Analyzing Objects

Porcelain

Musket Ball

Smallpox

Nail

Reaper

Shirtwaist

Transistor

Coffee

Record

Tire

Dishwasher

Dress

Stereograph

Stone

Mail

Shoe

Question 1:
Historical thinking is the reading, analysis, and writing that is necessary to tell historical stories. It’s comprised of five main elements: multiple accounts and perspectives, a close reading and analysis of primary sources, sourcing (asking questions about sources), understanding and asking questions about historical context to get an accurate picture, and providing evidence for claims made about the past. Other elements of historical thinking include causation, significance, change over time, and corroboration. Historical thinking helps students become better readers, thinkers, and citizens. It is the vehicle in that will enable students to master content.
Question 2:
Using objects encourages historical thinking. I really liked the See-Think-Wonder historical inquiry strategy found on page two of the module. It’s a great way for a teacher to gauge a student’s knowledge of the material they’re studying, and, more importantly, it’s a great way for students to begin to ask questions about the material. I also liked the idea of having students contrast the ideas in Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence with his thoughts contained in his fugitive slave advertisement. Looking at both primary sources allows a student to gain a deeper understanding of the complexity of the man and the complexity of era in which he lived. The most moving object I saw on this page was the inscription that John Hemmings carved on his wife’s tombstone. As teachers, we need to give students more examples of the humanity and deep feelings of groups that have been historically oppressed. Using objects gives students a broader and more accurate picture of the past.
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Question 1:
This is a vinyl record. My guess it's from the 1920s. The song is entitled "Young America" and it was recorded by Nora Bayes with Orchestra. The label is Victor Records. Today, I believe this label still exists under the name RCA. The His Master's Voice logo is still in use today. I think the UK music chain HMV is owned by the same company.
Question 2:
Perhaps this song was somewhat popular during the Roaring Twenties. It's title, "Young America" is quite optimistic. I'm completely unfamiliar with the lyrics, but they perhaps reflect a county feeling confident about its victory in The Great War and confident about a booming stock market. I'm pretty sure this record wasn't released during the Depression. I know that vinyl record production nearly came to a standstill in the 1930s. Perhaps the 1920s and 1930s could be contrasted by for a class by first playing this song and then playing a sadder song recorded during the Depression.
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Module Id: 1128
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Question 1:
This is a vinyl record. My guess it's from the 1920s. The song is entitled "Young America" and it was recorded by Nora Bayes with Orchestra. The label is Victor Records. Today, I believe this label still exists under the name RCA. The His Master's Voice logo is still in use today. I think the UK music chain HMV is owned by the same company.
Question 2:
Perhaps this song was somewhat popular during the Roaring Twenties. It's title, "Young America" is quite optimistic. I'm completely unfamiliar with the lyrics, but they perhaps reflect a county feeling confident about its victory in The Great War and confident about a booming stock market. I'm pretty sure this record wasn't released during the Depression. I know that vinyl record production nearly came to a standstill in the 1930s. Perhaps the 1920s and 1930s could be contrasted by for a class by first playing this song and then playing a sadder song recorded during the Depression.
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Module Id: 1128
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Question 1:
The object is an envelope addressed to a Mr. E.E. Alexander of Pickens Court House, South Carolina. Due to the "Esquire" abbreviation after his name, Alexander could be fairly wealthy, perhaps a slaveholder. It was sent by the Auditor's Office of the Confederate States of America's Post Office Department. The envelope and its contents were mailed between 1861 and 1865. Apparently, the envelope was mailed for free.
Question 2:
This could be used in a unit on the Civil War. Perhaps it could be used to contrast the everyday lives of well-to-do southerners with southerners of less means, enlisted soldiers perhaps, and enslaved people. Because the envelope was sent by the Post Office Department of the Confederate government, it could also be used in a discussion about the structure of the Confederate government and in a lesson contrasting the Confederate government with the U.S. government at the time of the war.
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Question 1:
I think this object is a tombstone in a cemetery. Due to the weathering and the moss, I'm having a very difficult time reading the inscriptions on it. I would imagine that it is from the 1800s or possibly the 1700s. I think I can make out a "17" at the very bottom of the stone. Perhaps the person was born in the 1700s and died in the 1800s. Due to the relatively plain nature of the stone, I'm guessing the person it memorializes wasn't from the upper echelons of society. I'm also guessing that the decedent was a member of relatively non-ostentatious Christian denomination.
Question 2:
I think this object could connect to the Second Great Awakening of English-speaking America. Perhaps its plain nature counters the more ornate mainstream denominations of the time, the Episcopal Church and the Presbyterian Church. Another theme the object could be connected to is Jacksonian Democracy. I'm guessing that the stone probably memorializes a common working person, rather than a member of an established elite.
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Question 1:
According to the heading, this object is called a stereoscope. I’m completely unfamiliar with it, but it reminds me of the old Viewmaster toy I had when I was a kid in the seventies. It’s interesting that out of the two square glass lenses used for viewing pictures, only the left lens is viewing the object. The right lens is blocked, but I imagine the blocking piece can be easily removed. The picture is probably best viewed when both lenses are open. Stereoscopes are held by a wooden handle.
To me, the black and white photograph with two identical images that the stereoscope is viewing is rather uninteresting. It shows a young child standing by a small bed. The person in the bed appears to be a woman, probably the child’s mother. Perhaps she is sick or even dying. If this image fails to interest viewers, it looks like it can easily be removed from the stereoscope and replaced with another.
