Day 1 The Beginning of Our Chicago Journey

The school bus trip to Denver was actually OK. I was dreading taking the bus thinking of all the fieldtrips I havebeen on. I do have to it was not so bad after all. Though I do have to say that I enjoyed the bus ride from Midway down to Springfield far more.  I thought it was pretty cool that we were able to ride  Obama’s campaign bus. The hotel rooms are great. Thanks Jonathan, Matt, and Scott.

 

If anyone got a picture of the bus would you please email me a copy?

Did Lincoln Own Slaves

Did Lincoln Own Slaves?
The book Did Lincoln Own Slaves? by Gerald J. Prokopowicz brings out the human side of Lincoln. Prokopowicz uses the questions that people have asked him over the years as he has guided tours about Lincoln to give us a general answer to the question, but he also went more in-depth and gives us more background information about Lincoln’s life. Prokopowicz also showed the more human side of Lincoln that made him more of an average person. That many people saw Lincoln more as an average person is one reason why many people think of Lincoln as one of the most beloved presidents.
Prokopowicz showed us that Lincoln’s character was a caring person. Prokopowicz showed us he was a very moral person. In fact Lincoln was so moral that he stood out from others at the time. When other boys his age began to drink, smoke, chew, swear, and gamble Lincoln did not take part in any of these. He did not mind that others did these things he also did not lecture them about doing these things. That is what made him moral and not moralistic. When others found pleasure in being cruel to animals or others, Lincoln would stand up to them and make them stop. An example of this is when some boys had put hot coals on a couple of turtle’s backs and watched the turtles run around in pain. Another example is even though Lincoln did hunt frequently, he would not hunt animals any bigger than a turkey.
Though Lincoln stood out among others, he was not unpopular. Many people liked him because he was humorous and entertaining. Lincoln was good at mimicking other people. He was especially good at mimicking his elders when he was younger. Lincoln also enjoyed telling humorous stories and jokes. Though some of his jokes were not exactly knee slappers the people he told them to enjoyed them and the joke usually fit the current situation. Lincoln was also good at taking an ordinary event that had happened to him or someone else and with some exaggeration, make the event into a very humorous and entertaining tale.
Another character trait that Lincoln possessed was honesty. An example of his honesty was that he took credit for writing slanderous articles about then state auditor James Shields. Shields had become very angry over anonymous letters written by Mary Todd, her friend Julia Jayne, and Lincoln that were insulting in the newspaper. Shields found out that it was Lincoln who had written the letters and challenged him to a duel. Lincoln took the duel serious but used his nature of caring for other to defuse the situation by choosing a ludicrous way to fight the duel. Lincoln chose long broadswords in a tight confined space. This would have given Lincoln a distinct advantage over shields due to his height and long reach. Both men showed up at the duels location that was out of state due to the fact that it was illegal to duel in Illinois. Lincoln’s and Shields’s seconds arranged a peaceful settlement rather than continuing with the duel.
Lincoln’s personality really showed through as he entertained people with his jokes and stories in his laid back manner. Research also tells us that he rarely lost his temper. When he did lose his temper, he kept it in check and for the most part and only let it go off to make a point. This example shows him to be laid back to a point and could eventually let things go that had hurt him.
As for Lincoln’s political side he was a Whig. He believed that the government should take an active part in the economy, such as building canals or railroads. Though this theory bombed while Lincoln was in the Illinois Senate, it was successful when he approved the measure to build the transcontinental railroad as president. He also thought that the government was a tool to empower the individual. Lincoln thought that government should aid the citizen on their way to self improvement or the improvement of society as a whole. Lincoln took the Declaration of Independence words literally when it says that all men are created equal. He thought slavery was wrong because it took away the African American rights to life, liberty, and the opportunity to rise in society through self improvement. Lincoln thought that as he had improved himself through self education that the African Americans had the same right. He wanted every man to have the chance to better themselves and that included African Americans.
Prokopowicz really brought Lincoln to light by using the questions people asked and answering the questions in good detail. He showed us Lincoln’s personality, character traits, and some of the points behind Lincoln’s political views. Did Lincoln Own Slaves? made Lincoln seem to be more like the average person where many other Presidents seem to be above the average citizen.

