From Ordinary to Extraordinary: Everyday Heroes from the 1800s

Overview: Students will choose and research an active, engaged person living in the 1800s, who through political or social action fought to positively impact the flawed society in which they lived. Students will apply their learned knowledge by writing a monologue in which this historical hero speaks about his/her life in first person. The project will culminate with students dressing as their chosen person and presenting a 1-3 minute monologue to an audience.

Essential Questions • What is an “everyday hero?” • What does it mean to be an active, engaged member of your community? • What individuals during the 1800s were active and engaged in bringing about positive change and how did they impact their society? • How do the actions of people in the past impact us today?

Materials • From Ordinary to Extraordinary: Everyday Heroes of the 1800s, assignment sheet attached • Research materials: Internet or library access, books, encyclopedias, etc. • Audience Response Sheet, attached

Examples:

Several good examples can be found on the Crafting Freedom website (www.craftingfreedom.org), including: • David Walker: http://craftingfreedom.org/walker/video.php • Harriet Jacobs: http://craftingfreedom.org/jacobs/video.php • William Henry Singleton: http://craftingfreedom.org/singleton/video.php • Gettysburg Address - http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/gettysburgaddress.htm • Abe Lincoln’s First Iinaugural Address http://www.bartleby.com/124/pres31.html • Example Monologues Coach Ketcham has found - https://docs.google.com/a/kellerisd.com/document/d/16BO2Ho1s4BXfwNn9TN_7Zps- EaVo0ak5AbUSvigYzp8/edit?usp=sharing

Choices of historical figures This list contains examples of historical figures from a broad range of race, gender, culture, background, etc. that you may present in a monologue. Since the list is not exhaustive of all the people who made a difference during the 1800s, you are welcome to select others not on the list. However, make sure you consult with your local Coach Ketcham for approval.

Richard Allen: founded the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church and the Free African Society (1787)

Benjamin Banneker: first African American scientist

Clara Barton: known as the “Angel of the Battlefield” during the Civil War; helped start the American Red Cross

Colonel James C. Beecher:in charge of the “First Regiment of NC Colored Solgiers/35th Regiment of US Colored Troops” during the Civil War

Harriet Beecher Stowe:Northern abolitionist who wrote Uncle Tom’s Cabin to inspire people to resist the Fugitive Slave Act

Mary Elizabeth Bowser:former slave who served as a spy for the Union Army during the Civil War

Henry “Box” Brown: Arranged to mail himself to a free state in order to escape slavery

John Brown: Militant Caucasian abolitionist who lead the “Raid on Harpers Ferry”

Andrew Bryan: founder of the First African Baptist Church

Henry Clay - The Great Compromiser, Long term Congressman from Kentucky and failed President

John C. Calhoun - Congressman, President Candidate, and Vice President from South Carolina

George Washington Carver: 1864-1943; African American scientist who discovered new ways that peanuts, soybeans, and sweet potatoes could be used as money making crops in the South

Anna Julia Haywood Cooper: Civil and women’s rights pioneer. Earliest Black woman activist in the realm of higher education. She served as school principal for 39 years.

Dorthea Dix: social reformer who lobbied legislature to fund hospitals for the mentally ill

Frederick Douglas: escaped from Baltimore slavery in 1838; used his exceptional speaking skills to fight for social reform and abolition of slavery

William Lloyd Garrison: Leading white abolitionist; wrote for “The Liberator” Henry Highland Garnet: escaped from Maryland slavery in 1825 to New York; attended the New York African Free school and was an outspoken abolitionist; lobbied for boycotting cotton

Ulysses S. Grant: Famous Union general

Sally Hemmings: Enslaved woman who worked for the Jefferson’s; it is believed she fathered children by Thomas Jefferson

Andrew Jackson - 7th President of the United States, and someone who doesn’t take no crap from nobody.

Thomas Jefferson - 3rd President of the United States. Buyer of the Louisiana Purchase

Abraham Lincoln: United States president during the Civil War; known as the “great emancipator”

James Madison - 4th President. President during the War of 1812

James Monroe - 5th President. Proclaimed the Monroe Doctrine

Dred Scott: sued for the Scott families freedom in 1846 in the famous court case, Dred Scott v. Sanford

Thaddeus Stevens: Overcame is disabilities and was elected to congress in 1848 where he worked to oppose slavery

Sojourner Truth: fought for the desegregation of public transportation (railway trains) in Washington, DC during the Civil War

Harriet Tubman: escaped from Maryland slavery; worked to free other slaves; Tubman worked to establish a home for the elderly

Nat Turner: visionary African American religious leader and the architect of the August 1831 Southampton Virginia slave revolt