'1776' - How I Taught the Declaration of Independence

 

    When I discovered 1776, it immediately became a favorite of mine, and I made it a huge part of teaching the Declaration of Independence in my American History classroom, showing it every year to every class, meaning that I have seen the film version probably at least 50 times.  I often - a little facetiously - call it the greatest history play/musical ever, even after Hamilton exploded.  I taught many creative students who were often involved in theater and music and who loved Hamilton. I enjoy it as well, and I used some of the songs in my classroom.  When I started 1776,  those students probably were skeptical to say the least, just going along with "Old Man Burns" to get a couple of free days in class while he shows this old relic.  Almost without exception, they found themselves drawn in, despite themselves, and some quoted lines and sang the songs for the rest of the school year.  Why do I love it so much?   The writing, the cast, the songs, the humor - everything - but especially the way the creators captured the historical zeitgeist of Philadelphia in during 1776 as the Continental Congress debates the Declaration, as well as the way that it subtly comments on contemporary America at the time it was written.

"The Lees of Old Virginia"

    1776  was originally a musical with music and lyrics by Sherman Edwards and book by Peter Stone, and it focuses on John Adams and his efforts to get the Congress to officially declare independence from Britain.  It debuted on Broadway in 1969, winning three Tony awards, including Best Musical, on London's West End in 1970, and it has been successfully revived on Broadway twice, in 1997 and in 2022.  For America's semiquincentennial, local theater groups around the country have mounted, or are planning to put on, their own productions.  I'll be seeing it live on stage for the first time in a few days myself.

    While 1776  captures the major political tensions and many character traits of the Founding Fathers, it is not a literal historical transcript. The musical condenses timelines, simplifies the 56 signers down to a handful of delegates, and invents dramatic plot points, adding catchy songs and great humor.  The musical's major historical liberties include:

• The Slavery Debate: The climax features a dramatic stand-off over Thomas Jefferson's anti-slavery clause, which the musical claims was struck out after a southern walkout. In reality, while the clause was deleted, the walkout never happened, and delegates from both the North and South were involved in the deletion. The song "Molasses to Rum" is an excellent summary of the history of the transatlantic slave trade and the Middle Passage.
• "Molasses to Rum"
• The Congressional Roll Call: The movie portrays a tense, down-to-the-wire roll call where delegates are slowly swayed to vote "yea." This was staged for dramatic tension; the actual proceedings were much more bureaucratic and spread over several weeks. 

The Vote

• The Courier's Song: The song "Momma Look Sharp" is sung by a fictional courier to represent the human cost of the war and a connection to the Vietnam War, which was raging in 1969.
• "Mama Look Sharp"
• The Timeline: The heatwave in Philadelphia and the timeline of events have been condensed for the stage. 
• Jefferson's Wife: The romantic subplot of John Adams sending for Jefferson's wife to cure his writer's block is entirely fictional, created for human interest, romance, and some really funny bits. Martha Jefferson did not visit Philadelphia during that summer. 

• "He Plays the Violin"

    Despite these creative liberties, the musical is well-regarded for accurately portraying the profound political divisions, regional tensions, and Adams' reputation as an often abrasive—yet tireless—leader. Furthermore, much of the dialogue and lyrics are famously taken directly from the actual letters and memoirs of the participants.  Notably, Abigail Adams becomes a major character through dream-like sequences in which she and John sing to each other, using subject matter and lines from the many actual letters that the pair wrote to each other.  For more on historical accuracy, see the  Wikipedia Article for a good summary.  Like any historical fiction, play or movie based on historical events, there are inaccuracies to be sure, but, as I said, I believe that the play/film perfectly captures the essence of the events and stimulates the interests of its viewers, leading them to explore and learn more on their on - so it's a winner.

