PaperDue

Essay Topic Hub

American
Essays

6,541+ paper examples, study guides & outlines

6,541 papers

1 subject area

UG & Grad levels

Free to browse

What is American?

The concept of "American" as a subject of study spans disciplines ranging from history and sociology to literature and cultural studies. It invites students to examine what defines American identity, society, and values — questions that resist simple answers. Courses in world studies, American history, and cultural analysis regularly ask students to interrogate the idea of America as both a geographic place and an evolving set of ideals. Works like J. Hector St. John de Crèvecoeur's 1782 letter posing the question "What Is an American?" and figures such as Benjamin Franklin and Amiri Baraka serve as anchors for exploring how American identity has been constructed, contested, and redefined across centuries.

Student papers on this topic take a wide range of approaches. Comparative essays examine American values alongside European or Asian counterparts, or place historical periods like the Progressive Era and the New Deal in direct contrast. Other papers use case studies to analyze specific social and political developments — the Abolition Movement, the Americans with Disabilities Act, or the influence of Latin migration on American life. Cultural and media analysis appears as well, with papers exploring pop music in the 1980s, advertising's effect on dietary choices, and the evolution of the cell phone as a lens into American society.

A strong essay on an American studies topic works best when it anchors a broad theme in a specific argument. Effective evidence draws on policy documents, literary texts, historical events, or cultural artifacts rather than vague generalizations about national character. The most common pitfall is treating "America" as a monolith — successful essays acknowledge the diversity of voices, regions, and experiences that shape any aspect of American life.

6,541 papers

Sort by:

Paper High School

Stages of American imperialism from colonial expansion to overseas empire

Starting in the colonial period and continuing up through the Manifest Destiny phase of the American Empire in the 19th Century, the main goal of imperialism was to obtain land for white farmers and slaveholders. This type of expansionism existed long before modern capitalism or the urban, industrial economy, which did not require colonies and territory so much as markets, cheap labor and raw materials. It was also a highly racist type of policy that led to the destruction of Native Americans and the enslavement of blacks, as well as brutal counterinsurgency campaigns in overseas colonies like the Philippines and Haiti. Northeastern capitalists in the United States, dating back to the nascent period in the late-18th Century, were not particularly enthusiastic for this type of territorial expansion to the West or the growth of the agrarian sector of the economy. The party of Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson and James K. Polk, which represented the South planters and white small farmers, was always the main driving force behind manifest destiny, including the Mexican War and the early filibustering expeditions to Latin America

Paper High School

Metaphor and voice in Langston Hughes's "I, Too"

Written in 1924, Langston Hughes poem "I, Too, Sing America" was a metaphoric work and commentary on the racial climate of the day. The poem discusses the varied "songs" of African-Americans that are also a part of the American anthem. This three page paper is a review of Hughes' elegant and vivid use of language and symbolism in the poem.

Research Paper Doctorate

William Buckley, William Rusher, and the rise of American conservatism

¶ … conservative intellectual movement, but also the role of William Buckley and William Rusher in the blossoming of the youth conservative movement

Research Paper Doctorate

William Edward Du Bois and his contributions to social work

¶ … intellectual biography of William Edward DuBois. The writer takes the reader on an exploratory journey that details the life of Dubois and his contributions to society and the field of social work.

Essay Doctorate

Race relations and American power in a mid-century photograph

In this photograph, the prominent motif is a flag of the United States. The lines on the metallic roof converge in linear perspective, drawing the viewer's eye to that flag. Based on the number of stars in the flag, the…

Paper Doctorate

Adolescent obesity and drug abuse: a literature review

The work of Brownson, et al. (2010) states that childhood obesity "…is a serious public health problem." In fact, "obesity rates have increased threefold among U.S. children and adolescents.

Paper Doctorate

Telegraphy, radio, and computing: nineteenth-century origins of modern electronic media

Fans of science fiction are fond of recalling a remark by novelist Arthur C. Clarke, to the effect that any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. I am currently typing these sentences onto a…

Paper Undergraduate

Response to Intervention and tiered interventions for student achievement

Response to instruction and intervention RTI2 is reported as a general approach in education to closing the gap in achievement. RTI2 methods are constructed upon the Response to Intervention (RTI) model that was an option for schools under the ‘Building the Legacy, Idea 2004 reauthorization of the individuals with Disabilities Education Act IDEA. (California Department of Education, 2011) RTI and the expanded RTI2 are reported as being based upon "17 years of practice that has refined continuous progress monitoring as a strategy for keeping students on a path toward success." (California Department of Education, 2011) RTI is reported as a strategy that moves all students through the steps set out in the learning standards and is further more stated to be an approach that views both academic and behavioral achievement of students.

Paper Undergraduate

The legality of U.S. drone strikes under international law

Abstract The legality of the drone strikes is a disputed matter. A major challenge to the international law and the international system is the US policy of using drones aerially to carry out target killings. According to some reports US drone strikes have killed almost 4,000 people since 2002 in Pakistan, Yemen and other countries. The Congress of United States of America reviews their policy of drone strikes, which had increased to a great deal under the Obama regime, every month. The main problem of using the drone strikes is that it has not been able to stop terrorism. Instead of stopping it, it has given rise to the terrorist activities. This study is a research based on the topic of drone attacks and the legality of targeted attacks. The study is based on information and research. The study includes graphs and charts which are based on reliable sources.

The Basel Convention and international hazardous waste control

The Basal Convention was created to address the illegal shipments of hazardous waste across international boundaries. Since this trade frequently resulted in environmental disasters within the destination countries, which were invariably impoverished, the public and government officials of exporting nations were forced to address this issue through an international treaty. The Basel Convention implemented outright bans on the international trade of hazardous waste between OECD member states and non-member states. It also created a framework for implementing environmentally-sound waste management strategies to lessen the need for an international trade in hazardous waste.

← Prev 1 2 3 … 481 655 Next →