday, September 24th
Monday, September 28th
Wednesday, September 30th
Monday, October 5th
HW
Keep going with independent
reading
Begin forming your thesis, but the
end of this story is relevant, too.
Prep for an in class essay
HW: Wrap up that essay and submit it to turnitin.com before 10:00 p.m. Tuesday, you will get a “surprise”
paragraph about your independent reading next week.