Your assignments this semester include reading two journal articles: Oscar and Mary Handlin, Origins of the Southern Labor System, William and Mary Quarterly, 7, no. 2 (April 1950): 199-222 and Carl Degler, Slavery and the Genesis of American Race Prejudice, Comparative Studies in Society and History, 2 (1959): 49-66.  These authors argue about what came first, slavery or race prejudice.  Evaluate their arguments in a three- to four-page, double-spaced essay.  Make your own arguments that state claims, give reasons, and provide evidence. 

Here are some things you must address in your essay.  What are the authors main arguments?  What types of evidence do they use to support their claims?  How do they use that evidence to support their arguments?  What are the categories of arguments that authors make in the larger body of historical literature on the subject?

References:

For citation using the footnote format: The Chicago Manual of Style: The Essential Guide for Writers, Editors, and Publishers, (University of Chicago Press), and Kate L. Turabian, A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, (University of Chicago Press).  Any edition of these titles is acceptable.