tlp_09_tjones

=Teacher Lesson Page=

Tim Jones, Mystic Valley Regional Charter School
Tim's Primary Source Page

Lesson PDF (Captured 3/2/2010)

Essential Question:
How did immigration affect American conceptions of "WE THE PEOPLE"?

b. the causes and impact of the wave of immigration from Northern Europe to America in the 1840s and 1850s
 * Standard(s): USI.28** Explain the emergence and impact of the textile industry in New England and industrial growth generally throughout antebellum America.

Title: The King of A-Shantee
==

Introduction
Immigrants in Antebellum America were a major part of the culture, economy and fabric of American life. However, native-born Americans were not all of one mind about whether or not this was a good thing. The Irish who immigrated to America worked long hours, for low pay and lived in shacks or shantys.

In 1843 the Essex Company, headed by Charles Storrow, founded the town of Lawrence, MA. By reading a letter from H.K. Oliver, Vice-President of the Essex Company, to Charles Storrow, students will use their knowledge two prevalent philosophical movements of the time, Transcendentalism and Corporate paternalism to justify their decision to either help, or not help John Henly, an immigrant living in Lawrence in the 1840's and 1850's.

In order to have a whole discussion with multiple viewpoints, you will need to have some knowledge of one of the most prevalent philosophical movements of the time, Transcendentalism. For more information on Transcendentalism use the document below.

Links transcendentalism with Harriet Farley. (Lesson #3 in this Unit). media type="custom" key="5250417"

TASK
Use your knowledge of antebellum America to explore the prevailing attitudes toward immigrants living in the 19th century industrial city of Lawrence, Massachusetts. After investigating two major philosophical movements of the era, Transcendentalism and Corporate Paternalism, respond to the plight of a Lawrence resident, John Henly. Create a political cartoon that influence public opinion on the plight of John Henly. Your cartoon will be submitted for publication in Puck or the Lowell Offering.

PROCESS

 * pre-Day 1** - Read and take notes on Unit 5 sec. 1 - Antebellum Reform or (xxx in US History Text)


 * Day 1** - Read letter from HK Oliver to Charles Storrow re: John Henly.
 * [[image:ec-hkoliver-1858.jpg width="250" height="374" caption="Page 1"]] || [[image:ec-hkoliver-1858-2.jpg width="250" height="371" caption="Page 2"]] ||

- What is the date of this document? - Why was this document written? Use examples from the text to help you. - What is the most important aspect of the letter, and WHY? - Who is John Henly? - Where does he live? - What has happened to John Henly?**
 * - What type of document is this? (newspaper, letter, advertisement, other)
 * - What is the writer of the letter asking?**
 * - How do you think the writer of the letter feels about John Henly?**

John Henly was a real person and he and his family lived together in a shanty like the one pictured here (photo at top of page). While the city of Lawrence was very carefully planned out, shanty towns grew up on the south side of the Merrimack River. While John Henly does not appear on this map, he would have lived in an area just like this.
 * HW -** **What is the most important aspect of the letter, and WHY?** Write 2-3 paragraphs supporting your opinion with evidence.

Class discussion of responses to the homework prompt. We will list your responses on the board and then look for common themes. The top three responses should be marked. What is meant by the phrase "corporate paternalism?"
 * Day 2**

