Antebellum America (1816-1860)
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In this activity students perform a role play of a talk show between Lowell workers and factory owners. To research their characters, students analyze primary sources. This activity is used to teach with the film Daughters of Free Men, but can be completed without the film.

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Item Type: Teaching Activity
Date: 2011

The young farm women who worked in the Lowell textile mills were used to hard work, but working the large, noisy mills was different. On the farm, women had controlled their own work schedule, and they did may different tasks. In the mill, women did one task over and over again. Factory owners now controlled the speed and hours of work.

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Item Type: Pamphlet/Petition
Date: Circa 1853

This worksheet helps students analyze the 1848 Declaration of Sentiments.

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Item Type: Worksheet
Date: 2010

In 1841, English author Charles Dickens toured the United States. Dickens was known for his sympathetic depictions of the poor and working-class residents of English cities. However, American Notes, which he wrote about his time in the U.S. attacked nearly every aspect of American life.

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Item Type: Book (excerpt)
Date: 1842

This worksheet helps students analyze the 1827 print depicting New York City's Five Points neighborhood.

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Item Type: Worksheet
Date: 2011

This worksheet helps students analyze Charles Dickens' observations about the Five Points neighborhood during his 1841 visit to the United States.

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Item Type: Worksheet
Date: 2011

This worksheet helps students analyze Davy Crockett's 1834 recollections of a visit to Five Points in New York City.

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Item Type: Worksheet
Date: 2011

By the 1830s, Five Points was infamous for its poverty, as well as for reports of corruption and immorality. Out-of-town tourists would make a special point to visit Five Points while they were in New York City. Davy Crockett, a famous American frontiersman, visited the Five Points and wrote these observations in 1835.

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Item Type: Biography/Autobiography
Date: 1834

In 1841, English author Charles Dickens toured the United States. Dickens was known for his sympathetic depictions of the poor and working-class residents of English cities. However, American Notes, which he wrote about his time in the U.S., attacked nearly every aspect of American life.

Tags:
Item Type: Book (excerpt)
Date: 1842

In this activity, students look at census records from antebellum Five Points and compare them to depictions of the neighborhood and its residents. Students will evaluate whether observers described Five Points as a neighborhood or slum. The activity includes a Smartboard file, but can be completed without this technology.

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Item Type: Teaching Activity
Date: 2011