Category: Student Posts

This DBL, geared towards a high school level history class, is focused on the Wounded Knee Massacre of 1890. This lesson could close out a westward expansion unit, be apart of an imperialism unit, or even tie into a broader theme of media and/or military bias. The inspiration for this lesson comes from a paper I wrote during my undergrad (whaddup Dr. Slater) where the main focus was an analysis of the media’s (which at the time was really just various newspapers) portrayal of the events leading up to the massacre on December 28th, 1890. For the sake of this lesson, the scope has been broadened to include various military correspondences and additional photographs in order to highlight dissenting points of view that potentially contradict the narrative that might be too often taught.

Historical Context:

All throughout the 19th century, indigenous peoples were steadily removed from their lands, whether forcibly, selling the lands to the government, signing treaties they understood very little of, or just plain old colonization and conquest on the part of the American government and its citizens and armed forces. By the end of the 1800’s, it was clear to them that their culture and way of life was under threat of being eliminated. In addition, the once plentiful bison herds of the mid-west was all but decimated, depriving many tribes of their main source of sustenance and forcing them to rely on the American government for aid since they knew no other way of life.

Rumors began circulating within various tribes, including the Lakota and the Sioux, that Jesus Christ would be reincarnated as a Native American and rid them of the Westerners. This prophet was heralded by what came to be known as the “Ghost Dance”, a special ceremony, dance, and belief system that swept through many plains reservations at the time. Whether the majority of the Ghost Dance followers actually believed it would be Jesus Christ that would save them or if the Messiah’s appearance in this ordeal was just a symptom of the western religion’s spreading influence is unclear, what is sure is that many indigenous people saw this new movement as a way to reconnect to their dying way of life.

Americans, on the other hand, saw the “Ghost Dance” as something more insidious and feared that this new movement was a prelude to a last stand of sorts, or potentially a widespread war. Many settlers became very alarmed at the sight of hundreds of indigenous people engaged in what was perceived as a “war dance” and pleaded with the Army to put a stop to the hysterics. Indian Police then decided to arrest Chief Sitting Bull in South Dakota in order to put a stop to the movement, but an altercation ended with his death instead. This then sent off other tribes, who saw the event as them being hunted down by the Indian Police and the Army.

These event culminated in roughly 350 Lakota being cornered along Wounded Knee Creek in the Pine Ridge Reservation by the 7th Calvary. In an attempt to confiscate their weapons, an apparent misunderstanding with a deaf Lakota led to a rifle being mistakenly discharged. Unfortunately, with nearly 500 Army troops and 4 rapid-fire guns trained on the Sioux, bloodshed quickly ensued, leaving 90 Lakota men and 200 Lakota women and children dead, while the Army suffered only 25 fatalities.

Assignment:

Using the various documents provided, piece together the events directly leading up to the massacre as well as what took place afterwards. Pay close attention to any biases in the documents and write about them as well. Then, answer the essential questions below.

Essential Questions:

How did the attitudes and biases of the military and the media shape the events of the Wounded Knee Massacre?

How did the conditions on the ground lead to the massacre taking place?

How do the voices not heard in these documents effect how this event is presented in the historical record?

Correspondence from officers at the Pine Ridge Agency cautioning against military response to ghost dancing, November 24, 1890. Image courtesy of National Archives Catalog

What is this correspondence saying? Who do you think the intended audience is?

What might this person be referring to when he talks of “Squaws death chant”?

This telegram was sent in the aftermath of Sitting Bull’s death. Knowing this, how do you think his death has affected the native population around him and his troops? Could what this person is observing merely be mourning, or maybe something more?

Who would be the intended audience of this article? What message is the reporter trying to get across? Use specific examples from the article.

What are your immediate observations looking at this photograph? What does it look like they are doing? What kind of dress are they wearing?

While this is a very old photograph, there is indeed snow all around them. How might have these blustery conditions led to the massacre?

What does the staging of the photograph say about how the subjects feel towards their victims? How about the photographer towards the living subjects? And the dead?

