Overview: Reading the archive isn’t about simply “collecting information.” People in the past had different motivations and perspectives, and the historian’s job is to read through and across the sources and accounts that remain with us today to try to develop understandings and interpretations of the past based on limited, partial, flawed, and very human evidence.
For this assignment, you will annotate (e.g. add interpretations, ideas, references to other readings and sources) the Declaration of Independence and Frederick Douglass’ response to celebration of that moment (“What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?”).
Task: You must add at least 6 to 8 substantial annotations (a few sentences) directly to the document packet and at least two for each document.
- Highlight a specific phrase, grievance, or philosophical claim. Write a comment analyzing why this phrase was revolutionary in its historical context or what assumptions the authors were making about government and society.
- You must also make a connection to the readings and media from Unit 1 of the OER for at least one of them.
- Identify connections between the documents and how they are talking to each other (or not).
How to Write Annotations for the Declaration of Independence and Frederick Douglass’ “What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?”
Introduction
This assignment requires more than summarizing historical documents. The purpose is to think like a historian by analyzing language, assumptions, perspectives, and historical context. Effective annotations should explain why specific phrases mattered historically, what beliefs or assumptions the authors held, and how ideas connect across documents. You should also identify where the documents agree, disagree, or directly respond to one another. Since historians interpret incomplete and often biased historical evidence, annotations should focus on analysis and interpretation rather than description alone.
Section 1: Annotation Requirements
You must create between six and eight substantial annotations.
Requirements include:
At least two annotations from the Declaration of Independence
At least two annotations from Frederick Douglass’ “What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?”
Several sentence explanations for each annotation rather than short notes
Analysis of specific phrases, grievances, or philosophical ideas
Discussion of historical significance
Discussion of assumptions about government and society
At least one connection to Unit 1 OER readings or media
Connections between both documents showing similarities, differences, or responses
Section 2: Suggested Annotation Structure
For each annotation use the following structure:
Highlighted Phrase
Identify the exact phrase or passage from the document.
Historical Context
Explain why this statement was significant during that historical period.
Analysis of Assumptions
Discuss what assumptions the author made regarding government, rights, citizenship, equality, freedom, or society.
Document Connections
Explain how this idea connects or conflicts with the other document.
Course Material Connection
If applicable, connect ideas to Unit 1 readings, media, or themes.
Section 3: Possible Areas for Annotation in the Declaration of Independence
Potential phrases include:
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal”
Analyze ideas regarding natural rights and equality.
Discuss contradictions involving slavery and exclusion.
Connect Enlightenment ideas and social contract theory.
“Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed”
Discuss assumptions regarding political authority.
Explain why this challenged monarchy.
Discuss revolutionary significance.
“He has refused his Assent to Laws”
Analyze colonial grievances against British authority.
Explain concerns regarding abuse of power.
Discuss ideas about representation and self-government.
“It is the Right of the People to alter or abolish it”
Discuss revolutionary ideas regarding rebellion against unjust governments.
Explain why this idea was historically significant.
Section 4: Possible Areas for Annotation in Frederick Douglass’ Speech
Potential phrases include:
“What, to the American slave, is your Fourth of July?”
Discuss Douglass questioning national ideals.
Explain how he separates enslaved individuals from national celebrations.
Analyze social criticism.
“This Fourth of July is yours, not mine”
Discuss assumptions regarding citizenship and inclusion.
Explain contradictions between freedom and slavery.
“America reigns without a rival”
Analyze criticism of slavery and hypocrisy.
Discuss how Douglass exposes contradictions within democratic ideals.
“The rich inheritance of justice, liberty, prosperity, and independence”
Explain how Douglass references the Declaration while arguing that enslaved people were denied these principles.
Section 5: Connections Between Both Documents
Look for areas where the documents speak to one another.
Possible connections include:
Douglass directly challenges the Declaration’s promise that “all men are created equal.”
The Declaration presents ideals of liberty while Douglass questions who actually receives those liberties.
Both documents criticize injustice, but they target different forms of oppression.
The Declaration opposes British political oppression while Douglass opposes racial oppression and slavery within America itself.
Both authors use arguments involving rights and justice, but Douglass argues that America failed to fulfill its own principles.
Section 6: Unit 1 OER Connections
For at least one annotation, connect ideas to Unit 1 materials.
Possible themes include:
Enlightenment philosophy
Natural rights theory
Social contract theory
Colonial resistance
Democracy and citizenship
Power and inequality
Historical construction of freedom
Explain specifically how the reading or media helps interpret the selected document.
Conclusion
Strong annotations move beyond identifying information and instead demonstrate interpretation and historical thinking. Focus on analyzing language, assumptions, and historical significance while identifying dialogue between documents. The strongest responses explain how Frederick Douglass simultaneously uses and critiques the principles found in the Declaration of Independence, showing how historical ideas can be both powerful and contested.
References
Include course readings, OER materials, and any additional assigned sources in APA format and alphabetical order.
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