American Value 1: Liberty:
Reading that illustrates Value 1:Thomas Paine: from Common Sense (1776)
- Of the Origin and Design of Government in General, with Concise Remarks on the English Constitution
- Of Monarchy and Hereditary Succession
- Thoughts on the Present State of American Affairs
American Value 2: Legal Equality and Equality of Opportunity:
Reading that illustrates Value 2: Dr. Martin Luther King: "I Have a Dream" (1963)
American Value 3: Tolerance:
Reading that illustrates Value 3: Crevecoeur: Letters from an American Farmer, Letter III What Is an American? (1782)
American Value 4: Respect for Dissent:
Reading that illustrates Value 4: Henry David Thoreau: "Civil Disobedience" (1849; also known as "Resistance to Civil Government")
American Value 5: Self-Reliance:
Reading that illustrates Value 5: Ralph Waldo Emerson: "Self-Reliance" (1841/1847)
American Value 6: The Pursuit of Truth:
Reading that illustrates Value 6: Mortimer Adler: Chapter 8 The Pursuit of Truth (from Six Great Ideas)
Post to the Week 1 forum of the Discussion Board
Compose a brief essay of at least 400 words but no more than 600 words (not including your references list) reflecting on the influence and importance of at least two of the above listed values, particularly to the discussion and debate of issues of public concern and to the actions of different levels of government. Be sure to bring in relevant ideas from the essays that correspond to those values and to offer your critical thinking opinion of the ideas you synthesize.
Write in essay form (that is, in paragraphs, not in bullet points). Be as specific and precise as possible. Use the Discussion Board Grading Rubric in the Assignments area to guide your thoughts on what constitutes a high-quality essay.
Important Assignment Guidelines:
Not following these guidelines will have a negative impact on your grade for the week.
1. Write in Arial font, size 14 (chosen from the drop-down menus on the create thread box in the Discussion Board forum), unless otherwise directed by your instructor.
2. Reference specific ideas from at least the two readings that illustrate these values. [Note: In future weeks, you will need to synthesize at least three of the assigned readings.]
3. Always name the author whose ideas you are discussing (use the author's full name the first time you refer to him/her; after that, identify authors by their last names).
4. Provide in-text citations for all ideas, opinions, and facts derived from the course readings, whether you simply refer to them, paraphrase them (put them entirely into your own words), or quote them. Place the in-text citation at the end of your sentence but before the period that ends your sentence. The in-text citation should give the author's last name (unless you've used it already in your sentence), the year of publication (if known), and the appropriate page number(s) from the reading (if page numbers are used in the online text of the essay). Do not use the title of the reading unless it does not have an author).
Here's an example of a citation for the Thomas Paine reading for Week 1: (Paine, 1776).
Here's an example of a citation for the John Locke reading for Week 2: (Locke, 1689, pp. 46-47).
5. Provide a References list at the end of your essay that includes bibliographic references for every reading cited in your essay.
Note: Your references list does not count toward your minimum word count.
Center the word References (do not underline it, place it in quotation marks, or place it in bold or larger size font).
Present your references, listed alphabetically by author's last name.