Question 2:
One broad theme the object can connect to is the rise of popular mass entertainment in the early twentieth century. I’m guessing the stereoscope was invented shortly after movie-going became popular. Perhaps movie theaters were not very widespread at the time of this device’s invention. A movie fan could purchase a stereoscope and view still images from some of the more popular films of the time.
Another theme could be related to the photograph rather than the device that is viewing it. The picture looks quite sad and sentimental. Perhaps the woman is the picture is permanently bedridden as a result of an industrial accident. Therefore, other themes this module could connect to is the rise of the progressive movement and the labor movement. Perhaps the creator of this particular stereoscope image wanted to persuade stereoscope users that factory conditions for many American workers were quite poor and major changes must be made. If changes were not made, many children could possibly lose parents to worksite accidents.
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Question 1:
This appears to be a porcelain tea cup and a matching porcelain saucer. It appears to be part of a set. Two other porcelain objects with matching patterns are in the background of the picture. The cup and saucer have been placed on a matching blue table cloth. I would imagine that the owner of this set is rather wealthy. I'm also guessing that this set was imported from Europe rather than made in the U.S.
Question 2:
One theme could be the American Revolution. The most obvious historical event this photo brings to my mind is the Boston Tea Party. Perhaps this set belonged to a loyalist family that opposed American independence from Britain. I remember learning that drinking coffee did not become widespread in America until the Revolutionary War era. It was viewed as act of protest against Great Britain and its policies.
Another theme that this porcelain tea set may relate to is the Gilded Age of the late 19th century. Perhaps only the wealthiest Americans of the time could afford to purchase a porcelain tea set. Owing one and displaying one in the parlor would be a status symbol. Perhaps many working class and middle class Americans aspired to own such a set in the future.
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Question 1:
The woman in the photograph is wearing a long white dress. Attached to the dress is a dark sash or scarf containing two words. I can clearly read the word “woman” on the sash. The other word isn’t as easy for me to read. It may be “suffrage.” Both women in picture appear to be wearing very similar dresses. The dress, I believe, is relatively fashionable for the time. It is not the type of dress a woman of the working class would wear, at least not on a daily basis.
Question 2:
Due to the words on the sash and due to the early 20th century outfit she is wearing, I’m assuming this woman is a suffragette and the picture connects to the women’s suffrage movement. The woman has a rather patrician bearing and I’m guessing that she has a rather elevated position in the movement. Although I don’t consider myself extremely knowledgeable about women’s suffrage, I would imagine the leaders in the movement were relatively-educated for their era and were from the middle and upper classes.
Another theme the photograph and the dress could connect to is women’s education in the United States. I know that some institutes of higher learning, Oberlin for example, began admitting women in the mid-19th century. By the time this picture was probably taken, there were many women’s colleges throughout the county, including Virginia’s Madison College and Mary Washington College. Historically “male” colleges in Virginia have a rather mixed legacy of admitting women. For example, William and Mary began admitting women about 1920, but UVA did not admit women undergraduates until around 1970. I’m curious about the state in which this photograph was taken and that state’s history of admitting women into institutes of higher learning.
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Question 1:
There are five nails in this photo. They range in size from about three centimeters to eight centimeters. They appear to be made of metal. I'm guessing the metal is iron. All five nails seem to be quite old. All contain a significant amount of rust. The heads of all five nails still seem quite flat, but none of the tips/points seem to be as sharp as they probably originally were.
Question 2:
One theme the nails could connect to is Colonialism. Perhaps the nails belonged to settlers from England in the seventeenth century. If so, they were probably made in England and transported across the Atlantic. It's possible that the nails were created in a forge or blacksmith's shop in an American colony. I know that some forges existed in America during colonial times and most folks who've visited Colonial Williamsburg can definitely recall the blacksmith's shop.
Another theme they could connect to is Westward Expansion. Perhaps the nails were made in the eastern U.S. and brought westward by nineteenth century pioneers. The nails possibly could have belonged to someone who migrated to the western U.S. along the Oregon Trial, traveled to California in search of gold, or moved their family west shortly after the Homestead Act was passed.
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Question 1:
It seems as if I shouldn't have watched the video before answering Question 1. No need for me to rethink because my initial response was a summary of the video.
Question 2:
Again, I read ahead before submitting my response. All I'll add is that many teachers almost exclusively use textbooks. Using more primary sources and objects in our instruction will make us better teachers by giving our students a broader and deeper understanding of the material.
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Question 1:
While I was correct in assuming the song had an optimistic theme, I overshot the year it was recorded by over a decade. I wasn’t expecting it to be about the immigrant experience. I definitely wasn’t expecting the singer and co-writer to be the child of immigrants. I liked how the song referenced a range of immigrant communities (Irish, Jewish, German). The message of confidence that the children of immigrants will be assimilated into American culture is a very positive message that still needs to be heard over a century later.
Another theme that the song may be hinting at is the economic prowess or the potential for economic prowess of the United States in the early years of the twentieth century. For the singer, America is definitely the land of opportunity. The most optimistic line in the song relates to a child of immigrants becoming a future president.
Question 2:
