Final Paper (40%)

Over the course of the semester, you will produce a number of assignments associated with a final paper—a "what if" paper, known in the history business as "counterfactual history." I will provide more details about the following assignments associated with this final paper during the semester. You must complete all of these assignments to obtain a passing grade.

• Selection of Topic (due Tuesday, January 29): First come, first served. If you have not selected a topic by January 29, I will select one for you. If you would like to create your own topic, feel free to do so. You must, however, run it by me by January 29. You can choose from the following:
  • What if Winfield Scott's drive on Mexico City had failed, and the Mexican-American War had ended in a draw?
  • What if the Democratic Party had successfully reached a compromise and not broken in two in 1860?
  • What if McDowell's Federal army had won the First Battle of Bull Run in 1861?
  • What if the Confederates had allowed the Federal garrison to abandon Fort Sumter due to lack of supplies—instead of opening fire on the post?
  • What if the Federal government had not given up Mason and Slidell to the British government during the Trent affair?
  • What if McCellan had defeated and destroyed Lee's army outside of Richmond in July 1862?
  • What if Ulysses S. Grant had gotten killed at Shiloh?
  • What if Robert E. Lee had become the commander of the Army of Mississippi (later known as the Army of Tennessee) in June 1862 instead of the commander of the Army of Northern Virginia?
  • What if the British government had successfully organized a European offer to mediate the Civil War in November 1862?
  • What if Robert E. Lee's heart attack of December 1862 had proven fatal?
  • What if Private B.W. Mitchell of the 27th Indiana had not found Robert E. Lee's lost dispatch, "Special Orders No. 191" four days before the battle of Antietam?
  • What if Stonewall Jackson had not been accidentally shot by his own men at Chancellorsville?
  • What if Robert E. Lee had pursued operations differently at Gettysburg and won?
  • What if Jefferson Davis had not replaced Joseph Johnston with John Bell Hood in 1864?
  • What if the Confederate government had followed Patrick Cleburne's suggestion and armed black slaves in 1864?
  • What if Lincoln had died just before the election of 1864?
  • What if the Democrats had put together a "war" platform for the election of 1864?
  • What if John Wilkes Booth had fallen off his horse and fractured his skull on the night he set out to assassinate President Abraham Lincoln?
  • What if Robert E. Lee had committed the Army of Northern Virginia to guerrilla warfare instead of surrendering at Appomattox?
  • What if the Senate had convicted President Andrew Johnson?
  • What if Rutherford B. Hayes had won the election of 1876 outright?
• Tentative Proposal (5%) (due Tuesday, February 12): This assignment will require you to submit a series of questions that your essay will have to address—as well as any preliminary answers you have reached on these questions.
• Bibliography (5%) (due Tuesday, February 26): The bibliography will consist of a list of works you intend to use for your project.
• Prospectus (5%) (due Tuesday, March 5): This assignment will consist of two parts. First, you will provide more specific answers to the questions you provided in your tentative proposal. Second, you will have to review a fellow student's propectus and grade it just as I would. I will grade both your prospectus and your review.
• Draft (10%) (due Tuesday, April 16): In this case, you will have to write a draft of your essay and grade a fellow student's draft.
• Final Paper (15%) (due Tuesday, May 7): Consists of your final paper. There are no exceptions to the May 7 deadline.
  

Extensions: I will grant NO extensions on or after the due date. I will provide an extension only if:

• You produce a doctor's note indicating you are physically incapable of finishing the assignment on time.
• You produce a note from one of your parents indicating you suffered a death in your immediate family.   

Turning in Assignments: I will not accept paper assignments submitted to me via e-mail. You must give the assignment to me in person on the day it is due—before I leave campus.

Late Assignments:  Late assignments will suffer a penalty of 10% for each day they are late. Thus, a B- assignment turned in a day late will become a C- assignment. The meter runs on weekends just as on weekdays. If an assignment is due on a Friday, it will be one day late on Saturday (10% off), two days late on Sunday (20% off), and three days late on Monday (30% off). The meter also keeps running during holidays and breaks. It is your responsibility to get the assignment to me in such a manner that I can verify you completed it by a certain time.   

Completing Assignments and Obtaining a Passing Grade:  You must obtain a passing grade on ALL paper assignments to pass the class. In other words, if you turn in a C assignment (75%) two days late (20% penalty), you will get an F (55%) for the assignment and fail the course.

How to Cite Sources

Tips for Success on the Final Paper

Back to Assignments

Copyrighted by Hugh Dubrulle, 2002
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