Contributors+and+Detractors+from+the+American+Experiment

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Step 1: Pick a Topic
**Instructions:** // Using reference sources and videos, conduct preliminary research on individuals and events that spark your interest. //

This is a great time to use Wikipedia,World Book Encyclopedia, or NBC Learn. As you gain context and understanding, narrow your focus to the one individual or event that you find most interesting. Make sure that there is PLENTY of research 'out there' on your topic.

John Adams Thomas Jefferson James Madison James Monroe John Quincy Adams Andrew Jackson James K. Polk Franklin Pierce James Buchanan || John Jay Alexander Hamilton Henry Clay John C. Calhoun Aaron Burr Daniel Webster Stephen Douglass John C. Fremont || Susan B. Anthony Elizabeth Cady Stanton Lucretia Mott Frederick Douglass Harriet Tubman William Lloyd Garrison Henry David Thorough Ralph Waldo Emerson Horace Mann Dorothea Dix Harriet Beecher Stowe Catharine Beecher Sojourner Truth || Samuel Slater Eli Whitney Robert Fulton Francis Cabot Lowell Samuel F. B. Morse || Sam Houston Brigham Young Stephen Austin Daniel Boone Davey Crockett Meriwether Lewis & William Clark || John Marshall Robert Taney || Phillis Wheatley Noah Webster || Nat Turner John Brown ||
 * ** Presidents ** || ** Politicians ** || ** Reformers ** || ** Pioneers ** || ** Businessmen **
 * /Investors ** || ** Supreme Court ** || ** Cultural ** || ** Leaders of Revolt ** ||
 * George Washington

Step 2: Develop a Research Question

 * Instructions: **// Develop a couple questions that you're interested in investigating. Your questions should NOT be too narrow or too broad. //
 * How is a Research Question different than a Thesis Statement?

Example Research Question:
 * Thomas Jefferson...

Step 3: Gather Evidence & Evaluate Sources
// Locate authoritative sources of information that answer your research questions. Use the Library's catalog, the history databases, and the recommended websites to locate, articles, videos, studies, and other sources of evidence. //


 * Recommended Databases **
 * ABC-CLIO: American Government
 * ABC CLIO - American History
 * Gale: Biography in Context
 * Gale -U.S. History in Context
 * NBC-Learn
 * World Book Encyclopedia


 * Primary Sources **
 * ** WHS Library Primary Source Pathfinder: ** This resource contains an introduction to primary sources, as well as links to various primary source databases and archives on the web.
 * Archive of Americana:Archive of Americana is a family of historical collections containing books, pamphlets, broadsides, newspapers, government documents and ephemera printed in America over three centuries. Visit Your Library 24/7 for the BPL Card #
 * **Historical Newspapers:** Use this database to s earch through copies of The New York Times from the 1850's through 2008 and The Boston Globe from the 1870's through 1979.
 * ** NBC Learn: ** Collections of video resources, primary sources, historic footage, images, mini-documentaries and text resources designed for use in the K-12 classroom.
 * ** National Archives, Docs Teach: ** Primary sources from the American Revolution to contemporary United States.


 * Recommended Websites **
 * Miller Center: American President
 * The White House: The Presidents
 * Library of Congress: Presidents of the United States

**NOTE:** Make sure to evaluate all sources of information for **authority**, **accuracy**, and **currency**. Use the Website Evaluation handout when making decisions about which sources of information to use.

Step 4: Develop Rationale
**Instructions:** // Once you have your topic and research question, write a brief rationale (justification) for why you chose this topic and provide a summary about it. It is best to think of this as your **introduction**. //

**Example Research Question/Rationale.**

Step 5: Develop Thesis
**Instructions:** // Develop a working thesis. A thesis statement is the answer to your research question. The thesis indicates your position on an issue. Confused? Check out this graphic on the different between a research question and a thesis: Research Question vs. Thesis Statement. //


 * **Research Question** || **Thesis Statement** ||
 * Question? ||  ||

Step 6: Take Notes & Cite Sources

 * Creating a New Account on NoodleTools
 * Creating and Sharing a Project in NoodleTools
 * Retrieving your NoodleTools Password
 * Re-validating Your Noodle Tools Account
 * **Username** - technology
 * **Password** - contact your library teacher: library
 * Citing an Online Database article in Noodle Tools
 * Citing a Website in Noodle Tools