Topics and Resources for Project Two
Fall, 2001


Our Goals and Methods for Project Two:

Our goal in Project Two is to interpret a particular text or group of texts from nineteenth-century America by analyzing:

In addition, in order to develop a foundation for our interpretation, we may also need to provide information and analysis of the author's life and work and the period in which s/he was writing.

REMEMBER: Since this is a literature course, your paper should analyze the language of a particular text or texts and how it functions. Don't get so caught up in information on the issue or events surrounding the text that you forget to interpret the text as a work of literature.

How to Use This Page:

At this stage in our planning we have chosen preliminary topics and are working to explore the available resources as a means of developing focused thesis statements. What you will find immediately below is a description of the goals and methods of our project. What follows the statement of goals and methods is a list of the preliminary topics accompanied by some starting-points for your research. Additional resources will be listed in the days to come. This icon -- -- indicates that the comment or resource has been added since the page was first posted.

Use the resources linked below--along with resources you have located usingthe D'Alzon Library, the library's databases, and the web--to select the text or texts that you will interpret for your project. Please remember that you also have a number of other ways of locating resources. For example, because we are working with the 19th century you may find it helpful to consult Public Speaking in an Outspoken Age (including An Archive of Speeches from the 1850's) and the pages linked from that page. As always, you will find many other useful resources available on our syllabus and search page.

The other thing you need to do at this point is to narrow your focus so that your general "topic" becomes a useful question for investigation that can lead you to a thesis statement.. For example, "Frederick Douglass" is a topic, "How does Frederick Douglass draw upon 19th century American values in 'What to the Slave is the Fourth of July' to persuade his audience that slavery is incompatable with Americanism?" is an inquiry question. Your thesis will summarize your answer to your inquiry, and you will provide your thesis in the opening of your paper.

You can begin by focusing your topic or by browsing through texts to select your favorite items, it's your choice. The main thing to remember is that you need to focus your investigation so that you can offer a commentary that invites your readers to think deeply about a significant issue. By covering too many texts and too many issues you will find it impossible to say anything worthwhile. (HINT: resist the temptation to discuss more than two or three texts.) If you have questions or want advice, just consult me. That's one of the things I'm here for.

REMEMBER TO SAVE ALL YOUR NOTES AND DRAFTS TO TURN IN WITH YOUR FINAL PAPER. That means you need to save copies of each version of your paper rather than continually resaving your file under the same name. You will also need to turn in a list of "Sources Cited" that includes all of the books, articles, and web sites that you consulted in the process of exploring your ideas and developing your points, whether or not you offered a direct quotation from that resource.

First-Draft Topic One:
The Debate Over Slavery, The Use of Religion in the Debate Over Slavery, Women's Voices in the Debate Over Slavery, or even Women's Use of Religion in the Debate Over Slavery

Resources:

Note--See also Topic Seven for Overlapping Resources

In his speech, "Slavery in Massachussets," Henry David Thoreau used a number of moral, patriotic, and other appeals to argue against slavery. The address was delivered at an Anti-Slavery rally in Framingham, just after a Massachusetts court ruled that the fugitive slave, Anthony Burns, should be returned to his "owner" in the south. This text could provide an excellent basis for a project.

Slavery and Abolition, a collection of speeches, essays and books in "The Nineteenth Century in Print" at the American Memory site; see also Religion in the same collection for material that includes a number of abolitionist sermons and tracts.

Abolition, part of the African-American Mosaic exhibit at the Library of Congress's American Memory site.

"Slavery in the Bible" heading in index of African-American Pamphlets

A Collection of Abolitionist Texts--many by clergymen

For background on the subject of women's contribution to the abolitionist movement, see the section on "Women Authors" in the African-American Pamphlet Collection at the American Memory site, and A Woman's World at PBS, and a Women and Abolitionist Movement Timelline (no links to texts).