  

"St Down, John!"                                                    "Piddle, Twiddle, and Resolve"/"Till Then"

"Yours, Yours, Yours"

    Three of the original Broadway cast revive their characters in the film version:  William Daniels as John Adams, Kevin Howard as Thomas Jefferson, and Howard da Silva as Benjamin Franklin.  (Side note:  I just learned that Brent Spiner, Star Trek's Data, played Adams in the 1997 revival - very interesting.)  William Daniels is a fantastic actor, at this writing still with us at age 99, that I first became a fan of during on St. Elsewhere, the 1980s medical drama that was my favorite medical drama of all time until "The Pitt."  Later he was KITT, the talking car computer on Knight Rider,   and history teacher/mentor Mr. Feeney on that horrible dreck Boy Meets World.  A couple of years ago, he and his wife appeared at a local book store to promote their respective memoirs, and I was honored to meet  them, tell him how I used the movie in class, and ask him to sign my copy of the book and a poster that I had purchased on Ebay.  Ken Howard later starred as a high school basketball coach on The White Shadow.  Howard da Silva's casting is an incredibly interesting story:  Da Silva was a very successful character actor on Broadway and in films in the 1930s and 1940s, until McCarthyism and the Red Scare swept through the country,  His Hollywood career was on the ascent until 1951 when he was called to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee investigating communists in the entertainment industry.  Da Silva was the first witness to invoke the 5th amendment in his testimony, and as a result, he was one of hundreds who were blacklisted, making it impossible for him to make films.  He sustained himself for the next couple of decades on stage, and 1776 marked his return to film.  

  
William Daniels on playing John Adams                                "But Mr. Adams"

"The Egg"

    If you haven't seen the movie, it is available on YouTube in its entirety;

Here are the guiding questions that I used to spur discussion in class:

1. What is John Adams’ view of the Congress?

 

2. Describe the relationship between John and Abigail Adams.

 

3. How is John Adams described?

 

4. Who proposed the resolution calling for independence?

 

5. Who is “Old Grape and Guts”?

 

6. Name Georgia’s representative in the movie.

 

7. Who is described as both the oldest and youngest delegate?

 

8. Identify  John Dickinson and Caesar Rodney.

 

9. Who “insists on standing in Mr. Dickinson’s shadow?”  What does that mean?

 

10.   Who is the President of the Congress?

 

11.    Why did Hancock ask Franklin about New Jersey’s absence?

 

12. Describe Philadelphia in July 1776.

 

13. Describe Thomas Jefferson as portrayed in the movie.

 

14. How do the clothes and attitudes of the delegates reflect their colonies?

 

15. Why was unanimity required for an independence vote?

 

16. Name the five men appointed to the committee to write the Declaration.

 

17. Describe the American soldier, as described by Washington’s letters.

 

18. The song sung by the soldier could also be interpreted as commentary on what event taking place at the time this play was written (and movie was made) --- 1972?

 

19.   What did Franklin propose as the national symbol of the US and why?

 

20. Who stinketh the most?  What does that line mean?

 

21. Dickinson or Wilson.  Which man is more honorable?

 

22. What grammatical or spelling error do Adams and Jefferson quibble over?

 

23. Why did John Hancock say he was signing so large?

 

24. What does the soldier’s appearance and demeanor in his scenes reveal about the war ?

History Dinner Party or The Course(s) of History

     

    I recently read a very interesting book called The Course of History: Ten Meals That Changed the World. The authors picked ten major events in history, like the Camp David Accords, Nixon's visit to China, the Big Three Tehran conference in WWII, and the Congress of Vienna, for example. Each event is described in great detail and context, and a major meal from the event is described. The entire menu is listed, and recipes are included. It's really well done, one of my favorite reads this year.  It also reminded me of a culminating project that I did often in my American, World, and European history classes (but it could also be easily adapted into just about any social studies class, or even literature class).

    The idea is a Dinner Party. I searched Histocrats Classroom blogs, and, apparently, I had never written it up for  blog, which I found surprising, because it's so much fun. I wish I could take credit for developing it, but like so many of the things I did in my classroom, I found the inspiration somewhere (who knows where?) and then adapted it to fit my style and needs. That's pretty much what all teachers do, right? So here's the germ of the idea, and you can make of it what you will.

   Imagine it's the end of the semester or the end of the year, and you want some comprehensive culminating project that will 

        1) demonstrate that some learning and synthesis have taken place, 

        2) not be a major stress-inducing activity for the students or for the teacher, and 

        3) not be a major headache to grade and should allow the teacher to be relatively lenient in grading         if he/she wants.

The Dinner Party is for you. It is totally adaptable to your needs or creativity.

    These are the directions I gave to my Advanced Placement European History class the last time I assigned it. I'll make comments in RED CAPS.

