If you’re interested, select a topic that fits within the holdings of the LBJ Library; the Library holds records relating primarily to the political career of President Lyndon Johnson. Then apply online at www.lbjlibrary.org/education/primarily-teaching

At the workshop, you will conduct research and develop a teaching activity, lesson, or unit for your classroom use. You will receive copies of primary documents selected to enhance the classroom activity.

Texas teachers may elect to receive up to 40 continuing education credit hours or six hours of Gifted & Talented update credit. Graduate credit from a major university is available for an additional fee.

Participation is limited to 10 persons and slots will be filled in the order registration forms are received.

“Searching for the Seventies” highlights the photographs of the Documerica project, a documentary project started by the Environmental Protection Agency to record environmental issues, EPA activities and everyday life in the 1970s.  Dozens of photographers traveled the country taking thousands of photographs in cities and in the country of people working, playing, and living in a variety of different ways.

With 40 years of distance on many of these photographs, you can really see the dramatic changes that have occurred. This is especially true when you look at your local community.

Illegal Dumping near the New Jersey Turnpike, 3/1973

In my area, I was first taken aback by images of the Statue of Liberty surrounded by a massive oil slick and the New York City skyline contrasted with garbage at an illegal dump.  Then, I noticed the images of graffiti riddled subway cars on the very subway lines that stop near the National Archives at New York City.  As a lifelong resident of northern New Jersey and daily commuter to New York City, these images seem like another world.

Traffic in Herald Square, 5/1973

If you can see past the garbage and the graffiti (and the dated hairstyles, fashion, etc), you can see a lot of familiar sites. The cars may be a bit boxier, but the traffic getting around New York City looks just as congested.  The streets are just as full of workers and residents.  The parks are filled with tourists and children playing.  The bridges and tunnels with their interchanges and ramps look just as complicated from the air as they feel from the street.

The photos from Project Documerica help make the 1970s a bit less mysterious.  They are a great tool for marking the continuities and the changes that have occurred in the last 40 years.

Nearly 16,000 DOCUMERICA images have been digitized by the National Archives and are available online by location, topic, and photographer.   You can explore a selection of these photographs, other documents, and educational activities about the 1970s on a special DocsTeach page.  Or you can follow Searching for the Seventies on Tumblr.

Using the app, they can choose a topic, such as “Civics & Government” or “Postwar U.S. 1945–early 1970s,” and challenge themselves with a DocsTeach activity, interacting with stories, events, and ideas of the past. The activities are all based on primary source documents from the holdings of the National Archives, such as the U.S. Constitution, the canceled check for the purchase of Alaska, and Thomas Edison’s patent drawing for the light bulb.

Or you can assemble the activities you’ve found or created on DocsTeach.org using your own account, and share these with your students. Gather your activities into a classroom, then share the classroom’s auto generated code with students. They can enter this classroom code in the DocsTeach App on their iPads and complete your activities.

To see how “Classroom Codes” work, try the American Revolution classroom I created. After downloading the app to your iPad, enter code fnv926!

 This post was adapted from “The New DocsTeach App for iPad!,” posted on the NARAtions blog on April 11, 2012.

Whether its message was easy to understand or difficult to decode, my students would have to analyze it.  Whether it used guilt, fear, humor or patriotism to tell its message, I was going to share it with students.  Whether it asked people to conserve wheat, join the army or buy more bonds, my students were going to investigate it.

Recently, my interest in these posters has been revived and refocused.  I was doing a bit of research to find National Archives documents related to the National Park Service for our Wednesday partner program, and I was struck by the frequent use of the Statue of Liberty in these posters.

While that alone might not be so shocking, I was surprised with how flexible she was as a symbol.  The Statue of Liberty was used by the government to encourage people to conserve wheat, buy war bonds, and work harder in factories.   The colors, slogans, and overall tone of these posters are even more varied. And I immediately thought these posters could be a good basis for an engaging Common Core task for writing an informative/explanatory text.

• Explain how the Federal government used the Statue of Liberty as a symbol during World War I and World War II to build support for the war effort?  Cite specific evidence from the posters.

Food Will Win the War (From the Records of the U.S. Food Administration)

Take this poster from World War I.  Above the Statue of Liberty is a patriotic rainbow, while behind lays a golden New York City skyline. In the foreground, there is a group of immigrants wearing traditional clothing.  The young man in front has his left hand on the older women’s basket of food while his expression and other hand seem to imply he is trying to persuade her.  Underneath the image are the slogan “Food Will Win the War” and the phrase “You came here seeking Freedom, You must now help to preserve it.”

The fact that this poster was translated into several languages (such as Italian and Yiddish) is not surprising because it has a very specific audience—recent immigrants to the US. The poster focuses on the emotional connection many of them had to the Statue of Liberty during their arrival in the United States to persuade them to support the Allied cause by conserving wheat. (You can find an online activity in which students analyze the English and Yiddish versions of this poster and investigate techniques used to urge Americans to conserve food on DocsTeach.)

