Description
Lincoln’s Life & Legacy Writing Assignment #2 (20 Points)
LINCOLN’S OWN STORY: LINCOLN’S AUTOBIOGRAPHIES
Lincoln wrote two autobiographical sketches (his life story) on the eve of his nomination and candidacy for president for the Republican Party in the 1860 presidential election. First, in response to a request from Jesse W. Fell, an old acquaintance from Illinois, Lincoln penned a brief summary of his life in December 1859 (several months before he would throw his hat into the presidential election) that was subsequently published in Republican supported newspapers throughout the country. This was an effort to introduce Lincoln to the voters. Fell’s request and the eager reprinting of Lincoln’s story in newspapers demonstrated that Lincoln was not yet known widely outside Illinois to many voters. Six months later and just weeks after he had been chosen as the Republican presidential nominee, Lincoln wrote a second, more thorough autobiographical sketch for John L. Scripps to be circulated in not only newspapers, but also pamphlet form to be sold and raise money for the Republican Party in the 1860 presidential campaign. Once again, this was an effort to introduce Lincoln, the antislavery Republican Party’s presidential nominee, to the voters nationwide. Both sketches reveal insights into Lincoln’s attitudes about his early life and his remarkable ascent to political prominence.
Readers should remain alert not only to what Lincoln chose to emphasize (the various messages he is trying to convey to the American voter [with exception of free, black males in the Northern states, only white males 21 years of age or older could vote in 1860]–NORTH & SOUTH–at a time that the country is divided & on the verge of a Civil War), but also to what Lincoln left vague and unsaid.
Purpose: At the conclusion of this writing assignment, students will be able to:
• Describe the people who most influenced Lincoln from his earliest years up to his decision to run for the president;
• Show how Lincoln’s relationships with those individuals help us to understand Lincoln’s professional and personal growth;
• Describe Lincoln’s continued growth as both a lawyer and as a politician;
• Discuss which aspects of Lincoln’s personal and professional life he chose to emphasize to potential voters;
• Explain how Lincoln’s life experiences provided him with the skills and tools necessary to govern a deeply divided nation on the brink of civil war.
Knowledge: This assignment will also help you to gain:
• a better understanding of Lincoln’s life and his significant contributions to the development of the American democratic system;
• an awareness of the key national issues of Lincoln’s day and how those issues and their resolution helped to shape modern America.
Skills: This assignment will also help you to become familiar with the historian’s task: to critically read, analyze, and synthesize historical evidence.
Task: Your writing assignment is due on Wednesday, October 9, 2019 at the beginning of class. It is to be a well-written response to the questions posted (see Assignment Prompt) that is typed, double-spaced, 12-pt Times New Roman font with 1-inch margins, stapled, & between 2 – 4 pages in length (when properly formatted, a full double-spaced page = 23 lines). ONLY PUT YOUR NAME on the top line of the 1st page of your paper and begin your paper on the next double-spaced line (in other words, your first page will consist of your name on the first line, followed by the beginning of your paper on the 2nd double-spaced line and so on for lines 2-23). Do not pad the paper with extra space and no need to include a title). Your paper should include information from the following two documents included in the Lincoln Document Book:
Readings:
Lincoln to Jesse W. Fell (enclosing autobiography, December 20, 1859 (Document Book pp. 2-4) Lincoln to John L. Scripps (for the 1860 presidential campaign), circa June 1860 (Document Book pp. 4-9)
You may directly quote from any of the above 2 documents [no need to cite as you would in a formal paper—simply insert quoted passage(s) in quotation marks]; however, keep quoted passages to a minimum as this is a brief assignment and I am looking for answers to the questions in your own words.
Assignment Prompt: Read EACH of the 2 documents listed above and answer the following questions:
What kinds of message or rather choices did Lincoln and his campaign biographers (Jesse W. Fell & John L. Scripps) make when framing the main story of his life? In other words, what does Lincoln choose to emphasize about his life that may help him identify with American voters who he hopes will vote for him to be President of the United States?
Criteria (for Success): This writing assignment is worth 20 points. The final grade will reflect whether the student has answered each of the questions stated in the prompt (see Assignment Prompt), whether the student has consulted and used supporting evidence (specific details) from each the Lincoln autobiographies in their written response (i.e. the grader can tell from your assignment whether or not a student has read the documents), and, finally, whether or not the writing assignment meets the minimum page count (2 full pages–a full page = 23 double-spaced lines when properly formatted, thus 2 pages = 46 lines). Papers that meet the bare minimum standards for page requirement and analysis will be assessed appropriately. For a more specific, detailed breakdown of the grading criteria for this writing assignment, please see the Writing Assignment Grading Rubric below.
