A Step Back in Time
You will be taking a step back in time. From a list of over 50 historical figures, you will choose one to focus on for this project.
1. You will adopt the persona of this figure through extensive research.
2. You will keep a journal (three entries in all) in the language of the period dealing with issues of interest to the character whose role you have assumed. Each entry must be a minimum of one page, handwritten, in ink, or the equivalent typed, double-spaced, in a font that resembles legible handwriting
3. In addition, you will choose a partner whose historical figure is a contemporary of yours. You will exchange two letters with this classmate, writing as your historical character to his or her character. Letters follow the same requirements as journal entries (see #2 above).
4. Finally, each of you will give an oral presentation highlighting the life of each character and sharing a letter written by each. Note: Do not chew gum. Use index cards only for information on your character. Do not begin, “I’m John Smith. I was born in 15____ . . .” Remember, enthusiasm on your part creates interest on our part!
5. A visual aid of some sort (costume, symbolic object, etc.) must accompany the oral report for each character. (A picture printed from the internet is not acceptable.)
Due Dates:
· Character sign-up August 11th (first-come-first-served before 8:00;after class begins, we will draw numbers for sign up order)
· Journal entry 2 – due August 23th
· First letter exchange – due August 25th
· Journal check August 30th
· Journal entry 3 – due September 1st-
· Second letter exchange – due September 7th
· ALL JOURNALS will be turned in on September 8th
A Step Back in Time: Historic Journals and Letters
Name _________________ (AKA_____________________)
| Category | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 |
| Evidence of Research | Excellent know- ledge of historic subject and partner figure; accurate and consistent chronology; shows depth as well as breadth | Indicates good understanding of the public and personal life of the chosen subject and at least a fair understanding of partner’s life | Indicates fair understanding of chosen subject; very limited knowledge of historical partner or the times | Limited knowledge of chosen figure; no real attempt to show understanding of historical partner or the times |
| Growth of Knowledge | Demonstrates growth beyond expectations of the assignment, including imagination and skill in use of period language | Clear evidence of growth in understanding of subject, partner, history, language of the time as project progressed | Some evidence of improved understanding of character, partner, historical foundation, and language | Little evidence of increased understanding of character, times, language from 1st journal entry to last letter |
| Use of Language | Tone is formal but natural (not stiff); uses devices such as subjunctive mood, rhetorical questions; abundant vivid detail throughout | Sentence structure and overall tone appropriately formal for the most part; has some vivid details | No modern slang, but sentence structure is modern &/or informal in tone; has some details | Lapses into modern slang; marked by generally poor diction; lacks details |
| Common Ground (in Letters) | Exploration of two or more areas of common interest in a natural, engaging manner | Discussion of two areas of shared interest | Evidence of one shared interest | No evidence of a common interest which the two figures might have shared |
Score: ___________
1607-1800
Abigail Adams (1744-1818)
Wife of John Adams. During the Revolutionary War, she wrote letters to her husband describing life on the home front. She urged her husband to remember America’s women in the new government he was helping to create.
John Adams (1735-1826)
A Massachusetts attorney and politician who was a strong believer in colonial independence. He argued against the Stamp Act and was involved in various patriot groups. As a delegate from Massachusetts, he urged the Second Continental Congress to declare independence. He helped draft and pass the Declaration of Independence. Adams later served as the second President of the United States.
Sam Adams (1722-1803)
A Massachusetts politician who was a radical fighter for colonial independence. Helped organize the Sons of Liberty and the Non-Importation Commission, which protested the Townshend Acts, and is believed to have lead the Boston Tea Party. He served in the Continental Congress throughout the Revolution, and served as Governor of Massachusetts from 1794-1797.
Sir Edmund Andros (1637-1714)
Governor of the Dominion of New England from 1686 until 1692, when the colonists rebelled and forced him to return to England.