Who is the intended audience of this news article? Who is the author focusing on in their reporting? how might their reporting influence reader’s opinions of the events? Use Specific details from the article to back up your claim.

What biases does this artist have? How might what is depicted in this illustration differ from other accounts?

Featured image courtesy of PICRYL

The Death of the Oregon’s Second Largest City and Its Legacy of Racism

Essential Question: How is the legacy of Vanport still felt in the city of Portland today?

Assignment: Read the following history of Vanport, Oregon. Once done reading watch the short film by the Oregonian and examine the photos and guiding questions. You will be investigating the events of Vanport and answering our essential question by writing 2-3 sentences in your notebooks.

Vanport was the largest Federal Housing Development at the time of its construction in 1942. The city was founded on a tract of unincorporated swampland in Multnomah County, Oregon along the banks of the Columbia River. Its name was a portmanteau of its municipal neighbors: Portland, Oregon and Vancouver Washington . The city was constructed during WWII as a public housing estate for the workers and their families employed at the Kaiser Shipyards.

By the mid-1940s Vanport became Oregon’s second largest city with some 40,000 residents, of which, 40% were African-Americans. Despite the fact that Vanport was built with federal funds and constructed after Executive Order 8802 – which banned discriminatory employment practices by Federal agencies and all unions, local officials still enforced de facto segregation. In Vanport, only three sections, a total of 50 buildings were allotted to black residents. Moreover Vanport was one of only two housing projects in the Portland area that accepted any blacks. Despite this low number of residential housing dedicated to African-Americans white residents in neighboring Portland called the area “the Negro Project”.

Portland had long had a reputation of prejudice and racial discrimination; a city where the African American population had been kept intentionally small and economically and culturally marginalized. Because of this legacy only 2,000 African Americans lived in the city prior to WWII. Oregon, outside of Portland, had an even smaller black population due to its legacy as a “sun down” state. The state constitution had prohibited blacks from residing in the state. The state also was also a stronghold of the Ku Klux Klan; by the end of the 1920s there were 35,000 Oregonians who were members of the hate group.

By the end of the war in 1945, Vanport’s population shrank to roughly 19,000 of which approximately 4,000 were African Americans who continued to live in Vanport while another 5,000 were crowded into the nearby Albina neighborhood in Northeast Portland. Many African Americans in the city continue to believe that local government officials kept Vanport open, despite its slowly degrading infrastructure, because they did not want more blacks to move into Portland city limits.

In 1947 the Oregon Journal conducted a series of articles investigating Vanport and how it had become an “eyesore” in the eyes of surrounding communities: “To many Oregonians, Vanport has been undesirable because it is supposed to have a large colored population,” The articles continued,”Of the some 23,000 inhabitants, only slightly over 4,000 are colored residents. True, this is a high percentage per capita compared to other Northwestern cities. But, as one resident put it, the colored people have to live somewhere, and whether the Northwesterners like it or not, they are here to stay.”

An unusually wet winter and two rainstorms combined to a create a perfect storm on Memorial Day May 30, 1948. A hole developed in the railroad dike blocking the Columbia River, and it erupted into massive flooding. City officials didn’t warn residents of the dangerously high water levels and choose to not issue an evacuation. Due to the holiday few residents were at home at the time of the flood, contributing to low loss of life. Despite this 15 people lost their lives as a 10-foot wall of water swept through the city. Many residents became trapped in their vehicles as the only exit out of the city became choked. The city was declared a total loss by day’s end.

The scale of the tragedy temporarily overcame the legacy of racial discrimination in Portland. White families opened their homes to displaced African American families. This act of mercy was short lived as racial lines that existed before the flood arose again as black families sought new homes. African American residents displaced by the flood equaled the entire population of Albina. It became virtually impossible for these residents to crowd into the only areas they were allowed to buy homes and cause neighboring independent towns and neighborhoods, like Kenton, to absorb the dispalced.

Despite its short life span, Vanport helped create several “firsts” for Oregon and the Portland area.  The first black teachers and policemen in the state were hired in Vanport during the war years.  The Vanport Interracial Council worked to establish a Portland office of the Urban League.  Vanport College was the precursor to Portland State University where many veterans used the GI Bill to get a new start on life.  In the end, Vanport became part of the story of civil rights and African Americans in the West.

