Historians 4 Social Change

• Imagine the Stamp Act was just passed and you have to write an op-ed supporting or disagreeing with it. What might you tell others to persuade them to join the Revolutionaries or support the Loyalists?
  • Revolutionaries
    • Colonists Respond to the Tea Act & the Boston Tea Party
    • A Sermon on Tea
    • Broadside & Pamphlets in Opposition to the Stamp Act From Pages 2 and 3
    • Three Founding Fathers on the Stamp Act From Pages 4 and 5
  • Loyalists/England
    • Stamp Act
    • A Loyalist Defends the Stamp Act From Page 7
    • A Loyalist Describes the “Frenzy of Anarchy” of the Boston Stamp Act Protests from Page 10

• Imagine that you are witness to the Boston Massacre, and you have to write an op-ed supporting the Revolutionaries, or the Loyalists. What might you tell others to persuade them to join your cause?
  • Revolutionaries
    • Report of the Boston Massacre
    • Paul Revere’s Engraving of the Boston Massacre
    • Paul Revere’s Newspaper Engraving of Four Coffins of Men Killed in the Boston Massacre 
    • Anonymous Account of the Boston Massacre
  • England/Loyalist
    • Captain Thomas Preston’s Account of the Boston Massacre
    • Excerpt from the London Chronicle
    • Alonzo Chappel’s Painting of the Boston Massacre

• Imagine you are a citizen of Boston, the day after the Boston Tea Party. Write an op-ed, taking a Loyalist or a Revolutionary perspective. Address how their opinions influence their views on the Boston Tea Party.
  • Patriots:
    • Excerpt from a participant in the Boston Tea Party
    • Newspaper Snippet
    • A petition to the Selectmen of Boston for the Resignation of the Tea Consignees
  • Colonial/Loyalist
    • This engraving depicts the damage done by revolutionaries during the Boston Tea Party
    • A political cartoon published in London in 1774
    • A notice from Boston announcing the British law blocking Boston Harbor until the East India Company was compensated for its lost tea

• Write about the Declaration of Independence from a journalistic point of view. Keep in mind the time period. In your reading write from a Loyalist or a Revolutionaries point of view. 
  • Revolutionaries
    • Declaration of Independence
    • Celebration of the Declaration of Independence
    • Delegates’ letters on the Declaration
  • England/Loyalists
    • A Loyalists Rebuttal to the Declaration of Independence
    • British Response to the Declaration of Independence
    • Loyalists Declaration Of Dependence

• Imagine that the south has just seceded, and you have to write an op-ed from the point of view of someone in the Union or the Confederacy. Keep in mind each side’s beliefs and what they would say to persuade an audience. 
  • Union
    • Abraham Lincoln’s House Divided Speech
    • First Inaugural Address of Abraham Lincoln
    • The Right of Succession
    • Address to the people of West Virginia
  • Confederacy
    • A Broadside Announcing South Carolina’s Secession from the Union
    • A letter from a Georgian to the Former Governor of Massachusetts, Sharing Southern Reaction to Lincoln’s Election
    • A Pamphlet with the Official Justification for South Carolina’s Secession
    • South Carolina Declaration of Secession
    • Image of Southern Politicians who Secede the United States, After Abraham Lincon is Elected President. As well as a description of the image.
    • This Journalist Depicts Lincoln in a Negative Way Based off of his Physical Appearance, Which was Common from his Political Opponents.

• Imagine that the Emancipation Proclamation was just passed, and you have to write an op-ed agreeing with the Emancipation Proclamation or voicing your dissent. Keep in mind what you would say to persuade someone to join the Union or the Confederacy.  
  • Union
    • Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation
    • Interview of Former Slave for the 1936 Washington Post
    • Emancipation Among Black Troops in South Carolina
    • Thomas Rutling Recalls his Freedom Moment(s)
  • Confederacy
    • North Carolina Slaveholder Comments on Emancipation
    • Letter to Joseph Lovell
    • Lee Responds to the Emancipation Proclamation

• Imagine that you were in attendance at the Gettysburg Address. Write about the Gettysburg Address from a journalistic view that supports the Union or the Confederacy. Keep in mind the writers’ biases and how it can come into the writing. 
  • Union
    • Transcript of the Gettysburg Address
    • Contemporary Reactions to the Gettysburg Address
    • The Providence Journal Reacting to the Gettysburg Address
    • Contemporary Reactions
  • Confederacy/Not supporting of Abolition, or the Union
    • The Pennsvania Patriot and Union Newspapers the Day After the Gettysburg Address
    •  Examiner wrote, “Lincoln had not really spoken but had acted the clown; the badinage which had passed between him and a member of the crowd was like the coarse jokes that might be indulged in by a Hunnish leader and his followers.” Also found in this article.
    •  A correspondent for the Times of London called the speech “dull and commonplace.” The  Chicago Times claimed Lincoln insulted the fallen soldiers the ceremony was supposed to honor. Another critic, a Harrisburg newspaper, had harsher comments

