Summer Assignment 2012
AP US HISTORY SUMMER ASSIGNMENT 2012: Due the first day of school
PART I: HISTORICAL MUSEUM
Your first assignment is to visit an historical museum that has something to do with United States History. It can be the Noah Webster House, Mark Twain House, the Hillstead Museum or Stowe House right in our area, or it could be a museum you find on your summer travels. Check out the Mark Twain House’s exhibit on Racist Objects. Your responsibility is to tour the museum and to write your A.P. U.S. History teacher a letter in which you include the following information:
1. What is the name and time period of the museum and what are two historically significant pieces of information you learned in the museum?
2. What theme in history does this museum address - equality, freedom, reform, or justice, for example, and what did you learn about this theme?
3. What two songs would you choose as the sound track for this museum? Justify your choices by relating the lyrics and music to the history you learned in the museum. (one paragraph about each song)
4. What was the most appealing/informative part of this museum from a teenager’s perspective?
Your letter should be 600-800 words. It should be written informally, but should include all the conventions of good grammar and spelling. Please deliver this letter to school on our first day back. You may submit your letter via email at tracey_wilson@whps.org or sean_o’connor@whps.org. This portion of the assignment is worth 40 points.
PART II: BIOGRAPHY OR 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before AP US History Summer Assignment 2011 editedColumbus.
The second part of your assignment is more in depth. You will have the option to either: option a) read a scholarly biography or option b) read Charles Mann’s 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus.
Directions for Biography (option a):
There are uncountable, excellent biographies written by scholars about historical figures from America’s past. Choose your book wisely. Your book must fit the following categories:
It must be of interest to you.
The person must be American.
It must be a scholarly biography (not an autobiography or memoir). The key to knowing this is to see if it has footnotes. The Conard Library is allowing you to take books out over the summer. The West Hartford Public Library also has a number of biographies just for this assignment, so go see what they have.
Choose a person, or at least a time period about which you will do further research during the year. In the second semester you will write a major research paper and this biography can help you with that research. Think about what area of U.S. History you want to study in depth and choose your biography with that in mind. For example, your topic can involve music, sports, the arts, politics, or reformers.
Read the book and write the following journal entries in sentences:
1. Introduction. The title and author of your book; copyright date; length of the book (it should be at least 250 pages); and why you chose the book. It would be a good idea to check with your teacher before the school year is up or through e-mail about your choice.
2. Why and how did this person become famous? By what time and age had s/he reached his/her fame? (please note page numbers in parentheses)
3. Write a dialogue you would like to have with this person about a significant event in his/her life or about an issue in the time period. You should ask the questions and your dialogue should make it clear what the event was and why this particular event is significant. This should be a page in length (please note page numbers in parentheses).
4. What makes your person “American?” You need to define the characteristics of an “American” and then give evidence to back up your position. In considering this question, think about what groups or individuals might have had a negative impression of your person. Does this help you figure out what your person believed in? Refer to specific evidence to make your point (please note page numbers in parentheses).
5. What do you like about this person? Would you have supported his/her work? What parts of his/her career would you support and why? Again, use specific evidence (note page numbers in parentheses). Ask two questions of the author about your person.
6. When you have read at least half of the biography, have a conversation with an adult – maybe even one of your parents – about the biography you are reading. Tell this person what you admire and don’t admire about the person you are reading about. In your journal, describe your discussion in your journal. Analyze how you think reading this biography can help you once you start your AP US History class. Consider what might have been different if your person had not lived. Try to establish their significance in our history.
7. What artifact from this person’s life and career would you put in the Smithsonian Museum and why and how does it define them?
Be sure that you take your examples from all different parts of the person’s life and give evidence that you read the entire biography. Your journal should be 5 pages in length. It should be typed (Times New Roman font, size 10 or 12), double spaced, and with 1” margins. This portion of the assignment is worth 80 points.
Directions for 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus (option b):
Read the book and write the following journal entries; each of which will be due the day school begins:
1. Introduction. The title and author of your book; copyright date; and why you chose the book.
2. Pick 6 chapters and analyze the title of each of these chapters. Why did the author choose this chapter title? How does it represent the central theme of the chapter? Explain your thoughts using specific examples (please note page numbers in parentheses).