The previous page in the module contained photographs, political cartoons, a graph, and a ship’s manifest to better understand the history of immigration in the U.S. I also think journals and letters would be a very effective way to convey to students the challenges of the immigrant experience. It would be interesting to contrast optimistic accounts of immigrant life with challenging accounts. Students would also need to read editorials from established newspapers that providing varying opinions about immigrants.
As someone who was raised on the East Coast, I didn’t learn much about the Chinese and Japanese immigrant experience. If I taught immigration, I would definitely emphasize the experience of Asian immigrants. Many students we currently teach are the children of Asian immigrants.
A final thought I had about sources relates to the military. It would be very interesting to learn about the percentage of non-native born soldiers who fought in World War I and World War II. Military records would be a great source of information. Journals or letters of the children of immigrants fighting for the United States would be particularly interesting.
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Question 1:
The most specific example I can think of the mail being connected to broader themes in 19th-century history is that the mail was the primary means of sharing information between states and between regions of the U.S. Telegraph usage was available, but I don't believe it was widespread until the middle of the century. Therefore, if a southerner wished to be aware of issues being discussed in the nation's capital or northern cities, mailed newspapers would be the best source of information. It would be interesting to find out how many southern newspapers had correspondents in Washington, covering Congress and relaying information back to the South.
I would imagine that the mail was an impetus to westward expansion. "Go West Young Man" was a phrase attributed to newspaper editor Horace Greeley. The mail and newspapers sent accounts of the discovery of gold in California in the 1840s, encouraging the Gold Rush of 1849. I'd imagine that the mail and newspapers made easterners aware of military victories in Texas and Mexico, accelerating migration west. News of the passage of the Homestead Act would definitely have been spread by mail. Lastly, the Pony Express directly connects mail with the history of the western U.S.
On a final note, I'm wondering what literacy rates were in the mid-1800s. Was mail mostly received by an educated elite? I'm still assuming E.E. Alexander, Esq. was a man of means.
Question 2:
The most powerful information contained in the resources pertaining to tensions over states rights was the account of mail from the north being burned by an angry mob in South Carolina. I was not previously aware of this, but I can’t say I was too surprised to learn about it. What was surprising was that it occurred in 1835, twenty-six years before the start of the Civil War. I was unaware that the average southerner felt very threatened by the idea of abolition nearly three decades before the start of the war. This makes me realize that tensions grew stronger and stronger as the years passed.
It was also interesting to learn about the reorganization of the post office in 1835, right around the time that the abolition movement was becoming stronger. I was also unaware that 175,000 ant-slavery tracts were sent by mail to the south. I didn’t know that Garrison put such a large amount of effort into attempting the persuade southerners abolishing slavery needed to occur. I had always assumed that his efforts largely targeted fellow northerners. Knowing this makes the mail-related riots in Charleston easier to understand.
In my earlier response, I mentioned wondering about 19th-century literacy rates. A northerner would not have to have possessed the skills to read newspapers like The Liberator to be offended by slavery. Both the painting of Washington at Mount Vernon and the image of sweet potatoes being planted contain African-Americans doing manual labor while whites relaxed in very close proximity. A skilled supporter of abolition could easily use these images to persuade a less-literate American that southern society had deep flaws.
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Question 1:
This District of Columbia boundary stone connects to the themes of slavery, sectionalism, and the abolition movement in 19th century America. One of the ironies of the United States, whose founding document states “all men are created equal,” is that it contained a capital city where human beings were held in bondage and could be sold at any time. I’m glad this module contains a review of the compromise that created the location of Washington, D.C. To me, it’s reassuring to know that our Founders were aware of the contradictions that a nation supposedly based on liberty relied on enslaved workers to generate wealth. I also admire their optimism that slavery would gradually diminish over time.
I’m also glad that the module reviewed the compromises of 1820 and 1850. Some of the founding generation, such as Jefferson, Adams, and Madison, were still alive in 1820 and witnessed slavery and sectionalism strengthen. It would be interesting to read their thoughts about the growth in slavery in the 1800s and discover any possible regrets they had about not doing more to end the institution at the onset of the republic.
This is the second module I’ve encountered in this course where the abolition movement plays a major role. While I was aware that Alexandria was once a part of the District of Columbia, I had never made the connection between the rise of abolitionism and Alexandria’s retrocession to Virginia. Also, while I knew enslaved people were openly bought and sold in Alexandria, I had no idea that it was a major center of the slave trade in the mid-Atlantic region. It’s now easy for me to understand that the abolitionists’ demands to end the slave trade in nation’s capital would both directly impact the financial well-being of some of the city’s most prominent residents and also strike a symbolic blow to a defining aspect of the southern way of life.
Learning more about the retrocession of Alexandria makes me think deeper about how determined southern lawmakers were to preserve the power of their region and their primary economic engine during the 1840s. I had previously thought that sectional passions did not become very strong until about a decade before the Civil War, but Alexandria’s return to Virginia, combined with my newly-acquired knowledge of mail burnings in Charleston, South Carolina, has made me realize that southerners were strongly threatened by abolitionism for many, many years. The fourth grade curriculum that I teach references abolitionists, but in the years to come I believe I can do a better job of describing to my students how the Civil War arose from decade after decade after decade of increasing sectional tension.
