gaining independence narrative essay

Gaining Independence

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History is a very important and intriguing subject as it is said to understand where we are going, we must first understand where we came from. In this class we learned about the beginnings of our country and the hardships that the colonist dealt with to make the United States what it is today. We are a land of opportunity, but that opportunity was gained by great sacrifices. The pilgrims faced a harsh journey via boat to come to this country, and then once here faced starvation and sickness.

Many pilgrims didn’t make it past the first harvest. Not only did the pilgrims have to learn to overcome these obstacles, with the help of the Native Americans, they were still under England’s rule which meant a significant portion of their earnings went back to England. When this band of people had enough and sought independence, they had to fight against a large very well equipped army. Even though we were outmanned and out equipped, our grit and strength paid off and our independence was eventually gained.

Our country‘s story starts out with a man named Christopher Columbus who was one of the first sailors to across the ocean and discover the “New World”. It took Columbus several years to get enough money raised in order to be able to set off for the Americas. A lot of people, including the King of Portuguese, denied his request for backing. However, this did not stop Columbus and his vision to travel to the Americas. After the King of Portugal turn him down, Columbus went to Spain and talked to Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand V, and in April 1492 his request was approved. It took a couple of months to get everything organized, but on August 3, 1492 Columbus and his crew finally set sail (Saari 17) to what we now know as the United States.

Eventually, thirteen separate areas called colonies were established. Unrest began to simmer and a desire to become independent from Great Britain began to rise in the colonies when Great Britain imposed new taxes and trade restrictions on the colonies. These new taxes were called The Stamp Act of 1765. These new taxes started the American Revolution. The American Revolution was a war that allowed the thirteen colonies to win independence from Great Britain. The American Revolution started in 1775 with the Battle of Lexington and Concord and ended with the battle of Yorktown in 1781.

The Stamp Act started making the colonists grow with resentment and frustration of their lack of representation in British Parliament. The actual cost of the Stamp Act was relatively small, but the law so offensive to the colonists due to the standard it seemed to set. A lot of colonists felt hopeless until Patrick Henry went in front of House of Burgesses and presented the Virginia Stamp Act Resolutions.

These resolves declared that Americans possessed the same rights as the English, especially the right to be taxed only by their own representatives; that Virginians should pay no taxes except those voted on by the Virginia House of Burgesses; and that anyone supporting the right of Parliament to tax Virginians should be considered an enemy of the colony. The House of Burgesses defeated the most extreme of Henry’s resolutions, but four of the resolutions were adopted (Schmirreoth 15).

On March 5, 1770, a fight broke out in Boston when a crowd of 50 colonists were causing trouble with a British soldier. This skirmish was called the Boston Massacre. During this skirmish, a British soldier cried out for help and two more soldiers ran to assist the soldier. Eventually Captain Thomas Preston and eight more soldiers were called to assist the British soldier. Captain Thomas Preston ordered his men to “carry their muskets but not to fire them’.

They did what they were told, but the crowd of colonists grew. As the British soldiers went through the crowd they were called horrible names, mocked, and had things throw at them. Eventually, the British soldiers had enough and fired into the crowd killing eleven people. The next morning which was March 6, 1770, Captain Thomas Preston and some of his men were arrested and charged with murder (Draper 10-15).

John Adams, who eventually would be elected as our 2nd president, was concerned about what the after math of the massacre would be. John Adams was a lawyer and an American patriot who believed in justice for all people. Therefore, John Adams agreed to defend Captain Thomas Preston and his men as he believed they acted and fired in self-defense. During the trial a lot of people testified and each seemed to have a different version; therefore, Captain Thomas Preston and his men were found not guilty (Draper 18-21).

In 1767, the English passed a tax on tea (Draper 6). When this law was passed the colonists had to pay an extra three cents for each pound of English tea. Even though three cents were a lot of money in 1767, most colonists were not upset because they either did not drink English tea or they smuggled it and bought it illegally.

Due to the colonists buying tea illegally, the trading market for English tea was going bankrupt. In response to the trading market, Great Britain passed a special tea act in order to save the trading market. The special tea act allowed the colonists to buy tea at a lower cost than the tea they smuggled or brought illegally. The colonists where very upset by this because this seemed like a sneaky way of making them pay the tea tax which they did not have to do when they were buying it illegally (Draper 11).

Colonists, like Samuel Adams, made a big deal out of this and wanted all British tea agents to shut down production and go back to England. The colonists wanted this to be done in a public forum. Samuel Adams started protesting and putting posters up telling other colonist to come watch the agents quit. The crowd of colonist came, but the agents did not show up, they became angry. Samuel Adams started going to meetings and making speeches to get his point across that the tea act was unfair, and that they needed to send the tea back.

