Close Reading Assignment 2
Unit 2: What does “all men” mean?
Please write a 300-
Close Reading Assignment 2
Unit 2: What does “all men” mean?
Please write a 300-500 word response to the prompt in which you summarize the scholarly perspective in prompt (cite the source correctly), raise the question of the prompt, and provide your own answer to the question in the form of a thesis. Support your thesis with reasons evidence and drawn from the relevant texts we have read so far. Conclude your paper by offering at least one significant implication of your thesis.
In the Declaration of Independence Thomas Jefferson famously claims that “all men are created equal…” This phrase has been used throughout the history of the United States to declare the fundamental equality of all people, regardless of race, religion, sex, nation of origin, or ethnic identity. However, Jefferson’s Notes on the State of Virginia, the Naturalization Act of 1790, and Douglass’s 4th of July address all seem to point to a more narrow understanding of the phrase “all men.” Gene Andrew Jarrett argues that “Notes seeks to deny the political agency of blacks, even as the Declaration of Independence declares it for the new republic as a whole.”1 Do you agree with Jarett’s assertion that Jefferson’s claims in Notes and the Declaration contradict one another?
Organize your paper into 3 basic paragraphs as follows:
I. Introduction
a. Hook/overview of the main idea
b. Summary of scholarly perspective, including quotation
c. Research question
d. Thesis statement
II. Body
a. Reason 1 supporting thesis
b. Evidence supporting reason 1, quotation/summary of example from readings
c. Explanation of how evidence supports reason 1
d. Reason 2 supporting thesis
e. Evidence supporting reason 2, quotation/summary of example from readings
f. Explanation of how evidence supports reason 2
III. Conclusion
a. Briefly restate thesis
b. Offer at least 1 significant implication of your thesis: if you’re right, then how should we think differently about some/all elements of your thesis statement?