This project is your semester project and will count as your final, 20% of your grade. This assignment is meant as kind of a take-home test; do not speak with other  students about this project. INDIVIDUAL IDEAS. (INDIVIDUALS OR GROUPS - YOUR CALL) This is a test of your comprehension of events   and should be solely your original work. 

1)  Imagine that you were going to host a dinner and invite 11 (TOTAL SHOULD BE EVEN, ANY NUMBER YOU WANT. I LIKED 10-12, AND I WANTED THE STUDENT TO INCLUDE HIMSELF/HERSELF, SO THEY HAD TO PICK 9 OR 11 PEOPLE.) figures from European history, or essential to European history, from about 1450 to today.   (We will assume that they can all speak English.) You must choose at least one figure from each century, 16^th through 20^th.  They may be famous, infamous or not.  That is, you may create a type character, like a participant in the Women’s March of the French Revolution for example.  You may even include up to 2 characters from fiction.

(YOU CREATE THE PARAMETERS FOR THE GUESTS. YOU MAY EVEN CREATE A LIST OF CHARACTERS FROM WHICH TO CHOOSE.  IF YOU DO THIS, GIVE THEM LOTS OF OPTIONS. ENCOURAGE THEM TO INVITE PEOPLE WHO WOULD MAKE IT INTERESTING. )

2)  You will create a book for your final product that must include (OF COURSE, THERE ARE A MILLION WAYS TO PRESENT THIS. I WAS OLD SCHOOL. IT CAN BE DONE WITH VARIOUS TECHNOLOGY, ON PAPER, ON POSTER BOARD, 3D, ETC)

          A)  a cover and title page

B)  a ½ to 1 page, double spaced, 12 font biography of each person invited (including yourself), complete with picture (ok if you don’t have a picture of yourself), maybe describe what they are wearing to the party

***C)  a full menu describing exactly what foods will be served and why you chose them

***D)  a diagram showing the arrangement of the room and the seating arrangement.  Describe the venue. Be sure to include a seat for yourself. Illustrate the table (will it be round, rectangular, many small tables?), and label each seat. 

E)  Next, write three to five pages double-spaced explaining your reasons for the seating chart. Be creative when predicting the sort of conversations that people might have with each other. What kinds of questions will they ask each other? Do you expect that there will be any arguments over politics or other subjects? What do these people have in common or what might they learn from each other? Who will dominate conversation? Why? Who do you want to sit next to? What do you want to talk about with them?  Why did you select these people?  Remember, a good host plans a party that encourages conversation, debate, and discussion.  Most of the time you hope it’s all positive; sometimes, however, things happen….

***Do C & D on a posterboard or  ½ posterboard.

(YOU CAN ASK FOR ANYTHING YOU WANT. I HAD STUDENTS WHO WROTE A COUPLE OF PAGES OF NARRATIVE, AND I HAD STUDENTS WHO WROTE SCRIPTS, COMPLETE WITH STAGE DIRECTIONS.)

    I wish I had some examples, but maybe this is enough to get you going. And you can find a lot of other "Dinner Party" assignments, rubrics and examples online.

Thomas Nast, "Uncle Sam's Thanksgiving Dinner,"1869

Sidewalk Chalk Art Review

By Jeff Burns

It’s the end of the year, and teachers are always searching for fun and meaningful ways to review material and prepare for those end of course tests, finals, and AP exams.  Why not take it outside and engage your students’ creativity in the process.

For a couple of years now, I have taken my AP US history classes outside to do sidewalk chalk review.  It’s simple and takes just a couple of periods.  First, I assigned each group one of the APUSH time periods. Their instructions were simple: design and create a sidewalk square that illustrates the most important themes, concepts, events, ideas, and people of the assigned period. They had one period to plan, and one period to draw. 

It doesn’t require much:  administrator’s permission and sidewalk chalk.  Dollar stores have cheap sidewalk chalk.  I got it for $1 a box at Dollar general.  Some students even brought their own.  Other useful tools that students brought included stiff dust brooms for erasing and spray water bottles. To get their best effort, I offered a replacement grade to the groups with the best squares, judged by the other US history teachers in my department.  

 

Puzzled By Jigsaws?

