For the final Portfolio Project, you will write a paper about a person or an event in a period of U.S. history up to Reconstruction that is relevant to your major area of study or of interest to you. You will write about this person or event from the perspective of another historical personality who lived at the same time as the person or event you are going to describe.

For your historical personality, try to select someone from an under-represented population (examples of possible perspectives include that of Anne Hutchinson, Pocahontas, or Sojourner Truth). This analysis is to make you think about how events/people’s actions were interpreted at the time.

There are three Portfolio Project Milestones due in Modules 2, 4, and 7. Visit each Module folder for full details on those assignments.

• Week 2: Portfolio Description Posting (5 Points)
• Week 4: Declare Portfolio Topic (35 Points)
• Week 7: Outline (10 Points)

Key Points::

• Remember that you will be writing from the perspective of a historical person about another person or an event from a period of U.S. history up to Reconstruction. From your historical person’s perspective, provide a thorough summary of the person or event you’ve chosen to write about, including the incidents that took place and any key individuals involved or affected.
• Address the general importance of the person or event in the context of U.S. history.
• Now, explain specifically how the person or event changed “your” daily life—“you” being the historical persona you have adopted.
• Think long-term: How will the person or the event you are describing make a long-term impact in the lives of people who are in the under-represented group to which your historical person/perspective belongs?

Paper Requirements:

• Your paper must be four to six pages, not including the required references and title pages.
• Use at least five sources, not including the textbook. Include a scholarly journal article. Include at least one primary source from those identified in the syllabus. Definition of a Primary Source: A primary source is any source, document or artifact that was created at the time of the event. It was usually created by someone who witnessed the event, lived during or even shortly afterwards, or somehow would have first-hand knowledge of that event. A secondary source, by contrast, is written by a historian or someone writing about the event after it happened.
• Have an introduction and strong thesis statement. Make use of support and examples supporting your thesis
• Finish with a forceful conclusion reiterating your main idea.