Methods for Using Primary & Secondary Sources in the History Classroom Presented at the Illinois Council for the Social Studies Fall Conference, October 17, 2014 by Lauren S. Brown, Northern Illinois University contact: [email protected] Documents listed are below with corresponding Common Core Standards in Literacy See the pages that follow for documents. Document 1 (Annexation of the Philippines) goes with: CCSS-ELA-LITERACY RH 1: Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inference from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text. CCSS-ELA-LITERACY RH 2: Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas. Doc 2 (Overland Trail) goes with: CCSS-ELA-LITERACY RH 1&2 above CCSS-ELA-LITERACY RH 9: Analyze how two or more texts address similar themes or topics in order to build knowledge or to compare the approaches the authors take. Document 3 (Nativism) goes with: CCSS-ELA-LITERACY RH 4: Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text, including determining technical, connotative, and figurative meanings, and analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone. Document 4 (Dred Scott) goes with: CCSS-ELA-LITERACY RH 5: Analyze the structure of texts, including how specific sentences, paragraphs, and larger portions of the text relate to each other and the whole. CCSS-ELA-LITERACY RH 8: Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, including the validity of the reasoning as well as the relevance and sufficiency of the evidence.

 

Lauren  S.  Brown  

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Doc 1 President McKinley on the decision to annex the Philippines: The truth is I didn't want the Philippines, and when they came to us as a gift from the gods, I did not know what to do with them.... I sought counsel from all sides - Democrats as well as Republicans - but got little help. I thought first we would take only Manila; then Luzon; then other islands, perhaps, also. I walked the floor of the White House night after night until midnight; and I am not ashamed to tell you, gentlemen, that I went down on my knees and prayed to Almighty God for light and guidance more than one night. And one night late it came to me this way - I don't know how it was, but it came: (1) That we could not give them back to Spain - that would be cowardly and dishonorable; (2) that we could not turn them over to France or Germany - our commercial rivals in the Orient - that would be bad business and discreditable; (3) that we could not leave them to themselves - they were unfit for self-government - and they would soon have anarchy and misrule over there worse than Spain's was; and (4) that there was nothing left for us to do but to take them all, and to educate the Filipinos, and uplift and civilize and Christianize them, and by God's grace do the very best we could by them, as our fellow men for whom Christ also died. Directions: Circle the correct answer below and explain why that is the best answer, providing support from the quotation. 1. McKinley seems to view annexation as a. an obligation b. an opportunity c. immoral d. bad for business 2. McKinley sees the U.S. in the role of a. ruler b. tyrant c. oppressor d. savior

Lauren  S.  Brown  

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Doc  2:  Excepts  from  women’s  diaries  written  on  the  Overland  Trail Directions:  In  the  column  to  the  right  of  each  entry,  describe  or  explain  briefly  what  this   entry  tells  us  about  life  on  the  Overland  Trail.  (Answers  for  teacher  provided.) June  2          Passed  7  graves  .  .  .  made  14  miles.    June  26  Passed  8  graves.   June  29  Passed  10  graves.  June  30  Passed  10  graves  .  .  .  made  22  miles. July  1  Passed  8  graves  .  .  .  made  21  miles. July  2  One  man  of  our  company  died.  Passed  8  graves  made  16  miles. July  4  Passed  2  graves  .  .  .  made  16  miles.     July  5  Passed  9  graves  ,made  18  miles. July  6  Passed  6  graves,  made  9  miles.   July  11  Passed  5  graves  .  .  .  made  15  miles. —  diary  of  Cecelia  McMillen  Adams,  1852

death;  consider  how   travelers  must  have   felt  seeing  all  these   graves  day  after   day

In  the  entry  below,  what  problem  explains  what  the  writer  saw  on  June  9   and  16? disease May  30  -­‐-­‐  Saw  several  graves  today  one  with  inscription.  .  .  .  we  counted  5   graves  close  together  only  one  with  inscription  .  .  .  June  1  Graves  now  are   often  partly  dug  up. June  9  -­‐-­‐  Most  graves  look  as  if  they  were  dug  and  finished  in  a  hurry. June  16  -­‐-­‐  It  is  common  to  see  beds  and  clothing  discarded  by  the  road  not  to   be  used  again. —  diary  of  Caroline  Richardson,  1852 Saturday,  September  10th  It  would  be  useless  for  me  with  my  pencil  to  describe  the   awful  road  we  have  just  passed  over.  .  .  .  It  is  something  more  than  half  mile  long   very  rocky  all  the  way,  quite  steep,  winding,  sideling,  deep  down,  slippery  and   muddy,  made  so  by  a  spring  running  the  entire  length  of  the  road,  and  this  road  is   cut  down  so  deep  that  at  times  the  cattle  and  wagons  are  almost  out  of  sight,  with   no  room  for  the  drivers  except  on  the  bank,  a  very  difficult  place  to  drive,  also   dangerous,  and  to  make  the  matter  worse,  there  was  a  slow  poking  train  ahead  of   us,  which  kept  stopping  every  few  minutes  .  .  .  .  