Question 2:
Another way students can explore how boundaries have changed is to learn more about the creation of West Virginia. Virginia’s fourth grade curriculum and the textbooks we use do a decent job of explaining the differences between the eastern counties and the western counties, but I’m now interested using additional resources to teach my students about how our 35th state came into existence.
Using primary sources would be an excellent way to contrast the stark differences between eastern Virginia and western Virginia. Although photography was in its infancy in the 1850s, I can hopefully locate and display photos that contrast the broad plains of eastern Virginia with the mountainous west. If not, contemporary photos could suffice. It would be very powerful to show students authentic photos taken of prosperous Tidewater plantations and then contrast them with pictures of western Virginia farmers eking out a living on a small, rocky patch of land. Photographs of prosperous antebellum Richmond could be compared with the bigger towns in what became West Virginia.
Another good primary source that would contrast eastern Virginia and western Virginia would be census records. Students could first see the high numbers of enslaved people living in counties in eastern Virginia and then see much smaller numbers living in western Virginia counties. Also, records containing the populations of eastern Virginia’s largest towns and cities could be compared to the populations of towns and cities in the western part of the state. Examining a variety of primary sources would allow students have a stronger understanding of how Virginia’s boundary permanently changed with the creation of West Virginia.
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Question 1:
One broad theme in American history that the stereoscope relates to is the expansion of America as an economic power in the late 19th century. Purchasing a stereoscope and a collection of stereograph cards would entail a fair amount of disposable income. A key reason for the stereoscope’s sustained popularity was that an expanded middle class could afford to purchase stereograph cards on a regular basis. This growing middle class must have been curious about upper class tastes. A sizable collection of stereograph cards would allow a person of relatively modest means to experience their own version of the European Grand Tour and have second-hand experience a wide range of sites in their own country.
A second theme the popularity of stereoscopes connects to is the solidifying of an American identity in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Prior to the Civil War, the United States was truly a divided country, with relatively little interaction between regions. One of the purposes of Reconstruction was to unite the country. Based on much of the information in this module, Underwood and Underwood was keen on building a sense of patriotism among those who purchased their products, perhaps out a self-interested desire for more of their products to be purchased . Stereograph cards contained images of presidents and images of sites from around the constantly-expanding country. World War I veterans sold Underwood and Underwood products door to door.
Underwood and Underwood was not the only entity using stereoscopes and stereographs to forge a stronger American identify. Public libraries had collections of stereograph cards that could be viewed in the library or, for a small weekly fee, at home. Additionally, education reformers of the late 19th century used them in the classroom, especially in history and geography classes. As a teacher, it was interesting for me to learn about how the Committee of Seven promoted a four-year high school history curriculum, designed to “cultivate an informed citizenship” The information in this module made me very aware that an expanding American economy was a key factor in developing a stronger sense of patriotic American identity.
Question 2:
There are many other ways students can explore how technology for viewing images has changed. Although the age of the stereoscope ended long before I was born, I can remember a wide range of viewing images, both as a student and as a teacher. In elementary school in the seventies, I remember watching movies in class on movie projectors. I also remember filmstrips being projected on a classroom screen as well. I can clearly remember historical paintings and political cartoons from filmstrips about the Revolutionary War, Civil War, and Reconstruction. By the time I was in high school, images could be found on VHS tapes and show on classroom televisions.
In my twenty plus years of teaching, I’ve used filmstrip projectors, overhead projectors, VCRS, DVDs, computer GIFS, and streaming services to project images. Due to covid-19, I’m currently projecting images to my students through cell phone screen shots. I imagine myself sharing images during Zoom class meetings in the very near future.
It would be very interesting to find out if Prince William County Schools still possesses outdated technology like movie projectors and filmstrip projectors, and, of course, movies and filmstrips that could be used in them. If I were to somehow be able to procure them, I’d love to show my students movies and filmstrips from the 1960s about the Civil Rights Movement and contrast the primary source content with current information about that era found in our textbook and contemporary internet articles.
It could be possible to make technological changes for viewing images a year-long theme in a history class. For example, political cartoons could be used to allow students to examine issues leading to the Revolutionary War and Civil War. Studying images from newspapers that practiced “yellow journalism” would be a great way for students to better understand the Spanish-American War. The events leading up to World War II and the war itself could be supplemented by newsreels from the 1930s and 1940s. Hopefully, newsreel footage can be found on streaming services. Actual online accounts related to the war on terror and the second Gulf War could very easy to obtain. While the idea of making changing technology a full-year theme may be rather “pie in the sky,” this course has made me understand that a heavier use of primary sources and authentic historical images is a fantastic way to deeply supplement the curriculum and to allow my students to become stronger historical thinkers.
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Question 1:
