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3-2 Writing Plan Progress Check 3 HIS 200 - Applied History
I. Describe the historical event that you selected. Why is this event significant?
The historical event I’ve selected is the rise and fall of the Comanches in the southern regions of
the US, known as northern Mexico at one point. This event is significant because it provided an
avenue for the US to acquire most of its southern states. It also sheds light into how they were
defeated, the creation of the Texas Rangers as well as US and Mexico relations. It also provides
some analysis on the convergence of a multicultural area that allows for a modern view of how
today we also have a convergence of cultures.
II. Describe at least two secondary sources that you could use to research your
historical event. Your sources must be relevant to your event and must be of an
appropriate academic nature. In your description, consider questions such as: What
are the similarities and differences in the content of your sources? What makes them
appropriate and relevant for investigating your event? What was your thought
process when you were searching for sources? How did you make choices?
There are a number of secondary sources I plan to investigate for my research, but here are 2
mentions:
● “The Comanche Empire” by Pekka Hämäläinen
● “Empire of the Summer Moon” by S.C. Gwynne
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Both of these books are considered to be of reputable source. Pekka Hämäläinen is a history
professor that specializes in indigenous and borderlands history. S.C. Gwynne’s book, “Empire
of the Summer Moon”, was a Pulitzer Prize finalist. I believe these two sources are reliable and
of academic nature. I believe they compliment each other because they both go into analysis of
both the rise and fall of the Comanches. I’ve already begun to read, “Empire of the Summer
Moon”, and it has provided some really great insight into the Comanche way of life and customs.
Both of these books are highly regarded and thus had great influence in why I chose them as
secondary sources.
III.Describe primary sources that you could use to research your historical event.
I’m still in search of reliable primary sources that may shed some light to the reason for the
Comanche and Shoshone separation. I’m getting closer but the search is still afoot. To answer
my other questions, I’m looking into the reports of Cynthia Ann Parker, Quanah Parker and Kit
Carson among other important actors of the time.
IV. Based on your review of primary and secondary sources, develop a research
question related to the historical event you selected. In other words, what would you
like to know more about?
After digging through a plethora of pages in search of primary sources, specifically anything
written or documented by Cynthia Ann Parker, Quanah Parker, Kit Carson and other actors of
the time, I’ve narrowed my interests to the following questions that I intend to explore and
answer:
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● Why did the Comanches break off from the Shoshone?
● What made the Comanches so different and successful from the other tribes in regards to
their horse expertise and battle?
● What was Comanche life like and what heritage remains today?
V. Identify an audience that would be interested in your historical event and research
question. For example, who would benefit most from hearing your Message?
The audience that would find interest in my historical event and research are anyone who is
interested in or studying the following topics:
●
●
●
●
History of Native American Tribes
History of the Comanche Empire
Creation of the Texas Rangers
Fearsome Native American Tribes
●
●
Mastered Horses
The Acquisition of Southern
United
States
History of Texas
● Native American Tribes that
Research and study of theses are not limited to just academic readers but also to casual readers
that have interest in the above topics or simply Comanches,
VI.Describe how and why you can tailor your message to your audience, providing
specific examples. For example, will your audience understand historical
terminology and principles associated with your event, or will you need to explain
these? How will you communicate effectively with your audience?
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I plan to tailor my findings in the most engaging way possible by means of what most readers
that have some understanding of Comanches have heard or read about them, i.e., being fearsome
warriors that mastered horsemanship and scalped rivals in order to gain warrior status. The
violence that Native American tribes inflicted has always sparked interest along with the brave
men and women who had dealings by means of victimhood or fighting. Examples of this would
be the Texas Rangers as well as historical characters that fell victim to the Comanche and then
became part of them such as Cynthia Ann Parker later known as Naduah or Narua in Comanche,
also the mother of Quanah Parker, a Comanche leader. We also find time and time again movies
that depict Natives being avid horsemen, however only the Comanche were masters of
horsemanship while other native tribes used horses to some extent but were never as avid as the
Comanches. They were the American continents version of the Mongols.
Another example of how I intend to present the Comanches to further interest in the reader is by
delving deeper into examples of their culture and customs. For example how some of their
delicacies were raw buffalo liver doused in salty bile from the gallbladder or how they would
keep the entrails of their dead horses to eat raw as they rode off on a new horse.
I believe the best way to capture the attention of readers for my paper will be in a sense, through
“shock and awe” of the previously mentioned examples.
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Sources:
St. Clair, H. H., and R. H. Lowie. “Shoshone and Comanche Tales.” The Journal of
American Folklore, 1909.
Hodges, Treva Elaine. “The Captivity Narratives of Cynthia Ann Parker : Settler
Colonialism, Collective Memory, and Cultural Trauma.” Thesis, Electronic Theses and
Dissertations, 2019.
Gwynne, S. C. Empire of the Summer Moon: London: Constable, 2011.
Hämäläinen, Pekka. The Comanche Empire. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2009.
“Comanche Indians.” TSHA. Accessed November 3, 2020.
https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/comanche-indians.
Simons, Anna. “The Comanches and Us.” The American Interest, June 15, 2017.
https://www.the-american-interest.com/2009/03/01/the-comanches-and-us/.
Gwynne, S.C. “The Rise And Fall Of The Comanche 'Empire'.” NPR. NPR, May 20, 2011.
https://www.npr.org/2011/05/20/136438816/the-rise-and-fall-of-the-comanche-empire.