• Imagine that President Lincoln was assassinated, and you have to write an op-ed voicing your opinion. Keep in mind the civil unrest at the time and the divided nation, and write from the perspective of either the Union or the Confederacy.
  • Pro Lincoln
    • Mary Henry’s Reactions to Lincoln’s Assination
    • “Oh Captain, My Captain”
    • Johannes Oertel Diary
  • Anti Lincoln
    • Letter from Dudley Avery to Daniel D. Avery
    • Demopolis Herald
  • Description Of Event
    • Horatio Nelson Taft Diary
    • Willie Clark to Ida Clark

• Imagine that you are a soldier on the Western Front, and you are writing an op-ed on the war. Write from the perspective of either an Ally soldier or a soldier from the Central powers. Keep in mind their biases, and the conditions on the front. 
  • Allies
    • Excerpt from the Diary of Ernest de Mouncy
    • Accounts from Different Soldier about the Western Front
    • French Soldiers in a Bayonet Charge, up a Steep Slope in the Argonne Forest in 1915
    • French and United States Troops
  • Central Powers
    •  Aerial Photograph of the German Trench System on the Western Front
    • German Officers in a Discussion on the Western Front
    • Six German Soldiers Pose in a Trench with Machine Gun
  • Both
    • Pictures of Destruction at the Western Front

• Imagine that you are a soldier on the Eastern front, and you are writing an op-ed on the war. Write from the perspective of either an Ally soldier or a soldier from the Central powers. Keep in mind their biases, and the conditions on the front. 
  • Allies
    • Annamese (colonial troops from French Indochina) Disembarking at Camp Saint-Raphael
    • An Australian Bringing in a Wounded Comrade to Hospital. 
    • Excerpt from Stephen Graham, from Russia and the World 
  • Central Powers
    • Russian Prisoners Of War
    • Destroyed Russian Bridge
    • Otto’s Diary

• Imagine that the Treaty of Versailles was just signed and you have to write an op-ed agreeing or disagreeing with it. Keep in mind the 14 Points and what might you tell others to try and persuade them to agree with you. 
  • 14 Points
    • President Woodrow Wilson’s Fourteen Points
  • Treaty of Versailles
    • Treaty of Versailles

• Imagine that you are living during the Stock Market Crash of 1929, and you have to write about your daily life after the crash. Keep in mind your life before the crash and how it has changed afterward. 
  • Collection of Newspaper Articles Prior to the Stock Market Crash
  • Collection of Political Cartoons Relating to the Stock Market Crash
  • In Defense of the Stock Market
  • The Market Break
  • Wall Street in Panic
  • Image of Traders in Distress

• Write about the Dust Bowl from a journalistic point of view. Keep in mind the time period, and the condition of the nation. 
  • Image of “Heavy Black Clouds of Dust Rising over the Texas Panhandle”
  • Letter from a Dust Bowl Survivor
  • Dust Bowl Oral History
  • Image of Family that had to Relocate due to the Dust Bowl, Along with a more in Depth Description of the Image 
  • Song Written at Firebaugh FSA Camp, on August 17, 1940, that Depicts the Hardships that People went Through During the Dust Bowl
  • So Long, Its Been Good To Know Yuh (Dusty Old Dust) Words and Music by Woody Guthrie

• Write an op-ed agreeing or disagreeing with the use of atomic bombs from the point of view of a scientist working on the Manhattan project.
• Imagine that the United States just dropped “Little Boy” and “Fat Man,” and you have to write an op-ed agreeing or disagreeing with the use of atomic weapons on Japan. Keep in mind the hostile state of the world and foreign relations with Japan. 
  • United States/Pro-Bomb
    • Checklist for Loading Charge in Little Boy Aboard Enola Gay
    •  Letter to FDR from Vannevar Bush
    • “Chicago” a Poem
    • “Trinity” Explosion at Los Alamos, Alamogordo, New Mexico
    • Letter received from General Thomas Handy to General Carl Spaatz Authorizing the Dropping of the First Atomic Bomb
  • Japan/Anti-Bomb
    • Petition from Leo Szilard and Other Scientists to President Harry S. Truman
    • Multiple First Hand Accounts from Victims from the Atomic Bombs
    • Collection of Art and Poem from Japanese Survivors

