Announcements for 9/24
September 24, 2009 at 11:41 PM | In Announcements | Leave a CommentTags: Announcements, attendance policy
1. Because of students dropping the course and some reshuffling, there are no blogging groups named J or K. That means that there will be no posting and commenting next week, so we will all have a break! To reflect the ensuing redistribution of points for comments, I have made adjustments to the blogging rubric. I will post the revised rubric under the tab “Assignments.”
2. There is a need for me to clarify the attendance policy in the course. Attendance is defined as more than just your physical presence in the classroom; you need to be mentally and intellectually present as well. Daydreaming is bound to occur on occasion–it happens to the best of us–but please note that I will cross your name off the attendance sheet if you text message/email, read the UDK, complete assignments for other classes, sleep, or only stay for half of the class period. These actions are disrespectful not only to the instructor, but also to your fellow classmates, who are equally busy yet they have committed to making this class a priority.
Deciphering Proofreading Symbols
September 23, 2009 at 12:13 PM | In Helpful Tips | Leave a CommentTags: book reviews, proofreading
As I read book reviews and other written assignments in this course, I will be using the standard proofreading marks that most of you are familiar with. For an explanation of what the marks mean, you can download the PDF file under “Class Handouts” that is called “Editing and Proofreading Marks.” Although professional proofreaders use in-line notations in conjunction with corresponding marginal notations, normally instructors only use in-line notations so the margin space can be left for other comments about content, etc. If you have questions about these marks, please let me know.
Witnesses to the Sand Creek Massacre
September 23, 2009 at 10:58 AM | In Discussion Starters | Leave a CommentTags: primary sources
A student in class asked a question about testimonies given by those who witnessed the Sand Creek massacre in 1864 or had some other contact with the Cheyenne prior to the atrocities. The Congressional investigation is published and includes many testimonies, but only a few of those are up on Kansas Memory. In addition to these testimonies, some of the correspondence prior to the massacre is also available.
Affidavit of John Smith (an interpreter)
Testimony of Captain Silas Soule (a captain in the 1st Colorado Cavalry, whose testimony we read an excerpt of in class)
Testimony of Henry Hewitt (a second lieutenant in the 3rd Colorado Cavalry)
Testimony of James Cannon (lieutenant with the New Mexico Volunteers)
Testimony of Edward Wynkoop (a major in the 1st Colorado Cavalry)
Testimony of Samuel Ashcraft (a trader)
Announcements for 9/22
September 23, 2009 at 10:49 AM | In Announcements | Leave a CommentTags: Assignments, Blackboard, book reviews
1. The book review (if you are choosing to write one this week), is due by 4:00pm tomorrow (Thursday) both in hard copy AND in the Safe Assign dropbox on Blackboard. To upload your file, go to “Assignments” and click on “View/Complete” Under Book Review #1. Please upload only .rtf or .doc (Word 2003) files. Some students have trouble uploading .docx files (Word 2007). If you have tried multiple times to upload your assignment and haven’t had any luck, email it to me BEFORE the deadline.
2. All late papers will be docked one full letter grade for each day they are late. That means that a paper uploaded between 4:01pm Thursday and 4:00pm Friday loses one letter grade, a paper uploaded between 4:01pm Friday and 4:00pm Saturday loses two grades, and so on and so forth. Leave yourself plenty of time to upload it to Blackboard so you can come to class on time.
3. Book reviews must include footnote (Chicago style/Turabian style) citations. A guide to documentation can be found on this webpage under “Class Handouts.” Click on the PDF file from Texas A&M. You only need footnotes for this assignment, no bibliography.
Kansas History Standards
September 23, 2009 at 8:59 AM | In Helpful Tips | Leave a CommentTags: history standards (2nd grade), history standards (7th grade)
For those of you who are education majors, here are some descriptions of the standards that pertain to our lecture this past Tuesday (there are some indicators that overlap with other lectures, and I have not listed those here). The standards are available at the Kansas State Department of Education website as downloadable PDF files.
2nd GRADE
Benchmark 2, Indicator 1: “Compares and contrasts daily life of an historic Plains Indian family, a pioneer family, and a modern family in Kansas.”
7th GRADE
Benchmark 1, Indicator 1: “Compares and contrasts nomadic and sedentary tribes in Kansas (e.g. food, housing, art, customs).”
Benchmark 3, Indicator 1: “Describes the reasons for tension between the American Indians and the United States government over land in Kansas (e.g., encroachment on Indian lands, depletion of the buffalo and other natural resources, the Sand Creek massacre, broken promises).”
Benchmark 3, Indicator 2: “Describes the United States government’s purpose for establishing frontier military forts in Kansas (e.g. protection of people, land, resources).”
Options for This Week’s Blog Posts
September 22, 2009 at 10:25 AM | In Blogging Response Questions, Helpful Tips | Leave a CommentTags: blogging, brainstorming, podcasts, primary sources
For those of you who are posting blogs this week, here are a few sources you can consider if you are having trouble choosing a topic. As you compose your post, think about how you are going to incorporate analysis in addition to your brief summary. If you choose to discuss a primary source, be sure to print out the “Interpreting Primary Sources” sheet posted on this webpage under the tab “Class Handouts.”
