Huge Writers Block-- HELP!

[jkpigskin]

ok, so i just had 2 huge exams the past 2 days and now i have to write a final paper... my mind is fried and cannot think of a paper topic... i need to write a 5-7 ARGUMENTIVE paper by friday and i have no idea wat to write about

im thinking of something near the topic of slavery cause we talked about it... but what can your write about slavery that doesnt sound like it has already been argued a gajillion times?

another possible topic is about American associations and how here in America we tend to do things in groups compared to individually elsewhere

the class is so disorganized that any paper topic with an arguable thesis will be accepted
ive just need some random ideas, so anything would be great!

[andyjo672]

If you want to write something argumentative about slavery talk about how ending slavery wasn't even a cause of the civil war, more of a biproduct and not even part of Lincoln's agenda, something that he actually disagreed with doing.

[andyjo672]

What class is this, that might give us a little more guidance to help you?

[The Unseen]

I have a great idea.

"Why Slavery Is Bad."

Sure fire, fresh topic.

(but seriously, I have no idea. Sorry)

[VoteLynnSwan]

how about the benefits of slavery? no one ever talks about those... ha

[andyjo672]

The immancipation of the slaves was a major propellent of the industrial revolution, spurning American growth as an international power and leader in the development of industrial techniques including steel production, railroad technology and oil production.

[VoteLynnSwan]

that's a pretty good topic right there ^^

[dabears10]

How about the creation of the State of Israel?

Good stuff and lots of argumentative material on it.

[jkpigskin]

What class is this, that might give us a little more guidance to help you?

well, this is an english class only by title... we only talk about American history
we've had previous papers about things we talked about previously
for this paper we talked over the following topics:
-slavery
-women writes
-looked over MLK's speach and broke it down (parrelism)
-associations

im pretty limited cause the class sucked but watevs...
thanks for the responses so far

[jkpigskin]

also...

its a class that also showed us how to write an argumentative paper dealing with rhetoric and some other stuff... sorry if im being kinda ambigious but i seriously dont know wat i learned in that class

[andyjo672]

well, this is an english class only by title... we only talk about American history
we've had previous papers about things we talked about previously
for this paper we talked over the following topics:
-slavery
-women writes
-looked over MLK's speach and broke it down (parrelism)
-associations

im pretty limited cause the class sucked but watevs...
thanks for the responses so far

I assume you mean women's "rights."

That sets up perfectly for another idea then...

You could parallel the development of women's rights, including voting, to those that were given to blacks after emancipation and the struggles both faced in actually being able to exercise those rights.

[BigDawg819]

Take an off the wall approach and write a paper on smoker's rights and why they shouldn't be done away with. Smokers are people too dammit!

[jkpigskin]

I assume you mean women's "rights."

That sets up perfectly for another idea then...

You could parallel the development of women's rights, including voting, to those that were given to blacks after emancipation and the struggles both faced in actually being able to exercise those rights.

hmm, thats interesting
wat would i being arguing?
that it didnt exist?

[ironman4579]

I suppose you could do something on forceful extradition, although that topic might be slightly difficult to research.

Extradition and abduction
Issues of international law relating to extradition have proven controversial in cases where a state has abducted and removed an individual from the territory of another state without previously requesting permission, or following normal extradition procedures. Such abductions are usually in violation of the domestic law of the country in which they occur, as infringements of laws forbidding kidnapping. Many also regard abduction as violation of international law — in particular of a prohibition on arbitrary detention. A small number of countries have been reported to use kidnapping to circumvent the formal extradition process.

Notable or controversial cases involving abduction of foreign citizens:

Morton Sobell from Mexico by the United States in 1950
Adolf Eichmann from Argentina by Israel in 1960
Isang Yun from West Germany by South Korea in 1967[2]
Ronnie Biggs from Brazil by independent bounty hunters in 1981
Mordechai Vanunu from Italy by Israel in 1986
Manuel Noriega from Panama by the United States in 1989
Alvarez-Machain from Mexico by the United States Drug Enforcement Administration in 1990
Mir Aimal Kansi from Pakistan by the CIA in 1997
Martin Mubanga from Zambia to Guantanamo Bay by the United States in 2002Andrew Luster from Mexico by Duane Chapman in 2003
Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr from Italy to Egypt by the CIA in 2005

[Chucky]

A more basic question would be


Did Slavery happen because of racism, or did racism develop because of slavery. ie. what came first slavery or racism

[jkpigskin]

A more basic question would be


Did Slavery happen because of racism, or did racism develop because of slavery. ie. what came first slavery or racism

thats an interesting idea....
it is very arguable...

keep em coming guys, i like wat im seeing

[Gatz]

Was the civil war necessary to abolish slavery.
just throwing it out there.

