This exercise will test your knowledge of proper protocols for citing historical sources in historical writing. To begin, copy the two paragraphs below this one in Microsoft Word document or a word processor that can generate a .doc, docx, or .txt file. Your job is to insert the appropriate primary and/or secondary source citations as either superscript numerical notations that link to footnotes/endnotes or parenthetical in-text citations. This means you will need to figure out which passages need citations. In addition you will add a final sentence to the paragraph that follows logically from previous one and draws upon one or more primary sources assigned in this module, with appropriate citations. All sources used for this exercise will come from the materials assigned on Canvas in Module One. Your modified text document can be uploaded using the “Submit” button on this page. Assignment will be graded on following criteria: identification of proper passages requiring citations, correct citations, appropriateness of final sentence and citation. Points may also be deducted for failing to follow instructions. To perform well on this assignment, it will be necessary to watch the video presentation on Citing Historical Sources. In addition, you may consult the which includes guidelines for proper citation format.
With the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, slavery in the old Confederacy was permanently abolished, yet the question of who would guide the transition to a free society remained open. Many northerners were of the opinion that the southern planter class, still reeling from the devastation of war, was not prepared to abandon its old ways peacefully. Putting the matter bluntly, one northern observer remarked that defeated southerners were not yet in a frame of mind to legislate calmly and understandingly upon the subject of free negro labor. Such suspicions were confirmed as readmitted southern states began to pass legislation to restrict the rights of African Americans. In Mississippi, for example, many types of public gathering were forbidden and people of color not serving in the U.S. military were prohibited from owning firearms.
Northern politicians committed to the goal of racial equality reasoned that military occupation of the defeated southern states was necessary to achieve any meaningful change. Although the stationing of troops in the former confederacy enabled former slaves to participate more freely in politics, it also provoked a sharp backlash among white southerners, some of whom joined secretive organizations such as the Ku Klux Klan. Officially, the Klan professed a commitment to chivalry and patriotism. Yet, African Americans who recalled their interactions with the Klan told a different story. [Insert sentence here with appropriate citation.]