One broader theme in eighteenth century history that this the tea set connects to is colonialism. The original set probably belonged to an affluent family that benefited from the colonial system. The family could afford to purchase luxury items that were imported from London. It would be very interesting to discover more about the family that owned this set. Thinking about its possible owners caused me to think of many questions about them. As tensions between the colonies and Britain grew, was the family swayed into supporting the patriots’ cause? Or did they still fully support the system that enabled them to maintain a luxurious lifestyle? Did the family continue to purchase imported goods despite a boycott? During the Revolutionary War, were they proud loyalists, did they leave for Canada, or did they return to England. I’d encourage my students to think of similar questions when they are viewing images of primary sources.
A second theme that the tea set connects to is the roles Americans assumed during the rising tensions with Britain and the Revolutionary War itself. I can easily understand why those who benefited greatly from colonialism and mercantilism remained loyal to the Crown, but I’m intrigued by the reasons a member of the middle class or upper middle class would shift allegiances. Perhaps this tea set belonged to a middle class merchant family who worked hard to purchase it. I believe patriots like John Adams, Samuel Adams, and Paul Revere, while successful in their fields and benefiting to certain extent from the existing system, were not members of the colonial elite. Men like these were taking an enormous risk by speaking out against a system that enabled them to achieve a significant amount of success. Posing questions about making life-altering decisions during difficult times is a key reason why students at a wide range of grade levels enjoy learning about the Revolutionary War era.
Question 2:
I would like to know more about the mindsets of colonial Americans from a broad range of social classes that would enable them to find common ground in supporting independence. On the surface, one would assume that a southern aristocrat like Washington, a self-made entrepreneur like Franklin, a craftsman like Revere, and an anonymous Son of Liberty who took pleasure from destroying the home of tax officer would have little in common. Some patriots clearly benefitted from the colonial more than others. Some famous patriots, such as Jefferson, Washington, and Henry, were prolific letter-writers and speakers. We’re able to read and understand their arguments. The motivations of less-affluent and less-educated colonial Americans are not as well known.
For a student thoroughly understand the causes of the Revolution, they would need to be exposed to letters and diaries of 18th century Americans that are not nearly as well known as our founding fathers. I think students would be very interested in reading the words of enlisted Continental soldiers. Do their letters and diary entries make references to acts of Parliament, taxes, and boycotts? Do their writings make references to the ideas of Jefferson, Henry, or Tom Paine? It would also be interesting to compare the journals and writings of enlisted soldiers with the private words of officers. Perhaps the writings of officers would make more references to the economic causes of the Revolution. Finally, I’m wondering how often newspaper articles and editorials referenced the thoughts of average Americans, as opposed to the thoughts of their editors. The more exposure students have to a wide range of primary sources, the better an understanding they have of a historical era.
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Question 1:
One broad theme in 20th century history that the dress connects to is the women’s suffrage movement. My fourth grade students are often surprised to learn that African-American men, albeit briefly, could vote during Reconstruction while women still could not. For me, it was interesting to learn about the tactics that suffragists used to persuade the public to align with their cause. The white dress was a good symbolic move. The module mentions that white represented the purity and simplicity of their cause. Using Greek and Roman symbolism in some of their efforts was also a clever tactic, due to the fact that Greek and Roman symbols have been used in the United States since its founding. One could argue these symbols are as all-American as baseball and apple pie! I was unaware that American suffragists traveled to European cities like Copenhagen and Stockholm to attend international conventions focusing on women’s rights. I wasn’t surprised to read about civil disobedience tactics that suffragists used to draw attention to their cause. Students of later 20th century protests movements should definitely familiarize themselves with what suffragists were doing in the first two decades of the century. As the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment indicates, their methods proved to be very successful.
Another broad theme the dress connects to is protest movements in the 20th century. If I were a high school teacher, I would repeatedly make reference to the success of the suffragists while teaching about later protest movements, such as the labor rights movement, the Civil Rights movement, the anti-Vietnam War movement, Black Power, the youth movement that led to the passage of the Twenty-sixth Amendment, and the attempts of feminists to pass the Equal Rights Amendment.
It’s particularly interesting how clothing was symbolic in several of the aforementioned movements. To me it’s even more interesting how the clothing changed as the goals of the movement changed. In the early 60s, student rights leaders, such as Berkeley Free Speech’s Mario Savio, were relatively clean-cut and wore rather conservative clothes. By the end of the decade, hippie hairstyles and clothing were key symbols of the youth movement. Clothing in the Civil Rights movement changed as well. Martin Luther King and Malcolm X wore suits and ties, but Black Power advocates are often associated with African clothing. It would be very interesting to contrast the successful passage of the Twenty-Sixth amendment with the failure of ERA to become ratified. Both youth movement leaders of the late sixties/early seventies and feminism activists were both partial to wearing free-flowing hippie garb. Perhaps the symbolic tactic of bra-burning made a significant portion of the public wary of the Equal Rights Amendment.
Question 2:
To learn more about the success of the women’s suffrage movement, I would like to learn more about the public’s attitude toward the shifting tone in the movement. As the module mentioned, the tone of the movement changed around 1910. It would be very interesting to see if any polling of public attitudes towards women’s suffrage were available in the first two decades of the twentieth century. If so, what types of questions were asked? Were more educated areas largely in favor of women’s suffrage and were less-educated rural areas against it?