Essay Superb
Meets Expectations
Developing
Insufficient
Lacking Submission
Essay – Main elements Points: 10 (pts)
Includes all of the main elements and requirements (all questions addressed & properly formatted). Points: 8-9 (pts)
Includes most of the main elements and requirements (questions mostly addressed & properly formatted) and/or includes minor factual errors. Points: 4-7 (pts)
Includes only some of the main elements and requirements (questions somewhat addressed & formatting issues) and/or includes some factual errors. Points: 1-3 (pts)
Includes few of the main elements and requirements (questions neither adequately addressed, nor properly formatted) and/or includes significant factual errors. Points: 0 (pts)
Includes none of the main elements and requirements.
Essay – Critical Thinking Points: 5 (pts)
Draws insightful conclusions that are thoroughly defended with evidence & examples (primary sources). Points: 4 (pts)
Draws informed conclusions that are justified with some evidence & examples.
Points: 2-3 (pts)
Draws logical conclusions, but defends arguments with little evidence & examples.
Points: 1 (pts)
Draws some conclusions, but with little to no evidence & examples to support arguments.
Points: 0 (pts)
Does not draw any logical conclusions.
Essay – Writing Points: 5 (pts)
No errors related to organization (intro/body/conclusion), style, & grammar. Points: 4 (pts)
Minor errors related to organization, style, & grammar. Points: 2-3 (pts)
Some errors related to organization, style, & grammar.
Points: 1 (pts)
Major errors related to organization, style, & grammar.
Points: 0 (pts)
No submission.
Things to do in your writing:
1.) use the Lincoln primary source documents to develop your written responses to the question(s) posed. If you are quoting directly from a document, then use quotation marks around the quoted passage. If, however, you are simply distilling the main points/arguments of the primary source without quoting directly from a particular passage (a sign of a stronger writer), then no need to cite. As the assignments do not usually call for more than 2 or 3 documents for each assignment, then it is usually apparent from which document you are referencing in your writing. It may help to note from which document you are pulling an example. For example, In his autobiographical sketch published by John L. Scripps, Lincoln emphasized . . .
Note: One way that I can tell that you read the documents is if you use the primary sources in your writing as evidence (tease out the details of each document) to support your answer (main points/arguments) to the question(s) posed.
2.) make sure you have a solid Introduction, which introduces the reader to your paper’s topic and include a thesis statement [main argument(s)] and wrap up the paper with a solid Conclusion.
3.) use past tense in your writing–you are writing history; thus, “Keep History in the Past” while you are writing. For example, Lincoln wrote, Lincoln spoke, Lincoln believed. USE PAST TENSE, not present. No matter how much you may want to resurrect Lincoln to preside yet again over a divided, political environment, it is impossible because Lincoln and his contemporaries are all dead.
4.) always use full names when first introducing an individual (i.e. Abraham Lincoln, Joshua F. Speed). From that point on you can simply use the last name; however, DO NOT, under any circumstance, use their first name. First names are reserved for informal conversations with someone you know quite well, a friend. If anyone uses simply “Abraham” in their writing, I would very much like to know how you know Lincoln so well because I would also like to be on a first name basis with “Honest Abe.”
Last, but not least….
5.) type only your name (you may also use your LNCN 100 &/or section number if you like) on the first line and begin your writing assignment on the very next double-spaced line–no need for a title for your writing assignment (each page, when properly formatted, should only include 23 double-spaced lines).
6.) before you submit your paper, staple your assignment (paper/binder clips are not ideal and pages can become separated or affixed to another student’s assignment–ALWAYS STAPLE YOUR ASSIGNMENTS!
Things to avoid when writing:
1.) avoid overly quoting sources by using large block quotations. Rule of a thumb with quotations is that you should only use quotations when what is written is a powerful statement and there is no way you could rewrite it in your own words to make it sound better. Also, you should not be quoting something that is taking up more than three lines of your paper.
2.) avoid the full paragraph writing assignment–you should be separating ideas with their own paragraphs. Think of your paper in the terms of an introduction and a conclusion (two separate paragraphs) and then the body of the paper might be a separate paragraph for each question posed in the assignment
3.) avoid 1st (no “I”–I believe, I think) & 2nd person (“You”) voice or point of view–use 3rd person voice ONLY!
4.) avoid present tense (Lincoln writes, Lincoln says)–“Keep History in the Past” with the PAST TENSE! (Lincoln wrote, Lincoln said)
5.) avoid contractions (i.e. don’t, couldn’t, wouldn’t)–DO NOT use contractions in your writing. More often than not you can find a better way by simply using “do not,” “could not,” and “would not,” or, nine out of ten times you can find a stronger term to replace a contraction.
6.) avoid informal conversational language (how you typically speak/talk to others in an informal conversation/setting). Although both writing assignments for this course are not long essay papers, you should keep in mind that is a formal writing assignment so be careful and check your grammar.
Note: Once you complete writing an assignment, stop for a minute or for at last a half-hour and then come back to it. Read it aloud to yourself. 9 out 10 times you will spot check many minor grammatical gremlins and typos by this method.