Religion in the Civil War: The Northern Side and other resources at Divining America: Religion and the National Culture You may also want to consult other religion resources such as ; Home of the Electronic Archives of Liberal Religion Academic Info: Religion in America; Religion Online

Angelina Grimke's:"An Appeal to Christian Women of the South" (see the pages of this appeal as they were originally printed at the Library of Congress's American Memory site); Angelina Grimké Weld's speech at Pennsylvania Hall;the Pastoral Letter written in response to Grimke and others; Address in Response to the Pastoral Letter; and the Grimke-Beecher Exchange. Angelina Grimke's letter,"Slavery and the Boston Riot," written to William Lloyd Garrison following the Boston pro-slaverey riot in 1835 can be seen at the American Memory site. See also "Africans in America: People & Events, Pennsylvania Hall, 1838." If you are interested in Grimke, you may also want to see Angelina Grimke Weld's The Rights of Women & Negroes. For biographical profiles and commentaries, see: Angelina Grimké Weld (1805-1879) and Sarah Moore Grimké (1792-1873) at the Heath Syllabus-Builder site, and Angelina Grimmke Weld at the Women's Hall of Fame.

Abraham Lincoln's "Second Innaugural Address" or his "House Divided" speech. Lincoln-Douglass Debates

Speeches on Slavery and the Ordeal of the Union

Slave Narratives and Information on Slavery and the Abolition Movement at Spartacus

One way to compare/contrast different approaches to arguing against slavery would be to choose two texts commenting on the arrest and execution of John Brown, for his attempt to start an armed uprising against slaveholders. See Speeches and Other Commentaries Prompted by John Brown's Actions, Prosecution, and Death at the Lyceum for a collection of resources.

Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote a "text for dramatic readings" called "The Christian Slave." To read it and find out more about it, see "The Christian Slave" at the University of Virginia's Uncle Tom's Cabin and American Culture site. See also: Christianity and Uncle Tom's Cabin.on the same site. In fact, Uncle Tom's Cabin and other works by Stowe offers an intriguing example of how some 19th century American women promoted social reforms such as abolition, but also conveyed an image of the "woman's sphere" in ways that seemed conventional and repressive to their opponents but which seemed ground-breaking and liberating to others.

Lydia Maria Child was one of the first women to be recognized for her public work as an abolitionist. Included among her anti-slavery writings are: "Stand From Under," a short story written for William Lloyd Garrison's famous abolitionist newspaper, The Liberator (go to http://www.unl.edu/legacy/19cwww/books/elibe/child/standb.htm to see the web-enhanced version); "Slavery's Pleasant Homes" and Other Writings from The Liberty Bell. from The Online Archive of Nineteenth-Century U.S. Women's Writings";. Authentic Anecdotes of American Slavery,"; and An Appeal in Favor of That Class of Americans Called Africans (see excerpts from Child's Appeal at the University of Virginia).You might find it interesting to read and analyze Lydia Maria Child's Correspondencewith Gov. Wise, John Brown, and Mrs. Mason; Child wrote on behalf of Brown when he was sentenced to be executed for his armed uprising against slaveholders, and she also corresponded with Brown during his imprisonment. This collection of letters was published by abolitionists as a pamphlet. Early in her life, Child wrote a novel entitled Hobomok that depicted a marriage between a Native American and a white woman. In her later anti-slavery writings, Child continued to propose inter-racial marriages as a solution to the division between races. Click the link here to read an excerpt from Hobomok: A Tale of Early Times (1824) For background information on Child see: Lydia Maria Child at PAL; Lydia Maria Child: Writer, Editor, Activist (a wonderful page with links to texts and other resources); Lydia Maria Child at Spartacus (offers a brief biography with links to information explaining key terms, events, and figures mentioned in the biography); About.Com's Notable Women: Lydia Maria Child; Profile of Lydia Maria Child from The Dictionary of Unitarian and Universalist Biography.

