tlp_11_mbrophy

Matt Brophy Teacher Lesson Page (Student Side)
Matt's Primary Source Page

Teacher Side

Lesson Plan
USII.6-Analyze the causes and the course of America’s growing role in world affairs from the Civil War until World War One.
 * State Standards:**

High School - World History or AP Euro Students
 * Grade Level:**


 * Essential Question:**

How would the attitudes toward the “new immigrants” arriving in the United States from the 1880’s until 1914 fuel a change in U.S. Foreign policy and a change in how American’s view people overseas.
 * Lesson Question:**

In this lesson we are studying the growing involvement of the United States in the world from the era of the Civil War until the U.S. became involved in World War One in 1917. During this time period the U.S. went from having almost no involvement in the affairs outside of the American continent to becoming a global power. The most dramatic expansion of American power was when the United States defeated Spain in the Spanish-American War of 1898. This victory gave the U.S. control of the Philippines, Cuba and Puerto Rico and brought millions of people of color under the control of the United States. While all of this was happening overseas at home millions of new immigrants from southern and Eastern Europe arrived in the United States. The arrival of these newcomers and the acquisition of overseas territories fuelled new theories concerning the role of race and ethnicity on the development of human societies such as Social Darwinism and Eugenics. The before mentioned theories proclaimed the superiority of Northern European cultures and races and these theories affected the way Americans viewed the non-white people they were now ruling. In the course of this lesson you will be looking at how the attitudes towards the new immigrants in the United States affected the view the American people had of the peoples of the Philippines, Cuba, and Puerto Rico. We will do this through the analysis of political cartoons, newspaper articles and poetry from the time period that illustrate how American attitudes toward the millions of immigrants arriving in the United States colored our view of the people of the territory we acquired as a result of the Spanish American War. You will then analyze the primary sources presented in class in order to show how “old stock” Americans viewed the citizens in newly acquired territories and new immigrants in the United States. You will then create your own political cartoon, letter or speech in which you include the citizens of these new territories into the concept of “We the people”.
 * Introduction:**

In this lesson you will be analyzing different political cartoons, poetry, and newspaper articles to see what the different opinions were towards the people the United States now ruled as a result of the Spanish American War. Additionally, students will be looking at how American culture perceived the non-white inhabitants of the territories the U.S. seized as a result of the Spanish-American war and create a political cartoon, letter to the editor or a speech in response to the views they are exposed to during the lesson.
 * Task:**


 * Lesson Experiences:**
 * Day One: **


 * 1) “Opener” You will be asked what you remember about the concepts of Social Darwinism and Eugenics that you learned earlier. The class will then hold a brief discussion as to what these concepts mean and where did they come from.


 * 1) Then as a class we will read the poem from Rudyard Kipling “The White Man’s Burden”. I will pass out the actual poem and we will then use the document analysis sheet from the national archives to ascertain the message of the poem. I will ask if this poem ties back with the notion of eugenics or Social Darwinism.


 * 1) As a class we will talk about the message of the poem. We will then analyze two political cartoons together one depicting negative views of “new” immigrants and one depicting negative views of citizens of the Philippines, Puerto Rico and Cuba using the national archives document analysis sheet and discuss what the message of the cartoon is.


 * 1) The class will be broken into groups to look at political cartoons, newspaper editorials, and poetry of the era to see how Americans viewed the populations of the newly acquired territories of the United States. Each group will be assigned one or two examples. You will use the document analysis sheet provided by the national archives as a guide.


 * Day Two:**


 * 1) You will finish looking at the cartoons, newspaper editorials and poetry of the time period and each group will present to the class the cartoon, poem or newspaper editorial they were assigned using the document analysis sheet as a basis. Then as a class we will discuss what these primary sources say about American attitudes towards the people of the territories acquired by the United States in the Spanish-American War. Do we live up to the notion of “We the People” or not?


 * 1) You will then be asked to create a political cartoon, letter to the editor or poem where they present a different point of view than what they have seen in the material presented in the class. You will then present the product they created and explain what points they are attempting to make.


 * Day Three: (if needed)**
 * 1) Finish Cartoons, speeches and or editorials and present the finished product to the class.


 * Conclusion:**

During the latter part of the nineteenth century millions of immigrants from Eastern and Southern Europe poured into the United States. Attempts were made to assimilate these new arrivals into the “American culture” through the use of education, mass culture and benevolent societies. At this same time period the United States acquired new territories such as Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines. Through acquiring these territories millions of people of a different racial and cultural background were now under the jurisdiction of the United States. · How did the changing nature of immigration to the United States influence American’s view of the peoples of these territories? · What role did the theories of eugenics and Social Darwinism play in how we saw the citizens of these territories? · How was this view reflected in the media of the time?

The students will make a political cartoon, write a letter to the editor, or write a poem where they react to the material they have seen and present a different point of view. This will assessed as a quiz grade.
 * Assessments:**

Assessment Rubric


 * You will be able to.... || Strong || Good || Adequate || Inadequate || Weighting ||

Kipling poem White Man’s Burden: []
 * Resources:**

Worksheet from the national archives to analyze a document. []

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Images from fall seminar one

http://becomingamerica.wikispaces.com/fs1_11

Documents from lesson planning session 5

http://becomingamerica.wikispaces.com/lp5_11_addl_docs

PBS cartoons from the Spanish American War []

Uncle Sam teaching self government

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RESEARCH
Digitizations from the BPL



Thomas Nast Cartoons


Leon Wolff, Little Brown Brother, p. 159 (Google Books). American Anti-Imperialist League formed in Boston, June 15, 1898 at Faneuil Hall mass meeting, opposing Philippine annexation.

Secondary Source:

Paul Crook, //Darwinism, War and History: The Debate over the Biology of War from the 'Origin of Species' to the First World War// (1994). (Google Books Preview)