dangerous &  women  could  be   pregnant  or  even   giving  birth  during   treacherous  parts  of   the  trip

Friday,  September  17th  In  camp  yet.  Still  raining.  .  .  A  few  days  later  my  eighth  child   was  born.  After  this  we  picked  up  and  ferried  across  the  Columbia  River.  .  .  taking   three  days  to  complete.   —  diary  of  Amelia  Stewart  Knight,  1853

What  does  the  entry  below  tell  us  about  the  jobs  of  men  and  women   along  the  Trail? To  add  to  the  horrors  of  the  surroundings  one  man  was  bitten  on  the  ankle   by  a  venomous  snake.  Although  every  available  remedy  was  tried  upon  the   wound,  his  limb  had  to  be  amputated  with  the  aid  of  a  common  handsaw.   Fortunately,  for  him,  he  had  a  good,  brave  wife  along  who  helped  and   cheered  him  into  health  and  usefulness;  for  it  was  not  long  before  much  that   he  could  do  and  was  not  considered  a  burden,  although  the  woman  had  to  do   a  man’s  work  .  .  .  .   —  Catherine  Haun,  1849

Lauren  S.  Brown  

traditional  gender   roles  still  applied  on   the  trail  but  were   adaptable  when   conditions   warranted

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Doc 3:

Immigration and the Rise of Nativism, 1880-1924 As the Civil War drew to a close, Chicago looked ahead. Read the excerpt from the Chicago Tribune, below and answer the questions which follow:

“Europe will open her gates like a conquered city. Her people will come forth to us subdued by admiration of our glory and envy of our perfect peace. On to the Rocky Mountains and still over to the Pacific our mighty populations will spread....Our thirty millions will be tripled in thirty years.” — Chicago Tribune, September 28, 1864: 1. The attitude in the article seems to be a. positive about increased immigration. b. negative about increased immigration.

2. Explain: (what parts of the passage show this?)

Now read the following quotations. Each of them is a good example of nativism, which you will define at the end. What do each of the passages have in common? What seem to be the authors’ view of immigration, positive or negative? More specifically, what is the complaint expressed in each passage?

“The nation has reached a point in its growth where its policy should be to preserve its heritage for coming generations, not to donate it to all the strangers we can induce to come among us.” — letter to the editor, New York Tribune, July 2, 1881 “Our era...of happy immunity from those social diseases which are the danger and the humiliation of Europe is passing away...every year brings the conditions of American labor into closer likeness to those of the Old World.” — Atlantic Monthly, 1882 “We could, by wise laws and just conditions, lift up the toilers of our own country to the level of the middle classes, but a vast multitude of the miserable of other lands clung to their skirts and dragged them down. Our country was the safety-valve which permitted the discontent of the Old World to escape. — Ignatius Donnelly, The Golden Bottle, 1895 “We have become the world’s melting pot. The scum of creation has been dumped on us. Some of our principal cities are more foreign than American. The most dangerous and corrupting hordes of the Old World have invaded us. The manufacturers are mainly to blame. They wanted cheap labor: and they didn’t care a curse how much harm to our future might be the consequence of their heartless policy.” — Thomas E. Watson, 1910 “I think we now have sufficient population in our country for us to shut the door and to breed up a pure, unadulterated citizenship . . . Thank God we have in [this country] perhaps the largest percentage of any country in the world of the pure, unadulterated Anglo-Saxon stock….It is for the preservation of that splendid stock that I would make this not an asylum for the oppressed of all countries, but a country to assimilate and perfect that splendid type of manhood that has made our country the foremost Nation in her progress.” — Speech by South Carolina Senator Ellison D. Smith, April 9, 1924 How have attitudes about immigrants changed since the Chicago Tribune article of 1864 quoted at the top? What is nativism? Based on the documents above, define nativism and explain the reasons for it in a paragraph. (use reverse side of paper) Lauren  S.  Brown  

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CCSS-ELA-LITERACY RH 4: Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text, including determining technical, connotative, and figurative meanings, and analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone. Phrases from the Constitution necessary and proper interstate commerce speech due process search and seizure cruel and unusual punishment

Lauren  S.  Brown  

Phrases from Supreme Court Decisions separate but equal – Plessy v. Ferguson with all deliberate speed – Brown v. Board shouting fire in a crowded theatre – Schenk v. U.S.

