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Historical Interpretations Of The Formation Of Public Education For Freedpeople In Reconstruction South, Daniel C. Napoli

Line by Line: A Journal of Beginning Student Writing

I started my historiography paper by gathering and analyzing varied historical interpretations of the formation of public education in the South. These sources ranged over one hundred years from the beginning of the twentieth century to the two-thousands. These sources contradicted each other in many ways due to inaccurate and biased depictions of it from early Reconstruction historians. After analyzing the trends and shifts in historical interpretation on this topic I crafted an argument for which category of interpretation is best. This was based on many factors including historical accuracy, clarity, and level of bias.

The Midnight Incendiary: America's Myth Of Black Violence, Eleanor Yates-Mcewan

Line by Line: A Journal of Beginning Student Writing

I went through an extensive researching, writing, and revising process for this essay. I spent most of the Spring 2022 semester researching. I initially investigated the ties between slave patrols and our contemporary police institution, and, after following a winding road of sources and ideas, that topic morphed into a historiography of Southern militia conflict. I read and summarized many sources to find patterns in historical characterizations which I then organized into the interpretive categories I identify in this essay. Once I had the shape of the essay and worked out my argument, I went through many rounds of edits: …

School Is Now In Session: African American Education During Reconstruction, Kathryn C. Finfrock

Line by Line: A Journal of Beginning Student Writing

Editor's note: This article is the recipient of the issue's award for Excellence in Historiography.

I began writing my ASI 120 historiography paper by selecting the topic of African American education during Reconstruction. I spent several weeks researching how the historiography of African American education during Reconstruction has changed over time and creating an annotated bibliography of my nine sources. While creating my annotated bibliography, I grouped my nine sources into three interpretive categories based on how each author choose to interpret the history of African American education during Reconstruction. Finally, I used my annotated bibliography to create my historiography …

Another Brick In The Wall: A Historiography Of Black Education In The Reconstruction Era, Jane Carney

Line by Line: A Journal of Beginning Student Writing

This project involved several intermediate assignments, including a topic proposal and annotated bibliography. I also submitted a draft to my professor for review and attended a peer review session in class.

Monkey Houses Or Revolutionary Legislatures? Moderating The Binary Of Black Politicians In South Carolina, Anna L. Biesecker-Mast

Line by Line: A Journal of Beginning Student Writing

Writing this paper was an extensive process. It began early in the Spring semester—in ASI 120. From the beginning of the semester the ASI 120 students knew we would be writing a historiography in the realm of Reconstruction. To hone down a more specific topic, we were assigned Eric Foner’s A Short History of Reconstruction. By reading his account of Reconstruction, I was able to select a topic: black politicians in South Carolina. Next, a research librarian visited my seminar and introduced us to the research process. From there, I was able to gather sources and begin my annotated …

Reconstruction's First Election: Various Interpretations Of The Lasting Significance Of A Grant Victory, Shannon M. Stanforth

Line by Line: A Journal of Beginning Student Writing

This paper was completed during the Spring of 2018 for my ASI 120 course. The assignment was a multi-phased historiography paper centering around the topic of Reconstruction. To begin preparing for the writing of the historiography and to gain a better understanding of the historical context and political unrest surrounding the task of Reconstruction, I read Eric Foner’s A Short History of Reconstruction. Foner’s book provided me with the knowledge to begin writing my topic proposal and introduced me to the influential event of the Election of 1868. I was interested in exploring the consequences and effects of the …

Reconstruction In The Big Easy: The Changing Interpretations Of The Role Of Race During Reconstruction In New Orleans, Claire Sullivan

Line by Line: A Journal of Beginning Student Writing

This historiography essay was the final assignment of my ASI 120 (Core Program) course at the University of Dayton. In preparation for the paper, I read A Short History of Reconstruction, 1863-1877 by Eric Foner. After reading and reflecting on Foner’s book, I decided I wanted to focus my topic on Reconstruction in New Orleans, with specific emphasis on racial issues and the New Orleans Riot. I chose this topic because it allowed me to further research a topic relating to social justice with respect to race relations, something I am very passionate about. I spent a great deal of …

The Ku Klux Klan's Reign Of Terror During Reconstruction: Effects, Motives, And Composition, Jack O'Donnell

Line by Line: A Journal of Beginning Student Writing

The final project in the course ASI 120 was a historiography on American Reconstruction. The purpose of a historiography is to evaluate the ways in which historians' views of a certain topic have changed over time. I chose to evaluate and analyze historians' views of the Ku Klux Klan's reign of terror during American Reconstruction, focusing specifically on interpretations of the Ku Klux Klan's effects, motives, and composition. To complete this assignment, I analyzed eight different sources written by historians throughout the twentieth century. After writing a summary of each source, I was tasked with choosing which source provided the …

The Colfax Massacre: A Culmination Of Political And Racial Disparity, Lian F. Mitzian

Line by Line: A Journal of Beginning Student Writing

I wrote this paper for the interdisciplinary humanities course The Development of Western Culture in a Global Context. My writing process consisted of first examining various primary and secondary sources on Southern Reconstruction and the Colfax Massacre. This gave me an understanding of how historians have come to understand the event throughout time. In my research, I found two categories of interpretations, which I then used to organize my ideas and develop my own understanding of the implications of the event.

Andrew Johnson: The Uniting Or Dividing Factor Of Reconstruction, Nicole Perkins

Line by Line: A Journal of Beginning Student Writing

This historiography began with an abundance of research done on the topic of Andrew Johnson and Reconstruction, annotating each source, noticing trends in interpretation, and organizing my thoughts. Through this historiography, the reader will be able to clearly see the drastically different interpretations of Andrew Johnson and Reconstruction during different time periods of American history.

A Woman’S Place Is In Politics: The Changing Interpretations Of The Women’S Suffrage Movement’S Involvement In Reconstruction, Sabrina Jemail

Line by Line: A Journal of Beginning Student Writing

I wrote this historiography paper over the course of the Spring 2017 semester in my ASI 120 class. The assignment was to write a historiography paper about a topic of our choosing during the Reconstruction period in America. In addition to the analyzing historians' interpretations of our topics, we were also asked to choose the group of sources that we felt was most accurate and compelling. To prepare for the paper, I read Eric Foner’s A Short History of Reconstruction, which provided me with deeper background knowledge of the time period and guided me in the development of my …