Assignment task:
Pick one of the Supreme Court decisions to analyze from either "SCOTUS excerpts re Native Americans pre CW" or "SCOTUS excerpts re slavery shorter." If you would like, you may also chose something from "Longer version of SCOTUS excerpts re slavery." Each of the excerpts is a primary source, a source from the past that historians use to construct histories, which are secondary sources.
For your chosen source, address the following questions in a short, analytical paper. Your paper constitutes a textual analysis, one of the main modes of analysis engaged in by students in the Humanities.
Your paper should be 500-600 words, double-spaced in 12-point font. It should take the form of an essay, not a series of statements or answers to the questions. You do not need to treat the topics in this order.
1. What source are you analyzing?
2. What is the content of the source? What seems to be the source's main point?
3. Who wrote or produced the source? How might the identity of the author affect what the source says or communicates? Need Assignment Help?
4. When did the author write or produce the source? What is the larger context for that time period, and how might the historical period in which the source was produced affect what the source says? Here you can draw from class lectures and readings. You do not need to do additional research.
5. What particular words or phrases seem especially revealing or important? The Answer To This Question Should Take Up The Majority Of Your Short Essay. Analyze several words or phrases that point to larger meanings or import. Explain the significance of the words or phrases you have chosen.
6. What impact do you think this Supreme Court decision might have had? How did it help create identities or hierarchies in the US?
7. What can you learn about the larger context in which the source was produced? How does it reflect the development of American culture?