Pennsylvania Academic Standards: Ninth Grade History: 8 .3.C & D
C. Analyze how continuity and change has influenced United States history
from 1787 to 1914.
D. Identify and analyze conflict and cooperation among social groups and
organizations in United States history from 1787 to 1914.
When the United States was founded, it was the first democratic republic in modern times. Europeans were intrigued by this form of government and studied it. In 1831 a young Frenchmen named Alexis de Tocqueville spent nine months traveling in America. He studied the American government and way of life. He wrote a book, Democracy in America , which was published in 1835 and quickly became a best-seller. Today the book remains a classic against which all writings about government are compared.
Imagine you could travel back in time to the United States of 1840. With your twenty-first century perspective, would you have different opinions of America than deTocqueville had? What would you find disturbing that he took for granted? How does the America you know compare with America in 1840?
A. Print out the worksheet and fill it out as you explore the web resources in the RESOURCES section.
THEN,
B. Pick one of the following topics. Write a short essay (one to three pages, double spaced) on how this was different in 1840 than it is the United States you know today.
1. Democracy: who is a citizen? who votes;? how universal is the participation in government? In 1840 were all men created equal, as Thomas Jefferson wrote in the Declaration of Independence? How has that changed in 2004?
2. The Status of African-Americans (slave and free.)
3. Women's role in society and government.
4. The Status of Native Americans.
5. Transportation: what modes of transportation were available in 1840? How is it different today? Discuss both the infrastructure (roads, rails, canals) and the vehicles used. How has transportation changed our lives?
6. Status of workers. What were working conditions like in 1840? Hours worked, who worked- men, women, children? Did the worker have any benefits, like health care, vacations and retirement pensions? Did the workers agitate for better conditions and were their protests successful? How has this changed in 2004?
This site gives you the flavor of America ca. 1831-32. It contains a virtual tour of America based on Tocqueville's itinerary, on his and his friend Beaumont's letters and journals, on contemporaneous accounts of other foreign visitors, and on a variety of examples of material culture of the period , mostly paintings and engravings. It also holds explorations of womens' place at the time, of attitudes toward race and color, towards religion, and towards everyday life.
History of the Right to Vote in the U.S.
A timeline summarizing changes in the right to
vote under the United States Consititution
Timeline of Legal History
of Women in the United States
A timeline summarizing the legal status of women in the United States.
Alexis deTocqueville
This site is based on a C-SPAN program about Alexis DeTocqueville. Much
of the information duplicates what in on the Democracy in America site,
but it is worth exploring.
Lowell Mill Girls
Describes what life was like for female mill workers in Lowell, MA between
1832 and 1848, from the diary of one of the girls.
Chronology on the History of Slavery and Racism 1790 – 1829
Chronology
on the History of Slavery and Racism 1830 - the end.
These two sites contain information on slavery
and race relations in the United States. More than just a simple timeline,
it contains some historical background and causes for the milestones in
the history of slavery.
1750-1930 Timeline
This site is primarily about the history of education, but it includes many
other historical events.
Print resource: DeTocqueville,
Alexis. Democracy in America. Edited by Richard D. Heffner. New York: 2001, Signet Classic.
This book contains deTocqueville's final political analysis and conclusions.
You are not expected to read this from cover to cover, but dip into it to
get some idea of how deTocqueville put together his conclusions from his
many observations and experiences.
1. Visit each resource website. It is not necessary to
read each entire site, but gather enough information so you can relate the
events of the time periods.
2. Take notes. (More about this under GUIDANCE.)
3. Access the print resource (deTocqueville's book) to see what he concluded.
4. When you have completed your research using the information sources,
select and complete one of the writing assignment s listed above (TASK).
Explore the websites and as you do, fill out the worksheet. This will give you an idea of what information is available. The Democracy in America website will be your prime resource. The deTocquevill website will give you additional infomration. The timelines are provided to be a handy reference of the progress made towards equality.
Once you have seen what is available, choose your essay topic and explore the resources more thoroughly, taking notes of what you think is important.
Make an outline of what you intend to include in your paper.
You will not need to do any searching for sites to do this assignment. Use only the resources listed.
Scan the 1750-1830 timeline first. It will give you a quick idea of what was going on. You need only view the period 1790 - 1840.
You will find on the DEMOCRACY IN AMERICA website many entries from the journals of deTocqueville and his friend Beaumont describing what they saw. The printed book Democracy in America contains deTocqueville's political analysis and conclusions.
If you use the Search feature in Democracy in America, it will take you to other sites, not of the time period we are studying.
Take notes for each website, describing what is there, so you will know where to find that information again. Keep all your notes in a folder.
Worksheet: 40 points
Outline: 10 points
Essay: 50 points
Total Assignment: 100 points
You will now have an idea of what the America of 1840 was like. You will have noticed some significant differences between 1840 and the America of today.
Has America become more democratic since 1840?
Do you think we will continue to make progress so that America will become more democratic in the future?