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thesis statement for african american history

HIST 2320 - African American History from Slavery to Freedom

  • Getting to Know Your Topic

From Research Question to Thesis Statement

  • Finding Books
  • Finding Scholarly Journal Articles
  • Finding Primary Sources
  • Citation Help

Want to Browse Books for Inspiration?

Not sure what you want to investigate yet? Browsing the shelves can be a good way to find that first spark of inspiration. Below are the general history call numbers to get you started. However keep in mind that history can be a highly interdisciplinary subject, so once you get started with the research process don't worry if your work takes you away from these numbers.

If this is your first time using the Library of Congress call numbers don't hesitate to ask a librarian for help. 

C - Auxiliary Sciences of History

D - World History and History of Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, New Zealand, etc.

E - History of the Americas

F - History of the Americas

  • What is a Research Question
  • Put your Question to the Test
  • What is a Thesis Statement
  • Tips for Writing/Drafting Thesis Statements

A research question is the question around which you center your research. It should be:

  • clear : it provides enough specifics that your audience can easily understand its purpose without needing additional explanation.
  • focused : it is narrow enough that it can be answered thoroughly in the space the writing task allows.
  • concise : it is expressed in the fewest possible words.
  • complex : it is not answerable with a simple “yes” or “no,” but rather requires synthesis and analysis of ideas and sources.
  • arguable : its potential answers are open to debate rather than accepted facts.

You should ask a question about an issue that you are genuinely curious and/or passionate about.

Unsure about your question? Put it to the test using these seven questions. 

  • Does my question allow for many possible answers? Is it flexible and open-ended?
  • Is it testable? Do I know what kind of evidence would allow an answer?
  • Can I break big “why” questions into empirically resolvable pieces?
  • Is the question clear and precise? Do I use vocabulary that is vague or needs definition?
  • Have I made the premises explicit?
  • Is it of a scale suitable to the length of the assignment?
  • Can I explain why the answer matters?

If your question didn't do so well, remember to talk to your professor before starting over. They can help enhance your question for historical exploration. 

The thesis statement is one or two sentences that states the main idea of a writing assignment and helps control the ideas within the paper.  It is not merely a topic but rather   identifies the topic to be discussed, as well as the purpose of the paper itself.

A thesis statement:

  • tells the reader how you will interpret the significance of the subject matter under discussion.
  • is a road map for the paper; in other words, it tells the reader what to expect from the rest of the paper.
  • directly answers the question asked of you. A thesis is an interpretation of a question or subject, not the subject itself. The subject, or topic, of an essay might be World War II or Moby Dick; a thesis must then offer a way to understand the war or the novel.
  • makes a claim that others might dispute.
  • is usually a single sentence near the beginning of your paper (most often, at the end of the first paragraph) that presents your argument to the reader. The rest of the paper, the body of the essay, gathers and organizes evidence that will persuade the reader of the logic of your interpretation.

Know the topic . The topic should be something you know or can learn about. It is difficult to write a thesis statement, let alone a paper, on a topic that you know nothing about. Reflecting on personal experience and/or researching will help you know more information about your topic.

Limit your topic . Based on what you know and the required length of your final paper, limit your topic to a specific area. A broad scope will generally require a longer paper, while a narrow scope will be sufficiently proven by a shorter paper.

Brainstorm . If you are having trouble beginning your paper or writing your thesis, take a piece of paper and write down everything that comes to mind about your topic. Did you discover any new ideas or connections? Can you separate any of the things you jotted down into categories? Do you notice any themes? Think about using ideas generated during this process to shape your thesis statement and your paper.

Topic to Research Question

Every research project starts with a question. Your question will allow you to select, evaluate and interpret your sources systematically. The question you start with isn’t set in stone, but will be revisited and revised as you read and interact with the sources. 

Robert C. Williams suggests that  a research question might:

  • "ask  how or why  an event happened (causation, explanation)"
  • "ask what  the consequences  were of a particular event"
  • "discuss  the intellectual origins  of a particular idea"
  • "ask what  the cultural context  of an event was";
  • "ask  whether or not an individual was responsible  for a certain act"
  • "ask about  the social history  of a political event"
  • "quantify  broad trends in a society  at a particular time" (52)

Source: Williams, Robert C.  The Historian's Toolbox: A Student's Guide to the Theory and Craft of History . Second ed. Armonk, NY: M. E. Sharpe, 2007.