Two other kinds of information that would be interesting to access are newspaper editorials and articles from the period and sermons from the period. All decent-sized cities of the time had multiple daily newspapers. I’m curious to learn if different papers in the same city had different opinions and coverage of events in the movement. Were newspapers from more conservative areas of the country completely against it? I would guess not, due the fact that Tennessee, home of the Scopes Trial, secured the passage of the 19th Amendment. Were different religious denominations unified in their position toward women’s suffrage or were their varying attitudes within the same denominations. I’m wondering how easy it would be for a historian to access sermons from the early 20th century.
Finally, I’d like to examine the accounts of historians who studied President Wilson’s modified position on women’s suffrage. I’d been taught that his racial biases were deeply entrenched, so it’s interesting to learn that he was capable of altering his thinking on a pressing domestic issue. Is their evidence that specific events caused his position to alter? What was his reaction to the march on the White House? Most importantly, I’d like to know if the ideas of his wife had an impact on his shifting thoughts. Some say that after Wilson’s stroke in 1919, Edith Wilson went far above and beyond the traditional role of first lady. Did she do any behind the scenes lobbying to help pass the Nineteenth Amendment? Since she outlived her husband by about forty years, some biographers and historians may have answered that question.
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Question 1:
A broad theme the mass-produced nail connects to is Westward Expansion. When I think of Americans migrating westward, the Oregon Trail is the first thought that comes to mind. It’s interesting that the trail was established in the 1830s, the same decade that nails were cut and their heads were fashioned in a single process. Prior to reading the information in this module, I never gave much thought to the construction of pioneer homes. I assumed that nearly all pioneer homes were log cabins. I now know that having access to mass produced nails and prefabricated boards cut in sawmills would enable 19th century Americans living in all regions of the country to be able to build sturdy homes at a relatively low cost.
While I definitely learned much more about home construction while reading the information in this module, I have a number of questions. The most pressing questions pertain to the accessibility of mass produced nails. The module contains an image of a nail cutting machine in Massachusetts, an area of the country we associate with the Industrial Revolution. I’m wondering how easy it would have been for non-New Englanders to purchase these nails. How wide was the distribution network? Were they widely available in southern states? We don’t think of the south becoming industrialized until after the Civil War. Did northern pioneers who settled places like Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota bring more mass produced nails with them on their journey west than the southerners who settled Alabama, Mississippi, and Texas? I also have a few questions about the prefabricated boards produced in sawmills that enabled the construction of balloon frame homes. I’m wondering if northern states and southern states had roughly the same number of sawmills. I’m also wondering how difficult it would be for a group of pioneers to construct an efficient sawmill once they were settled in their intended destination.
Another theme this module was pertains to is 19th century political history. My fourth graders learned that Lincoln was born in the log cabin years before they enter my classroom. It was interesting to learn that that log cabin propaganda was first used in the 1840 presidential election. This module made me more interested in learning more about William Henry Harrison, who’d I’d previously thought of as being a member of Virginia’s Tidewater elite. Not only was Harrison born on Berkeley Plantation, but he also built a 13-room brick home in Vincennes, Indiana in 1805. John Tyler, Harrison’s running mate, was born in a similar affluent home, also within close proximity to the James River in Charles County, Virginia. It’s very interesting how the political consultants and spin doctors of the day were able to portray Harrison as a man of the people. In reality, Harrison and Tyler were as affluent as their opponent, Martin Van Buren, who was viewed as a member of the elite. 21st century campaigns can still learn many lessons from the propaganda used in the election of 1840!
Question 2:
Before reading the information in this module, I’d never thought about the role of the nail in westward expansion. When I think of explanations for westward expansion, I usually think of widely-available land and new opportunities for average Americans of the 19th century. I also think about the belief in Manifest Destiny and the perceived right of white Americans to “conquer” the west. The ease, difficulty, and cost related to constructing and inhabiting a frontier home was never emphasized when I was a student. I assumed that if pioneers could survive the hardships along the journey west, building a home would be quite easy for them. Perhaps it’s more engaging for students to hear adventurous tales of bravery than learning about a relatively mundane topic like home construction. However, as the module emphasizes, the time, cost, and skill in building homes was a factor in the decision to move west.
Now that I’m aware of the under-appreciated role of the humble nail in American history, I’ll attempt to highlight its role in my teaching of westward expansion. Fortunately, there are quite a few opportunities to do so in the fourth grade curriculum I teach. In our unit on Colonial Life, we teach that homes created by English, Scots-Irish, and German colonists were quite different from each other. Materials used in constructing homes ties in nicely with our Science unit on Virginia Natural Resources. There are plenty of online images of both ornate colonial mansions and humbler frontier homes. I liked what I found on Frontier Culture Museum’s website. Students could easily understand how the planter elite could obtain hand-crafted nails while it wouldn’t be nearly as easy for immigrants in the Shenandoah Valley.
I always emphasize importance of Whitney’s cotton gin and McCormick’s reaper when I teach about the 19th century. It seems that an awareness of the development of mass-produced nails is also essential to a thorough understanding of how America changed in the 1800s. Since my students are usually pretty interested in the inventions of McCormick, Franklin, Edison, and other figures from the fourth grade curriculum, it’s wouldn’t be too difficult to get them engaged with the relatively unsung heroes who helped mass produce nails. Since the Civil War plays such a prominent role in fourth grade Social Studies, I think they’d also be interested in any differences between nail production in northern states and nail production in southern states.