3. Write a dialogue you would like to have with Charles Mann about a historical misunderstanding that he exposes in the book. You should ask the questions and your dialogue should make it clear how he hopes to change traditional perceptions about an aspect of pre 1600 American history. (ex. technological superiority of Europeans or Tisquantum ). Please note page numbers in parentheses.
4. How does this book change your definition of “Americans”? Are the people Mann focuses on Americans? How are they different or similar to today’s definition of Americans? Please note page numbers in parentheses.
5. When you have read at least half of 1491, have a conversation with an adult – maybe even one of your parents – about 1491. Have a discussion focusing on their knowledge/education about early Native Americans. Questions you might ask include: Where did the first settlers of the Americas come from? What was the first Thanksgiving like? What were the technological, cultural, social achievements of the early Americans? Etc. Describe and analyze your discussion by sharing the adult’s responses and their reaction to your new understandings.
6. Finally, write a “This I Believe” statement. Focus your statement on why it is important to teach pre-1600 history in an AP US History class. Go on the website http://thisibelieve.org/ to get the idea of how they are written. Please note page numbers in parentheses.
Your journal should be 5 pages in length. It should be typed (Times New Roman font, size 10 or 12), double spaced, and with 1” margins. This portion of the assignment is worth 80 points.
Any questions? Email:
Dr. Wilson at tracey_wilson@whps.org
Mr. O’Connor at sean_o’connor@whps.org
If you wish to submit your assignment early/electronically use the appropriate email for your teacher.
August 9, 2011
Dear Dr. Wilson,
This morning I had the pleasure of visiting the Mark Twain house in Hartford. Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens) had been visiting Hartford often due to the fact that his publisher was located there, and he and his wife fell in love with the neighborhood. After they were married, Clemens and his wife decided to move to an area of Hartford then known as Nook Valley, and build a house. This gorgeous house was designed and built in the year 1873, and the Clemens family lived there for seventeen years.
During the tour that I attended, I learned many new and interesting facts about Samuel Clemens himself, his family, his house, and the work he did as Mark Twain. Firstly, the house that he and his family lived in is remarkable. The architecture and detail are stunning, and his wife’s expensive taste is also clearly shown throughout the house. But even though the house was filled with expensive décor and lavish designs, it still had a homey aspect to it. I think this is due to the fact that the Clemens family really made the house for themselves. Every part of the house represents the family, Clemens’ billiard room especially. Secondly, I had never known how outspoken Twain/Clemens was about equal rights for not just African-Americans, but also Jews, Asians, women, and many other groups. I also enjoyed reading the many famous quotes that lined the walls of the museum, many of which showed off Twain’s satirical outlook towards the world. Due to his fascinating beliefs and attitude, I would have loved the opportunity to discuss matters with Samuel Clemens. If given the chance, I would have asked him what lead him to have such a view on the culture of the time period he lived in. It would have been interesting to know if there was a certain event(s) in his life that made him feel the way he did.
In visiting the Mark Twain house and going back in time, it did feel like going to a foreign country. I believe that one of the reasons for this is the different architecture of the house. Most houses, especially in West Hartford, are nice houses, but none truly have the same extravagant design displayed in the Mark Twain house. Also, the idea of having servants and butlers seems un-heard-of in the present time in West Hartford. In a way, it felt like visiting a Victorian palace! But besides the luxurious aspects, there were also aspects of the house that I was able to recognize and connect to my life. The two younger Clemens daughters, Clara and Jean, shared a bedroom, similar to siblings now. All of the bedrooms, including the master bedroom also felt relatively comparable to bedrooms in 21st century houses. Lastly, the dining room and living room of the Mark Twain house were also similar to dining rooms and living rooms of our time. Both contain the standard furniture: a couch, some chairs, a piano, and some artwork in the living room; and a large wooden dining table and chairs, along with delicate china in the dining room. Overall, there were many similarities as well as differences between the style of the Mark Twain house and the style of houses now in the 21st century.
