AMERICAN HISTORY WINTER PROJECT

There are four components to this project. An on-site visit, electronic research, a print search and a written compilation of your findings are the components of this project. Each of you must chose one of the below topics which will be due the first day back from the holiday break.

You must provide verification of your visit (receipt, picture or collected materials). Each topic must be researched electronically (net search) for background or to help supply needed details. A print search (Books!) must also take place.  The paper is to be six to eight pages in length and should include elements from your visit and research. You may use any other material that will help you with this paper. Documentation is extremely important for this project. Footnotes or endnotes are required. A bibliography of all materials used must accompany your project. If questions of documentation occur, you should refer to The Everyday Writer (pages 448-458).

Be thorough - check to make sure the site you are visiting is open on the day you plan to go. Most sites are within an hour of where you are now sitting.

TOPICS

1. Frederick Douglas - Frederick Douglas House, Washington.

2. Robert E. Lee and the origins of Arlington Cemetery - Lee-Custis House, Arlington.

3. Doctor Samuel Mudd and his involvement in the Lincoln assassination - Samuel Mudd House.

4. "Barbara Fritchie" origin of this poem by John Greenleaf Whittier - Barbara Fritchie House, Frederick.

5. Francis Scott Key - Fort McHenry, Baltimore.

6. Medical Practices of the Civil War - Civil War Medical Museum, Frederick.

7. John Brown – Martyr or Madman? Harpers Ferry, West Virginia.

8. Mary Surrat and the Assassination of Lincoln – The trial of Mary Surrat. Visit the Surrat Tavern, Prince George's County.

9. Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson - Was Jackson's character and personality an advantage or disadvantage as a southern commander? Read Jeff Shaara's, God's and Generals.

10. Antietam as the turning point of the Civil War - Antietam, north of Frederick.

11. John Singleton Mosby - Did he really go through Sandy Spring? - Sandy Spring Museum.

12. Longstreet or Lee, who was the nominate personality at Gettysburg? - Watch the movie "Gettysburg" and use Michael Shaara's book The Killer Angels.

13. Edgar Allen Poe, how strange was he and how did he really die? - Poe House, Baltimore.

14. John Wilkes Booth and the Lincoln Assassination Theories – Ford’s Theater, Washington, D.C.

15. A project of your own design. It must be approved by me before you begin work.