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Module Id: 953
User Id: 1364
Title: Teaching the Immigrant Experience to Elementary Students
Grade Level: Elementary
Short Answer:
In addition to using a textbook and explicitly teaching the standards, I would attempt to use as many primary sources as possible in an immigration unit. Perhaps before sharing the primary sources, I would read a fictional account of an immigrant's story. A website entitled readbrightly.com contains a list entitled "19 Books for Kids about the Immigrant Experience in America." I'd have to do my research ahead of time, but I'd select a book about the east coast European experience of the late 19th/early 20th century, the early 20th century west coast Asian experience, or the modern Latin American immigrant experience.

After reading selections from a fictional text or texts, I'd then move into the primary sources. Authentic journals and letters could be quite similar to the fictional selections. Of course, I would also attempt to provide my students with authentic accounts that countered the fictional narratives.

I would supplement the fictional and authentic accounts with photographs from the periods we're studying. Political cartoons would also be a good way to generate discussion. I would ask my students to name the accounts they've studied that support the message conveyed in the cartoon and I'd ask them to name accounts they've studied that contradict the cartoon's message. A good culminating activity would be to play the recording of "Young America" and ask my students how accurate the lyrics really are, based on what they've learned in the immigration unit.

If we had time, it would be very interesting to have parents of students or even fellow teachers in my school share their own firsthand accounts of coming to America and answer questions the students have. In the fourth grade 20 and 21st Virginia unit and the Virginia Government and Economy units that I've taught for many years, I ask my students if their parents came to Virginia for better-paying jobs and more opportunities. I often see a significant show of hands. Connecting curriculum content with real life experiences is an excellent way to keep students engaged.
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Module Id: 1128
User Id: 1364
Title: The Mail and US History
Grade Level: Elementary
Short Answer:
In an earlier module, I mentioned how I enjoyed reading the novels Our Strange New Land and Dear Austin to my fourth grade students. The former is a collection of diary entries written by a young girl in the early years of the Jamestown settlement and the latter is a series of letters written by a boy who has a number of close acquaintances who are actively involved with the Underground Railroad. Having my students write imaginary historically-themed diary entries and letters could be a key part of my Social Studies instructional repertoire throughout the year.
Shortly after my students are introduced to the causes of the Civil War, I could begin a letter-writing project. I’d assign half of my students to be northerners. They would write letters to the other half of the class, assigned to be southerners, explaining the injustices of slavery. I could provide fictional addresses of both northern and southern cities and towns. The letters could be mailed in actual envelopes. Students could design their own historically-themed stamps. I would place the completed letters/envelops in the students’ cubbies after school for them to find and open upon arriving at school the following day.
Before I begin the project, I would also read to my students some authentic abolitionist literature and several slave narratives. I would emphasize that their letters reference material contained in the original sources. Perhaps I could provide copies of the images of the sweet potato planting and life at Mount Vernon for the “northern” students to enclose. It would be very interesting to read the “southerners’” responses to the letters they receive from the “northerners.”
Since my students are fourth graders who generally have a strong sense of fairness, I would imagine that the southerners’ responses would, by and large, concede the points made by their northern pen pals. It would be very interesting to see how many letters partners would exchange. I would imagine some of my students would write multiple letters and multiple responses to each other. In order to avoid controversy, I would probably give my fourth graders minimal exposure to southern defenses of slavery.
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Module Id: 1021
User Id: 1364
Title: Teaching Compromise, Slavery, and Abolitionism to Fourth Graders
Grade Level: Elementary
Short Answer:
The information contained in this module covers a wide time span. The Residence Act was written in 1790 and Alexandria was retroceded to Virginia in 1846. Perhaps I would divide the information and teach it in two separate fourth grade units, VS.6 (Virginia in the New American Nation) and VS.7 (Virginia in the Civil War).
A key idea in VS.6 is that James Madison used his skills at compromise during the Constitutional Convention. In addition to teaching about Madison’s role in helping delegates compromise in 1787, I could also share the story of Madison’s role during the fateful dinner of 1790 that brought about another key compromise in American history. The lesson could include playing a recording of “The Room Where It Happens” from the musical Hamilton. Not only would the students enjoy hearing this catchy tune, but the Madison’s belief in compromise would be further solidified in their minds.
In the following unit, I could use this information to enrich our study of the causes of the Civil War and abolitionism. Many students in my northern Virginia classroom are familiar with Alexandria. Some have even lived there. However, I doubt that many know Alexandria contained one of the most significant slave trading markets in the mid-Atlantic region.
After doing some Googling, I learned that the building that once housed the offices of Franklin and Armfield is now the Freedom House Museum. Their website contains a Google 360 virtual tour. My students would definitely enjoy perusing the contents of the museum on their laptops. While exploring the virtual tour myself, I notice a small exhibit entitled “Cotton is King.” I would definitely emphasize this information to my students because I don’t believe Virginia’s fourth grade curriculum emphasizes the role cotton played in the expansion of slavery.
Finally, the images and exhibits students view in the virtual museum could lead to a good discussion of abolitionism. The fourth grade curriculum mentions Harriet Tubman and John Brown, but it does not introduce William Lloyd Garrison or The Liberator. Viewing items in the museum and being exposed to abolitionist literature would give my students a broader understanding of both the importance of slavery to the southern economy and the passion of the northern abolitionists to forever rid the country of the institution.
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Module Id: 1039
User Id: 1364
Title: Technology and Images, Through the Years and Throughout the Year
Grade Level: Middle
Short Answer:
It’s possible for a teacher to use popular images of the day produced by mass technology to supplement American history lessons throughout the course of an entire school year. Different methods of disseminating images could be emphasized in different social studies units.
Units on the American Revolution and the Civil War could focus on political cartoons found in popular newspapers of the day. I was easily able to find plenty of images of 18th century and 19th century political cartoons related to these conflicts after doing a quick Google search. Students may not be aware that cartoons have been around for hundreds of years.
A unit on U.S. Imperialism and the Spanish-American War could contain not just political cartoons, but examples of sensationalistic newspaper headlines that not only covered the conflict but also helped fuel the conflict. It would be interesting for students to see how newspapers became more sensationalistic by comparing Civil War headlines with Spanish-American War headlines. Good discussions could occur about the forces that caused newspapers to become significantly more bombastic as the 19th century wound down.
When the class reached World War II, the technology focus would shift from print sources to film. Google and YouTube make it very easy for teachers to access authentic newsreel footage. I would imagine that many of today’s students would prefer their accounts of the war and the events leading up to it to be presented to them in a medium that had both visual and audio elements.
