Assignment
In 700 words (2-3 pages), develop an argument-driven paper in response to one of the questions below. Copy the text of the question at the top of your essay. Be sure to support your answer with direct references to the text, though direct quotations are not required. Use parenthetical notation for citations, i.e., (Johnson, 43); no works cited page is necessary.
Historian Paul Johnson examines the connections between Sam Patch's identity as mule spinner and waterfall jumper. What do Sam Patch's jumps, and the reactions they elicited, reveal about class in the 1820s? In your answer, consider how different groups reacted to Patch's actions.
or
Historian Paul Johnson writes, "Celebrity is one of the materials from which people in democratic, capitalist America make their folklore and themselves." (p. 165) What does Sam Patch's celebrity tell us about American culture in the early 19th century?