First Paper

History 180: History of the American West I

First Paper: 5-7 pages.

Due: September 29, 2000

Papers should be carefully proofread for typos, spelling errors, and grammatical mistakes. They should be double-spaced, 12-point font, with 1-inch margins all around. Do not use folders or binders. A simple, cheap staple is perfect. You must include your name, the date, and the name of the course, and number the pages. You must also give your paper a title that gives your reader a good idea of its contents and purpose.

Note that the paper does not have to be organized in the order laid out here. You can organize it any way that you think will be effective. For example, would it be better to provide some background before explaining the different views, or after?

The Assignment

Your job is to assess the different interpretations of the events and meanings of the Pueblo Revolt of 1680 and come to your own conclusion of what happened and why. You should assume that you are writing for an intelligent, curious audience, but do not assume that they are familiar with all the facts. You have a choice of either writing for a modern audience (c. 2000) or for a historical one (c. 1680). You can be as creative as you wish in writing your paper, but the underlying argument must be sound and supported by specific evidence.

In order to accomplish this, you are required to do the following:

Use at least 3, and no more than 4, articles from the Pueblo Revolt book.
These are your "sources." Remember that sources have biases as well as information, so you will need to take this into account. You should tell your reader a bit about the sources and what you find believable about them -- or not -- and explain why. If comparing and contrasting the articles helps you do this, go ahead. If you are feeling ambitious, you might even take a look at what was going on at the time your source was writing his or her interpretation of events and see if that might have had an effect on how he or she viewed things.
Provide a sense of historical context.
In addition to assessing the specific "takes" on what happened, you should try to give the reader at least a bare-bones description of what happened before getting into why it happened and what it might mean.
Provide an explanation or justification for your article.
In other words, why would a reader want/need to read about the Pueblo Revolt? If you are writing for a historical audience, what is going on in their lives that would make the Pueblo Revolt "news" worth reading? If you are writing for a modern audience, what is it about this historical event that makes it important to people today?
Include a bibliography of the sources you used.