Using Primary Sources: Multiple Perspectives
Overview:
Divide students into groups and assign roles. Each group will examine their primary source materials and work with the appropriate worksheet to prepare a first-person presentation of their position.
List of Materials:
- Activity Sheet and Packet of Primary Source Materials for each group (see below)
- Vocabulary List: pdf file or Word document
Instructions:
- Print enough primary source material and activity sheet packets for each student or group.
- Divide the class into small cooperative groups and distribute the primary source and activity sheet packets to each student or group.
- Explain to the students that they will be re-enacting roles of different people who were involved in the Hocking Valley Coal Strike of 1884-1885.
- Assign a role to each of the groups.
- Tell the students to examine the documents, keeping in mind to make generalizations, summarizations, and conclusions.
- Tell the students to work together to prepare an oral first-person presentation about their role in the strike. Tell the students that they may prepare appropriate visual materials (e.g., diagrams, charts, illustrations) and available technology. They should select a person to represent their group as the presenter.
- Set a time for all of the presentations. After each person has presented his/her group’s position, the presentation may evolve into a debate to allow for argument and rebuttal.
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To conclude, hold a class discussion to encourage the perspectives of all of the positions.
Primary Source Materials:
These pages show the primary sources in more detail; including description, creator, creation place, and date for each source. For ease in application of the Hocking Valley Coal Strike Activity, all sources have been converted into one PDF documents that will print one source per page (see below).
Governor of Ohio, George Hoadly
Activity sheet and All Print Size Images: pdf file
George Hoadly Photograph, ca. 1885
Ohio Governor’s Office, ca. 1907
High Street - Columbus, Ohio Stereograph, ca. 1880s
Hocking Valley Strike Correspondence
"Blackleg" Miner, Jozsef Peto
Activity sheet and All Print Size Images: pdf file
Straitsville Mining Pay and Envelope
Frank Washburn Jennings Cyanotypes
John McBride Speech to Nelsonville Miners
Abstracts from the Pay-Rolls Mine No. 25 and No. 27 from Jan.-Feb. 1885
John Brashears Letter to Gov. Hoadly
The Logan Hocking Sentinel Strike Articles
The Logan Republican Gazette Strike Articles
Striking Miner, George Snowden
Activity sheet and All Print Size Image: pdf file
Straitsville Mining Pay and Envelope
Frank Washburn Jennings Cyanotypes
John McBride Speech to Nelsonville Miners
George Snowden telegrams to Gov. Hoadly
Straitsville Mining Article of Agreement
Columbus & Hocking Coal Annual Contract
John McBride Speech to Ohio Miner’s Amalgamated Association
The Logan Hocking Sentinel Strike Articles
Mine Operator, Thaddeus Longstreth
Activity sheet and All Print Size Images: pdf file
Thaddeus Longstreth Photograph ca. 1896
Straitsville Mining Pay and Envelope
Brashears and Greene Telegrams to Gov. Hoadly
Columbus & Hocking Coal Annual Contract
Staitsville Mining Confidential Circular
Columbus & Hocking Coal & Iron Co. Pamphlet
Photographic and Industrial History of New Straitsville
The Logan Republican Gazette Strike Articles
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