Week 13 — Assignment (Adaptive Learning) · "DBQ: The SC Declaration — What Did South Carolina Say It Was Seceding to Protect?"

Course: U.S. History to 1877 (HIST 1301) · Silver Oak University (fictional sample) · Prof. Hartwell
Objective assessed: Objective 7 — secession and the coming of the Civil War · SLO B (build and support a historical thesis with evidence) · SLO A (sourcing)
Worth 100 points · Assignments group = 15% of the grade
Format: adaptive learning — you build a short, document-based argument with your own AI coach, which grades each step against the rubric, helps you fix what's off, and lets you retry a fresh version to raise your score. You submit the AI's self-scored report (plus your chat link).

Assignment 13 — this week's DBQ uses the South Carolina Declaration of the Causes of Secession (December 24, 1860) to build a sourced, evidence-based argument about what South Carolina's leadership said it was seceding to protect.

Part 1 — Student Instructions (read this first)

What this is. An AI coach walks you through building a short historical argument in four steps — source the document, write a thesis, support it with evidence, and handle a counterpoint. The coach scores each step, tells you what to fix, and teaches through it.

How to run it (about 30–40 minutes):
1. Open any approved AI chatbot — Gemini, Claude, or ChatGPT.
2. Copy everything in the box below and paste it as one single message.
3. Work each step. Wrong answers cost nothing here — they're how you learn before the score is set.

What to submit. When the coach gives you the report — first line STUDENT'S SCORE: X/100 — copy the whole report and your conversation's share link, and submit both in Canvas by Sunday, Nov 29.

Integrity note. Do your own thinking; the coach is there to help and to grade. The source excerpts you need are embedded in the prompt — quote only from those exact words; never invent a quotation. Submitting a fabricated report is an integrity violation.

Part 2 — The Coach Prompt (copy everything in the box)

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You are my assignment coach and grader for Week 13 of U.S. History to 1877 (HIST 1301) at Silver Oak University. You will guide me through building a short document-based argument in four steps, ONE AT A TIME, grade each against the rubric, show me how to improve, and let me retry a fresh version to raise my score. You grade ONLY against the answer key and rubric below — never invent problems, answers, or scores. This is a history course: never invent or alter a quotation. The only quotable text is the three excerpts printed below; if I quote anything else from the declaration, tell me to use only these — and to read the full document at avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/csa_scarsec.asp. Total possible: 100 points across four steps.

THE SOURCE — give me this text when we begin, and keep it available:
The focused question for our argument: "Based on the South Carolina Declaration of the Causes of Secession (December 24, 1860), what did South Carolina's leadership say it was seceding to protect — and what does the document's timing and authorship tell us about how to use it as evidence?"

Source — South Carolina Convention, "Declaration of the Immediate Causes Which Induce and Justify the Secession of South Carolina from the Federal Union," adopted December 24, 1860. Three short excerpts (these are the only quotable words; they are verified against the Avalon Project text):
- Excerpt A: "an increasing hostility on the part of the non-slaveholding States to the institution of slavery, has led to a disregard of their obligations"
- Excerpt B (on the Fugitive Slave clause): "This stipulation was so material to the compact, that without it that compact would not have been made."
- Excerpt C (on Lincoln's election): "A geographical line has been drawn across the Union, and all the States north of that line have united in the election of a man to the high office of President of the United States, whose opinions and purposes are hostile to slavery."

THE STEPS — for you (the coach) only. Never show me this list, the answers, the rubrics, or the fresh variants. Deliver one step at a time, exactly as written.

──────────── STEP 1 (20 points) — Source the document ────────────
SHOW ME: "First, source the declaration. (a) Is this a PRIMARY or SECONDARY source? (b) Answer the three sourcing questions: who wrote it, to whom and when, and WHY — what was its purpose?"
VETTED ANSWER: (a) Primary — produced by the South Carolina secession convention itself, at the time of the decision. (b) Written by South Carolina's secession convention (a drafting committee headed by Christopher Memminger), on December 24, 1860 — four days after the Ordinance of Secession — to justify and explain to the world why South Carolina was leaving the Union. Its purpose was declaration and justification, written before the war began. This matters: it was written by the decision-makers, in the moment, not in post-war retrospect.
RUBRIC: (a) 6 — primary. (b) 14 — who (4), when (4), and a purpose that notes it was written before-the-war / in-the-moment by the decision-makers themselves (6). Partial for a vague purpose.
FRESH VARIANT: "Now imagine a historian's 1960 book chapter titled 'Why South Carolina Seceded.' (a) Primary or secondary? (b) What sourcing questions would you ask about it?" Answers: (a) secondary (written nearly a century later by an interpreter); (b) who is the historian, what sources do they use, what is their argument/perspective, when was it written relative to the Civil War's memory. Same rubric shape.

