tlp_09_DHartman-McCulley

=Teacher Lesson Page=

Debbie Hartman-McCulley, Madeline English School, Everett
Debbie's Primary Source Page

Grade Level: 8th - 9th grade

Essential Question:
Grades 8-10 - How did immigration affect American conceptions of "WE THE PEOPLE"?

Standard(s):
USI.28 Explain the B. the causes and impact of the wave of immigration from Northern Europe to America in the 1840's and 1850's.

Guiding Question:
Why might the German immigrant choose to settle in America? Where did the German immigrants go and how might different types of primary sources convince them to go there? How did they contribute to creating American culture?

**Title:**
//Making an educated decision: "Where will we settle in our New World?"//

**Introduction:**
In this lesson, you will see many primary source documents that were like "old time advertisements" to help German immigrants choose where to move to the USA. Some of the documents were for people who were literate (could read) and some were designed for people who were not literate (could not read). You will be a detective who examines these documents for clues that spoke to the immigrants about taking a risk and settling in "America." Then you will examine some historical newspapers, census records and maps to check if you were right. You may even find out what special traditions Germans shared with their New World. Good luck!

**Task:** You are going to be either a historical detective or a German immigrant. As a detective your task is to find out where German immigrants went to live when they came to the USA between the years 1830 and 1890. As a German immigrant, each of you receive a character cards that will have a specific role for you to play. Your job will be to discover why and where German immigrants went to the U.S.

After working with the sources, you will get together to discuss all your research. Four groups will then write one script in four acts about how German immigrants chose a place of settlement in the Midwest. You will also include details about the German cultural clue that you shared with the USA helping to include Germans as part of the melting pot called America. You will then act out your script in four vignettes or short plays (one per group) of the immigrant’s decision making process, why they chose their place of settlement, and what they brought to America that is seen as “all American” today.

First, you are going to be in four groups of three students. Two groups will work on a mission as historical detectives. Your task is to find out where German immigrants went to live when they came to the USA between the years 1830 and 1890. You will use many primary resources like maps, a paintings, a journal, a poem, a travel guide, a cartoon and a letter to help you find clues of settlement patterns for Germans. You will use Geographic Cards with a few facts about 8 German immigrants to help you. Each group of detectives will examine three primary source documents to learn about how these documents helped to lure Germans to the Midwest. Take notes -- you will need to share your expertise later.

Two groups of students will take the roles of the German immigrants themselves. Each of you receive a character cards that will have a specific role for you to play. The cards will contain details about your lives, your skills and a cultural clue in an envelope. The cultural clue is something that you will bring to the USA from Germany and the American people will eventually adopt as their own. Each of you will see, hear, read or even write a primary source document. As a German immigrant, you will examine these documents to determine what the USA has to offer you. It may hint at the work, the people, recreation, home life, the places, the natural resources, and the opportunities for you in the Midwest/USA.

So, form four groups of 4. Then follow these instructions:

Step 1: Four Groups each select one packet of primary resource materials (3 items per packet). Packet # 1: Paintings Gallery, Poem & Broadside Packet # 2: Journal, Cartoon & Maps Packet # 3 Letter, Broadside & Poem Packet # 4: Cartoon, Letter & Paintings Gallery.

Step 2: Each group will examine the resource documents in each packet and analyze what the documents explains to them about life in the USA. What does the document tell German immigrants to encourage them to move to the Midwest? Record the information on your K-W-L worksheets. What do you know (K), what do you want to know (W) and what have you learned (L) from each document. Here is the KWL instruction. [K-W-L Worksheet is below] Step 3: Detectives will examine the documents and interview eight German immigrants. The immigrants will use the character cards to answer questions from the detectives. Detectives will use an Assessment Sheet about the immigrants to help them understand the primary source document influence.

Step 4: Choose a document from your packet. Follow the instructions for that document. Use the documents (listed below). Each one is different, so read carefully. Maps Using the links, pull up a copy of the map of Ohio from 1806. This map may be a bit old, but it was probably a very expensive map in 1806 and is not easily replaced in 1830. German immigrants may have had a copy of this map passed down from a father or grandfather who might have been saving and hoping to emigrate to the USA. What might the immigrant see on this map that would encourage him/her to go to the Midwest? Use your K-W-L chart to record what you want to know.

