Best Writer

Discuss the Washington’s’ Relentless Pursuit of Their Runaway Slave, Ona Judge.Dunbar, Erica Armstrong. Never Caught: The Washingtons’ Relentless Pursuit of Their Runaway Slave, Ona Judge. (37 Ink/Atria, 2017). I would like you to write a brief essay, 1000 – 1200 words, based on material you gather from Never Caught. Your objective is not to write a book review, but to use your text as a historical source regarding life in the United States in the late 18th century and early 19th century. While this is a book about the life of one woman, the author, Erica Dunbar, is a historian, and as such she makes certain to place the subject of her book in historical context. It is the context of Judge’s life which I want you to distill from Never Caught. The essential material to convey is the significant historical information you have encountered, not the specific details of Ona Judge’s life. Those items are less important than the details of the world in which Judge lived. Here are some of the historical elements you might consider:  Life on the plantation of a prominent Virginian  Relations between enslaver and enslaved  Enslaved family relations  The “inner life” of the enslaved  Philadelphia in the Early Republic  Life for a runaway slave  George and Martha Washington There are many others. You are welcome to use the examples listed above or come up with others you discover. Make sure your material comes from throughout the book. You must identify and discuss at least four historical elements other than biographical details regarding Ona Judge. You must provide at least eight page cites as described below. I would also like you to identify the argument Erica Dunbar makes in Never Caught. The argument is not what the book is “about,” but what claim Dunbar makes and then supports with historical material. General comments:  Your essay should be between 1000 and 1200 words, though I will be happy to read as much as you are inclined to write, as long as it is analytic and not merely summary.  I want you to avoid narrating your paper. Please don’t start by telling me what you are going to tell me in the rest of your paper and please don’t conclude by telling me what you just told me in the rest of your paper. Just tell me. Once. I don’t need you to provide a road map; your paper is only a couple pages long. I won’t get lost.  Please do not merely summarize the book.  When you refer to any information that comes from the text, whether you are quoting language or not, please cite it by placing the page number in parentheses after your reference.  The following is an example of what I am asking you to do:  The legal condition of colonial married women was known as “coverture.” This meant that the married woman was covered under her husband’s rights and that she had no independent legal status. (5-6) Here is another example  In the 1600s, most people lived on farms. Women were crucial to their family’s success and economic productivity. They were responsible for turning the raw materials men in the family produced into usable items, for example, food and clothing or candles and soap. (6)  I will not grade papers without proper citations as described above.  Of course, if you are quoting language, you must put the language in quotation marks and provide the page number. It is not necessary to use formal footnotes, but it is imperative that you make it clear where you are getting your reference.  Do not include extensive quotations retyped from the text. With few exceptions, it is more appropriate to put things in your own words to demonstrate your understanding. The only thing that ought to be quoted directly is particularly unusual use of language. Retyping more than a couple words usually indicates that you don’t understand the book well enough to use your own words.  You must proofread your paper. Make sure your work is organized in appropriate paragraphs and is as comprehensible as possible.  This book is NOT A NOVEL. Calling it a novel is not only an error, but proof that you have not read the prompt.  Your paper must be typed in a 12-point font, double spaced, with one-inch margins on the top and bottom and left and right of each page. Do not include a cover page, but your name and section number should appear on every page in the upper right-hand corner. Make your paper as easy to read as possible