Introduction

In this exercise, students learn to pose questions of primary source documents by reading and analyzing Civil War-era personal correspondence. They conduct research to follow up on these questions and use their findings to create an introduction to and annotations for the letters. My class worked with letters from the Cranston family papers written by Union soldier Alfred Cranston to his fiancée Elizabeth Petford in Brooklyn.

The larger goal of this exercise is to introduce students to research and its practical applications in a fun and accessible way. The scale of the research required is more manageable for beginning or remedial students than a traditional final paper. While students are not required to formulate an original thesis, they learn to conduct independent research and synthesize primary and secondary sources.

The exercise leverages the intimate stories that often unfold in personal correspondence. Students are captivated by the courtship of Alfred Cranston and Elizabeth Petford. My students were indignant on his behalf, for example, when they read that he had not heard from her for awhile, and they debated whether his descriptions of soldiers’ dead bodies would cause her to worry too much.

This engagement with the primary source material motivates students in the next steps of the research project. Students pose questions about unfamiliar concepts or intriguing issues; for example, my students wanted to learn more about the postal system during the Civil War. Next, they find answers in scholarly and popular articles. Ultimately, each student produces about twelve annotations clarifying places, people, and terms mentioned in the letters.

[expand title=”Objectives” tag=”h3″]

Students should be able to:

• Read and transcribe handwritten documents
• Pose critical research questions about a primary source
• Find and evaluate appropriate secondary sources
• Locate pertinent information in secondary sources
• Create well-researched annotations for places, people, and terms mentioned in a primary source document

[/expand]

[expand title=”Context” tag=”h3″]Before the visit to the archives, students are introduced to personal correspondence as a genre. When asked, less than half of my students had written letters. In class, we practice reading and transcribing using photocopies of early twentieth-century letters from my family.

Through lectures and readings, students are provided general historical context about the Civil War and nineteenth-century correspondence and courtship (see Further Reading below). Students also learn about the collection they will encounter at the archives by reading the biographical note excerpted from the Cranston family papers finding aid.

After the visit to the archives, but before the research project is due, librarians at our college introduce students to the following:

• reference databases including specialized encyclopedias and historical atlases
• newspaper databases like the New York Times and the Brooklyn Daily Eagle
• MLA style citations

[/expand]

[expand title=”Visit” tag=”h3″]Number of Visits: 1
Duration of Visit: 1 hour

Agenda

3 students work together to read 1 or more letters (depending on the length). In the archives, they begin to transcribe these letters as a group. They take research photographs to continue the transcriptions as homework.

Wrap Up

The class reconvenes to discuss first impressions of Alfred Cranston and his relationship with Elizabeth Petford. Students also share observations about the physical appearance of the letters, and reflect on the process of transcribing.
[/expand]

[expand title=”End Products” tag=”h3″]Each group collaborates on a proofed transcription of the letter(s) they read in the archives. Each student then compiles a bibliography, writes an introduction to their letter(s), and produces approximately twelve well-researched annotations. Students also post 3 reflections to the course blog.

Group Transcription

The group’s transcription is due 2 class sessions after the visit to the archives.

Individual Research Projects

Students are individually responsible for writing an introduction which analyzes their letter(s), researching and writing at least twelve annotations, and compiling a bibliography.

Students receive the instructions for this research project in advance of their visit to the archives.

Blog Prompts

The class blog provides a useful way to encourage reflection about the research experience and to check in on the progress of their projects. See prompts relevant to this exercise here.
[/expand]

[expand title=”Assessment” tag=”h3″]Research projects are assessed using the rubric provided by my department for this course.

One challenge in grading this assignment is fact checking the annotations. Final products earning an A grade should contain only factually accurate annotations. Because of this, it is a time-consuming project to grade.
[/expand]

[expand title=”Archival Materials Used” tag=”h3″]

[/expand]

[expand title=”Further Reading” tag=”h3″]

[/expand]