American Social History

37. Mon 4/27 – Asian-Americans

Reading topics: the “Golden Door,” the “yellow peril,” the Chinese Exclusion Act, Supreme Court case of Yick Wo v. Hopkins (1886), Rock Springs Wyoming race riot (1885), Chinatown(s), Japanese immigration, Isei and Nisei, 1924 Oriental Exclusion Law. Try the Digital History website for resources on this topic.

38. Wed 4/29 – Discussion Day on Japanese Internment – Esperanza Rising Lesson Plan due in class

Reading: explore the JARDA (Japanese American Relocation Digital Archive). Be prepared to discuss:

What happened during World War II to Japanese Americans and why?
What customs, cultural practices, or worldviews clashed during the internment process?
Were interned Americans able to maintain some of their cultural practices?
How is the story of Japanese internment/relocation similar to, and different from, the trajectory of other immigrant groups or minority communities of color in the American West?
What sorts of sources are available to historians, researchers, and the public on this site?

39. Fri 5/1 – Final Presentation Day

This day will be a makeup presentation day if you missed an earlier one. Also if you are not presenting and need a third response paper, this is your week. Presenters this week (St. Francis, McQuoid, and Knight) can focus either on the experience of Mexican-Americans in the American West using resources from last week, or on Asians in the American West, or can compare/contrast the two in their presentations.

Some ideas for presenters from previous weeks that weren’t used yet –

• Listen to the recent NPR “Morning Edition” 5-part series, by reporter Jason Bobien, traveling the entire US-Mexican border. What is so important about this region? What are some of the current issues, problems, and stories from the border?
• Explore some of the experiences of Vietnamese Boat People. How do their stories intersect with changes in US immigration policy in the 20th century?

New ideas:

• Peruse some of the images, photographs and other resources in the Library of Congress American Memory archive “The Chinese in California, 1850-1925.” How is this website different from JARDA, and what use might social historians make of the items within it?
• Use the online Bracero Archive to understand the bracero program and how it fits into immigration history in the 20th century.

40. Mon 5/4 – “Black America”

In our final week, we’ll be discussing whether “Black America” is a useful term, and whether that describes a distinctive community/culture that can be understood using the same conceptual and methodological tools as those used to explore immigrant experiences. We’ll also consider whether, as some argue (or wish), America is a “post-racial” society.

Reading for today and Wednesday:

PDF of 2 speeches from the 1963 March on Washington – compare Martin Luther King Jr’s “I Have a Dream” speech (with which you are undoubtedly familiar) with John L. Lewis’s speech from the same day.

We’ll also explore the concept of “post-racial” America – some links are below: start with the top one, and proceed as time and interest allow, taking note of the core questions and issues in this ongoing cultural discussion in America today:

• “Is America Really Post-Racial?” by Adrienne Christina Miles
• Commentary on CNN.com, “Post-Racial America Isn’t Here Yet” by Leonard Pitts Jr.
• “Not in my Neighborhood” author Lawrence Bobo also says no – a view from black America, posted on The Root blog
• NPR radio clip (20 minutes) on “Are We Living in a Post-Racial America?“
• “What is Post-Racial America?” – a conservative viewpoint posted on “View From the Right” blog
• “Edging (At Times Clumsily) Toward a Post-Racial America,” Robin Givhan, Washington Post, 16 March 2008
• “Post-Racial America?” by University of California professor John Iceland
• “Post-Racial,” by Michael Crowley, in New Republic, March 2008

41. Wed 5/6 – Last Discussion Day and Research Paper is due in class


Our last test, covering Unit 3, will be on May 11 at 12:30 pm.

In this unit we have explored how immigrants figure prominently in the “founding narrative” of our nation as colonizers, settlers, conquerors, and heroes of freedom. Late 19th-century immigrants, too, especially those from Europe, also people history heroically as seekers of financial betterment and religious freedom (e.g. the “Great American Melting Pot” Schoolhouse Rock video we saw). We have discussed how immigrants’ own accounts (the “Undistinguished Americans”) often didn’t fit the idealized vision of immigrants depicted in the Statue of Liberty’s poem. And contemporary immigrants spark ongoing controversy in America today over resources, border control, and who does or doesn’t “fit” in a pluralist American society. Many of these issues are particularly contentious in schools, which are the front line of educating young newcomers, and where questions of language, history, and identity are especially fraught.

