1 Term Paper Handout: America Afire, by Bernard Weisberger The Basics In Weeks 10 and 11 there are two special class discussions of your term paper book, America Afire, by Bernard Weisberger. Come to class prepared to discuss the book on those dates! And you MUST bring your copy of America Afire with you to class on those dates. In order to ensure that you have read the book and are prepared to participate in discussions of it during Week 10: o At the start of class on Tuesday 4/1 there will be an in-class quiz based on the book. It is worth 15 points. If you have carefully read the first half of the book (the Prologue and Chapters 1 9), this quiz should be easy. The quiz is open-note and open-book. You may not, however, use any electronic devices. o On Tuesday 4/8 Writing Assignment #6, based on America Afire, will be due. It is worth 10 points. (See below for more information.) Your term paper, based on one of 4 prompts (see below), is due on Tuesday 4/29. It is worth 100 points. Under no circumstances will I accept a late term paper. At the end of this handout there is information on extra credit opportunities. Reading America Afire, the Class Discussions, and Writing Assignment #6 For Tuesday 4/1 consider the following questions, based on the Prologue and Ch. 1-9 of America Afire. Doing so will help you prepare for the quiz that will be given at the beginning of class on 4/1. There is also an extra credit opportunity based on these questions (see the last page of the handout). Questions to think about: Prologue and Chapters 1-9 1. Weisberger argues that during the early years of the Republic the Constitution rested on a very shaky foundation and, furthermore, that it contained a number of ticking bombs. The big one on which he focuses the method of choosing a president, which came most spectacularly to the fore in the election of 1800 is the focus of the second half of the book. In this first half of the book, what other problems with the Constitution s construction and/or interpretation does he highlight? 2. Why were the Founding Fathers so wary of democracy? What events seemed to confirm their fears? 3. Compare the political and economic outlooks of two of the three sections of the country during the Early Republic (the North, the South, and the West). What differences and commonalities were there? How did the differences lead to tensions between the sections, and even national crises? 4. In this section of the book, which figure do you think is most emblematic of the emerging Federalist Party? How did his views and actions reflect (or even shape) the vision for America the Federalists had? 5. In this section of the book, which figure do you think is most emblematic of the emerging Republican Party? How did his views and actions reflect (or even shape) the vision for America the Republicans had? 6. How did domestic politics and foreign affairs overlap during the early Republic?
7. Based on what you have read in the first half of the book, do you think the Federalists or the Republicans made the better argument about whether France or Great Britain was the bigger threat? 8. Why is the French Revolution important for understanding America during the Early Republic? 9. Discuss some of the scandals that rocked the Early Republic and assess their political impact. 10. Discuss one of the major figures or families on whom Weisberger focuses in this section of the book. a. Your choices are: James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, Aaron Burr, Edmund Randolph, 1 George Washington, the Adamses, or the Pinckneys. b. In your answer, consider some of the following questions: i. What was their vision for the new United States? ii. How was this vision tied to their political and economic views? iii. Who were their friends and enemies? iv. How did their backgrounds and the state or region of the country in which they lived influence their views? v. What were their personalities like? 11. Weisberger paints portraits of a number of cities during the Early Republic as a way of introducing his reader to the sectional differences in the country. Compare two of these cities. Your choices are: Washington D.C., Philadelphia, New York City, Charleston, Pittsburg, and Boston. 12. Although he does not make it into the title of the book, one of the major figures in America Afire is Alexander Hamilton. Drawing on the assigned reading for this week, choose one of the following to discuss: a. Hamilton s financial plan for the United States, how it might benefit or hurt the United States, and how successful he was at getting it passed and implementing it b. Hamilton s relationship with James Madison c. Hamilton s relationship with Thomas Jefferson d. Hamilton s relationship with Aaron Burr 2 For Tuesday 4/8 come prepared to discuss Chapters 10-14 and the Epilogue of America Afire. Writing Assignment #6 (10 points; due Tuesday 4/8): Choose one of the questions to think about pertaining to Chapters 10-14 and the Epilogue to answer (#13-24). Your answer should be at least 1.5 pages, typed and 1.5 spaced (in 12 pt Times New Roman Font). If you hand-write your paper, it should be at least 3 pages, front and back, and double-spaced. Use quotes and page references to show me which sections of the book your answer is based on. Your answer and references should demonstrate that you read multiple chapters of the book! Questions to think about: Chapters 10-14 and Epilogue 13. Describe the importance of communication (newspapers, pamphlets, personal letters, and the men and women who wrote them) in the run-up to the election of 1800 and during the unsettled period from late 1800 until February 1801, when a president was chosen. 1 There is a typo on p. 141 of America Afire. Jefferson s successor as Secretary of State was Edmund Randolph. Edmund had earlier taken part in the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787 88.
