An earlier discord chat got me thinking...
I'm teaching my Y8s about American History for the next term, and I was wondering if you guys could help me out; do you have any pictures of battlefields, museums, artefacts, etc that I may use in lessons to help teach my students? Also, do you have any interesting stories, teaching ideas, resources etc, that I can use too? Unfortunately, we rarely touch on American History in British schools so I'm figuring some of you may have a better idea on this topic than me!
The two biggest areas that we are going to cover is the War of Independence and the American Civil War, although I won't turn down anything that covers the period from 1775 through to 1900. Anything you may have on this would be much appreciated!
Huge thanks in advance!
Hamilton's Financial Plan. It was more or less fundamental to eliminating the war debt and getting the US on track for growth and expansion.
Washington's Spy Network, because wow, it was pretty useful and the Brits love to talk openly about that new offensive that's supposed to come.
Lincoln's Gang of Three and how they managed to pass the abolition of slavery. An interesting solution, that.
The different compromises regarding slavery and how free/slave states were to be divided up, and how the Mexican-American War ruined all that nice political planning. See the Ostend Manifesto.
This part is more 1910s, but it's pretty important w/ America's adoption of European imperialism. Theodore Roosevelt and the "Policeman of the Western Hemisphere" along with the Spanish-American War. It was oh so nice of the Filipinos to help fight the Spanish... until they realized the Americans were never leaving. Ripperoni.
Theodore Roosevelt's debt collectors. How they would collect any European debt from banana republics, essentially establishing the US authority as a western power.
On a more economic side, the market revolution and the adoption of supply routes via steam barges on rivers. Railroads, and how quintessential they were to the growth of power and wealth, and the power of the capitalist tycoons and oligarchs like Rockefeller and J.P. Morgan.
Commodore Perry's Expedition. Because the Japanese market is perfect for trade and this would /never/ backfire.
Treaties that come to mind off the top of my head:
1) Webster-Ashburton
2) The Oregon Treaty and how the U.S. was willing to fight the UK (and probably lose) for the northern border.
3) The Platt Amendment because Europeans aren't the only ones who can do imperialism!
Some more stuff:
1) The annexation of Hawaii. (We don't want that stupid piece of dirt! Wait, what's that? The Japanese want Hawaii? Nonsense! That piece of dirt is ours!)
2) State Secretary Stewart's expansionism. He bought Alaska from the Russians, Caribbean islands from the Danes, tried oh so many times buying Cuba, and also settled islands like Midway.
3) The U.S. and the Open Door Policy in Qing China.
4) The Monroe Doctrine. Hi Robin!
Important Supreme Court Cases:
Marbury V. Madison (Giving the Judiciary the power to invalidate laws)
McCulloch v. Maryland (The Federal Government has power over the states, not the other way around.)
Gibbons v. Ogden (This is a really big one. It empowers the Federal Government with extremely broad power to regulate inter-state commerce, and a significant portion of its regulatory laws comes from this court case.)
Dred Scott v. Sanford (This contributed to the Slavery Debate. The court stated that African Americans could not become citizens because they did not come to the country with the intention to immigrate (because they were brought as slaves) and the government could not free slaves without due process. It basically left the slavery question to be answered only through civil war and a constitutional amendment.)
That's all from the top of my head. Let me know if you need anything specific.
Washington's Spy Network, because wow, it was pretty useful and the Brits love to talk openly about that new offensive that's supposed to come.
Lincoln's Gang of Three and how they managed to pass the abolition of slavery. An interesting solution, that.
The different compromises regarding slavery and how free/slave states were to be divided up, and how the Mexican-American War ruined all that nice political planning. See the Ostend Manifesto.
This part is more 1910s, but it's pretty important w/ America's adoption of European imperialism. Theodore Roosevelt and the "Policeman of the Western Hemisphere" along with the Spanish-American War. It was oh so nice of the Filipinos to help fight the Spanish... until they realized the Americans were never leaving. Ripperoni.
Theodore Roosevelt's debt collectors. How they would collect any European debt from banana republics, essentially establishing the US authority as a western power.
On a more economic side, the market revolution and the adoption of supply routes via steam barges on rivers. Railroads, and how quintessential they were to the growth of power and wealth, and the power of the capitalist tycoons and oligarchs like Rockefeller and J.P. Morgan.
Commodore Perry's Expedition. Because the Japanese market is perfect for trade and this would /never/ backfire.