Death in the Haymarket

Death in the Haymarket

James Green’s book Death in the Haymarket shows how Chicago in the 1880’s faced many issues that were similar to what other large cities dealt with at the time; the influence of the industrial revolution on the skilled and unskilled labor of the workforce. Green also showed that Chicago was different from other large cities in that the city had many political and social reform movements that sent shock waves around the country. The movement for the eight hour day, and many other social reforms came from Chicago and spread out over the country. Also, when there were strikes, many of the Chicago companies led the way in how to break those strikes and get the factories going again.
Like other big cities, Chicago had moved into the industrial age and took full advantage of the new machinery that came with the period. The companies saw that they could produce more of their product and do it cheaper with the use of unskilled labor and machinery. As many of the companies went into the industrial revolution the companies shifted their workforce in their favor. The companies took the skilled workers duties and divided the work into portions and gave the portions to unskilled workers. The companies removed the specialized workers that did quality work, took pride in their trade, and completed the job from beginning to end and replaced them with unskilled workers and machinery. The unskilled workers completed only a small portion of the job at a pace that lacked quality of workmanship and gave little time for the worker to have pride in their work. The companies also used mechanical technology to speed up production. The new mechanical technology also made it so that the companies would not need to hire as many workers.
During the war the companies found that even though there were shortages in workers as more men went to fight, the remaining workers could produce about the same amount as when they were fully staffed before the war. The companies then pushed their employees to work at even faster paces. This increased speed made for an incredibly dangerous workplace. It also wore down the worker to the point they could not keep up the pace any longer and they either suffered a severe injury that caused them to leave their job or they were outright replaced by one of the many people who were continually looking for a job to help support their families.
Also during this time the companies kept the wages low using the war as an excuse. All the while they raised the price of their product and increased their profit greatly. Other industries also took advantage of this time of inflation and increased their prices making it even more difficult for the workers to provide for their families.
Illinois was not different in that there were many radical thinkers that wanted to improve society, but the state was different in that there were people in office that would push forward some changes. As many radical thinkers of the time period, they focused on improving society. They focused on the working class. They saw the workers struggling to make ends meet. They saw people working twelve and thirteen hour days and going home to their families tired with no time to improve themselves to be able to better provide for their families. On March 2, 1867 Illinois Governor Richard J. Oglesby signed into law the eight hour bill. Illinois became the first state to pass legislation that would legally make the work day eight hours. The law was to take effect on
May 1, 1867. Rays of hope went out across the country as the rest of the nation watched to see what would happen.
The companies fought back saying the law took the decision away from the worker on how long they wanted to work. They also argued what employee would sacrifice two or more hours of pay a day and what employer would accept a reduced out put from their employees? On May 2, 1867 the largest employers told their employees that they would work the longer day. The workers protested this and went on strike. The 3rd of May had gangs of workingmen forcing other workers to leave their jobs to protest the noncompliance of the eight hour law. Chicago’s Mayor Rice asked Oglesby for the state militia to put down the protests. Oglesby denied Rice’s request because he wanted to keep the protests peaceful. Rice took matters into his own hands and sent out the Dearborn Light Artillery to support the Chicago police officers. By May 8th the protest had been broken. The defeat of the eight hour day spread disheartenment across the nation. After the defeat of the strike, employers cut wages and hired new workers who agreed to work the long days for less pay. Also, during this time union leaders were fired and blacklisted by their employers.
Throughout this trying time for the working class of Chicago they had much support from free thinkers or the Socialists Party. Augustus Spies, Louis Lingg, Albert and Lucy Parson in Chicago fought and helped many in the city. They spoke anywhere when they were needed. They found the right people to help those that needed it. Though Spies, Lingg, and Parsons were found guilty at trail everyone knew that the trail was far from fair for these men. These men, even after their deaths, helped to push forward the cause for the working man.
It was not until 1938 that congress mandated an eight hour day in the Fair Labor Standards Act. Though Illinois was the first to make the eight hour law, it was never supported by the state government to make it effective. Chicago faced many of the same political issues as other large cities did of the time period, but what made it different was that the state had leaders that would support the different issues even if only half heartedly.