Draft Topic Two:
Fugitive Slave Narratives

Resources:

Documenting the American South's North American Slave Narratives,

From Slavery to Freedom: The African American Pamphlet Collection: 1824-1909

Slave Narratives and Information on Slavery and the Abolition Movement at Spartacus

Draft Topic Three:
The Writing and/or Speeches of Frederick Douglass in the Debate Over Race and Slavery

Resources:

Frederick Douglass: Orator at the Lyceum: Links to Speeches and Contextual Resources This may be the single largest collection of links to Frederick Douglass speeches available on the web. Anyone interested in examining Douglass's "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?" may also be interested in reading some of the other fourth of July speeches available on the site, and in exploring the material available on 19th century celebrations of July 4.

Contextualizing Frederick Douglass at the Lyceum

Speeches by Douglass at the Library of Congress

Be sure to take a close look at the resources for Speeches and Other Commentaries Prompted by John Brown's Actions, Prosecution, and Death at the Lyceum explained in Topic One above. Frederick Douglass gives his own speech many years after Brown was executed, and that allows you to compare/contrast immediate responses with the one offered by Douglass. In addition, Douglass gave his speech at a college for African-Americans constructed on the original site of John Brown's raid. That would provide you with an interesting opportunity to think about how audience and setting connect to the style and content of Douglass' rhetoric.

Remember, if you wish to compare/contrast Douglass's approach with that of another abolitionist reformer, you might want to investigate the speeches and writing of William Lloyd Garrison. For examples of Garrison's writing and speaking, see his Inaugural Edition of the Liberator, "On the Death of John Brown,"

Southern Hatred of the American government, The People of the North, and Free Institutions, The Spirit of the South Towards Northern Freemen and Soldiers Defending the American Flag Against Traitors of the Deepest Dye, "The Governing Passion of My Soul," and Women and War (written at the end of the century)You will find it relatively easy to collect information on Garrison; one place to start is the African's in America Resource Bank on Garrison

 

Draft Topic Four:
The Evolution of Emerson's Writing (on Slavery, on Religion, or ?)

Resources:

"Rhetoric of Freedom: Lincoln, Emerson, Douglass," a commentary on how each of the three men argued against slavery; includes links to full texts of speeches and essays.

Collections of Emerson texts and information on Emerson can be found at: Ralph Waldo Emerson Writings; be sure to take at least a brief look at the section on Emerson's Influence on the people and ideas of 19th century America. See also: A Brief Biography of Emerson from Books and Writers; The Ralph Waldo Emerson Society; The Ralph Waldo Emerson Page at PAL; and American Transcendentalism. You can also find some of Emerson's writing at The Online Works of Ralph Waldo Emerson. You might also find it interesting to read Louisa May Alcott's Reminiscences of Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Emerson and religion is a tricky subject. Emerson left the ministry in order to "preach" his message in a different way, but although he was a critic of organized religion some Unitarian ministers continued to preach in a way that was consistent with Emerson's beliefs, and the Unitarian Universalist church continues to cite Emerson as one of its key figures. In addition, while Emerson turned away from some of his earlier religious views to turn towards Transcendentalism, Transcendentalism is not a religion in the normal sense of the term. However, this is what makes the topic of Emerson and religion so iinviting to one who wishes to inquire deeply. Here are a few sources to start you off: Who Were Some Famous Unitarian Universalists; ; "Tempest in a Washbowl": Emerson vs. the Unitarians (a talk not designed for a scholarly audience but one that offers a good introduction to the subject); A View of Ralph Waldo Emerson; Emerson: Sooy, a 19th century critique of Emerson's religious principles; ; Ralph Waldo Emerson, A Unitarian Minister and an American Author, Poet and Philosopher, a Unitarian site that can provide background on that group's religious beliefs and practices; Unitarian Universalist Resources; Transcendentalism.You will note that the Transcendentalism site also has a link to Theodore Parker's views on the subject. If you wish, you could compare/contrast the religious views of two mid-nineteenth century writers and speakers. Parker, a Unitarian, was rejected by the formal church organization and established a new "congregation" that met in a theatre. He might make an interesting subject for a compare/contrast with Emerson. Alternatively, you could compare/contrast Emerson with a more mainstream and highly respected Unitarian divine, William Ellery Channing.