Along with many colonists, Samuel Adams went to asked the governor of Massachusetts for help in sending back the tea. The governor was very fond of King George II, so he didn’t want to help the colonists. These events lead to Samuel Adams and a group colonists called “Sons of Liberty” to throw the tea into the Boston Harbor. After King Gorge III heard about what we know today as the Boston Tea Party he was very angry and closed the Boston Harbor until the colonists paid for all the tea they destroyed.

After the Boston Tea Party, other “tea parties” were held up and down the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. The American colonists wanted Great Britain to know that the American colonies were united. By helping each other and speaking out against Great Britain, the thirteen colonies were taking a step toward independence. In time they would become the single, unified nation we know as the United State of America (Draper 22).

The Battle of Lexington and Concord started the era of the Revolutionary Wars. On April 18, 1775 British troops crossed the Charles River in order to head toward Concord. Once it was discovered that the British were coming, Paul Revere and William Dawes left Boston to warn the colonists. By the time the British troops arrived in Lexington the militiamen were ready.

The militiamen, a group of men from the thirteen colonies, were ready to fight and where determined not to let the British advance to Concord (Bobrick 12). Captain John Parker and his men were finally face to face with the British troops, he gave the order to “Stand your ground. Don’t fire unless fired upon. But if they want to have a war. Let it begin here” (Bobrick 12). Once the British troops arrived in Concord, the British decided to use force against the colonists in Massachusetts (Smolinski 6).

General Thomas Gage, a British general, received orders to find and destroy any ammunition storehouses that were located in Concord. General Thomas Gage and his men started searching for the ammunition storehouses, but quickly discovered that they had been removed. After they couldn’t carry out their mission they marched to the surrounding fields where the militiamen were waiting for them were a battle ensued.

On the night of June 15 and into the early morning of June 16, 1775, colonial militiamen positioned themselves on Breed’s Hill on the peninsula across the bay from Boston (Smolinski 8). The British troops wanted to push colonial militiamen back to Boston, and push his troops toward the eastern peninsula. The British troops attacked and were supported by warships and artillery. The colonists fought hard, but ran out of supplies and didn’t have a backup plan or reinforcements coming. Since the British troops had reinforcements they attacked again and successfully completed their mission of driving the colonial militiamen back to the main land.

After the British troops successfully completed their mission, both the militiamen and the British troops came to the conclusion they needed more soldiers. The British gathered troops from other countries, but the militiamen didn’t have funds to hire anyone and had to take volunteers. However, in June 1775 the Continental Congress formed the Continental Army and General George Washington was appointed commander in chief. On March 17,1776, General George Washington and his Continental Army pushed the British troops out of Boston. After the British troops were pushed out of Boston, they gathered more supplies and equipment and started heading to New York. General George Washington and his Continental Army followed the British troops to New York which is where the next war started.

The founding fathers and the Continental Congress worked very hard during the American Revolution Era to fight against Great Britain for our independence. There were many delegates that were within these two groups. The ones that stand out the most and had the most impact on the thirteen colonies were Alexander Hamilton and Benjamin Franklin.

Alexander Hamilton was born on January 11, 1755 in Nevis. He attended the now Columbia University. While attending college, he started writing speeches and articles siding with the patriots. He was not only one of the founding fathers, but also helped George Washington, who would become the first president of the United States, in the Continental Army. Hamilton was George Washington’s right hand man and helped keep him organized.

Hamilton was called the “Little Lion,” because he waged a relentless campaign for the approval of the Constitution. He wrote fifty-one pages of the newspaper essays called the Federalist Papers, which urged ratification of the Constitution, with Kames Madison and John Jay producing the remaining thirty-four pages. His efforts at the ratification convention in Poughkeepsie, New York, were instrumental in narrow approval the Constitution on July 26,1788 (Fradin 123). After George Washington become President, he chose Hamilton to be the first Secretary of Treasury. During Hamilton’s tenure as Secretary of Treasury, he helped strengthen the nation’s finances and helped organize its banking system. He is also the face featured on the $10.00 bill.

Benjamin Franklin was born in Boston and was the fifteenth out of seventeen children. He left school as a child to work in his family candle shop even though he disliked making candles. Eventually he started to work with his brother James who was a printer. After he stop working for his brother, Benjamin decided to sail to New York City where he had difficulty finding work as a printer, and decided to head to Philadelphia.

In 1730, Franklin married a woman by the name of Deborah. Franklin was a many of many talents from reading to printing to flying kites with his son. His many interests helped him become famous for his electrical experiments. Franklin is also accredited with helping draft and getting the Declaration of Independence passed.