By Jeff Burns

Have you ever wondered about the history of jigsaw puzzles?  Me neither until recently.  A retired teacher who substitutes at my school recently stopped me in the hall and said, “I have a strange question.  My husband collects Great Depression Era jigsaw puzzles and is looking to reduce the collection.  We wondered if you would like some for your classroom?”  She obviously knew who to ask.  After all, I have written a Histocrat blog and presented professional learning sessions titled “History Teacher or Hoarder?”, and my classroom shelves are full of various objects collected over the years.

I said sure, and she started telling me the jigsaw story.  While jigsaw puzzles were invented as educational tools in the mid-1700s, they reached new heights of popularity during the Great Depression.  When the housing market collapsed, some enterprising entrepreneurs in the building supply company came up with the idea of printing images on their surplus board, cutting it, and selling it.  For 25 or 50 cents, a family could enjoy hours and hours of entertainment to take their minds off of their economic hardships. The images were often escapist, beautiful – sometimes magical -  scenes of cozy cottages or natural wonders that families wouldn’t necessarily see in their neighborhoods, allowing them to see the world.  Some of the pictures are very patriotic, pieces of Americana.  Many of the boxes provide no picture at all, just a one-word description like “home”, meaning you didn’t know what it was going to be until you were done.  Puzzles also were given away as advertising premiums.

To make a long story short, she delivered several dozen puzzles to my room a few days later.  My plan is to use some with small groups as we discuss the Depression.  Students can think about and discuss the imagery:  why was this image chosen?  How did it reflect the Great Depression?  Why did it appeal to the customer who bought it originally? What was the role of the jigsaw puzzle in family life during the Depression?  Compare and contrast to family entertainment in other eras and today?

Want to read more? Here’s a great introduction to the history of Jigsaws.

In a Pickle

By Jeff Burns

Pickling is one of the oldest methods used by humans to preserve foods, dating back 4,000 years. Practically any vegetable can be pickled using vinegar and spices, and has been in one culture or another.  Pickle lovers have their own favorite vegetables and preparations, kosher, dill, bread and butter, sweet, hot, just to name a few.

One of my personal favorites stems from my own childhood memories.  Every summer, my Aunt Juanita would make her sweet pickles.  When they were ready, she would visit and bring us a jar or two or call to let us know, and I would my bike to her house to pick them up. My family frequently got together with friends and family during the year for fish frys, barbecues, oyster roasts, and the like, and Aunt Juanita’s pickles were always a great accompaniment.  My mother tried her own version from time to time, and they were good, but we all know some things that just don’t taste the same when somebody else makes them.

Aunt Juanita passed away a couple of years ago, and, for a few years before, she suffered from dementia, so it’s been quite a while since she made pickles.  However, I am very fortunate that , years before becoming ill, she wrote the recipe down for me.  It’s a simple recipe, and an old one.  My cousin told me that Aunt Juanita got it from her Appalachian in-laws years and years ago.  She always called them 7 day pickles or sweet pickles, and I’ve found similar recipes online called Amish pickles or 7 day pickles, so I’m not really sure of the origin. I make the pickles nearly every summer, and if I say so myself, they’re pretty good and extremely close to my memories of hers. The handwritten recipe is also a treasure, since I don’t have much of anything in the way of handwriting from my parents, grandparents, and other relatives.

I put the cucumbers in a big pot, and the actual process only takes a few minutes each morning. (It does require a huge amount sugar, however.) With this batch I added a couple of squash and onions as well.  I have also added jalapenos in some batches to make a sweet and hot variety too.

We’ve also pickled some beans, radishes, and zucchinis this summer.

Like pickles? Find a recipe and give it a try.  This is about more than making pickles though.  Think about the great recipes within your own family.  Seek them out and learn them now from the family members who make them, before it’s too late.

Connecting the Dots

By Jeff Burns 

It’s that time of year again.  I’ve reached the Cold War, and when it’s time to talk about the Red Scare and McCarthyism of the 1950s, it may as well be hundreds of years ago for my students, so every year I use the Dot Game to create a feeling of paranoia.

I first learned about the Dot Game from a History Alive! Training session, and as far as I know, credit goes to the Teachers Curriculum Institute for creating it.  The Dot Game works great for the Red Scare, but it also would work in a unit on the Salem Witch Trials or any period of doubt and suspicion.

