through literatureintroducing michigan’s past: an overview for teachers, pp. 14-15 and pp. 16-17....

Michigan HistoryThrough Literature

The LBC Guide to

Sheila Carroll

LIVING BOOKS CURRICULUMTM

SAMPLEThe LBC Guide to Michigan History Through Literature

ERA 5: Statehood and Civil War 1835-1865

18ERA 5

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Era 5: Statehood and Civil War1835-1865

People, places, and events • Early farming• Statehood (1836)• Civil War (1861-65) Underground Railroad and slavery Battle of Gettysburg (1863) Womens’ role• American Sault Locks (1855)

OverviewRead:Introducing Michigan’s Past: An overview for teachers, pp. 14-15 and pp. 16-17.Portraits of Michigan, “Michigan Counties—How they got their names”, p. 33.

Books for studyRecommended orderNext Spring an Oriole, Gloria Whelan (EL, F, Stepping Stone, first of three)Sojourner Truth: Ain’t I a Woman?, Patricia and Frederick McKissack, (EL, B) The Mighty Soo: Five hundred years at Sault Ste. Marie, Clara Ingram Judson, (EL/YA, NF, OP)Gentle Annie: The true story of a Civil War nurse, Mary Francis Shura, (EL, B)“Thank God for Michigan”, Civil War Collector’s Issue, Michigan HistoryMagazine (General, see Bibliography for ordering instructions)Underground Railroad—Check your library for other books on Michigan and the Underground Railroad.



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Supplementary readingA Pitch in Time, Robert A. Lytle (EL/RA, F)North Star to Freedom: The story of the Underground Railroad, Gena K. Gorrel (EL, NF, OP)Friends, Gloria Whelen (EL, F)

ActivitiesTrench BeansTry making a “mess of beans” like the Union soldiers:2 16 oz. cans of white northern beans1 tbsp. seasoned salt½ cup brown sugar¼ cup molasses2 onions, cut in ringsCombine everything and spoon into an ovenproof casserole dish. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes at 400 degrees.

Bean SongAfter making Trench Beans, try this Civil War “ditty” to the tune of “In the Sweet By and By”.

There’s a spot that the soldiers all love The mess tent is the place that we mean And the dish that we like to see there Is the old-fashioned, white Army bean Chorus: Tis the bean that we mean And we’ll eat as we ne’er ate before, The Army bean, nice and clean We will stick to our beans ever more.

Three Brave WomenAfter reading Gentle Annie and Sojourner Truth: Ain’t I a Woman?, read the article “Michigan’s Florence Nightingale” in Thank God for Michigan. Take a sheet of paper and divide it into three columns; label the first column, Julia Wheelcock; the second, Sojourner Truth; and the third, Annie Etheridge. Note the following categories vertically: date and place of birth, age they



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began their adventures, family background, where they served during the Civil War, who they helped, and any other points you can brainstorm. Now compare and discuss what it takes to be heroic. Who was the most heroic? Why?

My Michigan Notebook • Update timeline. • Using a copy of the outline map of Michigan, Appendix B, indicate the site of places of importance mentioned from Michigan statehood through the Civil War. Be able to explain why these places are important. • Photocopy pictures of Michigan soldiers; write captions about what and who they are, and enter in notebook. • Write a three paragraph essay that defines and describes heroism.

Sample narration questions • Describe the construction of the Soo Locks. What was unique about the Locks? • Explain why President Abraham Lincoln said, “Thank God for Michigan”. • Tell of an event in the life of Sojourner Truth that shows what it was like to be a slave.

Field tripsSoo Locks<www.lre.usace.army.mil/newsandevents/publications/publications/soolocks-saultste-marie>

River of History MuseumIn Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, the River of History Museum is dedicated to preserving and presenting the history of Sault Ste. Marie, the St. Mary’s River System, and surrounding area.<history.eup.k12.mi.us/local/river>



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Kimball House MuseumThe museum houses a major collection of artifacts and archival material relating to Sojourner Truth, who lived in Battle Creek from 1857 until her death in 1883.<www.kimballhouse.org>

Civil War ReenactmentsThroughout the summer, there are Civil War encampments around Michigan. Whole families come dressed as in the 1860’s. Anyone can come and watch the fun. It is a fascinating experience and not to be missed.<www.mi5th.org>