Heartman Journal: Read the journal from a young man from Bremen, an immigrant. What experiences has the young man written about on his journey to North America? Was it an easy trip for him? Was he an educated person? What kind of work did he find? Did the language barrier put obstacles in his path? Did he make any mistakes in traveling? How was America like home (Germany)? Did he encourage his family/friends to come to America? How might he contribute to the community he chooses? How would his story appeal to other immigrants or not? Use your K-W-L chart to record what you want to know. Banks of Ohio Poem: Listen to the poem. Which immigrants might make a decision about emigration after hearing this poem? Where might the immigrant choose to settle in America? Why might they choose the Midwest? Do you have to be educated to fish or hunt? What will the women do on the Banks of the Ohio (River)? How will they deal with the Indians? How might the immigrants contribute to the community they choose? Would the immigrant be confused if the reader of the poem was a poor man/woman? Use your K-W-L chart to record what you want to know.

Broadside: Look at the broadside. Describe how this broadside/poster would appeal to the German immigrants. What kind of immigrants would be swayed to go to Ohio after seeing this poster? What does the poster show about life in the Midwest? Will individuals or families be more apt to make a decision based on this poster? What does the poster say about life in America: work, natural resources, the people, entertainment, the good life? How might immigrants contribute to the community they choose after seeing this poster? Use your K-W-L chart to record what you want to know.

MFA Painting Gallery: Look at the MFA Painting Gallery (link below). Which immigrants might make a decision about emigration after seeing these paintings? Where might the immigrant choose to settle in America? Why might they choose the MIdwest? What natural resources do the paintings show? What dangers of life on the range are not shown in the paintings? Which of these paintings show a good location for a farmer? Which painting shows a good life for an explorer/risk taker? Use your K-W-L chart to record what you want to know.

Punch Cartoon: Examine the cartoon from the British magazine //Punch.// Which immigrants might make a decision about emigration after seeing this cartoon? Where might the immigrant choose to settle in America? Why might they choose the MIdwest? Will individuals or families be more apt to make a decision based on this cartoon? What does the cartoon say about life in America: work, natural resources, the people, the good life? How might immigrants contribute to the community they choose after seeing this poster? Does the cartoon tell the whole truth about the USA? What part is true and which is false? Would an educated person use this cartoon to learn about the USA? Use your K-W-L chart to record what you want to know.

Duden Letter: Read the letter from Duden, an immigrant. What experiences has the man written about on his journey to North America? Was it an easy trip for him? Was he an educated person? What kind of work did he find? Did the language barrier put obstacles in his path? Did he make any mistakes in traveling? How was America like home (Germany)? Did he encourage his family/friends to come to America? How might he contribute to the community he chooses? How would his story appeal to other immigrants? Use your K-W-L chart to record what you want to know.

Pelz Pamphlet: Read the pamphlet. Which immigrants might make a decision about emigration after reading this pamphlet? Where might the immigrant choose to settle in America? Why might they choose the MIdwest? Will individuals or families be more apt to make a decision based on this pamphlet? What does the pamphlet say about life in America: work, natural resources, the people, entertainment, the good life? How might immigrants contribute to the community they choose after reading this pamphlet? Does the pamphlet tell the whole truth about the USA? What part is true and which is false? Use your K-W-L chart to record what you want to know.

Step 5: Each document detective in the small groups will join the immigrant expert in the other groups to compare notes on one primary resource document. Each of you will share information with one another and make a hypothesis about how German immigrants chose the Midwest for settlement. You will also hypothesize how a skilled or unskilled immigrant might contribute to the community they chose? How might this reflect "We the people?" Will some documents attract educated and skilled immigrants? Will some documents attract uneducated and unskilled immigrants? Does the community need both types of immigrants to thrive and be a growing community?

Step 6: You will assess the accuracy of your work by examining the US Census Table 22 to see what the ratio of Native born persons was to the number of Foreign born persons in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois or Missouri in 1850. Read several historical newspaper clippings to support your hypothesis about German immigrants flocking to the Midwest and using their skills. Examine the Ethnicity Settlement Map to see where pockets of Germans settled in the USA as of 2000. Check your notes against a Skilled/Unskilled Work Graph to verify the jobs that immigrants did in 1850. Use the "L" in your KWL to verify.

