Lesson Plan

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Title: Territorial Expansion

Creator: Leslie Balkany, Museum Educator, Ackland Art Museum

Subject: Social Studies Course: American History

Grade Level: 11^th grade

Unit Plan: This lesson is designed to have students look at America in the 19^th century as a country in its adolescence and to draw a parallel between the characteristics of adolescence and the characteristics of Romanticism, as seen in visual art and literature.

Standards: NC SCOS COMPETENCY GOAL 2: Expansion and Reform (1801-1850) - The learner will assess the competing forces of expansionism, nationalism, and sectionalism.

Lesson Goals:

2.01 Analyze the effects of territorial expansion and the admission of new states to the Union.

2.02 Describe how the growth of nationalism and sectionalism were reflected in art, literature, and language.

Differentiation: Partnerships will be heterogeneous, as will larger groupings for the purpose of sharing discoveries

Duration: one or two 50-minute blocks, depending on how much detail students pursue

Teacher Materials:

· Access to relevant online images of works in the Ackland collection (see Attachment 1)

· Questions for students to consider about the images

· Additional notes about some of the artists and photographers and/or their work (see Attachment 2)

· Website links that will provide additional information about artists and/or images (see Attachment 2 for links in context, and an identical listing in “Relevant Websites” section)

Student Materials:

· Access to relevant online images of works in the Ackland collection (see Attachment 1)

· Questions to consider about the images

· Website links that will provide additional information about artists and/or images (see Attachment 2 for links in context, and an identical listing in “Relevant Websites” section)

· Website links to other American artists of the period to expand understanding

Preparation: Before looking at images, have students brainstorm a list of (positive) qualities/characteristics of adolescence.

· They can do this individually and then share their ideas with the whole group, or they can develop a list together out loud (see column 1 below).

· The teacher can record their responses in a way that students will have the list available as reference (white/blackboard, transparency, Xerox, computer).

· Segue into a viewing activity by explaining that the 19th century has often been defined as the period of America’s adolescence

Adolescence · youth · optimism · self-reliance · emotional · sense of individuality · separate from parents · search for spiritual

Romanticism · Transcendentalism(celebrates the limitless possibilities of life) · optimism · self-reliance (life and art are identical, personal response) · emotional · “The world exists for you….Build therefore your own world.” Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nature · separate from England · nature as spiritual resource (“A land without nobility, or wigs or debt, No castles, no cathedrals, and no kings; Land of the forest.” Ralph Waldo Emerson, America, my country)

Procedures:

• Either individually or with a partner, students will now look for a work (one of the images in Attachment 1) that relates to one of the qualities mentioned earlier. If an image reminds them of an adolescent quality not mentioned, they should feel free to draw a relationship between them.

• They may look for more information online about the particular image or its context. A Google search will produce more information about the painters and photographers.
• First, they will share visual qualities of the work they chose which led them to their interpretations (for example: point of view, scale, etc.)
• Finally, they will share their observations and conclusions with at least one other pair, but perhaps two or three pairs, creating larger group interaction

Culminating Activities:

· Choose one of the following to demonstrate how you think Americans chose (and continue to choose) to present themselves/their land to each other and the world

o Write a newspaper account from the point of view of a journalist moving west in the 1870s.

o Write a diary entry from the point of view of someone who has just seen Alpine Lake in the Cerro Blanco Mountains, Colorado for the first time (Refer to Timothy O’Sullivan’s photograph of the same title.)

o “Become” one of the figures in Winslow Homer’s The Morning Bell. Describe yourself, where you are, how you are feeling, based on what you see, and what you know about shift from a rural to an urban economy. Be sure to compare this print with Homer’s painting of the same subject.

o Write or draw a caricature that expresses regional stereotypes as they might have been depicted in the latter half of the 19^th century.

o Create a collage or assemblage that demonstrates an understanding either of nationalism or sectionalism as it manifested itself in the latter half of the 19^th century. Write a brief description of your work and give a title (which can be metaphorical).

o In the style of Ralph Waldo Emerson or Walt Whitman (in Leaves of Grass), write a poem that reflects your views and/or values as a…[southerner, North Carolinian, westerner, New Englander, Californian, American, etc.]