Benedict Arnold (1741-1801)
He had been a Colonel in the Connecticut militia at the outbreak of the Revolution and soon became a General in the Continental Army. He won key victories for the colonies in the battles in upstate New York in 1777, and was instrumental in General Gates victory over the British at Saratoga. After becoming Commander of Philadelphia in 1778, he went heavily into debt, and in 1780, he was caught plotting to surrender the key Hudson River fortress of West Point to the British in exchange for a commission in the royal army. He is the most famous traitor in American history.
Crispus Attucks (1723-1770)
A black man, Attucks was one of the colonials involved in the Boston Massacre, and when the shooting started, he was the first to die. He became a martyr.
Nathaniel Bacon (1647-1676)
Angry colonists [many former indentured servants] rallied around recent immigrant Nathaniel Bacon, who held members of the Virginia House of Burgesses captive until they authorized him to attack the Indians and was consequently declared to be in rebellion by Governor Berkeley
Lord Baltimore (1607-1647)
Founded the colony of Maryland and offered religious freedom to all Christian colonists. He did so because he knew that members of his own religion (Catholicism) would be a minority in the colony.
John Bartram (1699-1777)
America’s first botanist; traveled through the frontier collecting specimens.
William Berkeley (1606-1677)
After land-hungry Virginians attacked two Indians tribes, Indians raided outlying farms in retaliation in the winter of 1676. Governor William Berkeley, however, was reluctant to strike back b/c he had trade agreements w/the Indians and didn’t want to disrupt them
William Bradford (1590-1657)
A Pilgrim, the second governor of the Plymouth colony, who served for 30 one-year terms, 1621-1657. He developed private land ownership and helped colonists get out of debt. He helped the colony survive droughts, crop failures, and Indian attacks.
Ann Bradstreet (1612-1672)
A Puritan and the first colonial poet to be published. The main subjects of her poetry were family, home, and religion.
Aaron Burr (1756-1836)
In the Election of 1800 Burr received the same number of electoral votes as Thomas Jefferson. The tie was settled by the House of Representatives, which made Jefferson the president and Burr the vice president. In 1806, Burr became involved a plot. He planned to either seize lands in the Southwest from Spain or to remove lands from the United States. He was tried for treason in 1807.
Justice Samuel Chase (1741-1811)
After the Jeffersonian-Republicans took control of the House they tried to impeach Federalist SC Justice Samuel Chase for judicial misconduct [he prosecuted people under the Sedition Act]. He was acquitted, setting the precedent that only criminal acts could lead to impeachment.
George Rogers Clark (1752-1818)
Frontiersman who helped remove the Indians from the Illinois territory in May, 1798.
John Singleton Copley (1738-1815)
By the mid-1700's the portrait was virtually the only art form available to the American painter. Portraiture was in great demand in the colonies and was sufficient to support a small number of artists. Foremost among these was John Singleton Copley. Among his many 'subjects' were portraits of John Hancock, Samuel Adams, John Adams and countless lords and ladies of his era, both in America and in London.
John Dickinson (1732-1808)
Drafted a declaration of colonial rights and grievances, and also wrote the series of "Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania" in 1767 to protest the Townshend Acts. Although an outspoken critic of British policies towards the colonies, Dickinson opposed the Revolution, and, as a delegate to the Continental Congress in 1776, refused to sign the Declaration of Independence.
Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758) Wrote Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, a Careful and Strict Inquiry Into...That Freedom of Will
Part of the Great Awakening, Edwards gave gripping sermons about sin and the torments of Hell.
Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)
Printer, author, inventor, diplomat, statesman, and Founding Father. One of the few Americans who was highly respected in Europe, primarily due to his discoveries in the field of electricity.
Nathan Hale (1755-1776)
A martyr soldier of the American Revolution, who when but little more than twenty-one years old was hanged, by order of General William Howe, as a spy, in the city of New York, on September 22, 1776.
Alexander Hamilton (1755?-1804)
Sec. of the Treasury during the two Washington administrations. A leading Federalist, he supported industry and strong central government. He created the National Bank and managed to pay off the U.S.’s early debts through tariffs and the excise tax on whiskey.
