History 111
The American Experience
Professor Edstrom
Biography
Paper
Due
The purpose of the first paper is to
choose a figure from early American history with whom you can personally
identify. For the assignment, choose a
person from any point in American history prior to the Civil War and write a
short biographical essay. You should
find at least 3 sources on your subject and only one can be an encyclopedia
article (written or electronic). The
biographical essay should be on a figure that you admire, or contrarily, on
someone that you despise. A list of
possible subjects is included at the bottom of the page, but it is by no means
a complete list. Choose your subject
wisely.
Here are a
couple of electronic sources that you may find useful in beginning your
research (but your paper should not be exclusively based on them):
http://bioguide.congress.gov/biosearch/biosearch.asp
Biographical
Directory of the
This is a
database to which the Library subscribes.
It has information on literally thousands of important figures in
American history. To use it (either on
campus or from home), follow these steps:
1.
Go
to the Library’s homepage (http://www.harpercollege.edu/library).
2.
Click
on “Full Text Articles, Databases.”
3.
Click
on “American National Biography.”
4.
Start
searching!
When you
have finished reading about your subject, write a short paper containing the
elements discussed below. The paper
should be 3-5 double-spaced, typed pages using a font no larger than 12 point
and margins of 1 inch all the way around.
Don’t forget to include a bibliography of the sources used. Electronic resources are okay provided you
evaluate them carefully, but at least
one of the sources should be a print source!
If you have any questions concerning style, citations, or punctuation,
consult sources such as Kate Turabian’s Manual for Writers of Term Papers,
Theses…
, the Chicago Manual of Style, or the MLA Handbook. Both are available in the reference section
of the library and at the bookstore.
1)
Give
an introductory paragraph giving a one or two sentence description of the
subject, why you originally chose this person, and whether you believe this is
a person that should be admired or reviled.
2)
Give
a 1-2-paragraph summary of the subjects’ childhood and background. How did early experiences affect this person
in their adult life?
3)
Give
2-3 paragraphs on why this person is historically important. What did he/she do or believe that was
memorable or significant?
4)
Did
you encounter any differences in interpretation among the three or more sources
that you used for research? How do you
account for those differences? If they
all agreed with one another, what conclusions can you draw from that?
5)
Discuss
why you chose this person at greater length.
Do you admire this person? If so,
why? If not, why not? Do you have any personal biases that might
make you like or dislike this person? Do
you think others should feel as you do?
Why?
6)
If
you chose someone that you admire, were there events in this person’s life that
might not seem so admirable? If so, what
were they? Were there circumstances that
might have made these actions or beliefs acceptable at the time, even if they
would be unacceptable today? Would most
Americans agree with your assessment?
7)
If
you chose someone that you despise, would the person’s actions/beliefs have
been considered justifiable at the time? Were there any events in their life
that were not as terrible; events that may even be considered admirable? Would most Americans agree with your
assessment?
8)
What
lasting influence did this person have?
Can you think of any modern-day
events/attitudes/ideals/institutions/etc. that resulted from the person that
you chose to write about?
9)
Can
you think of any people or groups of people living today that remind you of
your subject in some way? Who are they
and what do they have in common?
10) Write a concluding paragraph
summarizing your main points as to why you feel the way you do about this
person and why you think others should agree with you.
|
Adams,
John |
Fulton,
Robert |
Pocahontas |
|
Adams,
Samuel |
Grant,
Ulysses S. |
Pope,
John |
|
Arnold,
Benedict |
Hamilton,
Alexander |
The
Prophet |
|
Bacon,
Nathaniel |
Hawthorne,
Nathaniel |
Raleigh,
Walter |
|
Banneker,
Benjamin |
Hudson,
Henry |
Revere,
Paul |
|
Barton,
Clara |
Hutchinson,
Ann |
Sacajawea |
|
Biddle,
Nicholas |
|
Scott,
Winfield |
|
Booth,
John Wilkes |
Jackson,
Andrew |
Shays,
Daniel |
|
Braddock,
Edward |
Jefferson,
Thomas |
Sherman, William
T. |
|
Brown,
John |
Lewis,
Meriwether |
Stanton, |
Burr, Aaron
|
Lincoln, Abraham
|
Stowe, Harriet Beecher
|
|
Calhoun,
John |
Lincoln,
Mary Todd |
Sumner,
Charles |
|
Clark,
William |
Madison,
James |
Sutter,
John |
|
Clay,
Henry |
Marshall,
John |
Taylor,
Zachary |
|
Cooper,
James Fenimore |
Mather,
Cotton |
Tecumseh |
|
Crockett,
Davy |
McCormick,
Cyrus |
Tubman,
Harriet |
Davis, Jefferson
|
Melville, Herman
|
Turner, Nat
|
|
Dix,
Dorothea |
Monroe,
James |
Twain,
Mark |
|
Douglas, Stephen |
Owen,
Robert |
Washington,
George |
Douglass,
|
Paine, Thomas
|
Wayne, Anthony
|
|
Edwards,
Jonathan |
Penn,
William |
Webster,
Noah |
|
Franklin,
Benjamin |
Pike,
Zebulon |
Whitney,
Eli |
Fremont, John
|
Pitcher, Molly
|
Williams, Roger
|
Last updated
Copyright 2008 by James A. Edstrom