Place Your Subject In American History
100 Points SUMMATIVE Due Sunday 9.18.16
Writing: You must a) use the details gathered about your classmate; and then b) place that
student somewhere in the United States during an important day in history; You must concoct a
reason why your character is there. Please conduct whatever research allows you to convincingly
imagine and convey this strange world. Make sure you solve the character's problem and that
the character is changed by events. A more interesting character change will be a more
successful story.
Media: Add your own photograph, drawing, painting, piece of artwork, video, sound recording
or any other type of original digital art to your post. Your artwork could reinforce the main idea
of your story or represent a golden detail. This piece should add to the experience of reading
your story. In fact, adding to the world of the story (and not distracting us from it) is the only
criteria for grading this part of the assignment. Add substantially to our experience of your
story and receive an A. You may repurpose somebody else’s work as long as you substantially
change it in some way, and give credit to the original artist
Delivery: Post on the blog, categorize with “period#” and “A Day in History” before midnight
Friday 9.18.16
Here is the Rubric:
An “A” paper…
Shows without (or with minimal) telling. Writes in images.
Includes golden and useful details.
Avoids clichés or clunky details.
Includes clear main idea or theme.
You have a story with a beginning, middle and end.
Your character solves a problem and is substantially changed by events.
Avoids grammar, spelling errors.
Has concise, convincing and compelling description.
Uses vivid verbs; specific, concrete nouns.
Skillfully uses the tools of language (repetition, parallelism, figurative language, sentence
length variation, appropriate word choice, etc.) to shape a response from the reader.
Models of Excellent Work from last year:
Here is some excellent work of a similar nature (same assignment, different time and place)
and here, and here, and here, and here, and here...
Here are a few historical highlights from American History. Please choose on of these
events to research:
The 25 Worst Moments In American History
1804: Aaron Burr kills one of the greatest figures in American history, Alexander Hamilton, in a
duel.
1814: British forces burn down the White House during the War of 1812.
1838: The Trail of Tears. 4000 Cherokees die during a forced relocation to the West.
1857: The Dred Scott Decision. The Supreme Court essentially rules that black people are
nothing more than property like a chair or couch.
1861: The bombardment of Fort Sumter was the beginning engagement of the Civil War.
1862: The battle of Antietam was the single bloodiest day in American history with 25,000
soldiers killed, wounded, or missing.
1865: Abraham Lincoln was assassinated. One of our greatest Presidents, if not our greatest
President, was murdered soon after the beginning of his second term.
1900: A hurricane strikes Galveston, Texas killing 6000 in the worst disaster in American
history.
1917: The Zimmerman Telegraph. Germany's Foreign Secretary Arthur Zimmermann sends a
telegram to Mexico encouraging them to attack the United States. The British intercepted the
telegram and sent it to the United States where it led to America's entry into WW1.
1918: The influenza pandemic begins at Fort Riley, Kansas. By the time it was over, 25% of the
US populationwould become sick and by some estimates, well over half a million Americans
died as result.
1929: A massive drop in value of the stock market helped trigger the Great Depression which
lasted until the increased economic activity spurred by WW2 got us going back in the right
direction.
1941: Pearl Harbor. "A date which will live in infamy" indeed.
1942: The US government came to the conclusion that interning Japanese-American citizens was
the best of a number of bad options . Roughly a hundred thousand Japanese-Americans ended
up in camps.
1949: The Soviet Union tests an atomic bomb. For the next 50 years, Americans fear the Cold
War will end in a nuclear holocaust.
1950: As American and Rok forces appear poised to finish off the Norks and reunite Korea, a
Chinese offensive caught them completely by surprise and drove them back, nearly into the sea
before they regrouped, pushed back, and managed to fight them to a stalemate.
1961: The Bay of Pigs invasion. Kennedy's decision to go forward with the invasion and then
deny them air support doomed the entire enterprise to failure. Today, 44 years later, Fidel Castro,
a diehard enemy of the United States, is still in power.
1963: In an event that scarred the American psyche and produced countless conspiracy theories,
John F. Kennedy is assassinated.
