This term we have attempted to understand the origins of American society, the making of the United States, and in our final weeks the secession crisis that nearly dissolved the republic.
For your end-of-term essay, your task is to compose an essay that delves into the history of early America and the problem of causation and the Civil War. Weigh everything we’ve read and learned this term and then consider what you believe is the analytical key to understanding the secession crisis and the outbreak of War.
Below are a few examples of themes that might guide your thinking.
“Between the 17th and 19th centuries, the development and near-destruction of America is best understood as…
a contest about labor and laboring classes. Labor systems defined American society and the tension between the systems and between the classes within those systems best explains the crisis of the Union in the 1860s.”
the terrible consequence of racial slavery. Racial divisions and, most significantly, the growth of a system of chattel slavery based on racial identity, is the best way of explaining American society and the crisis of the Union in the 1860s.”
the outcome of varied, incompatible, unyielding manifestations of Christian worship.”
a mirror of all the inconsistencies, prejudices, and betrayals of the relationship between white Americans and Indigenous Peoples during this period.”
a series of conflicts between alternative, often contradictory visions for a new kind of society, built on a particular notion of reform or even a utopian ideal.”
In a clear and concise 3-4 page paper, make your own argument for how best to analyze the period of American History we’ve covered from Bacon’s Rebellion through the Civil War. Your argument might align with one of the examples above, it might combine some of these themes, or it might reflect a different theme altogether. The list above is not at all meant to be exhaustive. Of course, you will have to pick and choose which events, people, ideas, and sources you investigate. You cannot cover everything. You should use primary and secondary sources to advance your argument. Additionally at some point in the paper, you must engage with the period from 1848-1865. You must also cite your sources using footnotes in the Chicago style.
Here are some mistakes to avoid:
Using the language I used in the examples in your introduction or thesis. Never do this. It is your job to come up with your own language, not to reiterate the words of a paper prompt.
Making a grocery-list thesis: “The best way to understand this period is through economic growth, slavery, and the 2nd Great Awakening….”