The Jungle

The Jungle

The novel The Jungle by Upton Sinclair was a successful piece of propaganda during the early 1900’s. The novel showed the world what was really happening in the meat packing industry, the living conditions the workers were forced to live in, and how the long reach of the meat packing industry and other major industrial plants affected the incomes of people not living in Chicago or the other large industrial cities. All these realities were served to the public in a neat little package of frightening partial truths.
Sinclair showed us the poor condition of the animals and how cheaply the meat was bought by the meat packing industry from the farmers, ranchers, and brokers. At this time even the sickest and most injured animals were bought and used. The packing companies would pay the workers such low wages that it was barely enough to live on, let alone raise a family. The workers would toil in unhealthy and unsanitary conditions at paces that accidents were inevitable and sometimes deadly. This would wear out their bodies and take away their health and get them no where. Sinclair told about the scariest part of the meat packing industry. He told about the processing of the meat. He told us how the meat was mixed with additives and chemicals to add more bulk, to change the color, to hide the rancidness of the meat, or to hide the poor quality of the meat or other byproducts they were producing. He showed how ineffective the “government” meat inspectors were, for they let large amounts of poor quality meat past. Sinclair went on to tell us how the companies mixed the contaminated meat of the animals carrying tuberculoses, cholera, and other diseases with that of healthier meat in the hanging rooms after the inspectors had left for the day. The packaged meat was then sold to the unknowing public at very high prices and at a large profit for the company. The companies’ profits were so high in fact that they could pay thousands of dollars of graft money and still have a tidy profit to stuff their pockets with.
Sinclair also showed us the living conditions of the workers. The workers not only dealt with the unhealthy conditions at work but also in their communities and their homes. The workers had to deal with the pollution of the factories. The people who lived in Packing Town had to deal with disease and water pollution from Bubbly Creek in which Packing Town dumped its waste water. The water was contaminated with animal fats, animal hair, chemicals from the additives used in the products, and diseases from the contaminated animals from the plants. There was air pollution from the smoke stacks of the plants. The residents rarely saw the blue of the sky due to the billowing black smoke from the chimneys of the plants. The only time Chicago residents saw blue sky was when there was a strike on and the plants were not running. The ground was not fit for growing anything, for there was no green in Packing Town, only muted browns. Many of the residents were living in homes that were not hooked up to the city sewer system or to a septic system, and the sewage just built up under their homes. They had to live with insect and rodent infestations due to the fact that the products they could purchase were expensive and ineffective. The products were filled with more ineffective filler than with poisons to get rid of the pests. The foods they could afford to buy were filled with fillers, chemicals, and possible diseases and did not have any nutritional value to them. This brought down their ability to fight infection and disease and they were more often sick then well. They were unable to purchase clothing that was appropriate to keep out the dampness or the cold at home or at work. The residents of Packing Town fought to live and work until they could not fight anymore and then became a burden to their families or died.
The big industries reached out to the consumers of their products and made them dig deep in their pockets to purchase the goods. The farmers and ranchers had to accept less for their cattle, sheep and pigs than they were worth. The farmers then took the little money they made selling their livestock to buy farm implements that would help them to harvest more crops but they would have to spend more money than they made selling their livestock to purchase the implements. This left the farmers and ranchers little better than the workers in the meat packing industry.
The Socialist Party and the unions did well recruiting from the unskilled labor that worked twelve to fourteen hour days for very little pay. They showed the workers that they did care for them and wanted to help as much as the companies did not care about them and would just push them to the side as soon as they found someone who would work faster for less money. The Socialists gave them hope and some support through lectures and places like Hull House. The unions fought for them and helped to put some joy in their lives by having picnics, lectures and other forms of entertainment.
The Jungle was a very effective piece of propaganda as it showed us many believable ways were we have been “swindled” by the meat packing industry. Sinclair may have told us only half truths in this piece of literature but the whole truth may have been to close to fiction rather than realty. After The Jungle the government became more interested in how food was processed and sold to the public.

Sin in the Second City

Sin in the Second City

 

The book Sin in the Second City by Karen Abbott tells about the lack of opportunities given to women at the turn of the century and the many pitfalls waiting for them in large industrial cities such as Chicago, as she tells about the Everleigh sisters. Sin in the Second City showed us that there were not many jobs available for women during this time period and none of them would provide a substantial paycheck. Abbott showed the many dangers to women through the Everleigh sisters and their business adventure in Chicago during the early 1900’s.

