American Political Thought I
Write an essay no longer than five (5) double-spaced pages
please read through all the requirements!!!!!!
ONLY use sources from Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, Written by Himself, with Related Documents, 3rd ed., ed. David W. Blight (Boston: Bedford / St. Martin’s, 2017).
TOPIC:. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (1845) illuminates “how a man was made a slave” and “how a slave was made a man” (83). Douglass’s language of making implies that producing a slave is an artificial—rather than a natural—process; it also implies that once a man is made a slave, that slave must work deliberately to recover his “manhood.” Slavery is thus an artificial institution opposed to nature. How does Douglass’s narrative expose slavery as a deformation of nature? What does Douglass see as the natural condition of humankind? By what means are slaves created? By what means is manhood recovered? How does freedom differ when it is wrested from slavery, as opposed to a condition into which one is born? We encourage—but do not require—you to discuss the ways Douglass engenders full humanity as manhood. Feel free to contrast Douglass’ narrative with that of Harriet Jacobs.
BASIC FEATURES OF A GOOD PAPER • It has an interesting, defensible, and clearly stated thesis, responsive to the paper topic. • It presents well-developed arguments in support of the thesis. • It supports those arguments with textual evidence. • It cites textual evidence by using a standard method of citation (e.g., Chicago, MLA, APA) or by simply naming the author, text, and page number in parentheses following the quotation or paraphrase. Example: Locke contends that the state of nature is “a state of perfect freedom” (Locke, Second Treatise, 8). • It anticipates potential objections. • It is clearly and carefully organized. • It is concisely and grammatically written. • It is paginated and carefully proofread
NOTE: This is not a research paper. You must rely on course texts and your lecture notes to write your paper. Do not cite material beyond what was assigned for this course.
Here are some tips for Paper 2. If you have any questions, please ask!
THESIS STATEMENT: You need one. This is a statement of YOUR argument, which will drive the paper. Put your thesis statement at the end of your introductory paragraph. If you don’t know how to write a thesis statement, see the Writing Center’s handout (link to handouts below).
SOURCES: This is not a research paper. You should rely only on the assigned texts (and assigned sections within them) and your lecture notes to write this paper. Do not cite outside sources.
CITATIONS: Use a citation format that includes page numbers. If you are using an online version of a text, do your best to provide paragraph or section numbers.
PLAGIARISM: In order to avoid plagiarism, do not read anything about your paper topic on the internet. Turn to the text and your notes instead.
THE BEST PAPERS: The best papers have a thesis statement, make a clear argument that drives the whole paper, and show your efforts to wrestle with the texts.