Podcasts
Primary sources
- Letter by James Mead (I read a quote from one of his letters in lecture)
- Handbook for the Kansas Pacific Railway
- Medical History of the 19th Kansas Cavalry
- Testimony of Henry H. Hewitt (concerning the Sand Creek Massacre)
- The Captive Cheyennes (article in the Lawrence Standard)
Remember too that you can address topics we’ve already covered, such as the earliest European explorations in the region, the Bleeding Kansas conflict, etc. You could also discuss a section of Miner and Unrau’s book The End of Indian Kansas, as long as you aren’t double-dipping and just reprinting on your blog what you’re including in your book review.
Announcements for 9/17
September 17, 2009 at 11:50 AM | In Announcements | Leave a CommentTags: blogging, digital narrative
- If you have not yet turned in a project description, you will need to do that before the rough draft is due, even though by this late date you will not receive any points. I will not accept rough drafts from students who have not cleared their projects with me first.
- Don’t forget that each of you has to post at least one substantive comment on a blog post each week. Missing one week may not be a big deal, but missing multiple weeks can bring your grade down. Comments are due by 4:00pm on Fridays; you can continue to have online conversations about the material through the weekend as long as you have one comment posted by that day.
- If for some reason you have not yet been added to a blog, please come see me immediately.
Blogging Questions for September 10
September 4, 2009 at 9:08 PM | In Blogging Response Questions | Leave a CommentTags: blogging
Since this is the first week that blog posts are due, feel free to choose one of the following questions and answer it within a blog post of 250 to 500 words. Be sure to explain why you have come to this conclusion by using evidence from lecture, discussion, or the readings. If you refer to one of the readings from Kansas Memory, be sure to embed a link to the source’s URL.
1) Based on our readings and discussion of Indian removal, how did the U. S. government determine who had the most legitimate right to claim land? For that matter, is the environment something that can be “possessed”? Explain your answer and why you have taken this position.
2) According to www.thefreedictionary.com, nationalism is defined as: “1. Devotion to the interests or culture of one’s nation, 2. The belief that nations will benefit from acting independently rather than collectively, emphasizing national rather than international goals, 3. Aspirations for national independence in a country under foreign domination.” Based on this definition, is the government’s policy on Indian removal an example of American nationalism? If so, why?
Number of Native Peoples Relocated to Kansas
September 3, 2009 at 1:00 PM | In Discussion Starters | Leave a Comment
Photograph of Annie Grinter, a member of the Delaware tribe who moved to present-day Kansas in 1832.
In class on Tuesday, a student asked exactly how many native Americans were relocated during removal. This is an excellent question, but I’m afraid that my answer will not be exact.
According to both the NPS and PBS, the number was around 46,000. That number, however, probably only includes the Southern tribes (Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek, and Seminole), and it only includes those who survived the journey. These five tribes are the ones most commonly associated with removal, and many historical sources completely ignore the fact that many other tribes settled in present-day Kansas. This omission is really quite shocking to me, and I’ve never understood why so many historians fail to acknowledge these other emigrant tribes.
If you look at Isaac McCoy’s chart from 1832 (which was on the PowerPoint in class), about 170,000 native people would be removed, but only some of these actually needed land in Indian Territory. Some of the other tribes he lists would be removed OUT of the Great Plains area to make room for these emigrant Eastern tribes (e.g. the Blackfoot, who lived in present-day Montana and the Dakotas). Since a number of those who traveled here from the east died on the journey or were somehow able to avoid removal, a conservative guess would be that around 70,000 to 90,000 total were removed (in ALL of Indian Territory).
The situation is further complicated by the fact that some of the tribes moved quite a bit later. The Wyandot, for example, didn’t get to Kansas until 1847. Also, the slaves owned by Cherokees and other Southern tribes were included in these numbers, as were people of mixed ancestry who had remained with their tribe. It is difficult to ascertain exactly how many people of native descent were forced to move west.
In short, historians don’t know the exact number, but it is probably at least 70,000 total.
Announcements for 9/1
September 1, 2009 at 12:34 PM | In Announcements | Leave a CommentTags: blogging, digital narrative, how to use Wordpress
1. One member of each group needs to adjust the settings on their blog so that comments on posts will appear immediately and will not sit in a queue waiting for approval. To do this, sign in to your Dashboard, go to “Settings” (bottom of the left sidebar), then “Discussion,” and uncheck both boxes under the heading “Before a comment appears.” Also make sure that the last box under “Default article settings” is checked. This needs to be done as soon as possible.
2. The one-paragraph description of your digital narrative topic is due on Thursday. This paragraph should give the basics–the who, what, where, when, and why–of your project. It must be uploaded on Blackboard by 4pm sharp, and you should bring a hard copy to class. To upload it go to Blackboard, and under the heading for HIST348 go to “Assignments” and upload the file under the title “Digital Narrative Project Description.” If you only turn in one format (only the hard copy, or vice versa), you will not receive full credit.
3. If you have not been added to a blogging group or have questions about the technical specs of the blogging assignment, come see me during my office hours, T/TH 3:00-3:45.
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