Lesson Plan
Title: John Brown, Then and Now
Creator: Beth Shaw McGuire
Subject: Causes of the Civil War
Course: United States History
Grade Level: 11
Unit Plan: The Civil War
Standards:
COMPETENCY GOAL 3:
Crisis,
Civil War, and Reconstruction (1848-1877) The learner will analyze the issues
that led to the Civil War,
the effects of the war, and the impact of Reconstruction on the nation.
Objectives:
3.01 Trace the economic, social, and political events from the Mexican War to the outbreak of the Civil War.
3.02 Analyze and assess the causes of the Civil War.
Lesson Goals:
Students will identify some of the
ways that the raid at Harpers Ferry influenced the Civil War.
Students will articulate different
ways that people thought about John Brown in the 1800s and how his persona may
or may not have changed over time.
Differentiation:
Ask students to share their ideas with a partner before sharing with the class.
Provide thesauruses to students to find alternative one-word descriptors; provide alternatives verbally after the list is made to offer more alternatives that relate to student offerings.
Duration: One 90-minute period
Teacher Materials:
Post-it notes
Whiteboard, chalkboard, or flip chart
Timeline beginning with John Browns birth and ending with today, in increments of 10 years
John Brown, Abolitionist: The Man Who Killed Slavery, Sparked the Civil War, and Seeded Civil Rights by David S. Reynolds
John Brown (Modern Library Classics) by W.E.B. Du Bois, David R. Roediger
Student Materials:
Reproductions of the following:
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Curry, John S. American, 1897-1946 Lawrence, Jacob American, 1917-2000 color screenprint sheet: 50.8 x 65.4 cm (20 x 25-3/4
in.) Title: John Brown, a man who had a fanatical belief that he was chosen by God to overthrow black slavery in America., no. 1 from The Legend of Jacob Lawrence, 1977 Accession No.: 2005.11.1
Title: For forty years John Brown reflected on the hopeless and miserable condition of the slaves., no. 2 from The Legend of John Brown, 1977 Accession No.: 2005.11.2
Title: For twelve years John Brown engaged in land speculations and wool merchandising. All this to make some money for his greater work which was the abolishment of slavery., no. 3 from The Legend of John Brown, 1977 Accession No.: 2005.11.3
Title: His ventures failing him, he accepted poverty., no. 4 from The Legend of John Brown, 1977 Accession No.: 2005.11.4
Title: John Brown, while tending his flock in Ohio, first communicated with his sons and daughters his plans of attacking slavery by force., no. 5 from The Legend of John Brown, 1977 Accession No.: 2005.11.5
Title: John Brown formed an organization among the colored people of the Adirondack woods to resist the capture of any fugitive slaves., no. 6 from The Legend of John Brown, 1977 Accession No.: 2005.11.6
Title: To the people he found worthy of trust, he communicated his plans., no. 7 from The Legend of John Brown, 1977 Accession No.: 2005.11.7
Title: John Brown first thought of the place where he would make his attack came to him while surveying land for Oberlin College in West Virginia, 1840., no. 8 from The Legend of John Brown, 1977 Accession No.: 2005.11.8
Title: Kansas was now the skirmish ground of the Civil War., no. 9 from The Legend of John Brown, 1977 Accession No.: 2005.11.9
Title: Those pro-slavery were murdered by those anti-slavery., no. 10 from The Legend of John Brown, 1977 Accession No.: 2005.11.10
Title: John Brown took to guerilla warfare., no. 11 from The Legend of John Brown, 1977 Accession No.: 2005.11.11
Title: John Brown's victory attack at Black Jack drove those pro-slavery to new fury, and those who were anti-slavery to new efforts., no. 12 from The Legend of John Brown, 1977 Accession No.: 2005.11.12
Title: John Brown, after long meditation, planned to fortify himself somewhere in the mountains of Virginia or Tennessee and there make raids on surrounding plantations, freeing slaves., no. 13 from The legend of John Brown, 1977 Accession No.: 2005.11.13
Title: John Brown collected money from sympathizers and friends to carry out his plans., no. 14 from The Legend of John Brown, 1977 Accession No.: 2005.11.14
Title: John Brown made many trips to Canada organizing for his assult on Harper's Ferry., no. 15 from The Legend of John Brown, 1977 Accession No.: 2005.11.15
Title: In spite of a price on his head, John Brown in 1859 liberated twelve negroes from a Missouri plantation., no. 16 from The Legend of John Brown, 1977 Accession No.: 2005.11.16
Title: John Brown remained a full winter in Canada, drilling negroes for his coming raid on Harper's Ferry., no. 17 from The Legend of John Brown, 1977 Accession No.: 2005.11.17