The last two battles of the Revolutionary war were the Battle of Saratoga and the Battle of Yorktown. The battle of Saratoga was when the British troops attacked three separate groups of colonists. During the Battle of Yorktown, George Washington trapped the British which lead to the British surrendering and started the road to our independence. Despite the British surrendering in Yorktown, the treaty ending the war wasn’t signed until September 3, 1783 as there were a lot of things to figure out, like state boarders.

Despite the many years of hardship, fighting, and blood shed the thirteen colonies finally gained their independence. On July 4, 1776 our Declaration of Independence was ratified and signed by Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, John Hancock, Samuel Adams just to name a few solidifying our independence from Britain. This document is not only an important document in our history, but it also served as inspiration in the writing our Constitution and the first ten amendments called the Bill of Rights. These three documents serve to capture our history and provide the framework for not only governing the United States but ensuring our future freedom.

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Writing Prompt: Finding Independence

by David Safford | 0 comments

In the U.S., today is a time for celebration. While no living Americans have ever felt the sting of King George's cruel taxes, they still partake in the annual celebration of independence by grilling hot dogs and shooting off fireworks.

We all long for independence . It's hard-wired into the human spirit.

Perhaps this is because we all know what it feels like to be trapped. Have your circumstances ever penned you in? Have you ever been forced to look to something or someone else for sustenance, when you would rather be standing on your own feet?

That's what today's writing prompt is all about.

Let's tell a story about finding independence!

Writing Prompt: Find Independence

For today's writing prompt, choose from one of the scenarios below in which a protagonist will have to fight for their independence from something or someone else. Feel free to make it personal or completely fictional.

It'll be more fun than a pair of sparklers!

Independence from a Relationship

Often we surrender independence for the sake of relationships, hoping and trusting that the sacrifice will be worth it. Write a story in which the protagonist is stuck in a negative, neglectful, or abusive relationship, and chooses to escape from it.

Challenge: Think outside the box here – don't settle for cliché forms of negativity. How can that relational dependence be a problem without being soap operatic?

Independence from a Job

Americans love the idea of working for themselves. Write a story in which a protagonist is able to successfully extricate him or herself from a bad job.

Challenge: Make the departure bittersweet. Show how independence can come with the weight of responsibility and the pang of loneliness.

Independence from Money

There's a big difference between enjoying money and needing  it. Most of us need it. Write a story in which the protagonist strives to to be free from the need of money.

Challenge:  Consider all the ways we can “pay” for things. How can we grow “rich” without ever getting a raise or winning the lottery?

Independence from Addiction

Often we run to food, alcohol, shopping, gambling, social media, and other worldly pleasures to ease the ache and pain of life. Write a story in which the protagonist begins making the difficult choices necessary to overcome an addiction.

Challenge: Put a relationship in your story, where the addicted character is  not  the protagonist, but the process of “helping” exposes character flaws in the protagonist!

Independence from Religious Rules

Americans are very fond of religious freedom. Write a story in which the protagonist chooses to find God in their own way despite strong bonds to a particular religious background or lifestyle.

Challenge:  Since faith and religion are different things, explore the possibilities of being deeply religious  and  faithful, or being deeply faithful but not-at-all religious.

Independence from Technology

When I woke up this morning, the very first thing I did was check my phone. Clearly I'm far from independent!

Write a story in which the protagonist chooses to remove technology from a certain section of their life, and explore why.

Challenge: Avoid stranding your character on a desert island. Rather, force them to choose independence and fight for it when convenience, and social norms, demand that the technology be used.

Independence from Self

Perhaps the greatest force of antagonism in your life is locked inside your head, a little voice that demands perfection. Write a story in which the protagonist separates from the false ideas, beliefs, and personalities within, and finds independence from the “false self.”

Challenge:  Write the scene with no dialogue.

Independence from Nation

As an American, I often wonder what my life would be like if I had been born elsewhere. In what nation, or nationality, would I put my pride then? Write a story in which the protagonist must find a new identity after losing, or surrendering, their old national one.

Challenge: What reasons would prompt us to willingly give up or shift our national heritage? What would the consequences be? Note that this isn't an “American” writing prompt, though it can be if that's how you choose to read it.

The Cost of Independence

Just like many other nations, America won its independence at a great cost. Thousands of men and women died who never got to see the nation they fought for, hoping that their sacrifice was worth the loss. And sure enough, a new nation was born that sought to build a form of representative government.

Yet just a century into the life of that “independent” nation, another war ripped it in half, this time over the independence of millions of men and women: the enslaved who would be free and fully American. It took yet another century for laws to be passed, and enforced, that would protect their right to be such fully free citizens.

Independence has a cost, and it's both beautiful and messy. That's why I hope your writing can explore it in honest and deeply human ways. I hope you can celebrate this day, whether as an American or one of the 6.7 billion non-Americans on July 4th, by telling your own story of independence in a way that lights the fireworks of your imagination.

