Time Magazine's Christopher John Farley discusses the election of 1800 and the presidency of Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson's term in office is remembered for a war on terror, and the Louisiana Purchase, and a scandal.
This feature is no longer available.
In March 2010, the 23rd U.S. census went out—220 years after the first census, in 1790. What do census questions tell us about American society and values? Look at the categories of census data below and select the year in which the information was collected.
1. 1790
families with 11 or more members
families holding 2-4 slaves
avg. slaves per slaveholding family
free colored slaveholding families
persons of Scotch nationality
persons of Hebrew nationality
2. 1840
white persons 20 years of age and over who cannot read and write
scholars in primary and common schools
female slaves 55-99 years of age
free colored females under 10 years of age
men employed in newspaper production
persons employed in navigation of canals
3. 1870
male citizens 21 years of age and over
persons born in Africa
persons 10 and over who cannot read
total state taxation
public debt of the county
youths employed in manufacturing
4. 1880
persons born in China
Indians
colored persons
farms 500-999 acres rented for fixed money rental
average hours labor per week in iron and steel manufacturing
average youths and children employed in manufacturing
5. 1900
other colored females 5-20 years of age
illiterate foreign-born alien males 21 years of age and over
native white illiterates 10 years of age and over of native parentage
farms of colored owners and tenants
capital invested in buildings used in manufacturing
salaries of salaried officials, clerks, etc. in manufacturing
6. 1910
rural population
white persons born in asian turkey
native white males of voting age of mixed parentage
Indian, Chinese, Japanese and male of all other races of voting age
persons 15-17 years of age attending school
farms of foreign-born whites
In 1790, federal marshals collected data for the first census, knocking by hand on each and every door. As directed by the U.S. Constitution, they counted the population based on specific criteria, including "males under 16 years, free White females, all other free persons (by sex and color), and slaves." There was no pre-printed form, however, so marshals submitted their returns, sometimes with additional information, in a variety of formats.
In 1810 and 1820, additional categories appeared, collecting information on "free White males and females under 10 years of age," as well as those "10 and under 16," "16 and under 26," "26 and under 45," and "45 years and upward." "Free colored persons" and slaves were now counted separately as were "all other persons, except Indians not taxed" and "foreigners not naturalized." Through the decades, the census continued to expand, including a growing number of questions on agriculture, manufacturing, living conditions, education, crime, mortality, and increasingly, race and ancestry.
The census has always had political implications, informing conscription, Congressional representation, and the collection and allocation of taxes. It has also always both reflected and shaped social divisions. Before 1960, census enumerators interviewed families in person and without consulting the individuals, selected which box to check for "race." Starting in 1960, largely for financial reasons, the Census Bureau mailed forms directly to households, thereby allowing individuals to select their own boxes. This led to a fundamental change in the way race was categorized and measured. In 2000, for the first time, individuals could select more than one box and about 6.8 million Americans did so, reflecting the complex nature of racial and ethnic categories today.
The 2010 census is designed to count all residents and will ask a small number of questions, such as name, sex, age, date of birth, race, ethnicity, relationship and housing tenure. The longer American Community Survey will collect socioeconomic data annually from a representative sample of the population.
For searchable (and map-able) databases of historical census data from 1790 to 1960, refer to the University of Virginia's United States Historical Census Data Browser. For more current information, try the official website of the U.S. Census Bureau..
From the Lincoln and New York website:
"This course introduces teachers to the scholarship behind the groundbreaking exhibitions Slavery in New York and New York Divided: Slavery and the Civil War. Beginning with a survey of Dutch, British and American practices of slavery, teachers will explore the varied experiences of the enslaved men and women who built New York. In Part II of the course, teachers will examine key themes of the exhibition New York Divided, including New York City's economic and social connections to Southern slavery; the co-existence of anti-black and abolitionist sentiment in New York; and major events in New York during the Civil War, including the Draft Riots and the raising of African-American regiments."
"Teachers wishing to receive professional credit must register online with the New York After-School Professional Development Program; visit their website: https://pci.nycenet.edu/aspdp/. Teachers who do not wish to receive credit may register on Ed-Net, available at http://www.nyhseducationdb.org/login.aspx."
NOTE: The dates for this program are not yet set. It will take place in Spring 2010.
From the Lincoln and New York website:
"This course introduces teachers to the scholarship about the history, legacy, and memory of the Underground Railroad. Beginning with a survey of the history of slavery in this country to provide historical context for further learning, participants will then explore the workings of the Underground Railroad. Through document and object analysis, case studies, use of online resources, guest speakers, and field trips, participants will examine key figures in the Underground Railroad and the effects of their actions on the nation. Participants will receive scholarly resources and reproductions of primary source materials."
