Description
1.
Find newspaper coverage of three different murders that took place in the United States before 1980—these can either be from the same time and place, or a variety. Write a brief description of each murder, analyze the tone of the coverage, and speculate about what this case could tell us about American society in the place and time of the murder.
Turn in 2 pages, double-spaced, that complete the above for three murders, and then conclude which case seems most promising for the term paper. For that case, include three questions you will need to do additional research on, in order to have a more complete picture of what happened and how society functioned like in that time and place. Finally, explain if you think this case is the one you’ll want to work on, or if you’d still like to dig around in the archives. If you don’t want to work on one of these cases, what are you looking for?
Writing style: informal (so no intro/conclusion), but complete sentences and paragraphs
Formatting: Times New Roman, size 12, 1” margins on all sides
Citations: not required for this paper (we will work on citations next week)
2.
Just added: Grading Rubric
Using the murder case you’ve chosen, consult city directories, government documents, and census data to locate the individuals involved in your case and learn more about each of them. Build out from what you find—are there new names for you to track down? What was the socioeconomic status of these people? Where did they work, and what did they do? Did they move a lot or were they long-term residents? Did they have large families or were they loners?
Write paragraph-length biographies of three people in your case—the victim, the accused, and a third party whom you think is important (maybe a newspaper editor, police officer, judge, lawyer, witness, or a place). Move beyond the plain facts of these lives to try to give them color and personality—and explain the facts on which you base this. For example, “Since Henry was listed as a black male in the 1860 census but does not appear in the 1870 census, it is likely that he moved out of Richmond after the Civil War.” OR “Since Susan was a domestic servant who lived with three different families between 1830 and 1850, she likely struggled to make ends meet.”
Writing style: formal, academic (needs an intro and conclusion), citations via footnotes
Formatting: Times New Roman, size 12, 1” margins on all sides
Length: 2 pages, double spaced
3.
Dig deeper. Using the murder case you’ve chosen, find all the newspaper coverage you can and analyze it. What do the articles focus on? What is the predominate reaction about the murder? What can that tell us about society in this time and place?Write a short essay in which you try out an argument that uses the murder and reactions to it to explain something about American society in the time and place where the murder occurred.
Required Elements:
- an introductory paragraph that situates the reader in time and space, and clearly states an argument.
- body paragraphs that analyze text and images (where available) from the press coverage to support your argument.
- Use direct quotes, focus on specific words and language choice, and read between the lines.
Hint: Often what reporters don’t say is as significant as what they do.
Writing style: formal, academic, with footnotes
Formatting: Times New Roman, size 12, 1” margins on all sides
Length: 2 pages, double spaced
4.
Explore the context. Using the murder case you’ve chosen, learn more about the time and place in which the murder took place. You can do this both through period materials such as newspapers and historical treatments (secondary sources). What was the city or town like during this period? What were the hot-button issues? Were there significant divides (political, economic, social, moral) among the populace? How did local concerns relate to state, national, or global trends and conversations? The best term papers will relate local concerns to larger trends in American society. Write a short essay in which you paint a picture of the time and place in which the murder occurred.
Required elements:
- an introductory paragraph that situates the reader in time and space, and clearly states the three trends or events that you think are most important to understanding this time and place.
- body paragraphs should go deeper on the three trends or events you are highlighting, to explain exactly what each one was and how it affected the place. For example, “The Red Scare, or paranoia about communism, dominated the national news during this period, and also spilled over into local politics. The press alleged that communists were organizing African Americans in Mississippi, and forecast racial strife in the town.”
Writing style: formal, academic, with footnotes
Formatting: Times New Roman, size 12, 1” margins on all sides
Length: 2 pages, double spaced
