John Brown's Raid

1. Follow the link to the newspaper headline reporting John Brown's seizure of the arsenal at Harpers Ferry. Was the newspaper biased toward either the North or the South? What words or phrases support your idea?

2. There were 5 African-Americans among the 21 men that accompanied John Brown. One of the five, Dangerfield Newby, who died in the raid, wrote about the reason that he participated? Why did Newby join John Brown's group?

3. Click on the link to the drawing of John Brown holding hostages at Harpers Ferry. Do you think the artist admired John Brown or not, based on the drawing? Why or why not?

4. Click on the link to the painting of John Brown being led to his execution. Do you think that the artist admired John Brown or not, based on the drawing? Why or why not?

5. Read the letters submitted by Majala Doyle, Francis Watkins, and Henry David Thoreau. Did they support or oppose John Brown? What is the main idea of each letter?

"A Man Kidnapped"

1. Based on the poster, answer "who, what, when, where," and speculate on "why"

2. What do you think that this poster is about?

3. Where is Faneuil Hall? Is it still there?

Dred Scott: How difficult is it to become a naturalized US citizen?

As you have read, in the 1857  Dred Scott decision, the Supreme Court ruled that Scott, as an African-American, did not have the right to sue (called standing) in a federal court because African-American slaves were not US citizens. Nine years after Dred Scott, the 14th amendment defined citizenship to include everyone born or naturalized in the United States.

How difficult is it to become a naturalized US citizen? Visit the link to read about the  steps to citizenship. Then respond to these two questions:

1. What are the two steps in the process that you consider most essential? Why are they important?

2. What are the two steps that are least important? Why are they not important? 

Seneca Falls Declaration

By basing the Seneca Falls Declaration (also known as the Declaration of Sentiments) on Thomas' Jefferson's Declaration of Independence, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and her fellow reformers challenged the Nation to live up to its original creed.

1. Only 1/3 of the three hundred people at the convention signed the Declaration. Why do you think that the other 200 didn't sign? If you had been there, would you have signed? Why or Why not?

2. Re-read the next to last paragraph. What is the plan to gain equal rights? Is it a good plan? Why or why not?

Click on the link to the political cartoon drawn by Elizabeth M'Clintock, a supporter of women's suffrage.  

1. What do you notice about the figures in the cartoon?

2. What do you think is the cartoonist's message? Explain your answer.

Women's Rights Movement

Read about the early women's rights movement by going to the National Park Service website for the M'Clintock House, where many of the women and men who fought for equal rights met.  In which aspects of life in the early 19th century were women's rights restricted? How did people justify those restrictions?