These are old college history papers of mine. All papers below are in PDF format. Page counts do not include title pages or citations. Older papers have been proofread again before uploading to improve upon the originals. Please do not repost anything here on any other websites, message boards, blogs, email lists, etc. but you may link to them. Also, while you are welcome to get ideas and sources from these, please do not plagarize. Arranged chronologically from newest to oldest.
Indiana Ally:
Governor Oliver P. Morton’s
Relationship With The Lincoln Administration
During The American Civil War (April 2013, FAU, 17 pages with footnotes plus title and bibliography)
Term paper for my "Civil War & Reconstruction" class about Oliver Morton, governor of Indiana through the entire Civil War. Different class, but same professor (the excellent Dr. Stephen Engle) as my Senior Seminar paper. I did more research from primary sources and drew more of my own conclusions on this paper due to the more limited secondary sources.
Overcoming Crisis: The United States Senate’s Role in the Compromise of 1850 (April 2013, FAU, 27 pages including title, footnotes, and bibliography)
Senior Seminar paper. While I think the paper is well-written, in retrospect I would have chosen a different topic because I think I had nothing new to really add to Fergus Bordewich's excellent book America's Great Debate.
The Failure of the Weimar Republic (Nov 2012, FAU, 11 pages with footnotes plus title and bibliography)
Term paper for my "History of Nazi Germany" class about why Germany's Weimar Republic failed and the Nazis were able to gain control of the government.
Why Dropping The Atomic Bombs On Japan Was The Right Decision (April 2012, FAU, 18 pages with footnotes plus title and bibliography)
Term paper for my "Introduction to Historical Study" class which defends the decision to use atomic bombs against Japan in World War II.
Imperialism & St. Augustine: 1670-1763 (April 2012, FAU, 8 pages with footnotes plus title and bibliography)
Term paper for my "Colonial Latin America" class. Looks at St. Augustine, Florida in the Age of Imperialism, including the roles of Native Americans and blacks.
The Alcoholic Republic (April 2012, FAU, 2 1/2 pages, plus title)
Essay for my Age of Jefferson & Jackson class about W. J. Rorabaugh's The Alcoholic Republic: An American Tradition and how they related to the main themes of the class.
States Rights and The Southern Quarterly Review, 1842-1845 (April 2012, FAU, 6 pages plus title)
Unusual writing assignment from my
Age of Jefferson & Jackson class. We had to pick one periodical from the American Periodicals Series and write about how that periodically dealt with one subject of our choice during one presidential term. I wrote about The Southern Quarterly Review defense of states' rights during John Tyler's presidency.
Henry Clay: The Essential American? (April 2012, FAU, 3 pages plus title)
Essay for my
Age of Jefferson & Jackson class about the significance of Henry Clay based on the biography by David and Jeanne Heidler.
The Significance of Andrew Jackson (March 2012, FAU, 4 pages plus title)
Essay for my
Age of Jefferson & Jackson class about the significance of Andrew Jackson's presidency based on the abridged biography by Robert Remini.
Reasons For The Success of Early Islamic Conquest (Spring 2003, UNF, 5 pages plus title, endnotes, and bibliography)
Term paper for my Early Islamic History class at UNF about early Muslim military success. I think looking at the military tactics of the early Muslim armies was a good subject, but I remember struggling for sources. The counter-argument (made as required) is poorly fleshed out.
Of Gods, Generals, and the Civil War in American Mentality (Spring 2003, UNF, 4 pages plus title, endnotes, and bibliography)
Review of the movie "Gods and Generals" written for Civil War In Popular Culture class. I think this paper has aged pretty well.
Gettysburg vs. Gods and Generals (April 2003, UNF, 3 pages plus title and bibliography)
Review comparing the movies "Gettysburg" and "Gods and Generals" written for Civil War In Popular Culture class. I remember struggling to find enough to say to meet my word count minimum.
Olustee Reenactors & Tony Horwitz (Feb 2003, UNF, 1 page)
My reaction to visiting the reenactors at the Olustee battlefield prior to the annual reenactment there. Written for
Civil War In Popular Culture class.
Fighting For Friendship (Fall 2011 UNF, 5 pages plus title and endnotes)
Paper writen for my Military History class about comradeship, based the assigned reading for class.
College vs. High School (Fall 1999, IRCC, 1 page)
Compartive essay from ENC1101 (English 101) comparing my senior year of high school with my first semester of college. I don't think my analysis aged well and the writing is nothing remarkable.
Graham Greene's Twisted Characters and Their Catholic Roots (1998, MCHS, 4 pages plus title and works cited)
My oldest surviving paper. Written for high school senior English about the influence of Catholicism on Graham Greene's books. The teacher required us to write primarily from literary criticisms and we were not supposed to read any of the author's books in advance. As much as the paper reads like something by a disinterested high school student, I think the odd structure requirement (some of which has been cleaned up here) makes it extra clunky.