Treaties that come to mind off the top of my head:
1) Webster-Ashburton
2) The Oregon Treaty and how the U.S. was willing to fight the UK (and probably lose) for the northern border.
3) The Platt Amendment because Europeans aren't the only ones who can do imperialism!
Some more stuff:
1) The annexation of Hawaii. (We don't want that stupid piece of dirt! Wait, what's that? The Japanese want Hawaii? Nonsense! That piece of dirt is ours!)
2) State Secretary Stewart's expansionism. He bought Alaska from the Russians, Caribbean islands from the Danes, tried oh so many times buying Cuba, and also settled islands like Midway.
3) The U.S. and the Open Door Policy in Qing China.
4) The Monroe Doctrine. Hi Robin!
Important Supreme Court Cases:
Marbury V. Madison (Giving the Judiciary the power to invalidate laws)
McCulloch v. Maryland (The Federal Government has power over the states, not the other way around.)
Gibbons v. Ogden (This is a really big one. It empowers the Federal Government with extremely broad power to regulate inter-state commerce, and a significant portion of its regulatory laws comes from this court case.)
Dred Scott v. Sanford (This contributed to the Slavery Debate. The court stated that African Americans could not become citizens because they did not come to the country with the intention to immigrate (because they were brought as slaves) and the government could not free slaves without due process. It basically left the slavery question to be answered only through civil war and a constitutional amendment.)
That's all from the top of my head. Let me know if you need anything specific.
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Oh. A few legalistic things.
1) The Pendleton Act, which created employment-by-merit. Previously, you went up in the bureaucracy by knowing the right people. (See the spoils system)
2) The Hatch Act, which prevents government officials except for a few people like the President from engaging in political activities while maintaining their position.
1) The Pendleton Act, which created employment-by-merit. Previously, you went up in the bureaucracy by knowing the right people. (See the spoils system)
2) The Hatch Act, which prevents government officials except for a few people like the President from engaging in political activities while maintaining their position.
Oh fantastic Valore thanks for that! There are some of these topics that I want to cover and... I think you may be better placed to help me understand some of those Supreme Court cases, because from what I've read, they are fundamental to understand the development of America. Of course, I doubt the Y8s (who are 12-13 year olds), will fully understand the importance of them, but it's worth mentioning.
I don't know how you would go about teaching them in a fun way (if I mention law, I'm 100% sure 90% of the class will fall asleep!). I was thinking maybe setting up the cases and debating them in class?
I don't know how you would go about teaching them in a fun way (if I mention law, I'm 100% sure 90% of the class will fall asleep!). I was thinking maybe setting up the cases and debating them in class?
Depending on what part of the UK you're in you might be able to find some local ACW reenactors to come in. Some are pretty hokey but most of us (at least state-side) know what we're talking about.
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Oh fantastic Valore thanks for that! There are some of these topics that I want to cover and... I think you may be better placed to help me understand some of those Supreme Court cases, because from what I've read, they are fundamental to understand the development of America. Of course, I doubt the Y8s (who are 12-13 year olds), will fully understand the importance of them, but it's worth mentioning.
I don't know how you would go about teaching them in a fun way (if I mention law, I'm 100% sure 90% of the class will fall asleep!). I was thinking maybe setting up the cases and debating them in class?
I don't know how you would go about teaching them in a fun way (if I mention law, I'm 100% sure 90% of the class will fall asleep!). I was thinking maybe setting up the cases and debating them in class?
The way I recommend it is talk about the narrative and what's going on at the time. If you delve into the details or transcripts, it might go poorly. Take Dredd Scott for example.
The man spent his entire life as a slave, gets his one chance at freedom, and the court rules that not only is he impossible at obtaining American Citizenship, no African American can obtain citizenship.
That precedent still partially impacts us today. Have you heard of American Samoa? It's one of the American territories that still exist. The natives born on that island don't have a citizenship of any country (Which is actually against international law since the League of Nations, but hey it's America so what're you going to do about it?) They're given residency cards, so unlike Puerto Ricans who can go to the mainland, these people are stuck as residents forever. But they can still be drafted should war come about. The Supreme Court has lasting impact that exists for centuries.
Dredd Scott also ruled that slaves who go to free states can still be arrested and brought back to their owners, and special commissions of judges were set up to rule whether or not a captured escapee was a slave. However, they were paid almost double for ruling in the affirmative, so of course they would rule in favor of the slavers. It also made the chance of the Supreme Court regulating slavery and putting a cap on the growing civil strife a non-option, which means the only way abolish slavery would be through means that weren't exactly constitutional. So civil war was the only real solution at that point after the lines had been drawn.
