History of Philadelphia Villanova University Spring 1998

A neighborhood or a street.

A racial or ethnic group.

A religious denomination.

A type of business.

A period of crisis or celebration.

Another theme that you propose.

At the end of the semester, we will assemble everyone's tours into a spiral-bound "book." Everyone in the class will get a copy of the book (there will be a small fee for photocopying). If you would like to see a copy of this project as completed by another class, "Tours of Philadelphia," by students at LaSalle University, has been placed on reserve at Falvey Library.

The paper will consist of two sections:

An introductory section of about 3 to 5 pages that introduces your topic.

A second section in which you describe in detail between six and ten sites associated with your topic.

Endnotes and a bibliography are required.

You will do the work on this project in stages throughout the semester.

If you like, you may do this paper in partnership with another member of this class. If you work in a pair, you will have the following additional requirements:

You must keep a journal that records in detail the work that you did and the work that your partner did. (Each partner must keep an individual journal.)

The partners will divide up the sites in the tour and write about them individually. Both partners will write the introductory section together.

People

William Penn (or the Penn family)

Benjamin Franklin (or the Franklin family)

Deborah Franklin (his wife)

Benjamin Franklin Bache (his son; controversial newspaper editor during the 1790s)

Betsy Ross

Thomas Paine

Charles Willson Peale (artist, museum-keeper, Revolutionary War soldier); or the Peale family

Elizabeth Drinker (kept a diary during the 18^th and early 19^th century)

Richard Allen (founder of African Methodist Episcopal Church)

James Forten (prominent 18^th century African American)

Anthony Benezet (early educator of African Americans)

Thomas Sully (18th-19th century artist)

William Strickland (19^th-century architect; designed Second Bank of the United States, etc.)

John Haviland (19^th-century architect, designed Eastern State Penitentiary, etc.)

Nicholas Biddle (president of the Second Bank of the United States; battled Andrew Jackson)

Stephen Girard (trader & banker, bequest built Delaware Ave. and the Girard College school).

The Drexel family

General George Meade (Civil War general)

Lucretia Mott (abolitionist and women's rights activist)
 
 

Octavius Catto (African American Civil War veteran and educator; murdered in 1870s)

W.E.B. DuBois (African American sociologist who studied Philadelphia during the 1890s)

John Wanamaker (department store magnate)

Matthias Baldwin (industrialist - locomotives)

George Woodward (builder of Chestnut Hill railroad suburb)

Marion Anderson (opera singer)

Frank Rizzo (mayor)

Many, many other possibilities. Philadelphia during ...

... pick a time period: a decade, a year (such as the Centennial year of 1876), or a historical period (the Civil War era, the Revolutionary War era, the Progressive era, the Great Depression, etc.).

Business / Industry

Banking

Insurance

Manufacturing (choose an industry)

Ship-building

Department stores

Shopping malls Topics
 
 

Architecture (choose a style or architect)

Religion (choose one)

Ethnic/racial groups (choose one; perhaps also narrow to a time period)

Abolitionism

Women's rights movement

Temperance movement

Urban renewal

Public transportation

Prisons

Firefighting

Philadelphia lawyers

Nature preserves, zoos, gardens, etc.

Universities

Poor relief
 

Housing reform

Music (choose a genre)

Publishing (newspapers and/or magazines)

Riots

William Penn's five squares (choose one to do in depth, or an overview of all)

Fairmount Park (highlights or one aspect in depth, such as the park mansions)

Museums

Libraries

Theaters

Sports (choose a sport or a topic such as stadiums)

Cemeteries (by area or time period, or one in detail)

Hospitals

Philadelphia in the movies Streets / Neighborhoods

Numerous possibilities, including business districts such as Chestnut Street or Market Street; Delaware Avenue; South Street; neighborhoods including South Philadelphia, Society Hill, Manayunk, Kensington (Irish origins), Tacony (industrial town), West Philadelphia, Germantown, and Chestnut Hill; Main Line suburbs (choose one to do in depth, or an overview of several). Many, many more possibilities.

To help you produce a successful paper, deadlines have been established throughout the semester. You must do all of the steps in the process; failure to do so will significantly reduce your final grade on the paper.

PLAGIARISM or DISHONESTY in completing this assignment (or any other for this class) will result in a grade of "F." Consult the section on plagiarism in A Pocket Guide to Writing in History and Villanova's policy on plagiarism and dishonesty.
 

