semester writing assignment

Semester Writing Assignment

Develop the topic into a well-organized essay, following the guidelines below.  Correct spelling and grammar will be considered during grading. Part of your grade will depend upon including the required block quotes. If you do not include the 3 required block quotes to support your position, your paper will lose one letter grade. Be sure to answer all parts of the question, noting the relative weight among the three sections. Three pages is the minimum, but you may go a page or two beyond that, if needed.

Students will generally compose the essay inside their word processor and then COPY and PASTE (using CONTROL V) the text into the space provided below.

Note that the deadline for this paper is several days prior to the Final Exam.  Late papers or papers not submitted in the proper area will lose one letter grade (10 points). Finally, do not use material from any source other than Sam Houston and the American Southwest. DO NOT copy material from another source and paste it into this essay response box, representing it as your own work. Doing this will get you a grade of 0, and it is not difficult for instructors to detect.

Sam Houston and the American Southwest

Relying only on material from the The Sam Houston Biography, thoroughly answer the following questions:

Section 1 (25 points): Throughout his life, Sam Houston had a special bond with Native Americans, especially the Cherokees. Discuss this relationship and give examples from the book about his interactions with them.

Section 2 (50 points): A general theme throughout the biography is Sam Houston’s wisdom and moral courage. Discuss at least three examples (not related to Native American issues) where Houston took the wise or morally correct public stance, in spite of the fierce criticism he was certain to face. 

Section 3 (25 points): How did Sam Houston come to marry Margaret Lea, and what impact did she have on his life?

*****Include at least one direct, multi-sentence block quote per section from Sam Houston and the American Southwest to support your position. Be sure to put your citation for these quotations in parentheses and in all caps. For example, your citation might look like this:

“‘The speech,’ he wrote Margaret, ‘was the most striking, able, and bold, that I ever made,’ but it was to no avail.” (CAMPBELL, P. 160)