Writing Essays with Primary SourcesWhat is a thesis statement?
A thesis statement is one, two, or even three sentences that state the argument in your essay. A good
thesis statement directs the structure of your essay and allows your reader to understand the themes and
ideas that you will discuss in your essay.
For relatively short essays, such as the ones you are writing for this class, the thesis statement typically is
at the end of the first paragraph.
Sample thesis statements
Here is a question for an essay that I asked for another class, dealing with a specific set of primary
documents. So it is not an exact match for our class. I nevertheless hope it can help us understand how to
write a quality thesis statement.
Question: Contrast coverage of the 1894 Pullman Strike by the Chicago Tribune and Chicago
Times. How do the newspapers reveal about differences in assumptions, anxieties, and politics
between workers and employers?
Thesis statement #1 – just OK
•
During the Pullman Strike, the Chicago Tribune supported the owners, while the Chicago Times
supported the workers.
Why is this one “just OK”? It states the basic idea that the essay will illustrate. It is clear and accurate.
But it does not completely answer the question, and it is not specific about how each newspaper made its
case.
Thesis statement #2 – better
The Tribune appealed to conservative readers by painting the ARU boycott as without cause, led
by “Dictator” Eugene Debs, and dangerously in the hands of a mob. The Times, by contrast,
appealed to the working class by painting the ARU boycott as legitimate, orderly, and unified.
As we can see, this thesis statement is better because it explains not only what each newspaper did, but
how they did it. A reader knows that in the paragraphs about the Tribune, the author will explain those
three themes about the boycott’s cause, Debs, and the mob. In the paragraphs about the Times, the reader
will see the pro-working class themes outlined here. What’s missing, though, is an answer to the last part
of the question.
Thesis statement #3 – OH YEAH!
The Tribune appealed to readers by painting the ARU boycott as without cause, led by “Dictator”
Eugene Debs, and dangerously in the hands of a mob. The Times, by contrast, appealed to the
working class by painting the ARU boycott as legitimate, orderly, and unified. The different
portrayals reveal not only how newspapers of the late 19th century competed for readers, but also
the larger difference in ideas between capital and labor in the midst of America’s industrial
revolution.
This final thesis statement builds off the previous one. The final sentence explains the larger meaning
behind the contrasting coverage, which shows that deeper level of historical thinking.
Outlines
It is always a smart idea to sketch out an outline of your essay. It helps you keep track of your argument,
your structure, and the sources that you will use in each section. An outline helps you envision your essay
as a series of paragraphs that serve to prove the argument that you laid out in your thesis statement.
Sample outline
•
•
•
•
•
•
Thesis
o The Tribune appealed to readers by painting the ARU boycott as without cause, led by
“Dictator” Eugene Debs, and dangerously in the hands of a mob. The Times, by contrast,
appealed to the working class by painting the ARU boycott as legitimate, orderly, and
unified. The different portrayals reveal not only how newspapers of the late 19th century
competed for readers, but also the larger difference in ideas between capital and labor in
the midst of America’s industrial revolution.
Context paragraph on Pullman Strike
o 1894, depression, Pullman Company layoffs and wage cuts, strike by local workers, then
national ARU boycott
Newspapers as a source
o Strengths: collect facts, detailed, immediate response
o Limitations: editorial biases (especially at the time)
Tribune coverage
o Root cause as frivolous (Source 1)
o “Dictator” Debs as villain (Source 3, 7)
o Language of mob rule, anarchy (Source 9, 11)
o Victory for Pullman Company (Source 13)
Times coverage
o Root cause based on legitimate grievances (Source 2)
o Villain is Pullman, greedy owners colluding against workers (Source 4, 6)
o Workers as orderly, peaceful, suffering (Source 8, 10, 12)
o Victory for continuing the labor struggle (Source 14)
Conclusion
Notice how the early paragraphs are establishing the historical context. They are helping the reader
understand the wider historical era, the specific issue, and the sources that are getting analyzed. Your own
essays aren’t exactly like this one, but you should always remember to give context for your sources.
Notice, too, how the paragraphs on the Tribune and Times follow the same themes as laid out in the thesis
statement. Here, the author is proving the argument with the use of the primary sources.
You may be thinking: how am I going to come up with a complete and sophisticated thesis statement
right off the bat? Well, you might not. For me, I chart out my source first, figuring out the big themes.
