Semester Writing Assignment
SEMESTER WRITING ASSIGNMENT (20%): You will need Sam Houston and the American
Southwest by Randolph B. Campbell. New York: Pearson-Longman, 2007. ISBN 0-321-38572-1. This
book will provide the basis for numerous objective questions and essay questions on the online quizzes
and the exams. Sam Houston and the American Southwest is a detailed summary of the major
historical concepts of Texas History. Several quotations from this book are required for the semester
writing assignment. The essay is not timed and may be submitted at any time prior to the due date.
Please read the essay instructions carefully, and answer all parts of the question within the proper length
of the paper. Note the deadline for this assignment. NO late papers shall be accepted. They must
represent original work and reflect the student’s writing style. Any work that is not original to the student
shall receptive a 0. There is to be NO collaboration. Graded essays will include brief instructor comments
and will be available to review. This is worth 20% of your grade.
Discuss the early life of Sam Houston and what events you believe to have propelled him into the military,
as well as a life in public service. Use block quotes from the text to provide evident to back up what you
are saying in your thoughts. Who were influential people who guided Houston in these endeavors?
Discuss, using the text, block quotes to back up what you are saying.
As a politician, how did Houston influence the politics of his era? How might his life with the Native
Americans have developed his views in dealing with other people? Discuss the adventures that Sam
had, and how these situations lend him towards being a controversial person? Use block quotes to show
proof from the text as to what you are stating.
How did Houston influence the development of the Southwest? What actions did he do to develop that
era? What ideas did Houston espouse that are lasting for today? Can you make any comparisons to the
geography of Texas to the life of Houston and the politics of that day? What did Houston do that most
influenced people to join the United States prior to the Civil War? What might Sam have done to try to
get Texas back into the Union after the Civil War? What actions could he have done to convince people
to willingly rejoin the Union? Use block quotes to back up your thoughts.