Assignment Question
How did slavery come to an end in the United States?
Required Elements: 3 Time Periods: Incorporate significant historical context of three historical periods from the second half of class (Modules 8-16). Examples: Early Republic (1790-1820s), Antebellum Period (1830s-1860s), the Civil War (1861-1865), Reconstruction (1865-1877). A title for your paper that reflects your main idea or topic.
Paragraph 1: Introduction Write a paragraph that introduces the main historical time periods, people, primary sources and ideas that you are going to talk about in your paper. This paragraph should include a thesis statement: a one sentence statement about what will illustrate/discuss/argue in your paper. Example: From 1790-1877, American women advocated for their liberty by personal and public protest and by building organizations. Underline your thesis statement so that both you. Make sure that you are referring back to this main idea in each paragraph of the paper.
Paragraph 2: Historical Context 1 In this paragraph, set up the broad general context of your first time period that will frame your first primary source. (ex. Early Republic Period, or Antebellum slavery, Early Industrial Revolution, etc). This paragraph should clearly state the time period, specific locations, and significant people and events taking place in this period. Choose the most important details that pertain to your discussion and thesis topic, not random historical facts.Rely on Foner and lecture notes to help you write this paragraph. Be as specific as possible in your historical details to show your mastery of the secondary source material you have learned in class. Trust your own voice, cite where necessary. DO NOT dump your lecture notes in this paragraph;, write your own summary of the period. If this paragraph is an idea-by-idea or sentence-by-sentence account from lecture, it will NOT earn points. You want to incorporate material from lecture and Foner in your own words, using quotes and citations where necessary. Save any mention of the primary source for the next paragraph. You can mention other primary sources, but DO NOT discuss any material from or about the primary source that you are going to write about in the next paragraph. Your chosen primary source may have some context details, but you need to corroborate those with other secondary source material in this paragraph first. Paragraph 3: Primary Source 1 Discussion In one paragraph, introduce and discuss the key ideas of the first primary source. Introduce details about the primary source author, date, and location. Discuss their primary reason for writing (the immediate context). Choose 2-4 short quotes from the primary source to illustrate key points from the source. Provide some analysis of how this source is significant within its historical context (what you discussed in paragraph 4). DO NOT use block quotes, or quotes longer than about 2 lines.
Paragraph 4: Historical Context 2 Start with a transition from your first discussion to your next historical context/period. In this paragraph, set up the broad general context of your second time period that will frame your second primary source (examples: Antebellum Period, or Antebellum Sectional conflict, or Antebellum reform, etc). This paragraph should clearly state the time period, specific locations, and significant people and events taking place in this period. Choose the most important details that pertain to your discussion and thesis topic, not random historical facts. Rely on Foner and lecture notes to help you write this paragraph. Be as specific as possible in your historical details to show your mastery of the secondary source material you have learned in class. Trust your own voice, cite where necessary. DO NOT dump your lecture notes in this paragraph, write your own summary of the period. If this paragraph is an idea-by-idea or sentence-by-sentence account from lecture, it will NOT earn points. You want to incorporate material from lecture and Foner in your own words, using quotes and citations where necessary. Save any mention of the primary source for the next paragraph. You can mention other primary sources, but DO NOT discuss any material from or about the primary source that you are going to write about in the next paragraph. Your chosen primary source may have some context details, but you need to corroborate those with other secondary source material in this paragraph first. Paragraph 5: Primary Source 2 In one paragraph, introduce and discuss the key ideas of the second primary source. Introduce details about the primary source author, date, and location. Discuss their primary reason for writing (the immediate context). Choose 2-4 short quotes from the primary source to illustrate key points from the source. Provide some analysis of how this source is significant within its historical context (what you discussed in paragraph 4). DO NOT use block quotes, or quotes longer than about 2 lines.
Paragraph 6: Historical Context 3 Start with a transition from your first discussion to your next historical context/period. In this paragraph, set up the broad general context of your third time period that will frame your third primary source (ex. Civil War, Reconstruction). This paragraph should clearly state the time period, specific locations, and significant people and events taking place in this period. Choose the most important details that pertain to your discussion and thesis topic, not random historical facts. Rely on Foner and lecture notes to help you write this paragraph. Be as specific as possible in your historical details to show your mastery of the secondary source material you have learned in class. Trust your own voice, cite where necessary. DO NOT dump your lecture notes in this paragraph, write your own summary of the period. If this paragraph is an idea-by-idea or sentence-by-sentence account from my lecture, it will NOT earn points (because I wrote that!). You want to incorporate material from lecture and Foner in your own words, using quotes and citations where necessary. Save any mention of the primary source for the next paragraph. You can mention other primary sources, but DO NOT discuss any material from or about the primary source that you are going to write about in the next paragraph. Your chosen primary source may have some context details, but you need to corroborate those with other secondary source material in this paragraph first.
Paragraph 7: Primary Source 3 In one paragraph, introduce and discuss the key ideas of the third primary source. Introduce details about the primary source author, date, and location. Discuss their primary reason for writing (the immediate context). Choose 2-4 short quotes from the primary source to illustrate key points from the source. Provide some analysis of how this source is significant within its historical context (what you discussed in paragraph 4). DO NOT use block quotes, or quotes longer than about 2 lines.
Conclusion: In one paragraph, remind the reader of the three main time periods and the three primary sources you talked about. Reiterate how these three primary sources help illustrate your thesis. Do not end with a social commentary about today: keep it historical. Bibliography/Sources List the sources that you will be using to write your paper (that would be your Foner textbook, the primary source readings you have chosen, and lectures. Remember your goal is to show mastery of the assigned readings, so do not use outside sources). You can use whatever citation style you are most familiar with (Although FYI, Historians use the Chicago Manual of Style for citations and references). The primary source citations are listed at the top of the sources. Here’s the proper citation for your textbook to get you started: 3 Primary Sources: Incorporate a significant discussion of at least three primary sources from different weeks in our readings (in Modules 8-16, our second half of class) that address the prompt. Primary sources are the historical “evidence” that you will use to argue your thesis. You can use more than three sources, but you must have at least three from three different weeks (ex: “Sentiments of the People of Color, Frederick Douglass narrative, Dred Scott v Sanford). You may also choose to use primary sources that were not assigned on the syllabus, but which are found in Foner’s “Voices of Freedom” sections at the end of each chapter — just make sure they are from different chapters. NOTE: the 13th Amendment does not count one of your three primary sources, although you will need to discuss/include it in your paper.