I believe that one theme of history present in the Mark Twain house is equality, and this is present through the Clemens’ butler, George. George was a freed black slave from Maryland, who moved to Hartford to marry his wife. Though George was employed by the Clemens family, he was still treated as an equal. Unlike most butlers of the time, George was given his own bedroom: a fairly large room equipped with nice furniture and a balcony. Since George and his wife did not have a great relationship, George used this bedroom often. This displays the theme of equality because the family’s butler was given a bedroom just as the rest of the family was. From this theme, I was able to discover more about Twain/Clemens’ attitude towards equality of all ethnicities, which was a very different attitude compared to most other Americans of the time.
In all, I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to the Mark Twain house, and would definitely recommend this museum to a friend. It’s fascinating that such a famous and special place is barely ten minutes away from our houses, and I hope that a friend would take advantage of such an advantage!
Sincerely,
Emily Weinstein
Very nicely done Emily. You pick out some interesting details. Be careful to equate the past with wealth – surely there are some extravagant homes in WH – and perhaps that is dependent more on wealth than on time. 38/40
Dear Dr. Wilson,
The other day I visited the Mark Twain House in Hartford, Connecticut, built in with Victorian Gothic architecture and completed in 1874. Prior living in this house, Twain (Samuel Clemens) had traveled the world, trying to get his writing career off the ground. By the time he was ready to begin writing books (as opposed to newspaper columns), he settled down and started a family in the culturally rich neighborhood of Nook Farm, Hartford, building a house across the lawn from another prolific author, Harriet Beecher Stowe. Clemens fit in well in this haven for free-thinkers, being racially tolerant and an abolitionist, unlike many of his other contemporaries around the country. Clemens built the house with the intention of entertaining guests night after night, which is what it did. Consequently, the coziness of the house suffered, and I didn’t feel that the house was homey at all. Instead, due to its grandeur and fine decoration, I could picture Clemens hosting dinner parties with the intention of impressing his guests with the obvious expenditure he had put into the house. Having said that, I would have enjoyed the opportunity to be one of his guests and speak with him, because he seems like a fascinating character. His unconventional outlook on the work is reflected in his humorous, satirical quotes (many of which can be seen in the museum), and I think it would be interesting, to say the least, to have a conversation with this man, who was so clearly ahead of his time. I would have liked for him to tell me the stories from that inspired books I have read in school such as ‘Huckleberry Finn’ and ‘Tom Sawyer’, which are almost entirely based on characters and experiences from his childhood. It was clear that this house was from a different time period, based on things like the oil lamps, old architecture, and the existence of a butler, a house cook, and maids. However, what made the house relatable for me was the fact that I could easily picture a dinner party going on there, similar to dinner parties that still go on today. Our tour guide made us feel like we were guests being treated to dinner in Clemens’ house, which seemed conceivable, looking around at familiar sights such as a piano, a couch, chairs, a dinner table, all of which are normal features in houses today. I believe the central theme present throughout the house was progress-social, cultural, and technological. Socially, the house was progressive because the butler, George Griffin, a freed black slave, was given his own spacious room and was permitted to sleep there whenever he chose, even though he had his own house. Culturally, I felt that the house was ahead of its time, because it contained the desk where Twain wrote many of his classics that challenged old customs and opposed slavery. This neighborhood was a center for high culture, and Clemens undoubtedly relayed these ideas to the guests he entertained at night. Finally, the house contained several technological innovations, since Clemens, among many things, is considered an inventor. One invention that particularly struck me was a line Clemens rigged leading from the chandelier in his room to his night table, providing him light so he could read and write at night. Clemens represented the American identity because he didn’t settle for conformity, and continuously longed for reform. My visit was very worthwhile, and I found Samuel Clemens’ house to be fascinating. I would definitely recommend this museum to a friend, because it’s rare to have the opportunity to visit the home of such a significant historical icon.
Sincerely,
Teddy Monyak
You do a great job capturing the life and lifestyle of Clemens. You deftly connect with specifics with the context of the times. My only critique is a need for paragraphs, maybe not so easy in a blog posting.
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