That Liberty Shall Not Perish From The Earth (From the Records of the U.S. Food Administration)

Contrast that positive scene to the bleak vision created by Joseph Pennell.  A decapitated and disarmed Statue of Liberty stands facing a ruined New York City.  Enemy airplanes and ships speed toward the city.  The skyline is ablaze in oranges, reds and yellows to represent fire and destruction.  Below the image, the text paraphrases Lincoln as it pleads for people to purchase bonds so “that liberty shall not perish from the earth.”

Over two million copies of this poster were printed by the government.  It uses fear to inspire its intended audience—in this case all Americans.  The specific message is to support the war effort through purchasing liberty bonds or else this might happen.  The Statue of Liberty is used here as a symbol of freedom that can be destroyed if we are not vigilant.  And much like its recurring use in such popular films as Planet of the Apes, Escape from New York, and Cloverfield, a destroyed Statue of Liberty represents an apocalyptic world.

Several other posters created during both world wars would use the Statue of Liberty.  Though they might have different intended audiences, messages, and tones, they all looked her way for inspiration.

Which do you find most interesting?  How might you use them in the classroom?

More information about the Statue of Liberty is available from the National Park Service.  It is scheduled to re-open following damage sustained by Hurricane Sandy on July 4, 2013.

You can find posters from the world wars on DocsTeach and in the National Archives online catalog.

The two-day institute takes place Monday, June 24, 2013 and Tuesday, June 25, 2013. Of course, the program is free!

Download the flyer (PDF).

From 1806–1865, the people of Boston fought for the end of slavery. Boston’s established free black community centered on Beacon Hill and the city’s loud voices of justice yielded safe havens for fugitive slaves, resistance and defiance of the fugitive slave law, literary masterpieces, our first integrated school, and a heritage of fighting for freedom of which we should all be proud. This would culminate in the mustering, 150 years ago this year, of the first all-volunteer troops of African descent, the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry.

“Fighting for Freedom” topics will include Boston’s resistance to slavery, the freedom and abolition movements, and the mustering of the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry. It is suitable for teachers of all grade levels, K–college.

On Monday, June 24th, we will explore place—that is, the locations in Boston—where our African American community flourished in the early part of the 19th century. In this community, fugitive slaves were protected, the first desegregated school was established, and the African Meeting House was constructed as a center of collective activity. Professor Stephen Kantrowitz, author of More Than Freedom: Fighting for Black Citizenship in a White Republic, 1829-1889, will be our keynote speaker.

On Tuesday, June 25th, we will be at the National Archives in Waltham, MA, where we will focus on research and strategies for teaching and learning. Participants will work with original documents pertaining to the fugitive slave cases of Anthony Burns, Shadrach Minkins and Ellen & William Craft. We will also explore the stories of the 54th Massachusetts Regiment, and will work together to identify materials and methods for teaching these inspiring and important stories.

To register for “Fighting for Freedom,” or for more information, contact Annie Davis at annie.davis@nara.gov.

Even with just three types of documents—a passenger arrival record, census record and a naturalization record—one can learn quite a bit about a person’s life.  And students have the opportunity to uncover these stories during a hands-on field trip at the National Archives at New York City.

Take Luther Powell, for instance.  A 1920 passenger arrival record, a 1930 census record, and naturalization records from 1929 and 1936 provide snapshots of four different times in his life.

Passenger Arrival Manifest that lists Luther Powell (line 5) (From the Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service)

Luther Powell arrived in the United States from Jamaica in April 1920.  After six days aboard the Manchioneal, he arrived in Philadelphia as a 22 year-old clerk with $80 in his pocket.  He had left his father Aubrey Powell to make a new life for himself in New York City.  He probably chose New York because his uncle lived there at West 131^st Street.

1930 Census page that includes Luther Powell (line 13) (From the Records of the Bureau of the Census)

Though he only intended to stay in the US for four years, a census taker in 1930 found Luther at 196 Bradhurst Avenue in New York City.  Perhaps Ariel had something to do with him staying.  Luther Powell and Ariel were married just a year earlier in 1929.  Working as a shipping clerk and a dressmaker respectively, Luther and Ariel rented their place in Upper Manhattan for $70 a month.  They must have made enough to have some disposable income—they did own a radio.

Luther Powell’s Declaration of Intention (From the Records of District Courts of the United States)

Luther Powell’s Petition of Naturalization (From the Records of District Courts of the United States)

Though he had declared his intent to become a US citizen in 1929, he wouldn’t become a citizen until taking his oath of allegiance on December 1, 1936.  By that time, Luther and Ariel had a 5 year-old daughter Marilyn and were living a couple miles south at 20-21 Morningside Avenue.