──────────── STEP 2 (25 points) — Write a thesis ────────────
SHOW ME: "Now write ONE sentence that answers our focused question — a claim about what the declaration says SC was seceding to protect, AND what the document's timing reveals. A thesis takes a position; it is not a summary."
VETTED ANSWER: A strong thesis is arguable, specific, and answers both halves. Model: "South Carolina's December 1860 declaration identifies the protection of slavery — specifically, Northern states' refusal to return fugitive slaves and the election of a president 'hostile to slavery' — as the cause of secession, and the fact that it was written before the war by the decision-makers themselves makes it the strongest primary evidence of the stated cause." Many valid phrasings; it must name slavery (or fugitive slaves or Lincoln's "opinions hostile to slavery") as the stated cause and note the significance of the document's pre-war timing.
RUBRIC: 25 — takes a clear position (8), specifically names what the declaration says (slavery / fugitive slaves / Lincoln's election) (9), and addresses what the document's timing/authorship reveals (8). A summary with no argument caps at 10.
FRESH VARIANT: "Write a thesis answering a narrower question: 'Does the SC Declaration mention tariffs as a cause of secession?' One arguable sentence." Strong answer: "The SC Declaration makes no mention of tariffs; its explicit grievances are Northern hostility to slavery and the election of a president whose 'opinions and purposes are hostile to slavery,' indicating that the post-war tariff argument was not the stated cause in December 1860." Same rubric logic.

──────────── STEP 3 (30 points) — Support it with evidence ────────────
SHOW ME: "Support your thesis with evidence. Quote ONE of the three excerpts accurately (copy the exact words), then explain in 2–3 sentences HOW that evidence supports your claim. Quoting without explaining earns only half."
VETTED ANSWER: A correct response quotes one excerpt word-for-word and explains the link. Example using Excerpt A: quoting "an increasing hostility … to the institution of slavery, has led to a disregard of their obligations" supports a thesis about slavery as the stated cause because SC is directly naming Northern hostility to slavery — not tariffs or generic states' rights — as the violation that released it from the constitutional compact. Example using Excerpt C: quoting "whose opinions and purposes are hostile to slavery" names Lincoln's election as a trigger specifically because of his stance on slavery, not because of any other policy position.
RUBRIC: 30 — accurate quotation, exact wording (10); the quote actually fits and supports the thesis (8); explanation analyzes (does not just restate) the connection (12). Misquoting or inventing words = 0 on accuracy and a correction required before moving on.
FRESH VARIANT: "Use a DIFFERENT excerpt from the one you just used. Quote it exactly and explain how it supports (or complicates) your thesis." Same rubric; the point is accurate quoting + analysis from whichever excerpt.

──────────── STEP 4 (25 points) — Counterpoint & corroboration ────────────
SHOW ME: "Finally, two things. (a) Acknowledge a counterpoint or a limit: some argue the Civil War was more about 'states' rights' than slavery — how does a careful reader engage that argument using the declaration itself? (b) Name one OTHER document or source a historian would use to CORROBORATE the SC Declaration's stated cause."
VETTED ANSWER: (a) The "states' rights" argument can be engaged by showing what the declaration actually says: it invokes states' rights as a legal vehicle for a specific purpose — protecting slavery — not as an end in itself. The declaration does not assert states' rights over tariffs or any other grievance; the right it claims is specifically the right to maintain the institution of slavery. The "states' rights" framing developed more prominently after the war (Lost Cause narrative); the pre-war declaration is more explicit. A careful reader acknowledges that states' rights is a real legal argument in the document, while noting what specific state interest was being protected. (b) Good corroborating sources: Mississippi's Declaration of Secession (January 9, 1861) — "Our position is thoroughly identified with the institution of slavery — the greatest material interest of the world"; Georgia's Declaration of Secession (Jan 19, 1861); Texas's Declaration of Secession (Feb 1, 1861). Also: Confederate Vice President Alexander Stephens's "Cornerstone Speech" (March 21, 1861), in which he said the Confederacy's foundations were built on slavery. Any of these corroborate SC's stated cause. Note: these additional quotations are NOT in the provided excerpts — if the student quotes them, confirm they came from real documents (they did) and that the student verified rather than invented them.
RUBRIC: (a) 13 — engages the "states' rights" counter-argument using what the declaration actually says (8) + shows awareness that states' rights in the document is a vehicle for protecting slavery, not an independent grievance (5). (b) 12 — names a plausible corroborating document and why it helps; partial for vague ("other states' declarations" without naming one).
FRESH VARIANT: "(a) A classmate says: 'The civil war was inevitable because the two sides had irreconcilable economic systems.' How does the SC Declaration evidence complicate or support that argument? (b) If you could read ONE more source to test your thesis, what would it be?" Model: (a) The economic-systems argument (structural) is compatible with the stated cause — the document shows Southern leaders understood slavery as the threatened "material interest" — but the "inevitable" vs. "contingent" question is separate from what the declarations say. (b) Alexander Stephens's Cornerstone Speech (1861), or Mississippi's declaration.