Does this flood event and how it impacted people of color remind you of other events in recent American History?

Based the map above, is there anything about the design of the city that may have contributed to its destruction or the loss of life?

The three photos above show Vanport during its heyday. What aspects of this community made it an attractive destination for migrant workers and their families? Why would so many African Americans be drawn to this area – was there something occurring in other parts of the United States that would have led them to migrate?

The above photo is of Vanport City Vacation School in August 1943. What do you think of the racial makeup of this class? How do you think residents in Portland would have reacted to this class?

The above photos show the Memorial Day flood and fleeing residents. The city of Vanport was completely destroyed by the flood and residents had little time to escape. What does this mean for the residents in terms of their livelihoods and possessions?

The above photos show refugee children from the flood. Vanport was not rebuilt following the flood. Where would these children and their families move to? How did segregation in Portland effect these children differently?

See source for featured image.

“If the war is lost, then it is of no concern to me. If people perish in it, I still would not shed a single tear for them, because they do not deserve better.” – Adolf Hitler.

Essential Questions: Why was the final stage of the war in Europe so destructive? Why did the German state collapse to the point that it lost credibility? Why was Hitler under such illusions that he would succeed when everything spoke to the opposite.

Learning Objectives:

In this lesson, students will be able to analyze documents that detail the last days of the Third Reich and the historical figures that experienced the Battle of Berlin.

They will practice close reading as they thoroughly examine documents that reveal historical connections among significant events that reflect the context of the era in question and why events transpired as they did.

By the end of the lesson, they will have an understanding of why the last days of the war were as destructive as they were and how it led to a societal collapse that destroyed the Nazi regime.

Background information: The Third Reich had been engaged in a 6 year long conflict by the time that 1945 rolled around. The propaganda fed to the Germans during this time was very effective to say the least and it bolstered an intense form of nationalism that would prove self destructive as it reflected a reality that didn’t exist. The United States was liberating Western Europe from the control of the Nazis, France was free and the most recently fought Battle of the Bulge was a military failure.

However, as detrimental as these changes were, a far larger threat was threatening to envelop the collapsing German war machine: The Soviet Union. The eastern campaigns failed to take Moscow, Stalingrad or the precious oil fields that the Soviets held to the envy of the Nazis. Over the next few years, the red army would push back the German theater closer and closer to the Rhineland, as the Polish resistance among others joined the Russians in conquering former German territory.

The German generals knew the war was lost by the end of 1942 but no assassination attempt would remove Hitler from power. Fervent nationalism and a belief in a glorious destiny prevented Hitler and his supporters from surrendering peacefully. Hitler’s belief in a final victory that would turn things around, though contagious to the point that child soldiers would die opposing the Red Army, was rooted in fantasy and failed to reflect the war he started. The Germans were indoctrinated and ordered to fight to the end as there was no future for them if they lost; a loss against the Russians would mean the death of society. This is the setting of 1945. This is where the Third Reich would meet its end.

Document 1: Eyewitness Account of a German Civilian, Dorothea von Schwanenfluegel April 20th, 1945

“Friday, April 20, was Hitler’s fifty-sixth birthday, and the Soviets sent him a birthday present in the form of an artillery barrage right into the heart of the city, while the Western Allies joined in with a massive air raid.

The radio announced that Hitler had come out of his safe bomb-proof bunker to talk with the fourteen- to sixteen-year-old boys who had ‘volunteered’ for the ‘honor’ to be accepted into the SS and to die for their Fuhrer in the defense of Berlin. What a cruel lie! These boys did not volunteer, but had no choice, because boys who were found hiding were hanged as traitors by the SS as a warning that, ‘he who was not brave enough to fight had to die.’ When trees were not available, people were strung up on lamp posts. They were hanging everywhere, military and civilian, men and women, ordinary citizens who had been executed by a small group of fanatics. It appeared that the Nazis did not want the people to survive because a lost war, by their rationale, was obviously the fault of all of us. We had not sacrificed enough and therefore, we had forfeited our right to live, as only the government was without guilt. The Volkssturm was called up again, and this time, all boys age thirteen and up, had to report as our army was reduced now to little more than children filling the ranks as soldiers.