Happy Fourth of July, and Happy Writing!

Choose one of the eight writing prompts above. For fifteen minutes , freewrite a response to it. Share your response in the Pro Practice Workshop here and give feedback to a few other writers too. 

David Safford

You deserve a great book. That's why David Safford writes adventure stories that you won't be able to put down. Read his latest story at his website. David is a Language Arts teacher, novelist, blogger, hiker, Legend of Zelda fanatic, puzzle-doer, husband, and father of two awesome children.

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Background Essay: Applying the Ideals of the Declaration of Independence

Guiding Questions: Why have Americans consistently appealed to the Declaration of Independence throughout U.S. history? How have the ideals in the Declaration of Independence affected the struggle for equality throughout U.S. history?

• I can explain how the ideals of the Declaration of Independence have inspired individuals and groups to make the United States a more equal and just society.

Essential Vocabulary

In an 1857 speech criticizing the Supreme Court decision in Dred Scott v. Sanford (1857), Abraham Lincoln commented that the principle of equality in the Declaration of Independence was “meant to set up a standard maxim [fundamental principle] for a free society.” Indeed, throughout American history, many Americans appealed to the ideals of the Declaration of Independence to make liberty and equality a reality for all.

A constitutional democracy requires vigorous deliberation and debate by citizens and their representatives. Therefore, it should not be surprising that the meanings and implications of the Declaration of Independence and its principles have been debated and contested throughout history. This civil and political dialogue helps Americans understand the principles and ideas upon which their country was founded and the means of working to achieve them.

Applying the Declaration of Independence from the Founding through the Civil War

Individuals appealed [pointed to as evidence] to the principles of the Declaration of Independence soon after it was signed. In the 1770s and 1780s, enslaved people in New England appealed to the natural rights principles of the Declaration and state constitutions as they petitioned legislatures and courts for freedom and the abolition of slavery. A group of enslaved people in New Hampshire stated, “That the God of Nature, gave them, Life, and Freedom, upon the Terms of the most perfect Equality with other men; That Freedom is an inherent [of a permanent quality] Right of the human Species, not to be surrendered, but by Consent.” While some of these petitions were unsuccessful, others led to freedom for the petitioner.

The women and men who assembled at the 1848 Seneca Falls Convention , the first women’s rights conference held in the United States, adopted the Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions , a list of injustices committed against women. The document was modeled after the Declaration of Independence, but the language was changed to read, “We hold these truths to be self-evident : [clear without having to be stated] that all men and women are created equal.” It then listed several grievances regarding the inequalities that women faced. The document served as a guiding star in the long struggle for women’s suffrage.

The Declaration of Independence was one of the centerpieces of the national debate over slavery. Abolitionists such as Frederick Douglass, William Lloyd Garrison, and Abby Kelley all invoked the Declaration of Independence in denouncing slavery. On the other hand, Senators Stephen Douglas and John Calhoun, Justice Roger Taney, and Confederate Vice President Alexander Stephens all denied that the Declaration of Independence was meant to apply to Black people.

Abraham Lincoln was president during the crisis of the Civil War, which was brought about by this national debate over slavery. He consistently held that the Declaration of Independence had universal natural rights principles that were “applicable to all men and all time.” In his Gettysburg Address, Lincoln stated that the nation was “conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.”

The Declaration at Home and Abroad: The Twentieth Century and Beyond

The case of Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) revealed a split over the meaning of the equality principle even in the Supreme Court. The majority in the 7–1 decision thought that distinctions and inequalities based upon race did not violate the Fourteenth Amendment and did not imply inferiority, and therefore, segregation was constitutional. Dissenting Justice John Marshall Harlan argued for equality when he famously wrote, “In the eye of the law, there is in this country no superior, dominant, ruling class of citizens. There is no caste here. Our constitution is colorblind.”

The expansion of American world power in the wake of the Spanish-American War of 1898 triggered another debate inspired by the Declaration of Independence. The war brought the United States into more involvement in world affairs. Echoing earlier debates over Manifest Destiny during nineteenth-century westward expansion, supporters of American global expansion argued that the country would bring the ideals of liberty and self-government to those people who had not previously enjoyed them. On the other hand, anti-imperialists countered that creating an American empire violated the Declaration of Independence by taking away the liberty of self-determination , or freedom of government without foreign interference, and consent from Filipinos and Cubans.

