Purpose

The purpose of this paper is for students to critically explore a controversial decision or topic in American history and reach a well-supported conclusion. Students will engage with assigned readings, class materials, independent research, and scholarly debates in order to analyze competing historical interpretations.

For this course, students must select and analyze the following historical issue:

1. Was the United States Responsible for the Cold War?

Essay Requirements

• Length: 8001000 words but no more than 1,200.
• Sources:
• In the essay students must reference, discuss and analyze the scholars provided in the assigned reading that covers the debate.
• At least one primary source must be used and referenced in the essay (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.).
• Students are required to incorporate two secondary sources minimum in their work. These must include:

1. One monograph

• A nonfiction academic book that provides focused historical analysis on a specific topic or theme
• Must be at least 200 pages in length
• Published in the 20th or 21st century, preferably after 1960
• Produced by a university or academic press

1. One scholarly article

• A peer-reviewed journal article that offers interpretation, argument, or analysis grounded in primary sources or existing academic research
• Should be sourced from an academic journal database such as JSTOR or other library-supported research platforms
• These two sources must be written by different authors, and neither may duplicate or come from the assigned course debate readings.
• AI tools such as language models, can assist in finding sources, creating outlines or limited proofreading. AI cannot generate essays or large parts of essays.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.
• While AI can be used, not more than 25% of essays can be generated by it, including for grammatical purposes.
• Citations: The paper must include at least one properly formatted citation a quote or paraphrased material, but no more than one per page. Block quotes are prohibited. See the Course Writing & Style Guide (available prior to the due date) for formatting instructions.
• Bibliography: A complete bibliography listing all secondary sources used during the research process must be included at the end of the paper. Recall, primary sources should referenced in the essay. See the Course Writing & Style Guide (available prior to the due date) for formatting instructions.
• Formatting: All essays must conform to the course-specific formatting guide provided in the module dedicated to this assignment. If not already, this formatting guide will be made available a week or two before the submission due date.

The following analogy might help you conceptualize your essay: think of yourself as the judge in a courtroom. The scholars debating the topic are attorneys who have just presented their case their thesis/argument. Its up to you as judge to assess whether or not the scholars theses have validity. As in a court of law, the judge rules on the evidence presented by the attorney. This is essentially what you will do.