You should use your reading of Worse than Slavery as a jumping-off point to explore some of the deeper issues surrounding the evolution of the system of Jim Crow in the American South. Oshinskys account of the development of the post-Civil War convict lease system shows one of the most brutal ways in which post-Reconstruction governments sought to re-establish slavery by selectively imprisoning freedpeople and their descendants.
In a 1500-word essay, you should delve more deeply into one of the subjects Oshinsky covers in the book. You should take what you now nknow about Mississippi under Jim Crow and/or Parchman Prison and compare it to conditions in another state affected by Jim Crow. You may do this by comparing conditions in Mississippi broadly against another state, or you can choose an industry, politician, prison, etc., that appears in Worse than Slavery and then discover through research a comparable industry, politician, prison, etc. in a different location in the South.
1) A requirement of the paper is that you use, not including Worse than Slavery, at least two primary sources, and at least two secondary academic sources, in the preparation of your paper. Handouts detailing the difference between a primary and secondary source are available in the course shell. Worse than Slavery cannot be one of the two required secondary sources (although it can certainly be used as a third secondary source.)
All of the topics suggested above are mentioned somewhere in the text, so you may want to follow the footnotes for those subtopics to guide you to appropriate primary and secondary sources. (The endnotes are in the rear of the book.)
The databases accessible through the Mercy Library online interface — JStor in particular — contain hundreds of possible secondary sources on the above and related topics. They are an excellent place to discover secondary sources, but reading papers such as this will also acquaint you with how a professional historian approaches these topics.
2) The essay you prepare should contain a narrow and manageable thesis statement, which outlines exactly the point you are going to make in the essay, and then introduce in one or two sentences how you are going to go about proving it. Handouts detailing how to structure an essay are also posted in the course shell.
3) All sources should be appropriately cited using MLA or Chicago as a style. Information on appropriately citing sources in a historical essay are also posted in the course shell.
4) Your paper will be graded using the attached rubric. In order to complete the paper successively, not only must you read the entire book, but you must also focus on crafting a well-structured essay with a clear thesis, several points backed by evidence that prove your thesis, and a clear conclusion.