1968: The Tet Offensive was a crushing defeat for North Vietnamese forces but was incorrectly
portrayed as a huge victory for them by the American media. This was a key event in destroying
the American public's support for the war.
1968: America's greatest civil rights leader, Martin Luther King, is assassinated.
1973: The Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision leads to the legalization of abortion nation
wide and the deaths of countless millions of innocent children.
1974: Richard Nixon resigns after being disgraced by Watergate, a scandal which shook
American faith in the government.
1975: After the Democrats in Congress cut off aid and promised air support, South Vietnam was
doomed. When Saigon actually fell, that symbolized what a disaster the Vietnam War turned out
to be.
1977: Jimmy Carter hands over control of the Panama Canal to Panama mainly because they
asked for it.
1995: Oklahoma City Bombing. 168 people die as the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building is
destroyed by domestic terrorists.
2001: 9/11. Terrorist madmen attack the Twin Towers and Pentagon, kill nearly 3000 Americans,
and set off a war on terrorism.
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The 25 Greatest Moments In American History
1776: The Declaration of Independence is signed. Americans officially begin their fight for
freedom.
1776: Washington's surprise strike and victory at Trenton increases morale, heartens his troops,
and provides enough of a recruiting boost to keep his army from melting away in the Spring,
which would have meant an end to the war.
1781: Washington's victory at Yorktown, with the help of the French, seals the victory for
America over the Brits.
1789: The Constitution is ratified.
1791: The Bill of Rights is ratified.
1803: The Louisiana Purchase: Roughly 1/5 of modern day America was purchased by Thomas
Jefferson from Napoleon for about 15 million dollars.
1805: The members of the Lewis and Clark expedition become the first Americans to reach the
Pacific ocean.
1814: Andrew Jackson defeats the British forces at the Battle of New Orleans in a fight that took
place after the war had already ended. Had the British controlled New Orleans, which was a vital
American port at the time, they might have wrung more concessions out of America or even
taken a large swath of what is today American territory for Canada.
1836: Sam Houston and a group of Texans, outnumbered 2 to 1 by the Mexican Army, got
revenge for the Alamo in the Battle of San Jacinto. Their victory and the capture soon after of
Santa Anna secured the freedom of Texas and cleared the way for them to eventually join the
United States.
1846: The Oregon Treaty, made with Britain, officially brings Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and
parts of Montana and Wyoming into the US.
1848: After being defeated in the Mexican-American war , Mexico was forced to sign the
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo which granted America control of "Texas as well as California,
Nevada, Utah, and parts of Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, and Wyoming" in return for about
$18 million dollars.
1863: Abraham Lincoln frees the slaves in the South, technically at least, with the Emancipation
Proclamation.
1864: Sherman's victory in Atlanta not only helped hasten the end of the war, it likely was the
key factor that led to Abraham Lincoln defeating George McClellan in the November elections.
Had McClellan won, he made it clear that he intended to cut and run rather than press on to
victory.
1898: America crushes the Spanish fleet in the Philippines, which cemented our position as a
world power.
1903: The Wright Brothers are the "first in flight."
1908: The Model-T Ford, the first car cheap enough for the general public to afford, becomes
available.
1914: The 48 mile long Panama Canal is completed.
1918: WW1 ends in victory for the Allied forces after the Germans surrender.
1920: For the first time, American women are allowed to vote.
1945: WW2 ends in victory for the Allied forces after the Japanese surrender.
1947: America helps rebuild Europe after WW2 with the Marshall Plan.
1950 : In what was perhaps the most brilliant military maneuver in American history, Douglas
MacArthur lands behind the North Korean lines at Inchon. The subsequent strikes against the
Norks broke their army and only the entry of the Chinese into the war kept Korea from being
reunited.
1964: The Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlaws discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or
national origin.
1969: Neil Armstrong is the first man to walk on the moon -- An amazing feat that showcased
American ingenuity and technology.
1989: The Berlin Wall came tumbling down which symbolized the break-up of the Soviet Union
and the victory of the United States in the Cold War.