History of the United States to 1877 History Essay

Your answer to this topic should draw primarily on the text of Walker’s Appeal itself (pp. 1-82 of the book). You mayalso draw upon theIntroduction for context and the Documents at the end of the book, but you should use the Appealitself as the primary evidence for your argument.

History 17A: History of the United States to 1877 Second Paper Topic: In the wake of the publication of David Walker’s Appeal to the Coloured citizens of the World, many critics argued that he was a dangerous radical. They claimed that Walker was trying to subvert the principles on which the United States was founded. Read the Declaration of Independence (via the link on our Canvas page). Then consider Walker’s Appeal. After comparing the two documents, how radical do you think Walker was? Was his Appeal a subversion or a logical extension of the principals of the American Revolution? Explain. Writing the Paper: Content: Your answer to this topic should draw primarily on the text of Walker’s Appeal itself (pp. 1-82 of the book). You may also draw upon the Introduction for context and the Documents at the end of the book, but you should use the Appeal itself as the primary evidence for your argument. Note on the book: I prefer that you use the Penn State Press version of the book I assigned. If you do not have it, there are other copies available online so that you do not need to worry about getting the book in time. However: no matter what version you use, you need to take care to cite the book properly. The Writing Guide gives you all the information you need to cite physical books and electronic books. Consult it. Outside Sources: You do not need outside sources for this paper. You should not incorporate any materials outside this class in your paper. You will be docked points if you use outside sources. Length: The body of your paper should be six pages. This is a maximum, not a minimum. Although your TA may choose to read more than 6 pp. if you exceed the maximum length, s/he is only obligated to read the first 6 pp. of your paper. If you are worried about length use endnotes, not footnotes. Font: I do not care what font your paper is in, but the body text should be in 12-point font and the footnotes or endnotes should be 10-point font. We will deduct 3 points if you fail to use the correct font size. Margins: The margins should be between 1” and 1.5”. We will deduct 3 points if you fail to use the proper margins. Spacing: The body of the paper should be double spaced and the footnotes or endnotes should be single spaced. File Format: If you choose to submit the paper electronically, you must submit your paper as a .doc or a .docx file (the files used by Microsoft Word). Even if you do not use MS Word as your primary word processor program, you can easily save your document in this format. If you submit the paper as a Google Document, we will deduct 75 points. Name: You should put your name on the paper. If you hand in a written copy, we will not give you credit if your name is not on the paper. Due Date: Papers are due at the beginning of class. Papers handed in after class starts will be docked a third of a letter grade, with half-letter grade penalties accruing every day thereafter. For example: Handed in by 10:00, February 28—No Penalty! Handed in from 10:11-11:59pm, February 28—Half-letter grade deduction Handed in from 12:00am-11:59pm, February 29—Full grade deduction Handed in from 12:00am-11:59pm, March 1—One and a half grade deduction With another half-letter grade accruing each day thereafter. Electronic Submission: You may hand in a paper copy of this assignment or an electronic copy. If you hand in a paper copy, you should hand your paper directly to you TA at the beginning of class. If you submit the paper electronically, you should submit it to the “Assignments” section of the course Canvas page. Be sure you submit it to the correct Assignment box. Failure to navigate Canvas correctly will not excuse late work.