Research Portfolio IV

Topic: America’s separation from Britain and Ukraine’s separation from Russia.

Research Question:  How does America’s motivation to break away from Britain compare and contrast with Ukraine’s motivation to separate from Russia?

• Why do these two topics matter to you? What do you find interesting or compelling about them?

These two topics matter to me because, firstly, I am American, and without Americans’ motivation to form their own country, I probably wouldn’t be here.  The second topic matters to me because the history of Ukraine is often overlooked, and I think it is important to learn and tell the history.  I find these two topics share so much because at their hearts, the people just wanted to be free from tyrants, even though there are differences between the two nations’ histories.  

• Why should this information matter to others? What would you say if they asked,  “So what?”

If one said “so what” to my topic, I would reprimand them for their ignorance and foolish choice of thought and words. I would then educate them on the importance of learning the history of the world.  Learning the history of one’s nation and the other nations of the world is very important, as it can teach us and help us better understand humanity.  Studying the past helps us to learn how to prepare for the future. All around the globe, people are separated into groups based on race, culture, lineage, language, and other factors, but we have to remember that everyone is the same. When we study what motivates a group of people to declare independence and stand as a free nation, we can be enlightened as to what it means to be truly free and why do humans wish to have freedom.

• In the space below, create a Venn diagram or a comparison-contrast chart for your topics. 

• What specific comparison(s) will you make about the two topics?

I will compare the two similar motivations the countries had to declare independence specifically that they both wanted economic, religious, and social freedom and to be recognised as a sovereign and independent nation.  

• What specific contrast(s) will you make between the two topics? I will contrast the two topics by focusing on Ukraine’s want for cultural freedom while America was more driven for economic freedom.  Additionally, Americans led an uprising and war while in Ukraine, independence was decided by vote because a nation was already established.  

• Is your research question clear and specific? Would your audience understand what you aim to communicate? Will what you have to say likely meet the paper’s length requirements?

I believe that my research question is clear and specific because it focuses on a more centralized issue within the greater story.  I will be able to meet the length requirements because there is much to say about each nation’s motivations by providing history and context for each.  Additionally, talking about the many similarities the two countries share will provide plenty of words. 

• What other questions may be necessary to answer?

I may need to understand the historical context of both country’s situations and to learn the exact dates of things.  Additionally, I think I should include some historical context in the essay itself to clarify things for readers.

• What argument may develop from your research as you compare and contrast these two topics?

A possible argument that may develop may be that no nation deserves to be cast under a shadow, and no matter the time or place, every human deserves to be free.

• What types of resources will you require? What specific information will you need to develop your ideas?

I will need to read further on the exact details of Ukraine’s Declaration of Independence and specific timelines and details of that year and time period leading up to it.  For America, I will need to find resources detailing what led up to the revolution to study the attitudes of people before the war and I will need to familiarize myself with the dates of things and the timeline.

Additionally…

What do you think? I personally am very excited to write this essay. I get to learn about my country’s history (which I do know pretty well), and I get to learn and tell the story of another country’s history. Following each section of the Research Portfolio, I will add my own extra writing (outside of the school writing) to expound upon a detail that I find needs explaining.

I think looking at the constitutions and declarations of independence for both countries can provide a really interesting view as to what people wanted. From examining what people do/did we can begin to understand what they wanted. For example, I ate watermelon and cake for breakfast. From examining my actions, one can conclude that I was hungry and probably not paying attention to what qualified as a quality breakfast food.

(True story, but in my defense, that day turned out to be a very nice day so maybe we all need to eat watermelon and cake for breakfast more often 🙂

In the American Constitution, there is an amendment that says that everyone has a right to own a gun or weapon for self-defense. This was because the British went around taking everyone’s guns so nobody could fight back. See there? The Americans made reactive rules to prevent what they had experienced from happening in the future. In the Ukrainian Declaration of Independence, the first article reads, “Article 1. Ukraine is the sovereign and independent, democratic, social, legal state.” One could conclude that this was the first article because Ukraine had not been viewed as a sovereign nation before.