Luther Powell is just one of the people featured in the National Archives at New York City’s Hands-On Archives: Exploring America’s Diversity student field trip.  Every year, hundreds of students in grades 4 through 8 explore the lives of Luther Powell, Florence Campbell, John King, Miguel Minan, Motel Garber and other real life New Yorkers.

Armed with a magnifying lens and an archival box filled with their passenger arrival, census and naturalization record, the students look for clues about these people’s lives.  They end up discovering a lot about the similarities and differences between these different people and between the past and the present.   Students are always surprised by certain major differences—such as the length of the immigrant’s journey to the US (still over two weeks in some cases) and the cost to rent an apartment in 1930 New York City (as low as $23 in some places).

While the full story of each person’s life is still left incomplete after uncovering just these four documents, as a post-visit activity students could create a short informative writing about their person’s life.

Now that we can check into the life of Luther Powell in the 1940 Census, we do get a bit more of his family’s story.  In 1937, Luther had a son who would grow up to be a soldier, general, National Security Advisor, Chairman of the Joints Chief of Staff and Security of State.  That son, of course, was Colin Powell.

Secretary of State Colin Powell with President George W. Bush and National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice (From the Records of the White House Photo Office, George W. Bush Administration)

To find out more about this Hands-On Archives field trip opportunity at the National Archives at New York City, contact us at newyork.archives@nara.gov or 1-866-840-1752.

Over two days earlier this month, students arrived at the National Archives Building in Washington, DC, ready to compete. There was excitement and nervous energy in the air. Both the students and history came to life through dynamic performances, stirring documentaries, and eye-popping exhibits, just to name a few.

A student introducing her documentary to a team of judges

These projects were all part of the year-long National History Day program. Over a thousand students had competed in school-level competitions to make it to the DC competition at the National Archives. Two hundred and fifteen students from seven different DC schools shared their documentaries, exhibit boards, performances, papers, and even websites. Members of the history and National Archives community volunteered for two days to interview the student competitors and ultimately judge their work. For the top projects, this DC National History Day competition was a step toward “Nationals.”

An exhibit board illustrating the impact of the first moon landing

The topic of this year’s National History Day program was “Turning Points in History.” Students made some compelling arguments about why their project’s topic was a turning point. One student—the final contestant showing off his website at the very end of the judging schedule—paced back and forth throughout a whole morning. He ended up winning first in his section, as well as a special award for great use of primary sources.

Other than the theme, one thing tied the different forms of media together: Documents. Primary sources were used extensively for the projects. And there could be no more fitting a venue than the National Archives, where students competed in the same building as the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.

Judges deliberating over a project well after the audience and student left

A volunteer, here to help National Archives staff ensure the competition ran smoothly, commented “I was impressed by the variety of topics: the Battle of Stalingrad, Irish Potato famine, comedy in television, to name a few. It wasn’t just major themes in history, but specific events related to the theme of the day. I was inspired by their engagement with history and excitement for their topic.”

Another volunteer expressed surprise at the level at which the students were competing. He compared their experiences to ones they would have in college: being interviewed and questioned about their topics, projects, and even historical sources.

Culminating with an awards ceremony on the second day, the top three students for each media type were recognized, and some projects with outstanding qualities received special awards. The top two projects and their creators, for each media type, will move on to compete at the national competition in College Park, Maryland, in June.

Letter from Annie Davis to Abraham Lincoln, 8/25/1864. From the Records of the Adjutant General’s Office. National Archives Identifier 4662543.

“Mr. President, It is my Desire to be free.”

Thus wrote (another – not me!) Annie Davis to Abraham Lincoln, 20 months after he issued the Emancipation Proclamation. Writing from Belair, Maryland, she continued, “Will you please let me know if we are free.”

But she was not. The Emancipation Proclamation affected only those states that were in rebellion as of January 1, 1863. The slaveholding border states of Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky, and Missouri were not affected by the Proclamation. Annie would become free in November 1864, when the re-written Maryland state constitution ended slavery. The rest of the enslaved people would gain freedom within 1865.

This terrific document in the holdings of the National Archives provides much opportunity for teaching and learning.  Just reading Annie’s letter is enough to feel her longing for freedom. And by using it in the classroom, we can help our students better understand the emotions, historic details, and impact of the fight for freedom.

The 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation and the movement towards the 13th Amendment are foremost in our minds these days. But emancipation came neither suddenly nor easily.  The question of slavery and freedom is older than our country. It is part of the fabric of this nation; it was prominent in the debate about Independence and the Constitution. It is still with us.

Evidence of the fight for freedom lives in the National Archives. These stories, often embedded in legal language, are both heart-breaking and heart-warming. We find court cases of owners trying to get back their “property,” warrants for the arrest of fugitives, bills of sale, and citizens using the law to create new law. These records offer unlimited opportunities for teaching and learning and inspiration.

