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History 17A(T/TH) – Essay Assignment
Assignment: 4-page essay (100 points)
Due: May 13
Discuss Readings: April 22
Writing Workshop: May 6 (please note, I changed the date of the workshop so that you
have a weekend between the workshop and due date)
Type the essay double-spaced, justifying the left side only, and use one-inch margins all
around, and indenting the first line on a paragraph. Do not leave additional blank lines between
paragraphs. Use 12-point typeface Times font. The essay must be at least 4 FULL pages and
no longer than 5 pages. Number the pages, staple them together, and do not fold them in any
manner. I will not accept papers formatted in any other manner. Hence, I will hand the paper
back to the student and s/he will have to wait to the next class period to submit the reformatted
paper.

Plagiarism, using the words or ideas of others without giving proper credit, will result in a
grade of F for the paper. Plagiarism is defined by the Rules of Student Conduct: “the
unauthorized use of the language and thought of another author and representing them as your
own.”
Late papers will be graded down using the formula below
May 12: -10 points
May 14: -20 points
Prompt: How did labor conditions in the North and South compare in Antebellum
America and what do the internal controversies say about these conditions?
Examine the primary evidence to answer the prompt. Each piece of primary evidence
must be addressed in the essay.
a. This passage from Frederick Douglass’s memoirs, published in 1883, reflects back on
the culture of slavery in the antebellum South
b. George Fitzhugh, “The Blessings of Slavery” (1857)
c. The Condition of the Operatives, from Voice of Industry, March 26, 1847,
d. and “Pleasures of Factory Life” (Sarah G. Bagley, The Lowell Offering Series I, 1840,
pp 25-26)
e. The Lowell Offering: Mouthpiece of the Corporations?
Report of Speech by Sarah G. Bagley – 07-10-45 and her response 07-17-45