‘The conditions (political, economic and social) of African-Americans in the USA were little better after emancipation than before.’ Assess the validity of this view in the period 1800-1910.

History Coursework

Checklist

Please make sure you have done the following:

The basics….your coursework should be
handed in, in the following format:

•  The correct title with the correct dates at the top
•  Double-spaced and with your name and candidate number
  on every page (preferably in the header) and a total word count
•  In size 11 font and with normal margins so we have
  plenty of space to annotate
•  Fully referenced with both footnotes and a bibliography
  – organised logically eg. Alphabetically
•  An appendix with your 3 sources and 2 interpretations
  clearly numbered and in the order in which they appear in the essay
•  Attach a completed Candidate Record Form, fully completed (ie. double-check
  you have entered your name and candidate number twice, your title and
  your word count, as well as signing/dating it)

The essay needs….

•  A clear introduction which introduces the major themes
  and sets out a clear line of argument. 
  Make sure you have addressed how the issue under discussion might
  have changed (or stayed the same) over the period in question
•  Paragraphs which have a clear point at the start and
  then use specific supporting evidence to back this up (this should be
  from both sources and your own knowledge), make sure you include analysis throughout – you should be
  continually answering the question and linking back to your overall
  argument
•  Coverage of the whole 100 year period (you should check
  that you have mentioned every decade at least once, and definitely should
  not have a gap of more than 10-20 years)
•  A conclusion which comes back to your overall argument
  and fully
  explains why you believe that to be the case.  It should not include any new evidence
  but instead should aim to stand back and look at the issue over the whole
  time period

Primary sources – you MUST have three of at least two
different types (ie. you can’t have 3 speeches)

•  Start the evaluation of each source with a brief,
  explained judgement on how valuable it is to a historian in finding
  out about the issue in the question?
•  You must look at both content and
  provenance for each source.  For example,
  think about the following for each source (not all of these may apply to
  every source but you should make sure you have discussed all that are
  relevant):
• What does the content
  reveal / what can you infer from it about your question? How does this
  make it more/less valuable?
• The perspective of the
  source – who wrote it? what was the purpose? How does this make it
  more/less valuable?
• The social, political,
  intellectual, religious and/or economic context in which it was written
  – when was it written?  How does
  this further explain its perspective? 
  How does this make it more/less valuable?
• How credible is the
  source?  How much authority does
  it have?  Is it consistent with
  your other knowledge?  How
  comprehensive is it?  Is there
  anything it misses out?  How does
  this make it more/less valuable?
• Is
  the source propaganda or does it distort the truth in any crucial
  ways?  How does this make it
  more/less valuable?

NB.
ALL sources are valuable to historians, you just have to focus on how valuable
it is for answering your specific question – eg. propaganda or very
exaggerated sources can still be valuable for telling us about attitudes or
methods that were used at the time

Historical interpretations

•  Make it very clear from the start how convincing the
  interpretation it is, in relation to your question
•  For each interpretation state briefly what the argument is that
  you are evaluating eg. ‘Huntington argues….’
•  State what is convincing about it – use your own knowledge
  to do this and any other historians who would also support this
  argument. 
•  State what is not so convincing about it –
  again use your own knowledge and any other historians who would
  contradict this argument
•  You MUST also comment on the limitations/context of the
  interpretation.  For example:
• Is the time or context in
  which the historian was writing significant in explaining their
  perspective?
• Are there any other factors
  or limitations which might have influenced their argument? (eg. was
  certain information not available? Or do their personal beliefs tell us
  anything useful)
•  Ensure you have done the process above for BOTH
  interpretations
•  Evaluate which you think is the more convincing argument and
  explain why

And finally…..

•  Make sure the three elements above are integrated with
  each other so the essay flows
•  PROOF-READ before handing it in – this
  should help you check spelling, grammar and the overall flow of the essay