{"id":189,"date":"2022-08-21T18:00:08","date_gmt":"2022-08-21T18:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-211constitution\/?page_id=189"},"modified":"2025-11-06T19:57:04","modified_gmt":"2025-11-06T19:57:04","slug":"second-founding-essay","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-211constitution\/assignments\/second-founding-essay\/","title":{"rendered":"Second Founding essay"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\"><em><strong>Due November 14<\/strong><\/em><\/h3>\n<p>On\u00a0<strong>Friday, November 14<\/strong>, students will submit a 3-5 page typed, double-spaced essay on a topic about the Reconstruction era constitutional amendments provided to them in class on the previous Thursday, November 6. All essays must use primary sources from the course syllabus and Eric Foner\u2019s\u00a0<em>Second Founding\u00a0<\/em>(2019), properly cited with Chicago-style footnotes.\u00a0 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<div>\n<div>\n<p>Please choose ONE of the follow essay topics:<\/p>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<div role=\"presentation\">How did the &#8220;Second Founding&#8221; of the Constitution (13th, 14th, and 15th amendments)\u00a0 change concepts of American citizenship between 1865 and 1900?<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p>OR<\/p>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<div role=\"presentation\">What are three of the most important lessons about constitutional change that students should learn from studying the triumphs and failures of the long &#8220;Second Founding&#8221; era, 1865-1900?<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<ul>\n<li><em class=\"x_ContentPasted0 ContentPasted0\">Please open your paper with a descriptive title, byline (name), and a clear, engaging introductory paragraph with analytical thesis statement.\u00a0 Don&#8217;t just restate the question and consider using opening tactics such as thoughtful narrative vignettes or striking quotations or statistics to help focus the reader&#8217;s attention.<\/em><\/li>\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 &#8220;our&#8221;<\/i><\/li>\n<li><em class=\"x_ContentPasted0 ContentPasted0\">Prof. Pinsker is available to review drafts by email until Nov. 13 and you may utilize the Writing Center.\u00a0 Do not consult with other students in the class.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>All essays must use Eric Foner, <em>Second Founding <\/em>(2019), properly cited with Chicago-style footnotes. Outside research is allowed but not required.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>Other relevant reading assignments for this essay include primary sources and <\/em><em>discussion topic pages on the\u00a0<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-211constitution\/syllabus\/\">course<\/a><a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-117pinsker\/syllabus\/\"> site syllabus<\/a><\/span>.<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Make sure to 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>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><\/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.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Sample Footnotes<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>[1] Eric Foner,\u00a0<em>The Second Founding: How the Civil War and Reconstruction Remade the Constitution\u00a0<\/em>(New York: W.W. Norton, 2019), 24.<\/p>\n<p>[2] Foner, 88.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Grading<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>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<ul>\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>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.<\/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","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Due November 14 On\u00a0Friday, November 14, students will submit a 3-5 page typed, double-spaced essay on a topic about the Reconstruction era constitutional amendments provided to them in class on the previous Thursday, November 6. All essays must use primary &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-211constitution\/assignments\/second-founding-essay\/\">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-189","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-211constitution\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/189","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=189"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-211constitution\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/189\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":774,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-211constitution\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/189\/revisions\/774"}],"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=189"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}