Here are a few religion resources also cited in Topic One above: Divining America: Religion and the National Culture; Home of the Electronic Archives of Liberal Religion Academic Info: Religion in America; Religion Online

Draft Topic Five:
Children's Literature

Resources:

NINETEENTH-CENTURY AMERICAN CHILDREN & WHAT THEY READ and VOICES FROM NINETEENTH-CENTURY AMERICA: General Subject Index

Shaping the Values of Youth: Sunday School Books in 19th Century America

Children's Literature at the U.S. Women's History Project (by Assumption Professor John McClymer and his associates)

19th Century Schoolbooks

19th Century Girls' Stories

Uncle Tom's Cabin as a Children's Book (at the University of Virginia's Uncle Tom's Cabin and American Culture site)

The Bobbin Boy, or How Nat Got an Education

See also the page on Oratory in 19th Century Schoolbooks at the Lyceum

Draft Topic Six:
Conduct Literature

Resources:

Self-Help and Self Improvement, a collection of primary resources in "The Nineteenth Century in Print" at the Library of Congress's American Memory site.

Conduct Books and Advice Literature in 19th Century America,

19th Century American Etiquette and Dancing Manuals

If you wish, you can comment on how "conduct literature" is similar to or different from Emerson's comments on conduct in "Self-Reliance." Remember that you should comment on the ideas communicated by the language and the way each text uses language to communicate and persuade.

For more information on conduct literature, see Character is Capital by Judy Hilkey, available through Professor Knoles. You can also search for related primary sources at the Making of America Archive, Cornell and Making of America Archive, The University of Michigan. Look for secondary sources at the D'Alzon Library or using the library's databases.

Draft Topic Seven:
Women's Writing, Writing about Women's Rights, Women's Writing on Slavery and Other Social Reforms

Resources:

Note--See also Topic One for Overlapping Resources

Worcester Women's History Project Historical Resources

Worcester Women's History Workshop (directed by Assumption College History Professor John McClymer)

Slavery (and Women's Rights and Religion)--Angelina Grimke's:"An Appeal to Christian Women of the South"; Angelina Grimké Weld's speech at Pennsylvania Hall;the Pastoral Letter written in response to Grimke and others; Address in Response to the Pastoral Letter; and the Grimke-Beecher Exchange.

Women and Social Movements in America: 1840-1920

African-American Women Writers of the 19th Century

Draft Topic Eight:
The Writing and Speeches of Abraham Lincoln

Resources:

At Bartleby.Com you will find a useful list of speeches by, and essays about, Lincoln, including the Political Debates Between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas. Y

Abraham Lincoln Online

Abraham Lincoln/Net

Mr. Lincoln's Virtual Library and other Lincoln texts and artifacts available through the American Memory archives.

Abraham Lincoln's "Second Innaugural Address" or his "House Divided" speech. Lincoln-Douglass Debates. For background, see also: "Rhetoric of Freedom: Lincoln, Emerson, Douglass," a commentary on how each of the three men argued against slavery; includes links to full texts of speeches and essays; Jim Zwick's page on "A House Divided," which includes links to the First and Second Innaugurals as well as the "Gettysburg Address" and a selected bibliography of Lincoln resources.

Finally, be sure to consult Gary Wills' excellent analysis of Lincoln's oratory, Lincoln at Gettysburg: The Words that Remade America.(available at the Assumption Library. If you check it out, be sure to make arrangements to share it with other members of the class who are working on the same topic. If you do a simple subject search, you will find that the D'Alzon library has 40 books on Lincoln.)

Draft Topic Nine:
Education

Resources:

See also: Children's Literature in Draft Topic Five above

The History of Education and Childhood--19th Century US. For more information on the history of U.S. education, see the website for the PBS series, "School: The Story of American Public Education."

Emerson's "American Scholar" and references to education in other Emerson texts.(Be sure to use the Emerson and Thoreau sources listed as links on our sylabus.)

