Format: The paper should be no less than four and not much more than five pages in length (please note: a title page is not considered a page of text). It needs to be double spaced, with a 12 Font, and one inch margins on all sides. As you write, try to be clear and concise. Use complete sentences. Avoid run-on sentences. Use correct punctuation and spelling. Remember to cite your sources correctly. Quotations need to be put in quotation marks and cited “parenthetically, like this” (Dunbar, 123).
Students will be expected to state an argument and back it up with evidence, while demonstrating familiarity with the text under consideration. The introductory paragraph of your essay must include a thesis statement that clearly states your argument. Any generalization you make should be supported by evidence from the reading.
Your paper needs to be based on a critical reading of Erica Armstrong Dunbar’s Never Caught: The Washingtons’ Relentless Pursuit of Their Runaway Slave, Ona Judge.
Write on one the following topics:
The most common form of slave resistance was to run away from their owners. Erica Armstrong Dunbar shows that the transition from slavery to freedom in the early republic was far from smooth or straight forward. Based on a critical reading of the book, explore the legal, economic, political, and social obstacles Ona Judge faced to obtain her freedom. In your answer, be sure to take into consideration that Ona did not run away from your average slave master, but the President of the United States.
Based on a critical reading of the book, what can we learn about slavery in the early republic through the experience of Ona Judge? How was slavery different in Virginia, New York, and Philadelphia? What role did the free black community in the North have on Ona’s life? Considering the hardships Ona had to endure in freedom, why do you think she never regretted running away?
In addressing any of these questions, students must refer to at least FIVE (5) specific examples from the book.
Papers will be graded based on the following:
• Display of familiarity with the text under discussion.
• Clarity and accuracy of presentation.
• Quality of writing and analysis.
• Neatness (punctuation, grammar, spelling, correct citations, etc.)
• Plagiarism will be punished with a “0” for the paper.