Things to do	Deadlines / Things to turn in
First three weeks (Jan. 12-30): Pick a topic and compile a bibliography.  The bibliography must include a minimum of five sources. One can be the Weigley book. At least three must be books or articles. Other sources might include newspapers (see list on elective handout); World Wide Web sites; maps; photographs or other visual evidence; and visits to historic sites or museums.   If you plan to visit research libraries or archives to seek sources (such as photographs) at this stage of the process, it is sufficient to simply identify where you plan to go.   Compile your bibliography following the examples in A Pocket Guide to Writing in History.	Jan. 30:  Turn in bibliography.   Pairs: Turn in one bibliography.
Next four weeks (Oct. 5-17): Read your sources. Think about what you want to include in your introductory section, and decide which sites you want to include on your tour. Pairs: Decide who will do which site.   At this stage, read A Pocket Guide to Writing in History for tips on how to take notes, how to handle quotations, and especially how to avoid plagiarism.	Feb. 23: Turn in an informal progress report that lists the sites you think you will put on your tour and describes what you have done so far on your research.   Pairs: Turn in one progress report, but also attach your individual journals of work done so far.
Next four weeks (March 2-27): Continue with your research. Meanwhile, write a draft of your introductory section and of one of your sites. The introductory section should introduce the topic or time period covered by your tour. Write this in such a way that a person with no knowledge of the history of Philadelphia will understand the context for the tour.   The site should include a description of the site, what happened there, and how it relates to your overall topic.    These drafts should be written to best of your ability. Include appropriate endnotes in these drafts.	March 27:  Turn in a draft of your introductory section and one of your sites. (You will get the draft back the next week with constructive comments to help you complete your project successfully.)   Pairs: Turn in introductory section and one site by each partner (total of two). Indicate the author of each site.
Next two and half weeks (March 30-April 15): Finish researching and writing your paper.	April 15: Papers due. Bring two copies (one to be graded, one to be put in the "book"). Attach your partial draft to one of the copies.   Pairs: Each site in your paper should have at the end the initials of the individual author. When you turn in your paper, also turn in your individual journals.

 

PAPER PREPARATION:

Papers must be typed, double-spaced.

Use a standard type size (11- or 12-point) and a standard font (a type style that resembles typewriter typing; don't type in all italics or bold-face).

Use one-inch margins on all sides.

To facilitate the book, do not put a title page on your paper. Instead, at the top of the first page, give your tour a title and type your name underneath it (centered). Example:

All information in your paper must be credited to its original source with endnotes that follow the style in A Pocket Guide to Writing in History (which is the same as the Chicago Manual of Style or Turabian, A Manual for Writers ).

Your paper should end with a bibliography of all the sources you consulted. Follow the style in Turabian.

Correct grammar and clarity of expression are expected. No paper with significant patterns of error or carelessness will receive an A.

Do not put your paper in a report cover. Simply paper clip the pages together.
 

FALVEY LIBRARY has in its collection numerous books about Philadelphia. For an overview of holdings, search FLASH for the subject "Philadelphia (Pa.)." For additional secondary sources:

Consult the library's CD-ROM database, "America History and Life."

Look at back issues of Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography and Pennsylvania History (your electives list covers 1982 to the present).

Consult the bibliographies in Warner, The Private City and Cutler and Gillette, The Divided Metropolis.

Consult the list of articles on your electives handout; you will save work for yourself if you incorporate the reading for your project into your choices for elective assignments.

The library also has a good collection of Philadelphia newspapers, dating back to the eighteenth century. For a list, see the electives handout.

Standard overviews of Philadelphia that preceded the Weigley book include:

Jackson, Encyclopedia of Philadelphia (1931)

Oberholtzer, Philadelphia: A History of the City and Its People (1911)

Scharf and Westcott, History of Philadelphia (1884)

Watson, Annals of Philadelphia and Pennsylvania in the Olden Time (1845-56)
 

The Philadelphia area has a rich variety of historical collections that you can consult for your research, if you like. If you are planning to visit one of these libraries, it would be a good idea to call ahead and speak to an archivist so you can find out whether the library has sources appropriate for your project. While you are on the phone, find out the hours the library is open and ask if you need an appointment to do research. For Internet links to many of the area's research libraries, visit http://www.libertynet.org:80/pacscl

Perhaps the most useful collection, particularly if you are working on a twentieth-century topic or a geographic area, is the Urban Archives at Temple University. This collection includes newspaper clippings and photographs indexed by subject. If enough class members are interested, we will schedule an orientation tour at the Urban Archives.

Urban Archives, Temple University, in Paley Library between 12th and 13th Sts. on Berks Mall. Open weekdays, Wednesday evenings, and one Saturday per month. 215-204-5750. http://www.library.temple.edu/urbana/

The main branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia has many sources, including a vast collection of prints and photographs (this department is only open weekdays).

Free Library of Philadelphia, 19th and Vine Sts. on Logan Square, 215-686-5322. http://www.library.phila.gov/