[andyjo672]

A more basic question would be


Did Slavery happen because of racism, or did racism develop because of slavery. ie. what came first slavery or racism

I would say its easily slavery happened out of economic sense, the fact that they used blacks had to do with racism, so i guess the answer would be the use of African slaves was the result of racist feelings that white europeans were superior to their African counterparts.

[TimDris]

Take an off the wall approach and write a paper on smoker's rights and why they shouldn't be done away with. Smokers are people too dammit!

just with much darker lungs and worse breath

[andyjo672]

Was the civil war necessary to abolish slavery.
just throwing it out there.

Was the abolition of slavery necessary to help the union win the war? Did the ending of slavery help to unite the northern states, increase military enrollment with newly freed slaves enlisting in the union armies, or did it jeopardize the war by possibly ending relationships with the border states?

[bantx]

this is giving good ideas for my scholarship papers i need to write :]

[Chucky]

I would say its easily slavery happened out of economic sense, the fact that they used blacks had to do with racism, so i guess the answer would be the use of African slaves was the result of racist feelings that white europeans were superior to their African counterparts.

Personally I believed that the africans were only used because economically it made the most sense at the time. I mean the only other options were really natives or indentured servants. While the initial transportation would be very expensive, it would make the most sense in the long run. The natives would be a poor choice because they would be very hard to contain and be hard to kept under control for generations. The servants had to be let free after a certain amount of year. Africans would be able to reproduce for generations and they would not be very rebellious at all. Once the Africans were installed as slaves, people just began to think og them as a lower class, which led to all blackskinned humans being thought of as a lower class

[ironman4579]

You could also do something on the fact that before the Civil War, there was nothing in the constitution that said a state or states could not leave the union. The Northern states refused to abide the by the fugitive slave act(good thing obviously), thus actually going against the constitution. It would be like states without the death penalty refusing to send fugitives back to states with the death penalty. It would be against the constitution. You could argue something on that, although it might be a touchy subject, and you could end up looking like a redneck racist if you did it wrong.

[Chucky]

You could also talk about the "missing clause" that Jefferson "forgot" to put in the constitution that would infact free the slaves and make blacks equal. THere is a lot you could right about that.

[BigDawg819]

just with much darker lungs and worse breath

This coming from a Jersey guy, I'm sure your lungs are pristine.... :rolleyes:

[jkpigskin]

okay, i think i have an idea about wat to write about if i was to write about slavery

how about a topic about American Associations? anybody haev a topic off that.... its pretty broad topic but wat we talked about is how americans tend to make associations instead of doing things individually....

[The Unseen]

You could also do something on the fact that before the Civil War, there was nothing in the constitution that said a state or states could not leave the union.

There still isn't.

You could write about popular sovereignity. Was popular sovereignity effective? Was it justified in indirectly allowing slavery under the auspices of freedom of choice for the inhabitants?

Then there's Dred Scott, John Brown (oooh, fun), Bleeding Kansas, and the Missouri Compromise. This stuff is all before the war. Afterwards, the main issue is pretty much Reconstruction.

[yo123]

Take an off the wall approach and write a paper on smoker's rights and why they shouldn't be done away with. Smokers are people too dammit!




Yeah, its totally their right to give other innocent people lung cancer.

[ironman4579]

There still isn't.

You could write about popular sovereignity. Was popular sovereignity effective? Was it justified in indirectly allowing slavery under the auspices of freedom of choice for the inhabitants?

Then there's Dred Scott, John Brown (oooh, fun), Bleeding Kansas, and the Missouri Compromise. This stuff is all before the war. Afterwards, the main issue is pretty much Reconstruction.

I know. I was just trying to say it from a "historical" standpoint.

[someone447]

Yeah, its totally their right to give other innocent people lung cancer.

Propaganda, there have been no studies that have shown a legitimate link between second hand smoke and lung cancer.

Edit: Rather, the studies that have shown a link have been called into question in recent years.