• Write about the Nuremberg Trials from a historical perspective, and focus on how people from a different time period can learn from it, or its importance to the time period you are writing about.
• Imagine that the Nuremberg Trials have recently ended and you have to write an op-ed. Write about the punishments given and if they were justified or not. Keep in mind the horrific crimes committed in WWII. 
  • Allies
    • Collection of Nazi Films that the Allies Used as Evidence Against Them
    • Testimony Entered as Evidence in the Medical Case
    • Newspaper Covering Ernst Kaltenbrunner, an SS leader
    • Opinion Piece from the Des Moines Tribune about how the Nuremberg Trials how the Trails Failed to Outlawed Aggressive Warfare
  • Axis Power Leaders
    • Affidavit Concerning an Earlier Affidavit about the Poison Gas Experiments
  • General Information
    • Official Records of the Trials of the Major Civilian and Military Leaders of Nazi Germany who were Accused of War Crimes
    • Nuremberg Military Tribunals
    • Images from the Nuremberg Trials 

• Imagine that you are a US citizen during the Berlin Blockade, and you are writing an op-ed about the United States involvement in eastern Europe. Keep in mind the time period and what you would say to try and persuade others to agree. 
  • Russia
    •  Statement by Vassili Sokolovsky
    • Political Cartoon
    • Joseph Stalin Outlines his Position on the Berlin Blockade; Must be Translated to English Through a Translation Website
  • USA
    • Map from 1948 that shows the crisis in Berlin
    • Newspaper from 1948
    • Russia Stops Food Shipments to the Western Zones of Berlin Controlled by the Allies
  • Neither Side but Useful Political Cartoon

• Imagine that you are in the middle of the Cuban Missile Crisis, and you have to write an op-ed about what country you think is more in the wrong. What might you tell others to persuade them?
  • Russia
    • Khrushchev to Kennedy
    • Khrushchev to Kennedy #2
    • Dobrynin’s (Russian Diplomat) Cable to the Soviet Foreign Ministry
    • Khrushchev to Kennedy #3
  • USA
    • Kennedy’s Address on the Soviet Arms Buildup in Cuba
    • Letter from Kennedy to Khrushchev 
    • Letter from Kennedy to Khrushchev #2
    • CIA report on the Cuban Missile Crisis
    • Memorandum for the President

• Imagine that the March on Washington is happening, and you have to write an op-ed agreeing or disagreeing with the March on Washington. What might you tell others to persuade them to join the Civil Rights movement or to reject it?
  • Anti March on Washington
    • To Lee White from W. C. Vaughn
    • To Kennedy from Chrissy Michaelson
    • To Kennedy From Mrs. L. Haynes
  • Pro March on Washington
    • March on Washington-Martin Luther King Jr
    • MLK Addresses the Crowd at March on Washington
    • Image of March on Washington
    • I Have a Dream Speech Transcript
    • Resolution from Massachuessts
    • JFK Speech
    • Transcript of JFK on the March on Washington

• Imagine that you were on the bus with Rosa Parks, and afterward, you have to write an op-ed supporting or disagreeing with Rosa Parks’ actions. Keep in mind the time period, what you would say to make others agree with you. 
  • Pro Civil Rights
    • An African-American Woman Describes Segregated Buses in Montgomery, Alabama
    • Local Activists Calls for a Bus Boycott in Montgomery
    • Bayard Rustin Explains Car Pools in the Montgomery Bus Boycott
    • Image Of Rosa Parks On Bus
    • Rosa Park’s Reflection on her Bus Arrests
  • Pro Segregation
    • Police Report on Arrest of Rosa Parks
    • Browder v. Gayle
    • Mugshot of Rosa Parks

• Imagine that you are a student in the midst of Brown v. Board of Education, and you have to write an op-ed agreeing or disagreeing with the verdict. Keep in mind the time period and what you would say to persuade others. 
  • Pro
    • In Her Own Words: Elizabeth Eckford
    • President Dwight D. Eisenhower”s 1957 Address on Little Rock, Arkansas
    • Transcript Of Brown v. Board of Education
    • Complaint in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka
  • Con
    • Segregationist Lawyer Amis Guthridge Defends Segregation
    • District Court Opinion in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka
    • Dissenting Opinion from Harry Briggs, Jr v. R. W. Elliott, Chairman
  • Overall Cover; Neither Side
    •   Image that Captures 15-year-old Hazel Bryan’s Reaction to Elizabeth Eckford During the Desegregation of Central High in Little Rock
    • Collection Of Newspapers Relating to the Little Rock Nine and Brown v. Board Of Education
    • Nine from Little Rock, 1964 – Restored (Not a primary source, but could be useful to write about)

• Imagine that the Selma-Montgomery protests are going on, and you have to write an op-ed agreeing with the protests or disagreeing with them. What might you tell others to persuade them to join the civil rights movement, or to voice their dissent against the movements?
  • Pro Segregation
    • Images of Selma, Tuesday, March 16 prior to Bloody Sunday
    • Alabama Governor Addresses the March
    • Newspaper Article from Alabama Addressing Bloody Sunday (Could Be Used As Either Side)
  • Anti segregation
    • Testimony of John Lewis
    • Marchers in Harlem Hold Banner
    • Activists Marching