About This Guide
This guide was built to help you research the lives of people who were slaves in the United States prior to, during, and just after The Civil War.
It will help you understand that era of American History, and also the difference between primary and secondary sources.
If you're really interested in what life was like for slaves back then, there are also some resources to explore outside the confines of your research paper, including movies, fictionalized accounts, and places to visit next time you have a long weekend to explore the South.
Use the tabs above
to explore!
Tips for Research
- Make a numbered list of citations as you gather your resources, even if they're not formatted correctly at first.
- As you keep track of your ideas, note which number source they came from.
- Take a copy (or photo!) of the copyright and title pages for each physical book you look at (even if you don't think you're going to use it!) in case you need to refer back to the publishing information when checking your citations.
- Use note cards to organize notes and quotes from your sources. They can act as bookmarks to begin, and can help you to physically map out your paper after that.
- Be prepared to do more research as you write your paper! As you write, you will have more questions.
- Remember, it's a research paper. It's different than a reflection paper. It's actually easier to let your research lead you and inform what you write than it is to decide what you want to write and search for sources that agree with you.
Please don't be afraid to ask for help!
The Tutoring and Learning Center (L209) and reference librarians are here to help you
throughout your research and the writing of your paper.