HST 390: Assignments
Secondary Source Essay
This assignment is to evaluate a historical secondary source, Thomas Slaughter, The Whiskey Rebellion. The essay should be about 3-4 pages in length. Include the following information about the book: author, title, and date of publication.
1: Like a book review, include a statement of the book's thesis or themes and a brief summary of the book.
2: Give a critical evaluation of the work. Be both negative and positive in your criticism. Consider the following:
Is the book written well in terms of style, clarity, and organization?
How well is the material documented with citations to sources?
Are there illustrations, maps, charts, or tables that assist the reader?
Does the author use logical arguments and present sufficient information to support the thesis?
Does the author overgeneralize?
Does the author oversimplify?
Is the author too selective in the use of sources?
Does the author appear biased or lack objectivity?
3: Is the work art or science? Is it fiction with footnotes? Has the historian imposed an artificial construct upon the past? Be "deconstructionist." Was there really a rebellion the author calls the "Whiskey Rebellion"?
Quotations are not necessary. If you do quote, page
numbers in parenthesis will be sufficient for citations. The
essay will
be graded on formal style and language. Do not use
abbreviations or contractions. Do not use slang. Avoid
writing in the first person. Be sure to proofread the essay
for misspelling.
Turn in the essay by email.
See the Dates page for the due date.
Primary Source Essay
This assignment is to evaluate a historical
primary source,
Henry R. Schoolcraft's Journal of a Tour into the
Interior of Missouri and Arkansaw ... in the Years 1818 and 1819,
and explore how it can be used by an historian. The essay should be
about 3-5 pages
in
length.
The source
is available on the Documents page.
Include each of the following in your essay on the document:
1) Briefly summarize the Journal.
2) Criticism. Questions to consider in your critical assessment:
How detailed is his description? Is his description clear or vague?
Was he trying to be objective and scientific? If so, did he succeed?
Is he too narrow or selective? Did he oversimplify or overgeneralize?
Bias. On his description of the frontiersmen he encountered, did he reveal an Eastern bias? Did he see himself as more civilized and superior to those who lived on the frontier?
3) Assess the worth of the document as a historical primary source.
Is it of value to historians today?
Can we distinguish between what Schoolcraft observed and the stories he heard from the frontiersmen?
As a historical primary source, how valuable are stories from frontiersmen the accuracy of which Schoolcraft could not verify?
4) Give an example of a history thesis that could be supported by using this primary source.
You do not need to quote. The essay will
be graded on formal style and language. Do not use
abbreviations or contractions. Do not use slang. Avoid
writing in the first person. Be sure to proofread the essay
for misspelling.
Turn in your work by email.
See the Dates page for the due date.