By reading and examining the rules that were made, I can show what people wanted. I will also, of course, find other materials detailing opinions from the timeframes, but those are a bit harder to dig up. I am very excited to continue sharing my work, and I hope you enjoyed my work! Thank you for reading!

Supreme Soviet of Ukraine on behalf of the Ukrainian people. “Constitution Of Ukraine.” Verkhovna Rada, 24 Aug. 1991, www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/eoir/legacy/2013/11/08/constitution_14.pdf. Accessed 29 Jan. 2025. 

This file is the complete constitution of Ukraine.  It contains 161 Articles about how Ukraine should be governed and laws.  The constitution was made to ensure that Ukraine was seen as a separate state from Russia or any other nation. 

This could be helpful for my essay because its wording and some of the articles detailing that Ukraine is a free state can help to show how much the Ukrainian people wanted to be free, and it may outline why they did.  By looking at the kinds of laws in the Constitution, one can see what the Ukrainian people found they were lacking by what laws they made, therefore showing what freedoms they lacked, which would motivate them to declare independence.  

We The People. “The United States Constitution.” National Constitution Center, 19 Sept. 1787, constitutioncenter.org/the-constitution/full-text. Accessed 29 Jan. 2025.

This article contains the full of the text of the United States Constitution.  There are 27 amendments in the American constitution detailing the basic rights that citizens shall have. 

This constitution can help me understand what the Americans were seeking when declaring independence by looking at the laws and rights they established. 

Staff of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe. “The December 1, 1991 Referendum/Presidential Election in Ukraine.” CSCE, 1 Dec. 1991, www.csce.gov/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/120191UkraineReferendum.pdf. Accessed 29 Jan. 2025.

This file contains a report on the 1991 presidential election in Ukraine.  The article contains a background on the organization, a summary of the election, a background on activities causing the Declaration of independence, and details about the election itself. 

This article is a valuable resource as it contains much history of events in Ukraine leading up to the election as well as information on the election.

Staff, National Archives. “The Declaration of Independence: How Did It Happen?” National Archives, 5 Jun. 2024, www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration/how-did-it-happen. Accessed 29 Jan. 2025.

This article contains summaries of events prior to the Declaration of independence in America.  It contains sections on the events leading up to the revolution, choosing to declare independence, drafting the declaration, and declaring independence. 

The article has the potential to aid this essay because it provides a history on the feelings and actions of the people leading up to the revolution.  

Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum, Staff Member. “10 Causes of the American Revolution.” Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum, www.bostonteapartyship.com/article/10-causes-of-the-american-revolution. Accessed 29 Jan. 2025.

This article details 10 reasons for the American Revolution.  The reasons go over recent events that spurred a spirit of anger towards the British as well as Common Sense by Thomas Paine.  Each reason has a paragraph explaining the background of the reason and the actions within it. 

This article will be helpful because it outlines a few causes for the revolution and Declaration of independence, which relates directly to my research question. 

Yekelchyk, Serhy. “The Making of Independent Ukraine.” LSE Public Policy Reveiw, 8 Sept. 2023, ppr.lse.ac.uk/articles/10.31389/lseppr.90. Accessed 29 Jan. 2025.

This article details the history and events in Ukraine from before the declaration of independence while Ukraine was still part of the USSR all the way to the time of the Orange Revolution in 2004.  In between these, Yekelchyk covers the events of the revolution and election declaration of independence and the growth that followed.  

This article is helpful as it provides a detailed history of events before, during, and after the declaration of independence in Ukraine, providing a large amount of information on the people’s actions and opinions.  

UKRAINE, BRAND. “Origins and History of Ukraine.” Ukraine.UA, 22 Feb. 2022, ukraine.ua/explore/origins-history-of-ukraine/. Accessed 29 Jan. 2025.