List of Historical Articles [document links below]: Step 7: Each expert group writes up a script about their immigrant seeing/hearing and using the documents/incentives that encouraged them to emigrate. Later, each group will perform four short plays to show how different primary resources could have lured German immigrants to the Midwest. The vignettes( short plays) will show how those immigrants also contributed to the sense of “We the People,” by lending us their German cultural traditions (Christmas trees, frankfurters/hot dogs, pretzels, Easter Bunny and egg hunts) to make a culturally richer American community.
 * The German Element in the US, Volume 1
 * Gottfried Duden - 3 articles (immigration, trades, education and language)
 * This class of foreigners
 * Wealth of Germans
 * 50 to 100 per day
 * Hale, hearty German Group
 * German Emigrants, New-Bedford Mercury

Conclusion:
Now that you have examined the primary sources and written/performed your scripts, why do you think most Germans settled in the Midwest? Which skills were German immigrants able to transfer from Germany to the Midwest in 1850? How did they contribute to the idea of "We the People?"

Assessment:
Use a county by county ancestry chart from 2000 to check the accuracy of your hypothesis. Examine the census statistics from table 21/22 from the immigrant’s area of settlement to check if you have made the right determinations about settlement patterns of Germans.


 * Rubric

**

Resources:

 * K-W-L Worksheet **




 * Character Cards**




 * Geographic Card**




 * Immigrant Questionnaire**




 * Assessment Sheets:**

Sample Assessment Sheet (below) **--** assessment sheets have sample template for response, differ by subject (type of document):





List of Primary Source Documents:

 * **Map of Ohio** (1806):


 * Heartman Journal**:


 * Banks of Ohio Poem:**

Click on link below to hear reading of "Banks of the Ohio" poem. Click on browser's "back" button to return to this page. Banks of Ohio 2 - Tritec - DHM 1:47 Debbie Hartman Debbie Hartman's Album

Link to higher resolution version of "Gift for the Grangers"
 * Broadside:**


 * MFA Painting Gallery:**
 * Link to MFA Gallery


 * Punch Cartoon:**

Gottfried Duden recommends immigrating to Missouri (book excerpt, 1827)
 * Duden Letter:**

found in Article from //Minnesota History Magazine:// Eduard Pelz and German Emigration
 * Pelz Pamphlet:**

The German Element in the US, Volume 1 The German Element in the United States by Albert Bernhardt Faust (1909) Google Books (routes taken pp. 434-435)

Gottfried Duden - articles (immigration, trades, education and language) (from [] )
 * Duden advises on how to pursue a trade in the U.S. (book excerpt, 1827)
 * Duden on education and language for immigrants (book excerpt, 1826)

"This class of foreigners" from //The// //Farmer's Cabinet//; 07-20-1848; **Volume:** 46; **Issue:** 49; **Page:** [1]; **Location:** Amherst, New Hampshire @http://docs.newsbank.com/s/HistArchive/ahnpdoc/EANX/108D894551FFECE8/0F20FECAAFCBE6ED

"Wealth of German Emigrants" from //Northern Islander//; **Date:** 07-22-1852; **Volume:** II; **Issue:** 14; **Page:** [2]; **Location:** St. James, Michigan @http://docs.newsbank.com/s/HistArchive/ahnpdoc/EANX/11F12D4D947E5298/0F20FECAAFCBE6ED "50 to 100 per day" from //Cincinnati Republican// as published in The Sun; **Date:** 10-27-1842; **Volume:** XI; **Issue:** 136; **Page:** [2]**:** Baltimore, Maryland @http://docs.newsbank.com/s/HistArchive/ahnpdoc/EANX/11ACDA9EE9454EC0/0F20FECAAFCBE6ED

"Hale, hearty German Group" from //New-Bedford Mercury// **Date:** 10-04-1839; **Volume:** XXXIII; **Issue:** 15; **Page:** [1]; **Location:** New Bedford, Massachusetts @http://docs.newsbank.com/s/HistArchive/ahnpdoc/EANX/10855E07C3AE5A30/0F20FECAAFCBE6ED "German Emigrants" German Immigration -- opinion in New York Times, August 28, 1855 http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9503E2DC103DE034BC4151DFBE66838E649FDE\

List of Final Assessment Links:

 * Ethnicity Settlement Map/Current Ancestry Map**

@http://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0029/twps0029.html
 * Census data information -- Go to Table 13 & 21**


 * Historical German Immigration Maps** from Library of Congress
 * animated map of German Immigration to US http://frontiers.loc.gov/ammem/ndlpedu/features/immig/german_map.html
 * overview of German immigration to US @http://frontiers.loc.gov/ammem/ndlpedu/features/immig/german.html

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