| Writing assignment #1, due Tuesday, February 23 | |
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A fundamental factor in the understanding of history is the archive: whose voices and perspectives have been preserved in, for instance, local historical societies, in order for future generations to research and write history. In the United States, that collective archive has long neglected Native American voices — which produces an even greater responsibility now to recover those perspectives on the past (and the present as well). In the process, however, one has to look very carefully at how historical documents were made and mediated. This writing assignment features three documents with Native American perspectives: two written by Native Americans (one in the first Native American newspaper; another by a Native American advocate with whom you are already familiar: Mr. Apess), and one as recorded in a “white” newspaper (Niles Weekly Register). For contrast, there is also one document featuring a U.S. Supreme Court Justice’s (Joseph Story) public speech, seemingly sympathetic on its surface. You can find the four short documents in a dedicated folder under Files in Canvas. For this writing assignment please analyze the explanations offered in the four documents regarding the demise of Native Americans east of the Mississippi River. The central question is: How did the writers explain that demise? What supposedly caused it? You will find multiple explanations, on multiple levels. Your task is not to list them, but to analyze them. For instance, which explanations were more fundamental, and were thought to cause other explanations? Which explanations were projected onto white Americans? Which explanations entwined whites and Native Americans? Which explanations were about policies and practices? Which explanations were about attitudes and ideologies? How did race figure in? How did religion? And, of course, how did empire figure in? Throughout your analysis, be mindful of how historical documents were made and mediated. Do not take any documents as statements of objective fact or historical reality. For general tips on interpreting primary documents, see the following guideline: Strategies for Interpreting Primary Documents. There are many analytical angles that you can take, beyond the above possibilities. It is your task to choose your analytical angles (i.e., what strikes you as most important as you read the documents), to define those analytical angles clearly in your introductory paragraph, and to use them to craft a clear overarching thesis in response to the central question above. Be sure to provide ample evidence (in the form of short “money” quotes) from the documents to substantiate your analysis in each paragraph, and to demonstrate your overarching thesis. You may also cite your lecture notes, but there is no need to do any outside research, as the four documents and your lecture notes will be more than sufficient. Papers should fulfill the expectations indicated under “Writing Assignments” in the Course Policies section of the course website. Please submit via Assignments in Canvas on the due date. Sample citations (endnotes or footnotes): Cherokee Phoenix, January 28, 1829. |