In honor of Hitler’s birthday, we received an eight-day ration allowance, plus one tiny can of vegetables, a few ounces of sugar and a half-ounce of real coffee. No one could afford to miss rations of this type and we stood in long lines at the grocery store patiently waiting to receive them. While standing there, we noticed a sad looking young boy across the street standing behind some bushes in a self-dug shallow trench. I went over to him and found a mere child in a uniform many sizes too large for him, with an anti-tank grenade lying beside him. Tears were running down his face, and he was obviously very frightened of everyone. I very softly asked him what he was doing there. He lost his distrust and told me that he had been ordered to lie in wait here, and when a Soviet tank approached, he was to run under it and explode the grenade. I asked how that would work, but he didn’t know. In fact, this frail child didn’t even look capable of carrying such a grenade. It looked to me like a useless suicide assignment because the Soviets would shoot him on sight before he ever reached the tank.

By now, he was sobbing and muttering something, probably calling for his mother in despair, and there was nothing that I could do to help him. He was a picture of distress, created by our inhuman government. If I encouraged him to run away, he would be caught and hung by the SS, and if I gave him refuge in my home, everyone in the house would be shot by the SS. So, all we could do was to give him something to eat and drink from our rations. When I looked for him early next morning he was gone and so was the grenade. Hopefully, his mother found him and would keep him in hiding during these last days of a lost war.”

1.) What can be inferred about socio-economic conditions within Germany during 1945?

2.) Does this source seem credible? Is it valid for study? Why or why not?

3.) What does this document reveal about the way that the government was being run during this time? Why might the Nazi’s have turned to child soldiers?

Document 2: Goring’s Telegram (Translated), April 23rd, 1945

“My Fuhrer: General Koller today gave me a briefing on the basis of communications given to him by Colonel General Jodl and General Christian, according to which you had referred certain decisions to me and emphasized that I, in case negotiations would become necessary, would be in an easier position than you in Berlin. These views were so surprising and serious to me that I felt obligated to assume, in case by 2200 o’clock no answer is forthcoming, that you have lost your freedom of action. I shall then view the conditions of your decree as fulfilled and take action for the well-being of Nation and Fatherland. You know what I feel for you in these most difficult hours of my life and I cannot express this in words. God protect you and allow you despite everything to come here as soon as possible. Your faithful Hermann Goring”.

1.) What does this reveal about the German command structure?

2.) Is there anything of note within the document itself? Anything in regard to the diction and phrasing?

3.) How might Hitler and others within the German state have reacted to this telegram? Why?

Document 3: Traudl Junge’s Account, an excerpt from the personal novel, To The Last Hour: Hitler’s Last Secretary

“Only when Eva Braun comes over to me is the spell broken a little. She smiles and embraces me. “Please do try to get out. You may yet make your way through. And give Bavaria my love,” she says, smiling but with a sob in her voice. She is wearing the Führer’s favourite dress, the black one with the roses at the neckline, and her hair is washed and beautifully done. Like that, she follows the Führer into his room – and to her death. The heavy iron door closes.

I am suddenly seized by a wild urge to get as far away from here as possible. I almost race up the stairs leading to the upper part of the bunker. But the Goebbels children are sitting halfway up, looking lost. They felt they’d been forgotten in their room. No one gave them any lunch today. Now they want to go and find their parents, and Auntie Eva and Uncle Hitler. I lead them to the round table. “Come along, children, I’ll get you something to eat. The grown-ups have so much to do today that they don’t have any spare time for you,” I say as lightly and calmly as I can. I find ajar of cherries, butter some bread and feed the little ones. I talk to them to distract them. They say something about being safe in the bunker, and how it’s almost fun to hear the explosions when they know the bangs can’t hurt them. Suddenly there is the sound of a shot, so loud, so close that we all fall silent. It echoes on through all the rooms. “That was a direct hit,” cried Helmut, with no idea how right he is. The Führer is dead now.”