Similarly, search for references to "education," "learning," and other key words in the texts of Henry David Thoreau

Read the late-nineteenth century works of Zitkala-Sa (see excerpts in our text and on the web using the links below) on the education of Native Americans;. See. Indians of North America--Biography; The School Days of an Indian Girl; An Indian Teacher Among Indians; Voices From the Gaps Gertrude Simmons Bonnin; Zitkala-Sa (Gertrude Simmons Bonnin); The American Experience America 1900 People & Events; Zitkala-Sa (short author bio); WestWeb Western Women's History--includes links to Bonnin's texts/ Additional Resources on the education of Native Americans --   The "Auobiography" of Angel DeCora originally published in 1911 in a journal called The Red Man. Also available at the EmoryWomen Writers Resource Project are a number of texts regarding Native Americans, including Susette La Fleshe's "An Indian Woman's Letter," (originally from the letter written by an Indian teacher to the Omahas). You can see projects done by Duke University Students on Native American Education: Documents from the 19th Century and Education of Native Americans: Hampton Institute 1878-1923.

Investigate the situation of Freedmen's Schools (see, for example, http://www.iath.virginia.edu/vshadow2/HIUS403/freedmen/school.html) for former slaves and look at the writing by Frederic Douglass, W.E.B. Dubois and others on the subject of education for African-Americans. You will find it easy to collect an abundance of information on this subject; if you choose to proceed, be sure to base your project on a particular text or set of texts.

Draft Topic Ten:
Death and Dying

Resources:

Death and Dying in Two Mid-Nineteenth Century Communities -- although this is a page for teachers about how to conduct an interactive history assignment, it provides useful questions and resources for investigating the facts of death in 19th century America and the cultural responses to death.

Look for references to death on the children's literature sites listed above. You will find some examples of 19th century children's literature on this subject on "The Dying Child" page of the University of Virginia's Uncle Tom and American Culture website.

If you are interested in the subject of death in 19th century America, use the words "sentimental," "sentimentalism," and "sentimentality" in your searches, as death scenes were an important part of sentimental literature.

One of the most famous works of sentimental literature in America is Uncle Tom's Cabin. It would be possible to do a wonderful project by focusing on the death scenes of Uncle Tom's Cabin as a way of seeing how one sentimental writer appealed to the head, heart, and iimagination as a way of appealing for aboltion and other types of social reform. PAL: Perspectives in American Literature: A Research and Reference Guide is a site that offers reliable biographical, critical, and bibliographical information about most major American writers. In Chapter 3: Early Nineteenth Century: Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811-1896), you can find material related to our project. You may want to refer back to the homepage for this site in the future when studying other authors. Harriet Beecher Stowe on the "Domestic Goddesses" website also offers information and texts. But perhaps the best site on this subject is Uncle Tom's Cabin and American Culture at the University of Virginia. If you want to analyze Stowe's novel as a work of rhetoric, you might find it useful to read Charles Dudley Warner's 1896 essay, "The Story of Uncle Tom's Cabin."

What was this book, and how did it happen to produce such an effect? It is true that it struck into a time of great irritation and agitation, but in one sense there was nothing new in it. The facts had all been published. For twenty years abolition tracts, pamphlets, newspapers, and books had left little to be revealed, to those who cared to read, as to the nature of slavery or its economic aspects. The evidence was practically all in,--supplied largely by the advertisements of Southern newspapers and by the legislation of the slaveholding States,--but it did not carry conviction; that is, the sort of conviction that results in action. The subject had to be carried home to the conscience. Pamphleteering, convention-holding, sermons, had failed to do this. Even the degrading requirements of the fugitive slave law, which brought shame and humiliation, had not sufficed to fuse the public conscience, emphasize the necessity of obedience to the moral law, and compel recognition of the responsibility of the North for slavery. Evidence had not done this, passionate appeals had not done it, vituperation had not done it. What sort of presentation of the case would gain the public ear and go to the heart? If Mrs. Stowe, in all her fervor, had put forth first the facts in The Key to Uncle Tom's Cabin, which so buttressed her romance, the book would have had no more effect than had followed the like compilations and arraignments. What was needed? If we can discover this, we shall have the secret of this epoch-making novel.

 

NOTE: If you need advice about resources on an additional topic for our class projects, please contact me at
lknoles@assumption.edu

 

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