Politicians of differing perspectives viewed the Declaration in opposing ways during the early twentieth century. Progressives [a political and social reform group that began in the late 19th century] such as Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson argued that the principles of the Declaration of Independence were important for an earlier period in American history, to gain independence from Great Britain and to set up the new nation. They argued that the modern United States faced new challenges introduced by an industrial economy and needed a new set of ideas that required a more active government and more powerful national executive. They were less concerned with preserving an ideal of liberty and equality and more concerned with regulating society and the economy for the public interest. Wilson in particular rejected the views of the Founding, criticizing both the Declaration and the Constitution as irrelevant for facing the problems of his time.

President Calvin Coolidge disagreed and adopted a conservative position when he argued that the ideals of the Declaration of Independence should be preserved and respected. On the 150th anniversary of the Declaration, Coolidge stated that the principles formed the American belief system and were still the basis of American republican institutions. They were still applicable regardless of how much society had changed.

During World War II, Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan threatened the free nations of the world with aggressive expansion and domination. The United States and the coalition of Allied powers fought for several years to reverse their conquests. President Franklin Roosevelt and other free-world leaders proclaimed the principles of liberty and self-government from the Declaration of Independence in documents such as the Atlantic Charter , the Four Freedoms speech, and the United Nations Charter.

After World War II, American social movements for justice and equality called upon the Declaration of Independence and its principles. For example, in his “I Have a Dream” speech, Martin Luther King, Jr., referred to the Declaration as the “sacred heritage” of the nation but said that it had not lived up to its ideals for Black Americans. King demanded that the United States live up to its “sacred obligation” of liberty and equality for all.

The natural rights republican ideals of the Declaration of Independence influenced the creation of American constitutional government founded upon liberty and equality. They also shaped the expectation that a free people would live in a just society. Indeed, the Declaration states that to secure natural rights is the fundamental duty of government. Achieving those ideals has always been part of a robust and dynamic debate among the sovereign people and their representatives.

Inspired by the ideals of the Declaration of Independence, many social movements, politicians, and individuals helped make the United States a more equal and just society. The Emancipation Proclamation ; the Thirteenth , Fourteenth , and Fifteenth Amendments ; the Nineteenth Amendment ; the 1964 Civil Rights Act ; and the 1965 Voting Rights Act were only some of the achievements in the name of equality and justice. As James Madison wrote in Federalist 51 , “Justice is the end of government. It is the end of civil society. It ever has been and ever will be pursued until it be obtained.”

Related Content

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Lesson of the Day: ‘A Continent Remade’

In this lesson, students will learn about the Year of Africa in 1960, when 17 African countries declared their independence.

By Jeremy Engle

Find all our Lessons of the Day here.

Lesson Overview

Featured Article: “ A Continent Remade ”

This year is the 60th anniversary of the Year of Africa, when 17 countries in Africa declared their independence.

The New York Times paired photography from The Times’s archive and other collections with writers and thinkers of African descent to reflect on this momentous year. The responses varied, but all of the contributors “were moved by the sparks of power and possibility that are as much a part of their individual stories as of the collective history of a continent being redefined.”

In this lesson, you will learn about the Year of Africa and consider the legacy of that historic year. In a Going Further activity, you will respond to a photograph featured in the article or research an aspect of one of the 17 African nations.

What do you know about imperialism and colonialism in Africa, the decolonization and liberation movements on the continent, and the events of 1960 that led to the independence of 17 nations that year — including Nigeria, Mali, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of Congo?

In her introduction to The Times’s collection of essays, Adom Getachew, an assistant professor of political science at the University of Chicago, writes:

An academic conference is rarely an occasion for world-historical predictions, but, addressing a meeting on African politics at Wellesley College 60 years ago, Ralph Bunche made one. Bunche, the United Nations under secretary for political affairs and the first African-American to win the Nobel Peace Prize, declared that “1960 will be ‘the year of Africa’ because at least four, but maybe seven or eight, new member states will come from the continent,” as The New York Times put it in February of that year. By December, not seven but 17 new African states had joined the U.N. The Year of Africa, as it came to be known, was a victory for the black world. It emerged from longstanding global movements for racial equality and gave rise to political and cultural revolutions that forever transformed Africa’s place in the world. Along with the triumph of African independence, however, the political crises of decolonization revealed central quandaries — from the place of ethnic identity in politics to the role and legitimacy of state power — that still trouble the continent and the wider world.

Next, to get an understanding of the article, set a stopwatch for five minutes and scroll through the photos and captions in “ A Continent Remade ” until the timer goes off.

Afterward, answer the following:

What do you notice about the images?

What do you wonder?

What did you learn about the Year of Africa — key people, places, and events, as well as the hopes, aspirations and ideals of those who fought for and lived through independence?

How would you describe the Year of Africa in one or two sentences to someone who has never heard of it before?

(For additional background on imperialism and colonialism in Africa, you can read articles here and here , or watch this video . For more information about African resistance and independence movements, you can watch this video .)

