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Activity

Staging the Compelling Question

Students are introduced to the themes of the compelling question by responding to a quote from James Baldwin that sparks their thinking about the complexities and contradictions within US history.

Published: November 7, 2022

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Activity

Language

English — US

Subject

History

Grade

9–12

Duration

One 50-min class period

Democracy & Civic Engagement
Human & Civil Rights
Racism

Overview

Students explore the ideas behind the compelling question for this inquiry: How do we reckon with a history full of complexities and contradictions? They engage with a quote from James Baldwin—”American history is longer, larger, more various, more beautiful, and more terrible than anything anyone has ever said about it”¹ —to generate curiosity about the inquiry and begin thinking about the complexities of US history.

1Baldwin, “A Talk to Teachers.”

How do we reckon with a history full of complexities and contradictions?

Procedure

Activity 1

Explain to students that over the course of this inquiry, they will be exploring the contradictions and complexities within the history of the founding of the United States, including these:

The ideals reflected in our founding documents

How those ideals compared to the government established in the new nation

The experiences of people denied rights and freedoms during the founding era

Project this quote from James Baldwin:

American history is longer, larger, more various, more beautiful, and more terrible than anything anyone has ever said about it.
—James Baldwin

Activity 2

Using the Big Paper teaching strategy, place the James Baldwin quote at the top of a sheet of poster paper (create multiple copies if needed for a larger class) and give students enough time to have a written discussion about the quote in complete silence. The following questions can help guide their discussion:

What questions, thoughts, connections, or feelings does this quote raise for you?

What are some moments, events, or stories in US history that you consider to be beautiful or terrible?

Why might people have chosen to tell an incomplete or one-sided story of US history?

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Activity

Supporting Question 1: The Nation’s Founding Ideals

Students explore the supporting question "What does the Declaration of Independence state about the nation’s founding ideals?"

Activity

Students explore the supporting question "How should we remember the nation’s founding?"

Washington DC, Library of Congress, Thomas Jefferson Memorial Building Southwest Pavilion. The Library has had an ongoing exhibition entitled "Thomas Jefferson's Library", which presents the Library's efforts to completely recreate Thomas Jefferson's personal library. The exhibit is located on the Building's second floor in the Southwest Pavilion, called the Pavilion of the Discoverers due to the paintings and bas-reliefs that adorn the space.

Collection

Explore resources that meet the Massachusetts History and Social Science Framework.

Students working in groups in a classroom

Activity

Students explore the supporting question "What does the Declaration of Independence state about the nation’s founding ideals?"

United States Declaration of Independence

Activity

Students explore the supporting question "What contradictions existed between the ideals and the reality of the founding of the United States?"

Photo shows a group of African American slaves posed around a horse-drawn cart, with a building in the background, at the Cassina Point plantation of James Hopkinson on Edisto Island, South Carolina.

Lesson

Students reflect on the revolutionary changes that occurred because of the landmark legislation and amendments passed during the Reconstruction era.

A studio portrait shows African American members of the General Assembly from 1887 to 1888

Unit

Teach a 3-week study of the Reconstruction era guided by the essential question "What can we learn from the history of Reconstruction as we work to strengthen democracy today?"

Lesson

Students begin their study of Reconstruction by examining the relationship between the individual and society through an exploration of names.

Survivors of slavery observe Juneteenth in hats, canes, and bonnets inAustin, TX

Mini-Lesson

With reparations in the news, this Mini-Lesson helps students define the term, learn what forms reparations can take, and consider what reparations should be offered for slavery and other racist policies.

Lesson

Students consider what it means to be free by learning about the choices and aspirations of freedpeople immediately after Emancipation.

Black students standing outside in front of a clapboard school house

Lesson

Students examine President Andrew Johnson's plan for Reconstruction and the debate it provoked with Congress while reflecting on deeper issues of healing and justice.

Columbia with black union soldier with amputated leg in ornate Greco-Roman style building

Lesson

Students examine documents that shed light on life in the South under the policies of Presidential Reconstruction in 1865 and 1866.

Photo shows a group of six African American men and women posed picking cotton in a field.

Lesson

Students learn about the responses to Johnson’s policies by Republicans in Congress and examine the fourteenth amendment that overturned Presidential Reconstruction.

Photo of page 1 of the 14th amendment of the US Constitution

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Staging the Compelling Question