Please write a paper on one of the topics below. Papers should be 4-5 pages long. They will be due by 5:00 PM on Friday, September 22 (you can turn in papers in class or in my mailbox in BH 240). Please type, double-space, and proofread your papers. These papers should make an argument using evidence from class readings.
 

Questions

1.     Some behaviors are almost always regarded as crimes (i.e., homicide, burglary), but in many other cases the definition of crime changes over time. Write an essay discussing how and why some definitions of "crime" evolved between the colonial era and the end of the nineteenth century. How do behaviors regarded as "crime" in one period compare with those in others?
        Pay particular attention to the "why" part of the question ó you might discuss who (what groups of people) were responsible for changes, what new ideas affected definitions, what social changes may have influenced the meaning of "crime."

2.     In Popular Justice, Samuel Walker works from the premise that the administration of criminal justice in the United States reflects the character of American politics and society. Evaluate his position by comparing how the legal system responded to the problems of vice, immorality, and crime (a) in colonial America and (b) in the nineteenth century, particularly in New York.
        This essay should indicate that you understand (for both periods) what options the criminal justice system had available to it, identify what offenses it targeted for prosecution or tolerated, and suggest what the system reflected about the larger society.
 

3. Write an essay on topic of your own choosing, but please discuss it with me no later than Wednesday, September 20.
 
 

Various Policies

I am happy to talk with students about ideas for their papers and to provide feedback on rough drafts. If you would like me to read a draft or an outline, please give it to me at least two days before the paper is due.

All papers will be due on the date stated. On any paper submitted after that date, one full letter grade will be subtracted from the final mark for each day that the paper is late. Weekends count as one day.

Your paper should be your own original work. You should cite your sources when you use direct quotations, but also when you adopt ideas, use statistics, or paraphrase other authorsí material. You should not paraphrase so closely that you essentially say the same thing as the author.
 

Criteria for Evaluation and Grading

I evaluate papers on your ability to present a coherent argument and to substantiate that argument with materials and examples from pertinent readings and class discussions. To evaluate papers, I ask myself a series of questions. These questions include:

Does the paper make sense?

Does the paper make an interpretive argument? Papers should try to take a position & demonstrate a point or a sense of purpose. Without a point, writing does not explain much & is often not coherent.

Does the paper address the question?

Does the paper use evidence to support its argument? A reasonable balance of interpretation and evidence is important to writing good history.

Does the paper demonstrate knowledge of relevant course material? While itís routine, showing knowledge of relevant course material is one of the ways that you can demonstrate that you are keeping up in the class & learning the material.

Does the paper convey ideas clearly? Is it reasonably well-written? You should try to convey ideas as clearly & concisely as possible.

Are grammar, spelling, & style OK? I mark down very little on these issues, but sloppy presentation reflects poorly on the overall quality of writing & in this era of computer spell-checking, thereís no excuse for most misspellings.
 

Some of my Pet Peaves

1. Use past tense to write about events that took place in the past. In general, papers for history classes should be written in past tense.

2. Use active verbs. Active verbs allow you to express thoughts more directly. Avoid passive sentences constructions such as "It was Ö" or "There was Ö" These sorts of sentences are both dull and imprecise.
 

General Style

If you have questions about style or presentation for this or most other classes offered by the Department of History, please refer to Diana Hacker, A Pocket Manual of Style, or The Chicago Manual of Style.

Correct footnotes / endnotes according to The Chicago Manual of Style, 13th Edition (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1982), 485-510.

For initial references:

BOOKS:

1. Samuel Walker, Popular Justice: A History of American Criminal Justice, 2nd ed. (New York: Oxford University Press, 1998), 27.

ARTICLES:

2. Kendrick Hart, "Layering, Husbandsí Rights, and ëthe Unwritten Lawí in Nineteenth-Century America, Journal of American History 84 (June 1997): 67-96.

For subsequent references:

4. Walker, Popular Justice, 27.

5. Hart, "Layering, Husbandsí Rights, and ëthe Unwritten Law,í" 90.