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IWB Lesson Plan

ORIGINAL LESSON PLAN

American Imperialism

 

Ohio Content Standards: Grade 9, History 5; Grade 10, History 5

 

Duration of Lesson: One class / 50 minutes

 

Learning Objectives:

  • Students will collaboratively analyze and compare editorial cartoons focusing on American imperialism drawn by both American and foreign cartoonists

  • Students will determine if the editorial cartoons were drawn from an American or foreign perspective and interpret the meaning of the cartoons.

  • Students will identify the cartoonists' intentions and evaluate the effectiveness of each cartoon's message.

  • Students will synthesize and present their final interpretations.

 

Summary: Students will be divided into groups and asked to analyze and evaluate editorial cartoons pertaining to late 19th and early 20th century American imperialism. Students are expected to determine the perspective of the artists. After group evaluation, students will present their finding to the entire class.

 

Materials:

  • Editorial cartoons 1-6 and accompanying overhead transparencies (for teacher)

  • American Imperialism Worksheet

  • Editorial cartoons 1-6 without publishing information (for students)

 

Pre-Assessment: Teachers should use these questions to facilitate a pre-lesson discussion:

  1. What is imperialism?

  2. Give two examples of imperialism that we have studied.

  3. What are the historical consequences of imperialism? Consider the objectives of the conquerors and the expected responses of the conquered.

  4. What are the important aspects of editorial cartoons that we must look for?

 

Instructional Steps:

  1. Complete pre-assessment discussion questions.

  2. Divide class into six groups and distribute packet with cartoons 1-6

  3. Assign each group a specific cartoon. Each group should complete the "American Imperialism Worksheet" based upon their assigned cartoon.

  4. Individually each group will present their analysis of their cartoon while an overhead projection is displayed to the entire class.

  5. At the end of each presentation students will discuss the analysis and differing opinions of their classmates.

 

Post-Assessment: Teachers should use the following questions to facilitate a post-lesson discussion:

 

Based on today's research and activities how do the perspectives of American and foreign authors differ regarding American foreign policy in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries?

 

Extension Activities:

  • The symbols, names and characters in cartoon number one are used to portray American Imperialism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. How can these symbols, names and characters be changed in order to make the cartoon relevant to current American foreign policy.

  • Have students look at cartoon number seven and discuss the following questions:

    • Why did the United States engage in imperialism?

    • How did the American government justify their imperialistic actions?

    • How does this image portray both of these concepts?

MODIFIED LESSON PLAN

Date: June 6, 2013

Lesson Title: War and Empire

Grade(s): 11th

Content Area: United States History - 3405

TN Curriculum Standards: Era 7, Standards 3.0 and 5.0 

Topic: American Imperialism in the last 19th and early 20th centuries

 

FOCUS

Student Objectives (Flipchart Slide 1):

  • Students will understand the role of the United States of America in the Spanish-American War and the geographic scope of American imperialism.

  • Students will collaboratively analyze and compare editorial cartoons focusing on American imperialism drawn by both American and foreign cartoonists.

  • Students will determine if the editorial cartoons were drawn from an American or foreign perspective and interpret the meaning of the cartoons.

  • Students will identify the cartoonists' intentions and evaluate the effectiveness of each cartoon's message.

  • Students will synthesize and present their final interpretations, relating findings to current politico-historical issues.

 

Summary: Students will be introduced to the main concepts surrounding American imperialism.  Students will then be divided into groups and asked to analyze and evaluate each editorial cartoon pertaining to late 19th and early 20th century American imperialism. Students are expected to determine the perspective of the artists. After each group evaluation, students will present their finding to the entire class for each editorial cartoon and ultimately relate to current issues.

 

Attendance (Flipchart Slide 2).

 

INSTRUCTION

Pre-lesson Discussion (Flipchart Slides 3-4): Let students engage in sharing their thoughts in response to the following questions...

  • What is imperialism?

    • the "advocacy of empire" (Source: Online Etymology Dictionary)

  • Where have we seen it before?

    • ex.: Great Britain

    • ex.: Spain

  • What are the historical consequences (effects) of imperialism?

  • Consider and discuss the objectives of the conquerors and the expected responses of the conquered.

    • ...the conquerors to gain land/territory, material/social capital, political power, etc.

    • ...the conquered to either accept or reject (reject ex.: as in the case of the Tagalog Insurrection which is also known as the Philippine Insurrection, Philippine-American War, Filipino-American War, and the Philippine War from 1899-1902)

 

Lesson and Activity (Flipchart Slides 5-15):

  • Timeline: Go through and explain the role of the U.S. in the Spanish-American War...

    • 1895 Cuban independence (from Spain) movement begins, U.S. proclaims neutrality

    • 1896 Spain begins reconcentration policy, Philippine independence (from Spain) movement begins, U.S. may intervene if Spain fails to resolve crisis specifically in Cuba

    • 1897 William Randolph Hearst's and Joseph Pulitzer's sensational journalism helps strengthen anti-Spanish sentiment in the United States

    • 1898 De Lôme Letter criticizing U.S. President is published in the New York Journal, U.S.S. Maine explodes in Havana Harbor, Spain does not accept U.S.'s ultimatum to terminate its presence in Cuba, U.S. issues Joint Resolution (and Teller Amendment) for war with Spain, war continues until Spain signals for peace protocols, Spain and the U.S. sign the Treaty of Peace and Spain relinquishes its imperial grasp on Cuba, while ceding its possessions of Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines to U.S. for $20,000,000

 

[Source: Library of Congress, The World of 1898:

The Spanish-American War, available from http://www.loc.gov/rr/hispanic/1898/chronology.html

(accessed June 22, 2013).]