Due to an economic slump across the country many young women were looking for work to help their families or just to earn money to support themselves during this trying time. Many young girls were lured away from their hometowns with grand offers of good paying jobs, but when they arrived either there was no such job or the few openings had already been filled. Young women were also lured to the city by false advertisements that told of good paying jobs but were really put to work in brothels. When they arrived and happened to find an honest job, the pay was pitiful and barely enough to survive on. Factory jobs offered about $6.00 a week.

 Some girls were sold into white slavery by their families because the family was so desperately poor. Other young women would be tricked by the men they were dating and were taken to brothels where they were drugged and rapped by “professional rapists”. Some women were just taken right from the train platform never to be seen again. These girls would then be sold to other brothels, some never to see the outside of the buildings again. Most of these girls were dead in five years. There were other women who went into prostitution because they were so desperately poor that prostitution was an answer to their problems as the $35.00 a week from a lower class brothel was better than the $6.00 a week from a factory job.

The Everleigh sisters understood the difficulties facing women as they had witnessed and been a part of it most of their lives. It was not until they came across a large amount of money that they decided to go into business for themselves. The sisters wanted to elevate the prostitution industry. Before the sisters opened their club, they traveled the country visiting some of the best known madams and researched what would make a most thriving business. The Everleigh Club only catered to those of the upper crust of society, as it cost the gentlemen $50 just to get in the front door let alone purchase any food, drink, or visit the upstairs with one of the girls. The sisters understood the plight of women as they paid their girls very well and there was a long waiting list to join the house. The girls were paid more than $100.00 a week which was a far cry better than the $35.00 a week from the lower brothels or the $6.00 a week from an honest job in a factory.

The sisters ran a strict business. The Everleighs set up rules for the house based on southern hospitality. After the first night the club was open, the costumers either had to have a letter of referral or have proof of identity and financial standing. There also would be no robbery of the clients through knock out drops or monkeyshines. There were rules about how gentlemen were to be handled, and what was acceptable behavior on the part of the girls and of the gentlemen coming into the club. If there was any breaking of the rules the girl may be asked to leave and the gentlemen may never gain entry into the club again. The girls were not allowed to use drugs and they were well educated on the writings of Balzac and other popular writers of the time. The girls were also checked regularly by a medical doctor. The Everleigh sisters cared for their “butterflies” better than any of the other pimps and madams in the Levee District, and that made a position in the Everleigh Club even more sought after.

Throughout the time the Everleigh Club was open, the sisters had to contend with their male counter parts and agitators such as the Weiss brothers and Hinky Dink Kenna to just name a couple. That put pressure on the sisters for graft and protection money. The sisters also had to contend with other female madams such as Vic Shaw and Zoe Millard as they tried to ruin the Everleighs’ business every chance they could get. Reverend Ernest Bell also did his share to try and shut down the Everleigh Club along with the other brothels in the Levee District by having sermons in front of the brothels. The end of the Levee District came only when enough pressure had been put on Mayor Harrison by religious and purity groups.

The Everleigh sisters understood that women had few opportunities to support themselves or their families. They gave the women a chance to earn good money even if many people looked down on them for taking such a job. The Everleigh sisters cared for the young women in their employ and made sure no harm came to them and that they were healthy. Abbott really brought out the story of the Everleigh club and its competitors during this time period of Chicago’s past.

 

 

The Expedition Must End — But Very Slowly

Surprisingly this was more comfortable than the dorm beds.

The trip to Philadelphia was a great experience. I really enjoyed the many topics we studied and places we visited. I will be able to use the information I learned in many different ways in my classroom. Overall this class has helped me in some cases to see some topics from a different point of view then I have had in the past. It has also helped me to better understand different events that have occurred particularly  the different battles. 

