We will be having a discussion in which you will play the
role of a prominent religious or reform leader from the Antebellum
period. You will need to stay in
character to ask and answer questions as your person might have done.
Grading Rubric
(Please staple this rubric to your assignment when you turn it in – on Oct. 23)
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Possible Points |
Your Points |
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I. Autobiographical Introduction – including a nameplate
that is illustrative of your person’s history and concerns |
15 |
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II. Your answers to questions 1 – 3 about the challenges
facing the country and your recommendations |
30 |
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III. Appropriate questions for other characters |
10 |
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IV. Analysis of the primary document |
25 |
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Active, perceptive, and accurate participation in the
roundtable reflecting your person’s character |
20 |
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TOTAL |
100 |
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You are responsible for doing the following tasks. All work that you hand in must by typed and
ready to turn in on Thursday, October 23.
I.
Research your person and learn as much as possible about that person’s life and
thoughts. Prepare a short
“autobiographical” introduction for your person explaining why this person is
notable and what contributions he or she has made to American history. Try to find several sources on your person so
that you get a fuller picture.
II.
Research your assigned person from the list below and type out answers to the
following questions as your person would have.
Your answers must be typed. We
will be having a discussion where you will play the role of your person and
answer these questions. You will be
responsible for telling the class about yourself and expressing your person’s
opinions about the issues that are discussed.
1. What do you consider the biggest challenge(s) facing
Americans today? Why do you believe the
way that you do?
2. What do you think individuals can do to improve the
character and lives of ordinary Americans?
(over)
3. What have you done in your life to try to achieve this goal? Have you been successful? What obstacles and criticisms have you faced as you fought to make the country a better place?
III. Write down one question specifically
tailored for each of the two people highlighted on the list below. You will need to read about those people in
order to write a question appropriate for that person. Keep the character of your own assigned
person in mind and write questions that would be appropriate for your role. Try and figure out where your character and
the one you’re questioning overlap or contrast in their beliefs.
IV. Read the primary
document that you have been given. It is
either by your person or about your person or the issue your person was closely
associated with.
1. Write a short summary of the main points of the document, including an analysis of what we can learn about your person and his or her cause from reading this document.
2. Write three critical-thinking questions that you
would use if you were teaching this document in a history class. Then give a bullet-point answer to each of
your questions.
For the purposes of our discussion, the year is 1848 and
anyone who is deceased has miraculously been resurrected.
Reformists and Religious Leaders
Please make a name
plate for your person. Feel free to
search out pictures on the Internet so we can see what “you” looked like. Your nameplate should have some visual keys
to help people associate your person’s names with your person’s impact on
history.
Abolitionists
William Lloyd Garrison (Gautam) David Walker (David) Frederick Douglass (Joe) John Quincy Adams (Saourya) Nat Turner (Harry) Transcendentalists
Ralph Waldo Emerson (Paul) David Thoreau (Ben) Women’s Rights
Sarah Grimke (Clare) Catherine Beecher (Katherine) Paulina Wright Davis (Leah) |
Other Reformers and Activists
Dorothea Dix (Haram) Horace Mann (James) Lyman Beecher (Scott) Samuel Morse (Drew) P. T. Barnum (Zach) Religious Leaders and Communalists
Charles G. Finney (Peter) Brigham Young (Tim) Mother Ann Lee (Liz) John Humphrey Noyes (Joseph) William Ellery Channing (Sneha) |