Thesis Statement?

• 1-2 Sentence condensation of argument or analysis of your paper– Test your ideas– Organize– Provide reader with main point

• You will prove your thesis with evidence

Building a Thesis

• Answer your historical question– Make sure it is an argument– Make sure that you can answer it– Express one main point– Assert your conclusion

• Why was Senator Henry Clay known as the Great Compromiser?

• What I found:Clay negotiated for…

The Missouri CompromiseThe Nullification CrisisThe Compromise of 1850

• Without the negotiating efforts of Senator Henry Clay in the Missouri Compromise and the Compromise of 1850, the US would have fallen into Civil War before 1861?

How to Tell a Strong Thesis Statement from a Weak One

• 1. A strong thesis statement takes some sort of stand.

• 2. A strong thesis statement justifies discussion.

• 3. A strong thesis statement expresses one main idea.

• 4. A strong thesis statement is specific.

Works Consulted

"Henry Clay." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 19 May 2013. Web. 20 May 2013.

"Henry Clay Biography." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 20 May 2013.

Schurz, Carl. Henry Clay. Boston Mass.: Houghton, Mifflin, 1899. Print.