Opportunity!

JFK Profile in Courage Essay Contest

Background of the Civil War; Abolitionist Movement

• PowerPoint on the Abolitionist Movement.
• Primary source readings ("The Abolitionist Crusade") and some questions.
• Video: When the Lion Wrote History--some questions.
• Excerpt of "My Bondage, My Freedom" as well as a speech from Douglass titled "The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro."
• Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl: Harriet Jacobs' slave narrative; we will read a few excerpts from that novel. Some information about her from the great website harrietjacobs.org:

After nearly seven years hiding in a tiny garret above her grandmother’s home, Harriet Ann Jacobs took a step other slaves dared to dream in 1842; she secretly boarded a boat in Edenton, N.C., bound for Philadelphia, New York and, eventually, freedom. The young slave woman’s flight, and the events leading up to it, are documented in heart-wrenching detail in her autobiography, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Written by Herself, self-published in 1861 under the pseudonym Linda Brent.
A significant personal history by an African American woman, Harriet Jacobs’ story is as remarkable as the writer who tells it. During a time when it was unusual for slaves to read and write, self-publishing a first-hand account of slavery’s atrocities was extraordinary. That it was written by a woman, unprecedented.

• Here are guiding questions as we read this book! Remember to always point to specifics when answering questions. Pull quotes!
• In addition, you are responsible for the readings about the Fugitive Slave Law (and the questions that go along with them).

Art and Literature of the 19th Century

• How to Analyze Art 
• How to Analyze Poetry 
• Link to "American Visions" Film on artistic movements of 19th century
• "Art and Literature of the 19th Century Small Group Project." SCORE SHEET
• Here is a list of artists and writers.
• Exemplar slide of art/literature

Emerson and Thoreau

Discussion of Emerson

Nature as metaphor...

Thoreau and Walden

• For two years (1845-1847) Thoreau lived alone in a cabin he built himself at Walden Pond outside of Concord. His experiences during this time provided him with the material for his masterwork, Walden (1854).
• Condensing his experiences at Walden Pond into one year, Thoreau used the four seasons as a structural framework for the book.
• A unique blend of natural observation, social criticism, and philosophical insight, Walden is now generally regarded as the supreme work of Transcendentalist literature.
• His work has inspired writers, environmentalists, and social and political leaders. It has made generations of readers aware of the possibilities of the human spirit and the limitations of society.

Walden Quotes: What is Thoreau saying? What philosophical elements of Transcendentalism can we pull from these quotes?

Thoreau and "Civil Disobedience"

• Civil disobedience is the active, professed refusal to obey certain laws, demands, and commands of a government, or of an occupying international power. Civil disobedience is a symbolic or ritualistic violation of the law, rather than a rejection of the system as a whole.
• Some condensed quotes

Small Group Work:

• In small groups, each person chooses a quote; as a group discuss the quote. What's it saying?What ideas are presented? What is being said about society? How can we relate? 

American Hero and Transcendentalism

Agenda:

• Discussion of "A Rescue"
• How does the Deerslayer set the stage for the concept of the American Hero? Check out the heroic qualities in action in the trailer for the film adaptation of Cooper's Last of the Mohicans..
• History themes
• Transcendentalism
• Accessing prior knowledge/Connections: Discussion
• What is Transcendentalism? Notes.
• Read: "Self Reliance" and "Nature" Take a stab at the questions for the two pieces--but don't freak out if you cannot answer them all--just try. Trust your gut.