This article starts off with the earliest histories of people in Ukraine from before Christ’s birth.  It details the activities of people from ancient times through the Middle Ages and into the modern era.  Understanding the history of a country and people helps us understand what could motivate them to break away form a large nation that they had been held by for many hundreds of years.

Citing this article could strenghten my essay because by looking at the past we can learn about the future. From understanding the origins and history of Ukraine we can have a deeper undestanding of the choices people made.

Terajima, Asami. “Ukraine’s Struggle for Independence.” Kyiv Independant, kyivindependent.com/ukraines-struggle-for-independence/. Accessed 29 Jan. 2025.

This article grabs the reader with a hook about the Battle of Kruty in 1918.  It then dives into the history of Ukraine trying to resist its neighbor’s attempts to blanket it.  It mainly covers the years surrounding Ukraine’s first declaration of independence from Russia after the fall of the Russian Empire. 

This article is helpful because it details a main event that sparked the attempts Ukraine made at breaking free of Russian control.  The declaration of independence I will be focusing on is the one that took place in 1991, but understanding the previous one in 1918 helps us to see that there was 100% motivation because prior attempts at independence were already made. 

“The Pre-Revolutionary Period and the Roots of the American Political Tradition.” Lumen Learning, courses.lumenlearning.com/atd-monroecc-americangovernment/chapter/the-pre-revolutionary-period-and-the-roots-of-the-american-political-tradition/#:~:text=Americans%20believed%20all%20people%20(i.e.,allowing%20people%20to%20govern%20themselves. Accessed 29 Jan. 2025.

This article, within a course on the American Revolution, focuses on the political thought in the colonies before the revolution and the revolution itself.  Its first section focuses on the establishment of the need for human rights and how this concept was not widely known.  The second half focuses on the revolution but also the thoughts that people started to have about the British government not satisfying their need for rights.

This resource is extremely helpful as it details the unrest that people felt prior to them declaring independence.  

Armitage, David. “The Declaration of Independence in Global Perspective.” The Guilder Lehrman Institute of American History, www.gilderlehrman.org/history-resources/essays/declaration-independence-global-perspective#:~:text=So%20long%20as%20a%20people,demands%20a%20declaration%20of%20independence. Accessed 29 Jan. 2025.

This resource talks about the Declaration of Independence itself and then puts it in a global perspective.  The significance of the Declaration of Independence within the whole world is great as it has brought to light how crucial human rights are.  It also inspired other nations to make constitutions and declare independence from their overlords. 

This resource is helpful as it helps us to see the Global impact of nations declaring independence and how significant that can be.   

III. Working Thesis Statement and Outline (This work must be color-coded to show the four  points of your thesis and their corresponding topic sentences.)  (Nota Bene: I couldnt color code it in WordPress so readers wont be able to see the colors)

I.  Americans and Ukrainians declared independence to gain rights and self governance, but Ukrainians had a rich culture to preserve and had prior experience with self-governance, while Americans were just establishing a new culture and had no experience with self-governance.

II. *Point one: The histories of these two nations are important and interesting.  Both nations declared independence to gain rights for their people.  

III. *Point two: Both nations wished to gain rights and to have self-governance and control over laws.  

IV. *Point three: While America and Ukraine both wished for freedom, Ukrainians had an ancient culture to preserve, and Americans were just beginning to build a culture.  

V. *Point four: Both America and Ukraine wished for self-governance, but Ukrainians had previous experience with self-governance, and Americans had never self-governed. 

VI. Americans and Ukrainians had valid reasons to declare independence and shared notable similarities and differences.  Americans and Ukrainians both wanted to gain rights and self-governance but Ukrainians had their culture to protect and already knew about self-governing, while Americans were building a new culture and had never governed themselves.  

*Note that this outline follows the point-by-point method of organizing your essay. This structure is best suited to an essay of this length. The points covered in the body paragraphs must include at least one similarity and one difference.  

Articles to note

Article 1 :Ukraine is the sovereign and independent, democratic, social, legal state

Article 10. In Ukraine, Ukrainian speech is an official language. 