1.) How well can be trust this firsthand account? Are there any biases that could be at play?

2.) What could you infer about conditions within the Fuhrerbunker? What would the atmosphere have been for those within?

3.) What would attitude towards Hitler be at this time? What connection would Traudl have? Explain using the text above.

Document 4: Eric Schneyder’s journalist record of the Fall of Berlin. May 2 and 3, 1945.

Excerpt below.

“The Russians have arrived. Sharp commands in a foreign language which reach the ears of those in the shelter leave no doubt about that. The three friends have found refuge somewhat away from the rest of the inmates of the shelter. They hear one after another disappear and know that the Russians have taken them prisoner. E.S. offers to reconnoiter. As he gropes his way, he smells the odor of Russian boots. Outside two Russian guards are posted. As they see him emerge, they point their guns at him and call out, “Stoi!” So that is his first encounter with the enemy, he reflects. One of them raises his, E.S.’s hands, while the other searches him for weapons. He is then kicked into the street. The street is under cannon fire, so E.S. quickly jumps back into the shelter just as some German police are surrendering and attention is diverted to them. Down below he finds the policemen’s weapons scattered all over the place, and in the janitor’s air raid quarters a lot of civilians, men, women, and children, huddled together in a community of despair.”

“Suddenly the door is torn open and broad-shouldered Russian farmer boys in uniform form order all males to come out. The cries of women and children avail nothing; no man is allowed to remain below. As the guards seize E.S., he manages somehow to persuade one of them to go with him to the cubbyhole in which his two friends are awaiting him…. The seventeen-year-old Russian soldier is quite as scared to follow E.S. to his wing of the shelter as E.S. is scared of the Russian, who keeps his gun poked into his back. When they reach the compartment, E.S. calls his two comrades by name and teh Russian is greatly relieved to note that neither have weapons and that there is nobody else in the shelter. He permits the three to take their blankets and a few belongings, and then marches them over to the Esplanade Hotel. There they see all their companions of the night before–“cowboy.” the police, etc. E.S. knows every nook and cranny in this hotel belonging to the Stinnes industrial dynasty, but realizes there is no possibility of escape.”

1.) How does this account compare to that of the first document? Does this seem more or less reliable? Why or why not?

2.) What biases might be playing a role in this transcription? Could anything be exaggerated or downplayed? If so, what?

3.) How would the Russians be perceiving this occupation? How would the Germans perceive the occupation?

Document 5: Soviet Flag over the Reichstag.

1.) What does this picture symbolize? What is the artist trying to convey?

2.) What is revealed by the background? What might be left out if anything?

3.) Does this image reflect the accounts and the destruction described above? Why or why not?

Closing

After the students have had the chance to examine these documents, they will have a chance to share their observations with the instructor and their experience going through these documents. A short discussion would follow as they explain the connections between the sources and why this event was so important in history.

Featured Image from Library of Congress

The Greenwood District of Tulsa, Oklahoma, also known as “Black Wall Street”, was once a shining example of African-American success within the United States. Throughout this district, African-American businesses, homeowners, and settlers thrived. It was a place of cultural and ethnic representation that was unique to its small pocket of Tulsa. 

On May 31, 1921 all of that changed as houses, business, and streets were set aflame by masses of white-surpremacists. In what has now become known as one of the worst acts of racial terrorism since the age of slavery, the Greenwood District would cease to exist, at least in the way people once knew it. Over 300 individuals were killed, 6,000 or more left homeless and without a means of income, and millions of dollars of property damage was the scar left on “Black Wall Street.” Unfortunately, this event has been forgotten by history – likely in an attempt to cover up an embarrassing scar of US History. 

Assignment: Using this background information, along with the documents (photos, redline map, and newspapers) provided, piece together the events of the Tulsa Race Massacre and how they occurred. Investigate what events transpired to cause the riots. Once you have investigated these causes, attempt to answer the essential questions provided.

Essential Question: In what way(s) is the Tulsa Race Massacre representative of US History? 