I will bring many of the places we visited up on the computer for my students to see. Also, being able to visit these sites has helped to deeper my understanding of the topics and places so that I may help my students better understand the topics through discussions along with reading materials and pictures. For instance the Philadelphia Museum of Art has a great portion of their collection on the internet. I will be able to show the students paintings and sculptures, items from the time of knights, pieces of glassware and silver, and furniture to help them better understand what they are learning. Some other ways I will be able to use this information is to use some of the paintings as writing prompts for the students to write a description of the picture or a story to tell what is going on in the painting. With the information I learned about Franklin, Lincoln, Washington, and others I will be able to discuss with my students what makes a good citizen and what they could do to be a good citizen.

 

Day 12 Gettysburg

 

The highlight of the day was our short session with Professor Boritt. His place was beautiful and he seemed to be genuine nice guy. I know he expected us but I felt we were intruding upon him.  

Today was one of the days that I was looking forward to but either my expectations were doused as we took our tour. I feel that our tour was rushed with time to absorb what we were looking at our to take a closer look at some of the monuments. I think our tour guide had his a speech memorized and if we interrupted him with questions we would get him off what he had to say.

The museum was well put together with so many things to look at and read. At the end of the exhibits it seemed to become a little over whelming. The cemetary was very humbling. You could almost see what it was like when Lincoln gave his speech.  

 

Day 11 Winterthur

Today was an awesome day. Even though the lecture went a little long I thought it was interesting how the some of the different markets were created and the impact these new markets effected everything else.  I never thought of how our want or for some addictions for sweet in white sugar and chocalate or our need for tobacco or caffine in coffee.  

Our tour of the library was extrordinary the thing they had in their collection were amazing. I liked the childrens book. The book was opened opened up to a page that had a little girl burning up into a cinder. The rhyms were very much like the orginal fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm.

The Trolley tour through the gardens was amazing hearing about the different plants they had, when they were planted, where they came from, along with when the different plants were to bloom.  Dave and I jumped off the Trolley at the childrens garden. It was very neat with a fairy garden, a birds nest complete with eggs, bridges, a small stream, greek pillars, and stones that replicate Stonehenge.

The afternoon session was very intersting walking through the house. There was so many things to look at that it became nearly overwhelming. The painted and block stamped “wallpaper” was beautiful. The kids program was  very well put together. My group did a barter activity between shop keepers and farmers. We then did an archeaology identification activity. D60 & D70 teachers who have had a TENS class there is an archeology dig kit with artifacts — probably not colonial but it will give the students the idea. We then toured another part of the house portion of the museum. We finished with an activity that we had to create a sign of a business we would like to operate at that time period with out using words. They did an awesome job putting together their student programs.

Day 10 Morning Lectures/Afternoon Exploration

This mornings lectures were interesting and came from different perspectives on each subject. Our first speaker, Dr. Waldstraeicher, spoke on Benjamin Franklin in the light from coming from indentured servitude to a man of prominance. Our second speaker, Dr. Engs, spoke on the Great American Slave Rebellion.

This afternoon I went to Franklins Underground Museum, Elfreth’s Alley, NPS Living History Center, and the Post Office Museum.

In Franklin’s Underground Museum you could see some of Franklins Furniture and portraits of his family. You were also see some of the materials that he printed. There was a section where you could dial a telephone and listen to people talk about Franklin from around the world.

The Living History museum had a great work area where there was a person putting pieces of glassware back together. All of these pieces were found where the National Constitution Center stands today. Many of the pieces came from privies where they were thrown away.

At the Post Office Museum we say Mr. Zip, along with other postal memorbelia.

Elfreth’s Alley is a historical residential street that shows us what a typical street would have looked like during that time period. Thehouse fronts were very cute.

Day 9 American Philosophical Society and the Atwater Kent Museum

 

The APS museum was interesting with what they displayed and how they displayed the information. There was not much there but it held alot of information. I loved John Audobonds book of birds. The book was very large and the pictures filled the page in great detail.  The Wood Ibis on the page was very beautiful. A teaching point I could have with my students is to bring up these types of pictures with my students on the Promethean board and discuss the animal, where it lives, to see what it looks like, or to study the technique it was presetned to us such as painted, chalk, or sketched. The discussion could go in a number of different ways.

Another thing I took away today is how diverse Peale was. He was a very accomplished artist, he created museums, he spent alot of money and went great distance to collect artifacts. He aslo sent things on expedition through Europe.