In this assignment, you’ll put yourself in the place of an educator looking to broaden his/her curriculum to be more inclusive of “undistinguished” immigrant Americans. You, the educator, have selected or have been given Pam Munoz Ryan’s novel Esperanza Rising, and must now build a lesson or a series of lessons around it.

First, decide what grade you teach. Is this a late elementary school classroom (4th or 5th grade?)? If so, you might use the novel across both Language Arts and Social Studies. Is this a middle school classroom (6th, 7th or 8th grade)? If so, it is part of a Social Studies and/or Geography curriculum. Is this a high school classroom (9th-12th grade)? The novel may be part of a US History or general Social Studies class.

Next, develop a lesson plan that will realistically fill at least one class session. You’ll need to consider the learning capabilities of the students in your classroom, and will need to engage their interest and find a creative or compelling way to incorporate the novel in your teaching.

Consider these questions in your planning:
What will you want students to learn from this novel?
What goals will your lesson or project accomplish?
How long will it take?
Will they work in groups or individually?
How will you measure your students’ learning?
What other resources or materials might be needed?
What educational standards are addressed? (E.g. You could use the Massachusetts or National History Frameworks, or the actual standards of a school district of your choice)

On Wed 4/29, you’ll turn in a packet containing:

• 1) One lesson plan “grid,” completed (here is a PDF of the form; a type-into Word version is here)
• 2) A “script” or set of instructions so that the lesson(s) can be used over again or shared with other teachers (see the list of examples below for ideas on what that might look like)
• 3) A short (1-page) reflection paper (similar to what you did for the Digital Project) explaining what you learned from this assignment

Your project will be assessed for completeness of those 3 items, creativity of the lesson or project, suitability & appropriateness for the age group in your classroom, whether the project is realistic and do-able, and whether it incorporates the novel successfully.

Here are some examples of lesson plans and ideas from a variety of educator websites that incorporate social history topics using children’s literature or primary sources, to give you some inspiration:

• A sample 10th-grade lesson plan using a film to discuss the Watergate crisis (Jim Skvorc, Summit HS in Colorado)
• A sample 8th or 9th-grade lesson plan about pioneer trail dairies (Robert Mulick, Lowell Scott MS in Idaho)
• Using Children’s Literature about the Great Depression (Carol Hurst)
• Using the children’s book “Letting Swift River Go” in elementary classrooms (Carol Hurst)
• High school lesson plans incorporating letters to Eleanor Roosevelt (New Deal Network)
• Additional enrichment activities about the Depression and the New Deal (New Deal Network)
• Lesson plan ideas for a unit titled “Immigration Builds a Nation” (Education World)

32. Mon 4/13 – Immigration and Migration

This week we begin our third unit, on Social History as Ethnic and Immigration History. On Monday we’ll discuss how this continent was peopled: original inhabitants, settlers, slaves, colonists, conquerors, immigrants (where, when, from where, why), border-crossers. We’ll discuss differing views about American multiculturalism, including defining terms like nativism, assimilation, pluralism, the “melting pot,” and we’ll discuss the history of immigration history. Reading: “Huddled Masses” on the Digital History site. You don’t have to read every essay, but click on those which are least familiar to you or where you feel your background knowledge may be weak.

33. Wed 4/15 – Discussion Day: “Undistinguished Americans”

This remarkable book, first published in 1906, records oral histories with “ordinary Americans,” many of them immigrants. Much of the book has also been published at the Digital History site. We’ll divide up the stories; you’ll read 2 of them. Not everyone will be reading the same ones. Our class discussion will focus on these immigrant voices:

Who are they?
Why did they come?
What were the pushes and pulls?
What were their experiences after arriving in America?
What does it mean to be an immigrant?
Is America a pluralistic society or a melting pot (the title of Israel Zangwill’s popular 1908 stage play)?

