Family Life in the Slave Quarters: Survival Strategies Family Life in the Slave Quarters: Survival Strategies Marie Jenkins Schwartz OAH Magazine of History , Vol. 15, No. 4, Family History (Summer, 2001), pp. 36-41 Published by: Organization of American Historians Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25163462 Preserving Slave Families for Profit: Traders’ Incentives and Pricing in the New Orleans Slave Market Charles W. Calomiris and Jonathan B. Pritchett The Journal of Economic History , Vol. 69, No. 4 (DECEMBER 2009), pp. 986-1011 Published by: Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Economic History Association Article Stable URL:...

The thesis statement or thesis question is one of the (if not the) most important parts of your paper.  It should be introduced in the first paragraph and serve as the focus of your analytic argument.  The thesis is the thread  (a strong one!) that ties together your interpretations of all the significant moments, patterns, developments, changes, and/or contradictions that you will develop in the body of your paper.  Think of the thesis statement as a contract between you (the writer) and the reader. The thesis makes certain promises to your reader; it then becomes your job to fulfill that promise using specific details or analysis.  The more specific your promise, the easier it will be to find specific evidence to support your argument.   This post offers general guidelines on writing thesis statements, but it’s important to remember: thesis statements are NOT formulas, and a...