Signature Assignment

In an essay that is approximately 750 words in length, answer the question asked using one or more primary sources from the relevant portion of the reader and any source(s) provided by your instructor. Your essay should contain a thesis or argument that answers the question and should use evidence from the source to support that argument. You may use your textbook and/or lecture notes in your answer.Essay Question:

What recurring themes can be found in narratives or accounts of the experience of enslaved people? How indicative are individual accounts of the larger institution of slavery itself?

Your analysis of the primary source(s) should include the following information:

• What type of source is this?
• Who produced this source? When?
• What was the context in which the source was created?
• What biases or agendas do you see influencing the source?

Demonstrate how the source provides evidence to support your answer to the question. In addition, excellent essays will make broader connections between the social or ethical issues presented in the sources and those of other historical periods, including the present. Your essay must include documentation of the sources within the essay. Your instructor will provide further clarification about the type of documentation they require.

Using Primary Sources in Your Answer:

To answer the above questions, your essay must analyze at least one of the following primary sources you’ve read and viewed this semester:

1. Document 11.1: Harriet Jacobs Describes Being Sexually Exploited
2. Document 11.2: Harriet Jacobs Describes Cruelty to Elderly Enslaved Person
3. Document 11.3: Frederick Douglass Describes Longing for Freedom
4. Document 11.4: William Wells Brown Describes Escaping from Slavery

Citation format:

Citing Primary Sources: (Document 11.1), (Document 11.2), etc.

Citing Textbook: (American Yawp, Chapter 11: The Cotton Revolution)