John Hancock (1737-1793) Elected to the Boston Assembly, 1766; Delegate to, and President of, the Provincial Congress of Massachusetts, circa 1773; Elected to Continental Congress, 1774; Elected President of the Continental Congress, 1775; Member of Massachusetts state Constitutional Convention, elected Governor of Massachusetts, through 1793.
Patrick Henry (1736-1799)
An American orator and member of the Virginia House of Burgesses who gave speeches against the British government and its policies urging the colonies to fight for independence. In connection with a petition to declare a "state of defense" in Virginia in 1775, he gave his most famous speech which ends with the words, "Give me liberty or give me death." Henry served as Governor of Virginia from 1776-1779 and 1784-1786, and was instrumental in causing the Bill of Rights to be adopted as part of the U.S. Constitution.
Thomas Hooker (1586?-1647)
Clergyman, one of the founders of Hartford. Called "the father of American democracy" because he said that people have a right to choose their magistrates.
Anne Hutchinson (1591-1643)
She preached the idea that God communicated directly to individuals instead of through the church elders. She was forced to leave Massachusetts in 1637. Her followers (the Antinomianists) founded the colony of New Hampshire in 1639.
John Jay (1745-1829)
First Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, he negotiated the Jay Treaty with England
Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826)
He was a delegate from Virginia at the Second Continental Congress and wrote the Declaration of Independence. He later served as the third President of the United States.
John Paul Jones (1747-1792)
Revolutionary War naval officer. His ship, the Bonhomme Richard, was sunk in a battle with the British ship Serapis, but he managed to board and gain control of the Serapis.
Meriwether Lewis (1774-1809)
In 1803, President Thomas Jefferson successfully requested $2,500 from Congress for exploration of the Louisiana Territory. The president appointed his personal secretary, Meriwether Lewis, to lead it. Lewis selected William Clark to share command over the crew of 40 soldiers, boatmen and hunters. It was hoped that a Northwest Passage, comprising rivers and portages, would be discovered for access to the Pacific.
John Locke (1632-1704)
Locke was an English political philosopher whose ideas inspired the American revolution. He wrote that all human beings have a right to life, liberty, and property, and that governments exist to protect those rights. He believed that government was based upon an unwritten "social contract" between the rulers and their people, and if the government failed to uphold its end of the contract, the people had a right to rebel and institute a new government.
Dolley Payne Todd Madison (1768-1849) First Lady of the U.S., she earlier served as White House hostess for the widowed Thomas Jefferson.
James Madison (1751-1836) "Father of the Constitution," his proposals for an effective government became the Virginia Plan, which was the basis for the Constitution. He was responsible for drafting most of the language of the Constitution.
John Marshall (1755-1835)
In 1801 he became Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. His opinions established the authority of the Supreme Court and expanded the implied powers of the federal government. Through Marshall Federalism continued to exist despite the demise of the Federalist political party.
George Mason (1725-1792)
He opposed the Constitution because it didn’t protect individual rights. His opposition led to the inclusion of the Bill of Rights.
Robert Morris (1734-1806)
A delegate to the Second Continental Congress. He agreed that Britain had treated the colonies unfairly, but he didn’t believe that the colonies should dissolve ties with Britain. He argued against the Declaration of Independence.
James Oglethorpe (1696-1785)
Founder and governor of the Georgia colony. He ran a tightly-disciplined, military-like colony. Slaves, alcohol, and Catholicism were forbidden in his colony. Many colonists felt that Oglethorpe was a dictator, and that (along with the colonists’ dissatisfaction over not being allowed to own slaves) caused the colony to break down and Oglethorpe to lose his position as governor.
James Otis (1725-1783)
A colonial lawyer who defended (usually for free) colonial merchants who were accused of smuggling. Argued against the writs of assistance and the Stamp Act.
Thomas Paine (1737-1809)
A British citizen, he wrote Common Sense, published on January 1, 1776, to encourage the colonies to seek independence. It spoke out against the unfair treatment of the colonies by the British government and was instrumental in turning public opinion in favor of the Revolution.
Charles Wilson Peale (1741-1827)
An American naturalist painter.