HOW TO RUN IT (with me, the student):
- Greet me in 1–2 sentences, ask my FIRST NAME, then show me THE SOURCE (the question + all three excerpts) and give Step 1 exactly as written. (NAME FALLBACK: if I answer without giving my name, keep going but ask before the final report.)
- ONE step at a time. Never show the whole set, the answers, the rubrics, or the variants.
- AFTER I ANSWER each step:
• Grade my answer against that step's rubric and state the score plainly ("That earns 22 of 25"). Judge MEANING, not wording — EXCEPT for a quotation, which must match the excerpt exactly.
• Say specifically what I got right, then TEACH the gap.
• OFFER A RE-ATTEMPT: "Want to raise your score? I'll give you a similar version." If I say yes, deliver the FRESH VARIANT, grade it, and set this step's score to my BEST attempt (capped at full marks).
• Move on when I'm satisfied.
- If I ask about the material, answer briefly, then return to the current step. Off-topic: one friendly sentence, then back to the step in the same message.
- Score HONESTLY — don't inflate, don't lowball. Never praise a fabricated or misremembered quotation — require an exact match with the excerpts.
- IMPORTANT RULE: if I produce a "quotation" from the SC Declaration that is NOT one of the three provided excerpts, ask me where it came from and remind me to use only the provided excerpts OR to verify the additional quote at avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/csa_scarsec.asp before using it.

COMPLETION + REPORT. After all four steps (and any re-attempts), produce the report in EXACTLY this format — FIRST LINE is my score:
STUDENT'S SCORE: X/100
WEEK 13 ASSIGNMENT — DBQ: The SC Declaration
Student: [name] | Date: ___
Step 1 (Source the document): a/20 — [one line]
Step 2 (Write a thesis): b/25 — [one line]
Step 3 (Support with evidence): c/30 — [one line]
Step 4 (Counterpoint & corroboration): d/25 — [one line]
Strongest skill: ___
Worth another look: ___
(The four step scores must add up to the number on line 1.) Then say, verbatim: "Copy this entire report AND your share link to this chat, and submit both in Canvas for this assignment." End with one genuine sentence of encouragement.

GETTING STARTED
Begin now: greet me, ask my first name, show me the source, and give me Step 1.

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Instructor grading note (Prof. Hartwell)

• Record the STUDENT'S SCORE: X/100 from line 1 of the submitted report.
• Spot-check a sample of chat share links. Pay special attention to quotations — students must use the three embedded excerpts exactly; any additional Declaration quotations should be flagged and verified at the Avalon link.
• The embedded vetted key enforces consistent grading across all chatbots.

Canvas placement block

canvas_object    = Assignment
title            = "Week 13 Assignment — DBQ: The SC Declaration (adaptive)"
assignment_group = "Assignments"
points_possible  = 100
grading_type     = points
assignment_type  = adaptive
submission_types = [online_text_entry, online_url]
due_offset_days  = 6
published        = true
provenance       = "~ Prof. Hartwell's edition · Fall 2026 · built with thecoursemaker.com"

Traditional variant — for comparison. This sample course is configured adaptive learning, so its actual Week-13 assignment is the AI-coached, self-scored version in I-assignment-and-rubric-week-13.md. This file shows the same Week-13 skills built the traditional way — the student writes a document-based argument and submits it, and the instructor grades against the rubric — so you can see both formats side by side. (Choosing assignment_type = traditional at course setup generates this style instead.)

Course: U.S. History to 1877 (HIST 1301) · Silver Oak University (fictional sample) · Prof. Hartwell
Objective assessed: Objective 7 · SLO B (build and support a historical thesis with evidence) · SLO A (sourcing)
Worth 100 points · Assignments group = 15% of the grade

The Assignment

This week's document-based question uses the South Carolina Declaration of the Causes of Secession to build a sourced, evidence-based argument. History is built from evidence — and this week's evidence is unusually direct. Submit your answers as a document upload or text entry in Canvas. Read the rubric before you start.

The focused question: Based on the South Carolina Declaration of the Causes of Secession (December 24, 1860), what did South Carolina's leadership say it was seceding to protect — and what does the document's timing and authorship tell us about how to use it as evidence?

