Analyzing Trends in History: Abolition and Anti-slavery as a Case Study

1. Analyzing Trends in History:Abolition and Anti-slavery as a Case Study Steven H. Newton, PhD Delaware State University Prepared for: American Institute for History Education

2. Narrative History: Two-edged sword? • The advantages of Narrative History • Interest factor: History as engaging story • Preparation factor: Research & Presentation • Connection factor: Highlighting cause/effect • The disadvantages of Narrative History • Stories not recognized as constructed • Stories create a teacher-centered experience • Stories do not encourage active learning

3. Tools for student-centered Historical Analysis • “Do” not “listen” requires a set of student tools • Best tools are a consistent set of questions and/or concepts to be applied to each historical topic • The paradigm that generates the questions are less important than the consistency of the process

4. Tools for Student-centered Historical Analysis (2) • Requirements: teacher proficiency, vertical application, developmentally appropriate • The Delaware “toolbox” for history: • Chronology • Sequencing of events; cause/effect; trends • Analysis • Data assessment and manipulation • Interpretation • What does it mean? Questions of significance and viewpoint • Interpretations should have predictive power

5. How do you develop your own “toolbox”? • Primary consideration: standards-driven approach • Critical consideration: curriculum alignment • Instructional consideration: planning for inquiry-focused classes • Assessment consideration: structuring tests

6. An inquiry-driven approach to Abolitionism and Anti-slavery • Designed for embedded implementation (not a complete lesson or unit) • Implies the previous coverage of specific content • Requires “nest hierarchy” of questions • Major question: “How successful were the Abolitionists in terms of influencing national elections?” • Foundation question: “If the Abolitionists were influencing national elections, what kinds of evidence would we see?” • Foundation question: “Is there a discernable pattern in national elections between 1820-1860?”

7. A data-set for inquiry-driven Historical Analysis • Capsule information • How the electoral college works • Candidates and parties • Map/results information • Map set for presidential elections 1820-1860

8. Map set: elections 1820-1832 1820 1828 1832 1824

9. Map set: elections 1836-1848 1836 1844 1848 1840

10. Map set: Elections 1852-1860 1852 1860 1856

11. What patterns emerge from the data?

12. What patterns emerge from the data? • The norm is that a successful presidential candidate must acquire electoral votes from both northern and southern states to win

13. What patterns emerge from the data? • The norm is that a successful presidential candidate must acquire electoral votes from both northern and southern states to win • This norm continues to hold true throughout the period of evangelical abolitionism (1832-1852 elections)

14. What patterns emerge from the data? • The norm is that a successful presidential candidate must acquire electoral votes from both northern and southern states to win • This norm continues to hold true throughout the period of evangelical abolitionism (1832-1852 elections) • The Republican Party (anti-slavery) emerges in 1856 as a sectional party, but is still defeated by a Democratic coalition of northern and southern states

15. What patterns emerge from the data? • The norm is that a successful presidential candidate must acquire electoral votes from both northern and southern states to win • This norm continues to hold true throughout the period of evangelical abolitionism (1832-1852 elections) • The Republican Party (anti-slavery) emerges in 1856 as a sectional party, but is still defeated by a Democratic coalition of northern and southern states • In 1860 the Republican Party manages—for the first time in history—to build and electoral (although not popular) majority without ANY southern support

16. How do we interpret the data?

17. How do we interpret the data? • What questions would we encourage students to ask?

18. How do we interpret the data? • What questions would we encourage students to ask? • What additional information would they need to answer the original questions?

19. How do we interpret the data? • What questions would we encourage students to ask? • What additional information would they need to answer the original questions? • How do they format their interpretations to have predictive power?

20. How do we interpret the data? • What questions would we encourage students to ask? • What additional information would they need to answer the original questions? • How do they format their interpretations to have predictive power? • How do we assess this process?

21. How do we use this process… • …to improve student understanding of historical events?

22. How do we use this process… • …to improve student understanding of historical events? • …to improve student skills at investigating historical events and phenomena?

23. How do we use this process… • …to improve student understanding of historical events? • …to improve student skills at investigating historical events and phenomena? • …to improve student performance of local, state, and national assessments?