To access documents, I direct students and teachers to DocsTeach.org to simply search on “slavery.” A huge array of diverse documents and good activities will be at your fingertips.

In a recent workshop, teachers at the National Archives at Boston examined records of fugitive slaves and developed several essential questions upon which to build instruction:

• When is it appropriate to defy the law?
• Would I ever have the courage to risk everything for something I believed in?
• Why is the Compromise of 1850 a compromise?

For visiting middle- and high-school students, I provided these records of fugitive slaves. Working together in groups, the students addressed a series of document-based questions (scaffolding).  Then, they created a thesis statement in response to the essential questions. Independently, they used the thesis statement supported by evidence from the documents to construct a paragraph or essay. The teachers used this as the culminating activity and the assessment.

Students like to discuss the question, Would I have helped the fugitives?  We all like to think that in difficult times, we would have the courage to do the right thing. But the right thing is easier to define with hindsight and a knowledge of history. In the moment, what would you do?

The stories of the fight for freedom and the knowledge of how far we have come help us understand where we are now and how far we have yet to go on our stony path to freedom and unalienable rights.

On June 24-25, 2013, the National Archives at Boston will offer a free workshop for teachers: “Fighting for Freedom at Home and On the Front: Boston’s Struggle for Freedom 1806-1865.” For more information, contact us at boston.education@nara.gov.

And you or your students can read more in “The Meaning and Making of Emancipation,” a free eBook that presents the Emancipation Proclamation in its social and political context with documents in the National Archives’ holdings that illustrate the efforts of the many Americans, enslaved and free, white and black, by whom slavery was abolished in the United States.

More resources:

• Teaching Activity: Letter to President Abraham Lincoln from Annie Davis
• Teaching Activity: What Else Was Happening During the Civil War Era?
• Primary Source Document: Warrant for the Arrest of Moses Honnor, 3/1860
• www.docsteach.org
• www.ourdocuments.gov
• www.archives.gov/exhibits/documented-rights/exhibit
• www.archives.gov/education

Along with the Library of Congress, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, and United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, we pay tribute “to the generations of Jewish Americans who have helped form the fabric of American history, culture and society” on jewishheritagemonth.gov; and “to the generations of Asian and Pacific Islanders who have enriched America’s history and are instrumental in its future success” on asianpacificheritage.gov.

Both sites include images, audio, video, exhibits and collections, as well as a list of upcoming events in 2013.

This 2010 Census poster was made to create awareness of the coming census and assure Native Hawaiians that their responses would be confidential. (From the Records of the Bureau of the Census. National Archives Identifier 6094524)

For Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month, the National Archives highlights a Flickr set of photos and documents, our Prologue magazine articles such as “An Alleged Wife: One Immigrant in the Chinese Exclusion Era” and “Revisiting Korea: Exposing Myths of the Forgotten War,” and primary sources like the Joint Resolution to Provide for Annexing the Hawaiian Islands to the United States. Our partner organizations share great sites too, like the Veterans History Project at the Library of Congress, with a collection of stories from Asian-Pacific American Veterans.

Specifically for teachers, we provide primary sources related to

• Chinese immigration,
• the Chinese Exclusion Act,
• Hawaii, and
• Japanese American Experiences during World War II.

This 1917 poster was printed in Yiddish and several other languages to target immigrants. It urges food conservation: “Food will Win the War. You came here seeking freedom. You must now help to preserve it. Wheat is needed for the Allies. Waste Nothing.” (From the Records of the U.S. Food Administration. National Archives Identifier 512541)

For Jewish American Heritage Month, the National Archives shares images on Flickr, recorded public programs such as “World War II Lost Jewish Assets” and “When General Grant Expelled the Jews” on our YouTube channel, documents related to the creation of the state of Israel, and more primary sources related to Jewish history.

Just one of the many interesting resources from our partner organizations on jewishheritagemonth.gov is “Shop Life,” an exhibit from The Lower East Side Tenement Museum, supported in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities, that invites visitors to explore commerce at 97 Orchard Street in lower Manhattan from 1863 to 1988.

At Murch Elementary School in Washington, D.C., 6th-grade teacher Catherine M. Rooney instructs students about War Ration Book Two in 1943. From the collection of Public Domain Photographs at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library.

As we said on Today’s Document—our sister site showcasing daily featured documents, it’s always Teacher Appreciation Week at the National Archives!

Our Education Specialists work year-round to provide teachers with free resources for teaching with primary sources. From DC to our National Archives and Presidential Library locations around the country, we create and share lesson plans, learning activities, field trip and professional development opportunities, and multimedia and web content. We’ll continue to tell you about our new and existing resources right here.

And if you don’t already, you can also follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.

This week we’re featuring teachers at work, as seen in the holdings of the National Archives, on our Facebook page.

Remember to #ThankATeacher today!