Questions for Writing and Discussion

Read the rest of the introduction by Ms. Getachew and select one of the eight essays in “ A Continent Remade .” Then answer the following questions.

1. What did you learn from the essay? Give three details, quotations or facts that were interesting, intriguing and provocative.

2. Why did you select the essay that you did? What did you find interesting about the title, topic or author’s biography?

3. What was the essay writer’s personal connection to the Year of Africa? How did he or she draw meaning from the events of 1960? How did those events affect the writer and the writer’s family?

4. What political or cultural impact did the Year of Africa have on particular African countries or the continent as a whole, according to Ms. Getachew or the essay writer?

5. What was the impact of colonialism on Africa, according to Ms. Getachew or the essay writer? How are the effects of colonialism still present on the continent?

6. What is the legacy of the Year of Africa for the continent and the world? What can we learn on its 60th anniversary?

Going Further

Choose one of the following activities.

1) Analyze and respond to a photo featured in the article .

David Adjaye, a Ghanaian-British architect and the designer of the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, wrote in his essay :

It is fairly easy to describe what the eye sees, but it is the invisible aspects of a photograph that can transform our understanding of a person, a place and a moment in time. Photos show us how people in the past saw their world, and they help us imagine the future. Photographs contain a diverse set of particulars, each of which can arouse new interpretations and themes. Photography arrived in Africa in the middle of the 19th century, when the medium was still experimental. The pictures here, taken a century later, hold fragments and memories of some of the most crucial events in the continent’s recent history. They understatedly capture moments when countries were gaining independence. While the images themselves may be familiar or expected, it is their hidden layers that are the most captivating. They are meaningful time capsules of early nation-building — the making of monuments, buildings and infrastructure. Such sights influenced future generations’ thinking about how to rebuild the continent in the context of emerging African modernity — continually documenting, and in turn constructing, history in a dynamic fashion.

Look through the photographs in the article. Select one and consider some of the following questions from our Critiquing a Photograph worksheet .

What is the subject of this image? What is the setting?

What draws you to this image? How does it engage the viewer?

What feeling or feelings does it evoke? What ideas or themes does it suggest? What mood or tone does it set?

What story does the image tell about the Year of Africa? What does it “show us about how people in the past saw their world” and how might it “help us imagine the future”?

2) Research an aspect of the Year of Africa through a deeper look at one of the 17 countries that gained independence in 1960 .

In an interview in Times Insider , Veronica Chambers, the editor of “A Continent Remade,” describes her goals in compiling the ambitious article:

What I hope that readers will take from it is a sense of possibility on the continent that I believe continues to this day. A sense of beauty, a sense of community. And I hope, interest: I hope they will continue to read some of the writers that we have. It’s really hard to capture a continent, and 17 countries and 50 pages, but I hope that it whets readers’ appetites for more.

The article and its many essays only scratch the surface of an incredibly complex year and the many complexities of the 17 countries they feature. Among the many rich areas for further research, here are two to help you dig deeper.

Cultural legacy of the Year of Africa then and now : If you’re interested in the cultural ideas, themes and movements discussed in the essay, you might research one of the artists cited in the article, such as the Malian photographer Malick Sidibé , or Sanlé Sory of Burkina Faso; investigate Nollywood , Nigeria’s film industry, which generates about 2,500 movies a year, making it the second-biggest producer in the world; or learn more about trends in television , street art or music in Senegal.

The legacy of colonialism in Africa and a continuing struggle for full independence : The novelist Imbolo Mbue writes in her essay:

But from whom are we independent? What good is independence in the age of neocolonialism? Europe still plays the flute and our government dances. We owe billions to the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. Western nonprofits arrive at a steady speed to improve our education and health care systems. Chinese interests have descended on our resources, taking away the livelihoods of many.

If you are interested in the social and political themes raised in the article, you might want to research contemporary efforts to pay off debts in countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo and Chad ; reclaim artistic treasures stolen by Europe during the colonial era in Nigeria and Benin ; gain control over colonial-era currency in former French-controlled countries like Ivory Coast, Niger and Togo; and protect lands and resources in the Central African Republic.

For additional New York Times resources, visit the Times Topic page for Africa , which includes up-to-date news on the continent, as well as links to archived articles.

Related Learning Network Resources:

Lesson Plan | Unexpected Africa: Investigating New Ways to Think About the Continent

Jeremy Engle joined The Learning Network as a staff editor in 2018 after spending more than 20 years as a classroom humanities and documentary-making teacher, professional developer and curriculum designer working with students and teachers across the country. More about Jeremy Engle

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1.1: Assignment- Narrative Essay—Prewriting and Drafting

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For this assignment, you will begin working on a narrative essay. At this stage, you will work through the prewriting and drafting steps of the writing process.

