Primary Source Research Paper and Presentation Guidelines

Course Logistics and Assignment Framework

  • Paper Requirements:
    • Length: Exactly 3 pages long.
    • Source Requirements: A minimum of 4 reliable sources is mandatory.
    • Exactly 1 source must be a primary document/source.
    • Remaining sources must be secondary sources used to construct historical context and complete a literature review.
    • There is no upper limit on sources; using 6, 7, or more sources is acceptable to provide adequate context.
    • Citations: Must include a complete Works Cited page adhering to the provided rubric.
  • Presentation Requirements:
    • Duration: Target range of 5 to 10 minutes (strictly aim around 5 minutes, as time passes quickly). Presentations lasting 20 minutes are not permitted due to strict time limitations.
    • Format: Class presentation summarizing the findings of the 3-page research paper.
    • Allowed Software: PowerPoint, Google Slides, or standard slide deck software within the institutional system.
    • Prohibited Software: Canva is strictly forbidden for this assignment.
    • Presentation Equipment: A remote clicker is provided by the instructor so presenters do not have to sit in front of the computer terminal.
    • Timeline: Paper and presentation are two distinct deliverables completed just before entering the midterm examination cycle.
  • Classroom Logistics:
    • Class Size: Approximately 30 students total in the classroom.
    • Presentation Schedule: Allocated over 3 designated class days.
    • Attendance Policy: Attendance is recorded daily via the attendance register, is visible to students, and directly impacts the final course grade.

Primary Source Definition and Qualification Standards

  • Definition of a Primary Source:
    • A primary source is historical evidence written or created at or very near the exact time of occurrence of an event by an individual with direct, firsthand knowledge of the event.
    • A document written 100 years after an event does not qualify as a primary source because the creator lacks direct temporal knowledge.
    • Core Evaluation Test: Did the creator witness the event or possess direct, contemporary knowledge recorded near the time of occurrence?
  • Approved Primary Source Types:
    • Historical diaries, letters, and personal correspondence.
    • Digitized historical newspapers published during the target period.
    • Official government census records: Recorded every 10 years, providing household composition, income levels, occupations, ages, and demographic details.
    • Naturalization records.
    • Archival letters or family correspondence found in private collections or historical repositories.
  • Excluded Source Types for this Assignment:
    • Photographs: Photographs are primary sources (e.g., historical photographs of United States Colored Troops / USCT African American Civil War soldiers), but visual media is explicitly excluded from this project. Visual media and photographs are reserved exclusively for the second half of the course.
    • Oral Histories: Oral histories cannot be used for US History I topics because no living individuals exist who directly observed events from this historical era (oral histories are only viable in US History II).

Approved Topics and Historical Case Studies

  • Topic Selection Criteria: Students select their own subjects of personal interest rather than receiving assigned topics.
  • American Civil War:
    • Highly recommended due to high availability of digitized primary material.
    • Auburn University maintains an extensive database link featuring transcribed Civil War diaries, letters, and correspondence.
    • Example Subject: George Bisbee (1863 diary documenting military service, including operations around the Battle of Gettysburg and the Battle of Vicksburg). Transcriptions eliminate the need to decipher historical cursive handwriting.
  • Early American Wars:
    • The American Revolutionary War.
    • The Mexican-American War.
  • Social Movements and Institutional History:
    • Evolution of Asylums and Mental Health: Early psychiatric correspondence and institutional evolution.
    • Featured Historical Figure: Dr. Benjamin Rush of Philadelphia. A leading intellectual during the transition from the American Revolution to the early Federal era. He was among the first forward thinkers to define alcoholism as a medical disease and advocate for modern mental health treatment methodologies.
    • Women's Studies: 1840s period coinciding with the emergence of formal Women's Rights Conventions.
  • Political and Economic Expansion:
    • Industrial and agricultural developments, such as the invention of the cotton gin and the subsequent expansion of slavery.
    • The California Gold Rush.
    • Prominent historical figures, such as abolitionist John Brown.
    • President Andrew Jackson: Political tenure, controversial policies, and the Indian Removal Act (which forcibly relocated Native American communities in Georgia and Mississippi to Western territories).
    • Historical developments in transportation infrastructure.

Database Research and Search Methodology

  • Library of Congress Digitized Newspapers (Chronicling America):
    • Search strategy must utilize key terms paired with strict date range filters to isolate primary reporting from contemporary journalists.
    • Demonstration Query: Searching Lincoln and shot without date parameters returns 995,000 historical articles, including irrelevant modern retrospective reports through 1960.
    • Refining Parameters: Applying a strict date filter (e.g., 12/06/1865 or specific 1865 date boundaries) reduces total search results down to approximately 3,000 contemporary articles.
    • Primary Source Application: Isolates next-morning newspaper accounts published in 1865 by reporters on the scene immediately following President Abraham Lincoln's assassination.

Presentation Design and Structural Guidelines

  • Slide Deck Composition:
    • Keep slides concise; avoid overloading slides with dense paragraphs or walls of text.
    • Use minimal, clear bullet points to allow the audience to follow along visually while listening.
  • Content Delivery:
    • Provide succinct background history during the historical context summary.
    • Apply creative visual strategies, such as overlaying highlighting lines or callouts onto primary document images, to point out critical transcript excerpts without cluttering slides.

Grading Standards and Assessment Rubric

  • Assessment Rubric Breakdown:
    • Grade C: Indicates acceptable, standard compliance with basic assignment parameters.
    • Grade B: Represents a very good academic grade reflecting thorough execution.
    • Grade A: Denotes extraordinary work that represents exemplary execution.

Questions & Discussion

  • Question on Source Count Flexibility:
    • Prompt: Can more than the minimum of 4 sources be used in the paper?
    • Response: Yes. There is no maximum cap on the number of sources used. Students may utilize 6, 7, or more secondary sources to thoroughly fulfill the literature review and establish relevant historical context.
  • Question on Presentation Timing:
    • Prompt: How does presentation timing work relative to the total number of students?
    • Response: With approximately 30 students in the class and 3 dedicated presentation days scheduled, strict adherence to the 5-to-10-minute window (aiming near 5 minutes) is required to ensure everyone presents.

In-Class Group Case Study Activity

  • Assignment Task:
    • Students form small collaborative group tables (e.g., groups of 3 students).
    • Tables analyze a designated sample document to evaluate whether it meets primary source criteria and interpret its substantive historical meaning.