Description

TERM ESSAY FOR HISTORY 241 – UFV FALL 2019 Instructor: Rocksborough-Smith Term Essay Assignment (due November 13 in class) First read Edmund S. Morgan’s article, “The Paradox of Slavery and Freedom,” which will be made available on Blackboard and which you can easily download through University of the Fraser Valley databases as well. Then read the primary source documents listed below. All necessary documents will be made available on History 241 Blackboard under Term Paper Assignment by the third week of the course. The assignment asks you to write an essay of approximately 8-10 pages answering the following question: To what extent do the primary source documents support the argument advanced by Edmund Morgan in his article “Slavery and Freedom,” about the rationale behind English colonists’ turn away from white servitude and toward racial slavery in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries? Edmund Morgan, “Slavery and Freedom: The American Paradox,” Journal of American History 59:1 (1972), pp.5-29. Primary Source Documents: 1. The First Blacks Arrive in Virginia (1619) 2. Slavery Becomes a Legal Fact in Virginia (Statutes 1630-1680) 3. Virginia Discrimination in the Punishment of Runaways (1640) 4. Maryland Establishes Slavery for Life (1664) 5. ***Or any relevant Documents (primary sources) of your choice from Exploring American Histories. **You may also consult sections of the textbook, Exploring American Histories, as a secondary reference source but no other sources are required for this assignment. This is not a research paper. Rather, it is an exercise in critical reading and analysis focused on historical inquiry. You will not receive extra marks for providing additional outside source materials nor are you required to do so.** Criteria: Your paper will be graded on the following criteria: • Evidence of a clear understanding of the topic/question and the historical issues it raises. • Thesis: specific, clear, thoughtful and it has to appear on your first page! • Argument: strong, well-organized, thoughtful, logical • Use of evidence: appropriate, adequate, effective, critical. It is crucial that you engage substantively with the assigned primary documents in your writing and relate them to the argument(s) advanced by Edmund Morgan in his article. • Style and mechanics: grammatically correct, fluent, careful and accurate • Conclusion: meaningful, thoughtful Format: This paper is to be a minimum 8 typed, double-spaced pages in length in 12-point font. Please use black ink, and a plain font that produces about 250 words per page. You must try to use Chicago Manual of Style footnotes for your citations but other academic reference systems are acceptable (MLA, APA etc…). Be sure to provide a separate bibliography/sources cited page for all works referenced History 241 Term Essay Instructions Page 2 which you consult or to which you refer (ie. both Morgan’s article and the primary documents consulted). Little or no attempt to document, provide some indication of bibliography or works cited, and/or unacceptable levels of writing will automatically fail your paper. Do not plagiarize! If you are unsure about what plagiarism is, see me and the information below. Get your assignments in on time! Late papers will lose 1/3 of a letter grade (from a B to a B-, for example) each calendar day after the due date (beginning after class on the due date itself).