tlp_10_mnapoli

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Grade Level: grades 5 to 8


 * Standard**:
 * 5.24** -- Describe the basic political principles of American democracy and explain how the Constitution & the Bill of Rights reflect and preserve these principles.
 * a. individual rights and responsibilities
 * b. equality
 * c. the rule of law
 * d. limited government
 * e. representative democracy


 * Guiding Question**:

In what ways were the experiences of African-American migrants and European immigrants to the cities of the United States 1890-1915 similar and different? Did their experiences as groups live up to the ideal of “equal protection” and opportunity for all?

“The Man Farthest Down”: Comparing the experiences of African-American migrants and European immigrants
 * Title:**

African-American leader Booker T. Washington took a tour of Europe in 1911 and in 1912, he and his co-author published a book about their experience and observations entitled //The Man Farthest Down//. “The man farthest down” is from a quote by another famous African-American who worked with Booker T. Washington at his famous school Tuskegee University: George Washington Carver. [|Carver said,] “The primary idea in all of my work was to help the farmer and fill the poor man's empty dinner pail.. My idea is to help the 'man farthest down', this is why I have made every process just as simply as I could to put it within his reach." Who was the "man farthest down"?
 * Introduction:**

In the early 20th century of the United States, both African-Americans and European immigrants had traveled to the cities of the United States in order to make a better life for themselves and their families. Why was a 'better life" desired? The United States as a nation offered opportunities and protections, many of which were embodied in the highest law of the land, the Constitution. The Constitution, in its original form and in the amendments added to it after the American Civil War, promised “equal protection under the laws” to the citizens who lived within the nation.

Those who traveled from place to place within the United States, or to the U.S. from across the ocean, hoped for the equality of opportunity and treatment that the founding documents promised. Their experiences varied. In what ways were the experiences of African-American migrants and European immigrants to the cities of the United States between 1890 and 1915 similar and different? Did their experiences as groups live up to the ideal of “equal protection” and opportunity for all?

Today you will become either the sons or daughters of African-American migrants or of European immigrants. It is September, 1915. You have both moved to a city in the North of the United States. Now you are students at a prominent local university in Boston, which is an amazing opportunity. As a new student in this new setting you are meeting other students for the first time after a talk given by Booker T. Washington. In the conversation after the talk you will meet a student from the other group and share your reactions to the talk. Then you will discuss with each other what your differences, your commonalities, and your contributions to the United States were and still are. Thereafter, you will share your experiences by creating posters about your common goals and experiences (if any) to exhibit on campus and invite others to join you in creating a club for students.
 * Task:**

At the beginning of the 20th century, migration from the American South to the cities in north and west of the United States gained momentum. It was also a peak time for Southern and Eastern European immigration to the U.S. In a book "//The Man Farthest Down"// by Booker T Washington made an observational study of his traveling experiences in Europe. And in an article that was never published, B.T. Washington wrote on “What has the immigrant contributed to American life?” Washington made an argument about the connections between the experiences and the position of African-Americans and European immigrants in the United States at the beginning of the 20th century. What did he argue? Do you agree?

Your mission will be to respond to Washington's ideas and to each other. First, think about what the United States offers its citizens and residents. Then you will consider Booker T. Washington's a main points about the similarities and differences between African-American migrants to Northern cities and European immigrants to the United States. Then you will gather evidence about the migrant or immigrant experience so that you can represent one group and listen with a member of the other group. Finally, you will create a poster to share with others on campus. Your attendance at the talk and your subsequent activities may be a next step in helping "the man farthest down." What will you share with others about the immigrant and migrant experience? Can you find ways to work together? What should other students know?


 * Lesson Process:**

I. //Equality for all?// In the United States we have the idea that people are equal and that we live in a democracy. The democracy part comes from our system of government in which people’s voices are heard through the votes they cast as citizens and the legal protections they are given under the Constitution. Read the Preamble to the Constitution and the Bill of Rights to see more about these basic political principles.

