Myronda+Schiding's+Local+History+Project

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Learning Activity 8-B-1: Local History Project
This project would serve as an introduction to a unit on local industry in York, Pennsylvania. It would provide the background information for the students to delve deeper into a specific industry. Initially, the movie would also serve as an analysis exercise, using the primary sources provided in the movie. I would give the students access to the movie and the bibliography (for the links to the resources for the NARA analysis), and also give them the appropriate NARA analysis worksheets. Then, the students would have the opportunity to create their own movies, using primary sources.The students would work individually for the NARA analysis and work in groups to create the movies. The conclusion of this activity would be the group presentations of their findings about local industries. Below is my final project, made using i-movie. If the embedded link below does not work, please try the other link. media type="youtube" key="UdxPff-UNUg?hl=en" height="349" width="425"

Additional link:[|Schiding Final Project]

Resources used in movie:

Learning Activity 3-D-2: Local Documents, Data, and Cartoons
Primary Document #1: This is a really interesting source that I found on the PA History website. This is a document calling on the shoemakers of Philadelphia to bond together for adequate wages. This will connect to the final project because it addresses a specific industry in Pennsylvania. This source has a huge amount of useful information overall, including photographs and narrative about the development of organized labor in Pennsylvania. There is even a photo from Red Lion, PA, which is in York County. [|Philadelphia Shoemaker Document]

Political Cartoon #2: This resource is a political cartoon depicting the racial tensions that labor caused in Pennsylvania in 1819. This is a unique source to use for the final project because it addresses the conflicts that were associated with industry in Pennsylvania that typically are not discussed. [|Racial Issues with Labor]

Political Cartoon #3: This political cartoon addresses Roosevelt exploiting Pennsylvania for its coal resources. For the final product, this represents the coal industry in Pennsylvania. The cartoon can also be used to address the perceptions of the United States government of Pennsylvania, its resources, and its workforce. [|Roosevelt exploiting PA]

Data #4: This is a map that examines the other enormous industry in Pennsylvania: agriculture. This map from 1950 depicts the number of migrant workers in Pennsylvania at during this time period. This would be valuable for the final product because it shows the growth of agriculture outside of industry. Also, the map shows huge numbers of migrant workers in South Central Pennsylvania, which is our local area. [|Migrant Workers in PA]

Data #5: This data resource is the growth and distribution of cities in the United States from 1790 to present. This would be valuable information to analyze for the final project because it can be compared to the location of resources, the foundation of industry, and the growth of society nationally. [|Growth and Distribution of Cities] The above resource can also be used with this population map of the east coast of the United States in 1820 to discern where most industry and agriculture existed during this time period (including Pennsylvania). [|US Population Map 1820]

Additional document: I found this source on the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. They have many wonderful primary sources on this website and the narrative accompanying the documents is thorough and very interesting. This document is the Curtis Iron Works ledger from 1830-1832. This would be valuable in the final product to address minority employees in industry in Pennsylvania by using this company's ledger. [|Curtis Iron Works Ledger]

Learning Activity 5-D-1: Local Audio and Music
[|John Durang's Hornpipe] John Durang was a Pennsylvania native who participated in an array of musical presentations and theater events. This audio recording of John Durang's hornpipe exhibits the music of Durang's time period. This relates to the final project because when William Penn initially settled in Pennsylvania, he created some anti-theater laws because of his Quaker background. This can be related to local industry because many other industries could relate the the restrictions under The Great Law of Pennsylvania.This law was eventually changed as more non-Quakers came to reside in Pennsylvania and there was a demand for theater from the wealth industrialists.

