Wikipedia:Peer review/History of slavery in Indiana/archive1

History of slavery in Indiana

• A script has been used to generate a semi-automated review of the article for issues relating to grammar and house style; it can be found on the automated peer review page for January 2009.

This peer review discussion has been closed.
I've listed this article for peer review because…I think it's just about ready for FA status, and want to know what little tweaks are needed to get that accomplished. I know it could use a few more cites, and the person who wrote those paragraphs without citing will lace them on this weekend.

Thanks, King Bedford I ^{Seek his grace} 03:24, 9 January 2009 (UTC)

Brianboulton comments: Without wishing to discourage you, I have to say that at present I believe this article has a way to go to reach FA standards. There are significant problems with prose and also with under-citation. So far, I have only read down to the "Southern influences" subsection; I have done some copyediting myself, but have still produced the long list of issues below – and that's barely a third of the article. So a considerable amount of work is likely to be necessary to bring the article up to the required standard.

• Lead:
  • You are entitled, under WR rules relating to image display, to enlarge your lead image. I have raised it to 300px.
  • First line: "occurred" is the wrong word. "...existed" would be OK
  • "...with a few traces of slavery afterward" contains awkward repetition. Try "...with a few traces thereafter".
  • "When the United States first took control..." "first" is redundant. Giving a year woud be useful here.
  • "Opposition against slavery..." I would reorganize this sentence; opposition doesn't organised itself. Suggested rewording: "Organized opposition to slavery in Indiania began around 1805"
  • Clarify that the "constitution" mentioned here is the state constitution
  • The sentence beginning "With the end of slavery in the state..." needs some work. Something like: "With the ending of slavery in Indiana, the state's position as a border state with the South became an important factor in the later fight against slavery" - or something like that.
  • You must not assume that everone reading the article will know what a Hoosier is.
  • "came to play" should be "played"
  • This is clumsy: "Indiana remained anti-slavery, and in the American Civil War remained with the Union and contributed men to the war that would result in the end of slavery in the United States." A rewrite might produce something like: "Indiana remained an anti-slavery state, loyal to the Union, and in the American Civil War contributed large numbers of soldiers to the struggle that would end salvery in the United States".
• Early existence
  • The map as it stands in unhelpful, since it doesn't clearly identify Indiana.
  • "Slavery was already a present institution..." should read "Slavery was an existing institution..."
  • Suggest comma after "French". The phrase "who had controlled the area only 20 years earlier" is uninformative. You should indicate why they had ceased to control the area (ousted by the British?) and give a date.
  • No capital in "population"
  • Say "150 years", not "one hundred and fifty years". Also, end the sentence here – the rest is redundant
  • The revised sentence needs citing to a source.
  • "René Robert etc etc..." - no need to spell out his full formal title. Just call him "Robert de La Salle"
  • "exploration" should be singular, not plural.
  • I have copyedited the latter part of the first paragraph, and have indicated where I think facts or quotes require citation.
  • The second paragraph belongs more properly, I believe, in the "Southern influences" section
  • "Many Virginian natives..." I think "settlers" is a beter description of the Virginians
  • "Fear of French rebellion..." needs some explanation. Was there a substantial French population?
• Southern influences
  • Can you date Larrabee's remark?
  • I don't think initial immigration can be attributed both to the Revolutionary War and to the 1812 War, given the thirty years' time difference.
  • The statement that Southerners of all classes immigrated to Indiana prompts the question as to why they did so. A brief explanation would be appropriate.
  • "But others immigrated to Indiana like Levi Coffin, a North Carolina Quaker who was an outspoken abolitionst." This sentence needs rewriting along the lines: "Other immigrants to Indiana, such as the North Carolina Quaker Levi Coffin, were outspoken abolitionists."

I am continuing to read the article carefully, and will give you further comments later. Meanwhile it would be useful to have your reponses to these initial comments.

Later

• Treatment of slaves
  • "prisoners of war", not "in war"
  • "the decline..." not "the declined..."
  • "Early slaves were often Native Americans who were sold to pay debts". Is there a source for this? Does it mean that they were captured and then sold to pay debts?
  • "While part of new France" is imprecise wording. I assume you mean "While the territory was under Frnch jurisdiction..."
  • Two successive sentences begin wth "Other laws...", which should be avoided
  • William Henry Harrison and George Poyser Clark have prewviosly been linked. No need to link them at every mention.
  • Prose and punctuation in the short last paragraph look in need of attention - this is true of mst of the prose, though I have made some fixes.
• Indiana Territory
  • The images should exchange positions, as both men are presently tending to look away from the article. See MOS about image placement.
  • "Both men were appointed by the President of the United States which was held..." Ungrammatical
  • Harrison is linked again. The tendency general to overlink is present through the article and need sattention
  • "They sought to have a new law..." who is they?
  • I notice a tendency to repeat information. For example we are repeatedly told that Harrison was interested in having slavery legalized. The section - indeed, the whole article - could do with some careful pruning.
• Fight to end slavery
  • Citations are required for the information concerning Jefferson at the beginning of the section, and for "the fact that he almost succeeded, and likely would have done..."
  • Carelessness: "used him as and agent"; "attempt to legalized slavery"; "signed an circulated"
  • General wordiness: "Dennis Pennington and others put forth speeches and resolved to put a stop to the attempt to legalize slavery. They declared their intention to put an end to the 'despised institution'". All this could be condensed to someting like: Pennington and others called for an end to Harrison's attempts tolegalize "the despised institution".

I think I have reviewed sufficient of the article to have highlighted the need for some considerable attention to the prose, and also for the need for greater citation. It would be to the article's advantage if an uninvolved editor with copywriting skills could work on the prose. The subject is interesting, and considerable effort has clearly gone into the article. It would be worthwhile for these efforts to continue, towards the further improvement of the article. Brianboulton (talk) 17:46, 17 January 2009 (UTC)