Narrative Essay Prompt

Choose one of the following topics to write your own narrative essay. The topic you decide on should be something you care about, and the narration should be a means of communicating an idea that ties to the essay’s theme. Remember in this essay, the narration is not an end in itself.

• Gaining independence
• A friend’s sacrifice
• A significant trip with your family
• A wedding or a funeral
• An incident from family legend

The World Around You

• A storm, a flood, an earthquake, or another natural event
• A school event
• The most important minutes of a sporting event

Lessons of Daily Life

• A time you confronted authority
• A time you had to deliver bad news
• Your biggest social blunder
• Your first day of school
• The first performance you gave
• A first date

Getting Started on Your Narrative Essay

STEP 1 : To get started writing, first pick at least one prewriting strategy (brainstorming, rewriting, journaling, mapping, questioning, sketching) to develop ideas for your essay. Write down what you do, as you’ll need to submit evidence of your prewrite.

Remember that “story starters” are everywhere. Think about it—status updates on social media websites can be a good place to start—you may have already started a “note” to post on social media, and now is your chance to develop that idea into a full narrative. If you keep a journal or diary, a simple event may unfold into a narrative. Simply said, your stories may be closer than you think!

STEP 2: Next, write an outline for your essay. Organize the essay in a way that:

• Establishes the situation [introduction] ;
• Introduces the complication(s) [body] ; and
• States the lesson you learned [conclusion]

STEP 3: Lastly, write a first draft of your essay. Remember, When drafting your essay:

• Develop an enticing title—but don’t let yourself get stuck on the title! A great title might suggest itself after you’ve begun the prewriting and drafting processes.
• Use the introduction to establish the situation the essay will address.
• Avoid addressing the assignment directly. (For example, don’t write “I am going to write about my most significant experience,” because this takes the fun out of reading the work!)
• Think of things said at the moment this experience started for you—perhaps use a quote, or an interesting part of the experience that will grab the reader.
• Let the story reflect your own voice. (Is your voice serious? Humorous? Matter-of-fact?)
• To avoid just telling what happens, make sure your essay takes time to reflect on why this experience is significant.

Assignment Instructions

• Choose a writing prompt as listed above on this page.
• Review the grading rubric as listed below this page.
• Create a prewrite in the style of your choice for the prompt.
• Create an outline for your essay.
• Minimum of 3 typed, double-spaced pages (about 600–750 words), Times New Roman, 12 pt font size
• MLA formatting
• Submit your prewriting and draft as a single file upload.

Requirements

Be sure to:

• Decide on something you care about so that the narration is a means of communicating an idea.
• Include characters, conflict, sensory details.
• Create a sequence of events in a plot.
• Develop an enticing title.
• Use the introduction to pull the reader into your singular experience.
• Avoid addressing the assignment directly. (don’t write “I am going to write about…”—this takes the fun out of reading the work!)
• Let the essay reflect your own voice (Is your voice serious? Humorous? Matter-of-fact?)
• Avoid telling just what happens by making sure your essay reflects on why this experience is significant.

If you developed your prewriting by hand on paper, scan or take a picture of your prewriting, load the image onto your computer, and then insert the image on a separate page after your draft.

Contributors and Attributions

• Authored by : Daryl Smith O' Hare and Susan C. Hines. Provided by : Chadron State College. Project : Kaleidoscope Open Course Initiative. License : CC BY: Attribution

• +1 862 207 3288
• [email protected]

Narrative Essay Writing Assignment Paper

Narrative Essay Writing Assignment

For this assignment, you will work through the prewriting and drafting stages of your writing process in a narrative essay.

Narrative Essay Prompts Choose one of the following topics to write your own narrative essay. The topic you decide on should be something you care about, and the narration should be a means of communicating an idea that ties to the essay’s theme. Remember in this essay, the narration is not an end in itself. Friends 1. Gaining independence 2. A friend’s sacrifice 3. A significant trip with your family 4. A wedding or a funeral 5. A incident from family legend The World around You 1. A storm, a flood, an earthquake, or another natural event 2. A school event 3. The most important minutes of a sporting event Lessons of Daily Life 1. A time you confronted authority 2. A time you had to deliver bad news 3. Your biggest social blunder Firsts 1. Your first day of school 2. The first performance you gave 3. A first date

General 1. The most significant moment in your life Writing Your Narrative Essay

Pre-writing To get started writing your essay: 1. Review What is an Essay? 2. Take time to review possible subjects 3. Use prewriting to help you narrow your topic to one experience. Remember that “story starters” are everywhere. Think about it—status updates on social media websites can be a good place to start. You may have already started a “note”on Facebook, and now is your chance to develop that idea into a full narrative. If you keep a journal or diary, a simple event may unfold into a narrative. Simply said, your stories may be closer than you think!

