Assignment Paper

This week we consider the causes and effects of the French, American and Haitian revolutions, collectively known as the Atlantic Revolutions. These occurred in the late 18th and early 19th century and fundamentally transformed the world for centuries to come. The ideas of political rights, nationalism, feminism and the abolition of slavery were all connected to these revolutions. The reordering of the American and European continents also resulted from these revolutions. Today we still live by many of these principles.

Read chapter 16 in the textbook. Then go to the discussion board. We have another video response assignment based on some primary sources.

Read the following three primary sources and prepare a video response based on the instructions below:

https://history.hanover.edu/texts/adamss.html (just read the selection by Adams)

https://revolution.chnm.org/d/477/

https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/mod/1774slavesappeal.asp

Each source is claiming political rights during the revolutionary period of the late 18th century Atlantic revolutions. In this discussion, we want to pay attention to the similarities and differences between the documents. All of the sources were heavily influenced by Enlightenment ideas and this comes through in their writing. At the same time, they each have some different perspectives given the very different situation that they faced. So, prepare a video response that compares the three documents. Here it will be especially useful to substantiate your thoughts with some quotes from the texts. Consider approaching these sources from the perspective of Context, Content, and Significance. Use the textbook chapter 16 to provide an opening discussion of the contexts, then briefly discuss each source and what they say, and then compare them: What are one or two of the main similarities? What are one or two of the main differences? Feel free to end your discussion with some thoughts on their long term significance.