14. Drawing on America Afire, assess the purposes and effects of the Alien and Sedition Acts. (For example, what were the component parts of the acts? Whom did they target? Why were they so dangerous in theory? How dangerous did they prove to be in reality?) 15. In the United States presidents are chosen by electors. In 1800 how were electors chosen? How did the varying methods by which electors were chosen influence the campaign? (For example, what states or parts of states became key battlegrounds?) 16. How did John Adams and Alexander Hamilton come to be enemies? How did each try to thwart the goals of the other? 17. Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr ended up tied in the electoral college. Discuss the challenges this tie posed for both Republicans and Federalists. 18. How did sectional politics come into play in the election of 1800? 19. Based on this week s reading, which person or persons do you think actually decided the election of 1800? 20. What similarities and differences do you see between the election of 1800 and modern presidential elections? (Make sure to use America Afire to support your argument.) 21. What messages did Jefferson attempt to convey to the American people in his inaugural address in 1801? 22. Based on this week s reading, to what extent did Jefferson put Republican ideals into practice as president? In what ways was his presidency innovative, or even revolutionary? 23. We tend to put the Founding Fathers and their generation on a pedestal, but often the reality was far messier than most Americans realize or are comfortable with. In your opinion what do you think are the most shocking aspects of the run-up to the election 1800, the election itself, and/or the aftermath of the election? (Make sure to discuss specific sections of the assigned reading for this week to support your argument.) 3 The Term Paper Prompts In a paper of 1,800 2,200 words, use America Afire to respond to one of the following prompts: 1. What was at stake in the election of 1800? (In addition to discussing the election itself you may also consider how knowledge of the events leading up to the election enhances our understanding of what was at stake, and what the legacies of the election of 1800 were.) 2. Discuss the role that factionalism political, regional, and/or international played during the Early Republic. Overall, do you think factionalism was a force for stability or disunity during the Early Republic? 3. How well did the Constitution stand the test of the Early Republic? (In other words, during the early Republic what constitutional problems arose? How successfully were they resolved? To what extent was the vision for America that is set out in the Constitution compromised by events during the Early Republic?) 4. If you had to pick one word, person, or idea to characterize the Early Republic, what would it be? Using evidence from America Afire defend your choice.
How to Go about Writing Your Term Paper Your paper should be 1,800 2,200 words long, excluding references. Your paper should be typed in Times New Roman 12 pt font and be double-spaced. These parameters should yield a paper of around 6 pages. o Short papers will not earn passing grades. Your paper should have a thesis statement. A thesis statement is a main argument. You should support that thesis in the body paragraphs of your paper by discussing specific arguments, people, events, and ideas that feature in America Afire. o A thesis statement is not merely a restatement of the writing prompt. For example, this is not a thesis statement: The election of 1800 was hugely important for American history because a lot was at stake. Why is this not a thesis statement? Because it is a statement, rather than an argument, and it gives your reader no sense of why you think the election was important. (Constitutional issues? Because contemporaries thought we were heading towards civil war? Because this election was vigorously contested by two opposing political parties?) o I highly recommend that before you write a thesis statement you consult Rampolla s A Pocket Guide to Writing History, Ch. 4, especially the sections on developing a thesis and constructing an argument (pp. 53 59 of the 7 th edition). o In addition, I am happy to give you feedback on your thesis statement via email, or during my office hours. o The prospect identifying a set of topics on which to construct a thesis can seem daunting, especially if you have never written a term paper (or haven t written one in a while)! I recommend starting with something you found interesting in the book and working from there. You might do this in one of two ways: Identify a couple of quotes or passages in the book that seemed especially important, insightful, or interesting. See if you can link these together in some way that fits one of the prompts. In addition to the 2 focus questions that you answered over the course of Weeks 8 and 9, choose a couple of other focus questions to answer. Then read over your answers and see if you can identify a common theme which you can link to one of the term paper prompts. Your paper should demonstrate to me that you have read the entire book you should choose your examples from America Afire accordingly. With regard to writing style and providing page references, adhere to your Guidelines for Written Work and/or Rampolla s A Pocket Guide to Writing in History. In addition: o Note that double quotes are used when quoting a source (like Weisberger). If your quote contains both the words of Weisberger and a source that he is quoting, use single quotes inside the double quotes. For example: Some contemporaries worried about Jefferson s lack of faith in the Christian system, meaning his wariness of organized religion. (America Afire, p. 266.) o If your quote is longer than three lines, you should to set it off from the rest of your paragraph by indenting as, for example, Weisberger does on p. 280 of America Afire. But use long quotes sparingly! The bulk of the paper should be your ideas, not quotes from the book. 4
5 Proper references help me to check the validity of your arguments and are therefore crucial. If you are using an e-version of America Afire, you need to make sure that the page numbers are the same as those in the actual book. I therefore recommend writing a draft of your paper and then going to the SJCC library and comparing your page references to those in the copy of America Afire on reserve at the front desk, in order to ensure that the page numbers match up. The term paper is worth 20% of your grade. I therefore expect you to produce a polished, error-free piece of writing. Poor grammar, spelling mistakes, and other errors will lower your grade. o You should therefore do one or more of the following: Print out a draft of your paper and go over it with a pen or pencil. (It is easier to catch mistakes on a paper copy than on a computer screen.) Get a friend or relative who has good writing skills to read over your paper. Meet with me to go over your paper. Please do not waste my time and yours by plagiarizing any part of your term paper. Extra Credit Opportunities! (20 points total) Question to think about EC (10 points; due Tuesday 4/1) Choose one of the questions to think about for 4/1 to answer (#1-12). Your answer should be at least 1.5 pages, typed and 1.5 spaced (in 12 pt Times New Roman Font). If you hand-write your paper, it should be at least 3 pages, front and back, and double-spaced. Use quotes and page references to show me which sections of the book your answer is based on. Your answer and references should demonstrate that you read multiple chapters of the book! Draft EC (10 points; last date to do this is Wednesday 4/23) Bring a draft of your paper to my office hour so that we can discuss your arguments and any difficulties that you are having with the assignment. If you cannot make my office hour, talk to me so that we can arrange another time to meet. This is an EC assignment whose benefits are far greater than its points value it is an opportunity to hear from me what works in your paper and what needs work. You can earn up to 10 points, depending on the completeness of your draft. You should do this EC assignment. On average, students who do this EC assignment earn one lettergrade higher on their papers than they would have done had they not discussed their draft with me. And that is not counting the 10 EC points! For this assignment I highly recommend that you schedule a time to meet with me during my office hours (or at another time), rather than just showing up.