Walker TavernFrom 1836 through 1855, Walker Tavern was a favorite stopping place to change horses, relax, enjoy a meal or spend the night. Today, exhibits at the historic site interpret Michigan’s frontier settlement and stagecoach era. The tavern, visitors center, and reproduction barn offer exhibits about the people who traveled the crossroads at Cambridge Junction. Walker Tavern is located in the Irish Hills region, thirty-five miles west of Ann Arbor, at the junction of U.S. 12 and M-50. It is open daily Memorial Day through Labor Day and the remainder of the year by special appointment. <www.michigan.gov/hal>Keyword: Walker Tavern

LinksSoo LocksWorld’s busiest lock system can be seen in downtown Sault Ste. Marie. <www.lre.usace.army.mil/newsandevents/publications/publications/soolocks-saultste-marie>


ERA 6: Mining, logging, and manufacturing in Michigan 1865-1900

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Era 6: Mining, logging, andmanufacturing in Michigan1865-1900

People, places, and events • Logging• Copper mining• Automobile production and the assembly line• Maritime trade• Henry Ford (1863-1947)• Thomas Edison (1847-1931)• Elijah McCoy (1843-1929), see Notes.• Will Keith Kellogg and the “discovery of cereal” (1894)

OverviewRead: Introducing Michigan’s Past: An overview for teachers, pp. 18-19 and 20-21.Portraits of Michigan (contains some information on mining).

Books for studyRecommended order:Ol’ Paul, the Mighty Logger, Glen Rounds (EL, F), or another collection of Paul Bunyan storiesHenry Ford: Young man with ideas, Hazel Aird (EL, B, CFA)Thomas Edison: Young inventor, Sue Guthridge (EL, B, CFA)Final Passage: True shipwreck adventures, Frederick Stonehouse (EL, NF) To Keep the South Manitou Light, Anna Egan Smucker (EL, F)The Real McCoy: The life of an African-American inventor, Wendy Towle(EL, PB, B)



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Supplementary readingCopper-toed Boots, Marguerite de Angeli (EL, F) The Copper King: An orphan train story, Kathleen M. Muldoon (EL, F)Kellogg’s: Greatest name in cereal, William Gould (EL/RA, B)The Wanigan: A life on the river, Gloria Whelan (OP, EL, F)

ActivitiesFlapjacksHave a meal of pancakes and read aloud Paul Bunyan stories.

Raw materials vs. manufactured materialsMichigan’s natural resources, such as copper and iron ore, positioned the state to become a major manufacturing center. Find on a map the places that produce raw materials and the places that are major manufacturing centers. Explain your choices.

My Michigan Notebook • Update timeline • Look around you and name all the manufactured products that are made from minerals. • Use the letters of the alphabet to create a list of minerals (e.g. A is for alabaster or aconite) See “Minerals A-Z”, at the following Web site for suggestions: <www.minerals.net>. Add “A to Z” list to notebook. • Discuss what things are made from iron ore. Imagine what life would be without iron or steel metals. What would happen if you woke up one day and found that iron and steel no longer existed? Write a science fiction story that embraces that concept. Share your story or include a written version in your My Michigan Notebook. • Collect samples of all the raw materials for which Michigan is noted. Label and put them in plastic protector sheets.

Sample narration questions • Learn and tell a story of Ol’ Paul Bunyan. • Tell about something that Henry Ford did as a young person that foreshadows his later inventiveness.



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• Henry Ford and Thomas Edison had a deep and lasting friendship. Can you tell of a time in the life of both inventors that describes this friendship? • Tell a shipwreck story from Final Passage: True shipwreck adventures. For older students, do further research on a particular shipwreck, and write a short history of the event. • Jessie in To Keep the South Manitou Light had many adventures as a lighthouse keeper. Retell one of them. • Thomas Edison said, “Genius is one percent inspiration, ninety-nine percent perspiration.” Tell a story about the discovery of one of his inventions that illustrates this truth.

Field tripsHenry Ford Museum and Greenfield VillageA trip to the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village is a must. Henry Ford Museum is an indoor museum covering twelve acres. Each exhibit celebrates the people and ideas that have fired our imaginations and changed our lives forever. The museum also holds national treasures and artifacts that have helped shape America, including the Rosa Parks Bus; Lincoln’s chair, a moving memorial to one of our greatest presidents; and the Kennedy limousine, a somber reminder of that fateful day in Dallas.