"Teachers wishing to receive professional credit must register online with the New York After-School Professional Development Program; visit their website: https://pci.nycenet.edu/aspdp/. Teachers who do not wish to receive credit may register on Ed-Net, available at http://www.nyhseducationdb.org/login.aspx."
NOTE: The dates for this program are not yet set. It will take place in Spring 2010.
From the National Humanities Center:
Slave narratives comprise one of the most influential traditions in American literature, shaping the form and themes of some of the most celebrated and controversial writing, in both autobiography and fiction, in the history of the United States. In recent years, as their importance has been recognized, slave narratives have appeared on more and more high school literature curricula. How did they evolve? What are their major themes? How do narratives written by men differ from those written by women? How do they portray slavery and freedom? How have they influenced later writing, and what can they say to students in the 21st century?
Film’s dynamic narratives and living characters draw students in—but are they useful teaching tools? The film, "Glory," frequently shown in classrooms, tells the story of the 54th Massachusetts, a famous African American regiment in the Civil War. Decide whether the following “truths” suggested by the film are true or false.
1. The 54th, led by Robert Gould Shaw, son of prominent (white) abolitionists, consisted largely of former slaves. False.
Glory leads viewers to believe that most (though not all) of the men who served under Shaw (pictured here) were former slaves. Although this conceit adds to the impact of the film—making the 54th's struggle for recognition and an equal place in the war a mirror of the general African American struggle for freedom and equality—it veers far from historical fact. Most of the men who volunteered for the 54th were born freemen from middle-class backgrounds. In fact, two soldiers in the 54th were sons of the abolitionist Frederick Douglass.
2. The unsuccessful but heroic attack on Fort Wagner, SC, in which the Confederates killed or captured approximately 50% of the regiment, was the last battle in which the 54th served. False.
Glory ends with the 54th's attack on Fort Wagner, and the losses its men suffered. This gives the impression that the regiment dissolved after the Fort Wagner assault. In reality, the 54th went on to fight in several more battles and skirmishes, including the Battle of Olustee (in Florida) the Battle of Honey Hill (in South Carolina), and the Battle of Boykin's Mill (also in South Carolina).
3. The bravery of the 54th at Fort Wagner inspired Congress to authorize raising other African American troops for the Union army. False.
The ending caption in Glory—"As word of their bravery spread, Congress at last authorized the raising of black troops throughout the Union"—is inaccurate. According to historian James M. McPherson, Congress had authorized the mustering of further African American troops "months earlier."
Further, though it might be easy to believe otherwise while watching the film, the 54th was not the first African American regiment—the U.S. government began enlisting African Americans as early as 1862, almost a year before the 54th's formation in March 1863.
4. A member of the regiment was flogged for desertion, in keeping with standard military punishments at the time. False.
One of the most often described moments in the film, when former slave Trip reveals his scarred back before receiving a flogging for desertion, is unlikely to have ever happened in life. Leaving aside the character's fictional nature (like many of Glory's characters, except Shaw, Trip was created for the film), a soldier would not have been flogged as punishment in 1863—according to historian Joseph T. Glatthar, flogging was outlawed in the U.S. military in 1861.
Do its historical inaccuracies make Glory (and other historical films) inappropriate for the U.S. history classroom? No, say many historians and educational experts—the trick lies in making students aware that films manipulate historical facts and create new "facts" in order to tell dramatic stories, convey themes, and trigger emotions. Educators who use films in the classroom must use them as more than just compelling emotional "hooks" into a time period; they must teach students to ask questions about the accuracy of what they see, and about why filmmakers have chosen to either stick to or stray from the facts in their stories.
According to a Washington University study, educators must warn students of a film's specific historical inaccuracies prior to showing the film. A number of articles examine Glory and point out its accuracies and inaccuracies in detail. In "The Burden of Historical Representation: Race, Freedom, and 'Educational' Hollywood Film" (Film & History: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Film and Television Studies 36.1 [2006] 26-35), professors and former social studies teachers Jeremy D. Stoddard and Alan S. Marcus look at the messages conveyed by filmmakers' choices in both Glory and the film Amistad (requires JSTOR or MUSE access). Daniel A. Nathan discusses his experiences using Glory in the classroom in "The Massachusetts 54th on Film: Teaching Glory" (OAH Magazine of History, Vol. 16, No. 4, Film and History [Summer, 2002] pp. 38-42); and Joseph T. Glatthar goes point by point through the film's historical inaccuracies in "Glory, the 54th Massachusetts Infantry, and Black Soldiers in the Civil War" (The History Teacher, Vol. 24, No. 4 [Aug., 1991], pp. 475-485) (require JSTOR or MUSE access).
