{"id":119,"date":"2020-03-17T23:57:17","date_gmt":"2020-03-17T23:57:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-211constitution\/?page_id=119"},"modified":"2025-12-08T19:30:19","modified_gmt":"2025-12-08T19:30:19","slug":"final-projects","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-211constitution\/assignments\/final-projects\/","title":{"rendered":"Final Projects"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\"><em><strong>Due December 19 by 5pm<\/strong><\/em><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">By\u00a0<strong>Friday, December 19<\/strong>, students will submit a 10- to 12-page narrative paper that analyzes <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-211constitution\/final-paper-topics\/\">an amendment, landmark Supreme Court case or major constitutional crisis between the period 1876 to 1976 that resulted in a practical change to the US Constitution<\/a>. Students should build their papers on a strong foundation of primary and secondary sources to tell a story that puts specific historical figures and their constitutional arguments with each other at the center.\u00a0 All papers should be typed and double-spaced as Word or PDF documents with title page and Chicago-style footnotes (no bibliography required).\u00a0 Papers will be graded on research effort, analysis, and prose.\u00a0 These final papers are due by 5pm on December 19.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>Students should consult with Prof. Pinsker over email as they make decisions about choosing their paper topics.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Please open your paper with a descriptive title and your name (byline).<\/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><em>Research effort is key for this paper.\u00a0 You will need to find both relevant primary and secondary sources. To get started, look carefully at the course&#8217;s site <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-211constitution\/web-guides\/\">web guide<\/a>, but also remember that often it is easiest to find primary sources only AFTER reviewing some basic secondary (and especially reference) sources.\u00a0 <\/em><em>You can find high quality academic sources via our <strong>online library catalog<\/strong>\u00a0or through database resources such as\u00a0<strong>JSTOR<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0<strong>America: History &amp; Life<\/strong>.\u00a0 Take advantage of\u00a0<strong>Google Books<\/strong>\u00a0as well for its full text search capability and extensive snippet view. The most important reference source starting point, however, is\u00a0<strong>American National Biography Online<\/strong>\u00a0(available through the library database finder.\u00a0 Also make sure to c<\/em><em>onsult the <a href=\"https:\/\/libguides.dickinson.edu\/history\">History research guide<\/a>\u00a0from the library.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/li>\n<li>Here is a model student paper from a different class but one that involves good narrative and legal \/ political issues connected to the Second Founding:\u00a0 <strong>Aidan McDonald,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-288pinsker\/files\/2020\/08\/McDonald-Paper-on-Ackerman.pdf\">Amos T. Ackerman and Reconstruction<\/a>\u00a0(Spring 2016)<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>For a different type of model, see this website project by Jordyn Ney (from an earlier version of this class) on the landmark case: <a href=\"https:\/\/jordynney.weebly.com\/\">Furman v. Georgia<\/a><\/li>\n<li><em>Here is a sample outline of a typical narrative paper that might focus on a Supreme Court case:<\/em>\n<ol>\n<li><em>Introduction (1-2 pps)<\/em>\n<ol>\n<li><em>Striking quotation or narrative vignette + clear thesis statement<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Engage readers and provide analytical framework<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<li><em>Background &amp; Context (2-3 pps)<\/em>\n<ol>\n<li><em>Insights on the litigants and the case&#8217;s evolution<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Insights on the Supreme Court justices<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Rely on secondary sources here<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<li><em>Case Analysis (2-3 pps)<\/em>\n<ol>\n<li><em>Focus on the arguments among justices and the decision<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Explain the landscape of the debate<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Show primary source research effort here<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<li><em>Consequences (2-3 pps)<\/em>\n<ol>\n<li><em>Focus on how case changed constitutional law<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Consider the impact of decision across a wide public<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Use both primary and secondary sources<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<li><em>Conclusion (1-2 pps)<\/em>\n<ol>\n<li><em>Return to (and refine) opening analysis<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Explain significance<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Final Reminders<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>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.<\/li>\n<li>Make sure you are formatting your footnotes correctly (see some of the samples below).\u00a0 For further guidance, see 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>\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.<\/li>\n<li>Also, please 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 DO NOT USE AI TOOLS to assist in your efforts other than as a search engine.<\/li>\n<li>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>\u00a0[sic]<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Due December 19 by 5pm By\u00a0Friday, December 19, students will submit a 10- to 12-page narrative paper that analyzes an amendment, landmark Supreme Court case or major constitutional crisis between the period 1876 to 1976 that resulted in a practical &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-211constitution\/assignments\/final-projects\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":373,"featured_media":0,"parent":158,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-119","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-211constitution\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/119","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-211constitution\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-211constitution\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-211constitution\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/373"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-211constitution\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=119"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-211constitution\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/119\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1133,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-211constitution\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/119\/revisions\/1133"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-211constitution\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/158"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-211constitution\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=119"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}