[|Archives.gov Constitution online] [|Archives.gov Bill of Rights online]

But, in the United States, many people were not considered citizens. In the era before the American Civil War, most African-Americans were enslaved and those who were free blacks saw their rights eroded in the nineteenth century. This meant that the Bill of Rights was not seen to apply to black Americans. Similarly, European immigrants often did not have citizenship rights in their home countries, and did not have these rights in their new country while they were not yet citizens of their home state or of the nation.

After the Civil War, the definition and rights of citizenship were clarified by the 13th, 14th, 15th Amendments. Why might these amendments have been passed? Why were they needed? How might these amendments effect African-American citizenship and the citizenship of European immigrants?

"All persons born or naturalized in the United States" were defined as citizens of the United States in the 14th Amendment. This meant that African-Americans, who did not have this legal status before the Civil War, were finally, legally citizens of the United States. It also meant that immigrants to the U.S. could clarify their status by going through the naturalization process and becoming citizens. Read the text of the 14th Amendment and see what it says about citizenship and about "equal protection under the laws."

Library of Congress, 14th Amendment (June 16, 1866)

page 1

page 2

African-Americans in the United States in the early 20th century could question these ideas about citizenship and opportunity. At the same time, they could say that both equality and opportunities existed. European immigrants who had moved to the U.S. at the same time could also claim that the basic political principles did and did not apply to them. Why? Let's learn more....

II. //Migrants and Immigrants// Now we will join one of two groups, either African-Americans who have migrated from the American South to Northern cities or European immigrants who have immigrated from Southern or Eastern Europe to Northern cities. You are the child of one of these two groups and the first in your family to go to college. What is your family's experience like?

Group A-- Let’s look at the experiences of African-American migrants. Get an overview from the Library of Congress by looking at this page "Heading North, Moving West." Then find out more from the Schomberg Center's exhibit "In Motion: the African-American Migration Experience" -- look at the online exhibit "The Great Migration", the sections from "Overview" to "Hard Life in the North."

In your group, answer these questions: Why did African-Americans migrate from the American South to cities in the North? Were they treated as equals? What rights and protections existed? What would be your life story as an African-American migrant c. 1915?

Group B-- Let’s look at the experiences of European immigrants. Look at this PBS series "Destination America" for background on European Immigration to U.S . Let’s look at the experiences of two groups of European immigrants -- Italians (immigrating from Europe and living and working in the U.S.) and Poles/Russians (immigrating from Europe and living in the U.S.) from the Library of Congress.

In your group, answer these questions: Why did people immigrate from Southern and Eastern Europe to cities in the United States? Were these immigrants treated as equals? What rights and protections for them existed? What would be your life story as an European immigrant c. 1915?

Then prepare to go a presentation by American educator and leader Booker T. Washington. What will he say that addresses the experience of your group? What will he say that will be new to you?

III. //Washington's Address// Famous African-African educator and political leader named Booker T. Washington was one of the few people at the time to make a connection between the migrants and immigrations. As part of your "Welcome to Campus" orientation this fall you attend a talk by famous African-American educator Booker T. Washington. It has left you thinking....

First, let's review information about Booker T. Washington himself. Look at this website from the PBS to see[|: PBS short bio.] What did Washington's own life experience teach him about the conditions of migrants?

During 1912, Booker T. Washington and an assistant traveled the countries of Europe. This experience led him to write his book //The Man Farthest Down// about Europeans and Americans.

Now let’s look at Washington's ideas about immigration and about African-Americans (called “Negroes” at the time, a term not in use anymore because of the other, negative social messages it carries). In this (fictitious) talk in September, 1915, Mr. Washington has combined his experiences and his writings (one published and one not) into an address to the students like you. Read the selections below to get the key points.

