AMH 2010 Defending Slavery

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WRITING ASSIGNMENT # 3B: Defending Slavery

Before the emergence
of cotton as a primary crop in the south, the invention of the cotton
gin, and territorial expansion southward and westward, slavery appeared
to be on the decline. These factors, coupled with a rising demand for
cotton by the British textile industry, revived the South’s agricultural
economy.

Although cotton could
be grown with or without slavery, the expansion of cotton cultivation
and slavery occurred together. When slavery was challenged on moral
grounds, southerners chose to defend their “peculiar institution,” as in
the words of John C. Calhoun “a positive good.”

INSTRUCTIONS:

This writing
assignment will require you to analyze and discuss primary and secondary
sources that relate to the institution of slavery in the United States.

PREPARE AND SUBMIT:

Write a well-organized essay, a minimum of 700 words
(but not limited to), including supporting details from the
documents/textbook/other sources, in which you analyze and discuss the
material that has been assigned by addressing the following question:

Most southerners
defended slavery, even though they were not part of the “Plantation
Aristocracy.” According to the readings that you have completed, discuss
why they supported slavery, and your response to the claims made by its
supporters, and explain why it was easier to end the slave trade than
to end slavery itself.

Reminders

  • Paragraphs in an
    essay are not numbered. Any questions that are associated with an
    assigned reading are there to serve as a guide for your discussion.
  • Your discussion should incorporate all of the information from the documents and or textbook, and outside sources as one essay.
  • Students are required to research and incorporate into their discussions additional sources that relate to the content. Recommendations can be found in at the end of the textbook chapter in Additional Reading.
  • All statements must be supported and all sources must be identified and cited, and included in your reference list. This also applies to the textbook. Failure to do so constitutes Plagiarism,
    and the college has strict policies and penalties for failure to
    comply. Under the Resources, you will find links to sites that review
    how to format a paper or essay. I recommend that students use APA or Chicago Style to format their essay. Students should ask their instructor which format style they prefer you to use.
  • Proofread your work.
    Make sure that you have looked for all of the spelling and grammatical
    errors and corrected them, and that you have organized your work into
    coherent paragraphs.
  • Prepare the assignment as a Word Document, double-spaced and using a standard font of 12 points.
  • Submit via the Dropbox as an ATTACHMENT. Any work that is submitted directly into the box will be graded as a 0.

Point Value: 100

Grading Criteria:

  • Analysis and discussion (60%)
  • Support for discussion (30%)
  • Organization (10%)

Reminder:
All written work must comply with standard English rules, such as
proper capitalization, grammar, and spelling. The assignment must be
submitted by the deadline listed in the calendar.