The game is easy and 2-3 rounds can be played in 10-15 minutes.  First, you need a set of cards.  I cut index cards in half.  Most of the cards are left blank on both sides, but on some of the cards, make a dot on one side.  (I use C for commie.)  For a set of 30 cards (I make a few more cards than the number of students in my class.), I might include as many as 10 commies.

The night before, I send out a Remind text to students saying “Trust no one.”  (Caution:  Times have changed.  The next day, students said, “Oh, we thought your wife cheated on you or you were warning us about something happening at school.”)  Give each student a card with explicit directions to look at but not to share or show what’s on their card to anyone.  Then explain:  Most of you are good, decent Americans.  However, there are a few dirty, stinking commies amongst you bent on destroying mom, baseball, apple pie, and everything else about the American way of life.  Your job is to form the largest group possible without a communist. You can’t show your card at any time when making groups.

There are two ways to win:  1) the largest group with no communist infiltrator wins and 2) any communist who has successfully infiltrated a group and is the only one in the group is a winner.  I’ve had winning groups of 1 person and as large as 12 people.

Give them 2-3 minutes each round.  At the end of each round, have groups reveal their identity one at a time, starting from the smallest sized groups.  Vary the number of communist cards you give out during each round. On the second or third round, I will interrupt and say things like, “We’ve just confirmed there are at least 3 commies among you…… We’ve now confirmed there at least 5 commies out there…etc.”

After the rounds, debrief.  Ask

1. How did you feel during the rounds?
2. How did you know whom to trust?
3. How did it feel to have your trust betrayed?
4. How did it feel to be accused but innocent?
5. Who was the best deceiver?
6. Who was the worst deceiver?
7. What were the stakes at risk for losing this game?  (very low level) Now think about nationally in the 1950s.  What were the stakes then?  Can you see how paranoia multiplied and why it affected people so much and why McCarthy was so powerful for a while?

The game really creates a great conversation and makes a real connection, plus it’s fun and involves movement.  My classes always ask to play again and again.

Using an Assembly Line as a Hook to Introduce Industrialization

By Jeff Burns

For several years, I’ve been introducing the industrialization of the Gilded Age with an assembly line simulation that’s a lot of fun for students and always leads to a great discussion. I got the inspiration from somewhere, of course, but I’m not sure where, maybe a History Alive (TCI, Teacher’s Curriculum Institute) activity, but I’ve adapted to my classroom and my personal demeanor.  You see, I’m not an overly effusive person; I’m pretty stoic, dour, emotionless – take your pick.  Students lovingly liken me to internet sensation Grumpy Cat. (If only I could channel my personality into tens of millions of dollars like Grumpy Cat.)

This topic usually falls immediately following Thanksgiving for me, so I begin class by spinning an elaborate tale. I tell the class that I had an epiphany over break. I finally figured out the vehicle that will make me a millionaire and allow me to quit teaching.  It’s the toy sensation that will change the world.  Children around the world will go into frenzy for it. I even have a Shark Tank appearance coming up next week to get backers.  I’m sharing it with the class because I need some help creating some initial inventory, and they can help me.

I use these slides to make my pitch.  (The clumsy cheesiness is part of the charm.)

 

 

 

 

The Burnsie bears a remarkable resemblance to myself.  You can make it anything you want, just some simple drawing or folded object.

For the next step, I use rows of five desks each, markers, and lots of paper cut into fourths.  I use scratch paper, extra one-sided copies saved up all year.  Give every student a marker and 4 o 5 paper squares.  Tell them you’re testing them to see who can get in on the ground floor of this money-making opportunity by producing a burnsie inventory. Their instructions are to draw as many burnsies as possible in 15-20 seconds. When time is up, have them count their completed burnsies and examine a few to compare their consistence, with each other and with the original.  Invariably, this first effort is not going to be successful.  I make  big deal about how many more have to be produced and how they have to be consistent.  No matter where they are in the world, children have to wake up to find a consistent, high-quality, handcrafted burnsie under their tree.  How do we achieve that?  Students offer suggestions like, more workers, using photocopiers, stamps, or stencils.  No, I say, that defeats the purpose of hand-crafted, made-in-America quality.  Someone will suggest an assembly line. OK, How does that work? The student explains, and we give it a shot.  I pit rows against each other.  Usually to save paper  at this point, I reduce the pool of workers to two rows pitted against each other and have volunteers staff the rows, while the rest of the class watches. However, you could have more rows competing.  Then each student in the row is assigned a part to draw:  head, face, body, arms, legs.  They have to draw their parts and pass it to the person behind.  For this round, I usually give them 45-60 seconds.  When time is called, we count and talk about consistency and quality (usually better).