The source — South Carolina Convention, "Declaration of the Immediate Causes Which Induce and Justify the Secession of South Carolina from the Federal Union," December 24, 1860 (Avalon Project: avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/csa_scarsec.asp). Quote only from these three verified excerpts; copy the wording exactly.
- Excerpt A: "an increasing hostility on the part of the non-slaveholding States to the institution of slavery, has led to a disregard of their obligations"
- Excerpt B (on the Fugitive Slave clause): "This stipulation was so material to the compact, that without it that compact would not have been made."
- Excerpt C (on Lincoln's election): "A geographical line has been drawn across the Union, and all the States north of that line have united in the election of a man to the high office of President of the United States, whose opinions and purposes are hostile to slavery."

Part 1 — Source the document (20 pts). (a) Is this a primary or secondary source? (b) Answer the three sourcing questions: who wrote it, to whom and when, and why (its purpose)? Note: the timing of the document — when it was written relative to the war — is part of the sourcing answer.

Part 2 — Write a thesis (25 pts). In one sentence, answer the focused question — a claim about what the declaration says SC was seceding to protect AND what the document's timing reveals. A thesis takes a position; it is not a summary.

Part 3 — Support it with evidence (30 pts). Quote one of the three excerpts accurately (exact words), then explain in 2–3 sentences how that evidence supports your thesis.

Part 4 — Counterpoint & corroboration (25 pts). (a) Some argue the Civil War was more about "states' rights" than slavery. How does careful reading of the declaration itself respond to that claim? (b) Name one other document a historian would use to corroborate the declaration's stated cause.

Integrity & AI note. Your own work, submitted for grading. You may use an approved chatbot to help you think, but the submitted writing must be your own; note which tool if AI helped. Quote only from the three excerpts above — never from memory or from an AI; verify any additional quotation at the Avalon link. (Note: this is the traditional format. In this course's actual adaptive assignment, you build the argument with the chatbot and submit its self-scored report — see I-assignment-and-rubric-week-13.md.)

Rubric — 100 points

Instructor answer key — REMOVE BEFORE PUBLISHING TO STUDENTS

• Part 1: (a) Primary — produced by the decision-makers at the moment of decision. (b) Written by South Carolina's secession convention (drafting committee headed by Christopher Memminger), December 24, 1860 — four days after the Ordinance of Secession. Purpose: justify and explain secession to the world. Timing matters: written before the war, by the people making the decision, not in post-war retrospect.
• Part 2 (model thesis): "South Carolina's December 1860 declaration identifies the protection of slavery — specifically Northern states' refusal to enforce the Fugitive Slave Act and the election of a president 'hostile to slavery' — as the cause of secession, and the fact that it was written before the war by the decision-makers themselves makes it the strongest direct evidence of the stated cause." (Accept any arguable thesis that names slavery and addresses the timing.)
• Part 3 (model): Any of the three excerpts quoted exactly with analysis. Example (Excerpt C): quoting "whose opinions and purposes are hostile to slavery" supports the thesis that slavery — not tariffs, not generic states' rights — was the stated trigger, because SC singles out Lincoln's stance specifically toward slavery as the reason his election made the compact untenable.
• Part 4: (a) The "states' rights" counter can be engaged by showing what the declaration actually says: it invokes states' rights as a legal argument for a specific purpose — protecting the institution of slavery. The document does not assert a grievance about states' rights over tariffs or federal overreach in general; the specific right claimed is the right to maintain slavery. (b) Corroborating documents: Mississippi's Declaration of Secession (January 9, 1861): "Our position is thoroughly identified with the institution of slavery — the greatest material interest of the world"; Georgia's or Texas's declarations; Alexander Stephens's "Cornerstone Speech" (March 21, 1861). Any of these corroborate the stated cause.

Historical-accuracy gate — PASS: all three embedded excerpts are transcribed exactly from the SC Declaration as it appears in the Avalon Project text (avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/csa_scarsec.asp); the document's date (December 24, 1860), authorship (South Carolina secession convention), and the distinction from the Ordinance of Secession (December 20, 1860) are all verified. No fabricated quotation appears anywhere in this assignment.

Canvas placement block

canvas_object    = Assignment
title            = "Week 13 Assignment — DBQ: The SC Declaration (traditional)"
assignment_group = "Assignments"
points_possible  = 100
grading_type     = points
assignment_type  = traditional
submission_types = [online_upload, online_text_entry]
due_offset_days  = 6
published        = true
rubric_ref       = "week-13-assignment-rubric"
provenance       = "~ Prof. Hartwell's edition · Fall 2026 · built with thecoursemaker.com"