 

  • Map: View and explain the geographic scope of American imperialism...

 

[Source: "Time Elapse Maps," AP World History, available from http://www.mrburnett.net/apworldhistory/maps/

americasspanishamericanwar1897.bmp

(accessed June 22, 2013).]

 

  • Ask: What are the important aspects of editorial cartoons that we must look for?

    • Picture

    • Analog(y)(ies)

    • Historical Context

    • Word(s)

    • Caricature(s), Stereotype(s), and Symbol(s)

    • Idea(s) or Opinion(s)

 

[Source: "Editorial Cartoons: An Introduction,"

Ohio State University Opper Project, available from http://hti.osu.edu/opper/editorial-cartoons

(accessed July 1, 2013).]

 

  • Analyze and Evaluate: For each editorial cartoon, divide students into discussion groups of 4 or 5 to analyze the cartoons according to the following questions and be prepared to share their findings with the rest of their classmates:

  1. List all the characters you see in this cartoon.

  2. What are the symbols used in this cartoon? What do they represent?

  3. Describe the action taking place in this cartoon.

  4. Explain the cartoon's message. How effective is the artist in portraying this message?

  5. Was this cartoon drawn by an American or foreign artists? What leads you to believe so?

 

*Consider which of the above questions were easier or more difficult to answer.

 

  • Provide students with the descriptive information for each editorial cartoon following the discussion and presentation intervals.  Find the descriptive information below:

 

  • Editorial Cartoon (1)...

    • Description: At the end of the 19th century, China began to open its borders to foreigners. Leaders of the industrial and imperial nations of Europe were very interested in access to China’s markets and raw materials. Government and business interests in the United States shared similar interests, but advocated a different, more conciliatory approach, as illustrated by this cartoon.

    • Publication Date: November 18, 1899

    • Publication: Harper's Weekly, Vol. 43, No. 2239

    • Creator: W. A. Rogers

 

[Source: The Ohio State University Cartoon Research Library (http://hti.osu.edu/opper/lesson-plans/american-imperialism/images/a-fair-field-and-no-favor)

  • Editorial Cartoon (2)...

    • Creator: Unknown

    • Publication: New York World

    • Publication Date: May 13, 1898

    • Description: As part of the terms that ended the Spanish-American War in 1898, the  United States gained control of the Philippines, Puerto Rico and Cuba. While many Americans decried imperial expansion, many others welcomed it. One of the debates that emerged about American imperial expansion was what to do with the newly acquired territories. Reflecting the racial attitudes of the time, some worried that the natives in areas where America was expanding could not handle self-government and would require some   degree of long term American control. Others thought that giving special treatment to native peoples would upset the system of racial control being established in the newly segregated south.  Political cartoons in 19th Century often depicted America as a woman, Columbia. During the Spanish-American War, many cartoons began to depict the United States as a man, Uncle Sam, as seen here.

 

[Source: The Ohio State University Cartoon Research Library (http://hti.osu.edu/opper/lesson-plans/american-imperialism/images/union-nursery)]

 

  • Editorial Cartoon (3)

    • Creator: Unknown

    • Publication: Reprinted in Review of Reviews, Vol. 31, No. 3

    • Publication Date: March 1905

    • Description: This cartoon from a newspaper in Chile is a response to the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine. The Monroe Doctrine was designed keep Europeans out of the Americas. President Theodore Roosevelt’s Corollary declared the United States as the head and enforcer of the Americas. The cartoonist depicts Roosevelt standing in front of the “Casa Blanca” (White House) and preparing to slaughter a large turkey with feathers labeled with South and Central American countries. The chopping block is labeled “America para los Americanos” (America for the Americans).

 

[Source: The Ohio State University Cartoon Research

Library(http://hti.osu.edu/opper/lesson-plans/american-imperialism/images/president-roosevelts-forthcoming-feast)]

 

  • Editorial Cartoon (4)

    • Creator: Unknown

    • Publication: Reprinted in Review of Reviews, Vol. 17, No. 6

    • Publication Date: June 1898

    • Description: Stepping across the ocean, the United States and Spain clash over Cuba. In 1895, Cuban revolutionaries began fighting for independence from Spain. The Spanish response was draconian under Spanish General Valeriano (“Butcher”) Weyler. Many Americans wanted to help the Cubans, both because they supported independence for the island and because they believed an independent Cuba would prove to be a better trade partner for the United States. When the U.S.S. Maine blew up in Havana harbor in 1898, the Spanish were blamed, and the US and Spain went to war.  Political cartoons in 19th Century often depicted America as a woman, Columbia. During the Spanish-American War, many cartoons began to depict the United States as a man, Uncle Sam, as seen here. Note that this cartoon was originally published in the German magazine Kladderadatsch on April 24, 1898.

 

[Source: The Ohio State University Cartoon Research Library  (http://hti.osu.edu/opper/lesson-plans/american-imperialism/images/this-encounter-does-not-seem-

at-present-exactly-a-happy-one-for-poor-cuba)]

 

CLOSURE

Grand Finale Question (Flipchart Slide 16): The symbols, names and characters in the cartoons are used to portray American Imperialism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. How can these symbols, names and characters be changed in order to make the cartoon relevant to current American foreign policy?

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