· Either individually, with a partner, or in a group of 3, Google a website, such as www.emmitsburg.net/humor/index_list/ykyf_index.htm (there are others)

o Look for descriptions of stereotypes from two regions in different parts of the United States

o Consider why regional differences might exist (i.e. climate, geography, size of population, rural vs. urban, etc.)

o Consider how and why stereotypes of people from different sections of the country get to be so universally recognized

o Collate a list of what, in your opinion, are the 20 most telling “You know you’re from [fill in the blank] if…” statements from two distinct regions of the US; then develop and add 3 of your own for each section.

o Using these same 2 regions of the country, create a list of 10 qualities that would help you identify someone during the years 1865 - 1900. These markers can be social, political, geographical, personal, or something else.

Assessment:

· Quality of presentations and culminating projects as determined by a rubric written by the classroom teacher

Technology Integration:

• Computers with internet access

Relevant Websites:

• Ackland Art Museum: http://www.ackland.org
• Winslow Homer: http://virtualart.admin.tomsk.ru/homer/p-homer14.htm

http://whitemountainart.com/Biographies/bio_wh.htm

• Eastman Johnson: http://www.timkenmuseum.org/1-american-johnson.html

http://www.tfaoi.com/newsm1/n1m212.htm (scroll down the page for biographical information

• Jasper Cropsey: http://artcyclopedia.com/artists/cropsey_jasper_francis.html

http://whitemountainart.com/Biographies/bio_jfc.htm

• United States Geologic Survey: http://www.factmonster.com/ce6/history/A0820528.html

http://archives.gov/research_room/federal_records_guide/geological_survey_rg057.html#57.2.4

• Frank J. Haynes: http://visitmt.com/categories/moreinfo.asp?IDRRecordID=6737&SiteID=1

http://www.clevelandart.org/exhibit/legacy/bios/bios-gh.html

• Thomas Eakins: http://www.artcyclopedia.com/artists/eakins_thomas.html

http://sunsite.icm.edu.pl/cjackson/eakins/eakins_bio.htm

• Gilbert Stuart: http://www.artcyclopedia.com/artists/stuart_gilbert.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilbert_Stuart

Key Focusing Questions:

· Points to consider about landscape

o Think about what is a “real” landscape and what is an “imaginary” one (how much is fact; how much is interpretation?)

o What is important in this picture? Think about the artist's point of view/purpose.

o According to this landscape, what is America? How is it different from Europe?

o If there are people in your picture, who are they? How do they reflect the particular region of the country depicted in the landscape?

· Points to consider about portraits

o When was this portrait painted?

o Who is the subject? Why do you think this person had his/her portrait painted?

o What is particularly “American” about this portrait? What is European?

o What personal qualities/traits does the artist reveal about his subject?

o What regional qualities/traits does the artist reveal about his subject?

File Attachments:

• Attachment 1: Images
• Attachment 2: Notes and websites

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. 