By the time the Civil Rights Movement was becoming more prominent, many American families had televisions. I would show students clips of nightly network news broadcasts and footage of key events of the Civil Rights era. The Civil Rights era happened to coincide with a period of unprecedented economic growth in the United States. The class would learn more about the reasons why a large number of American families could afford to purchase a television set. Television footage could also be a key feature in a unit on the Vietnam War.
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Module Id: 1047
User Id: 1364
Title: Fourth Graders Paying Taxes???
Grade Level: Elementary
Short Answer:
Virginia’s fourth grade Social Studies curriculum emphasizes Parliament’s belief that it had the right to tax the colonies and Patrick Henry’s speaking out against taxation without representation. While we don’t explicitly teach the Sugar Act, the Stamp Act, the Townshend Acts, or the Tea Act in my grade, I usually make references to them every year.
A good way for students to be aware of the impact that these taxes could have had on daily life in the 18th century would be for students to keep a daily recorded inventory of items they use during the school day, with each item having assigned value. For example, each time a student uses a sheet of loose leaf paper, the “cost’ of using the item could be two “pence.” Paper used for teacher-created worksheets could “cost” the students three pence. When students have snacks, sugary food and sugary drinks would cost the students more than having bottled water or nutritious snacks. We would keep this daily recorded inventory for at least three days. It would be very interesting to see if students made healthier snack choices after they learned that sugary snacks would require the students to “pay” more. Would some students actually begin to “boycott” products containing sugar?
I have worked with colleagues who used token economies throughout the year, primarily as behavior incentives. When the Revolutionary War unit was taught, the token economy changed radically in one teacher’s classroom. Students were “charged” for using any type of paper item, including library passes and even bathroom passes. Many students complained about this and the teacher actually received a few angry phone calls and emails from parents. When he explained to them the system changed in order for his students to have a better understanding of the Stamp Act, the parents supported this unorthodox instructional technique. I definitely believe student complaints about “paying” more for classroom necessities gave them a strong understanding of colonial discontent with the new taxes. I imagine that many students still remember this shocking shift in classroom routines and the reason why their teacher used this method.
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Module Id: 951
User Id: 1364
Title: Liberty, Justice, and the American Way
Grade Level: Elementary
Short Answer:
I would engage my fourth grade students by showing them a series of images. The first image I would display would be a photograph of the Statue of Liberty, a structure they’re probably familiar with. The class would generate a list of words or phrases that they associate with the famous statue. I would image many of the words and phrases would have been taught in our American Revolution and New American Nation units that were taught earlier in the year. Phrases such as “all men are created equal,” “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” and “give me liberty or give me death” would probably emerge from our brainstorming. After the list was generated, I would then explain to the class that while those key phrases were coined in the 1770s and the Statute of Liberty was constructed in the 1880s, women in America could not vote until 1920, nearly 150 years after our freedom documents were written.
Next, I would display an image of Lady Justice. While she is probably not nearly as familiar to fourth graders as Lady Liberty, I’d imagine her image would generate a considerable amount of discussion among my students. The sword she is holding one hand would immediately grab their attention. I would then ask them why the scales of justice she’s holding in her other hand are held much higher than the sword. It would not be difficult for fourth graders to understand the symbolism. I would then ask them to tell me why they think Lady Justice is wearing a blindfold. Ideally, one of my students would chime in “because justice is blind,” a concept similar to “all men are created equal.” After our discussion of Lady Justice, I would display several images of suffragist events where some participants wore Greek and Roman garb and explain how they were connecting their cause to longstanding American traditions. Hopefully, a student would draw a parallel between Lady Justice or Lady Liberty and the Amazon on Virginia’s state flag.
The final images I would display in the lesson would be of Harriet Laidlaw and her suffragist contemporaries wearing their flowing white dresses. It wouldn’t be difficult for my students to understand how the dresses are symbolic in several ways. Not only do they convey purity and simplicity, but they also directly connect to Lady Justice, Lady Liberty, and a century and half of American tradition which is rooted in a classical tradition over two thousand years old.
In the weeks ahead, I would draw parallels between the successful tactics of the suffragist movement with successful tactics of the Civil Rights movement. In both movements, clothing was used for symbolic purposes. Finally, I would remind students of Lady Justice holding the scales of justice higher than the sword when I showed them an image of the statue of Arthur Ashe holding books higher than a tennis racket.
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Module Id: 1075
User Id: 1364
Title: Home Sweet Home
Grade Level: Elementary
Short Answer:
I would ask the students in my fourth grade class to pretend they belonged to a pioneer family in the nineteenth century who was migrating from Virginia to the west or the southwest. On a sheet of drawing paper, they would sketch the home they would like to live in once they arrived at their intended destination. I would also have them list the materials they think they’d need to build such a home. This activity would be part of our New American Nation unit. In our earlier Life in the Virginia Colony unit, they learned that homes of average Virginians were quite small. Because of our field trip to Mount Vernon, they are also aware that wealthy Virginians had the means to live in large homes. Due to their prior knowledge, I would expect their home drawings to be fairly humble and realistic. Most of my students would probably surmise that a pioneer family wouldn’t be capable of building anything too elaborate.
After the drawings were finished, I would display images on our Promethean Board of four types of homes: log cabins, brick/stone homes, post-and-beam homes, and balloon frame homes. Using a classroom polling app on their tablets, I would ask them to vote for the house they thought would be least expensive and which would be most expensive. I’d imagine most students would think a log cabin would be least expensive, but many would probably vote for the balloon frame home as being the most expensive to build. I’d then explain to the students that mass produced nails and prefabricated boards made balloon frame homes relatively inexpensive to construct. Some students would probably be surprised that cost of building a balloon frame home would be less than the cost of a brick or stone home.
The final step in the lesson would be for the students to take a closer look at their drawings and relocate to four different parts of the classroom that contained an image of the home that their drawings most closely resembled. I’d imagine that most students would gravitate to the log cabin section of the classroom. While not too many students would have made drawings of houses similar to a balloon frame home, they would definitely have an understanding that those homes weren’t as expensive as they appear. Balloon frame homes and mass-produced nails would be revisited when we discussed two other important developments of the era, the cotton gin and the mechanical reaper.
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Module Id: 953
User Id: 1364