I am learning some pretty amazing things about my local area! The Pennsylvania Railroad was one of the largest corporations. The Railroad grew in Pennsylvania because of the enormous and profitable industries that needed to transport their goods. Below is a link for sheet music for the Alleghany Valley Railroad March.This would be an excellent resource in the final project because of the transportation and industry connection. [|Alleghany Valley Rairoad March]

There is a large history of the development of distinct jazz music in Pennsylvania from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia. This applies to the final project because this sound was encouraged by the industries in Pennsylvania. Without the growth, there would not have been opportunities for local workers to pursue their musical interests, migrate to Pennsylvania and create performances for the local wealthy people. The presence of jazz music throughout the state also indicates cultural attitudes towards African Americans. [|Video of Pittsburgh Local Art Blakey]

An element of Pennsylvania history is the settlement of the Quakers. Below is a sound recording of the song "[|All of the Quakers are Shoulder Shakers]". The role of the Quakers in Pennsylvania in the development of industry in the local and Philadelphia area would be very interesting to address in the final project. Here are the lyrics to the song [|Lyrics to "All of the Quakers are Shoulder Shakers"] and here is the cover art.

This is a pretty impressive speech by Samuel Gompers, who was on the forefront of the Labor Movement. [|Gompers Speech] Gompers' speech was encouraging industry throughout the nation, despite World War I. This would be an excellent resource for the final project because it addresses how World War I affected the industry of our nation and the responsibilities of the citizens of the United States.

Below is a transcript of an interview with a Pennsylvania local whose grandfather was William B. Wilson [|Interview with William B. Wilson's granddaughter]. This is not an audio recording, but may be a useful tool of reference for the final project.

Learning Activity 6-D-1: Local Video and Maps
Map #1: [|Map of York County] This map of York County exhibits the names of each township, when each township was established, and where each township is located. This would be valuable in the final product because it establishes a nice base of how York looks historically and geographically. It would be nice to cross reference this with the US population map below.

Map #2 (previously in the "data section): [|Migrant Workers in PA] This is a map that examines the other enormous industry in Pennsylvania: agriculture. This map from 1950 depicts the number of migrant workers in Pennsylvania at during this time period. This would be valuable for the final product because it shows the growth of agriculture outside of industry. Also, the map shows huge numbers of migrant workers in South Central Pennsylvania, which is our local area.

Map #3: The below resource can also be used with this population map of the east coast of the United States in 1820 to discern where most industry and agriculture existed during this time period (including Pennsylvania). This map could be used in the final product to show where people resided nationally and to cross reference with the Pennsylvania map. [|US Population Map 1820]

Video #1: [|Video Archives at York Historical Society] This link references the video archives available at the York Historical Society. These videos are a compilation of various "things around York" throughout the history of the region. Some of the videos are cultural, but they also highlight the agricultural, logging, and cigar making industries. In the final product, it would be interesting to have some of these clips available to exhibit York's industries in action.

Video #2: [|Inside an American Factory] These videos caught my eye in the the course reference materials. These videos are available on the American Memory section of the Library of Congress and share a view of the Westinghouse factories. This would be a great national comparison in the final product for the industries in York. Although, there were very large industries in York County, it would be interesting to see how they compare with a large-scale company like Westinghouse.

Additional Notes and Resources
[|Photos and descriptions of York Architecture]

4-D-1 Photos and Posters I just had an epiphany about my hometown! I knew that we produced tanks and weapons, but I had no idea that this production went all the way back to World War II! The three first photos can be used in the final project to exhibit how industry changed in York throughout time. When World War II began, many York industries won defense contracts for weapons and tank production, which changed industry in York from then until our current era. Photo #1 Photo #2- Another photo depicting York's industrial support of World War II: Photo #3- Photo of siege gun

The resources below for Shipley and Pfaltzgraff are just a sample of information that is available about the local industry. I began to get a little overwhelmed thinking about the wealth of information available on our local industry. The photos of Shipley and Pfaltzgraff would be excellent references for the final project because they emphasize that many York industries have stood the test of time and have evolved with the demands of the local population. Photo #4 and #5- Shipley Photo link #6 Another huge industry in York was Pfaltzgraff. Below is a link to photos of Pfaltzgraff products from the past two hundred years.[|Pfaltzgraff products]