Article 12. Ukraine cares of the satisfaction of національно-культурних and the linguistic necessities of Ukrainians who live outside the state. (Nota Bene: національно-культурних means national culture)

Article 20. State Flag of Ukraine, National Emblem of Ukraine and National Anthem of Ukraine, is state characters of Ukraine. 

Article 23. Everybody has a right to free development of the personality, if rights and freedoms of other people are not here violated, and has duties before society, free and comprehensive development of its personality is provided in which. 

Article 25. The citizen of Ukraine can not be deprived citizenship and right to change citizenship. 

Article 31. Privacy of correspondence, telephone talks, telegraph and other correspondence is guaranteed to each. 

Article 39. Citizens have a right to be going peacefully, without a weapon and to hold meetings, the mass meetings, hikes and demonstrations, about conducting of which in advance are informed organs of executive power or organs of local self-government. 

Article 44. Those, who works, have a right to the strike for defence of the economic and social interests. 

Article 50. Everybody has a right to the environment safe for life and health and on compensation of inflicted to violations of this right for harm. 

Article 51. Marriage is based on the free consent of woman and man. Each of the married couple has even rights and duties in marriage and family. Parents are under an obligation to retain children to their majority. Adult children are under an obligation to care of the disabled parents. Family, childhood, maternity and paternity, is guarded by the state. 

Article 70. Right the citizens of Ukraine, which attained on the day of their conducting of eighteen years, have voice on elections and referendums. Citizens which are held by court incompetent have no authority voice. 

Article 99. A hryvnya is the monetary item of Ukraine. 

Article 106. President of Ukraine: 1) provides state independence, national safety and правонаступництво of the state; 2) applies with the messages to the people and with the annual and extraordinary messages in Supreme Soviet of Ukraine about internal and external position of Ukraine; …

Article 139. In the Autonomous Republic Crimea operates representative Office of President of Ukraine, status of which is determined by the law of Ukraine. 

Article 1, Section 10: No State shall enter into any Treaty, Alliance, or Confederation; grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal; coin Money; emit Bills of Credit; make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts; pass any Bill of Attainder, ex post facto Law, or Law impairing the Obligation of Contracts, or grant any Title of Nobility.

Article II, Section 1: The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America.

Section 2; The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, 

Article IV, Section 1: Full Faith and Credit shall be given in each State to the public Acts, Records, and judicial Proceedings of every other State. 

Section 3 New States may be admitted by the Congress into this Union; but no new State shall be formed or erected within the Jurisdiction of any other State; nor any State be formed by the Junction of two or more States, or Parts of States, without the Consent of the Legislatures of the States concerned as well as of the Congress.

Section 4 The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government, and shall protect each of them against Invasion;

Amendment 1: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

AMendment 2: A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

Amendment 15, Section 1: The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

Refer to page one and two and review the background section written it is very helpful for understanding

Page 6 has information on the overwhelming support of the vote

Starting on page 8 the political implications… section has some good details on negative attitudes toward the outcome of the election

First paragraph, page ten, pay attention to and revisit the spot saying that it was assumed the Russian and Ukrainian relations would be good in the x scenario.

Page 17 has an interesting bit about Ukraine and the US.  Look into the international oversights of the Declaration of Independence in more detail.  

Notice it says the declaration was in theory, addressed to mankind.  Use this to support Ukraine’s reason bc of the basic rights in the us constitution

“So long as a people come to believe their rights have been assaulted in a “long Train of Abuses and Usurpations,” they will seek to protect those rights by forming their own state, for which international custom demands a declaration of independence” supports the thing about the constitution showing what they wanted. 

Maybe recount how the Declaration of independence from the US sparked other countries to be inspired and create their own. 

In the second paragraph Armitage makes a good point by highlighting the phrase by Jefferson saying that the people are entering into the powers of the world and are no longer bonded to their previous ‘people’.