The way Lincoln went about actually bringing about abolition was also quite extraordinary. I'd label him as one of the few progressive strongmen that come to mind as his Gang of Three under guidance from Secretary Seward (Very important guy, he bought Alaska and helped end slavery) who would go to different representatives and senators and offer them important government jobs (like Postmaster General, for instance) if they supported the abolition amendment.
Another recommendation of study would be the Gilded Age. Once Radical Reconstruction is ended early for political interests, the attention of the state changes from ending slavery and introducing some form of dignity in the form of social equity and more towards making money. Steel becomes a big deal once the Bessemer process is adopted. American oil, American railroads, and American banks start running the country essentially. The Pinkertons start massacring towns to break labor strikes.
Here have a political cartoon.
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Alas, all we have up here in the North are Roman and 1914, 1939 reenactors... got any good clips you recommend on youtube?
Oh thank you Valore (the cartoon is great, time for a source question methinks!)
I had the gilded age in the original plan, but unfortunately, I have to pick and choose which areas to cover as we have very little time; I can either do a lot very briefly, or a small amount in detail, and from performance last term, the students don't fare well with a lot.
I had the gilded age in the original plan, but unfortunately, I have to pick and choose which areas to cover as we have very little time; I can either do a lot very briefly, or a small amount in detail, and from performance last term, the students don't fare well with a lot.
Oh thank you Valore (the cartoon is great, time for a source question methinks!)
I had the gilded age in the original plan, but unfortunately, I have to pick and choose which areas to cover as we have very little time; I can either do a lot very briefly, or a small amount in detail, and from performance last term, the students don't fare well with a lot.
I had the gilded age in the original plan, but unfortunately, I have to pick and choose which areas to cover as we have very little time; I can either do a lot very briefly, or a small amount in detail, and from performance last term, the students don't fare well with a lot.
What spheres will you be focusing on primarily? There are a few decent war documentaries I could grab if you needed one. If these are public school students, the movie Lincoln on Netflix is pretty decent in focusing on the political aspects.
Edit: Sorry, read High School Students.
Here's a cartoon on The Policeman of the Western Hemisphere.
We covered Empires last term, and the reasons for Britain's empire. As part of this, we looked at revolutions and slavery, so these two themes I want to carry on this term too, as well as introducing warfare and conflict (the reason is because the following year we have to cover conflict as a long thematic study, so this fits in with the larger scheme of work), hence the focus on the War of Independence and the American Civil War.
It would be good to cover slave rights, since they started the Slave Trade, and it would make sense to see how the slaves were treated after they were shipped across.
It would be good to cover slave rights, since they started the Slave Trade, and it would make sense to see how the slaves were treated after they were shipped across.
While it’s just a cursory survey of US history, the Crash Course series on this topic is fun and packs a lot of information into its short episode runtimes. Plus at least a few of your students are likely to be familiar with Fault in Our Stars author John Green, who makes for a charming host. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8dPuuaLjXtMwmepBjTSG593eG7ObzO7s
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That's a good idea, I've had those in the back of my mind, but they seem like they can be really good starters as I send the class in at the start of the lesson!
We covered Empires last term, and the reasons for Britain's empire. As part of this, we looked at revolutions and slavery, so these two themes I want to carry on this term too, as well as introducing warfare and conflict (the reason is because the following year we have to cover conflict as a long thematic study, so this fits in with the larger scheme of work), hence the focus on the War of Independence and the American Civil War.
It would be good to cover slave rights, since they started the Slave Trade, and it would make sense to see how the slaves were treated after they were shipped across.
It would be good to cover slave rights, since they started the Slave Trade, and it would make sense to see how the slaves were treated after they were shipped across.
In that case I recommend at least a mention of the Trail of Tears and other native removal acts. (Land = power, and if you settle people on that land, they'll pay taxes and fight in your armies.)
As for court cases, I recommend:
Worcester v. Georgia (TL:DR - Several natives sued for their land and the court ruled in their favor. Then the government disagreed. It's one of the few times you actually see how the Supreme Court cannot actually enforce its own decisions.)
There are a few others, but I feel like at this point more would be a burden.
As for Empires, I also recommend the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo, the Gadsden Purchase, Pinckney's Treaty, Adams-Onis Treaty.
((From one history major to another, good luck.))
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Oh I remember that! (well not remember, but remember reading about it) Thank you!
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