Life Inside the Antebellum Slave Market

HIS B201 SPRING 2020 BOOK ANALYSIS PAPER ASSIGNMENT

PURPOSE

In this assignment, you will read Walter Johnson’s historical monograph Soul By Soul: Life Inside the Antebellum Slave Market for content and meaning, and write a 4-6 page paper detailing content, major themes, the historian’s viewpoint and effectiveness, corroborating primary sources, and your opinion of the book. My hope is that you will look at one aspect of US history (the notion of people as property), see what a particular historian has to say, and then analyze how he says it. This is just one way to understand that history is not static or simple.

ASSIGNMENT

You should read Johnson’s book for content, meaning, and intent. This is not meant to be a “report”, but rather 1) an outline of the content, 2) an explanation of the themes/thesis upon which the historian places a focus,3) an examination of primary sources that support the author’s position, and 4) an evaluation of the impact/success of the author in the book.

REQUIREMENTS

The following format is required for this assignment:
• Word processed, 12 pt Times New Roman font, double-spaced
• 4-6 pages in length, no cover sheet required, 1” margins
• Page 1 should include a heading with your name & the course number
• You do not need to use footnotes/endnotes in this paper. When using quotes from your book, simply use a parenthetical page reference after the selection, for example (Johnson, 204).
• You should cite your primary sources parenthetically, using either (Foner-Voices, p. 135) or the title/author and website in parentheses. See me with any questions on reference and citation in order to avoid accidental plagiarism
• This assignment is due on your last regular day of class, Monday, 5/4. I am happy to review first drafts or portions of drafts given enough time. I am also happy to discuss your direction on this assignment at any time. This is not meant to be a mystery-I am here to help, and I want you to understand what I am looking for.

ORDER/OUTLINE OF PAPER

I. INTRODUCTION PARAGRAPH
• Topic Sentence
• 3-4 sentences outlining what your paper will discuss
• Your Thesis Statement for this paper

II. DEVELOPMENTAL PARAGRAPHS- CONTENT OF BOOK
• Several paragraphs detailing the important of Johnson’s book, including some examples
• Remember that each paragraph should have a topic sentence, followed by details that expand on the subject of that topic sentence, not on other subjects
• Each paragraph should have a conclusion sentence

III. DEVELOPMENTAL PARAGRAPHS-AUTHOR’S THEME/THESIS/FOCUS
• Several paragraphs that discuss what Johnson’s main points were-what points did he make using the content you have outlined above-what were the major themes he supported through his content?
• In history, historians use content to prove their viewpoint, their main idea-describe what that focus was for Johnson- describe his answer to the question- “so what?”
• Use outside primary sources to give further examples of Johnson’s themes-you provide examples/evidence that support his ideas
• Again, use proper paragraph structure

IV. DEVELOPMENTAL PARAGRAPHS-EVALUATION OF THE BOOK & AUTHOR
• A couple of paragraphs in which you evaluate how well the author did his or her job. Now that you have evaluated the content and the focus/theme/thesis-did the author prove his point? Did you buy their argument? Was this effort worthwhile? How did the book read? What is the book’s value to understanding history? What do you think the impact of the book is/will be?
• Remember-do not use “I”, “you”, “we”, “us”, etc.-Do not say “I think that Robert Gross did a wonderful job using primary sources”-just take out the “I think”-it makes for a much stronger sentence, and is professional writing technique. You don’t have to tell me this is what you think-it’s your paper.

V. CONCLUSION
• Start your conclusion paragraph by restating your thesis statement (the one you used to end the introductory paragraph)
• Use a few mores sentences to wrap up an overview of the book and its importance

THINGS TO REMEMBER

• Use the proper set-up for a paper: Indent paragraphs, 12 pt Times New Roman font, 1” margins, double spaced, do not skip extra space between paragraphs-no cover sheet is necessary for this paper
• Cite when necessary, cite when in doubt-you may use parenthetical citations as mentioned earlier-see me with any questions
• Use Spellcheck, but also proofread your paper for spelling, grammar, and fluidity. Remember, the computer doesn’t know the difference between “dear” and “deer” or “Your” and “Tour”
• Make your paper flow-look at word choice and use the best word for the situation. Try to get each paragraph to flow, to “make sense”
• Make sure to think deeply about Johnson’s ideas of people as property, and his notion of “comodification”-the idea that all participants, including the slaves themselves, played a part in the process and, by so doing, impacted the process
• Set your paper aside, and then re-read it as if you have never seen it before. Then ask yourself- “Does this make sense?’-“Would I get what the paper is trying to say if I wasn’t me?”
• If you are not sure about something, if you have a question, if you need an opinion—ASK!!-That is why I am here.

PRIMARY SOURCES

As part of your paper, I am asking you to find and evaluate primary sources outside of Johnson’s book and incorporate these pieces of evidence as examples that further support the themes you have found. These examples should be incorporated into the paragraphs about the themes or as examples of Johnson’s effort. The examples you choose should be relevant to the themes you discuss. Here are some places to find these primary sources:

• “Voices”, edited by Eric Foner
• http://xroads.virginia.edu/~hyper/wpa/wpahome.html
• http://docsouth.unc.edu/fpn/northup/northup.html
• http://docsouth.unc.edu/neh/tgm.html
• http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/snhtml/snhome.html

GRADING RUBRIC

1) STRUCTURE- The paper follows the prescribed outline and ………………10
and format, including paragraph structure
2) GRAMMAR/SPELLING- The paper follows proper grammar ……………… 10
and spelling, shows evidence of proofing
3) CONTENT EVALUATION- The paper discusses important …………………. 20
content from the book in a thorough manner
that flows and makes sense
4) THEME EVALUATION- The paper identifies, discusses, and………………… 20
analyzes the author’s themes, and also talks
about the importance of those themes as shown
in the content
5) PRIMARY SOURCES- The paper utilizes primary sources to ……………… 20
support Johnson’s themes. These sources are
relevant to the themes and are from outside
sources
6) IMPACT EVALUATION- The paper analyzes the success the…………….. 10
author and his book have in supporting the
themes. The paper also critiques the book-what
might have made it better?-How did it read?-
what is worthwhile, important, interesting, dull,
not clear, etc?
7) PROFESSIONALISM- The paper has been completed with …………….…10
an effort towards clarity, professionalism, and
demonstrates that the student has academically
challenged him/her self and completed ALL of
the requirements of this assignment, including
critical thinking, organization of thoughts, and
clear presentation