The Booker T. Washington Papers: 1914-15 By Booker T. Washington, Louis R. Harlan, Raymond Smock (Google Books) [|"What has the immigrant contributed to American Life?" (1915)] p. 369-370 [//see images below//]

Booker T. Washington //The Man Farthest Down: A record of observation and study in Europe//. See chapter 5 " Politics and Race", pages 77-78, 79-82, 84-85.[| Google Books version] [//selections below//]

pp. 77-78 In many respects the situation of the Slavs in the Austro-Hungarian Empire and in southern Europe generally is more like that of the Negroes in the Southern States than is true of any other class or race in Europe. For one thing, the vast majority of that race are, like the Negroes, an agricultural people. For centuries they have lived and worked on the soil, where they have been the servants of the great landowners, looked down upon by the educated and higher classes as "an inferior race." Although they were not distinguished from the dominant classes, as the Negro was, by the colour of their skin, they were distinguished by the language they spoke, and this difference in language seems to have been, as far as mutual understanding and sympathy are concerned, a greater bar than the fact of colour has been in the case of the white man and the black man in the South.

pp. 79-82

Another way in which the situation of the Slavic people resembles, to a certain extent, that of the masses of the Negroes in the Southern States, is in the matter of their political relations to the dominant races. Both in Austria and in Hungary all the races are supposed to have the same political privileges, and, in the case of Austria at least, the Government seems to have made a real effort to secure equal rights to all. Here, again, racial and traditional prejudices, as well as the wide differences in wealth and culture of the different peoples, have kept the political power in Austria proper in the hands of the Germans, and in Hungary in the hands of the Magyars. ... There is one respect in which the situation of the Negro in America is entirely different from the various nationalities of Austria and Hungary. The Negro is not compelled to get his education through the medium of a language that is foreign to the other people by whom he is surrounded. The black man in the South speaks the same tongue and professes the same religion as the white people. He is not seeking to set up any separate nationality for himself nor to create any interest for himself which is separate from or antagonistic to the interest of the other people of the United States. The Negro is not seeking to dominate politically, at the expense of the white population, any part of the country which he inhabits. Although he has suffered wrongs and injustices, he has not become embittered or fanatical. Competition with the white race about him has given the Negro an ambition to succeed and made him feel pride in the successes he has already achieved; but he is just as proud to be an American citizen as he is to be a Negro. He cherishes no ambitions that are opposed to the interests of the white people, but is anxious to prove himself a help rather than a hindrance to the success and prosperity of the other race. I doubt whether there are many people in our Southern States who have considered how much more difficult the situation in the Southern States would be if the masses of the black people spoke a language different from the white people around them, and particularly if, at the same time, they cherished political and social ambitions that were antagonistic to the interests of the white man. On the other hand, I doubt whether the Negro people realize the advantage which they have in speaking one of the great world languages, the language, in fact, that is more largely used than any other by the people who are most advanced in science, in the arts, and in all that makes the world better. English is not only a great world language, it is the language of a people and a race among whom the highest are neither afraid nor ashamed to reach down and lift up the lowest, and help them in their efforts to reach a higher and a better life. In the south of Europe conditions are quite different. The languages spoken there, so far from helping to bring people together, are the very means by which the peoples are kept apart. Furthermore, the masses of the people of Austria speak languages which, until a hundred years ago, had almost no written literature. Up to the beginning of the last century the educated people of Hungary spoke and wrote in Latin, and down to the middle of the century Latin was still the language of the Court. Until 1848 there were almost no schools in the Czech language in Bohemia. Up to that time there were almost no newspapers, magazines, or books printed in the language spoken by the masses of the people.

