HW: Due on Wednesday, April 25

The Americans

CHAPTER 22:  The Great Depression Begins

Section One:  The Nation's Sick Economy

Page 673:  #1,2,3

Page 676:  #1,2

Page 677: #1,2

Section Two:  Hardship and Suffering During the Depression

Page 678:  #1,2,3,4

Section Three:  Hoover Struggles with the Depression

Page 689:  #1,2,4

Chapter 22 Assessment

Page 690:  Critical thinking #3

Page 691:  Test Practice #1,2

Treasure Chest of Local History

See for yourself:

http://www.newhavenindependent.org/index.php/branford/entry/historic_quarrymans_trunk_tied_to_titanic/

Learning from Judith Schiff, Local History Rockstar

News becomes history!

Check out the recent story about Judith Schiff, lifelong city resident and chief archivist at Yale, who recently took the post of official city historian of New Haven.

She's ready to take questions!  Do you have yours ready?

In other words, as you embark on your research for the Soldiers and Sailors Monument Visitors Guide, keep Ms. Schiff in mind.  Her knowledge and experience in this new job is an excellent resource for our learning community.  We can reach out to her as a class when we return to school next week.  

YouTube Link for American Civil War Panel Discussion

Here is the video footage of the phenomenal panel discussion some members of our class community attended.

LINK:  The American Civil War:  Legacies for Our Own Time

Project Update: Soldiers and Sailors Monument, Visitors Guide Research

Here are the steps you need to follow to complete the first draft of research for the East Rock Soldiers and Sailors Monument Visitors Guide.

Please note:  While this will eventually be group work, each historian will work individually on his/her first draft of research.  Then, after April Vacation, students will continue to make progress in collaborative research groups.

STEP ONE:    Read the updated information from the Blog Post dated Tuesday, April 3, 2012.  This updated post contains significant and helpful information, as well as links to pages to develop your background knowledge.

STEP TWO:  Decide what your focus for research is going to be. You can choose more than one topic. Here are your options:

• Native American Life Before Europe:  A Natural History of East Rock
• New Haven, Revolution and the War for Independence
• Connecticut, Resistance and the War of 1812
• The Mexican American War:  Slavery and Anti-slavery (needs better title)
• The Guns of Whitney and the Civil War
• Industrialism in New Haven in the 1880s (needs better title)

STEP THREE:  Write a brief explanation for why you chose the topics you did.  You can use the links I provided on the April 3, 2012 post to find out more information to help you make up your mind.  Please post your explanations as comments on the blog.  Reading each other's ideas will help open your mind to other perspectives.  It will also help us to form collaborative research groups later in the month.    

STEP FOUR:  Start reading!  Start researching!  Your books for AP History class are the best place to start.  After you decide which topic you are going to research, use the index of your American Pageant to find out more.  You can also use the Table of Contents of the primary source book, Voices of Freedom, in order to find sources to support your research.  You have been completing "Research Journals" for homework lately.  Now is the time to put these same skills to use completing purposeful research.  Take notes as you read, ask questions and be sure to document what you think is the most significant information.  

STEP FIVE:  Continue researching by using the internet.  There are excellent resources available on the Zinn Education Project page.  You might have to register and create an account; but it's free, so there's nothing standing in your way.  You can also use PBS.org, Digital History, Primary Source, From Revolution to Reconstruction, and American Memory.  You will continue to document what you discover and what you want to know more about in the Research Journal style.     

PLEASE NOTE:  Successful research depends on making choices.  You will not be able to read everything, so start with what's familiar:  Your books.  And then move on to browsing websites and deciding which sites are best for you.  

Just typing words into Google is not research.  Spending time considering where your information is coming from is research.  Evaluate your sources and ask questions about what you read.  If you end up on Wikipedia, you can use that information as long as you check the footnotes that the author provided.  If they are legitimate, you can use that info.  If you can't even find footnotes, than how do you know where that person got their information?  

Keep track of where your information is coming from.  Cite the page numbers, webpage names and the authors that you encounter.  And most important...Have Fun!

WHAT YOU MUST HAND IN:  

• Step Three:  Explanations for the topics you chose. Please note:  Post these explanations as comments on the blog.  
• Step Four:  Information from class book research 
• Step Five:  Information from internet research
• Reflection:  After you research, review your notes, and discuss them with someone (me, a classmate, a parent, a friend), you will synthesize your ideas and write a one-page reflection.  This is informal writing where you describe your thoughts and feelings about your work so far.  This will help you identify the strengths and weaknesses in your research process.  It will also point you in new directions as you take your research  to the next level.

QUESTIONS? COMMENTS? CONCERNS?

Post them below.  A question of one is a question of all.  And I will check in periodically to monitor your progress.      

    

The Geography of World War One

Use these amazing maps on the PBS website "The Great War and the Shaping of the 20th Century" to clarify your thinking about World War One.

