Was the Constitution of the United States Written to Protect the Economic Interests of the Upper Classes

The purpose of this paper is for students to explore a controversial decision or topic in American history and to eventually reach a conclusion about it. For this course, students will analyze one of the following historical issues:

• Was the Constitution of the United States Written to Protect the Economic Interests of the Upper Classes?

After reading the provided material about the issue, consulting class notes, course readings, and doing independent research, students will compose a 600-800 word essay (double spaced) summarizing the topic, arguments, and their own conclusions.

In addition to the word count, students will need to adhere to the following guidelines:

1. Utilize at least one additional secondary source such as a:
   • Monograph (nonfiction book that studies specific topic/theme such as those found in a library)
   • 1. • • Books must be at least 200 pages in length, must have been published in the 20th or 21st centuries – preferably after the 1960’s and published by an academic press (college or university press).
          • Encyclopedias are NOT acceptable sources.
        • Articles preferably from an academic journal (such as those found in JSTOR).
        • Reputable web sources (unfounded commentary is not acceptable).
        • AI tools, such as language models, can assist in generating summaries of scholarly research, identifying key themes, and organizing your research.
          • When drafting your essay, incorporate AI-generated content where appropriate. AI can assist in drafting sections, such as providing context, summarizing key events, or offering initial arguments.
          • AI can also be used to help create an outline of your essay other than the one suggested below.
          • Ensure that any AI-generated content is critically evaluated and cited in your essay. Students must refine AI contributions, integrating them seamlessly with their own analysis and arguments.
          • Evaluate the AI-generated content critically. Students should assess its historical accuracy, coherence with their arguments, and overall contribution to their analysis.
          • Separate from the Term Paper, students must provide a reflective commentary (1-2 pages double spaced) as part of their submission, explaining how AI was used in the research and writing process, what specific tasks it performed, and how the student ensured the accuracy and relevance of AI-generated content. Discuss any challenges faced in using AI and how they were addressed.
          • Again, ensure that all AI-generated content is appropriately cited in the final draft.
          • The final draft should also Include an appendix with the original outline and any AI-generated summaries or drafts, annotated to show how they were revised and integrated into the final essay.
          • While AI can be used, not more than 25% of essays can be generated by it, including for grammatical purposes.
     2. Students SHOULD reference the scholars from the assigned reading and that of those found via independent research (see example essay for guidance).
     3. Utilize at least one primary source (a primary source is an artifact, document, diary, manuscript, autobiography, recording, or any other source of information that was created at the time under study. It serves as an original source of information about a topic, e.g. The Articles of Confederation, the Federalist Papers, the Gettysburg Address, etc.). For this course, primary sources do not need to be listed in a bibliography but should be simply referenced in the essay itself.
     4. Students must include at least one citation – a quote or paraphrased material, but no more than one per page. Block quotes are prohibited.
     5. Include a bibliography page listing all sources used during the research process.
     6. Essays conform to the Course Writing & Style (Formatting) Guide.