Personal Statement - US History

Why do you want to study this course or subject?

Throughout the course of my undergraduate work, I have found my studies in early American history and philosophy to be the most enlightening and rewarding elements. I have greatly enjoyed learning about early American history, pursuing areas of history which have received little analysis, asking questions, and delving deep into libraries and archives to discover the answers to those questions. This has caused me to become especially interested in the role of Rhode Island during the Constitutional ratification debates, and I would like to specifically focus on the principle reasons behind Rhode Island’s decision to ratify the Constitution – was it the reality of a Bill of Rights which was the key to Rhode Island’s ratification, or were there major socio-cultural and economic factors which swayed the convention to ratify the Constitution? I believe this is an important question to look at because of both the importance of commercial economics and individual liberties to Rhode Island society, and conducting research on this will produce a clearer understanding of what was important to Rhode Islander’s of the time.

This is a thinly researched topic and what little secondary research exists is extremely outdated, The Anti-Federalists: Critics of the Constitution by Jackson Turner Main and Novus Ordo Seclorum by Forrest McDonald are prime examples. The principle reasons for there being so little scholarly attention given to Rhode Island are that scholars have focused predominately on major political figures who were influential in creating the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, the debates between the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists, and the ratification debates within key states such as Virginia. There are only a few works which address Rhode Island during the Constitutional ratification period, the most significant being Frank Greene Bates’ Rhode Island and the Formation of the Union, which was published in 1898 and provides a very straight forward, less nuanced discussion of Rhode Island’s history.

The MSt. in U.S. History at Oxford will greatly improve upon my knowledge of early America because it will give me the opportunity to study under Dr. XXXX XXXXX, whose research on early American society would be very beneficial to my understanding of both the social dynamics behind Rhode Island’s ratification of the Constitution, and early American history as a whole. I would also have the opportunity to take modules like History of the United States, and the colonies that preceded it, since 1600, and Methods and evidence in the history of the United States of America. These modules address schools of historical interpretation, specifically that of Charles Beard and the Progressive historians, which I feel are very important to understand in greater detail since it has greatly influenced the scholarly debate over the creation of the Constitution. They would also provide me with a deeper understanding of both early and modern American history, which will be greatly beneficial to me as an emerging scholar of American history. My studies and research would benefit greatly from having access to the resources at the Rothermere American Institute, and the Bodleian and Vere Harmsworth libraries which contain a vast amount of primary source documents, such as Early American Newspapers, 1690-1876, the Journals and Papers of the Continental Congress, 1774-1789, the Letters of Delegates to Congress, 1774-1789, and a number of electronic resources dedicated to Rhode Island’s Constitutional ratification convention.

How have your qualifications and studies helped you to prepare for this course or subject?

While my Bachelor’s degree has provided me with a solid background in early American history, I want to pursue a Master’s (and eventually a Doctoral) degree in order to become a serious scholar of history. As a scholar I hope to use my research to disseminate knowledge about early American history to students and future historians, and to improve upon our knowledge of how social, cultural, and economic factors influenced Rhode Island to ratify the Constitution. With the experience gained from doing independent research as a graduate student at the University of Oxford I will become a significantly better historian, capable of dealing with the rigors of academic life as both a professor and researcher.

What else have you done to prepare outside of education, and why are these experiences useful?

I want to pursue this topic on a much broader scale after conducting research on the economic factors which influenced Rhode Island’s decision to ratify the Constitution, entitled “Do We Have a Rhode Island Problem? How Economic Factors Moved Rhode Island to Ratify the Constitution,” which won a major departmental research award. I have taken an active role in both historical research and encouraging interest in history throughout my university community, which has led to my acceptance into the Phi Alpha Theta History Honorary and being elected as its Vice President. As Vice President I participated in organizing the 2009 West Virginia/Western Pennsylvania Phi Alpha Theta Regional Conference, where I also presented a historiography paper entitled “The Salem Witchcraft Trials: Interpretations throughout the Ages.”

Universities applied to:

• University of Oxford (MSt. in US History)

Grades achieved:

• Final GPA: 3.95/4.00

How personal statements have changed?

The current personal statement format, with three 'scaffolding' questions, was introduced by Ucas in September 2025. This personal statement was submitted before then, using the old essay-style format. It has been carefully edited into the three-question format, with all of the original wording kept.

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