Now, that’s better, but not quite good enough, how do we make more,  faster?  They offer various suggestions.  Maybe the boss (me) can offer positive incentives or negative disincentives for example.  We discuss various options.  Someone will then suggest (maybe following my lead) turning the desks side by side to facilitate the passing.  They may even switch positions or participants or make other suggestions that you may want to implement.  We then do 1 or 2 rounds of 45-60 seconds each, and the production is always better.

 

Finally, we debrief.  How did you feel during this simulation?  Participants will say they felt stressed, anxious, etc. What would it feel like to do real assembly line work today?  What are the physical and mental effects of such work?  Now put yourself in a factory in 1890 or so.  What other factors and effect would be involved.  We usually have a great discussion about working conditions.

The finishing touch is to show the classic candy factory scene from I Love Lucy.  It’s available on Youtube, even in new colorized form if you don’t want to shock the students too much.  While some students will have never seen it before (Sadder still, some students may not have a clue who Lucy or what I Love Lucy is.) but most of them will have seen Drake and Josh do almost exactly the same scene, and they are amazed that it was done fifty years earlier by someone else.

A Pinch of This, A Dash of That: Combining Lessons

By Jeff Burns

When it comes to lesson plans and activities that I pick up along the way, I rarely use them as is. Like most teachers, I almost always make adjustments and alterations for some reason or another.  Sometimes I combine multiple ideas into one lesson. 

Recently, I was running out of time in my American History unit on the American Revolution and Constitution.  I had several goals that I needed to meet very quickly.  I wanted to get in some primary document analysis, review important information that we had covered, and at least introduce a few documents that we hadn’t exactly gotten to in class.

I got an idea.  I combined an activity that I had adapted from the AP US History Teachers Group on Facebook last year: Speed Dating.  In the typical Speed Dating assignment, each student is assigned an important person to research.  Then, the room is set up so that students share their person with each other in pairs.  Every two minutes, one side of the pair rotates so that all students get to interact with at least most of their classmates.  After discovering it, I did it 2-3 times last year with great success.  For this activity, however, I assigned each student a document instead of a person, everything from the Declaration of Independence to Washington’s Farewell Address to Alexander Hamilton’s Report on Manufactures.

This year, I got another great activity idea from the APUSH Teachers Group, by way of Literature teachers, I think: the I Am poem.  The student is given a template of a few stanzas.  Each line starts with a prompt, and students.  There are a few different templates online.  I used this:

  "I Am"  ______________________________________  

I am __________________________________________________________________

I wonder ______________________________________________________________

I hear ________________________________________________________________

I see _________________________________________________________________

I want ________________________________________________________________

I am __________________________________________________________________

 

I pretend ______________________________________________________________

I feel _________________________________________________________________

I touch _______________________________________________________________

I worry _______________________________________________________________

I cry _________________________________________________________________

I am _________________________________________________________________

 

I understand __________________________________________________________

I say _________________________________________________________________

I dream_______________________________________________________________

I try__________________________________________________________________

I am __________________________________________________________________

Not only would my students prepare for speed dating, but they would also complete an I Am poem for their assigned document (or the creator of the document).

These were their directions For this activity, each of you is assigned an important document in the period 1754 -1800.  Your tasks are to

1. Research your document; read the document itself and read secondary sources about the document.
2. Write an AM poem for your document using the template provided, either as the document itself (literally making the document speak) or as the author(s) of the document.  This is going to take some thought and creativity. 
3. On the teaching day, you will review your document with your classmates, one by one, so that they can complete the table.
4. Bonus Points for either wearing something that relates to your document or having a relatable prop of some sort.  Costumes and prop must of course be school appropriate.

We pulled it all together on speed dating day, just before the unit test, by creating a notetaking matrix for them to record notes.  When it was all over, they would have a good review guide. Two of the four pages are below.

 

When all was said and done, the students enjoyed the speed dating experience and turned in some really thoughtful and creative I Am poems.