Attachment 1

Images

	Homer, after, Winslow American, 1836-1910 The Morning Bell, 1873 wood engraving Gift of W. P. Jacocks 58.2.176
	O'Sullivan, Timothy American, ca. 1840-1882 Alpine Lake, Cerro Blanco Mountains, Col., 1874 albumen print Ackland Fund 71.7.4
	Cropsey, Jasper Francis American, 1823-1900 Landscape with Mountains at Sunset oil on paper Ackland Fund 85.19.1
	Jackson, William Henry American, 1843-1942 Arched Falls; Foot of Mt. Blackmore, Montana, 1870s albumen print Ackland Fund 88.12
	Haynes, Frank Jay American, ca. 1860-ca. 1920 Granite Silver Mine, Granite, Montana Territory, ca. 1887 albumen print The William A. Whitaker Foundation Art Fund 2002.18.3
	Watkins, Carleton Emmons American, 1829-1916 First View of Yosemite Valley, from the Mariposa Trail, ca. 1865 albumen print Ackland Fund 78.25.1
	Johnson, Eastman American, 1824-1906 Cranberry Pickers, ca. 1875-1880 oil on paperboard Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Norman Hirschl 72.51.1
	Benton, Thomas Hart American, 1889-1975 Huck Finn, 1936 lithograph Gift of W. P. Jacocks 58.2.84
	Eakins?, Thomas American, 1844-1916 Walt Whitman gelatin silver print Transferred from the library collection 58.13.1
	Stuart, Gilbert American, 1755-1828 Mrs. Daniel Denison Rogers, 1811 oil on wood panel Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Cabot Sedgwick 80.65.1
	Unknown American, 19th century Fire Company Group Portrait, 1870s albumen print Ackland Fund 89.5
	Harding, Chester American, 1792-1866 John C. Calhoun, 1830 oil on canvas Transfer from the University of North Carolina Collection 89.191

Attachment 2

Notes

The Morning Bell (after Winslow Homer)

• Could this represent the shift from an agricultural to an urban society? The young women and children are making their way slowly toward the factory and the labor that beckons them.
• See image of painting: http://virtualart.admin.tomsk.ru/homer/p-homer14.htm

Cranberry Pickers (Eastman Johnson), 1875-80

• size suggests a possible study
• view of man living close to the earth
• probably painted on Nantucket, where he had a summer home glorified rural life, unblemished by mechanization, kind of mythic
• See related painting: http://www.timkenmuseum.org/1-american-johnson.html

Landscape (Jasper Cropsey), c. 1840s

• size suggests this was a study
• circular format suggests it may have been part of a series (also circular) about the seasons
• known for his autumn scenes, in Pennsylvania particularly
• See more images: http://artcyclopedia.com/artists/cropsey_jasper_francis.html

United States Geologic Survey

• Brief history: http://www.factmonster.com/ce6/history/A0820528.html
• USGS records: http://archives.gov/research_room/federal_records_guide/geological_survey_rg057.html#57.2.4

o Timothy O’Sullivan and Carleton Watkins worked for Clarence King who surveyed the 40^th parallel (Nevada, Utah and California

o William Henry Jackson worked for F.V. Hayden who surveyed the Territories, including Grand Tetons and Yellowstone

o O’Sullivan also worked for Lt. George M. Wheeler, west of the 100^th meridian, including the Grand Canyon and Sierra Nevada

Granite Silver Mine, Montana Territory (Frank J. Haynes), 1887

• In the autumn of 1872 the Granite mine was discovered by a prospector named Holland. The mine was relocated in 1875. This was the richest silver mine on the earth, and it might never have been discovered if a telegram from the East hadn't been delayed. The miner's backers thought the venture was hopeless and ordered an end to operation, but the last blast on the last shift uncovered a bonanza, which yielded $40,000,000. http://visitmt.com/categories/moreinfo.asp?IDRRecordID=6737&SiteID=1
• For information about the photographer, go to: http://www.clevelandart.org/exhibit/legacy/bios/bios-gh.html

Portraits by Thomas Eakins

• Known for his informal, introspective portraits of people both famous and not
• Other images: http://www.artcyclopedia.com/artists/eakins_thomas.html

Mrs. Daniel Denison Rogers (Gilbert Stuart)

• the second wife of Mr. Rogers, for whom a companion portrait exists (location unknown, may still in the family)
• from a prominent Bostonian family, where this portrait was painted in 1811 (and where Stuart spent the last years of his life)
• her descendants live in Chapel Hill
• Other images: http://www.artcyclopedia.com/artists/stuart_gilbert.html

John C. Calhoun (Chester Harding), 1830

· American statesman and political philosopher

· Served in the federal government, successi