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Doc 4: The  Dred  Scott  Decision  (1857)  

Dred  Scott  v.  Sanford     Directions:  Read  the  questions,  then  read  the  text  below  from  the  majority  opinion  of  the  decision   in  order  to  answer  them.  Underline  parts  of  the  text  which  support  your  answer.     The  issues:       1.    Was  Dred  Scott,  a  Negro  slave,  a  citizen?       2.  Did  he  have  the  right  to  sue?      “The  question  is  simply  this:  Can  a  negro,  whose  ancestors  were  imported  into  this  country,  and   sold  as  slaves,  become  a  member  of  the  political  community  formed  and  brought  into  existence  by   the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  and  as  such  become  entitled  to  all  the  rights,  and  privileges,   and  immunities,  guaranteed  by  that  instrument  to  the  citizen?  One  of  which  rights  is  the  privilege  of   suing  in  a  court  of  the  United  States….     “We  think  they  are  not,  and  that  they  are  not  included,  and  were  not  intended  to  be  included,  under   the  word  ‘citizens’  in  the  Constitution,  and  can,  therefore,  claim  none  of  the  rights  and  privileges   which  that  instrument  provides  for  and  secures  to  citizens  of  the  United  States.       3.  Is  slave  property  different  from  other  kinds  of  property?     “Now  the  right  of  property  in  a  slave  is  distinctly  and  expressly  affirmed  in  the  Constitution….And   no  word  can  be  found  in  the  Constitution  which  gives  Congress  a  greater  power  over  slave   property,  or  which  entitles  property  of  that  kind  to  less  protection  than  property  of  any  other   description….”       4.  Had  residence  in  free  territory  made  him  free?     “The  rights  of  private  property  have  been  guarded….An  Act  of  Congress  which  deprives  a  person  of   the  United  States  of  his  liberty  or  property  merely  because  he  came  himself  or  brought  his  property   into  a  particular  Territory  of  the  United  States,  and  who  had  committed  no  offense  against  the  laws,   could  hardly  be  dignified  with  the  name  due  process  of  law….”       5.    Did  Congress  have  the  power  to  prohibit  slavery  in  a  territory?     “Upon  these  considerations,  it  is  the  opinion  of  the  court  that  the  Act  of  Congress  which  prohibited   a  citizen  from  holding  and  owning  property  of  this  kind  in  the  territory  of  the  United  States  north  of   the  line  therein  mentioned  [Missouri  Compromise],  is  not  warranted  by  the  Constitution,  and  is   therefore  void;  and  that  neither  Dred  Scott  himself,  nor  any  of  his  family,  were  made  free  by  being   carried  into  this  territory….”     Therefore,  according  to  the  Supreme  Court,  the  Missouri  Compromise  is  _____________________.   (constitutional  or  unconstitutional?)     Summarize  the  argument  of  the  Court  in  5  steps,  below  or  on  reverse,  1-­5:  