Helpful Resources: 

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The African American History: The Historical Weight of 1776 Essay

  • To find inspiration for your paper and overcome writer’s block
  • As a source of information (ensure proper referencing)
  • As a template for you assignment

African American history and life is well understood in 1776 due to the effects that occurred. It was one of the years when Africans went through slavery in the hand of the American which is still remarkable today. Despite the bewilderment, the date is one that bears historical weight. Many have made the fake supposition that, the Africans who were introduced in American represented the start of slavery in what became the United States. It was more likely that we African were “remaindered” captives who had not sold at auction in the Caribbean markets and we were taken by the Dutch traders to Virginia where we were sold on offer as indentured servants (Jacob & Apple, 2000). This was the time when Virginia law began to distinguish the existence of slavery within the colony.

A number of the Africans who came to America as indentured servants made aforementioned arrangements with a master who would pay for their journey along the ocean and then contracted with the servants for a specified period of indenture during which they reimbursed their transportation costs. A number of us, who arrived unexpectedly, became indentured to Virginia masters through a bidding process that was to some extent similar to later slave auctions that would become all in all widespread in the slaveholding region of the United States. According to the law of Virginia, slavery had been established as early as 1640s and many African indentured servants had been variously transitioned into slavery. One of our counterparts was made a servant for life as a punishment for escaping from his master (West & Glaude, 2003).

An individual would also be mistaken to assert that the occurrence of slavery in colonial Virginia symbolized the primary use of practice on soil that later formed the United States. In 1827, American colonization society embarked on a plan to colonize the blacks who were living in Africa. By that time, our stay in America had become unbearable and we tried all means to get us out of the country. However, this was not possible because of fear and most of us were afraid of what would befall us if we decided to run away from our masters. In late 1830s, many fundamentals became “extremes” by turning to instant obliteration and attacking colonization as intrinsically chauvinistic and unrighteous, smith sustained supporting colonization while also flirting with imperialism.

The slavery work included obeying the master’s orders to gain his trust. However, this trust did not lessen the hard burden required of a slave. Every slave had to pummel 4 heaps of corn every nighttime in a barrel (for the poultry) failure to which would lead to a heavy punishment. Many were the times when we were threatened to be sold down the river. Many of us were pressed with fear, beyond self-defense (Jacob & Apple, 2000). This had a psychological effect on the slaves concerned. In intense cases, it was frequent for a slave to commit suicide by jumping into the river and drowning rather than submitting to the myriad disgusts that might be waiting us.

It was exceeding a mere labor system, one forecasted on inflexible discipline. The purpose of slavery depended on rigid discipline and demanded unrestricted compliance by the black slaves to the requests of their white masters. It was also a communal system that repetitively intimidated upon the bondsmen and women their inferiority determined to inculcate them. The American colonization society supposed that blacks were lesser beings who could not survive on their own in the United States (West & Glaude, 2003).

Reference List

  • Jacob, M. & Apple, H. (2000). To be continued: an annotated guide to sequels . New York: Greenwood Publishing Group
  • West, C. & Glaude, E. S. (2003). African American religious thought: an anthology . Westminster: John Knox Press
  • African American Stereotypes: History and Sources
  • Boosting Education and Culture Among Hispanic Women
  • Thematic Studies of Auction Mechanics
  • The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time
  • The Issue of Night-Time Mobile Phone Usage
  • African Americans in the Spanish-American War
  • Lynching History of African Americans: An Absurd Illegal Justice System in the 19th Century
  • African Slavery and European Plantation Systems: 1525-1700
  • Race, Class, and Politics of Charlotte
  • Plessy vs. Ferguson and Brown vs. Board of Education
  • Chicago (A-D)
  • Chicago (N-B)

IvyPanda. (2021, December 26). The African American History: The Historical Weight of 1776. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-african-american-history/

"The African American History: The Historical Weight of 1776." IvyPanda , 26 Dec. 2021, ivypanda.com/essays/the-african-american-history/.

IvyPanda . (2021) 'The African American History: The Historical Weight of 1776'. 26 December.

IvyPanda . 2021. "The African American History: The Historical Weight of 1776." December 26, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-african-american-history/.

1. IvyPanda . "The African American History: The Historical Weight of 1776." December 26, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-african-american-history/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "The African American History: The Historical Weight of 1776." December 26, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-african-american-history/.