Then I write the thesis. And when I’m done with the essay, I go back and look at the thesis again. I often
modify it at that point.
Using and analyzing primary sources
Check out this sample paragraph from the essay:
•
The Tribune painted the striking workers as an angry, violent mob. With the beginning of the
national railway boycott, the paper referred to the union as “aggressive,” continuing “warfare” by
abandoning railroad service, and having a “mob spirit.” It painted Eugene Debs as diabolical – his
“master stroke” was ordering all the ARU workers to leave their posts. A few times, the paper
called him “Dictator Debs.” This language made the Pullman strike seem dangerous to the whole
country, as if it was led by an anarchist agitator.
Let’s break it down:
•
•
•
First sentence: a topic sentence, stating the main idea of this paragraph.
Next three sentences: using the evidence, employing examples to prove the point.
Last sentence: this one analyzes the evidence, explaining its larger meaning.
One more example, this time on how the Times explained the cause of the strike:
•
The Times reported that the immediate cause of the Pullman Strike was the layoff of three
machine shop workers, but the more important issue was the lowering of wages. The paper stated
that “the terms upon which the men insist before returning to work are the restoration of the wage
scale of 1893, time and one-half for overtime, and no discrimination against any who have taken
a prominent part in the strike.” By matter-of-factly describing the grievances and terms of the
workers, the Times characterized the strike as a legitimate, fair response to the cuts and layoffs
imposed by the Pullman Company.
Breaking it down:
•
•
•
First sentence: topic sentence with main idea
Middle sentence: evidence from primary sources that proves main idea
Last sentence: analyzing the evidence, in light of the larger historical conflict under review
Guide for Essay #1, Option B
General Principles
What makes a good essay?
• Strong, specific, and complete thesis statement
• Logical organization into paragraphs
• Answer the question completely
• Use the sources
• Analyze the sources
• Clear writing
What are the basic expectations?
• Minimum of three pages in length (a good essay is more likely at least four or five pages long)
• Must use at least six primary sources from the American Yawp reader.
• Standards:
o Do not use a title page or title. Just place your name and the essay number in the upper
left corner.
o Use double spacing, a regular font and size, and normal margins.
o You do not need to have a Works Cited page. You do not need to cite your quotations
with either footnotes or parenthetical citations.
o Avoid plagiarism. Plagiarism is the use of another person’s words without using
quotations and citing the source. Plagiarizing essays will result in an “F” for the essay
and possibly the course.
Option B
The prompt
• How did ideas about race shape American history from the period of 1877 to 1919? How did
white supremacy inform southern politics, immigration, and foreign policy? How did non-white
Americans advocate for equality?
The structure
• First question serves as an overarching way to approach the question
o Thesis statement should answer this question in one, two, or three sentences. The more
specific, the better.
o Second question provides the structure
The South
Immigration
Foreign policy
Part One: Southern Politics
Historical context on New South, rise of Jim Crow
Section in Chapter 18 of The American Yawp
Further covered in Chapter 20
Also discussed in our podcast on “Life in Industrial America”
Can also incorporate Henry Grady document to show the idea of the New South (though Grady
doesn’t address race very directly)
Sources to show how African Americans advocated for equality
Document by Ida Wells-Barnett (Chapter 18)
Documents by Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois (Chapter 20)
Part Two: Immigration
Historical context
Chapter 18 of American Yawp describes flood of immigrants into the US in the late 19th and
early 20th centuries
Chapter 19 addresses some of the resistance to immigration
Also check out the podcast on “Life in Industrial America”
Sources on Chinese-American experience
Document by San Francisco Mayor endorsing the extension of the Chinese Exclusion Act
Documents by two Chinese immigrants, showing different ways of advocating for their rights and
personhood
Part Three: Foreign Policy
Historical context
Chapter 19 in American Yawp discusses US foreign policy and Spanish-American War in the
1890s and early 1900s
In my podcast on American Empire, I explained how ideas about white supremacy helped shape
US intervention in Cuba and its decision to wage war in the Philippines
Documents on foreign intervention shaped by white supremacy
William McKinley’s rationale for war in the Philippines
Rudyard Kipling poem, “The White Man’s Burden”
Documents on resistance to white supremacy in context of foreign intervention
Document on African Americans debating enlistment in the Spanish-American War.
If you include WWI, see document by W.E.B. DuBois about returning fighting from WWI, as
well as a document advocating for Filipino independence from Manuel Quezon