LINK:  http://www.pbs.org/greatwar/maps/

Guiding Questions: 

1.  How did Europe become an entire continent at war?

2.  How does this new information connect to our brainstorm and discussion last class?

3.  Create at least one of your own questions about the new information we investigated today.

American Civil War: Legacies For Our Own Time Lecture 3/29

A quick synopsis from my perspective. For those who were not able to attend.

From the lecture, I considered the speakers words to be consist of facts and maybe even opinions. They were discussing what they believe to be the true legacies of our past time - The American Civil War. Though I learned that the Civil War is an endless debate, the speakers which I can’t recall their names said, and I quote, “Union win was a legacy” and the “Presence of black americans is a legacy”.

"Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness" at the Yale Art Gallery

Here is the link to a New York Times review of the 2nd installment of the American Art exhibit at Yale. This part of the show lasts until Sunday, April 8. If you are in New Haven this weekend, I highly recommend checking it out! Bring a friend or family member. And if you can't make it, there are some excellent photos in this article.

LINK TO ARTICLE:  http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/18/nyregion/a-review-of-life-liberty-and-the-pursuit-of-happiness-at-yale-university.html?_r=1

How History Changes: Demographic Research and the Civil War

This is a challenging, but fascinating article about the research techniques used to figure out a more accurate death toll from the Civil War.  Our favorite historian, Eric Foner, talks about how significant these findings are, especially given that the Southern population was so much smaller.

Check it out:  http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/03/science/civil-war-toll-up-by-20-percent-in-new-estimate.html?pagewanted=1&_r=4&seid=auto&smid=tw-nytimes

UPDATED: American History Review with Local Public Monuments

I realize we have quickly moved through the fascinating period of history known as the Industrial Age, beginning in 1877 and ending in the early 1900s. Mark Twain called it the Gilded Age, and the rise of industry, the division of wealth and use of natural resources changed the American economy and culture forever.    

But New Haven history, that we can literally look up to (and even visit!), also fits into this period.  Check out this local history of the Angel of Peace and Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument; dedicated in 1887, the story of this East Rock monument captures the American Identity of the period.  And as an added bonus, this monument helps us to review significant dates and places of the four major American wars at this point in history in 1887:  The Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Mexican War and the Civil War.

As a AP Exam Review Project, you will work collaboratively to create a Visitors Guide to this monument for 9th graders at Metro.

A few points:

1)  Students will work in groups of two or three to create Visitors Guides for the Soldiers and Sailors Monument on East Rock.  First, students will research individually; then we will form collaborative working groups based on interests and schedules.    

2)  I like the way Niorgie describes the project:  "This visitor's guide should be neat and bright.  We should add our own personal touch."  Here are some possible topics to include in the Visitor's Guide:

• Native American Life Before Europe:  A Natural History of East Rock. There is currently an exhibit at the New Haven Museum about the geologic history of East Rock.      
• New Haven, Revolution and the War for Independence:  There is an engaging Yale Lecture online about this topic.  
• Connecticut, Resistance and the War of 1812:  There is a recent research article about the Hartford Convention and Connecticut's "reluctant but bloody involvement" in the war.
• The Mexican American War:  Slavery and Anti-Slavery
• The Guns of Whitney and The Civil War
• Industrialism in New Haven in 1880s

I'm still working on finding good links for a few more topics.  I am open to suggestions.  As you can see, I am trying to keep the research as local as possible.  The monument makes specific references to battles that I'm sure hold local connections.  Further research will yield interesting results.  Share what you discover.  This will be helpful to everyone involved.  

As for Roggie's question:  We will definitely go to East Rock the day of the field trip with the 9th graders, in late May.  You will present your Visitor's Guides to small groups of frosh and then we will all have lunch up there.  I also recommend that you take a trip up there on your own.  Maybe we can get an AP trip up there after the 5/11 exam, but it's hard in May, so much going on!  Let's keep our options open.  And remember, this website has great detailed information:  http://www.chs.org/finding_aides/ransom/074.htm     

Currently Reading

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/04/02/a-burden-too-heavy-to-bear/?ref=opinion

Currently Viewing

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/trailer/coulee/

President Obama Makes Reference to "Social Darwinism" in the Proposed Republican Budget

To those of you who have made connections between the history of the Gilded Age and the economic issues facing our nation today, you are not alone.  Our President has also criticized the proposed Republican budget as "radical."  He says, "It is antithetical to our entire history as a land of opportunity and upward mobility for everybody who's willing to work for it. It is a prescription for decline."  

ARTICLE ONE:  http://news.yahoo.com/obama-slam-republican-social-darwinism-103004622.html

ARTICLE TWO:  http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Elections/President/2012/0403/Slamming-social-Darwinism-Obama-reignites-debt-clash-with-GOP

VIDEO LINK:  http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/46941784#46941784

What do you think the role of government should be with respect to:

• Transporation
• Education
• Healthcare
• Retirement programs

If you have the time, you should listen to at least the first 10 minutes of the speech.  President Obama outlines the role of Republican American Presidents, starting with Abraham Lincoln, who have invested in government programs that benefit the majority of Americans.  

I'm looking forward to hearing your comments.