Lauren  S.  Brown  

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USING SECONDARY SOURCES & COMMON CORE STANDARDS: A  student-­centered  inquiry-­approach  strategy  using  (mostly)  secondary  sources  to   help  students  understand  complex  problems  or  questions  with  multiple  answers     The  technique  in  a  nutshell:     1.  Take  a  complex  question  that  has  multiple  answers—not  necessarily  conflicting  answers.     Example  A:       Why  didn’t  the  U.S.  do  more  to  help  save  European  Jews  from  the  Holocaust         Example  B:       What  are  the  causes  of  the  Cold  War?     2.  Take  the  “answers”  to  the  question  and  turn  them  into  “categories.”     Example  A:  Competing  concerns;  People  didn’t  necessarily  comprehend  the  extent  of   what  was  happening  to  the  Jews,  Existence  of  anti-­‐immigrant  feeling  in  general  and   anti-­‐Semitism  in  particular;  country  was  still  in  a  depression/financial  issues,   Political/bureaucratic  problems     Example  B:  Long-­‐standing  antagonism  between  US  and  USSR;  long-­‐standing  American   anti-­‐communist  attitudes;  roots  in  WWII;  power  vacuum  after  WWII;  specific  actions   of  US  viewed  as  aggressive  by  USSR;  specific  actions  of  USSR  viewed  aggressive  by  US     3.  Type  up  paragraphs  either  directly  from  secondary  source  material  or  write  your  own.   Can  also  include  some  primary  sources,  quotations,  map,  graph,  etc.    This  information  will   go  on  cards.    Make  a  set  of  cards  for  however  many  groups  of  students  you  have.  You  might   want  to  add  a  question/hint/other  info  to  help  students  figure  out  some  of  the  cards.  Also   type  up  the  categories  onto  cards.  (These  can  be  a  different  size  or  color,  so  students  see   that  these  are  different).     4.  Provide  students  with  the  overall  question  or  issue.  You  may  need  an  introduction  or  even   an  entire  introductory  lesson,  depending  on  the  question.     5.  In  small  groups,  have  students  lay  out  the  category  cards  and  then  read  the  other  cards,   placing  them  into  the  appropriate  category.     6.  Conclude  with  a  discussion  about  the  “answers.”  Depending  on  the  topic,  it  may  be   important  to  emphasize  that  not  all  the  “answers”  are  of  equal  weight,  or  agreed  on  by  all   historians.  Some  “answers”  may  have  been  more  of  an  issue  at  the  time,  while  others  are   best  understood  with  the  advantage  of  hindsight.  

Lauren  S.  Brown  

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Sample  cards  from  US  Response  to  the  Holocaust  Lesson     (full  lesson  provided  online  at  ushistoryideas.blogspot.com)   *  Please  email  me  at  [email protected]  if  you  would  like  more  information.  

 

Card  #7.   A  Jewish  American  recalls,     We  knew  about  what  was  happening  to  the  Jews  of  Europe,  but  we  didn’t  know  about  “the   Holocaust.”     What  does  this  person  mean?  What  does  this  tell  you  about  the  difficulties  of  trying  to  rally   support  for  European  Jews?     Best  Category:  Hard  to  Define  Problem;  People  don’t  see  it  as  an  issue   Like  Card  #3,  this  card  demonstrates  the  problem  of  hindsight  or  presentism.  We  know   about  the  6  million  Jews  but  no  one  knew  that  at  the  time.  In  fact,  the  term  “Holocaust”   was  not  used  until  well  after  the  war.   Card  #8.     The  British  government  opposed  the  establishment  of  the  U.S.  War  Refugee  Board,  fearing   that  the  Jews  whom  it  rescued  would  attempt  to  enter  Palestine  and  spark  further  unrest   among  the  Palestinian  Arab  population.   What  was  the  larger  problem  that  the  British  feared?  How  would  that  restrict  President   Roosevelt?  What  was  happening  in  Palestine?     Best  Category:  competing  concerns  or  other  issues  more  important  (Or,  Politics  &   Bureaucracy-­but  politics,  not  so  much  bureaucracy)   Britain  controlled  the  territory  of  Palestine.  There  was  already  considerable  conflict   between  Jews  and  Arabs  in  the  area  (that  of  course  continues  into  the  present).  Britain   had  to  be  careful  not  to  create  a  problem  for  itself  in  Palestine—especially  as  Britain   was  busy  with  the  war  in  Europe!     Card  #9.   Clause  in  1924  U.S.  immigration  law  allowing  refusal  of  an  immigrant  if  that  person  was   “likely  to  become  a  public  charge.”  (i.e.  need  $  support  from  govt)   Later,  this  was  made  more  stringent,  excluding  those  who  might  “possibly”  (vs.  “likely”)  to   become  a  public  charge.     How  would  this  clause  affect  efforts  to  allow  Jews  to  enter  the  U.S.?     Best  Category:  Financial  Problems   With  the  Depression  still  front  and  center  of  every  Americans,  no  one  would  be  very   excited  about  letting  in  immigrants  who  might  take  their  jobs  or  need  support  from  the   government.  Remember  that  the  Depression  doesn’t  really  end  until  after  the  war   starts.  See  also  card  #14     Lauren  S.  Brown  

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