Title: July 3, 1859. John Brown stocked an old barn with guns and ammunition. He was ready to strike his first blow at slavery., no. 18 from The Legend of John Brown, 1977 Accession No.: 2005.11.18
Title: Sunday, October 16, 1859. John Brown with a company of 21 men, white and black, marched on Harper's Ferry., no. 19 from The Legend of John Brown, 1977 Accession No.: 2005.11.19 Title: John Brown held Harper's Ferry for twelve hours. His defeat was a few hours off., no. 20 from The Legend of John Brown, 1977 Accession No.: 2005.11.20
Title: John Brown was found "guilty of treason and murder in the first degree" and was hanged in Charles Town, Virginia, on December 2, 1859., no. 22 from The Legend of John Brown, 1977 Accession No.: 2005.11.22
Title: Title page from The Legend of John Brown Accession No.: 2005.11.23
Title: Poem by Robert Hayden, from The Legend of John Brown Accession No.: 2005.11.24
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Preparation:
Students will have already studied some other causes of the Civil War.
Students will have already studied some individual actions related to one or more causes of the Civil War.
Procedures:
- Ask students to generate a list
of what they already know about John Brown. Record on a whiteboard, chalkboard, or
flip chart.
- Ask
students to select one of the many images of John Brown that are available
and to look at it carefully for information that might help them
understand John Brown better. Tell students that not everyone is going to
get the same image.
- Tell
students to write what they now understand about John Brown in their own
words on the whiteboard, chalkboard or flip chart, adding their ideas to
what is already on the board.
- Ask
students to identify one-word descriptors of John Brown based on the list in
front of them. Create a list of those as well.
- Ask
students to read excerpts online that describe John Brown and his role in
the Civil War, and to pay attention to how others described him. Students
should also note information about John Brown that they think is
significant.
- On
a timeline, ask students to place those descriptors under the time line,
so students can see how people in the 1800s may have described John Brown,
and how John Steuart Curry and Jacob Lawrence might have described him,
based on the information provided.
- Ask
each student to identify three bits of information about John Brown that
they think are significant, and to be prepared to share one of them with
the class.
- Listen
to each student, noting what kind of information builds up, and asking
students if they think that they have a well rounded description of John
Brown. Ask questions as needed to get students to address important issues
related to John Brown and his efforts.
- Give
each student a post-it note, and place it next to the descriptor that they
think best relates to how we understand John Brown today. Talk about the
end results with students, and ask them how they think this might apply to
the events of current history.
Culminating Activities:
Ask students to write a paragraph or two comparing John Browns efforts to an event(s) in recent history. How are they alike? How are they different? How do they think these events will be perceived one hundred years from now?
Assessment:
1. Students participated in every aspect of the class.
2. Students contributed positively to the class environment.
3. Students identified information about John Brown that they thought was significant, and shared it effectively with the class.
Technology Integration:
Students will use web-based resources and hard texts to learn about John Brown.
Relevant Websites:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p1550.html
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4h2943t.html
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USASbrown.htm (select smaller parts for students to read of this lengthier site)
http://www.nps.gov/hafe/jbfort.htm
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4633323
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4608338
http://www.transcendentalists.com/thoreau_plea_john_brown.htm (select smaller parts for students to read of this lengthier site)
http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext01/apcjb10.txt (select smaller parts for students to read of this lengthier site)
Key Focusing Questions:
How did society view John Brown in the 1800s, particularly upon his death?
Did this perception change over time, and, if so, how?
How do you think people today describe someone like John Brown, and why?
What parallels do you find with John Browns story in recent history? How are the events similar? How are they different?
File Attachments:
none
This lesson plan and its distribution were made possible by a grant from the Wyeth Foundation, the William Hayes Ackland Trust,
and the Ackland Art Museum at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
