What is HISTORY and why do we study

What is HISTORY? ! …and why do we study it?

“ I have a dream…” Martin Luther King Jr. , August 1963. Spoke in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D. C. Made a connection between his fight for equality and the efforts of Lincoln to end slavery 100 years earlier (in the 1860 s). 1863 – The Gettysburg Address: “Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth, upon this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition [idea] that all men are created equal. ”

Dr. King connects his words to those of President Lincoln. “Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity. But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free… Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. ” Why did King make so many connections to Lincoln?

How do we study history? • STEP #1: Historians start with a question! • “Could the Civil War have been avoided? ” • STEP #2: Then they look for evidence. • What kind of evidence? • TURN TO PAGE 6!!!

Sources for studying history: • Primary sources – – – – Newspapers Journal entries Films and television Books and magazines Posters Photographs Artifacts These can all be primary sources if they come from the time period and place that you are studying!!! • Secondary sources – Your school textbook – A documentary, book, or article made about an event that happened in the past A secondary source is anything made by a person who DID NOT EXPERIENCE the actual event.

So… in your own words… What is the difference between a primary and secondary source?

STEP #3 of History • EXAMINE your evidence to look for BIAS. • This means you have to understand the point-ofview of the writer, artist, or speaker. • Everyone has a bias. • Things that can affect your bias: – Age – Religion – Where you grew up – Gender – Culture – Level of education – Life experiences

STEP #4 BUILD THE STORY • Historians use the evidence to find to figure out what happened in the past and then they construct a narrative. • This means they make up a story based on what they have learned.

STEP #5: Interpretation • WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN? !? ! • Historians try to make sense of what they learn and they form conclusions. • “Was Christopher Columbus really a hero? ” • “How influential was the Roman Empire to modern life? • “Was the Civil War really about ending slavery? ”

Remember! History is never finished! People continue to discover new evidence and think about that evidence in new ways. Some things that we now know are false used to be “facts”!

Let’s talk about point-of-view • Go to page 10. • I’m going to split the class into thirds. Each third will read one description of Christopher Columbus. Talk about it with people near you. • How can there be such different stories about one man?

SO WHAT? ! Why should I CARE? Well… • History gives us empathy, the ability to understand what other people are going through. • History makes us better thinkers. You use this kind of critical thinking to make good life choices. • Avoid the mistakes of the past! “Those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it. ” • It can be interesting… Spies, wars, love stories, tales of victory and epic defeat. I mean, come on. This is good stuff.

Chapter 2: The Founding Ideals of The United States What is an “ideal”?

Five American Ideals • • • • 1) Equality Has everyone in America always been equal? Are all Americans equal today? 2) Rights What rights do you enjoy as an American? 3) Liberty Have all Americans always had liberty? How free are we today? 4) Opportunity – “The American Dream” What opportunities do you have that other people in the world do not have? Do all Americans have equal opportunities? Should they? 5) Democracy Did the U. S. have a true democracy back in the 1700 s? Is there really democracy in the U. S. today? Why don’t people vote?

Chapter 3 THE MAIN IDEAS OF U. S. GEOGRAPHY

Check out page 25 • Using the bottom map, write down at least FIVE important physical features. • Choose one of them and describe how that feature might affect the way people live. • Look at the map at the top of page 25. Using this map, how would you describe the U. S. in one sentence?

Land resources • Map on page 27 • What are the two most common types of land use in the U. S. ? • Look at the natural resources found in the U. S. Write down one way that a natural resource has affected people in the U. S.

Growing Population • How many Americans are there today? • What percent of them live in urban areas (cities)? • Look at the map on page 29. • What do the most populated areas have in common? • Why is this?

U. S. regions • Name the seven shown on page 31. • How many have you lived in or visited? • What are some things that make regions different from each other? • Give an example of something that makes our region different from other parts of the country. • Create your own authentic song in relation to one of the seven regions

A nation surrounded by water. • What two oceans border the U. S. ? • Being surrounded by water could have isolated the U. S. from the rest of the world. • In the beginning, that was true. • Now we are a world leader. • How did this change? Why?