Greenfield Village is a 90-acre outdoor museum chronicling three hundred years of American history with interpreters dressed in costume. Take a look inside the actual laboratory that Edison used while working on the light bulb, take a ride in an authentic Model T, or see the house that Noah Webster lived in while working on his famous American Dictionary of the English Language.<www.hfmgv.org>

Hartwick Pines Logging Museum This museum is situated among the towering trees of one of Michigan’s largest remaining stands of virgin white pine. Within the forest visitor center and logging camp buildings, exhibits and period rooms tell the stories of the loggers, rivermen, and entrepreneurs who powered Michigan’s logging industry. The museum is located in Hartwick Pines State Park, eight miles northeast of Grayling on M-93. From I-75, take Exit 259. For information



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telephone 989-348-7068 or TDD 800-827-7007.<www.michigan.gov/hal>Keyword: Hartwick Pines<www.stateparks.com/hartwick_pines.html>

Visit a lighthouseThis link gives a list and contact information for all Michigan lighthouses that are open to the public.<www.ring.com/travel/lthouses.htm>

Fayette Historic TownsiteFayette Historic Townsite was once one of the Upper Peninsula’s most productive iron-smelting operations. Fayette grew up after the Civil War when nearly five hundred people lived in and near the town that existed to make pig iron from the iron ore. Fayette Historic Townsite is located between Escanaba and Manistique, seventeen miles south of U.S. 2 on the Garden Peninsula and is open mid-May through mid-September.<www.exploringthenorth.com/fayette/town.html>

Michigan Iron Industry MuseumThe Michigan Iron Industry Museum is located in the Marquette Iron Range near the site of the first iron forge in the Lake Superior region. Today, museum exhibits and outdoor interpretive paths depict the large-scale capital and human investment that made Michigan an industrial leader. The museum is located eight miles west of Marquette on Forge Road off County Road 492, and is open May 1 through October 31. For information telephone 906-475-7857. <www.michigan.gov/hal>Keyword: Iron Industry Museum

Mann HouseThe late-Victorian Mann House features eight rooms of period furniture and artifacts. Restored flower and herb gardens and a carriage house with carriages, sleighs and other exhibits illustrate the way Michiganians worked and played in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The Mann House is located at 205 Hanover Street in Concord, twelve miles west of Jackson. For information, call the Michigan Historical Museum at 517-373-0510.



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LinksKellogg’s Cereal<www.kellogg.ie/history/index.asp> An additional Web site that gives some valuable information:<www.ideafinder.com/history/inventrs/kellogg.htm>

Thomas EdisonThomas Alva Edison homepage contains photos of his inventions and a short biography.<www.thomasedison.com>

Marguerite de AngeliMarguerite de Angeli was a prolific author. Her most famous work, A Door in the Wall, won the 1950 Newberry Award. Copper-toed Boots is an eloquent picture of life in Lapeer, Michigan in the early 1900’s.<www.deangeli.lapeer.org>

NotesElijah McCoy Elijah McCoy, an inventor and manufacturer, was born in Canada. His African-American parents fled from Kentucky to escape slavery. He showed an early talent for mechanical innovations, and in Ypsilanti, Michigan, he developed lubricators for steam engines (1870). In 1882 he moved to Detroit, where he perfected his lubricating cup, which is still widely used to provide a steady supply of oil to machinery. He opened the Elijah McCoy Manufacturing Co. (1920) and patented an improved airbrake lubricator, one of fifty-some patents he obtained during his lifetime.

Michigan’s state songs“Michigan, My Michigan”—known and sung since the Civil War—has long been considered Michigan’s “unofficial” state song. Another, “My Michigan,” has been all but forgotten except in the records of the Michigan legislature. “My Michigan” was named “an” official song, but not “the” official song, of the state in 1937. To read a version of each song, go to:<www.michigan.gov/hal>Keyword: State SongTo hear a recording and see a text of the State Song go to:<www.50states.com/michigan.htm>

through literatureintroducing michigan’s past: an overview for teachers, pp. 14-15 and pp. 16-17....

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