The purpose of the Research Assignment (RA) is to gain insight into early Americ
The purpose of the Research Assignment (RA) is to gain insight into early American history by conducting historical research and analyzing a set of primary sources available at the online database, The Geography of Slavery in VirginiaLinks to an external site.. For this assignment, you will be the historian and will find and analyze six 18th-century newspaper advertisements for runaway indentured servants and runaway enslaved people.
keep the focus of the RA (TEMPLATE IS ATTACHED) on analyzing the six ads you selected. Additional research is neither necessary nor desired, and the penalty for drawing upon other sources will be a “zero” on the assignment.
Here’s why: The purpose of the RA is not just to learn more history but also to develop your critical thinking and writing skills by finding, analyzing, and explaining the historical sources available at this database. If you rely upon someone else’s words or interpretation, instead of analyzing and expressing your thoughts in your own words, then you have not met the requirements.
Instructions
Find the Primary Sources
Access The Geography of Slavery in VirginiaLinks to an external site. – the ads must be selected from this database
Click on “Advertisements,” then on “Browse the Ads,” then on “Browse the Ads by Decades”
Select 2 ads from each of these years: 1745, 1766, and 1785, for a total of six ads. Draw exclusively upon these six ads to complete the assignment.
2. Select Six Ads
Select two ads from 1745, two ads from 1766, and two ads from 1785.At least 2 of the 6 ads must be for runaway servants
At least 2 of the 6 ads must be for runaway enslaved people
At least 2 of the 6 ads must be for women
At least 2 of the 6 ads must be for men
Some ads offer more information than others, so if one ad doesn’t reveal much, try another – there are many to choose from
Access the full ad – the transcript and often an image – by clicking on the date in the “Pub Date” column.
Take note of the specific URL for each ad you select; you will be including this URL in Part I
USE THE ATTACHED RA TEMPLATE TO COMPLETE THE ASSIGNMENT
Follow the instructions and include all data requested
Explain the ads and compose your analysis in your own, original words; do not repeat the text of the ads