Bonus Question: Why was this event recognized by Congress in 2020, nearly 100 years after the massacre?

Question for Map: What do you notice about the Greenwood district? What surrounds it? Is it reasonable to assume why this neighborhood would have been attacked based on its redlining desirability rating?

Question for Article: In what way was this story misconstrued to fit a certain narrative?

Question for Article: How does the article about the massacre differ from the last newspaper? Was the massacre downplayed?

Question for Photo: What was the point of burning business rather than just attacking people in Greenwood?

Question for Photo: Why was this furniture found in the streets? Who did it belong to?

Question for Photo: What was the predominant demographic of the food distribution following the massacre? What does this tell you about the population of Greenwood?

Transcript of Congressional Resolution:
“This resolution recognizes the forthcoming centennial of the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921.

The resolution, among other things

• acknowledges the historical significance of this event as one of the largest single instances of state-sanctioned violence against black people in American history;
• honors the lives and legacies of the estimated 300 black individuals who were killed during the massacre and the nearly 9,000 who were left homeless and penniless;
• condemns efforts to cover up the truth and shield the white community, especially government officials, from accountability;
• condemns the continued legacy of racism and white supremacy against black people in the United States, particularly in the form of police brutality;
• encourages education about the massacre, the history of white supremacy that fueled the massacre, and subsequent attempts to deny or cover up the massacre, in all elementary and secondary education settings and in institutions of higher education; and
• recognizes the commitment of Congress to acknowledge and learn from the history of racism and racial violence to reverse the legacy of white supremacy and fight for racial justice.”

Question for Resolution: Has our perception of the event changed? If so, what has caused these changes?

Sample Answers for Questions:

1. The Greenwood district is in a red district that is entirely surrounded by green and blue districts. It makes sense that this would have been a red district back then, as it was mostly where POC lived, and it also makes sense why they would have attacked it. If it was surrounded by blue and green, getting rid of the demographic that is bringing down the rest of the area seems like an effective means of increasing the property value of the areas around it, provided the history of the massacre was covered up.
2. The girl was clearly playing the victim card in order to make the delivery boy seem like a hostile attacker. He was clearly just doing his job and accidentally bumped into the girl. Whether it was to get her college paid for or to start something with the African-American community, there were clearly ulterior motives for her story that wouldn’t have existed otherwise.
3. The story about the delivery boy was talked about as if it were an accident, which is only noteworthy because prior to the riots, they had published the newspaper article calling him a “Negro” and accusing him of attacking the girl. The massacre was heavily downplayed in the article because they just call it a riot, instead of a race driven attack.
4. Destroying the buildings creates generational struggles, while attacking people creates individual struggles. If you destroy the livelihood of one generation, the next generation will struggle even more significantly to get back on their feet. All of the wealth they had accumulated would be gone, and the motivation of those affected would change from striving for success to striving for survival.
5. The furniture was found in the street. It is likely whatever survived from peoples’ homes when they went up in flames during the riots. Therefore, the furniture belonged to the residents of the Greenwood district.
6. The predominant demographic was African-American because their homes, business, and livelihoods were destroyed as a result of the race riot. Most of these people had no money, and no means of making money, forcing them to use the food distribution lines.
7. Our perception of the event has changed significantly over time. There was a period of time where the attack was considered a tragedy, but likely no one was at fault. Nowadays, it is clear who was at fault, and it clearly had nothing to do with the thriving African-Americans of the Greenwood district. Even if the delivery boy did assault the girl, that was no excuse to burn down an entire district of POC. It was a clear disregard for human lives where many people died, and many more were left to suffer. It was a tragedy, but not one that is without blame. The reason our perception has changed so much is because we are starting to not shy away from learning the ugly parts of our nations’ history. Instead of acting like they didn’t happen, we are choosing to learn from these events rather than acting like they didn’t happen. Legislation and national recognition are following the fact that more and more people are learning about these events. We need to continue to learn about our history, otherwise people will continue to be affected the way the residents of the Greenwood district were, and nobody will be held accountable. We learn about these things so we know how to react to them when they inevitably happen again.