pp. 84-85 As I have considered the complications and difficulties, both political and economic, which not merely Austria but Europe has to face as a consequence of the different languages spoken by the different races, I have asked myself what would probably happen in our Southern States if, as some people have suggested, large numbers of these foreign peoples were induced to settle there. I greatly fear that if these people should come in large numbers and settle in colonies outside of the cities, where they would have comparatively few educational advantages and where they would be better able and more disposed to preserve their native customs and languages, we might have a racial problem in the South more difficult and more dangerous than that which is caused by the presence of the Negro. Whatever else one may say of the Negro, he is, in everything except his colour, more like the Southern white man, more.willing and able to absorb the ideas and the culture of the white man and adapt himself to existing conditions, than is true of any race which is now coming into this country. Perhaps my attempt to compare racial conditions in southern Europe with racial conditions in the southern United States will seem to some persons a trifle strange and out of place because in the one case the races concerned are both white, while in the other case one is white and one is black. Nevertheless, I am convinced that a careful study of conditions as they exist in southern Europe will throw a great deal of light upon the situation of the races in our Southern States. More than that, strange and irrational as racial conflicts often seem, whether in Europe or in America, I suspect that at bottom they are merely the efforts of groups of people to readjust their relations under changing conditions. In short, they grow out of the efforts of the people who are at the bottom to lift themselves to a higher stage of existence. If that be so, it seems to me there need be no fear, under a free government, where every man is given opportunity to get an education, where every man is encouraged to develop in himself and bring to the service of the community the best that is in him, that racial difficulties should not finally be adjusted, and white man and black man live, each helping rather than hindering the other.

What does Washington argue? To help you, use the document analysis worksheet from NARA [|http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/worksheets/document.htm]

Now meet in your group and discuss your answers to the following questions: What did he say about African-Americans and European immigrants? What historical evidence supports or contradicts his view? What would we argue about the experiences of African-Americans and European immigrants c. 1915? Do you agree or disagree with Washington?

IV. //Educating Ourselves and Each Other// After Booker T. Washington's talk, you will meet another student who is also the first in their family to go to college, but is from a different background from you.

Pair with a member from the other group to complete the chart below:



Discuss between yourselves these questions: In what ways were the experience of African-American migrants and European immigrants similar and different? Do both groups receive equal treatment in the United States? What do you want to do in response to what you have learned?

Finally, with your partner, design a poster to show what you have learned. What would be important for other students, especially those whose families have lived in the Northern cities of the U.S. and sent their children to college for several generations, to know about African-American migrants and European immigrants? Would you want to start a club to continue the conversations you've had today?

African-American migrants and Eastern and Southern European immigrants shared similar experiences, despite significant differences. The United States offered the dreams of opportunity and equality to both groups. In what ways were these dreams realized for the African-Americans and for the Europeans who moved to U.S. cities for work and a better life? Were they "the man farthest down"?
 * Conclusion:**


 * Assessment:**

Address historical standard; explains content of Preamble, Bill of Rights, and 14th and 15th Amendments; considers equality as concept. ||  ||
 * // STUDENTS WILL BE ABLE TO… // || // STRONG // || // GOOD // || // ADEQUATE // || // INADEQUATE // || // WEIGHTING // ||
 * Articulate the concepts of Constitutional protections, especially equality under the law || Address historical standard; explains content of Preamble, Bill of Rights, and 14th and 15th Amendments; considers equality as concept. || Does 2 of following: Address historical standard; explains content of Preamble, Bill of Rights, and 14th and 15th Amendments; considers equality as concept. || Does 1 of following: Address historical standard; explains content of Preamble, Bill of Rights, and 14th and 15th Amendments; considers equality as concept. || Does none of following:
 * Understand the key ideas of Booker T. Washington || Can fully explain what Washington argued, with acknowledgment of complexity. || Can fully explain what Washington argued. || Can list 1-2 items of Washington argued. || Cannot explain or list what Washington argued. ||  ||
 * Explain key aspects of the African-American migrant and European immigrant experience || Able produce list of over 5 items || Able to produce 3 -5 items || Produce small list of items (1-3) || Does not produce significant list. ||  ||
 * Work cooperatively to compare and contrast the experience of two historical groups: migrants and immigrants || Cooperates with both small groups || Cooperates with both small groups || Cooperates fully with only one small group; interacts but is off-task with the other. || Cooperates with neither small group. ||  ||


 * Resources:**







Additional Information about Booker T. Washington: [|American Experience 1 page background] [|Jim Crow stories bio]

Additional Information about 14th Amendment:

Our Documents.gov @http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=true&doc=43

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