{"id":4758,"date":"2021-01-18T13:17:12","date_gmt":"2021-01-18T13:17:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-118pinsker\/?page_id=4758"},"modified":"2026-09-29T08:33:01","modified_gmt":"2026-09-29T12:33:01","slug":"first-essay-19th-century","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-118pinsker\/assignments\/first-essay-19th-century\/","title":{"rendered":"First Essay &#8211;Second Republic"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Due October 12, 2026<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>By <strong>Monday, October 12<\/strong>, students will submit a 3-5 page typed, double-spaced essay answering this question about <em>The Rise and Fall of the Second American Republic<\/em>:\u00a0 What was one of the greatest historical triumphs detailed in Manisha Sinha\u2019s book on the long Reconstruction period, and what was one of the most disappointing tragedies?\u00a0 Students should explain their answers within a clear narrative context, covering the period from 1865 to 1920.\u00a0 All essays must include material from Sinha\u2019s book properly cited with Chicago-style footnotes. Outside research is allowed but not required. Essays will be graded on depth of analysis, use of evidence, and quality of prose. Late essays will be penalized up to 5 points each day.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>Organizational Guidelines<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em class=\"ContentPasted0\">Please open your paper with a descriptive title, byline (name), and a clear introductory paragraph with thesis statement\u00a0 \u2013and don\u2019t just restate the question.<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Make sure to address a question and devise a thesis statement that can be effectively argued in a short paper.\u00a0 Consult the Methods Center handout on\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-117pinsker\/files\/2011\/08\/HANDOUT-How-to-Write-a-Thesis-Statement1.pdf\">How to Write a Thesis Statement<\/a><\/em><em>\u00a0<\/em><\/li>\n<li><i class=\"x_x_ContentPasted0 x_ContentPasted0 ContentPasted0\">As with any essential question, <strong>make sure to define terms<\/strong>, consider the landscape of opinion, and demonstrate respect for complexity and change over time<\/i><\/li>\n<li><i class=\"x_ContentPasted0 ContentPasted0\">Be specific.\u00a0 Use examples, dates, statistics and snippets of quotation to support your claims.<\/i><\/li>\n<li><i class=\"ContentPasted0 ContentPasted1\">All essays must include material from Sinha&#8217;s book, THE RISE AND FALL OF THE SECOND AMERICAN REPUBLIC and from other sources on the syllabus (such as discussion pages) properly cited with Chicago-style footnotes.\u00a0 Outside research is allowed but not required.<\/i><\/li>\n<li><em>Make sure you are using and formatting your footnotes correctly.\u00a0 Provide footnotes for all quotations and specific information (such as statistics). See the models below as well as this methods handout on\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-117pinsker\/files\/2011\/08\/HANDOUT-How-to-Use-Footnotes2.pdf\">How to Use Footnotes<\/a><\/em><em>\u00a0and consult as needed with the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.chicagomanualofstyle.org\/tools_citationguide\/citation-guide-1.html\">library\u2019s Chicago-style guide<\/a>, but make sure to use sample footnote models for formatting and NOT bibliography examples.<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Prof. Pinsker will comment on full or partial drafts over email until Sunday afternoon, Oct 11.\u00a0 You may also consult with the Writing Center for help with your essay.\u00a0 Do not work with other students in the course on your answer.<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Guard against plagiarism.\u00a0\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-118pinsker\/files\/2010\/09\/Handout-Plagiarism-2.pdf\">Remember our discussion from the very first day of the semester<\/a>.\u00a0 Never write your own words while looking directly at your sources, especially secondary sources \u2013unless you are quoting them.\u00a0 Don\u2019t use AI platforms for \u201chelp.\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Sample Footnotes<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>[1] Manish Sinha,\u00a0<em>The Rise and Fall of the Second American Republic:\u00a0 Reconstruction, 1860-1920\u00a0<\/em>(New York: Liveright,2024), 56.<\/p>\n<p>[2] Sinha, 62.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Style guidelines<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><i class=\"x_ContentPasted0 ContentPasted0\">Organize your<\/i><i><span class=\"x_ContentPasted0 ContentPasted0\">\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"x_ContentPasted0 ContentPasted0\" data-markjs=\"true\">essay<\/span><span class=\"x_ContentPasted0 ContentPasted0\">\u00a0<\/span><\/i><i class=\"x_ContentPasted0 ContentPasted0\">in a way that respects chronology and historical context.<\/i><\/li>\n<li><i class=\"x_ContentPasted0 ContentPasted0\">Use past tense except when describing modern scholarship<\/i><\/li>\n<li><i class=\"x_ContentPasted0 ContentPasted0\">Avoid first person pronouns, including \u201cour\u201d<\/i><\/li>\n<li><em>Take to care to evaluate your sources as you deploy them in your essay.\u00a0 See this methods post on\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-404pinsker\/2015\/11\/05\/evaluating-sources\/\">Evaluating Sources<\/a>\u00a0for a helpful overall framework.<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Don\u2019t underestimate the importance of integrating your quoted evidence with some degree of fluidity.\u00a0 Awkwardly inserting quotations is one of the hallmarks of mediocre undergraduate essays.\u00a0 Consult\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-117pinsker\/files\/2011\/08\/HANDOUT-How-to-Use-Quotations.pdf\">this handout<\/a>\u00a0from the methods center for a range of good tips.<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>And finally, always remember to proofread your work by printing it out and reading it aloud, slowly. See our methods handout on\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-117pinsker\/files\/2011\/08\/HANDOUT-How-to-Proofreed.pdf\">How to Proofreed<\/a><\/em>\u00a0<em>[sic]<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Due October 12, 2026 By Monday, October 12, students will submit a 3-5 page typed, double-spaced essay answering this question about The Rise and Fall of the Second American Republic:\u00a0 What was one of the greatest historical triumphs detailed in Manisha Sinha\u2019s book on the long Reconstruction period, and what was one of the most [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":373,"featured_media":0,"parent":4756,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-4758","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-118pinsker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4758","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-118pinsker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-118pinsker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-118pinsker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/373"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-118pinsker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4758"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-118pinsker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4758\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8327,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-118pinsker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4758\/revisions\/8327"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-118pinsker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4756"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-118pinsker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4758"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}