 **Excerpt 1 (paragraph 5)** The Associates' experiment in corporate paternalism, an important component of their industrial initiative, was initially prompted by the need to attract a workforce in labor-scarce New England and simultaneously to avoid creating a permanent class of factory operatives, a condition that many Americans considered to be the root evil of the British industrial experience. With its carefully chaperoned boardinghouses, strict codes of behavior for mill girls, and company blacklisting practices, this effort at social engineering sought to create a controlled human setting that ensured the safety and moral conduct, as well as the obedience, docility, and availability of its workers. First tried at Lowell, the idea of conveniently locating long rows of handsome, brick boardinghouses just across the power canals from the factories soon became an integral part of the urban design of the Associates' factory towns.[|5]  **Excerpt 2 (paragraph 26)** Storrow was fascinated by the very idea of bringing a new community into existence and exhilarated at the prospect of playing a determining role in that process. "Where else," he wrote in 1848 to educator Horace Mann, "can you find as here the elements of society ready to be moulded into a good or an evil shape, nothing to pull down, all to build up; a whole town composed of young people to influence and train as you would a school[?]"27 In the relish that he felt for the creation of a new society, Storrow may have reflected, perhaps more than the thirty-year-old social vision of the Waltham-Lowell system, the strongly reformist impulses of the 1840s. This decade witnessed, in particular, the establishment of numerous utopian communities in the United States (one historian has estimated the founding, on the average, of more than one such community every three months in the 1840s).28 Brook Farm in West Roxbury, Massachusetts, one of the most famous of these utopian efforts, was established just four years before Lawrence, in 1841. Perhaps, as John Coolidge has suggested in Mill and Mansion, the planned mill towns of the Boston Associates and the Transcendentalist utopian experiments at Brook Farm and Fruitlands were "attempts to build a new abode of sweetness and light according to a preconceived plan for the ideal society which were characteristic of Transcendentalist New England."  **Excerpt 3 (paragraph 27)** In his planned industrial city, Storrow shared with the founders of these short-lived utopian communities—inspired by the philosophical, religious, and socialist thinking of the day—the conviction that a better society might be achieved by the creation of human institutions de novo. Nonetheless, it needs to be pointed out that, however idealized, industrial efficiency and social control comprised the impulse behind the Boston Associates' and Storrow's urban planning. These are a far cry from the Transcendentalists' alienation from early industrial society; their efforts to return to earlier, precapitalist modes of work and living; and their radical and fundamental critique of accepted conceptions of labor, class, property, family, freedom, the individual, and even diet.  **Excerpt 4 (paragraph 36)** Greatly complicating this already unstable situation was the arrival in 1846 of the first wave of Irish immigrants. Fleeing the Potato Famine in their native land, they came to work as unskilled laborers on the dam and canal, most taking up residence in wooden shanties erected on land rented from the Essex Company on both banks of the river. Although he had recently built large wooden boardinghouses for the first construction workers to arrive at the site, Storrow showed no intention of providing similar accommodations for the Irish. The textile corporations' brick boardinghouses were rising at the same time, but the companies intended these buildings not for transient construction workers but for a workforce of female textile operatives. By the beginning of 1847, the Irish numbered about one third of the community's population of 3,577.  **Excerpt 5 (paragraph 37)** Storrow had an ambivalent attitude toward the Irish. On the one hand, he seems to have sincerely sympathized with their plight, at least in Ireland. For example, he led a local contribution drive in February 1847 that raised over $1,000 to be sent abroad "for relief of the starving poor of Ireland," and he personally made the largest contribution—$50.41 On the other hand, he harbored typical Yankee opinions of the Irish—which did not appreciably mellow with the passage of time. In these early years, as the Irish flooded into the settlement and took jobs as construction workers, Storrow could not envision them as a part of his planned community. So accustomed was he to thinking of native New England farm girls as the workforce in the Boston Associates' textile factories that he could only regard the Irish as a transient population that would move on, like other construction workers, when the great building projects were completed. Thus in 1848, when the factories were about to begin full production, he spoke of "the crowd of young women soon to assemble here"—in other words, the classic workforce of the Waltham-Lowell system—taking no notice of the many Irish immigrants already living there. In fact, when speaking of the geographical origins of the town's inhabitants, Storrow boasted that they "have come here mostly from New England homes," a statement that was technically correct but which ignored the Irish birth of a third of the population. In small groups, define "//corporate paternalism//" and "Transcendentalism," then outline major differences between the two. Consider Storrow's prevailing attitudes toward the Irish in light of his belief in "corporate paternalism" using evidence from the Ford Article.
 * HOMEWORK -** Read the following excerpts from [|"Father of the whole enterprise: Charles S. Storrow and the Making of Lawrence, Massachusetts, 1845–1860"] by Peter A. Ford. You are responsible for taking notes and understanding what is written in paragraphs 5, 26, 27, 36 and 37.
 * Extra Credit** - Select three additional paragraphs that help define the impact of //corporate paternalism// on immigrants. Explain why you believe each paragraph adds to your understanding. Use the link above to visit the web version of the article. Note the right-hand column lists the paragraph numbers (light gray font).

Work together to answer the following questions.

Based on your previous knowledge, do you think that Storrow was a corporate paternalist or a Transcendentalist? What evidence from the document can you provide to prove your answer? Using evidence from this article, describe the beliefs of a corporate paternalist. Do you agree or disagree with this point of view? (group members may disagree)


 * HOMEWORK -** View two political cartoons from PUCK Magazine, one of the country's most popular lampooning magazines from 1871-1918, published in New York, NY. Select one of the two cartoons to focus on, "The King of A-Shantee" or "Architecture in Shantytown." For homework, complete the cartoon analysis worksheet for one cartoon.

