Students will submit a three to four page (750-1000 words) paper based on Frederick Douglass’s Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. The writing assignment is worth 180 points; there are 1000 total possible course points, excluding the optional extra credit assignments. The paper is due by the date in the schedule. You must submit your paper as a Word attachment to The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass Assignment box on the course Georgia View course page. I will not accept late essays. Any essay with a 40% or higher Turnitin score will receive a zero grade. Students who reach or exceed this threshold will not be eligible for extra credit work. You should not need to use any outside sources. However, feel free to use course my Word lectures, class power points or the Tindall/Shi textbook as supplementary sources. You may not use any other sources, including internet sources. In your papers, you must surround all quoted material with quotations and provide footnote citations for all quoted material. Please use the Chicago Manual of Style form for footnotes. Turabian’s format is based on the Chicago Manual of Style. I will also post a guide for proper style and documentation on my course page. Failure to properly cite quoted material and ideas that are not your own constitutes plagiarism. Plagiarism is the theft of words or ideas that belong to someone else. Just because something is available in print or accessible online does not mean that that it is free for the taking. Commission of plagiarism will cause you not only to receive a zero on the assignment, but could also result in possible expulsion from the college. Any essay with a 40% or higher Turnitin score will receive a zero grade. Students who reach or exceed this threshold will not be eligible for extra credit work.
Answer all of the following seven questions in the order provided. Write your responses in paragraph form and in complete sentences. Use only the third person voice. Do not use “I,” “we,” “us,” or “you.” It is possible to express your own opinion in the third person—writers do this regularly. Stick with past tense when writing about history—the past. Refrain from using the dreaded “false” present tense that inexplicably has become so popular on the History Channel. Avoid contractions and slang. That you must also avoid vulgarity should go with saying. Remember to carefully proofread your papers for spelling, grammar, factual content, and overall clarity.
1) Describe Frederick Douglass’s early childhood. What kind of relationship did he have with his mother? Who was his father? Why did Douglass believe that slaves of mixed parentage “suffer[ed] greater hardships” than other slaves? Provide specific details that support your response.
2) In Chapter Four, Douglass recounted some of the brutality visited upon slaves by white overseers and masters. In your own words, describe some of the episodes that Douglass witnessed. According to Douglass, was the killing of a slave treated as a crime by the Talbot County courts or community? Support your response with evidence from the book.
3) How did Douglass learn how to read and write? What personal and legal obstacles did he surmount in order to attain basic literacy? Be specific.
4) In Chapter Ten, Douglass asserted that his “battle with Mr. Covey was the turning point in my career as a slave.” What led Douglass to draw this conclusion? Provide details.
5) Why did Douglass believe that holidays served as the most important means “among the slaveholder in keeping down the spirit of insurrection” in slaves?
6) What was “the most painful thought” that Douglass had to contend with when contemplating flight from slavery? Why was he hesitant to provide the specific details regarding his path to freedom?
7) Why do you believe that the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass had such a profound impact on the abolitionist movement in antebellum America? Why does the book continue to remain relevant today, over 160 years since its initial publication? Provide your “take”—in the third person voice.