In addition, EVERYONE will read Horace Kallen’s 1915 essay, “Democracy Versus the Melting Pot,” [pdf here], which articulates many of the ideas in the early 20th century about these immigrants and their place in America.

34. Fri 4/17 – Presentation Day #6 AND Research Paper Topic/Bibliography Due for Everyone (guidelines posted here)

Presenters = Simonelli, Mulloy, Ranahan, Rose and Tedesco. Everyone else who still has a response paper to do should write one this week, we only have one more presentation day after this.

Presentation ideas:

• Explore the website for Ellis Island. If you have an ancestor you know came through this port, search for her or him. Check out the photographs, essays, and other materials on the website. Give us a “tour” of the site and your evaluation of its scope and usability.
• (Taken: Mulloy) Research the story of young Cuban immigrant Elian Gonzalez. Why do you think his case set off such a firestorm of controversy? What were some of the divergent views about his situation? What has happened to him?
• Listen to the recent NPR “Morning Edition” 5-part series, by reporter Jason Bobien, traveling the entire US-Mexican border. What is so important about this region? What are some of the current issues, problems, and stories from the border?
• (Taken: Ranahan) Read the 1908 play “The Melting Pot” by Israel Zangwill. This is the source of the famous image of America as a melting pot… what is the play about? Who are the characters? How is “the melting pot” portrayed in the drama?
• What does it take to become a citizen? Has that changed over time? Research and report on naturalization laws, perhaps by starting at the Immigration and Naturalization Service website. Do you get different information here than you do from an immigrant advocacy website, such as Immihelp.com? Why or why not?
• (Taken: Simonelli) President Barack Obama’s aunt is currently living in the United States as an illegal alien. Explore and report on this story for us. What does this tell us about current policy, the state of the debate about citizenship and immigration, or the experiences of recent immigrants from her part of Africa? Obviously her story is unique because of her relationship to the President; is that the only reason her story is getting so much press lately?
• Watch and write a review of a film that deals with issues of immigration, citizenship, or border-crossing. If possible, show and discuss a short clip from the film in class. This list is one place to start, but the film you choose does not have to be on this list.
• Explore the online resources of the Library of Congress about immigration, and share some of your findings. What is there for social historians or for educators looking to include more immigrant stories into their classrooms?
• Research about the Statue of Liberty and the poem engraved on its base. How and when did the two (statue + poem) become linked? Why has the statue become such a symbol of American immigration?
• Explore some of the experiences of Vietnamese Boat People. How do their stories intersect with changes in US immigration policy in the 20th century?

No class Monday April 20

35. Wed 4/22 – Hispanic America

Topics for lecture & reading: Mexican-American War, Texicans, Hispanic vs. Latino/a, LULAC, Cesar Chavez, Chicano/a, Bracero Program

36. Fri 4/24 – Discussion Day, of Pam Munoz Ryan’s youth novel Esperanza Rising (entire)

We’ll discuss this award-winning novel for young people.

What do you learn from this text about the Mexican-American migrant worker experience?
How does Esperanza’s experience compare with the “undistinguished Americans” we discussed last week?
Does the fact that this book is based on the author’s own family story give this work of fiction special authority or power?
What are some of the themes and symbols explored in this book?
What makes Esperanza “American”?
How might this book be used in a public school classroom?

29. Mon 4/6 – the Women’s Movement in the 1960s and 1970s

Reading topics: Second-wave feminism, women’s movement, women’s liberation/lib, National Organization for Women (NOW), Ms Magazine, Equal Rights Amendment, International Womens’ Year (1975). Try the website for the Washington State Women’s History Consortium for starters.

30. Wed 4/8 – Discussion Day.

Reading: “Notes from the First Year,” New York Radical Women (1968). This publication has 12 essays, which have been transcribed and published online by the Duke University Library.

Questions to consider:
Who were the writers of this publication?
How representative were these women?
How mainstream (or not) would you consider their ideas and perspectives to be in 1968?
What are their concerns, issues, causes, and strategies?

31. Fri 4/10 – Exam #2 in class.

Check back over the weekend for the study guide. The format will most likely be short excerpts from the primary sources in this unit, giving you an opportunity to write short answer or essay questions about the themes and topics we’ve discussed in class.