William Penn (1644-1718)
1681- William Penn received a land grant from King Charles II, and used it to form a colony that would provide a haven for Quakers. His colony, Pennsylvania, allowed religious freedom.
Sir Walter Raleigh (1552?-1618)
Prior to Jamestown, Sir Walter Raleigh received a charter to found a colony on Roanoke Island in 1584. It failed, and he tried again in 1585 and 1587. Both were failures, and the fate of the 1587 colony remains a mystery (all colonists disappeared). Executed for treason.
Paul Revere (1735-1818)
He rode through the countryside warning local militias of the approach of the British troops prior to the Battles of Lexington and Concord. Thanks to the advance warning, the militias were able to take the British by surprise.
John Rolfe (1585-1622)
He was one of the English settlers at Jamestown (and he married Pocahontas). He discovered how to successfully grow tobacco in Virginia and cure it for export, which made Virginia an economically successful colony.
Sacajawea (1787?-1812)
The Indian wife of a French fur trader who was a member of the Lewis and Clark Corps of Discovery. Sacagawea served as an Indian interpreter during the Lewis and Clark Expedition.
John Smith (1580?-1631)
Helped found and govern Jamestown. His leadership and strict discipline helped the Virginia colony get through the difficult first winter.
Gilbert Stuart (1755-1828)
American painter, most famous for painting the portrait of Washington which was copied for the one dollar bill.
Peter Stuyvesant (1592?-1672)
The governor of the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam, hated by the colonists. They surrendered the colony to the English on Sept. 8, 1664.
John Trumbull (1756-1843)
The foremost member of a group of artists who painted important American historical events, Trumbull had an insider's view of the War, serving as a colonel in the Continental Army and aide to Gen. Washington in the American Revolution. Today, four of his paintings hang in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda. "The Surrender of Cornwallis," painted in 1820, is among his most famous.
George Washington (1732-1799)
He had led troops (rather unsuccessfully) during the French and Indian War, and had surrendered Fort Necessity to the French. He was appointed commander-in-chief of the Continental Army, and was much more successful in this second command.
Noah Webster (1758-1843)
Wrote some of the first dictionaries and spellers in the U.S. His books, which became the standard for the U.S., promoted American spellings and pronunciations, rather than British.
Benjamin West (1738-1820)
Benjamin West was born into a Quaker family in Springfield Pennsylvania. He was a talented drawer and settled in Philadelphia at 18 to work as a portrait painter. In 1760, he traveled to Italy and lived there for three years before settling in London. He was appointed historical painter by King George III in 1772. He also helped found the Royal Academy and became president in 1792.
Phillis Wheatley (1753?-1784)
An African-born domestic in the colonies, she became a well-known colonial poet. Her poetry was ornate and elaborate.
George Whitefield (174-1779)
Credited with starting the Great Awakening, also a leader of the "New Lights." He is credited with starting Methodism in America.
Eli Whitney (1765-1825)
Inventor of the cotton gin in 1793 and interchangeable parts
Roger Williams (1603?-1683)
In 1635 he left the Massachusetts colony and purchased land from a neighboring Indian tribe to found the colony of Rhode Island, the only colony at that time to offer complete religious freedom.
John Winthrop (1588-1649)
1629 - He became the first governor of the Massachusetts Bay colony, and served in that capacity from 1630 through 1649. A Puritan with strong religious beliefs. He opposed total democracy, believing the colony was best governed by a small group of skillful leaders. He helped organize the New England Confederation in 1643 and served as its first president.
John Peter Zenger (1697-1746)
Zenger published articles critical of British governor William Cosby. He was taken to trial, but found not guilty. The trial set a precedent for freedom of the press in the colonies.
Check Out the Following Sites for
AWESOME, Easy to Find Information
by Clicking on the Hyperlinks Below:
World Book Encyclopedia (short, easy to read articles for background information).
Student Resource Center if you still need more information... this database has great biographical articles! Type in last name first and when you get the list of articles, choose one that is a biography (biography will be written in black to the right of the article).