When drafting your essay: 1. Develop an enticing title—but don’t let yourself get stuck on the title! A great title might suggest itself after you’ve begun the prewriting and drafting processes. 2. Use the introduction to establish the situation the essay will address. 3. Avoid addressing the assignment directly. (For example, don’t write “I am going to write about my most significant experience,” because this takes the fun out of reading the work!) 4. Think of things said at the moment this experience started for you—perhaps use a quote, or an interesting part of the experience that will grab the reader. 5. Let the story reflect your own voice. (Is your voice serious? Humorous? Matter-of-fact?) 6. Organize the essay in a way that o Establishes the situation [introduction]; o Introduces the complication(s) [body]; and o States the lesson you learned [conclusion] 7. To avoid just telling what happens, make sure your essay takes time to reflect on why this experience is significant.

Assignment Instructions 1. Review the grading rubric as listed on the following. 2. Choose a writing prompt as listed above on this page. 3. Create a prewriting in the style of your choice for the prompt. Review the prewriting videos on the My Writing Process: Prewriting and Draft page if needed. 4. Develop a draft essay according to the following formatting guidelines. Papers submitted that do not meet these formatting requirements will not receive a passing grade.

o Minimum of 3 typed, double-spaced pages (about 600–750 words), Times New Roman, 12 pt font size o MLA formatting (see the MLA Format page as needed) o Submitted as .doc, .docx, or .pdf file 5. Submit your prewriting and draft as a single file upload with your first and last name in the file name.

Requirements • Decide on something you care about so that the narration is a means of communicating an idea. • Include characters, conflict, sensory details. • Create a sequence of events in a plot. • Develop an enticing title. • Use the introduction to pull the reader into your singular experience. • Avoid addressing the assignment directly. (don’t write “I am going to write about…”—this takes the fun out of reading the work!) • Let the essay reflect your own voice (Is your voice serious? Humorous? Matter-of-fact?) • Avoid telling just what happens by making sure your essay reflects on why this experience is significant. • Avoid outside sources; none should be used for this essay. Any submission that is 40% or more from outside sources will receive a zero. Repeat offenders will receive an F course grade. If you developed your prewriting by hand on paper, scan or take a picture of your prewriting, load the image onto your computer, and then insert the image on a separate page after your draft.

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Resources: Discussions and Assignments

Essay assignment: narrative essay—final draft.

For this assignment, you will turn in your final draft of your narrative essay.

Narrative Essay Prompt

Choose one of the following topics to write your own narrative essay. The topic you decide on should be something you care about, and the narration should be a means of communicating an  idea  that ties to the essay’s theme. Remember in this essay, the narration is not an end in itself.

• Gaining independence
• A friend’s sacrifice
• A significant trip with your family
• A wedding or a funeral
• An incident from family legend

The World Around You

• A storm, a flood, an earthquake, or another natural event
• A school event
• The most important minutes of a sporting event

Lessons of Daily Life

• A time you confronted authority
• A time you had to deliver bad news
• Your biggest social blunder
• Your first day of school
• The first performance you gave
• A first date

Assignment Instructions

• Review the grading rubric as listed on this page.
• Review feedback.
• Work through the revision and proofreading stages of the writing process.
• 3–4 typed, double-spaced pages (about 600–750 words), 12 pt font size, Times New Roman
• MLA formatting
• Submit your final version of your Narrative Essay as a single file upload.

Requirements

Be sure to:

• Decide on something you care about so that the narration is a means of communicating an  idea.
• Include  characters,  conflict,  sensory details.
• Create a  sequence  of  events  in a  plot.
• Develop an enticing title.
• Use the introduction to pull the reader into your singular experience.
• Avoid addressing the assignment directly. (don’t write “I am going to write about…”—this takes the fun out of reading the work!)
• Let the essay reflect your own voice (Is your voice serious? Humorous? Matter-of-fact?)
• Avoid telling just what happens by making sure your essay reflects on why this experience is significant.

If you developed your prewriting by hand on paper, scan or take a picture of your prewriting, load the image onto your computer, and then insert the image on a separate page after your draft.

• Narrative Essay. Authored by : Daryl Smith O' Hare and Susan C. Hines. Provided by : Chadron State College. Project : Kaleidoscope Open Course Initiative. License : CC BY: Attribution
• Authored by : Paul Powell. Provided by : Central Community College. Project : Kaleidoscope Open Course Initiative. License : CC BY: Attribution
• Modification, adaptation, and original content. Provided by : Lumen Learning. License : CC BY: Attribution