 Courtesy National Archive and Records Administration
 * Cartoon #1- The King of A-Shantee** from Puck, Vol ? No. - February 15, 1882

media type="custom" key="5291669"
 * Cartoon #2 - Architecture in Shantytown** from Puck, Vol. X No. 247 - November 30, 1881 (Digitized by Google Books)

CARTOON ANALYSIS WORKSHEET == - Complete cartoon analysis worksheet (Google document)

//The Difference Between Them// - Puck Cover - Volume III, No. 62, May 15, 1878 == Courtesy National Archive and Records Administration Review Cartoon Analysis Homework in small groups (3-4 students). Small groups will then complete the cartoon analysis sheet as a small group on the cover of Puck from May 15, 1878
 * Day 3** -

Decide. . . "If you were Charles Storrow, would you help John Henly or not?" - Your small group will respond to Henly as either a corporate paternalist, or as a Transcendentalist. In small groups, discuss the reasons why you would or would not help Henly, supporting your reasons with evidence and/or background knowledge of the time period, taking notes. - Individually, begin work on your political cartoon. For this cartoon, you must either take the position of a corporate paternalist or a Transcendentalist. Use the same drawing style as illustrated in Puck to produce a black and white version of your cartoon. If time permits, you may use color to enhance the illustration. Write a brief caption to your cartoon. Complete your cartoon for homework.

Conclusion -
Americans were deeply divided about the role of immigrants in American society with many factors influencing their opinions of immigrants in America. While Transcendentalists believed in the power or self-support, observation and education as the keys to success, corporate paternalists believed in cradle-to-grave type care for their populations was necessary to help them succeed. While they often operated at cross-purposes, the intended goal of both were the same, to help immigrants and lower income people to establish themselves and provide more opportunities for themselves than they themselves had as children.

Assessment -
Create a political cartoon, taking the point of view of either a corporate paternalist or a Transcendentalist.
 * Students will be able to . . . || Inadequate || Adequate || Good || Strong || Weighting ||
 * integrate background knowledge of antebellum America as well as interpret primary- and secondary-source documents in order to create a political cartoon in which they explore prevailing attitudes toward immigrants. || Student is unable to articulate the viewpoint of either the corporate paternalist or the Transcendentalist toward immigrants during the time period. || Student can articulate the viewpoint either the corporate paternalist or the Transcendentalist toward immigrants during the time period. || Student can articulate the viewpoint of either the corporate paternalist or the Transcendentalist toward immigrants during the time period and can use evidence from the documents in order to support their claims. || Student can articulate the viewpoint of both the corporate paternalist and the Transcendentalist toward immigrants during the time period and can use evidence from the documents and prior knowledge to support their claims. ||  ||
 * describe the significance of corporate paternalism on the treatment of 19th century immigrants to Lawrence, MA. || The student is unable to make any reference to corporate paternalism in the cartoon drawing. || The student shows understands that corporate paternalism was mainly a belief of wealthy business owners and was about businesses acting like parents taking care of children. || The student fully understands corporate paternalism and uses evidence from the readings and activities of the past days in order to create their cartoons. || The student fully understands both corporate paternalism and Transcendentalism and can make known the side that they support while also producing a negative ad that downplays their opponents. ||  ||
 * describe the significance of the Transcendentalist movement on 19th century immigrants living in Lawrence, MA. || The student is unable to make any reference to Transcendentalism in the cartoon drawing || The student shows understanding that Transcendentalism was a movement by non-business people and was about self-improvement. || The students fully understands Transcendentalism and uses evidence from the readings. || The student fully understands both corporate paternalism and Transcendentalism and can make known the side that they support while also producing a negative ad that downplays their opponents. ||  ||

Resources
Cartoon analysis worksheet - http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:BivXosiOmzEJ:www.archives.gov/education/lessons/worksheets/cartoon_analysis_worksheet.pdf+how+to+analyze+a+cartoon&hl=en&gl=us&sig=AHIEtbTkwWvHTJn-9C3Zi0nbKl01Ypxj4Q

Author: Title: A. Identify the document--what type of document is it and when was it written? B. What do we know about the author? C. Who is the intended audience? Could there be more than one audience? D. What is the content of the document? What are the main points and arguments?
 * Primary Source Analysis Worksheet**
 * I. Basic Information**

A. Why was this document written/produced? B. What basic assumptions does the author make in this document? C. Does the author make his/her point? Are the arguments logical and consistent? What evidence and examples does the author use, and are they valid? D. What does this document say about the society in which it was produced? E. Are there any common themes in the time period that you can identify in this document? How is this document similar to or different from other documents which address the same subject?
 * II. Analytical Information**

http://www.historycooperative.org/journals/mhr/2/ford.html

=**Miscellaneous Ideas. . .**=

Day 1 **HW - Write a letter as John Henly's wife explaining your take on what happened.**

- Compare/Contrast - N of River v. S of River - John Henly v. Andrew Foster.

http://queencityma.wordpress.com/2009/11/16/photograph-collections-lawrence-ma/

Stereoview of Shantytown? Plotmap of shantytown? v Googlemap of same area currently

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