You have read the book, Celia, A Slave, by Melton Mclaurin during the second half of our course. For your final exam, write an essay that relates the book to the document interpretations that you have completed over the last eight weeks. Not all of your documents may relate to the text, but your essay should demonstrate the extent to which the document interpretations contribute to a broader understanding of the tensions and divisions that existed in the formation of the United States. Your essay must include the following:
- Clear references that include citations to both the book (Celia, A Slave) and the documents that you choose to revisit.
- Articulation of the tensions that frame the formation of the United States.
- Comprehension of the issues that are at the center of Celia’s story.
Celia, A Slave Final Essay (1)
Celia, A Slave Final Essay (1)
From the Journal of Christopher Columbus (Links to an external site.) read only the first paragraph; Friday, 3 August 1492; Wednesday 10 October; Thursday 11 October
- Where did Columbus land? Where did his subsequent voyages take him?
- How did Columbus describe the native peoples he encountered? What plans did he have for them?
- How ling did the voyage to the New World take? What factors would inspire people to undergo such a journey?
Olaudah Equiano, The Middle Passage (1788) (Links to an external site.)
- Typically the actions of Europeans engaging in the slave trade are viewed as cruel for the sake of being cruel. In reading the document do you notice any other motivations for the cruelty of slave drivers?
- Equiano notes that, “… I found some black people about me, who I believe were some of those who brought me on board, and had been receiving their pay…” What may this reveal about the nature of the slave trade and/or challenge how you thought it was carried out?
- What was Oliver’s opinion of the duties England imposed on the colonies?
- How did Oliver describe the colonist who protested these measures? What kinds of adjectives did he use?
- What is the point of the story at the end, about the horse and the sheep
Alexander Hamilton, An opinion on the Constitutionality of an Act to Establish a Bank
- How does Hamilton’s understanding of what is, “necessary and proper,” in government affect his reasoning?
- What implications does this argument have regarding the enumerated powers given to Congress in Article 1 of the Constitution?
Charles G. Finney, What a Revival of Religion Is (Read only: the last paragraph of the introduction (“It is altogether improbable…cannot contain themselves any longer.”; “What a revival is” section; The third remark at the end, “You see the error of those…damnation of the world”)
- The purpose of the revival was to change the individual and society. What does Finney fear in American society? What changes does he expect tas a result of the revival?
- What does Finney mean by, “excitement”? Why would this concept bother other ministers?
South Carolina Declaration of the Causes of Secessions (Read, “In the present case, that fact is established with certainty…” to the end.)
- According to this document, what action had 14 states undertaken that violated the Constitution?
- What is the “property” described in this document?
- Does this document help us to address the question of whether the Civil War was fought over slavery? If so, how?
