After reading the Reading Packet and exploring the TRSP, can you make any generalizations about who helped runaway slaves escape to Mexico? What ethnic groups, occupations, religious/ideological convictions, people in certain circumstances or something else prompted people to help enslaved people run away?

Instructions for Writing the Research Paper For this essay: you will construct an essay that answers one of my essay prompts using thesis statements below by filling in three points for A, B, and C in my sample thesis statements (see more info at the bottom of the page). This essay will cover information from the Underground Railroad to Mexico Reading Packet and your sources from the Texas Runaway Slave Project (TRSP) ONLY. No further information from the internet will be accepted and may result in a zero grade. Should be approximately 600-750 words (2 1/2-3 pages double-spaced) Will use the citation and formatting specified below Your essay: The 5 Paragraph Essay: must have a full introduction that gets your reader to the Time/Place of exploration must answer ONE of my essay prompts below with Thesis (filled in with three coherent points) must have three body paragraphs (that correlate to the thesis) must have strong topic sentences at the beginning of each body paragraph must contain information that shows a thorough knowledge of the Underground Railroad to Mexico Reading Packet and your sources from the Texas Runaway Slave Project (TRSP). Typically 2-3 pieces of evidence per body paragraph No quotations longer than 3 lines max Citation We are doing an informal version of citing for this project. There will be no formal Works Cited or Bibliography. We are doing something close to MLA internal citation. The last name of the Author followed by the page number, for example (Baumgartner 64), (Kelly 45), Nichols 164-165). Most Authors in the packet are clearly identified and you can find the page numbers on the actual articles themselves or in my brief summary of their work It is ok to use a quote that the author used in their article. Normally it is complicated how to cite it, but we are keeping it simple. If you want to cite my background (Newhouse Background) is fine or (Newhouse Nichols Summary). I will warn you though it is better to cite specific people and situations in history rather than my summaries of the background. For the Texas Runaway Slave Project, you will use the project’s abbreviation TRSP, your Object Name, and Date. Example: (TRSP Aaron01 3/11/1848). You must include two of these in your paper Again, no outside research is to be used in this project. Formatting Standard formatting for an academic paper: black/dark gray, 12pt Times New Roman (or something similar), 1-inch margins, left justified, double-spaced, etc. See more explanation Formatting Overview. Please complete basic grammar checks. Capitalize the first word of every sentence. Underground Railroad to Mexico Essay Prompts Chose ONLY one to answer. 1. After reading the Reading Packet and exploring the TRSP, can you make any generalizations about who helped runaway slaves escape to Mexico? What ethnic groups, occupations, religious/ideological convictions, people in certain circumstances or something else prompted people to help enslaved people run away? Sample Thesis Statements – Use (yes, you may!), modify, or create your own While there were many people who attempted to help runaway slaves achieve freedom in Mexico, it was A group, B group, and C group that helped the most because … (here you need to figure out why these groups were most likely to help) While there were many people who attempted to help runaway slaves achieve freedom in Mexico, it was A group because _________, B group because _________, and C group because _________ who/that were the most vital in getting people across the border. 2.

After reading the Reading Packet and exploring the TRSP, how did Anglo Texans who generally were pro-slavery try to control their enslaved populations? How were they constantly responding to fear of slave revolts, runaways, people aiding runaways, lack of being able to recover their enslaved people from Mexico? Do you see laws being put in place, cultural norms, violence etc. Sample Thesis Statements – Use (yes, you may!), modify, or create your own The fact that Texas slave owners were fixated on controlling their slaves can be seen by their actions of A, B, and C. Texas slave owners were in a constant state of trying to stop the resistance of their enslaved people to slavery; they went as far as doing A, B, and C to keep enslaved people from achieving freedom and agency. Due to their constant fear of losing control over their slaves, enslavers practiced A, B, and C in an attempt to secure their control. 3. After reading the Reading Packet and exploring the TRSP, how do we see individuals (runaway slaves, people who helped runaways, slave owners, etc) causing international incidents? What role do seemingly unimportant individuals (such as enslaved people, Mexican peons, etc) play in sparking incidents like harsh words between the leaders of countries, invasion of other nations, the adoption of national policies, the annexation of states, or even full-out war between nations etc.? Sample Thesis Statements – Use (yes, you may!), modify, or create your own While culturally viewed as insignificant individuals in their own culture, runaway slaves had to power to spark international incidents; it was runaways that brought about A event, B event, and C event. While culturally viewed as insignificant individuals in their own culture, runaway slaves had to power to spark international incidents; it was A (people/person) that brought about A event, it was B (people/person) that brought about B event, and C (people/person) that brought about C event. 4. After reading the Reading Packet and exploring the TRSP, what were the most important resources that enslaved people needed in order to get to Mexico? Did they need professions, access to knowledge, friendly guides, language skills, personal relationships, lack of clearly identifying scars, money, physical strength, etc? What three elements seem to come up most often when you read these sources? Sample Thesis Statements – Use (yes, you may!), modify, or create your own The most important elements that enslaved people needed in order to escape successfully to Mexico were A, B and C because they ________. The most important elements that enslaved people needed in order to escape successfully to Mexico were A because ________ , B because ________ , and C because ________ . 5. When historians only focus on Anglo Texans, they miss how many different people groups populated Texas in the pre-Civil War era. After reading the Reading Packet and exploring the TRSP, how does the exploration of runaway slaves to Mexico highlight all of the people groups who made up Texas in this pre-civil war period? How did runaways navigate through the varying cultures, languages, religions, situations, and values that each people group brought to Texas? Sample Thesis Statements – Use (yes, you may!), modify, or create your own By exploring how runaway slaves interacted with A (people groups, language, or economic situations etc.), B (people groups, language, or economic situations etc.), and C (people groups, language, or economic situations etc.), the variety of people groups occupying Texas in the pre-Civil War period is made clear. I attached the readings as PDF’s below, please use the information from those PDF’s rather than information from the internet.

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