For further thoughts and guidelines on productively introducing historical films into the classroom, try Past Imperfect: History According to the Movies (Mark C. Carnes, ed., New York: Henry Holt, 1996). Past Imperfect looks at the historical accuracy (or inaccuracy) of over 60 films, including Glory, Apollo 13, Malcolm X, JFK, All the President's Men, and other films on U.S. figures and events. Another historian and former social studies teacher, Scott Alan Metzger, reviews steps of analysis that he believes students should be guided through in approaching films in "Pedagogy and the Historical Feature Film: Toward Historical Literacy" (Film & History: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Film and Television Studies 37.2 [2007] 67-75) (requires JSTOR or MUSE access).
You might also read the Clearinghouse's Research Brief What Do Students Learn from Historical Feature Films?, in which historian and professor Peter Seixas considers ways to get students questioning their initial, emotional reactions to films.
From the Ashbrook Center website:
"To reflect on the life of Frederick Douglass is to be reminded of the famous self-description attributed to his great contemporary, Mark Twain: 'I am not an American; I am the American.' A classic self-made man, Douglass, like his country, rose from a low beginning to a great height; he gained freedom by his own virtue and against great odds in a revolutionary struggle; and he matured into an internationally renowned apostle of universal liberty. In this course, we consider Douglass' telling of his own story, taking as primary texts his three autobiographies: Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (1845), My Bondage and My Freedom (1855), and Life and Times of Frederick Douglass (1881; 1892). We will find in these texts not only the annals of an unforgettable life but also Douglass' reflections on enduring issues in American political thought such as the nature and specific evil of slavery, the nature and grounds of human rights and freedom, and the meaning and mission of the American Republic."
From the Ashbrook Center website:
"These seminars are offered to encourage teachers to seriously examine significant events in American history in light of the principles of the American founding, and also to encourage the use of primary source materials in the classroom. The seminars, which include both lecture and discussion, are taught by leading scholars in their field from throughout the nation."
From the National Gallery of Art website:
"This seminar will explore American art of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, emphasizing the country's rich and diverse visual heritage. Instruction will focus on the Gallery's collection of American paintings, which are closely allied to European traditions of fine art.
Through lectures, gallery talks, discussion groups, and hands-on activities, participants will study portraiture, historical and commemorative art, scenes of everyday life, still life, and landscape, including works from the uniquely American Hudson River school. John Singleton Copley, Benjamin West, Thomas Cole, George Catlin, Winslow Homer, and Augustus Saint-Gaudens are among the artists in the Gallery's collection whose work will be considered.
Supplementing the study of American paintings will be an examination of ceremonial and utilitarian art objects. Textiles, pottery, and furniture—including pieces created by enslaved and free blacks—will highlight regional preferences in design and material, while performance of Native American stories will emphasize the importance of the oral tradition across tribal boundaries.
The seminar highlights the social and cultural context of art and demonstrates interdisciplinary teaching strategies. Participants will explore connections to literature and music and visit other local cultural institutions. Activities are designed to meet teachers' personal and professional enrichment needs."
From the National Gallery of Art website:
"This seminar will explore American art of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, emphasizing the country's rich and diverse visual heritage. Instruction will focus on the Gallery's collection of American paintings, which are closely allied to European traditions of fine art.
Through lectures, gallery talks, discussion groups, and hands-on activities, participants will study portraiture, historical and commemorative art, scenes of everyday life, still life, and landscape, including works from the uniquely American Hudson River school. John Singleton Copley, Benjamin West, Thomas Cole, George Catlin, Winslow Homer, and Augustus Saint-Gaudens are among the artists in the Gallery's collection whose work will be considered.
Supplementing the study of American paintings will be an examination of ceremonial and utilitarian art objects. Textiles, pottery, and furniture—including pieces created by enslaved and free blacks—will highlight regional preferences in design and material, while performance of Native American stories will emphasize the importance of the oral tradition across tribal boundaries.
The seminar highlights the social and cultural context of art and demonstrates interdisciplinary teaching strategies. Participants will explore connections to literature and music and visit other local cultural institutions. Activities are designed to meet teachers' personal and professional enrichment needs."
